Flash Cricket

The story in my last post, “Last Shot,” was written in response to a challenge to write a 500-word story using twenty specific words a particular order. This type of challenge is apparently called "Flash Cricket," because you have to bowl and field words. Like in cricket, I suppose - I don't know, sports metaphors are usually lost on me. (The site that coined the term is here)

These are fun – they force you think on your feet, to write without preconceived ideas and fit it all into the short space provided by flash fiction. I can thoroughly recommend an exercise like this for any writers who are in-between bigger projects or just looking to try something different.

For those who are interested, below are the words that "Last Shot" was written from:

Fifth
Investment
Steep
Chef
Protest
Minute
Window
Running
Apostate
Borderline
Tackle
Glitter
Purring
Hogtied
Curse
Surreal
Lavish
Hiss
Troglodyte
Scattered

Ten Days of Writing - Day 9

I jumped into Leone Ross' Ten Days of Writing challenge half-way, so it's kind of fitting that I didn't quite make it to the end. I did Day 9 but was just too busy to pull something together for Day 10. I really wish it was something I'd been in on from the beginning, but such is life.

Leone's full list of challenges are here. I might go back through these and attempt a few of them - some are really intriguing (particularly the word loop one).

The challenge for Day 9 was to write 250 words about a moment of either pain or ecstasy. I chose the latter. It's not my best bit of writing (heck, I couldn't even come up with a title) but half the point of these exercises is to see where our limits are and what we can do with different ideas. Story begins after the picture...

Ten Days of Flash - Day 8

Image from aboriginaltourism.com.au

Continuing on with Leone Ross' Ten Days of Flash. The day 8 challenge was right up my alley: take a myth, and modernise it, using only 120 words or less. I chose the Indigenous Australian myth of the Rainbow Serpent; there are lots of different stories about this creature, but most agree that it's associated with water, rains and fertility.

SAVIOURS AND SIDE EFFECTS
By Elliot DeLocke

Smithfield Chemicals burned, oily smoke plumes rolling skyward. Commander Farlane watched his fire crews struggle for control.

“When’s he coming?” he asked.

Dreamtime Liaison Officer Schultz shrugged. “Soon. He got caught up at the Litchfield fire.”

The inferno roared. Chemical storage silos groaned; they’d explode any moment now. Farlane braced himself.

Then... a rumble.

Behind them, a gargantuan serpent reared, scales shimmering with iridescent glory. The beast cried and belched thick, cleansing fog over the fire; toxins were purified, combustibles went inert. Heavy rains were summoned, finishing the blaze off.

Firefighters cheered. The Rainbow Serpent departed, flowers sprouting behind it.

Farlane and Schultz shook hands, politely ignoring each other’s massive, throbbing erections. Working with fertility spirits always had side effects.

Ten Days of Flash - Day 7

Writer Leone Ross has a challenge on her Facebook page called Ten Days of Flash, with the goal of having participants write flash fiction every day for ten days. I found it via Remittance Girl's blog and thought it looked fun, so I decided to jump on board... right around day 7. Because if you're going to do something, you might as well do it half-assed, I guess.

But what the hey. The Day 7 challenge was to write a 55-word piece of flash fiction inspired by one of five posted photos. I choose the picture shown above, and came up with the story below.

THE CLIENT
By Elliot DeLocke

The client’s teeth chattered. Malcolm lent the man his jacket.

“Warmer now, Mister Griffin? Do you need gloves? I’ve only rubber ones, I’m afraid."

The jacket nodded. Malcolm fetched them, acting as thought this were all perfectly normal.

“Better? Okay, from what you’ve told me, you definitely have a libel case against this Wells character...”