Alien by Ivan Mityaev from artstation.com

Isn’t this image amazing? I love this creature. Such a great design and rendering.

Last year, the alien image inspired me to write a story about the subtle reptilian invasion going on under our noses; co-workers and friends in human form until “the change”. This year, I’m thinking full-scale, violent invasion. A whole army of these awesome aliens coming right atcha!

It makes me think of Mars Attacks! and Independence Day but I think I want my story to be less silly blockbuster and more The Elephant Man and Frankenstein. The plight of the poor, misunderstood monster, alien invasion style.

#vss very short story

When the Shnaggerfens arrived, they believed they were alone on Planet Gerfenx 1024. Their eyes did not register the billions of angry and confused occupants they kept squishing.

#OctPoWriMo

Theme: Breathtaking
form: Villanelle

The Day We Arrived

Today in the day we invade
Because it’s the day we arrived
Why do they look so afraid?

Leaders try to ply us with trade
But we are not in any need
Today is the day we invade

An officer thinks loud voice will persuade
Their weapons will do no harm
Why do they look so afraid?

Scientists use numbers in hope to dissuade
But we have no choice; our fate is set
Today is the day we invade

They ask for patience as options are weighed
Gathered in houses with spires and crosses
Why do they look so afraid?

Look at this mess they have made
Denying this inevitable day
Today is the day we invade
Why do they look so afraid?

#FlashFicHive

graphic by Anjela Curtis

Since I didn’t participate in August, I looked back through October’s prompts. I had the most fun with Day 26‘s Circumlocution prompt, but I think my favorite writer’s prompts were the antagonist prompts on Day 23 and Day 24. I think I’ll take a look at an antagonists backstory and write from an antagonist’s point of view.

Are the alien invaders the antagonists, or the humans? Or are these aliens even invading earth? Maybe these awesome aliens have just discovered a new planet and encountered a completely different form of antagonist. So many ideas. Fun. Fun. Fun.

#RIP XII

Have you been doing the Readers Imbibing Peril challenge? How’s it going? Still a few days left. My planned reads kept changing, but I’ll make it. I only need to finish reading Slade House by David Mitchell for Peril of the Group Read and it’s good, so finishing shouldn’t be a problem.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Bed by Joshua Hoffine

If you’re looking for more truly horrible visual prompts, I recommend visiting Joshua Hoffine Horror Photography. He has an amazing selection of prints for sale.

When I was little, I had a tall antique bed with a canopy. I had to run and jump to get on it. During the day, when I wanted to hide from my mom and/or the world, I would play under it and be completely hidden, so it was very easy for me to imagine there was a man under it at night ready to grab my ankles if I got out of bed. Needless to say, having to go to the bathroom in the night was a terrifying situation.

Joshua Hoffine’s image captures that middle-of-the-night fear so well. Is this story about the monster, the girl, the blocks, or maybe the teddy bear? Is it about literal monsters under the bed, or maybe hidden secrets sneaking out from the past? What childhood fears did you have? Have you put them in a story yet?

#vss very short story

Penelope flipped on the light when she heard the blocks click against the wood floor. She watched with satisfaction as the enormous furry paws tried to right them with long black claws.

(edited to fit in a tweet) Penelope flipped on the light. She watched with satisfaction as enormous furry paws tried to right the disturbed blocks with long claws.#vss

#OctPoWriMo

Theme: Taste of Satisfaction

Ode To A Satisfying Meal

The sweet release
Months of hiding
Sneaking in silence
A den of darkness
Under the bed

Now the light
I am seen
In the open
Tricked by the girl
On top of the bed

I know she has seen me
I heard the catch of her breath
I’ll spell hello with the blocks
Then reveal my head

A long time in coming
Drool forms and drips
I’ll taste satisfaction
The sweet taste of fear
Of what’s under the bed

#FlashFicHive

Today’s prompt is fun on #FlashFicHive. We get to share how #Writober has gone so far.

graphic by Anjela Curtis

Thanks to #Writober, I’ve had a very productive month so far. 25 very short stories, 25 poems, over 25 story premises, and 5 flash fiction and short stories.

How has your writing gone? Have you been inspired to write some flash fiction? I hope so. Head on over to #FlashFicHive and share your great accomplishments.

Happy Reading and Writing!

by Sandy Skoglund

Sandy Skoglund’s images are so creepy because she actually made all of those foxes and created a real scene for her photographs. They look so real and fake at the same time. Her choice of color adds to the surrealism. She’s done many images like this such as green cats and swarming squirrels. If you’re interested in seeing more of her work and work of other great photographers, she’s included in the book Focus: Five Women Photographers: Julia Margaret Cameron/Margaret Bourke-White/Flor Garduño/Sandy Skoglund/Lorna Simpson.
This image makes me think of The Fox And The Hound because the foxes look so playful, but it also makes me think of Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge which has been turned into a TV show Zoo: Season 1. In Zoo, the animals of the earth “change”. They become violent and start to exterminate the humans. I could see these foxes suddenly turning on those diners and having a nice meal of their own.

So what are these foxes up to? Did they change like in Zoo, or are they a new mutant species? They might have recently arrived from another dimension, perhaps a land like Narnia or Oz where animals can talk and the foxes are the bad guys. They might be aliens that arrived from another planet and took the form of the last thing they saw. Maybe they see color differently on their planet and thus can’t replicate color correctly. That could make replicating disguises pretty funny.

#vss very short story

When the first fox ran into the restaurant and jumped on the table, she thought it was fun and extraordinary. When the restaurant was full of red foxes, her soup didn’t sit well.

edited to fit in a tweet: A fox ran in & jumped on the table. She thought it fun and extraordinary. Now the room is full of red foxes. Her soup doesn’t sit well. #vss

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s theme is Nothing Remains the Same

I think today’s image goes a lot better with the theme Fox and Foxy from day 19 and since I didn’t get a chance at the form prompt Florette (due to power outage that day), I think I’ll try it now. A Florette has a rhyme scheme and meter rules with a combination of both in the fourth line of each stanza. It should be a good challenge for the story of the invading red foxes.

Bad Date

When fox first approached, he was shy
He crept up close then hopped up, spry
He sniffed the plate then stole a bone
We thought he was a scout alone, but fox was sly

He wouldn’t look me in the eye
Rubbing his tail against my thigh
I bit my lip, began to suck
I swear he winked at and stuck his nose in pie

Then it came, his announcing cry
A thousand responses pitched high
The room flooded with fluffy tails
My date’s pallor sickens and pales, absent any lie

The fox, it stole his favorite tie
Another ate his last steak fry
“If we’re quiet they’ll let us be”
But we are far from being free “We are about to die”

Note: As with all of the poem-form prompts, this was a fun challenge. I did a mind map for Fox and Foxy and found the connections interesting. I also used the rhyme one rhyming dictionary for “sly” and found inspiration there. I love how the #Writober images combined with the #OctPoWriMo prompts have me writing story poems that I wouldn’t usually write.

#FlashFicHive

graphic by Anjela Curtis

I have managed to finish a few of my #Writober stories this week which is exciting. So today may be a good day for hashtag games. Let’s see what’s on for Saturdays.

graphic by Mica Scotti Cole

Themes:

#SciFiSat: No theme, but jfx mcloughlin @SciFiPrompt did put up the #Writober Day 1 image and I finished that story, so that’s convenient.
#SlapDashSAT – Any Lines/ No theme
I looked at a couple more and it looks like Saturday is a themeless free-for-all, so sharing lines entails picking the best lines. Nice.

I found a hashtag not on the list: #storysaturday and the theme is GHOSTS!

Happy Reading and Writing!