Tag Archives: #Writober4

#Writober Day 22: Broken Pieces

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Broken pieces. The suggested form is Loop Poetry.

Some pieces were too small to find

Destroyed in an instant
instant change from whole  to schism
schism grew to a frightening ruin
ruin came with a clack, clatter, crash!

Shattered into tiny shards
shards hiding from the light
light glistens from sharp secrets
secrets stab surprise slivers

Fractured into tiny fragments
fragments scattered by force
force, so unexpected and unfair
unfair doesn’t matter once it’s done

Find a replacement in time
time for an intermission of sort
sort through the rubble for the salvage
salvage a frail fragment of hope

 

#Writober4

The image for Day 22 on the Pinterest board shows a series of evil thought.

My take: This image makes me think of reincarnation or the idea that evil passes from one person to another through the ages. It could be showing that power is in ideas that are passed from one person to another.

Micro-fiction: Madame Yazima could feel the power surging. After all of these years, she had mastered her connection to her muse and would finally see her destiny clearly. However, the pure knowledge came with a horrible understanding: power corrupts. She could see the many powerful her muse had corrupted before her. They had all met terrible ends. She knew there was no going back; her fate awaited.

Writing Process and Tools

Emotion: defeat

Creepy verbs: terrify, terrorize, haunt, follow, lurk

Story Cubes Symbols: fish, hand, tree, clock (10:30), alien, flash light, question mark, sheep, book

Woodland creature: mole – a company of moles, a labor of moles, a movement of moles

Collective noun: An ohm of electricians

Horror trope: mutants

Oblique Strategies: Once the search is in progress, something will be found

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 21: Screaming into the wind

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Screaming into the wind.

A Voice in the Leaves

air
pushed
blown with
force and speed
I felt them even saw
them in the movement
of the trees’ branches and leaves
listen to them whisper and rustle
they scream their truths in the wind
holding my weight against the storm
debris tossed and twirling
susurrous echo fades
without the
w
i
n
d

 

#Writober4

The image for Day 21 on the Pinterest board shows a small boy with a stick. The boy appears to have abused a large stone monster with horns and command a group of others.

My take: Last year’s Halloween party theme was “strange brood.” There’s something about evil children in films and stories that is so creepy, and this guy looks like the leader of the pack. Did he turn the tables on the monster in his closet and under his bed? Or is he really a monster that has taken human form?

Micro-fiction: Gerald was darkly frustrated. What good was having the command of an army of monsters when they only wanted to scare for fun? He was going to have to trick them into doing his bidding. They would scare his sister to death, one of these days.

Writing Process and Tools

Emotion: Rage

Creepy verbs: offend, befoul, sicken, repulse, foment

Story Cubes Symbols: fish, hand, tree, clock (10:30), alien, flash light, question mark, sheep, book

Woodland creature:hawk – a cast of hawks, a kettle of hawks, a leash of hawks, a molting of hawks, a schizophrenia of hawks, a screw of hawks, a stream of hawks
Again, from all of the collective nouns, one would think hawks hung out in bunches at all times, but every time I see a hawk, he’s hanging out by himself, usually in a dead branch overlooking the freeway.

Collective noun: an ooze of amoebas (I just said, “Nice” out loud to no one).

Horror trope: mutants

Oblique Strategies: What are the sections sections of? Imagine a caterpillar moving

 

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 20: Mountains or Oceans

mountain panorama

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Mountains or Oceans. This was the second prompt I wrote for OctPoWriMo and I chose Haibun for the form.

The call of the seagull

The gull, a dark speck on the white mountain backdrop, reminds me how close I am to the ocean by wing. If I could rise above, I could see it from here, the crashing waves filling the tide pools, rocking the sea stars and hermit crabs, mussels, and barnacles. But I am not a gull and it seams so far away and so long ago.

gasping with wonder
inside a rising falling
turning of the tides

 

sea star attack

#Writober4

The image for Day 20 on the Pinterest board shows a man with small octopi all over his face. He looks scared.

My take: To go with today’s theme, this guy could have just gotten out of the ocean, but I think it’s much more creepy if these little guys fell from the sky, or jumped him, or grew out of pustules on his skin, ew.

Micro-fiction: Perry had an annoying itch. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he had been itchy since the last time he went to the beach about a month ago. He couldn’t help but scratch at the bumps and now he had scabs all over his face, neck, and shoulders. He couldn’t go out. People thought he was on drugs or unclean. Then the first tentacle poked out of a scab on his face. He couldn’t believe it. He watched it wriggle further as if testing the air, or scouting for danger. Then all the scabs burst to life.

Writing Process and Tools

Emotion:  Happiness – this is an interesting contrast to the image. I wonder how this story could be about happiness

Creepy verbs: repulse, gross out, sicken, fill with loathing, turn one’s stomach

Story Cubes Symbols: world, light bulb, shooting star, die, cane, rook, arrow all directions, magnet, magic wand

Woodland creature: raccoon – a gaze of raccoons, a mask of raccoons, a nursery of raccoons

Collective nouns: a handful of palm readers

Horror trope: evil wizards

Oblique Strategies: Humanize something free of error

 

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 19: Purple

puple luxury

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is purple. The suggested form is Villanelle.

I spent the morning pulling out some purple and it turns out purple in my life is related to Mardi Gras and costuming. Purple is feathers and trims and fancy fabrics, costumes and parties, but purple is also mystery and the sky before a coming storm.

A Purple Party

A perceived glow in the dark nightpurple sparkle and feather hue corrected
purple mystery of effervescent veil
a mask of concern or sheer delight

Lights to flavor celebration’s site
traditions perverted through history prevail
posing as royalty at its height

Twirling skirts under bodice tight
satin bows crowd the long string tail
spirit a barely tethered kite

Luxurious shine of velvet rite
a horizon line about to fail
shiny sparkles confusing sight

Tickles of feathers not for flight
winds of change that burden sails
the evening turns inducing fright

The veil lifts with the coming light
A broken heel, torn stocking, faces pale
The night could have been good, it might
The memories dropped along homeward trail

Note: This is not a Villanelle. I think this poem will work nicely as a Villanell, as I think the first and third lines of the first stanza will work nicely to end the other stanzas, and I think I’ll play around with that version later.

purple sparkly but ominous

#Writober4

The image for Day 19 on the Pinterest board is a picture I took of a great Halloween display in New Orleans with digitally choreographed video and music.

My take: This is an obvious haunted house. The house is watching you, like the movie Monster House. But it could also be a take on the “keeping up with the Joneses” kind of story where halloween decoration one-up-manship gets totally out of hand.

Micro-fiction: Jerry had used his life savings to build on his Halloween display each year. Neighbors and tourists alike crowded the sidewalks to see it. He heard that some local leaders were concerned about public safety and traffic issues, so he made sure to donate to re-election bids and attend private dinners. When he heard a local church had made it their cause to protest his display, it hurt his feelings. At first, it bothered him when the people came carrying giant crosses and the preacher opened his over-sized bible and started ranting on in front of his front gate, but then he had an idea. He projected scenes from the Exorcist onto his windows and choreographed his skeletons on his porch to mouth the lines. Everyone thought the preacher was a great addition to the display. Very spooky indeed.

Writing Process and Tools

Celtic Cross Plots: Would yesterday’s plot work for today’s story? Let’s see.
1. Three of coins: Our character is admiring his great creation – perfect! Our character has created an amazing Halloween display.
2. The Hierophant: This gave me the idea that our character comes into conflict with a religious leader.
3. The Knight of coins: He used all his money for the display
4. The Emperor: I could bring in that his father had been his muse. His father had always loved decorating for Halloween. Perhaps he died setting up their family display and that’s what got our character so focused on creating the best Halloween display.
5. The fool: He never keeps building his display bigger and better for the sheer joy of it even though there may be danger.
6. Knight of swords: He has to ride into battle with the religious leader.
7. Four of swords: I’m coming at the story in a moment of rest after being off in battle (the Writer’s Games are over and it’s not yet time for NaNoWriMo, time to just have some fun 😉 ).
8. Ten of swords: People see our character as defeated. He changes his display.
9. King of coins: The religious leader may think he’s fighting for something spiritual, but our character reclaims his earthly realm.
10. The Empress: He wins out by creating a new display that makes the protesters look like they are part of the act.

Looking at yesterday’s read in terms of today’s story provided some useful ideas. I like the conflict with religious protesters. For my longer story, I can add the backstory with the father and the moment when he thinks all is lost before he has the Exorcist idea.

Emotion: love

Creepy verbs: sink, plunge, submerge, dive, wreck, drown

Story Cubes Symbols: building, hand print, clock, alligator, key, padlock, alien, postcard, fish

Woodland creature: elk – a herd of elk, a gang of elk (that puts a funny image in my head – West Side Story with elk, Hell’s Angels of elk)

Collective nouns: a kindle of leverets (baby hares in their first year of life), a babble of linguists

Horror trope: reincarnation

Oblique Strategies: Intentions -nobility of -humility of -credibility of

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 18: The first time you were disappointed

Eyes for Lies

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is The first time you were disappointed.

Life’s disappointments come early

I got too big
too big for the carrier on a hike
too big for the seat on the back of her bike
too big to be carried asleep from the car
too big to play airplane or horsey
or hold hands and swing really far
too big to play tent under sheets on the bed
too big for stories and a kiss on the head
too big to crawl in with them in the night
too big to believe that they were always right
too big to sit in the cart at the store
too big to even hold hands anymore
I got too big

#Writober4

The image for Day 18 on the Pinterest board shows a tall, slim humanoid form leading a small boy into the forest. The boy appears to have a small shovel in his hand, leaving a trail of dirt and leaves behind him.

My take: I zoomed in on the picture this morning and though I like my first impression that the child held a trowel, I now think it’s supposed to be a knife. What I thought was a trail of dirt, I now think was supposed to be blood. This image is much darker than I originally thought. It works for a creepy story either way.

Micro-fiction: The tall man always came when Tommy’s mommy was “sleeping.” Now he could play with the tall man in the special place and never get in trouble again.

Writing Process and Tools

Emotion: Jealousy

Creepy verbs: bind, ensnare, capture, hide, obscure

Story Cubes Symbols: padlock, monster shadow, fountain, parachuting, building, crescent moon, light bulb, balance scales, eye

Woodland creature: bear – a maul of bears, a pack of bears, a sleuth of bears, a sloth of bears. From all of those different collective nouns for bears, you would think there were roaming packs of bears. The only bears I’ve seen in the wild have been alone, or a mother and cubs. One of my neighbors got a picture of a lone black bear in their yard last night.

Collective nouns: a colony of herons, a flight of herons, a hedge of herons, a rookery of herons, a sedge of herons, a siege of herons, a station of herons – like with the bears, A Compendium of Collective Nouns: From an Armory of Aardvarks to a Zeal of Zebras would give the impression that herons hang out in groups, but I see a heron all the time and it doesn’t appear to have any friends. 😉

Horror trope: a dark and stormy night

Oblique Strategies: Don’t break the silence

Celtic Cross Plots:

  1. Three of coins 2. The Hierophant 3. Knight of coins 4. The Emperor 5. The fool 6. Knight of swords 7. Four of swords 8. Ten of swords 9. King of coins 10. The Empress

This plot worked for my story. It helped me flesh out some of my ideas about the image. I could see how the boy’s father and mother fit into the story and how the shadowy, tall figure influenced the boy.

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 17: Family

bokeh photography experiment with a wide angle attachment on a zoom lens

Galactic Unions photo by Maria L. Berg

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Family and the suggested form is Kyrielle.

Unbreakable Bond

Whether of birth or of choosing
Family supports and they care
Bonds there is no risk of losing
When nothing is left, they are there

There may be strain and confusion
Misunderstandings and anger
Patience will bring a reunion
When nothing is left, they are there

When times are hard, their arms are strong
When dreams achieved, they celebrate
They hold a light when nights are long
When nothing is left, they are there

 

I did some exploring online yesterday and came across this great post: Invented Poetry Forms-The ‘Lewis Carroll’ Square Poem. If you’re looking to try a new form and you like a challenge. I recommend giving it a look.

I also found some great beautiful poems to read by Paul Vincent Cannon over at parrallax.

And don’t forget the great prompts and community of poets at dVerse Poets Pub.

#Writober4

The image for Day 17 on the Pinterest board shows a comic page for Vampira. I looked on Amazon and didn’t find any Vampira comics, but I did find Vampira and Me which looks like a fabulous documentary. Vampira and Me

My take: My favorite type of horror is the horror/comedy. This image makes me think of the schlock side of horror. What kind of character could we write that might be in love with Vampira? S/he may see her as the ideal woman, even want to be her. This electric chair also makes me think of the Addams Family Values movie (to tie this to the theme of family).

Micro-fiction: How could the electricity be on? Fiona and her brother had played in this abandoned building for years. Today, she finally coaxed her bother into the chair with the creepy arm clamps and rusting helmet. There couldn’t be any electricity to that chair, but somehow, there was.

Writing Process and Tools

Over at Go Dog Go Café I found some daily writing prompts for the Halloween season inspired by Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Andersen. When you need another prompt to get those brain juices sloshing, head over to Christine’s Daily Writing Prompt.

It’s also a great way to find another book for Readers Imbibing Peril!
st.-lucys-home-for-girlsOne of the prompts is St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves  by Karen Russell. I love this cover. I’ve heard it’s good. I have Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories. Maybe I’ll reread some of those stories, at my peril.

If you’re looking for a quick warm up, there are prompts for 5 lines or less poems and stories at Patricia’s Place.

emotion: disbelief

Creepy verbs: attach, bind, affix, link, adhere

Story Cubes Symbols: hand, building, key, keyhole, light bulb, bee, balance scales, eye, magnet

Woodland creature: slug – a cornucopia of slugs

Collective noun: a pandemonium of parrots

Horror trope: genetic experiments

Oblique Strategies: Towards the insignificant

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 16: Father Time

This watch says it’s water resistant
But it wasn’t resistant forever

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Father Time and the suggested form is Blitz. I have enjoyed the blitz for in the past and Morgan’s right, it does have a bit of a running out of time, ticking clock feel to it. Let’s see what happens when I put some time into it. 😉

Time To Time

Time keeps on ticking
Time after time
Time in a bottle
Time for a change
Change your ways
Change your tune
Tune up
Tune out
Out of sight
Out of time
Time is precious
Time can tell
Tell a tall tale
Tell me a story
Story book life
Story time
Time enough for . . .
Time for work
Work at what you love
Work force
Force for good
Force for change
Change the channel
Change your mind
Mind over matter
Mind the time
Time keeps on slippin’
Time stood still
Still as a statue
Still doing time
Time flies when you’re . . .
Time crawled
Crawled under a desk
Crawled along with traffic
traffic of humans (how can humans be so horrible to each other?)
traffic stole your morning
morning glory
morning is coffee time
time is what you make it
time moves on without you
you space off
you stare out the window at the day
Day light
Day break
Break through the monotony
Break a habit a day at a time
Time to get to the point
Time marches on
On
Point

 

#Writober4

The image for Day 16 on the Pinterest board is an illustration by Russian artist Anton Semenov. It shows a blind creature with a beak holding onto an ill looking child.

My take: The cloth that I see as binding his eyes, could be a head band. What I took as nostrils could be tiny eyes. Though, at first impression, I took the scissors to be a horrible old medical tool, they could be the tool of a tailor and that changes the narrative of the child from being ill to perhaps being an over-worked apprentice.

Micro-fiction: I don’t remember how I came to be the tailor’s apprentice. Maybe she found me in the rubble when I lost my parents. Now I follow her, walking the grimy, sticky streets until my feet bleed. The smells of death in the thick air cling. When we find them, she shows me the delicate stitches, the careful way to hold the edges together. For now, I tie the knots.

Writing Process and Tools

Read to get inspired: This morning I found this great list to links to flash fiction stories at Lit Hub: 11 Very Short Stories You Must Read Immediately. It’s a good list with links to famous flash pieces. I enjoyed it.

For further reading,Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories from Around the World is an intriguing collection of stories from around the world. John Dufresne, whose books on writing are always good, wrote FLASH!: Writing the Very Short Story which is full of good examples. I wrote a review of the book a while back.

Today’s emotion: Nostalgia

Creepy verbs: attack, onslaught, outbreak, raid, invasion, intrusion

Story Cubes Symbols: lightning bolt, sheep, fish, key, airplane, monster shadow, thought bubble, bridge, postcard

Woodland creature: rat – a horde of rats, a pack of rats, a rabble of rats, a swarm of rats

Collective nouns: a rumba of rattlesnakes, a lock of hair

Horror trope: zombies

Oblique Strategies: Don’t be afraid of things because they are easy to do

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 15: Mother May I

under a sheet

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Mother May I. And the poetry form suggested is a Ballad. “Mother May I” makes me think of a domineering, strict mother. Definitely something for a Halloween themed poem.

She Keeps Me Digging

Refrain:
Dig a hole, a deeper hole
Oh, Mother, Mother may I?
This time I doubt the dirt will hide
Your dark deeds though we may try

I dug until my back would break
that first time I split this earth
You hovered over with that shaming sneer
I shrunk in the shadow of your girth

I dug until my blisters split
the second time was harder
I hit some rocks and up one flew
You locked me in the larder

Refrain

I dug with an aching, heavy heart
knowing love’s sweet kiss
I knew the danger, but couldn’t stop
That day you hovered in bliss

The yard is getting lumpy
I find it hard to mow
It’s strange how no one notices
as your violent temper grows

Refrain

My hands are quite arthritic
I can barely hold the handle
But the truth it must come to light
Someday, I’ll hold the candle.

 

#Writober4

We’re just about half done with Writober 2019. Hard to believe. As usual, I have fallen behind, but yesterday I sent in my final story for The Writer’s Games and November’s planner pages are almost done, so this week will be a good time to catch up. How are your stories coming along? I hope you’re having a lot of creepy fun.

The image for Day 15 on the Pinterest board is one of my photographs. It shows a body under a sheet surrounded by evidence markers.

My take:. The story question here is: what happened to make emergency services abandon this site in the middle of processing it and the surrounding seen? Did the monster that killed the person return? Were they all abducted by aliens? Where did everybody go?

Micro-fiction: Detective Lisa Murray bent over the body. She was about to lift the sheet when she shivered with cold. She looked up. The sun still pushed through the trees. She heard a voice. “Excuse me, ma’am. I must ask you to order everyone off my property. Hurry now, please.” A man spoke clearly in her ear, but the closest person was ten feet away. “It’s me, Fred. The dead guy. I want to go to the light but I need all of you to clear the area. Now! There’s deadly gas coming up from underground. Get out of here!”

The detective stood up and ushered people out of the yard. When they were a safe distance away, she tossed a match. Fred had not been wrong. “Thanks Fred,” she said as she watched him burn. No need for forensics. She knew how he died.

Writing Process and Tools

dictionary.com’s word of the day is flagitious adj.

1. shamefully wicked, as persons, actions, or times.
2. heinous or flagrant, as a crime; infamous.
That’s a great word for our story today.
Today’s emotion: loneliness ( the story, or character)

Creepy verbs: belittle, discredit, disparage, blister, roast, squash

Story Cubes Symbols: postcard, arrow (down-left), airplane, magnifying glass, arrow (bow and arrow), shooting star, magnet, drama masks

Woodland creature: cougar

I had some fun with collective nouns yesterday. I have this great book A Compendium of Collective Nouns by Woop Studios. It’s a beautiful book full of lovely graphic art illustrations. Let’s see what it says for cougar. It didn’t have anything specific for cougar, so I went to cats. With a kitty on my legs, I would probably say there’s a comfort of cats (if there were more than one), but if there were a bunch of strays staring through my window, I might say there was a glaring of cats, or if they had recently torn up my couch and curtains, I might say I had a destruction of cats.

Collective nouns are fun. I wrote a couple posts about them if you want to read more. For our story today, I’m going to open to a random page and choose a collective noun.

Collective noun: a hotbed of quilts

Horror trope: ghosts

Oblique Strategies: Reverse

 

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

I hope you’re having a lot of fun with your flash fiction and poetry.

#Writober Day 14: Mother Earth

lillly pad#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Mother Earth.

Mother earth → Earth mother

Mother earth
Earth mother
Plentiful creator
dark and warm
deep and cool
I rock onto my heels
then back to my toes
which curl into the dirt
I feel her → squishy
I feel her → grit
I am grounded
but will I sprout

#Writober4

The image for Day 14 on the Pinterest board shows a giant clown with an axe coming down from an attic into a living room with a family sitting, probably watching TV.

My take: This image is so creepy. I know it’s a perspective trick, but that clown looks huge.

Micro-fiction: Samantha was having a great time watching Charlie’s Angels with her family when the screaming started.

Writing Process and Tools

Today’s emotion: Regret

Creepy verbs: abuse, corrupt, offend, misuse, pervert, wrong

Story Cubes Symbols: eye, magic wand, cane, die (dice), arrow, sheep, arrows in all directions, flashlight, question mark

Woodland creature: coyote

Horror trope: serial killers

Oblique Strategies: Tidy up

 

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

#Writober Day 13: Hugging a tree

Tree eating military gravestone

photograph by Maria L. Berg 2017

#OctPoWriMo

Today’s OctPoWriMo theme is Hugging a tree. I took the picture above in an old military cemetery outside of Orting, WA. The giant fir has grown completely around the headstone in an eternal hug.

To get the full experience, I went out in the yard and hugged a couple trees. The first was a large fir. The second, a deciduous, I wasn’t sure of, so I did a search. I found a great tool on the Arbor Day Foundation website for Tree Identification. I think I’ll be playing with that a lot!

Here’s my attempt at a Rondeau:

Fresh, Calming Air

I breathe deeply, searching for the smell
of the large fir, bark sharp like broken shells
which seems to part to fit my cheek and core
but I sense not scent only cool air galore
I decide to hold on for a spell

Another tree in this yard does dwell
A canyon maple I now can tell
Bent limbs like arms of one I adore
I breathe deeply

I do not mean to undersell
for fresh, calming air no parallel
but I worry that I will want more
And there are things I must do indoors
What happens next I cannot foretell
I breathe deeply

 

#Writober4

The image for Day 13 on the Pinterest board shows a young man and woman standing in fitting coffins on either side of an empty child-size coffin. They wear bright colors, red and white but are shrouded in fog.

My take: Either some death obsessed young adults are planning to have a child, which is an odd contradiction and conflict, or this poor couple has recently lost a child and while planning  the child’s funeral, they made a murder suicide pact and organized their funerals while they were at it.

Micro-fiction: Harlan and Sarah’s neighbor made coffins that had always had an odd, morbid appeal. When they arrived to pick up their son’s coffin and saw the coffins on either side would fit them each perfectly, they silently agreed to take all three. Now, they only had to discuss how and who would be the suicide.

Writing Process and Tools

Plot and form: Yesterday, while reading more about flash fiction, I came across some form articles by Kathy Fish. This one is about Segmented Story Structure.

Today’s emotion: Depression { not you, the story 😉 }

Creepy verbs: agitate, concern, worry,  alienate, estrange

Story Cubes Symbols: house, scarab, airplane, magic wand, pyramid, question mark, volcano, drama masks, alien

Woodland creature: mouse

Horror trope: premonitions

Oblique Strategies: Be extravagant

 

Happy Reading and Writing!