Tag: ffwc

Welcome to Week 20 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Estate

This was a fun one! I thought about all the different types of estate: money, land, housing estates, cars (in the UK station wagons are called estate cars), and inheritance. I opted for a mix of land and money—rich bad guy. This time, I decided to play around with the first kiss in a romance story. It was an enjoyable challenge trying to get across the fact that these two have a thing for each other, and haven’t acted on it, in only 250 words.

I’m happy with the result, and I’d love to play around with these characters again in the future. But for now, here’s my response to the challenge prompt:

Kelly stumbled over another tree root. A thick blanket of leaves made it almost impossible to see the root tendrils snaking across the forest floor. Just as she was getting up, Declan dove for her, throwing an arm over her waist.

Declan tilted his chin, motioning over her head. “Kavanaugh’s men are patroling up ahead.” The heat of Declan’s breath against her ear was doing a number on her determination to remain immune to him.

“What are they doing so far from the main house?” She risked a glance in the direction he’d indicated—anything to distract from the closeness of him. Armed men walked about thirty feet away from where they lay hidden in a hollow in the ground.

“Maybe Kavanaugh caught wind of our plan.”

“I doubt it, he’d have the house buttoned up, not three miles outside the estate grounds.”

Declan smiled at her, and her stomach flipped like it wasn’t supposed to do. “Admit it, you miss this life.”

“Absolutely not.”

That stomach-flipping smile grew into a grin. “You still can’t lie for shit, Kel.”

He was right, and she had nothing to refute it with. Instead, she pulled leaves from his hair. 

Touching him was a mistake.

His eyes darkened, surely mirroring her own. She should move, keep some distance between them, but she couldn’t.

Declan rolled her so that they were face-to-face. “If you keep looking at me like that—”

Kelly tugged him close and kissed him like she’d wanted to all those years ago.

Well, that’s it for me. I’m off to get some baking done, and then feet up for some Psych. Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic weekend!

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the word; just write about it for a maximum of twenty-five minutes or 250 words.
2. Once you complete your sprint, give it some basic editing.
3. Be courageous and post your results to your blog.

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.

Welcome to Week 19 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Shopping

As hobbies and pastimes go, shopping is not on my list. It’s more of a need to do than a like to do. 

With that out of the way. I decided to play around with a “meet cute” for my response. If you’re not familiar with a meet cute, it’s a screenwriting term for how the hero and heroine in a romance/story with a romance subplot meet.

Here’s my response:

Natalie stepped onto the elevator of the prestigious Astoria building on West Ave. The whole bus ride there, she’d berated herself for not telling her boss to pick up his own shit from his brother’s place. It was bad enough that she had to get three buses to get there, but having to walk past all those stores where even window shopping was out of her price range was too much. 

“What floor?”

Natalie jumped. How had she not seen him? It’s not like he didn’t stand out with those ice-blue eyes or his simple, tailored shirt and jeans. “Penthouse, please.”

He hit the button for her requested floor and leaned against the wall. His eyes slid over her, lingering at her shoes. “Who sent you?”

Was it really that obvious that she didn’t belong here? “None of your business.”

“Considering I’m the only person who lives up there, it actually is my business.”

Crap. “Mr. Deaver, I’m Natalie Cross. Anton said he told you I was coming.”

Relief seemed to wash over the man. “You can’t be too careful.” He held out his hand to shake hers. “Call me Evan.”

Warmth radiated from where their hands met all the way up to her face. She pulled her hand from his like he was contagious. This man was a complication she didn’t need. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked up. The access panel in the ceiling was open. What the hell?

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic weekend!

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the word; just write about it for a maximum of twenty-five minutes or 250 words.
2. Once you complete your sprint, give it some basic editing.
3. Be courageous and post your results to your blog.

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.

Welcome to Week 18 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Airport

For some reason this was a tough one. I went through three different scenarios before I went with the one below. It’s difficult to write a suspense/action scene set in an airport—with all the security etc. Every idea I had involved a gun, or a chase… Not very believeable in this day and age.

So, I opted for the scene below:

The car swerved again. 

Maddie crossed her arms over her head before she slammed into the side. The driver certainly didn’t give a damn that she was in the trunk.

She’d already searched for the trunk release, but the car was too old to have one. Her abductor was smart. Though, maybe not that smart.

A spark of hope twinkled to life in her chest. The spare tire. Maddie scooted back and tugged the edge of the carpet toward her. On top of the spare was a tire iron.

Ha. Maddie’s abductor wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. Not that she’d seen him in the longterm parking out by the airport. But the woodsy cologne told her that it was a man. He’d been smart on his choice of car, but he hadn’t thought to remove the tire iron.

Buoyed by her find, Maddie removed the panel covering the left light cluster and scrunched into the opposite corner. She aimed the tire iron at the exposed lights and punched until it was gone.

The car screeched to a halt, then rocked as the driver got out.

Maddie’s heart drummed so loud she couldn’t hear if the driver was heading her way. But common sense told her to be prepared. She gripped the tire iron, ready to beat the shit out of whoever this guy was. The trunk opened. Before she could swing, the man disarmed her.

“You’re going to get us killed,” he said.

“Kurt? What the fuck?”

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the word; just write about it for a maximum of 250 words.
2. Once you complete your sprint, give it some basic editing.
3. Be courageous and post your results to your blog.

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.

Welcome to Week 16 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Crime

I’m not going to post my response to the challenge today. I ran out of time—got sucked into outlining DU2—and I’m really hungry. So, I’m off to have my dinner (pizza, pizza, pizza). I’ll update this post with my response over the weekend.

Update:

Here’s my response to the prompt (basic editing):

“Next,” the teller called from behind his counter.

Veronica smoothed the crumpled withdrawal slip between her clammy hands, then slid it to the man. She shifted from foot-to-foot, waiting for the inevitable.

The bland smile on the man’s face evaporated, his brows knitting together. He glanced from the slip to her face and back again, then let out a loud bark of laughter. “You’re shitting me, right?”

Anger gathered in her chest like a violent storm. Everything had fallen apart. Heath had told her he’d be here with her, that they’d save her sister together. And like a lovesick idiot, she’d believed him, trusted him—until she woke alone.

The teller must have seen something in her face that told him she was deadly serious because he moved his hand toward the silent alarm. But, before Veronica could threaten him, his eyes grew wide, then narrowed, and a smug little smile tugged at his lips.

The small hairs on Veronica’s neck prickled. She reached into her purse, frantically searching around for Heath’s gun.

“It’s over, Sweetheart.” Heath gripped her searching hand and turned her to face him.

Betrayal landed like a sucker-punch as the man who’d been her partner-in-crime cuffed her. The only thing she could focus on was the detective’s shield hanging around his neck. “You’ve killed her.”

Heath guided her out of the bank into the side alley. He leaned his forehead against hers and let out a long breath. “We found her. She’s safe.”

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the word; just write about it for a maximum of twenty-five minutes or 250 words.
2. Once you complete your sprint, give it some basic editing.
3. Be courageous and post your results to your blog.

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.

Welcome to post #15 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Hope

Before I sat down to work on the challenge, I toyed around with what hope is. How could I use it in a piece of fiction? To be honest, I stalled for a bit. I was tempted to cheat and have a character called Hope, or name a street Hope Street.

Alas, I thought about a character hoping beyond hope that they’d make it somewhere on time. With that in my head, I sat down and got to work.

Here’s my sprint (basic editing):

Welcome to prompt 14 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Goal

I had a slight panic attack when the generator spat out this week’s word. I’ve been struggling with setting concrete character story goals for book two of the Deniable Unit (DU) series this past week—had two competing plots in the outline. Aargh! And, when I saw goal, it felt like someone/something was messing with me.

When I finally got over my freak out, I got to work on the challenge. I forced myself not to write anything sports-related—mainly because I’m not into sport. I decided to play around with the outing of a character’s secret goal.

Welcome to Week 13 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Texture

Last week I changed the challenge rules, thinking it would make it a bit more fun. Yeah, thanks Susan of the past. Wow, was it tough.

The tough part wasn’t so much coming up with something for the word, it was the trying to keep it under 250 words.

But, I did manage to get it there. Maybe I had to cut a hundred words here and there to make it fit. Maybe I tore my hair out just a little bit. But I did get there.

So, here’s my response to the challenge (basic editing):

Abby crouched on the dusty floor of the crude subterranean chamber and delicately brushed away the debris on the slab before her. It was magnificent. The history, the artistry, the beauty.

Sir Laurence-Bett’s cane clicked as he paced behind her, his impatience echoing around the chamber. “You’ll authenticate it?”

She traced her fingers along the edge of the ancient stone tablet. “I need to inspect it, then there’s carbon dating…” There was something off with it, the texture was all wrong. Coarse where it should be smooth, crisp carvings where they should be worn. The stone was ancient, but the working of it wasn’t.

Alarm bells sounded in her head. The tablet was a fake—a damn good one—and she’d been too eager to see it before anyone else. So eager, she hadn’t bothered to tell Jason about it.

“You’ll authenticate it now,” he said from behind her, causing her to jump. It wasn’t a question.

Abby forced her breathing back under control. Panicking wasn’t going to help her. She needed to get out of there. Think, think, think. If she could just get past him, she had a chance to lose him in the maze of tunnels leading to the surface. She surreptitiously scooped up some dust from the floor and stood. “I’ll sign whatever you want.”

The man smiled at her. “Good girl.”

Abby steeled herself then threw the dust into his eyes. She sprinted down the nearest tunnel.

“Bitch!” The word echoed behind her.

Thanks for reading! And feel free to join in. Have a great weekend.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the word; just write about it for a maximum of twenty-five minutes or 250 words.
2. Once you complete your sprint, give it some basic editing.
3. Be courageous and post your results to your blog.

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.

Welcome to Week 11 of the Friday Fiction Writing Challenge! Here’s a complete list of all the posts so far. Feel free to join in.

This week’s random word is: Prescription

Before I started the five-minute sprint, I had no idea of where I was going to go with the word prescription. There are the old cliches relating to broken hearts, but I wanted to do something different. Though, I had no clue what that different was. So, I had to trust that my inner chimp would come up with something. (If you haven’t read The Chimp Paradox, give it a try, it could change your life)

Here’s the (unedited) sprint:

Kirk held himself as still as possible. He couldn’t help Lori. Blowing his cover now would get them both killed.
Anton tilted his head, observing the woman. “Tell me, what do I do to thieves?” He didn’t wait for her answer before turning to Kirk. “Get me the bag.”
Kirk forced his limbs to move. The last thing he wanted to do was get that bag; it contained Anton’s prescription for dealing with those who wronged him. He grabbed the bag from the other side of the warehouse and handed it to Anton.
Lori lifted her chin, her eyes shining and defiant in her tear-streaked face. “Fuck. You. Anton.”
Shit.

I’ve got to give it to my inner chimp. I like the above sprint a lot. It’s definitely going to be a jumping-off point for a story for me. I’m not going to do another sprint from this text for two reasons: (1) I really do like it and (2) forcing another sprint when I’m happy with what I have takes the fun out of the challenge.

With that, I’ll wish you a fantastic weekend. Until next week. Thanks for reading.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Don’t think too hard on the noun; just write about it for five minutes.
2. Once the five minutes are up, walk away for about five/ten minutes.
3. Now, come back to the text and re-read it,
4. Pick out something that piques your interest and write about that for five minutes.
5. Be courageous and post your results to your blog. (Both sets of writing sessions or just the one, it’s up to you.)

RULES

1. Complete the challenge on your blog before 1700 UTC of the following Friday.
2. Link to the original prompt post and make sure to use the tag Genre Scribes so that we can see all the posts together in WP Reader.
3. Your text must be fiction (preferably one you publish in (or plan to).
4. No real-life stories.
5. The text can be dialogue, an interior monologue, a scene, flash fiction, anything… so long as it’s fiction.

Full information is on the Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge page.