Blodeuedd, Jackie, and I were big fans of Flash Fiction Friday a while back. We participated in these every week, having a new short story to share every Friday. Then life happened. We got busy with so much going on. Along with the image protection of artists that slowed us in getting images to inspire. (Note: we are fans of artists getting recognition. We love their images and feel inspired ourselves from them.)
Now fast forward months, maybe even a year. We miss it. We want to do Flash Fiction again and we came about to doing it.
We will do flash fiction posts every two weeks, give or take due to holiday's and such. We are starting today with the first Flash Fiction. I will post my complete story here. Jackie will add the beginning and a link to her flash fiction on her Live Journal. Blodeuedd will be posting on her blog.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Ax's Call
By: Melissa L. Hayden
As the moon drifted behind clouds and the gaseous fog thickened, Ax tilted her head back causing the heavy hood to slide from her pale face, granting Ax a wider view of the dark street. She flexed her fingers, keeping the irritation of waiting from tightening her grip on her specially crafted crossbows.
Ax blinked three times. Knowing she should lower her hood, she didn't. She needed to put the call out. The towns people weren't her worry. If anyone saw her eyes from their barred windows they'd think they were glow stones at their neighbors, or some poor soul lost to the gases. The humans stayed in at night due to the thick fogs, it was safest, but once in a while there were those that lost their minds to the gases.
She hadn't heard of any lost to the gases here, but she'd not gone looking for those tales. The rumors of this town's horrors hit her ears three days prior and she wasted no time arriving, then out to hunting.
Ax turned, her metal crafted crossbows at the ready, to the sound of nails scraping on metal and stone. He was close and on the move.
Ax moved with her back to the wall, grateful she oiled the hinges in her armor after last night's fruitless search. Even though it didn't come to her last night, she'd left a trail for it. And it was baited. She needn't move far, it'd come to her. Ax felt her lips stretch across her teeth, she lived for these moments. This is what she was created for.
She saw the shine of her eyes flaring brighter off the swirling gases. Ax then noted the sudden shift of the mist. She steered the even weight of her crossbows into the mist moving toward her. Squeezing the trigger of one bow while coiling tension tightened in her other trigger finger, as the next spiced arrow of the first bow slipped into place.
Ax felt her heart jump at the wail of the beast. She widened her eyes, looking into the mist, drawing the evil to her, calling it with her glowing eyes.
The scrapping of nails and pounding of its feet answered her call. They always came to the glowing eyes of a potential mate. It would find no mate here. A fight for dominance, yes. But Ax would win, for she is the ax.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bird's Eye
by Jackie Lester
Kara stood with her back to the gate. Her senses were already heightened, now even more so since initiating the connection with Breen, her crow. Her normally hazel coloured eyes blazed with a light so bright, it blocked everything in front of her. It was always a little disorienting at first but she quickly adjusted to her new vantage point, looking over the town through the eyes of her bird.
To keep reading, click here: Bird's Eye
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Writing Update - March
Melissa:
Well, I had a goal of 20,000 words for the month. That seems to be my normal goal these days. The month started off slow for me. I didn't get to really sit down and write until Saturday 15th. And when I did I started off with over 5,000 words. Then Sunday I added another 1,700 words. The weekend was just shy of 7,000 words by 72. Shame. I should have sat down to get those 72 words. But that got me on a roll as I'm coming down the pike to the end of Christmas Spirit.
It's like an adrenaline rush when you are coming down those last words, even if it is about 22k. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it feels damn proud to be approaching it. All that work, hell ya! I'm sprinting toward it. I want to see those two little words typed on the page. The End.
The month closed with me totaling out words at.... 20,001!
Yes, I broke the 20k I wanted, barely. lol. The sweet thing, I got to write The End. However, the bad news, it was about 5k short of the 70k I wanted. It's okay. I know. It'll add up when I get to re-writes, but I was sort of hoping, and looking forward too, seeing 70k. But, it's done and shelved. I'll go back to it later and see how I feel about it.
I picked up Jayda's story. Ga! Is that a mess. I didn't realize how bad it was until now. But, started tearing it apart. I'm re-writing things to different areas. Important to remember, SHOW, not Tell. And I'm trying to fix that now.
Total words for March: 20,001
Christmas Spirit: 17,871
Jayda's story: 2,130
Jackie:
For me, March was about wrapping up my Creative Writing course and finally doing the re-writes as suggested by the teacher. I had gotten decent grades throughout the term, so I didn't want to mess with them too much. The last assignment was a portfolio to be handed in, worth 40% of my final mark but a second copy was needed to apply for entrance into the Creative Writing major or minor program. I've applied to add the CW minor to my degree but won't find out until late May/ early June if I'm accepted. Either way, I'm glad I actually applied. It forced another big step in the process of showing my work to others. All applicants are assessed by the members of the CW department, so it means more people seeing what I wrote and determining its worth. I have to admit, that's kind of scary. Whatever happens, at least I tried, right?
In pulling the portfolio together, it meant looking for any possible themes in my work or perhaps a recurring tone, etc. This was a bit eye opening for me because I mostly enjoy writing with a bit of humour but noticed that my school work tended to hit on human emotions and experiences. In fact, I think it all was a bit sad in the end though I believe the work wasn't totally without hope either. Still, I felt it wasn't a true reflection of what I'm capable of, particularly in light of my larger NaNo drafts, so I did manage to add in a couple of pieces that lightened the overall mood of my portfolio and added the levity I prefer to write with. It will be interesting to see what comments I receive back on these works and the portfolio as a whole, but I have to wait until the and of April. Cue the nail biting...
Now, it's time for me to get back to those first drafts I have and see if all that I've learned can make them into finished works worth sending out for query. That's my plan, at least where to start, going into April. Hopefully I can join Melissa in a word count celebration by the end of next month :)
Well, I had a goal of 20,000 words for the month. That seems to be my normal goal these days. The month started off slow for me. I didn't get to really sit down and write until Saturday 15th. And when I did I started off with over 5,000 words. Then Sunday I added another 1,700 words. The weekend was just shy of 7,000 words by 72. Shame. I should have sat down to get those 72 words. But that got me on a roll as I'm coming down the pike to the end of Christmas Spirit.
It's like an adrenaline rush when you are coming down those last words, even if it is about 22k. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it feels damn proud to be approaching it. All that work, hell ya! I'm sprinting toward it. I want to see those two little words typed on the page. The End.
The month closed with me totaling out words at.... 20,001!
Yes, I broke the 20k I wanted, barely. lol. The sweet thing, I got to write The End. However, the bad news, it was about 5k short of the 70k I wanted. It's okay. I know. It'll add up when I get to re-writes, but I was sort of hoping, and looking forward too, seeing 70k. But, it's done and shelved. I'll go back to it later and see how I feel about it.
I picked up Jayda's story. Ga! Is that a mess. I didn't realize how bad it was until now. But, started tearing it apart. I'm re-writing things to different areas. Important to remember, SHOW, not Tell. And I'm trying to fix that now.
Total words for March: 20,001
Christmas Spirit: 17,871
Jayda's story: 2,130
Jackie:
For me, March was about wrapping up my Creative Writing course and finally doing the re-writes as suggested by the teacher. I had gotten decent grades throughout the term, so I didn't want to mess with them too much. The last assignment was a portfolio to be handed in, worth 40% of my final mark but a second copy was needed to apply for entrance into the Creative Writing major or minor program. I've applied to add the CW minor to my degree but won't find out until late May/ early June if I'm accepted. Either way, I'm glad I actually applied. It forced another big step in the process of showing my work to others. All applicants are assessed by the members of the CW department, so it means more people seeing what I wrote and determining its worth. I have to admit, that's kind of scary. Whatever happens, at least I tried, right?
In pulling the portfolio together, it meant looking for any possible themes in my work or perhaps a recurring tone, etc. This was a bit eye opening for me because I mostly enjoy writing with a bit of humour but noticed that my school work tended to hit on human emotions and experiences. In fact, I think it all was a bit sad in the end though I believe the work wasn't totally without hope either. Still, I felt it wasn't a true reflection of what I'm capable of, particularly in light of my larger NaNo drafts, so I did manage to add in a couple of pieces that lightened the overall mood of my portfolio and added the levity I prefer to write with. It will be interesting to see what comments I receive back on these works and the portfolio as a whole, but I have to wait until the and of April. Cue the nail biting...
Now, it's time for me to get back to those first drafts I have and see if all that I've learned can make them into finished works worth sending out for query. That's my plan, at least where to start, going into April. Hopefully I can join Melissa in a word count celebration by the end of next month :)
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