Lipstick Party

As Melissa walked toward the porch, she glanced at the invitation again. She had no idea what Helen had planned.

December 31
Starting at 9 pm
New Year's Lipstick Party

Tuesday: Three Word Salad

Smorgasbord

Rain

Commons

Monday Manhandling

"Right or wrong, it's very pleasant to break something from time to time. -Fedor Dostoevski

Sunday Funday

Well, at least it'd make a good white elephant gift....

Unpleasant Present

Why is my present wet?

Tuesday Prompt

"The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend." - Artistotle

Monday Monsters

(by Amelia, as posted on The Post-It Project)

Sunday Funday

She added one last thing to her Christmas list. It was a long shot, but she'd been pretty good this year....

Waiting

I sat at my father's desk, tapping a pencil along the edge like he used to. Ta-ta-ta-ta-click. That's when my life changed.

Tuesday Charm

"Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question." - Albert Camus

Monday Maffle*

"What are you doing here?"


* to cause to become confused or bewildered - from Worthless Word for the Day

Sunday Funday

It was an absolute disaster.

Friday Funkday

It was a simple lock. For such an intricate box--plated in gold, way heavier than its size indicated--the lock was far too simple. Like it was asking to be opened.

Snow

"What is snow?" she asked. I started to realize that running away into the city wasn't going to work so well with a new emigre out of south Florida. Or, as she put it, North Cuba.

Tuesday Prompt

Monday Misdirection

"I think someone must have tampered with my GPS."

Sunday Funday

"What did you do to my hair?"

Friday Funkday

"Anywhere?" I asked again. "You're sure about that?"

"I swear, if you go out with me, I'll take you anywhere."

Hm... this had possibilities.

The End of Saucy Saturday

Remember this Lambo police car? Well, the worst has happened. You tell the story.

And the Winner Is:

Thank you all for participating in our Flashy Drawing for November!

The winner chosen by random selection* is...

Girl With One Eye

GWOE, please either email me at lightverse (at) corkydogproductions (dot) com so that I have your email address or leave it in the comments. I'll get your $20 Amazon gift certificate over to you ASAP.

I know this was a crazy month, what with NaNoWriMo and the Chapbook Challenge at Poetic Asides (among other writing fun and games) so I hope you had a lot joy in writing to our terrific prompts.

Thanks for all the awesome flashies, youse guys (and yes, you rock!) Can't wait to see what goodies you pen next during the month of December.

*All your entries got dumped into a shoe box, but a nice, clean, non-stinky shoebox. An UGG shoebox, if you want specifics. I even removed the silica gel packs first.

Tuesday Reminder

Monday Monochromes

"Turn off the camera."

Sunday Post

I look at the beautician. "Chop it all off."

One Month

My brother did a little jig-slash-breakdance in the aisle. One month until Christmas and he was already almost peeing himself in excitement.

But he had forgotten the deal we made in January.

Three Word Salad

Disco

Candle

Progress

Monday Monikers

"You know, they invented a word for guys like him."

-The Book of Matches

Sunday Funday

All of the lights went out.

Friday Funkday

"You're late."
"I swear, I have a good excuse!"
"You'd better. You've got three seconds to explain."

Pipes

The network of pipes shuddered over our heads.

"Jillian, I don't think I can go any farther."

Tuesday Prompt

Musical Monday

"...Then she swung upside down from a glass chandelier,
I couldn't have liked it more."

- from I've Been to a Marvellous Party - by Noel Coward

Sunday Funday

I look at him. "Look. We have to end this. We're over."

"Why?" he asks, pouting.

I check my watch. "Um, in about four minutes you're going to want to eat my brains."

Snake Eyes

My father claimed I was bad luck.
Said the single mole on the back of each hand was a sign.
Called me Snake Eyes.

Tuesday Prompt

Monday MeetUps

Source: Flickr/artcphoto

Sunday Funday

I stared at the cat. "Did you just talk?"

It stared back. "No."

Friday Funkday

I looked sideways, sleep still threatening to drag me back under. Wait... does that say 9:30???

Dang it! I sat up, pushing my hair away from my face and scrambled out of bed. The note said to be there on time. I paused in front of the mirror, my face a little swollen, my pajamas far from presentable.

It definitely said don't be late. But more important than that; it said it would change my life...

Black Sheep

The cellphone in the dead woman's purse dinged.

A text message.

"SRSLY? A blk shp? WTF?"

Tuesday Prompt - Three World Salad

Arcade

Rumor

Beast

Monday Misunderstandings and Misgivings

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have something to tell you that's been bothering me."

-The Writer's Book of Matches

Another Flashy Drawing coming atcha...

Since Heather had such a swell idea with the 1st Flashy Drawing, and everyone contributed such terrific stuff here - well...we thought it was so nice, we'd try it twice!

Wendy Sparrow - congrats!

Who will be our next winner?

Well, the only way to win it is to be in it. So....get ready to write more Flashy Fiction!

In case you're new - or just need to know da rules, here goes:

Here's how it works:

From now until the end of November, each time you leave a new flash in the comments I will award you an entry to the drawing. On December 1st I'll put all the entries into a hat (or something equivalent like Heather's Tupperware bowl!) and the winner will be chosen at random to receive a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

Since I personally am funding the prize, everyone is eligible including prompters.

Please remember we do not critique here. The entries are not based on your level of talent - it is solely on participation. Encouragement, praise or other comments are not eligible towards an entry, but are welcomed.

So get ready, get set - and Flash!

Sunday Funday

It was the best--and worst--night of my life.

Friday Funkday

I looked between the costumes that Maddie was holding up. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Witch or Devil?"

"They look the same." I shrugged. Then I glanced down at my own costume. Could I really go to the party dressed like this??




(Happy early Halloween!)

The Wings

I don't know why they grew. Even less why they grew so low and crooked. Michelle (of course) looked more like an angel than ever with the elbows of her straight, silky-white-feathered appendages rising half a foot above her head.

Tuesday Fortune

Source

Monday Misreadings

Two Cures for Love

1. Don't see him. Don't phone or write a letter.
2. The easy way: get to know him better.

-Wendy Cope - from Comic Poems

Scary Sunday

"Careful," I warn. "I bite, you know."

Friday Funkday

I walked through the parking lot, a weird tingling on the back of neck. I gripped my keys a litle tighter. Was... was someone following me?

My paced quickened, but the closer I got to my car, the more terrified I became. I was going to run for it. Just then, someone grabbed me.

The Window

Through my fingers I could see the clouds passing my window. The electric gridwork between the panes of glass ensured my safety. Or maybe theirs.

Wanted on a Tuesday

Photo found on stock.xchng

Mondayne Monday

"There are several possible answers to that question."

-The Book of Matches

Scary Sunday

A black cat crossed my path.

Friday Funkday

I took off the hat. The pointy top was making my face look chubby.

"If you're going to be a witch for Halloween," my mother said. "You should really wear the hat."

I turned to her. "Uh, I'm already a witch every day and you don't see me running around with a broomstick, do you? I really don't think we should play into stereotypes by wearing ridiculous costumes."

But really, the hat just made my face look chubby.

fable

Hans and Greta opened a bakery and bar called the Witching Hour.

Tuesday Prompt

Stock photo via stock.xchng

Monday Malevolence

"It's always the quiet ones, you know."

-from The Book of Matches

Sunday Post

"Were you bitten?" he asks.

I hesitate.

Friday Funkday

My fingers were shaking and I shoved them into the pockets of my coat. She wasn't here yet. I glanced over my shoulder and wondered what would happen if she didn't show. I wondered if I'd be able to stay alive if I didn't get it. Then across the street, I saw her get out of a cab.

Showtime.

Good luck.

John turned my horseshoe upside down. The luck fell out and that's why we're in this predicament.

Tuesday Prompt - Three Word Salad

Dinosaur

Unlabeled

Hotel

Monday Misunderstandings and Misgivings

"That will come back to haunt you."

-from The Writer's Book of Matches

Sunday Funday

"One seat left," the bus driver said. "It's yours if you want it."

Hoard

His room reminded me of a magpie's hoard I stumbled across. Everything cheap and worthless and eye-catching. How could he even get through this mess?

Tuesday Prompt

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." - Harry S. Truman

Monday Misguidance

"Okay, I paid the twenty bucks. What do the cards say?"

-from The Writer's Book of Matches

Sunday Funday

This was it. The last freaking straw. I couldn't live in this dump another day.

images from http://www.freeimages.co.uk.

Friday Funkday

When Ronnie got us backstage passes, I thought it was going to be the best night ever! I sure as hell didn't expect THIS!

Clever

"You're a sneaking fox. I hate you!" Christine slammed her bedroom door.

Tuesday Prompt

Photo found on Flickr.

Monday Maelstrom

"Either you tell him, or I will."

Sunday Funday

Image from http://www.freeimages.co.uk

Friday Funkday

My mouth ran dry. "You don't think..." I stop and stare. "Cursed? You think this is cursed?"

House Painting

Susan was perched at the top of the ladder, using a tiny brush to get the edges. John had a wicked idea.

Tuesday Prompt

Photo found on Flickr

Monday Musings

If a metaphor
were sufficient,
I would think of mist today
as a silent woman...


- from The Mist by Lois Marie Harrod

Sunday

http://freeimages.co.uk

Friday Funkday

I've always been afraid of water, not really the water, sinking and then drowning in it.
"Come on," she says. "Get in."
I stare at the small boat and swallow hard. And then I carefully take one foot off the dock.

Gimme three words

Gold

King

Foiled

Tuesday Prompt

"The human heart likes a little disorder in its geometry." - Louis de Bernieres

Monday Muse

...We never think about landmarks.
Or if we do
we want them to be
the way that waves are.
Distorting shape and form.
Always of interest.

- from Person With A Mask On by Rochelle Ratner

Sunday Funday

In two minutes, she'd be here.

Image from freeimages.co.uk

Friday Funkday

My face was on fire as I stood there staring down at my sandals. It wasn't like I was completely unprepared for my first kiss--I just didn't expect it to happen like this.

Climbing

She waited for him to reach the top of the ladder, a rose in his hand.

Tuesday Prompt - Three Word Salad

Potato

Blur

Phone

Monday Musings

"There are no whole truths; all truths are half- truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil." - Alfred North Whitehead

Sunday Post

image from freeimages.co.uk

Friday Funkday

I stood behind the booth, staring at the make-shift counter and waiting for the next guy in line. When I heard him shuffle up, I raised my eyes and gasped. It was him. Oh my God.

He smiled. "Five dollars for a kiss, right?"

In the darkness

Crawling on a tightrope,
the bravest thing I have is hope

Tuesday Prompt

The setting: post office.

An object: wanted poster.

Monster Truck Monday

"There are two ways to pass a hurdle: leaping over or plowing through... There needs to be a monster truck option." - Jeph Jacques

Sunday Funday

Dear Mom,

I'm really, really sorry for what happened last night....

Friday Funkday

No one had ever told me the right things to say. So when I stood in front of my best friend's casket and looked down, I was frozen. But I knew what I really wanted to tell her... that it was my fault.

Gastronome

Habanero chicken wings
Vanilla bean ice cream
Antacid

Tuesday Prompt - Scrabble Love

Found on Flickr

Monday Musings

(Photo courtesy of Weirdomatic.)

Sunday Funday

I stare at the ticket. "Harold," I say, quietly. "You've won."

He runs his shaking hand through his thin blond hair. "Yeah. But I can't turn it in."

"Why?"

He looks away.

Right of Passage

Jeremy clutched the passport, knowing his way should be clear. A new country, a clean start. If only Vanessa hadn't tried to stop him.

Tuesday Prompt - 3 Word Salad

Night

Moose

Pan

Monday Madness

Photo courtesy of NYNerd

LOL Sunday Prompt

Friday Funkday

Ted stepped onto the sagging cabin porch and straight into a wall of funk.
"Holy Smacks, what is that smell?"

Tuesday Prompt - Broken Beers

Found on Flickr

Monday Muse

"...My playhouse is underneath
Our house, & I hear people
Telling each other secrets."

from Venus's-flytraps by Yusef Komunyakaa

Sunday Prompt

Friday Funkday

I waited. My eyes darted around the room, but the phone kept ringing. No one else was here to answer it, but I had a feeling I knew who it was. Even the ring sounded anxious. I exhaled loudly and picked it up, pressing it to my ear.

"Hello?"

A Dream?

Sleep this time tonight. Sleepwalk in the light.

Tuesday Prompt - 3 Word Salad

Dice

Forbidden

Amp

Monday Mistral

(Photo courtesy of Flickr/Phoebe Finds Beauty - 'Carry me in your dreams.')

LOL Sunday

Friday Funkday

Your converstion with a dead famous person...

Planted

Grow, grow where you are. Anchor your roots underneath.

Tuesday Prompt

Choose three things in your immediate field of vision, tell us what they are, and incorporate them into a flash piece.

Have fun!

Monday Mash-Up

(Image courtesy of flickr/Len Langevin)

Switching Seasons Sunday

Friday Funkday

I put my hand to the cool window, looking out into the rain. I was glad it was raining. The water would wash it away. Wash away what I'd done...

The Truth?

Every once in a while, I think I'm lying.

Tuesday Prompt

Doing something like this should require a cape.

Mondayne Monday

Three Word Salad ... of the Weird Kind.

quidnunc - a gossip or nosybody

agraffe - the wire cage which holds down the cork in a bottle of champagne

sitooterie - a summerhouse or gazebo

If you are curious, there is a wonderful website called Worthless Word for the Day. If it's odd, archaic, unexpected, etc., chances are, it's listed in this compendium.

Sunday Funday

"Cut the purple wire," he says, calmly.

(Image from http://freeimages.co.uk)

Friday Funkday

"Um... do you see that?"

One step forward.

We all struggle with forward motion.

Tuesday Prompt

The setting: a library.

An object: a journal.

Monday Motion

Balance...



(Photo courtesy of Flickr/KarolusLinus - Balance)

Scary Story Sunday

We gathered around the campfire.

Image from awesome site http://freeimages.co.uk

Friday Funkday - 3 Word Salad

Spiral

Brick

Whisper

July

Peter came home and found two half-swilled glasses of sweet tea sweating on the coffee table. The back windows were open and the A/C set at 64.

"Hello!?"

Tuesday Prompt

Photo via Flickr

Mystified Monday

(Courtesy Flickr/jezikalyn)

Sunday Brunch

There was just one problem: I forgot to send the invites.



(image from freeimages.co.uk)

Saturday Prompt

When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them.

~George Bernard Shaw

Friday Funkday

"Oh, no!" I snapped up and suddenly my head exploded in pain. I put my palm against my forehead and waited for the world to right itself. When I felt (somewhat) stable, I looked around. And realized I had NO IDEA where I was and what had happened last night.

Just then, the door of the room opened...

Last Chance

"We don't have to do this."

I dropped my cigarette. "You made a promise."

Tuesday Prompt - Fill in the Blank

Come on, try it. Write a snapshot!

Monday Misstep

(Courtesy Flickr/Laura Zalenga)

Sunday post

Image found on awesome site freeimages.co.uk

Saturday Prompt

If I love you, what business is it of yours?

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Friday Funkday

I'm looking for a good mystery!

Your best friend has disappeared...

Moving

My tired fingers slick with sweat slip the corner of the heavy box.

Tuesday Prompt: Three-Phrase Challenge

What just happened?

I think it was the soup.

Why are you wearing that hardhat?

Monday Musings

(Found on Flickr/Mura-lex - sharkoman)

Saturday Prompt

Friday Funkday

"There's only thing that'll make you feel better," she said, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

I sniffled. "What?"

"Revenge."

Homonyms

(Pick one, or two, or ALL of them)

Boor - uncultured person
Boer - South African of Dutch descent
Boar - wild animal of porcine nature
Bore - person who inspires boredom (or the internal diameter of a cylinder)
Bohr - (Neils) Danish physicist, 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Tuesday Prompt

"Who knew?"

Monday Museum

(Found on Flickr/Narodni Muzeum, Prague - Loomix)

Sunday Post

He took the paper out and unrolled it.

(photo from the AMAZING site http://www.freeimages.co.uk)

Saturday Prompt

Friday Funkday!

Free day!

Post any type of flash fiction you'd like!

Teaching, Breathing

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Aaaand,

out.

Tuesday Prompt

Monday Meanderings

(Found on Flickr/goldengreyblue)

Sunday Funday

"Will you marry me?" he asks.

She hesitates. "There's something I have to tell you first."

Saturday Prompt

Criagslist Missed Connections 

Hot Olive Garden Waiter - w4m - 21 (Olive Garden)

You were our waiter, and you had the most spectacular eyes i've ever seen. I got lost in them. If you're single, and would like to meet for drinks and dinner email me, tell me your name :) 

Friday Funkday

flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39557588@N00/688247200/

In Memoriam

[Cuz, y'know, Memorial Day was Monday.]

Tuesday Prompt

Free stock photo via stock.xchng

Monday Musings

Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do. - Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea (1938) "Vendredi" French author & existentialist philosopher (1905 - 1980)

Sunday Funday!

When I walked into the homecoming dance, I noticed two things. One, my best friend and I were wearing the same dress. The second? She was making out with my boyfriend.

Friday Funkday

"It's you."

Uh-oh

She found the note.

Tuesday Prompt

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

-Anton Chekhov

Monday ... Midnight

(Found on Flickr/Claudio Branch)

Sunday Funday

There was only one rule: I had to go alone.

Image from the awesome site www.freeimages.co.uk

Saturday Prompt

Am I the only one who sees this?