Hey hey writertron! Here’s your Flash Face Off prompts for the week.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and find out what we’re actually doing. Or quick links here:
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The week’s prompts are:
TOGETHER Vs APART
My mother and I sit on the back porch,
bare feet in summer grass
as we take the upright down to pieces,
breeze humming through its strings.
Extract from the poem Taking Apart My Childhood Piano by Rebecca Macijeski
I half closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I’d ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field and gradually get larger until I’d see it was Tommy, and he’d wave, and maybe even call.
Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
The phrase “close-knit family,” which I’d come across in a school library book and had stuck in my mind, always came back to me whenever I saw my parents and sister together. If I wasn’t here, the three of them would make a perfect unit. So I wanted them to spend time together as a close-knit family without me now and then.
Sayaka Murata, Earthlings
Our meeting places, clubs and bars have closed, and we gather in distinct flocks across social media, each flock speaking a different language. We inhabit separate rooms in the same club. If we were to regain the real-life meeting grounds, if we were to be in the same room, then perhaps we would remember our commonality. The internet celebrates difference. The club celebrates unity.
Joelle Taylor from the forward of her poetry collection C+nto & Othered Poems
Marina Abramovic, The Artist is Present. 2009
MOMA, New York on flickr
Recycling Bins by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash
Person in black and white hoodie standing on road during daytime by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash
Geese in flight by John Cox on Unsplash
What are these prompts for please?
Every week, we post a set of flash fiction prompts. You write a super small story (500 words or fewer), post it on our forums, give and receive feedback, and at the end of the month we pick our faves for a Friday night online open mic night. It’s pretty amazingly awesome and you should definitely join us. Yes you should.
It works like this:
Use the prompts to write in any way that inspires you. Pick a side, pick both, pick a quote or pick an image, or just go with the general aesthetic and vibe of the themes. Whatever floats your writerly hoozits. And remember—flash doesn’t have to be dark and traumatic to be effective.
Edit your writing into a beaut 500 word story and post it on the Flash Face Off forums (please submit no more than 2 stories per week thanks!)
While you’re waiting for the awesome writerly community to read your story and offer wise words and critique, read at least two other stories and give your constructive feedback.
That’s it! At the end of every month we gather all our faves and have a big ol’ open mic party. Sign up here.
NO WAIT ONE MORE THING!
Please do make good use of the workshopping forums to offer feedback to others, receive feedback on your own story, and tweak/edit as much as you like. This really is the absolute best way to develop your writing (and it’s a really nice way to be part of this
Ok now we’re really done. Go write.
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- Get three free writing courses
- Gain access to online writing retreats and Flash Face Off spoken word nights
- Meet like-minded writers and get support and resources to keep you writing
- Oh and it’s free
