Hey hey writertron! Here’s your Flash Face Off prompts for the week.
- Submit your story to the Flash Face Off forum by Thursday 12th March at 12 noon GMT.
- Book your place at Flash Face Off Live spoken word night (click the Flash Face Off button on the events calendar). The next one is Friday 27th March at 8 pm GMT.
- Click here for instructions on how to participate
The week’s prompts are:
Spectre vs Rector
‘If I lie down in the middle of the field behind my house and squint a certain way, a ghost moon appears. Like a flickering white blob in an old film. Sometimes, just for an instant, she stops jittering. That’s when I see ghost me sketched on her surface. Ghost me looks wan and sleep-deprived. I shout encouraging messages up to her. It’s gonna be okay. You got this, girl.’
Ghost Me in the Ghost Moon by Faye Brinsmead Flash fiction online in Spelk
‘If she rolls
in church aisles for priests to stumble over, it’s because
their tongues are yellow with butter and cannot deliver
silence. If she weeps before bishops at Ely Cathedral,
it’s because she’s heard a girl in France has been set alight
for hearing sacred voices.’
The Boisterous Sobbings of Margery Kempe* by Rosie Jackson * The title of this poem is borrowed from Elizabeth Smart’s poem ‘Margery Kempe’ in A Bonus (Polytantric Press, 1977).
‘But suddenly you were there,
Beloved ghost,
With your eyes like two open doors to sorrow’s chamber. You were so nearly afraid to speak
Your words were blown toward me
Like fragments of mist
Distorted and scattered by wind.’
SPECTRE-THEME by Leone Baker
‘No wonder male religious leaders so often say that humans were born in sin—because we were born to female creatures. Only by obeying the rules of the patriarchy can we be reborn through men. No wonder priests and ministers in skirts sprinkle imitation birth fluid over our heads, give us new names, and promise rebirth into everlasting life.’
The Vagina Monologues by Gloria Steinem
‘Jesus Creeping God! Is there a priest in this tavern? I want to confess! I’m a fucking sinner! Venal, mortal, carnal, major, minor – however you want to call it, Lord… I’m guilty.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
by Hunter S. Thompson
Pool table by Dina Badamshina on UnSplash
Solgården. Läxplugg, 3 USA-barn tillhörande “Rector family”. by Håkansson, Hans – Bohuslän Museum, Sweden – Public Domain.
A man and a priest smoking by Vitaliy Shevchenko on UnSplash
Ghost by Tandem X Visuals on UnSplash
A quick Flash Face Off primer
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 three 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 there’s 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.