Free Writing Fridays #026

A 100 Word Story Community Collaboration

November 3, 2023

A 100 Word Story Community Collaboration

NEW ADDITION TO FREE WRITING FRIDAYS

You may not know this, but for 15 weeks, I’ve done 100 Word Story Collaborations with some truly amazing Substack writers. For November and December I want to collaborate with you! That’s right! If you’re up for the challenge, read on, but if you just want to continue as you have been, doing your own free writing, the IMAGE PROMPT is below for your writing pleasure

A 100 WORD STORY COLLABORATION

I write 50 words. You write an additional 50 words.
My 50 must start. Your 50 must follow.
You have all weekend long to copy/paste your 50 words into the COMMENTS section of this post.
My 50 words will always use the IMAGE PROMPT as inspiration.
I will select my favorite 50 word addition to my story and share it in the following ways:
- Substack Notes (you will get tagged as well)
- Upcoming First Edition email on December 1st and January 1st (respectively)

If you are up for this challenge scroll to my 50 words BENEATH the IMAGE PROMPT! Good luck!

Let’s get this weekend write-life started! From this Friday forward, I’ll include an image prompt and a few words to get your brain percolating towards a story. But only if you need it! Write whatever sparks joy for you.

Here’s how:

Exactly 100 words. Not 99 or 101. The Word Count Police are tracking!
Genre? Writer’s choice! So long as you give us all the thrills and the feels.
To Fic or to Non-Fic? You decide. What matters most is that you’re satisfied with the output.
Copy/paste your words in the comments, then share on your own Substack, and maybe, share to social media!
A Note on Substack Notes | Click the 🔄 “Restack with a Note” and copy/paste your story for added reach and growth.

IMAGE PROMPT

How made out of trees or a tree made out of a house? Who lives in this marvel, I wonder? Shall we step inside and discover a brand new world ready to be explored together? After you…

REMINDER: You don’t have to write your story just on Fridays! Take this sentiment and free write all weekend long!

A 100 WORD STORY COLLABORATION

[MY 50 WORDS]

No one knew what came first; the tree or the house. And no one had ever seen anyone living there until early one morning when smoke could be seen coming from a chimney.

A little girl, no older than seven, walked out the front door and sat on the steps.

Write your 50 words to follow mine, then copy/paste them into the comments. Be sure to put “[My 50 Words]” first so I know it’s an official entry.

Enjoying these weekly emails? Don’t forget to read the submissions in the comments section and share this post with your friends!

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Erica Drayton Writes

Queen of 💯 Word Stories.

Alex Learmont

November 3, 2023

my fifty words.

As she looked up at the sky her little face reflected an anxious anticipation, as if she were waiting for something to happen. Far above clear white clouds drifted silently across the blue dome of the sky., where a flight of birds traced a delicate line over the far mountains.

Reply
Debs Stott

November 3, 2023

Ooh I like this new approach… I’m sure I’ll join in – it might even be today? 😊

Reply
The Man Behind the Screen

November 3, 2023

(No one knew what came first; the tree or the house. And no one had ever seen anyone living there until early one morning when smoke could be seen coming from a chimney.

A little girl, no older than seven, walked out the front door and sat on the steps.)

No witch. Sighing, she muttered the rhyme.

“Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga,
In your chicken footed house,
Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga,
Rooted down on greenland ground.
Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga,
Listen to my plea this day,
Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga,
Make those nasty children pay!”

Then the door creaked open again.

Reply
Lisha Zulkepli

November 3, 2023

(MY 50 WORDS)
In her hand, a mirror that reflected back at her the sad smiling faces of her mother, her grandmother and all the women that came before her, gilded in gold, an heirloom that she has held on to for years.
And now no one ever will know which came first

Reply
Liza Bernstein

November 3, 2023

(My 50 words)

Seven branches zoomed from the arch above her head, wrapping themselves around her as leaves of tender green grew at the speed of a time lapse, adding their caresses to the hug. She giggled, the house shaking with her. Together, like a choir, they sighed “it’s good to be home.”

Reply
Andrew Paul Ward

November 3, 2023

(No one knew what came first; the tree or the house. And no one had ever seen anyone living there until early one morning when smoke could be seen coming from a chimney.
A little girl, no older than seven, walked out the front door and sat on the steps.)

Togetherly, both tree and house stretched and yawned, but did not move their feet, the rooty steps, on which the little girl sat. They fluttered their canopies and windows to blink away their sleepiness, and opened the front doors and trunk knots, both saying,
“Good morning,” to the little girl.

Reply
Olivia St. Lewis

November 3, 2023

(My 50 words)

In her hands, she cradled a jar of dirt. To the oblivious onlooker, it seemed like little more than a pile of rocks and earth. To the girl, though, it was everything.

“I’ll miss you,” she whispered to the surrounding forest. “But you’ll always be with me, wherever we go.”

Reply
Bridget Riley

November 4, 2023

[No one knew what came first; the tree or the house. And no one had ever seen anyone living there until early one morning when smoke could be seen coming from a chimney.

A little girl, no older than seven, walked out the front door and sat on the steps.]

Her eyes were the fathoms-deep blue of an unforgiving sea, and they spoke of centuries.

Chimney smoke curled against the wind and snaked toward the ground. Its tendrils, dense and chill, sank their claws into the crevices of nearby houses and trees.

Slowly, she smiled. Her time had come again.

Reply
Bertus

November 4, 2023

Her phone rang. The girl sighed.
“Yes dad, I’ve done what you asked and I…..’
The monologue cut her off. Slowly her face darkened. She waited until the orange flicker lit up every window. Smoke rolled from under the carved door as she lay down the phone and walked away.

Reply
1. Erica Drayton
  
  November 4, 2023
  
  Hi Bertus, as this is just 50 words I’m going to assume you are submitting this as a part of my 50 words? Just confirming as I add you to my list 😊
  
  Reply
  1. Bertus
    
    November 5, 2023
    
    Yes, couldn’t help myself….high contrast with your prompt, I know….
    
    Reply
Lenaleah McCullough

November 4, 2023

Lovely challenge. Here is my hat being tossed into the ring:

Shiny red shoes followed the girl out the door, coming to rest beside her.
“One for the day ahead and one for the friend unmet.”
The girl recited, each shoe upon her feet.
“We will be late if we don’t hurry,” the shoes replied.
“To the graveyard then?”
“Where else?”

Reply
The Casual Writer

November 5, 2023

(My 50 Words)
She gently cooled her lavender tea before taking a generous sip. When she finished, she looked up to spot a boy in the distance. Her father assured her that their new house would invite wonder from the villagers of Bosque. Her opal eyes shimmered as the boy cautiously approached her.

Reply

Erica Drayton Writes