#018 Your 100 Word Story
Letās get this weekend write-life started! From this Friday forward, Iāll 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.
Hereās how:
Exactly 100 words. Not 99 or 101. The Word Count Police are tracking!
Genre? Writerās 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 youāre 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 š āRestack with a Noteā and copy/paste your story for added reach and growth.
IMAGE PROMPT
Fall is on its way. Letās welcome the cooler weather and shorter days and growing pumpkin patches with the image below. A friend has come to visit. I wonder what news it has brought us?
REMINDER: You donāt have to write your story just on Fridays! Take this sentiment and free write all weekend long!
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In a dimly lit room, the smartphone’s screen flickered ominously. Bob’s gaze locked onto the dire message: “Battery Critical – 1% Remaining.” Panic surged within him. His frantic search for the charger yielded only a sinister USB-C cable.
Driven by desperation, he plugged it in, but an eerie warning flashed: “Unauthorized Access.” The phone unleashed a relentless stream of cat memes, filling the room with joyless feline laughter.
Bob’s complexion drained as the phone drained his sanity and life force. Regret washed over him for ignoring those “free” cat content pop-up ads. In the digital abyss, he confronted the true horrors, technology.
I’m going with the (Free Writing Friday) prompt this week, Erica.
FALL
The agonising pains started as he got out of the car. Heartburn, again. Damn, he should not have wolfed down that āsnackā before rushing to get his outfit on for the party. He was certain his corpse costume would be the sure fire winner. The pumpkin heads flickered with eerie life, spooky candlelight haunting his approach. The raven spoke, head to one side as it looked at him from its pumpkin perch. āAre you ready?ā. As he fell, he clawed at his constricted chest. Voices in the background. āDamn, that corpse looks realistic. This is gonna be the best Halloweenā.
Good one, Barrie!
Just a quickie … but fun. Thanks so much, Debs
Woo hoo!! That was good.
Thanks so much, Reena.
Never ignore a pain in the chest! Great writing Barrie…
As a man of āa certain ageā, I wholeheartedly agr … argh, what was that – ooh, indigestion. As you were. I agree š
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Sadly I cannot share my short story here this week! That’s because the final episode in my Summer of Magic series is a *200 word story* – it simply didn’t fit into 100 words. š
Here’s my story for this Friday Erica! Thanks an always. I didn’t use the photo prompt but I got the color right in a marigold… https://open.substack.com/pub/arrivalsanddepartures/p/saubhagyawati
Absolutely compelling writing. Thank you.
Thank you so much!!
Iām hereās mine… I didnāt quite make the entire prompt the story took an unanticipated turn…
INTO THE VOID.
For two hours interior lights in the coach reassured the passengers, now, they begin to flicker, the battery obviously failing.
Outside snow is falling, swirling, white curtains whipped by a wild and worsening wind.
Normally, all eyes would have been filled with childlike joy at the winter wonderland before them.Ā Instead, perched as they are on a prĆ©cipice, 36 lives hanging in the balance, the beauty of the landscape is lost in the panic of the darkness.
Someone leaps up shouting, look thereās a light approaching, the coach groans, metalwork creaking, then teetersā¦
In the distance a raven is callingā¦
Oh, beautifully nudged toward the edge! Love it.
I was going to leave it hanging Barrie, then I saw the prompt… hey ho! š
Amidst the amber hue of falling leaves, I stood awaiting autumn’s embrace. The chilly breeze ruffled my coat, whispering of change. Suddenly, a majestic crow, feathers glistening, perched on my shoulder. Her ebony eyes held depths of stories from distant lands.
“Friend,” she crooned. “Winter will be harsher this year. Gather the village, prepare.”
I nodded, understanding her message was both a warning and an offering of camaraderie. We would face the coming cold together. As she took flight, the growing pumpkin patch gleamed beneath her, a beacon of hope and sustenance in the impending winter.