Posting to the chat helps me only have one place to look for them, and everyone else have one place to find them--but if someone writes a story today based on any of the previous prompts (or any combination!) I'll take it! And this was a great story I was happy to highlight. Thanks for being here SDG!!
We've not met yet...but Jaime speaks highly of you, and asked me to stand in this week for him. I've never written flash fiction myself, being a historian, but I've had a few drinks already today....so what the TGII....right?
Alright, let’s see… If I had to rank things worse than introductions through fiction (which can be awkward but not soul-crushing), here are ten horrors I’d rather avoid:
Getting Stuck in a Never-Ending Small Talk Loop – Being trapped in a conversation about the weather with someone who just won’t stop talking.
Having to Explain a Joke That Wasn’t Funny to Begin With – There’s nothing worse than watching your own humor die a slow, agonizing death.
A Mysterious Wet Spot in Your Chair… That Wasn’t There Before – Do you sit back down? Do you stand forever? The panic is real.
Walking into a Room and Immediately Forgetting Why You’re There – Now you’re just standing in the middle of the room like a confused NPC.
Being Hugged by Someone Who is Clearly Sweaty – Worse if they linger. Worse still if they do the back pat.
Watching Someone Struggle with a Door, and You Don’t Know Whether to Help or Let Them Finish the Fight – Are you a hero, or do you let them battle it out with fate?
That Moment When You Wave Back at Someone Who Wasn’t Actually Waving at You – Then you have to play it off like you were swatting a bug…that wasn’t there.
Being in the Bathroom and Realizing There’s No Toilet Paper… After the Fact – You will never experience time moving so slowly as you strategize your next move.
Sending a Text Meant for One Person to the Absolute Wrong Person – Oops doesn’t quite cover it when your message was meant for a trusted friend and it lands in your boss’s inbox.
Standing in Line, Getting Ready to Order, and Realizing You Haven’t Thought About What You Want – The pressure of the impatient sighs behind you while you scramble for a choice is crushing.
So, yeah—fictional intros are manageable compared to these real-life nightmares. What about you? Anything that makes your gut twist worse than these?
LMAO this had me rolling and, uh, deeply uncomfortable. I have a particular "waving at someone who wasn't waving at you" memory that surfaces every now and again. Awful! Think you hit the "greatest hits" 😂
Where I live, MOST my neighbors wave at you. They smile. It's wonderful.
Then I go further into town, like to the grocery store, and I wave and they look at me like, "Are you talking to me? I don't KNOW you...you are so a CREEP!"
My reaction now is just shrug and move on.
WORSE, though, is that my family is loving. They say, "I love you," or "Love you," as we get off the phone. My closest friends, including Ondi, who is closer to me than my own kin...
...then having a kind conversation with someone at the utilities company, and before I hang up, blurt out, "Have you a great day...love you."
Thank you for the shoutotut Scoot! Loved these other pieces too. Actually found you through Scott! Looking forward to this week's challenge. Love the turn of phrase and random characters in these prompts!
Awww... thank you! I wasn't expecting this, especially since I bumbled the posting instructions for that story! 😊
(and yay, someone spotted the Susan Calvin reference!)
Posting to the chat helps me only have one place to look for them, and everyone else have one place to find them--but if someone writes a story today based on any of the previous prompts (or any combination!) I'll take it! And this was a great story I was happy to highlight. Thanks for being here SDG!!
Hello, Scoot.
We've not met yet...but Jaime speaks highly of you, and asked me to stand in this week for him. I've never written flash fiction myself, being a historian, but I've had a few drinks already today....so what the TGII....right?
Just posted the story here: https://www.lifeoffiction.com/p/wagered-flesh
Alright!! Glad to have you Hobin, thanks for joining the party! There are worse things than introductions-through-fiction!
Alright, let’s see… If I had to rank things worse than introductions through fiction (which can be awkward but not soul-crushing), here are ten horrors I’d rather avoid:
Getting Stuck in a Never-Ending Small Talk Loop – Being trapped in a conversation about the weather with someone who just won’t stop talking.
Having to Explain a Joke That Wasn’t Funny to Begin With – There’s nothing worse than watching your own humor die a slow, agonizing death.
A Mysterious Wet Spot in Your Chair… That Wasn’t There Before – Do you sit back down? Do you stand forever? The panic is real.
Walking into a Room and Immediately Forgetting Why You’re There – Now you’re just standing in the middle of the room like a confused NPC.
Being Hugged by Someone Who is Clearly Sweaty – Worse if they linger. Worse still if they do the back pat.
Watching Someone Struggle with a Door, and You Don’t Know Whether to Help or Let Them Finish the Fight – Are you a hero, or do you let them battle it out with fate?
That Moment When You Wave Back at Someone Who Wasn’t Actually Waving at You – Then you have to play it off like you were swatting a bug…that wasn’t there.
Being in the Bathroom and Realizing There’s No Toilet Paper… After the Fact – You will never experience time moving so slowly as you strategize your next move.
Sending a Text Meant for One Person to the Absolute Wrong Person – Oops doesn’t quite cover it when your message was meant for a trusted friend and it lands in your boss’s inbox.
Standing in Line, Getting Ready to Order, and Realizing You Haven’t Thought About What You Want – The pressure of the impatient sighs behind you while you scramble for a choice is crushing.
So, yeah—fictional intros are manageable compared to these real-life nightmares. What about you? Anything that makes your gut twist worse than these?
LMAO this had me rolling and, uh, deeply uncomfortable. I have a particular "waving at someone who wasn't waving at you" memory that surfaces every now and again. Awful! Think you hit the "greatest hits" 😂
He has that talent.
...and you're not the only one.
Where I live, MOST my neighbors wave at you. They smile. It's wonderful.
Then I go further into town, like to the grocery store, and I wave and they look at me like, "Are you talking to me? I don't KNOW you...you are so a CREEP!"
My reaction now is just shrug and move on.
WORSE, though, is that my family is loving. They say, "I love you," or "Love you," as we get off the phone. My closest friends, including Ondi, who is closer to me than my own kin...
...then having a kind conversation with someone at the utilities company, and before I hang up, blurt out, "Have you a great day...love you."
ME: Hang up....IMMEDIATE face palm to face.
Thank you for the shoutotut Scoot! Loved these other pieces too. Actually found you through Scott! Looking forward to this week's challenge. Love the turn of phrase and random characters in these prompts!
Thanks Tiffany--looking forward to what you can come up with!
More great prompts, many thanks for the generosity and support in running these! And for your own great writing of course.
Another great batch!