Week 29 participating in the very popular #vss365 challenge on Twitter. The aim, to write a daily Very Short Story in less than 280 characters, a single tweet. Yes, that’s characters! Not words.
The prompts themselves are seemingly random single words, the whim of this month’s challenge setter. This months fun is organised by Dunglish (@EdHaiku575). I’ve taken some liberties with formatting simply because WordPress is not Twitter and to make it easier to read.
This week’s photo is Archer playing with some of his mates at last weekend’s Golden Retriever meet up. It’ll be the last for a while given the isolation guidelines. I hope everyone’s keeping well and settling in for the long haul. I came across Dr Hope’s Sick Notes. He’s a junior doctor vlogging from the frontline of the NHS. It’s great to see the dedication and professionalism of those preparing for what’s to come. I hope none of you has cause to need him or his colleagues in the coming months.
Writing progress this week. I received the editorial review of one of my short stories and the editor totally ripped it apart. Which was brilliant, it gave me a huge insight into areas where I need to focus, both in the story and more generally in my writing. I can’t begin to describe how valuable constructive professional feedback is in helping me to up my game. Well worth the money and it’s something I’ll be looking to do on a regular basis. Other than that a couple of stories on the blog, practise, practise, practise.
Sunday 15th March – Stroopwafel
“Okay what’s this one?” asked the Captain, staring at the blue giant.
The ensign scrolled down the list. “Bitterballen, Sir!”
“Really? Bitterballen! That’s all we got?”
“Well, you could also go with #Stroopwafel.”
“It looks more like a dessert to me. Tag it. Next one!”
Once, Marley & Sons had boasted they sold a #mannequin a minute. Back then, every department store employed their faceless cloth models. With the death of the high street, orders slowed and the warehouse filled. Discarded and forgotten the army of the unwanted plotted.
“Come on, lights off. Time for bed.”
“Owww! I’m not tired,” he yawned. “I’m a #robot.”
“Right,” she said, tucking him in.
“I don’t need slee-“
Shaking her head she plugged the charging cable into his ear and kissing him on the cheek made a note to order new batteries.
Wednesday 18th March – Kindergarten
“Ever worked in a #kindergarten before?”
“No, it’s my first day.”
“Okay. Tetanus shots up to date?”
“Err yes.”
“Good. Has anyone explained the stars to you?”
“Stickers?”
“Right. Red stars for bites, green for vomit, brown… you get the idea. Oh, and watch out for Timmy!”
The #armada dropped into orbit, weapons trained on the planet.
“Sir, blockade in effect.”
“Good!” said the admiral.
“They’re going to assume it’s because of the virus.”
“Our orders are clear. They have to be stopped.”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Block all transmissions of Baby Shark.”
They were well #organised, descending on him one after another, they pummelled him to the floor. The last thing he remembered was the weight of the world on his shoulders. The heavy atlas being the last volume to slide off the broken shelf. The library cutbacks hit hard.
#haiku today’s prompt
a horror writer’s nightmare
poetry murdered
