 Writing Battle - Winter 2023 Assignment: 1,000 words Genre: Winter Survivial Character: Groomsman Object: Rocker William no longer remembers what he is searching for. He only knows he must keep going. He’s lost something, but what? Memories skitter across his mind, as elusive as the delicate snowflakes swirling all around him. He sees himself in a suit, looking sharp in tailored jacket and slacks, a handsome tie. He’s getting married. His mind slips, and there’s Caroline, wrapped head-to-toe in silk and elegant lace, beaming at him. She is to be his wife.
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 NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge
Assignment: 1,000 words Genre: Mystery Location: A recording studio Object: Cheddar cheese Cassandra Lane loved solving murders. She wasn’t a detective, but she was the next best thing: an audiobook narrator specializing in murder mysteries. Over the past twelve years, she’d narrated hundreds of books about everything from murderous housewives to vengeful ghosts, and Cass adored every one. Cass was on her way to the recording studio to meet with Detective Jack Nunez about Annabelle Stone, her biggest client. She released a new novel every year, and Cass had narrated eight of them. They tended to be grisly, but Cass loved them because they were smart. Annabelle’s books were not predictable, no matter how many of them you read.  NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge
Assignment: 1,000 words Genre: Drama Location: A "welcome home" party Object: A box of raisins Heirlooms can pass down through a family like blood, and inspire no less loyalty and betrayal. I thought about blood and betrayal, about loyalty and the dying wishes of a beloved grandmother, on the entire five-hour flight from San Francisco to Indianapolis. Blood was finally returning to blood, and I was going home.  NYC Midnight Short Story Contest Assignment: 2,000 Words Genre: Horror Location: A bus stop Object: A pencil As she locked the door to her car and approached the bus stop, Meg recognized the faded black steel frame wrapping the space on three sides, and she knew what she’d find plastered to the scratched and filth-smeared plexiglass bolted in behind the squat metal bench: a Led Zeppelin poster, circa 1975, bleached from the sun and peeling away in strips, so that what looked like an angel—naked, male, enormous white wings extending from a grotesquely muscled body—appeared to be reaching his arms to a torn and hellish heaven.  NYC Midnight Short Story Contest Assignment: 1,000 Words Genre: Horror Location: A clearing in a forest Object: A footstool This story isn’t long, and you won’t learn any lessons from it. It’s simply what happened to me. Take it or not, believe it or don’t; either way, I’m never getting out of here, and the only thing left to me are my words. I sincerely hope that you, whoever you are, burn these pages once you’ve read them, because the only way to end it is to destroy any trace of it.  Genre: Science Fiction Themes: Late 80's, D&D, Friendship, Time Travel Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½ I liked enough about One Word Kill that it gets a high 3. I didn’t hate it at all—there is a lot of cool stuff going on, and the story has promise. But I didn't love it, and with a description like "Ready Player One meets Stranger Things," I really wanted to love it. The writing is good, the characters interesting and believable.
But it lacked energy, for some reason. It never went beneath the surface, really, so we don’t have much reason to actually CARE about Nick and his friends or what happens to them. So, while we might be interested in the story, we’re not necessarily invested in it. And it’s annoying, because I really liked what the author was setting up.  Genre: YA, Horror Themes: High school, haunted houses, ghosts, bullying, domestic abuse Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Okay, so I sort of have a rule about not posting negative book reports, because—really—who am I to judge? Just because I didn't like a book doesn't mean I'm suddenly qualified to rant about my problems with it, and anyway, someone else may love the book for the same reasons I disliked it.
BUT....but. This book is complicated, because I loved The Haunted for a bit and then I didn't like it all. So it deserves a book report either way, and I think I can explain my feelings minus the usual slander and trash-talking one finds in popular reviews these days (ahem—I'm looking at you, Goodreads).  Genre: Mythology Themes: Major and minor elements of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology It feels good to finally finish a book that has been on my "To Read" list for more than two years!
What did I learn? The origin of words like "arachnophobia," "cornucopia," "hilarious," "hypnotize," and so many more. That the Greeks were beautiful, cultured, and imagintive (if a little obsessed with murder and suicide), the Norse were both heroic and wise, and that many of us can trace our culture and race (and certainly our language) directly back to these ancient people. Oh—and that now I'm ready to read Rick Riordan and Neil Gaiman!  Genre: Guidebook, Writing Themes: Defining Science Fiction vs Fantasy, World Building, Structure, etc. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to write, and especially for those of us who want to write speculative fiction.
 Genre: Historical Fiction Themes: 1920's Paris, American Expat, Art Scene, Literature, Love & Marriage When planning a trip to Paris for the first time, most people would struggle with what to wear. Being the book nerd that I am, however, I struggled with which book to bring along. The Nightingale and Turtles All the Way Down were strong contenders as books I’ve been wanting to read for awhile, but I ultimately chose The Paris Wife, which turned out to be the perfect book to read.
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