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Thread: Nano story contest

  1. #106
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Nice story, Yes/No. One of your stories I like most is the one about the family strudel. But I think it has got more than 99 words.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  2. #107
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    Yes, that one was a bit longer and a haibun. Thanks, Danik!

  3. #108
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    The theme this week for the exactly 99-word stories excluding title at Carrot Ranch is "follow your dreams". https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/23/m...ion-challenge/

    ____________________

    Follow Your Dreams


    Scorn them with your thoughts. It’s safe. No one knows.

    No one believes thoughts can kill. No one believes empaths exist. No one thinks they can know another’s hate. If their hearts break, it’s their own hearts’ failure. If they can no longer forgive, that’s better.

    Janet’s dream guardians told her to follow them, “Smile. Sit tall. Take deep, slow breaths. Play your dream songs.”

    Janet put on her headphones. She set the player to keep repeating the sacred love songs.

    When the hate came, the empath and her dreams were ready. Until they fell, they mirrored love back.

  4. #109
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Interesting story. Where is Janet?Is she an ET or Android?
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  5. #110
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    Janet is a human with an exceptionally high level of empathy. The "empath" does suggest a science fiction or fantasy character I suppose.

  6. #111
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by YesNo View Post
    Janet is a human with an exceptionally high level of empathy. The "empath" does suggest a science fiction or fantasy character I suppose.
    Oh, I see. An empath is an empathic character.I am not familiar with science fiction.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  7. #112
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    There are weekly prompts at Carrot Ranch. This week it is about "fingers that fly": https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/30/m...ion-challenge/

    ----------------------------------

    Flying Fingers


    Faster than drawing a gun his fingers peppered the keyboard and hit “Enter”. Later he will wish he thought more, but now, oh, the rush! It was the perfect point, typos and grammar and all, and he wanted to make it before someone else did.

    Later, second thoughts like snail mail arrived. Then third-thought packages containing arguments he should have considered punched him It occurred to him maybe someone else should have made that idiotic point.

    Then it happened. Just when he thought it wouldn’t ever be over, it was over. No one cared anymore and neither did he.

  8. #113
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by YesNo View Post
    There are weekly prompts at Carrot Ranch. This week it is about "fingers that fly": https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/30/m...ion-challenge/

    ----------------------------------

    Flying Fingers


    Faster than drawing a gun his fingers peppered the keyboard and hit “Enter”. Later he will wish he thought more, but now, oh, the rush! It was the perfect point, typos and grammar and all, and he wanted to make it before someone else did.

    Later, second thoughts like snail mail arrived. Then third-thought packages containing arguments he should have considered punched him It occurred to him maybe someone else should have made that idiotic point.

    Then it happened. Just when he thought it wouldn’t ever be over, it was over. No one cared anymore and neither did he.
    Good story to the theme "flying fingers". There is always something unphatomable. What is over? The gush of inspiration?

    I follow Carrot Ranch, so I get their mail. I haven´t had the time to write a story for it. If I do I´ll post it here to have your opinion.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  9. #114
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    Thanks, Danik! What's over is whatever the guy was worried about. No one cared about the "point" he made anymore. Interest in it was "over".

  10. #115
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Then I was right. I thought it might be something more sinister.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  11. #116
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    Another Carrot Ranch prompt is up. The theme is "sun silly" or "spring fever". https://carrotranch.com/2018/04/05/a...flash-fiction/

    -----------------------------------------
    Sun Silly


    “Wake up, kid! It’s that time of year when spring fever makes them run. They’ll soon all be sun silly. We don’t want to miss it.”

    “Why do they run, Pa? There must be some scientific explanation for it. Don’t they have brains in their heads?”

    “I don’t know why they run. They run. They’re stupid.”

    “Yeah, but if we knew why they ran maybe we could encourage them to run more often?”

    “Why would we want to do that?”

    “So we don’t have to get up so early? So we can harvest them more than once a year?”

  12. #117
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Who are they, Yes/No?

    It´s nice that you are now participating regularly at Carrot Ranch. I follow them but didn´t have the time to write anything yet.
    If I could change the name of this thread I would call it Writing Laboratory or something like that. It´s what it is now and you are keeping it alive.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  13. #118
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    "Writing Laboratory" sounds like a good name. I imagined the characters in my story to be aliens or demons hunting us while we were experiencing spring fever and having a good time. Based on the comments I received no one made that connection, which is fine. It doesn't make much sense.

    Anyway, a new prompt came out yesterday: "bat" or "bat cave". Here's my new story. Hopefully it is not as confusing.

    ---------------------------

    BAT CAVE

    “You look like someone kicked you out of your bat cave.”

    “Me?” Brian was used to it.

    “You look like you’d make sense if you had a brain in your bat head.”

    Brian repositioned George to avoid bed sores. George was tired of making points that didn’t matter.

    “Could you open the window and let in some bats?”

    “Sure.” Brian went to the window and opened it wide enough for some imaginary bats to get through.

    Talking to one of the them, George observed, “Brian isn’t as bad as he thinks he is.”

    “You’re not half bad yourself, Georgie.”

  14. #119
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Is George a toy?

    Sometimes I get a bit confused too, Yes/No. You seem to take some things for granted. For example, in this case, that your reader knows, who George is or in some other story, that someone was mad. I think one of the difficulty of telling a story, specially a very short one is to know how much one must explain and how much imply.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  15. #120
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    George is an invalid and Brian is taking care of him. George's world is limited and he is bugging Brian about bats (because that is the Carrot Ranch prompt). I can see how it is confusing.

    It's Thursday evening and a new Carrot Ranch prompt is up. This time it is Sinrin Yoku or "forest bathing" which is taking a walk in the forest to improve one's health mentally as well as physically. https://carrotranch.com/2018/04/19/a...ion-challenge/

    ------------------------------------

    Shinrin Yoku

    While forest bathing Michael saw her. He would say she wasn’t there except she was and then his breath grew deeper. He didn’t understand why he walked for almost a mile angry on this beautiful trail, in this mysterious quiet. The traffic had long ago turned to a hum and then it turned completely off. Why was he angry?

    She said her name was Diana. She knew he didn’t understand what she meant. He was one of the smart ones caught in his head where robots were more real than people. And so she spoke more slowly, “Goddess Diana.”

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