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Thread: Nano story contest

  1. #136
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Congrats, Yes/No. An small object as reminder of a love story. At each tale it seems you are more master of the 99 words form.
    "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. #137
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    One interesting thing about requiring exactly 99 words (excluding title) is it forces one to focus.

    There is a new challenge at Carrot Ranch with the prompt "broken fence". https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/12/j...ion-challenge/ I also noticed it is Friday the Thirteenth today. Here's my story.

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

    Broken Fence

    The Fredericks bought Adkins Estate with farmhouse, barn and sheds. The farm maintained itself from land rentals to local farmers. There was also a notorious fence separating it from ancient Indian burial grounds.

    That’s why they bought it. They planned to rent rooms to people wanting to spend the night in a haunted house.

    They repaired the buildings but broke the fence to make it look spookier. They called their website “Visit Fredericks’ Freaky Ghost House”.

    Many rented rooms and left five-star reviews until it became known that after changes to the fence, the ghosts no longer felt welcome.

  3. #138
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    I think these prompts are very helpfull for getting ideas on different topics. Another positiv thing; You manage now the surprising twist at the end of the nano story without killing all your characters!
    "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

  4. #139
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    I agree that it is good not to kill off the characters.

    The new prompt arrived yesterday and is about someone who was lost and could not be found. They named the lake Fanny Hooe after her. Here is the prompt: https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/19/j...ion-challenge/

    ----------------------------
    Fannie Hooe

    Fannie disappeared and they searched for her around the lake. Jake went missing as well, but he often went missing. He would pop up again later. No one cared.

    Fannie was someone special. She smiled at you and made you glad you were alive.

    They searched for days until her sister told her good neighbors to stop. She declared that Fannie was gone.

    Fannie never returned except as mythic remembrance. It took them over two months to wonder why Jake hadn’t turned up either. Fannie’s sister suspected why but she let her silence give them a chance to escape.

  5. #140
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    A nice story too. I really prefer to think of Fanny Hoe having gone away with Jack. It has already been published and this time Carrol Ranch got your name right.
    "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

  6. #141
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    I prefer seeing her having a happy life especially since the real events could have been more tragic.

    I missed last week's story, but the new prompt Carrot Ranch came out recently. It is "yellow tent". https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/03/a...ion-challenge/

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

    Yellow Tent

    Perhaps it was the sunshine yellow that attracted the bear or the food or curiosity. Bill had a camper over his Ford pickup truck, but he could not stand up in it and so he bought the tent.

    He thinned naturally grown trees on clear-cut paper company land. This kept him alone in the woods for a week at a time or until the project finished.

    He thought the tent was perfect until the bear came. It pushed its nose into the fabric deeply breathing. Bill swatted it and it ran off.

    After that they left each other alone.

  7. #142
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    Fannie raped and killed Jack, then devoured the evidence like a good cannibal. I thought that was pretty obvious. And don't think her innocent kid sister didn't enjoy some of those steaks. I hear she likes 'em breaded.

  8. #143
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    Sounds tasty, desiresjab.

    Another prompt this week. The theme is "comet". Restrictions: 99-words, no more, no less, excluding title. You don't need a blog to submit, just place the story in a comment. https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/16/a...ion-challenge/

    Here's my story for this week:

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

    Comet

    There are stars out, but that doesn’t mean anyone notices. However, the comet was special. People pointed it out proving how smart they were being able to see what others told them about.

    Charles didn’t care. He looked at Anne’s eyes.

    Sure, they were told about the comet, the rare comet that comes once in a million years. “You better look while you have the chance!” “You may never see something like that again!” “Don’t miss it!”

    They looked, but they were not sure they saw anything particularly remarkable out there. They were more interested in each other’s eyes.

  9. #144
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Nice story, Yes/No, but maybe there could be a special reason,why Charles and Anne weren´t interested in the comet, besides their being in love. It would enhance the story.
    "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

  10. #145
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    I agree, Danik, and I might have been able to squeeze that in even with 99 words.

    At Carrot Ranch they are preparing what they call the "rodeo" which starts in October and has some preliminaries in September: https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/22/a...eady-to-rodeo/ I started posting there during their last rodeo, so it kind of marks my first anniversary of reading Carrot Ranch.

    The prompt this week is "magic". Again, the story must be 99 words exactly (excluding title). https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/24/a...ion-challenge/

    Here's the story I just posted.

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

    Magic

    On a blue planet people believed in nothing that they couldn’t see. No ghosts. No gods. No angels.

    There were natural laws. That magic was powerful. The more it worked, the more they believed. Those who doubted were educated until they believed or in extreme cases there were prisons. In really extreme cases there were nuclear options.

    The people on the blue planet made a lot of money except for those who didn’t and so everyone who counted was happy.

    Things went very well until the “fay-rees”, as they became known after The Event, had their fill of it.

  11. #146
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    I´m a bit puzzled by the end of the story, Yes/No. What was The Event?
    "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

  12. #147
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
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    "The Event" was meant to be something ominous, but unspecified. I was thinking I should have used a different name, perhaps, "world war".

    There's another prompt. This time it is "bottleneck": https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/31/a...ion-challenge/

    Here's what I posted on that site:

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

    Bottleneck


    Some say your real brains are in your gut. Bill knew his wasn’t in his brain. Sharon doubted he had any in his gut either.

    That’s when she got pregnant and started worrying.

    That’s when they had to move to a smaller apartment.

    That’s when it looked like he would lose his job.

    That’s also when he didn’t lose his job, but got an indirect promotion.

    That’s also when they realized they loved that new apartment.

    That’s when he held her and told her he was glad she was pregnant.

    That’s when she changed her mind about his brains.

  13. #148
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    "The Event" sounds really unspecific, unless your reader already knows what you are talking about.

    I like the form of "Bottleneck", first constructing bottlenecks and then deconstructing them.
    "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

  14. #149
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    This is Yes/No´s new nano story. He has been unable to publish it directly, because of continuous technical problems.

    "Epic Workplace

    Eric was a loner. That’s why he liked people. They were rare like deer or bear in the distance. He took a break from thinning paper company land with brush saw holstered on his back and his head lost in his helmet.

    He saw the hikers coming. One of them asked him if they were still on the Appalachian Trail. “Yes! Keep going. It’s right over there.” The trail wasn’t easy to see.

    Eric wondered why people walked that trail, but he was glad to see them. He was glad he could give someone good directions on their way."

    And I am glad posting worked this time. I tried to put the title in bold, but when I tried to edit the text it was not visible any more.

    To Admin. and Mods:
    I am afraid regular Litneters are disapearing beause of an unability to post their texts on the site. I hope someone does something about it.
    "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. #150
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    Hi guys , I am so sorry I wandered off without giving you a prompt - nearly 2 years ago ! How can that be? Would love to get back into writing if these prompt sessions are still happening ?

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