#99Word Stories; Optimism

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 29 Comments

The January 23, 2023 story challenge from Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch is to: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that is optimistic. Feel free to explore optimism in all its forms from a positive mindset to toxic positivity. Is it a heartfelt story or a devious one? So much wiggle room for the optimistic writer. Go where the prompt leads!

I am delighted to have Marge and Ilene show up for this prompt! It’s just another scene but I’ll take it.

The Pursuit by D. Avery

“My glass is always half full.”

“That’s because you’re a slow drinker, Ilene. Mine’s half empty but I’ve already got another round coming. Power of positive drinking.”

“You asked about my exes, Marge. This one’s glass was always half empty.”

“I’m listening. A half-glass sad-ass.”

“That’s about right. I finally realized that happiness is a personal responsibility. And unhappiness is contagious. I’ll tell you from experience— men age about as well as fish on the counter.”

“And yet you always seem to have one.”

“My indomitable optimism, Marge. And, it’s catch and release— gives the fish another chance too.”

Be sure to go to Carrot Ranch to read the complete “Shadow Lady” collection from last week. And there’s always the Ranch Yarns with Kid and Pal’s responses HERE.

#99Word Stories; Shadow Lady

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 15 Comments

The January 16, 2023 story challenge from Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch is to: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a lady shadow. Who is this person and why do they lurk in the shadows. What is the tone and setting for your story? Go where the prompt leads!

I didn’t come up with a story for the prompt, no 99-word flash fiction piece. What I have instead is a Double Ennead, the 99-syllable poetry form invented for Carrot Ranch by Colleen Chesebro. There are three 5-lined stanzas, with 5, 6, 11, 5, 6 syllables each. It’s where the prompt led.

The Shadow Lady by D. Avery

I didn’t see her.
Only saw a raven,
black wings whispering over fog filled valleys
through winter gray sky,
lustrous shadow in flight.

Only the raven 
roosting high in the pine
before dropping gracefully down to the snow
to dig for her cache—
she has been here before. 

Creation’s shadow, 
death and resurrection;
guide and messenger, she is light’s reflection.
Or, just a raven,
scratching familiar ground.

Be sure to go to Carrot Ranch to read the complete “Rabbit” collection from last week. And there’s always the Ranch Yarns with Kid and Pal’s responses HERE.

W3 Prompt #38; Befriending the Bots

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 19 Comments

Wea’ve Written Weekly

The W3 prompt this week, brought to us by the current Poet of the Week, Denise DeVries, is: Using some type of computer aid, write the first line of a poem. Then, follow it with between two and 18 of your own lines. You may use one of the links below or another site you like. Tell us which tool you chose.

  1. Random Word Generator
  2. Word Contraction Generator
  3. Poem Generator

Fairly new to the W3 prompt, I’ve enjoyed the friendly baton passing for the prompt and the fresh and unique criteria for each week’s prompt. I tried the suggested sites above and did not like anything about them. It is not for me, and I thank Denise for pushing me to try something new. The tool I ended up using was spam. I took a subject line from a spam email and went from there. I don’t know if that counts, and I am not sure about the result, but I’ve written. Go to The Skeptic’s Kaddish to link up and to read the other poets’ work.

Degenerative by D. Avery

your window might be finalizing to prevent yourself from catastrophic influences

this is what they said and you don’t know them but this is what you read

and involuntarily you shuddered and instinctively you shuttered

to protect yourself, to prevent your finalizing windows from shattering

because somewhere sometime someone pushed a button

unlatched a lid and now something knocks and scratches to come in

they coax and coo, say they’re looking out for you

but their language is a metallic can ringed with toxic waste

a sticky paste of catastrophic influences searching, seeking

and you berate yourself for peeking through the decomposing curtain

but you just had to see if true art still grew

you knew the final door open to catastrophe would be fear and apathy.

#99Word Stories; Rabbits

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 32 Comments

The January 9, 2023 story challenge from Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch is to: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that includes rabbits. Is it a family? A strange planet? Some crazy bunny person’s pets? Who are they and what are they doing? Go where the prompt leads!

Page, by D. Avery

“Are you a hunter?”

She’d noticed me looking at tracks in the red sand. She also noticed my interest in the sparse plants.

“That one we made soap from.”

She’d led us through a slot canyon, its carved sinuous walls telling ancient stories of fast moving water. We’d emerged on the upstream side into a sandy gully, a wash, the path water would take, should it rain hard.

Another plant. “That one the rabbits like.”

Sixty year old Lake Powell is drying up, but for now tourists still come.

“I remember,” she said, “When all we ate was rabbits.”

Be sure to go to Carrot Ranch to read the complete “Sabbatical” collection from last week. And there’s always the Ranch Yarns with Kid and Pal’s responses HERE.

#SixSentenceStories; Lead

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 28 Comments

The word from Denise at GirlieontheEdge this week is “lead”, and your story (or poem, soc, what have you) is to be presented with six and only six sentences. Go HERE to link up your six sentence story and see what the merry Sixarians have written. This Six is in response to Sixarian Clark’s piece, which you can read HERE. Like so much that happens around his place and places Clark haunts, all in good fun.

All Aboard by D. Avery

I feel your eyes, I know you’re watching, just remember, Oz never did give nothing to the tall thin man that he didn’t already have, do you roger that?

And where I lead, will you follow, do you know where I’m going with this well stickered suitcase, maybe jumping ship, getting away scot-free to catch the last train to Clarksville?

I’m not really trying to elude you, just having some fun. All are welcome where I’m headed, so, sure, come on along. The location is the intersection of any place you know well and anything you can imagine, at the misty crossroads of fact and fiction— that’s right, you caught that, you follow— it’s a multidimensional place.

Yes, this winding path leads directly to Sixville.

#PicoftheWeek; Close Up

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 13 Comments

cold-cast sculptures dance
sunlight chimes sweet melodies
winter’s artistry

Happy New Year! Maria Antonia has out a new bingo board of inspiration for her #picoftheweek photo challenge. Check out Maria’s  #2023picoftheweek to see how you can participate in this fun prompt.

I am crossing off “close up” to kick off my first entry of 2023. Here’s what I saw from a greater distance, just meltwater and ice warming in the winter sun.

W3 Prompt #36; Poverty(2) & Friday Fictioneers

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 29 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

In Passing by D. Avery


Maybe poverty is about 
living in a dirty place 
unkempt

and some will say the poverty is in people not caring enough

to put their trash in a barrel;
to clean up,
show some self-respect

and few will say the poverty is in people not caring enough

to share Earth's resources
to look at the world as their own yard
unfenced

or they’ll say it
in passing 
as they continue with their busy lives.

This is a second post in response to this week’s W3 prompt brought to us by the current Poet of the Week, Murisopsis. They would have us write about poverty in any poetic form, in exactly 14 lines. Go to The Skeptic’s Kaddish to link up and to read the other poets’ work. I worked with American Sentences or really, a run-on sentence with line breaks but yep, 17 syllables per stanza. At 74 words it fits that criteria for Friday Fictioneers , but as it is not fiction in story form I won’t link in there but do need to admit that the photo, by Roger Bultot, gave this poem a boost.

#SixSentenceStories; Visa

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 23 Comments

The word from Denise at GirlieontheEdge this week is “visa”, a prompt charged with possibility. The stipulation? Your story (or poem, soc, what have you) is to be presented with six and only six sentences.

Go HERE to link up your six sentence story and see what the merry Sixters have written.

Vis-à-vis by D. Avery

“Debit card or credit?”

“Does it really matter, what’s the difference anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter to me, and I suppose the difference is more about you; a debit card means the payment is taken out of your checking account, whereas a credit card gives you money to use that you might not even have.”

“Ah, but they don’t give it, it has to get repaid, with interest; I suppose a credit card just makes it easier to live beyond my means. Yes, let’s go with the credit card, and look it’s a Visa, implying I can go places— perhaps the Leaning Tower of Visa; or the Louvre to see the Mona Visa.”

“Yes, sir, I’m sure it will be worth it to view that famous visage.”

#99Word Stories; “Sabbatical”

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 8 Comments

The unplanned sabbatical is finished at Carrot Ranch and once again Charli is treating us to beautiful posts and interesting 99-word challenges that she will post as a collection the following Wednesday. The Saddle Up Saloon, manned by Kid & Pal, remained open while Charli worked on her technological issues and you can always go to the Cowsino there for an other writing prompt.

 The January 2, 2022 story challenge from Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch is to: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a sabbatical. Who needs one or has had one? What kind of tension could a rest create? Where can a break take your story? Go where the prompt leads! Submit by January 7 using the form at Carrot Ranch.

Remotely Working, by D. Avery

“I’m going.”

Finally, he lifted his head up from his phone, saw the suitcase.

“We’re going on vacation?”

“No. I am going on sabbatical.”

“That job gives sabbaticals?”

“No. I’ll continue to work remotely.”

“Then how is it a sabbatical?”

“I’m taking a break from you. From our marriage. It’s way too much work for me lately.”

“You? What about me, I do plenty around here. And why didn’t you tell me you were going somewhere?”

She held in a sigh. “I have told you, many times.”

“Must not have heard you,” and he went back to his phone.

W3 Prompt #36; Poverty

/ D. Avery @shiftnshake / 15 Comments

Wea’ve Written Weekly

The W3 prompt this week, brought to us by the current Poet of the Week, Murisopsis, is to write about poverty in any poetic form, in exactly 14 lines. Go to The Skeptic’s Kaddish to link up and to read the other poets’ work. You might or might not notice I’m a syllable counter in the first poem, alternating 12-12-9/9-9-12. The second poem I experimented with septolet but had to double down to meet the requirements of this prompt. I’m not sure if septolet is meant to rhyme, but this double one does.

1) The Treasury and the Temple by D. Avery

He’d never wished because he had never wanted
about his enormous wealth he’d always vaunted
But now his house he felt was haunted.

He became aware of creaks and groans
increasingly scared to be alone
Felt he was losing command of his lifelong home

At first he suppressed any suspicion or fear
resisted imagining ghosts lingering here
until the truth emerged, oh so clear.

He discovered what money can’t buy
no payments got his house exorcised
and he’d have to remain in it until he died.

Too late did he realize the source of true wealth
and in vain did he wish for real love and good health.


************************

2) Say by D. Avery

Poor me
Woe 
is me—
words of poverty

Only gratitude 
will bring you 
treasure.

Say 
beautiful day—
and it’s 
that way.

Sunny attitude
brings wealth 
of great measure.