Feel free to participate, and add your own two-sentence shocker inspired in any way, shape or form by the prompt! This week’s word is advice.
Feel free to participate, and add your own two-sentence shocker inspired in any way, shape or form by the prompt! This week’s word is reinforce.
Feel free to participate, and add your own two-sentence shocker inspired in any way, shape or form by the prompt! This week’s word is enthusiasm.
Feel free to participate, and add your own two-sentence shocker inspired in any way, shape or form by the prompt! This week’s word is alcohol.
Feel free to participate, and add your own two-sentence shocker inspired in any way, shape or form by the prompt! This week’s word is short.
Yes, I’m very far behind! Hence the two posts in a short space of time. But I’m trying to make amends, trying to catch up. That’s gotta be worth something, right? This month’s #BlogBattle prompt was ‘flute’. I’m still sticking with the Boddi Craig theme for the time being — I’m just enjoying it! The title of the story is The Capten Sings, and you can read it here.
If any had survived, they would have recounted — with wide-eyed horror — how the Capten was singing when it happened. Not just singing but bellowing at the top of his lungs; so loud they wondered how his voice did not crack with the strain.
Whew! Managed to slip this story in there just before the end of the month! Before I know it, next month’s prompt will be out! Catch up, Joshua, what are you doing with your time?
Oh, and be sure to check out some of the other #BlogBattle entries! They’re always great!
You’re only alive once.
That’s my dad in my head again.
You should go outside more.
His words echo around my mind as I keep watch out of the upstairs window.
Some fresh air would do you good.
I sigh as my eyes stroll back and forth across the street, darting from face to face.
It’s not good to be cooped up inside all day, go play with the neighbours, go chat with your friends.
I recognise each person down on the street; the little old ladies, the balding, middle-aged men with paunches sticking out over their waistbands, the women, the teenagers in their up-to-date outfits and freshly trimmed hair, the children.
The sunshine’ll make you feel better.
I squint up at the clouds, but there’s no sun shining through. Nothing but nebulous, churning grey.
It must get stuffy being locked away in your room.
My gaze twitches to the latch of the shut window — it’s locked, it’s always locked, but how I long to open it once more, to feel the cool kiss of a gentle wind, to smell the bouquet of the world’s perfumes.
Everyone’s out there, living their lives; go join them.
The knot in my chest squirms like a ball of snakes, like a black scribble, perennially writhing within the hollow confines of my heart. From behind the safety of the glass, I look from friend to neighbour to family; all out in the street, swaying slightly like reeds in an autumn breeze, eyes vacant, mouths agape and mindlessly chewing nothing with an almost bovine absence, their sallow skin pulled taut across their decaying frames like the membrane of a funeral drum.
What are you waiting for?
Dead. All of them dead.
Go join them.
And yet, not entirely so.
“You’re only alive once,” I confirm to the empty room. “You’re only alive once.”
Many thanks to PJ for tagging me in this little challenge! I took things which have been said to me, in various forms, whilst growing up and twisted them into a work of fiction! (I hope that’s allowed.) Rest assured, my family and friends are all well and are not (as of this moment in time) zombies.
You can check out PJ’s initial post and awesome poem here!
I’m not sure who to tag in this, but instead, I open an invitation to everyone who sees this to take part in this little challenge — the rules are simple, just use something that’s been said to you and use it to make something. Other than that, go wild with your creativity, and have fun!
I’ve been meaning to bring Bite-Sized Horror back for a while, and I thought now was as good a time as any! I know that I’ve still got lots of short stories to upload (catching up, slowly) but here we are… As opposed to a daily horror series, as Bite-Sized Horror was in its first iteration, this second iteration will be a weekly thing. I think the reason I kept putting off bringing the BSH series back is that doing them daily is a daunting task — I think it’ll be a lot more manageable with just one posted every Friday afternoon!
This second iteration of BSH will also be slightly different — they’ll still be two-sentence shockers, as per, but I’ll be using a random word generator to give me a prompt word each week and use that to spark something. If you’d like to submit a word as a prompt, I’m happy to take any and all suggestions! If you’d also like to submit your own two-sentence shocker based on the word, I’d love to read ’em — I’ll even post my favourites at the start of the next week’s Friday Afternoon Frights! But there’s zero pressure, I just wanna be a bit more active on WordPress again, after falling off the radar for a bit, y’know?
Well, I guess that’s it for now, so, here’s the first (of many, I hope) of the return of Bite-Sized Horror, the word for this week is snow.
How is it March already!? Where’s the year going/gone? “Life moves pretty fast.” — Ferris Bueller
Anyway, this month’s #BlogBattle had a great word — ‘castle’! A bit easier than last month’s ‘vivacious’ (although I had a lot of fun trying to make that one work — a challenge is always appreciated!). The title for my story is The Repellers of Boddi Craig, and you can read it here on WordPress. I’ve got this idea of maybe making the story that I’ve hinted at in this month’s entry into a larger thing — perhaps I’ll try and work each #BlogBattle entry into fitting into the larger universe of Boddi Craig? We’ll see, my friends, we’ll see.
I put out my own eyes with a knife at the age of thirteen.
Continue Reading
I really loved writing this one. Quite dark, but that’s just how I like it! I wanted to write more, but I was limited to 1,000 words. As I said, maybe I’ll return to Boddi Craig in next month’s #BlogBattle (if I can make it work, that is!).
Oh, and be sure to check out the other entries — there’s always something for everyone, not just my bleak horror! 😀
P.S. If you like the artwork for this story, why not check out my other blog? It’s dedicated purely to my art: https://artinsoulstudio.wordpress.com/
Wow, look at me! Staying on top of things and publishing my Reedsy entries on time! This piece was written really quickly — I think I had it finished by Saturday evening, as the prompts came out on the Friday afternoon. The theme of this week’s prompt was the legendary writer, Haruki Murakami. I chose the prompt, “Write a story in which the lines between awake and dreaming are blurred.”
Interestingly, I didn’t write a horror story again — third week in a row! I know it sounds odd (especially for me!), but, in general, I try not to force my stories. I try to let them flow out of my fingertips naturally. Horror comes to me fairly easily, hence why it’s my preferred genre, but sometimes I stray from the darkened path and venture out into the light. If a horror story happens, great, if a non-horror story happens, also great! I just like writing and telling stories.
Anyway, the title of my short story is Sea the Moon, and — as always! — you can read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile.
The seagulls were weeping again. They had woken her from her sleep. It was funny, now that she thought about it. She’d also fallen asleep listening to their shrill pleas. It reminded her of the song her mother had sung to her as a baby. Sunset and sunrise, bird calls and bird cries.
I liked this one quite a lot! I enjoyed the dreamy, uncertain feeling that permeates the piece. I also had fun writing the rhyming couplets! Oh! And I had a blast making the artwork for this one, too — I was super-proud of it! If you’d like to see (sea?) more of my art, why not check out my other blog, Art in Soul? I’ve got a backlog of art (much like I previously had a backlog of stories…) that I’m slowly posting and uploading, working my way through. I reckon there’s some good pieces, here and there!
joshuainsole.com 