Word Prompt Stories – Kurdaitcha man

This piece was written for the weekly 99 word Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge with the prompt of 'write a spooky tale told around a campfire'. I suggest you read this link beforehand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdaitcha This was the first cattle drive for the Arrente boy the whitefellas called Jimmy. The whitefellas couldn’t care less for blackfella …

Exotica

This piece was written for the monthly Blog Battle 1,000 word challenge with the prompt of 'exotic'. Harley had become stupendously rich (as in Gates, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk and the like being minor players). His wealth derived from what others threw away. He had invented technology that mined dump sites for plastic and then re-constituted …

The radio kills people

This piece is in response to this week's Carrot Ranch prompt to write a 99 word story that includes something heard on the radio. It can be from any station or era. What is heard? A song, announcement, ad? Think of how radio connects people and places. Go where the prompt leads! The radio kills …

Fight or flight

This piece was written for the Carrot Ranch's weekly 99 word challenge on the theme of 'first flight'. Every schoolyard has it's Bomber, so-called for his propensity to drop tucked-legged from the high board at the local pool and make tidal waves that left smaller children spluttering. Big for his age, monobrow hovering over piggy …

Bodied, yes. Able? Not so much.

My response to Chelsea Owen's Weekly Hilarity Contest, (limit 200 words) with the following prompt. "..." [T]here really is no valid excuse for an able-bodied person going out of his head from being bewildered in the big woods so long as he has a gun and ammunition, or even a few dry matches and a …

Skidmarks

This 99 word piece was written for the Carrot Ranch challenge "What's the first thing that comes to mind when you are in absolute danger?" Not sure what would be the the first thing in my mind in that situation but I know what was in Mum's. My Mum was a stickler for cleanliness. One …

The smiling roses

This piece was written for this week's 99 word challenge, with 'nourish' as the prompt, courtesy of Charli Mills' Carrot Ranch As Phoebe drove home with her husband, Spike, safely strapped into the passenger seat, she decided it was time for him to hear some home truths. ‘You know, Spike, in all our married years, …

The Giraffter Life

This piece was submitted to the monthly Blog Battle challenge, with the word prompt of 'flute'. They sat, in their re-purposed dust-sheet-covered armchairs, on the back verandah, as dusk descended on ‘The Farm’. The name came from his Asian colleagues, curious about his regular Facebook posts from his veggie patch. When he told them he …

The Birds

Alas, Chelsea Owens' Weekly Terrible Poetry contest is no more but rising from its ashes is the phoenix of the Weekly Hilarity Contest. The first week's challenge is: Write a short story, poem, song, or really long sentence about Birds. Don’t make it too long. We’ve got real life to get back to. The goal …

First day on the job

This piece was written for the 99 word Carrot Ranch challenge on the subject of long boards. The boss said to the boy ‘Fetch me a long board from the hardware. Ask Gus, the owner, he’ll know what I mean.’ Gus listened to the boy, grunted, and said to wait. The boy waited, patiently. Eventually …