Week Nineteen: A time-traveler recognizes you...

Okay, so remember in Week Eighteen's prompt when I said that this was the last prompt of my Freshman year box?

...That was not true, for there is a whole notebook of Spring semester class notes that I had misplaced, and lo! many questionable prompts therein.

Here's the first. The full text, for those who cannot read the scrivenings of a mad man, reads

A time-traveler recognizes you and is shocked to have met you. This provides the driving force for your future success.

I must have stolen that from somewhere, right? I mean... it's kind of too good for Freshman Me?

Anyway, it's yours now. 400 words by Sunday at midnight! Who's up for some SCIENCE FICTION?

Week Eight: Fantasy-ed!

Week Eight's completed challenge can be found here!

This is the first true short story I've attempted since graduate school. In writing it, I had to overcome a number of self-imposed stumbling blocks that have kept me from attempting something just like this for many a year now. Basically, I had to get over myself. 

And the result...? Well, you decide.

Please, I would love some feedback on this one. What worked? What didn't? What do you hope to see more of? You can comment on this post, or on the story itself, or contact me directly. 

As I've mentioned, the intent here was to better flesh out one major character of my theoretical fantasy series. It took some time (you may have noticed), but, having done this, I truly believe that things will get easier from here. I feel... accomplished.

Anyway, check it out! And I've hinted before (and the story itself has a disclaimer on it), but there's some dark stuff in there. I don't want to upset anyone, but I also don't want to spoil the story, so please contact me if you want to know what exactly that dark stuff is before you read it.

Reflections, and Week Nine's several challenges (microfiction week!), to come this weekend.

Writing advice from Ray Bradbury

Via Open Culture, some Friday afternoon inspirational viewing for you: A master class from the late Ray Bradbury.

I'd never seen Bradbury speak before, and I was struck by what an educator he was. He really wanted young people to benefit from what he had learned. Also he swore a lot. I have a new hero.

It turns out, too, that I've been unwittingly following his advice with this blog:

"The best hygiene for a beginning writer or an intermediate writer is to write a hell of a lot of short stories. If you can write one short story a week, doesn't matter what the quality is to start, but at least you're practicing; and at the end of a year you have 52 short stories, and I defy to you write 52 bad ones. It can't be done."

Lots of great stuff in here—check it out!