It’s been awhile since I have done a flash fiction post from Carrot Ranch. In October they ran some judged challenges and I did enter a few but they don’t want us to post our entries until after the winners are announced the end of November. So I will have extra flash fiction entries in December to post!
I think Charli was looking for something a little more original than what I came up with but I am pleased that at least it is all fiction. Seems like most of my flash fiction ideas start with at least a kernel of truth. So, without further ado…
“Storm Windows”
Gray clouds scurried across the sky as the wind knocked the last of the red maple leaves off the tree. I stepped back and looked up at the house. “Only two storm windows left, I’ll go get them,” I said.
“Nope. That was the last one,” Grandma replied.
“What about the window on the landing and your south bedroom window?” I asked.
“I don’t like to shut up the house completely. A body needs to be able to breath fresh air year round. The house likes a little air too.
I grinned, “hot cocoa and cookies it is then.”
Tracey, I enjoyed your flash and the wisdom of letting a body breathe fresh air, house included. I want to share something with you from my writing mentor — Wallace Stegner believed that all stories begin from personal memory, sensation, observation, or idea. The way we process those stories is to create fiction. All fiction is raw truth that’s been polished and ground down to reflect light and meaning. Stories that come from our truths make the most authentic fiction. I carry that teaching with me and I hope it encourages you, too!
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Great wisdom, thank you for sharing! It makes me feel better. While this story was entirely made up it is a memory/ experience I wish I had had.
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I think this is great and quite original as well. Well done.
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Thank you. I probably should have said I thought Charli was looking for something more exotic instead of original!
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Tracey, I don’t think I ever write what Charli has in mind for the prompt. In fact, I purposely make sure to NOT read anybody else’s until I write mine otherwise I worry that what I wrote (my ideas) didn’t come from me, but is taken from another writer. I do, however, enjoy the process, and I am learning to broaden my writing style. ~nan
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And many of my flashes have a grain of my past embedded in them. Not all, but many. ~nan
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