Character
Problem 1 (small)
Problem 2 (large)
Coping!
Problem 2 (large)
Coping!
Resolution/resonate
Genre elements
It's easy if you list some starting points, like:
- Place
- Event
- NPC (non playing character)
- A Rule of your world
- A random object
A practice run in class yielded some great results:
- Place: On a rooftop at the Bank of Mars (BoM) in the city of Chipotle.
- Event: Earth is about to die/be blown up.
- NPC: Homeless guy flipping a coin
- Rule: A bug that stays in your nose that enables you to breathe (like a babelfish)
- Object: a bed, a crack in the roof
The story shouldn't take more than five or ten minutes. That's what makes it a flash.
Post your results in the comments! I've posted mine!
The biggest party on Mars and I'm not invited. But I spent all day on the Rover to get to Chipotle, so I'm freaking there. A bunch of party animals on the roof of the abandoned Bank of Mars? Doubt anyone would even notice me.
ReplyDeleteThe climb up the busted elevator shaft hurts my bronchio-roach. I can feel its little legs gripping at my nose hairs, but once I wedge open the door, it settles, and I can breathe easy again.
The party is hopping now, and I'm here just in time. "This is it!" a voice booms from the ledge. Standing there is a guy only about four feet, pointing to the earth in the sky. It's just dark enough to make it really shine. This is going to be sweet.
I rush over to the center of the roof with all the others. I was right. Nobody notices me. Until I lose my footing on a huge crack in the roof. On my way down, I bump into a rugged guy flipping an azure coin and we both topple onto a pile of blankets and pillows. He shouts at me in a language I've never heard and chases his coin under the mess of feet.
"You okay, man?" A handsome devil pulls me up by my arm and hands me a cup of something that smells better than it tastes.
"I'm okay."
"You really plowed Hector," he says.
"Hector?"
"Homeless guy. We don't know his real name. We just call him Hector."
"Oh." I get lost in his earth-blue eyes.
A flash of lightning accompanies a mass gasp, and cheers surround us. "That was awesome!" someone shouts. I look up at the sky, and see nothing.
Old Tod runs New Tod's Plantain Stand. Roasted or grilled, with these choices of toppings: mars dust, shock absorber fluid, or almond butter. he stole a roof retailer permit. Only the affluent merchants could obtain them.Hence the New Tod instead of Old. New reveals class, pride, honor. Every person of worth had New in their name. New Carl New ran BoM (Bank of Mars). Seated in the prime location to watch the dying Earth implode. New Carl New lent out more recreation space on the roof of BoM. Extra hollow floors extend the roof several thousand yards in each direction.
ReplyDeleteAt the center stood Old Tod. Hustle and bustle, droves of customers at once. He felt rather pleased. Only adults, no children to waste his product with clumsy hands. The best of the best. No more scrambling to make it work.(Smooth dreams never tasted sweeter than glazed puppy legs. Ha, that phrase is so Old.)
The realization dawned on him. Tod forgot to hack his name chip. Most diplomats never bother with scanning vendors. Still, one quick glance an no title. Not even Old. Only Tod, a terrifying thought. Sloppy in his own thoughts Tod forgot the plantains.
"Sorry New Miss, did I burn you plantain?" Plantain smoke burst into his sinuses. (Dry heave, calm down can't let her scan my tag.)
"No it's quite alright," said the New Miss. "I recognized you from our childhood on the salt flats. Look up, the Earth goes before our expectations."
Tod looked up. Slight blue, unlike the surrounding stars. Burst azure. Brilliant blink. Gone. The plantain handed over, shock absorber fluid numbed both their hands.