Category: Challenges

Posted in Challenges

Upward Mobility

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“Another stack of manuscripts,” Jenny thought to herself as she started opening envelopes.

As an editor, Jenny read and edited dozens of manuscripts each year. Debut novels mostly. Few would make it. Publishing was changing. She had always wanted to write herself, but her finances had never allowed it.

She started reading a manuscript that was an environmental thriller on climate change. This was the kind of thing she wanted to write. She knew how to do it for mobile applications.

“Why not!” she thought. She threw the jar of used staples across the room and walked out the door.

 

Photo credit @ Claire Sheldon

Posted in Challenges, Uncategorized

One Liner Wednesday

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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A line from my upcoming novel:

“All Wendy knew was that it was torture trying to have sex with Patrick whether she was sober or drunk and it would have been even if she was straight.”

1-LinerWed

Posted in Challenges

Cold Blooded

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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It was Sunday night in Harlan County, Kentucky. Jeremiah and his girlfriend, Jamie, were walking to services at Holiness Church of Harlan. They’d heard something new and exciting was going to happen tonight. Both young people had gotten dissatisfied with their church recently. It was becoming increasingly conservative.

Near the middle of the service, some of the men carried in a wooden box. Jeremiah and Jamie looked at each other, neither knowing what was going on. The pastor opened the box and pulled out a large rattlesnake. Jamie grabbed Jeremiah’s hand. Their’s had never been a snake-handling church although they had heard of such churches. Supposedly, if the snakes didn’t bite the handlers, they had the appropriate amount of faith.

One of the men in the congregation went up to handle the snake. It took about 20 seconds for the timber rattlesnake to bite him on the hand. As he was screaming and the snake was put back in the box, Jamie and Jeremiah ran out of the church, knowing their religious preference had just changed.

Posted in Challenges

Toast

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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She didn’t want their relationship to end like this. But she’d discovered what he planned to do. She would do it first. He’d never know it was coming. She couldn’t believe it after everything, that he wanted it to end this way. He’d get what he wanted. Her way. He was toast.

52Words

 

Posted in Challenges

One-Liner Wednesday 06/28/2017

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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A line from my upcoming novel:

Kate said, “Abby, you don’t know Miles anymore and he could have changed, maybe not in a good way.”

 

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Posted in Challenges

The Knock at the Door

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“Dad, can we go to the Children’s Park today?” Jeremy asked.

Greg had been promising his son, Jeremy, that they could go to the Children’s Park in  the Town Square during the weekend for a while now.

“Get your stuff together. Let’s go, son,” Greg said.

When Greg and Jeremy got to the Children’s Park, Jeremy cried, “Look, Dad, something new!” He ran toward a number of large, wooden statues that had been placed in a central location in the park. There were even statues of green Martian men. Jeremy played while Greg purchased a replica of a statue for him.

A tired Jeremy and Greg arrived home in the late afternoon. Jeremy put his statue in his room. Right before he went to bed, there was a loud knock at the door. Greg answered. It was the large green Martian statue.

In a loud voice, the statue said, “Where is my child?”

Jeremy ran to his room, grabbed the small statue, and threw it at him!

Posted in Challenges

The Adventure Tour

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“So this was what an adventure tour was like,” Michael thought, as he and Sasha disembarked the small vessel onto Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific.

Pitcairn is one of four volcanic island, still under British control. Population 54. They trudged up the path to their new digs, lodging with a local family. Most families were descendents of the mutineers of the past.

Their family spoke some English. The young girl followed him everywhere he went, aggravating Sasha. Pitcairn was not heavily visited and she hadn’t seen many outsiders. He and Sasha had planned to fish as the waters held all kinds of species of fish. The young girl watched.

Michael and Sasha were fishing in shallow water. Their idea was to get a big fish, something the entire family could have for dinner. They snagged a large white fish. The Pitcairn family would have a wonderful dinner tonight..

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Song Lyric Sunday

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, our theme is to post a song with a word that describes a sound in the title or lyrics. So in the spirit of my generation:

Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Written by John Fogarty

Someone told me long ago
There’s a calm before the storm
I know it’s been comin’ for some time
When it’s over so they say
It’ll rain a sunny day
I know shinin’ down like water
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?
Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know been that way for all my time
‘Til forever, on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow,
I know it can’t stop, I wonder
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?
Yeah
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?
Songwriters: John Cameron Fogerty
Have You Ever Seen the Rain lyrics © The Bicycle Music Company

Posted in Challenges

Old Man Red

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“Grandpa, you said you’d tell me a story about my momma.”

“Yes, Dolly, Here goes.”

Old Man Red saw everything. He sat on the fence, behind the well box and within sight of the backdoor. He dominated his territory. Those cats that live around here sometimes tried to bother him and he scared them away.

What really bothered him was the girl. He remembered when she was young. She was only just fifteen. Almost every night, when they didn’t know he was sitting on the fence, she snuck out the back bedroom window. He didn’t know where she went. She came home right before he woke up in the morning.

Today, he couldn’t wait on her. He woke up and crowed. The sun was coming up. She wasn’t home yet. She came running in and I caught her around the waist. I sat down with her, held her, and talked to her. Old Man Red had done something good. The girl never snuck out again.

“Grandpa, what do you mean that he crowed?”

“Dolly, Old Man Red was a rooster.”

“Oh Grandpa, roosters don’t think like people!”

 

Posted in Challenges

#SoCS – 06/17/2017

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Sign

I’ve never really believed in fate. Never believed that something that happened could be taken as a sign. I’ve always thought that we make our own fate through hard work. I guess that shows you where my head has always been – my work, my career. Never really on personal relationships except in the most tangential way. Even though I’m loathe to admit it, I suppose that’s still true. There was a time, early in my career, I was convinced I could have it all. Fulfilling personal relationships and at least one successful career. Wrong. I was really wrong. At least as far as I was concerned. Not possible. Maybe it is for some people. I chose career, but by then, it was too late to make any other choice.

Back to signs and fate. I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that people believe that if one thing happens it means, in the vast space that is the universe, something else is going to happen, something random. That they just have a “feeling” it is going to happen. That the first thing is a “sign.” What is that? That “sign?”

I surely see connections between things, even random events. But fate? Signs? Too random for my taste. I prefer to call it logic. I have made some huge mistakes in my life. Some would say there were signs that those mistakes were going to happen. I can look back now and I don’t see signs, but I do see logical reasons that my actions caused my mistakes. Is that the same thing as a sign?

What do you think?

#SoCS