Tag: #creativewriting

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare, nonfiction

weekendcoffeeshare #175

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

August 23, 2024

Hello everyone and welcome to my weekendcoffeeshare for the week beginning August 23, 2024! Please come right in and join me for a catchup and a cup of coffee or tea. Please help yourself to whatever you like.

If we were having coffee together today, I would tell you that I haven’t participated in the coffee share or in any of the challenges for about three weeks now. Why? Put simply, life got in the way! There have been lots of things, some good and some not so good, going on that has taken my focus (and time) away from writing. I’m getting back in the groove now.

My flower gardens are just about gone for this year. We have four distinct seasons here in my location in the U.S., Kentucky, Upper South. Summer is coming to an end. We’ve even had nights down in the 40s though the days are still mostly hot, even some in the 90s. We have had an awfully hot summer and some of the plants I have traditionally grown have not done so well this year. Others have fared very well. I think climate change will eventually change our growing zones and that is perhaps happening in my location even now.

Here are some of the plants that I’ve managed to grow this summer.

Clematis
Japanese Painted Fern
Rhododendron
Peonies
New Guinea Impatients

They have been nice and brightened up my yard, but the weather has been hard on them. These are not plants that do particularly well when the temperatures are in the 90s every day. Very unusual for my area.

My husband and I have both had some health issues pop up recently. He will have to have some eye surgery in the fall. As for me, it is going to take a specific and very restrictive diet. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, to eat on this diet. I’m already thin and I really don’t want to get any thinner, but I suspect that will happen! Getting older is not for sissies!

I’ve been fortunate to be able to talk to and see some friends and family recently. That always helps everything seem better. I had a small nuclear family, but I have a big extended family on both my mom’s and dad’s sides of the family. I also have good lifetime – and new – friends. We have had a lot of support over the past few weeks.

Sophie, the German Shepherd
Sophie at a nearby state park
Hazel, my little rescued Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Hazel again (enlarge)

These two (very spoiled) four-legged babies have been my salvation over the past few weeks. Sophie is big and protective, but a baby inside. Hazel is just now really coming around after being rescued last year. It’s been hard for her, but she has turned into a sweet, loyal puppy. They lift my spirits when times are tough.

I am redecorating the inside of my house and in the fall, we will paint the entire inside. Redecorating is really an overstatement. I am redoing some things, but not everything. Just decluttering and, in the process, figuring out how to modernize as I go along. So far, it has been a very big job. I worked such long hours for so many years and didn’t really pay much attention to my home. I’m paying for that now by having to put some long hours into my house!

All of this adds up to no writing for the past few weeks. I don’t want to get into that pattern, so I’m back to work on my blog and will be participating more. Not only do I enjoy writing, but it is therapeutic for me. I’m starting to freelance a little, mostly in the field in which I worked for so many years which is finance.

I’ve missed talking to all of you. Thank you for coming to my weekendcoffeeshare!

Thank you Natalie, the Explorer for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Bullied

Posted on by R.M. Carlson
Photo Prompt @ Mr. Binks

The girl was 11 years old. She was becoming an accomplished piano player.

She was terrified of playing in an upcoming recital. The girl was bullied at school. They called her “chicken” and teased her.

It was the day of the recital. She wanted to pull out of it, but she remembered all the cries of “chicken.” When her turn came, she gathered all her courage and played a Bach piece, the Prelude in C Minor.

When she finished, there was silence in the audience. Then wild cheering. She never heard the cries of “chicken” again.

Thank you to Rochelle for continuing to host #fridayfictioneers!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

False Alarm

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – August 2, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

When they decided to go their separate ways, she was devastated. She took a solo trip to the beach to try to reconcile herself to her new life without him.

Why were her friends and family freaking out about her trip before she went? She was trying to start healing.

She went for a swim. When her aunt came down to the beach, she was swimming underwater along the shore line.

Suddenly, there were police and an ambulance. They pulled her from the water.

Really? Over a failed relationship? They must not know her at all.

Thanks to Rochelle for continuing to host #FridayFictioneers!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

The First European Trip

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge – July 24, 2024

@Ayr/Gray

The blonde girl, with the brunette girl, were nervous, standing in the airport waiting to board their plane to Europe. Each was only 19 years old. Their parents were sending them to Europe for two months with an American tour group. Both girls were in college,back in 1971, and scared of the new experience but excited at the same time.

First stop, Paris. They were taken by taxis to the innermost parts of Paris where the streets were narrow and crowded. They pulled up to an old building. Looking at the building, they couldn’t believe it was their hotel. It looked old and rundown. Their rooms were adequate, according to their American standards, although they soon found out they had to share a bathroom with an entire floor. There was no running hot water, It didn’t matter. The hotel had character and Paris was so exciting.

They wound their way through Europe by train. Some hotels in the big cities were more contemporary, some less.

One of their last stops was Oslo, Norway. The leaders of the tour group seemed disturbed when they arrived at their hotel in a very old section of the city. Later, they would find out their hotel was in the red-light district of Oslo.

After the girls arrived home in America, they knew they had been on one of the valuable trips of their lives. Many years later, they spoke of how that trip was the best gift their parents could have given them.

Thank you to C.E. Ayrs and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

The Fevered Dream

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – July 26, 2024

@ Roger Bultot

He loved this dark, small room. It helped him write his stories. He was anonymous and the room kept his stories safe from prying eyes.

When he went out, he knew his stories would be protected. The room pulled them away.

He heard a loud clang and woke up. A nurse had dropped a tray. He expected to find his darkened room. He found a hospital ward with bars on the windows.

He realized the room was a dream. He wasn’t there at all. He was in the psychiatric facility. He started to cry.

Thank you to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Uncategorized

Wild Horses

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictionwithronovanwrites Prompt Challenge #30 – Favorite Song

Song: Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones

She didn’t understand what it was about this man. It seemed that no matter what he did or said, she couldn’t find the strength to walk away from him. He was the special one, the one in a million.

She knew that he had been through a lot in his life. Many relationships. All had ended badly. Many great loves that turned out to be not so great. He was cynical, jaded, and took it out on her. She had to believe he didn’t mean to though that belief was starting to fade.

For so many years, she had loved him unconditionally, always remembering the life he had before she entered the picture. Maybe it was the life he still had. He couldn’t seem to accept anything pure or good.

Was what she offered him pure and good or was it selfish? She wasn’t objective about herself and couldn’t answer that question. There were times when she left that she was glad to be gone from him. She was more at peace when she was away from him than when she was with him. She always went back.

Wild horses couldn’t drag her away from her relationship with him.

His former life wasn’t the only problem. Her life contributed to the dysfunction in their relationship as well. She was needy and jealous. Although she tried not to be, she’d never had much positive reinforcement in her life. Then there was The Incident when she was physically abused. She couldn’t think about that.

Was it truly unconditional love that kept her with him? Was it something else, something darker? Was she afraid to step out into the world and take her chances? Was she going to stay with him, no matter what, because she was afraid something else would be worse? She was suffering abuse at his hands too. Emotional abuse.

Then, it happened. She didn’t know what “it” was, but one day, her emotions turned off as if they had been switched off. She looked at him and didn’t care anymore. She wanted to be away from him. Suddenly, she was free, but she had wasted so many years. She didn’t have much time left.

The wild horses that couldn’t drag her away were now carrying her away to her freedom. What about him? She couldn’t sacrifice herself anymore.

_______________________________________________________

Song Lyrics – Wild Horses

Childhood living is easy to do

The things you wanted I bought them for you

Graceless lady you know who I am

You know I can’t let you slide through my hands

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away

Wild, wild horses couldn’t drag me away

I watched you suffer a dull aching pain

Now you’ve decided to show me the same

No sweeping exits or offstage lines

Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away

Wild, wild horses couldn’t drag me away

I know I’ve dreamed you a sin and a lie

I have my freedom but I don’t have much time

Faith has been broken tears must be cried

Let’s do some living after we die

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away

Wild, wild horses we’ll ride them some day

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away

Wild, wild horses we’ll ride them some day

Thanks to A Writer’s Life for the prompt.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Hunted

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge – July 19, 2024

@Ayr/Gray

Alfred sat nervously waiting for a taxi. He had groceries to take home, but his mind was elsewhere. He had called a taxi almost half an hour ago. It should have already arrived.

A horn honked and headlights blazed as the taxi screeched its tires pulling up to him. He didn’t give it a thought as he leaped into the taxi before the driver could get out. He breathed a sigh of relief. Now he wasn’t a sitting duck.

The driver silently sped away. It was quiet in the taxi. The driver didn’t speak and that made Alfred anxious. He was driving too fast. Alfred tried to make small talk with the driver but to no avail.

They reached the edge of the city and Alfred was relieved. Then suddenly, the taxi swerved hard and Alfred was thrown against the window. He was knocked unconscious. Later, he had no idea how long it took him to wake up.

When he awakened, with his head pounding, the driver was nowhere to be found. As Alfred looked around, he realized there was a man in the floorboard of the front seat. He had on a badge and was obviously the real taxi driver. It was quiet and dark. He saw the bushes at the side of the road rustle. He reached for his phone and realized it was gone.

He was being hunted and there was no way to escape.

Thank you to C.E. Ayr and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge!

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

The Shape Shifters

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers challenge – July 19, 2024

Photo prompt @ Lisa Fox

She went to the park with the rock garden just to escape for a few hours. She sat to eat her lunch, finding peace in looking at the rocks around her.

As she looked at the beautiful rocks, they seemed to move. She thought it was the tears in her eyes. One seemed to have turned into a statue of her mother. Another a statue of her dad. They had passed long ago.

Seeing them again in the rocks gave her some peace. Maybe she wasn’t so alone to deal with her life challenges after all.

Thank you to Rochelle for hosting the #fridayfictioneers challenge.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

The Secret Sauce

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#unicornchallenge July 11, 2024

@Ayr/Gray

In the heart of the city, an old, weathered man had a bright and shiny food truck that catered to the lunch crowd from businesses in the area. He sold fish and chips. Everyone who ate there raved about how delicious the food was. The lunch lines kept getting longer and longer.

Simon was a chef who had gotten his fish and chips recipes from one of his mother’s cookbooks. She loved fish and chips and was striving to find the very best recipe.

After her death, Simon found a small jar in her kitchen that was labeled “Special Ingredient for Fish and Chips.” He had no idea how to find this special ingredient or what it was. It tasted like nothing he had tasted before.

One day, an ancient, wrinkled lady came to the food truck. She was his mother’s friend and told Simon the seed pods he needed only appeared on the night of the third full moon.

Simon gathered the seed pods on the designated night. He began to make the secret ingredient, but it was never quite right. The crowds at the food truck started to dwindle.

As the Legend of Simon, the fish and chips guy, goes, he could be seen at midnight working on the secret ingredient in his food truck.

Did he ever get it right?

You would have to ask the lunch crowd.

Thank you to C.E. Ayr and Jenne Gray for hosting the #unicornchallenge.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

Three Shoes

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

#fridayfictioneers – July 12, 2024

Photo Prompt @ Rondo Del Boccio

Alice stepped off the pavement onto the sand, looking around for children at play on the beach. Nothing.. She held a lone children’s sneaker in her hand that she’d just found in the parking lot.

Alice strolled down the beach hoping to find the shoe’s owner.

She turned to walk back to the parking lot. Suddenly, someone ran up behind her and grabbed the shoe from her hand.

A small girl stood there scowling.

“You stole my shoe. I was coming back to get it.”

She already had on two shoes.

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting #fridayfictioneers!