You may have heard of Flash fiction. It is effectively a super short story. There isn’t a common length associated with it, but for my purposes I am going to consider 250-300 words to be my target.
Flash Fridays will involve me writing flash fiction on a random subject. How will I select this subject? Well I found a very useful short story concept generator here. Each week I’ll see what it comes up with and try to tell a story in 300 words or less.
This week I got the following:
A motor home is the location, joy is the theme. A mirror is an object that plays a part in the story.
Ok, so here goes:
I pull the handbrake on our home away from home and the gravel on the driveway crunches as the lumbering vehicle grinds to a halt. My phone chirps with a text message. He’s a minute away. A mix of nerves and excitement fills my veins. It feels strange being back here, back at the campsite where we first met. I check my hair in the mirror for the hundredth time. I flick a few errant strands back behind my ear and adjust my necklace. I’ve already spent hours obsessing over what to wear, trying on countless outfits, desperate to find the perfect combination. Now I am doubting my choice. Is my top too low? Perhaps it is not low enough? Am I getting worked up over nothing? Perhaps I’ve just imagined the signs.
Before I can change my outfit there’s a loud knock on the door. I shout, “come in.” It swings open and he strides in with a nervous grin on his face, his hands behind his back. He’s wearing his best suit, the one he asked me to take to the dry cleaners last week. He never wears a suit, especially not for a camping weekend. He brings his left hand around to reveal a single red rose, which he hands to me. My pulse races. With a smile he drops to one knee and reveals the small blue box in his right hand. The diamond ring sparkles and catches the light. I feel my legs go weak and I fight the urge to faint. Then he utters the words I’ve been waiting all these years to hear, “Alright darling, fancy getting hitched?”
Kudos. You met your target with 275 words. Flash fiction is an excellent exercise in making words count and truly an art in a well told story.
Thanks! I’d have liked to incorporate the motor home more tightly into the story, but struggled with just how to do so. Flash fiction is certainly forcing me to focus. Intrigued to see what scenario I get this week.