Weekend Writing Prompt – Impact

Published August 22, 2020 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.

Once more this prompt took me down Memory Lane. Whether deserved or not, my Aunt Edith was a legend in our house. Hers was my first experience with the death of a loved one.

L’DOR V’DOR*

When I was eight Aunt Edith passed away. My mother’s sister lived in the house behind ours.

Memories. Faded impressions. Passover seders at Grandpa’s. A gold demitasse cup she kept just for me. The prayer book I wish I’d kept. I’ve searched for it online. Out of print.

I still remember my aunt’s attempts to teach me manners. “Ladies say ‘yes’ not ‘yeah.’”

She made an impact.

*From generation to generation.

My mother is the short lady on the left. Aunt Edith is the bride. Sometime in the late 1930’s or early 1940’s.

21 August 2020

Published August 19, 2020 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

CLICK THE FROG TO JOIN THE FUN

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Word Count: 100

VISITANT

Lucinda rocked her son. “I should go downstairs and help Marion with breakfast.

She listened to the clatter of pots and pans and hugged the baby. “How clever of your auntie to open our home to boarders when your papa didn’t return from the war.”

A nightgown-clad child with huge brown eyes stood in the doorway. “Who are you?”

“The lady of the house. Who are you?”

“Lucinda, after my great-great grandmother.”

***

Lucinda pointed to a tintype of a woman with huge dark eyes. “I met her this morning.”

“Nonsense,” said Mom. “She died in childbirth a hundred years ago.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Jostle

Published August 16, 2020 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.

Once upon a time

Three boys,

Two dogs,

One cat,

And

Two frazzled parents

Crowded into a tiny three-bedroom house.

To the

Chagrin of their parents,

The kids wrestled and teased.

Today those boys are men.

And silence jostles my longing ears.

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

14 August 2020

Published August 12, 2020 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT -Copyright-Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

CLICK THE DANCING FROG TO ADD YOUR LINK

Welcome to another week of SUMMER RERUNS. This week the story and prompt are from 14 November 2014. If you were with us that week, feel free to take a break and post your own rerun. 😀

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

FIRST DRAFT

“Can’t you imagine little Harry trying to climb the fig trees?” Ida’s eyes glittered. “He would’ve been three this year.”

“I miss him, too,” Harvey whispered.

Although his heart ached with loss, Harvey still counted his blessings. What could such a vibrant woman possibly see in him, a wheelchair bound invalid thirty years her senior?

“Maybe we’ll have another son. For now we have one hundred twenty acres of prime, undeveloped California land to subdivide.” He brushed a tear from her cheek with a kiss. “What shall we call our little town? Harryville?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s call it Hollywood.”

.

Daeida Hartell Wilcox Beveridge “The Mother of Hollywood”

Click here for more info.

Harvey Henderson Wilcox

Weekend Writing Prompt – Misanthrope

Published August 9, 2020 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s comment section.

I’m out of my comfort zone this week, sightseeing, swimming in the ocean and enjoying some sibling revelry with my brother Jeffrey Wisoff. 😀

SELF EXAMINATION

Me? Antisocial? Surely you jest. I interact with people all day long—online. Okay. I’m a little reclusive, perhaps. A cockeyed introvert, for certain. But a misanthrope? Nay I say. I’m merely comfortable with my own company.

Swimming laps gives me immeasurable pleasure. Water, as opposed to nattering human voices, whispers serenity to my soul.

Granted, I enjoy an occasional day out with the girls. Human contact is essential—in limited installments. Nothing pleases me more, after a day of shopping, than to sequester with my paintbrush

My office –slash-studio is my happy place where I control my reality.

8 August 2020

Published August 5, 2020 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT – © Jennifer Pendergast

CLICK FROG TO ADD YOUR LINK

Today I’m on my way to North Carolina with a supply of masks to visit my one and only brother. So once more, a SUMMER RERUN. If you wrote a story for this prompt from 10 April 2015, feel free to rerun yours. Thank you for understanding.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

ONLY THE MOUNTAIN REMAINS

My dearest Zhilan,

This night my thoughts turn toward home and you. I cherish the times we invited the moon to join us as we shared rice wine. Remember how we dreamed I would find Gold Mountain?

Now my journey is hard and my days are filled with the pickaxe and train tracks. Never will I see you again, my fragrant orchid, nor our precious son…

***

“Fever musta took him.” Levi knelt beside the body and pried a piece of crumpled paper from its stiff hand. “Whatcha make a this?”

Orville squinted and shrugged. “Jest some ignorant Chinee scribbles.”

More

Engaging, Uplifting and Altogether Heartbreaking

Published August 2, 2020 by rochellewisoff

Some of my readers may recognize the name of this prolific participant in Friday Fictioneers. Over the past week, I’ve been completely lost in this beautifully written novel. So I’m posting my review here.

I never did learn to speed read. It will usually take me a while to plod through a book, even if I’m enjoying the read. It’s rare for me to pick up a 400 plus page novel and read it from cover to cover in three days.

Emilia by Na’ama Yehuda is one of those books. The multi-faceted story sucked me in from the first paragraph and didn’t cut me loose until the last line.

Granted, other tasks ended up in the ignore pile. Things like sleeping.

Set in the 1800’s, the story opens with KayAnne, Emilia’s tutor, rescuing the child from the unimaginable horror she’s suffered at the hands of her guardian. Determined to take Emilia to a safe place, KayAnne boards a train to a place she’s only heard of in passing—a lighthouse run by an old woman who helps broken women heal.

Not only did the compelling story draw me in, but the well-developed characters from Marion the keeper of the lighthouse to Big Ben, a gentle intuitive horse. The moment I met Marion, I felt safe.

I laughed at the antics of puppy, Billy-Boo and ground my teeth at the cruelty exhibited by certain characters. The intricate plot twists kept me engaged and in suspense. As I came to the final line, my heart cried out for more.

Na’ama’s experience working with childhood trauma shines through exquisitely in this sensitively written novel.

Na’ama Yehuda

You can find EMILIA here.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Peristeronic

Published August 1, 2020 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.

(A mini history lesson in 53…Of cabbages and kings, of pigeons ant things.)

PERISTERONIC

“Cher Ami.” said Grandpa, “was a hero of the Great War. The Krauts shot a hole in his chest, blasted out his eye and blew off his leg. Yet nothing could deter him from his mission.”

“He must’ve been a tough.”

“Yessir. Two-hundred of us doughboys owe that tough carrier pigeon our lives.”

October 4, 1918

31 July 2020

Published July 29, 2020 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

Between finishing a novel, writing a book proposal and visiting my one and only brother, I’ll be somewhat out of pocket for the the next couple of weeks. Therefore it’s SUMMER RERUN TIME. For those of you who recognize this prompt from 2013 and were part of Friday Fictioneers, feel free to reprise your own story.

CLICK FROG TO ADD YOUR LINK

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

KIA ORA

In March 1956, the year I turned fourteen, my best friend was murdered. They found her mangled body wedged in a rock crevice at Koutu Point.

For days I refused to get out of bed. No amount of Mum’s tea and sympathy could ease my broken heart or stem my anger.

The winter wind off the Tasman Sea brought waves of loneliness.

Never again will Opo and I swim together in Hokianga Harbour, but whenever I watch a dolphin spin above the water in gleeful abandon, I see her.

I hope the fisherman who blew up my Opo exploded, too.

Original artwork.
Copyright -Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opo_(dolphin)

Weekend Writing Prompt – Nuance

Published July 25, 2020 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.