WEEKEND WRITING PROMPT – INEFFABLE

Published November 3, 2019 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.

PORTAL

“This photo’s always fascinated me.” I turn over the cardboard and study the foreign print. “Wish I could read it.”

Oxana stares at it. “It’s Russian. Very old.”

I flip it back over and gaze at the girl with ineffable awe, wishing I could read her thoughts. “It’s my grandmother Nettie Weinberg and her mother Edith. Great-grandma looks like she walked right out of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, doesn’t she?”

1 November 2019

Published October 30, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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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 © Fatima Fakier Deria

The frog isn’t blue but click him anyway. 😉

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

THE LIFE OF THE PARTY

Hibiscus aka Brownie brushed away a tear as she put the finishing touches on her article for the Detroit News. She wrote a good life, but her “Love-Haven” column was fantasy.

A divorced single mother, she became a top saleslady for Stanley Home Products.

However, a bowl made from polyethylene slag changed her life.

“Its burping lid is amazing.” At parties she dropped the full plastic bowl on the floor. It remained sealed, clinching sale after sale.

“Brownie Wise, my vice-president, you could sweet-talk a bee out of its honey,” said inventor Earl Tupper.

Hence, the Tupperware™ party was born.

*

The first woman to ever be on the cover of Business Week, Brownie Wise was a force with which to reckon. Sadly, her story doesn’t have a happy ending. Thanks to Earl Tupper’s ego, her name was expunged from the Tupperware company. While Earl Tupper sold the company for millions, Brownie Wise lived the rest of her life in obscurity, refusing to even own a piece of Tupperware.

CLICK for more.

Brownie and Jerry Wise

Earl Tupper showing Brownie the raw slag

Brownie at her best

SEEKING ASYLUM

Published October 28, 2019 by rochellewisoff

In the spirit of Halloween, Pegman ventures to one of the creepiest places in the United States, the condemned Overbrook Lunatic Asylum in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. A quick Google search will reveal to the writer many horrifying facts about this cursed place, some of which may inspire up to 150 original words to be shared with fellow Pegman adventurers. Feel free to stroll around until you find something you like, then post your work to the InLinks site. Have fun, and happy Halloween!

I’m not sure how original my 150 words are. This story is somewhat out of my comfort zone, which I’m told is a good thing for a writer. 😉 I guess you could say it haunted me.

Many thanks to Josh and Karen for this challenge which is all about location, location, location.

CLICK FROG TO JOIN IN THE FUN

Word Count: 150

SEEKING ASYLUM

My brother kicked a pile of chipped paint and crumbled floor. “What a shame they’re tearing down this old loony bin.”

“Yeah.” Light beamed through a broken window, illuminating a broken-down piano. “Guess we’ll have to find somewhere else.”

“They say it’s haunted.”

I startled. The voice belonged to a girl sitting in a lopsided chair. She skimmed her fingertips across the yellowed keys, a faraway look in her sky-blue eyes. “I don’t believe it for a minute, do you?”

I pointed to her old-fashion nurse’s cap and uniform. “Halloween costume?”

“Tis the season.” She giggled. “Wanna hear some Scott Joplin?”

“Maple Leaf Rag” shook the walls.

When she finished I applauded and turned to my brother. “Is she amazing or what?”

He scratched his head and sent me a puzzled look. “Who?”

I whipped back around to see a tattered nurse’s cap on the keyboard. “Umm…nobody. Race ya home.”

WEEKEND WRITING PROMPT – TWILIGHT

Published October 26, 2019 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.

The story is 44 words without the title. 😉

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR TELEVISION SET

The Twilight Zone’s theme song sent shivers down my spine. But The Outer Limits’ intro scared the you-know-what out of me with, “Do not attempt to adjust the picture…We will control the vertical. We will control the horizontal.”

How I long for those days.

Submitted for your approval…you’ll find both intros below. Somehow everything was scarier in black and white and you’re between 6-10 years old. 😉

25 October 2019

Published October 23, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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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 © Jean L. Hays

Hi-ho! Give us a little click.

Genre: Hysterical Fiction

Word Count: 100

PIN MONEY

“Drat. This is my favorite skirt.” Dale noted her unraveled hem. “I left my sewing kit at home.”

Rochelle dug through her purse. “Here you go.” She handed a safety pin to her friend. “Temporary fix.”

“Thanks.”

“Ever wonder who invented the safety pin?”

“No. Do you?”

“Glad you asked.” Rochelle grinned. “William Hunt, a little-known inventor from Martinsburg, New York, created it from 20 centimeters of wire in 1849 so he could pay off a $15 debt. He later sold the patent for a mere $400.”

“Oy!” Dale rolled her eyes. “I just had to ask Encyclopedia Britannica Wisoff-Fields.”

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Note…Where did 7 years go? 7 years ago I was working on my first novel, employed as a cake decorator in a local grocery store and had just begun to write for Friday Fictioneers. I loved the feedback and meeting other writers around the world. Sandra Crook, Russell Gayer and Ted Strutz were among the first to welcome me. I had only been an FF’r for 6 months when Friday Fictioneers creator, Madison Woods decided it was time to move onto other things. I was devastated. Coerced by my husband and two other friends, I begged Madison to let me take the helm. Click Here to check out my first story as facilitator. Thank you to those who participate, reciprocate and have become great friends! ❤

WEEKEND WRITING PROMPT -AURORA

Published October 20, 2019 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.

How can I resist 28 words? These prompts always take me to different places. This week it took me here:

GILT BY COMMISSION

Each portrait presents a new obstacle. Some are more challenging than others. How was I supposed to paint the aurora borealis in sepia tones? What the customer wants…

ORIGINAL ARTWORK © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

18 October 2019

Published October 16, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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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 © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

POKE THE FROG TO JOIN

Thanks to Keith Hillman for his Froggie adaptations.

Genre: Fiction

Word Count: 100

STATE OF ISRAEL

A cool breeze ruffled Shlomit’s hair. How different from her previous life when head-coverings symbolized her devotion to Adoshem and Avi.

Avi Weinstein, zealous for Torah. His parents’ only son. The perfect husband.

After her seventh miscarriage, he beat her.

Even now her footsteps pounded out his accusations along the cobblestone Jerusalem street. “Murderer! Mother of death.”

Three years ago Avi died, leaving no heirs.

Shlomit fled the Hasidim and their restricting laws.

Beside her Elan squeezed her hand. No side-curls. Colorful clothes. Her devoted Jewish husband.

Avi’s hateful words faded. Elan patted her swollen tummy. “Beautiful mother of life.”

***

While I didn’t see the women flashing their the Haredim, I did witness the demonstration of these men and boys storming the streets of Jerusalem yelling, “Shabbos!” firsthand.

And here’s the link to another video about the state of Israel. It’s kind of long so it’s up to you to watch or not watch. 😉 Like anyone else, I have my opinions but I’ll not share them here. I do wish we could all celebrate each other’s differences.

CLICK

INSTINCT

Published October 13, 2019 by rochellewisoff

This week Pegman takes us to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, USA.

Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the prompt. Feel free to use the location supplied above, our take your own tour of Washington D.C. via Google maps and find a view that inspires you.

You may write poetry, prose, essay, limerick, sonnet, or fiction of any flavor. Once your piece is polished, share it with others at the linkup below. Reading and commenting is part of the fun.

Thanks to Karen and Josh for facilitating this unique challenge. To join click the frog.

image-arlington_national_cemetery_public_domain-10944

This week I revisited and fleshed out a story I posted in Friday Fictioneers four years ago.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 150

INSTINCT

Six years my senior, my gentle brother was my hero. He was the valedictorian of his graduating class. Awarded a scholarship to Harvard, he owned the future.

I had just turned twelve when his draft notice came. Vietnam consumed every newscast. Mom was inconsolable.

The day he left to go overseas I clung to him and sobbed. “I’ll never see you again.”

“Duty calls, Sis.” He pinched my cheek and kissed my nose. “I’ll be back. You’ll see.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

***

Tonight we celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His hands tremble as he cuts the cake. The knife falls from his fingers and tears stream down his stubbled cheeks.

“I cut off their ears and hung them from a chain on my belt loop.” He swallows a pill with a swig of beer. “Thirty-six kills. God, I miss it.”

My brother did come back from Vietnam but he never returned.

WEEKEND WRITING PROMPT – REPLACE

Published October 13, 2019 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 didn’t include the title in the word count. The story is 89 words.

BEAUTY FOR ASSES

To supplement our income, I signed on as a makeup consultant.

I went from one “Rah-Rah” meeting to another. We were Marilee’s moonbeams. Marilee encouraged me with her sweet effervescent smile. Dreams of pink Cadillacs filled my head.

One quarter I even won a jeweled brooch for sales.

In the midst of my so-called success, Mom lost her battle with cancer. Instead of offering comfort, Marilee encouraged me, with that ingratiating smile of hers, to get out there and “sell, sell, sell” as if that would replace my mother.

11 October 2019

Published October 9, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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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.