2 April 2021

Published March 31, 2021 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 © Jennifer Pendergast

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Genre: Memoir

Word Count: 100

ICING FOR JOY

My decorating supervisor, Mack had an undeniable presence. Although I’ve no photo of him, I have an image in my mind that will never fade. Bushy white moustache and flushed cheeks under a flat cap.

He had been creating gorgeous cakes since I was in diapers. Flowers crafted from extra-stiff icing were his specialty. Roses. Daisies. Pansies. Chrysanthemums.

Eyes twinkling, he called me “Whats-Your-Name.”

A better mentor I couldn’t have asked for—never stingy with his tricks of the trade. I’ll always cherish the greatest compliment he ever gave me. “You can do anything I can, and you know it.”

****

Mack also told me I had a bright future as a cake decorator. I never told him that wasn’t exactly the future I was hoping for. 😉 From him that was huge. He’s gone now. I really wish I’d taken a picture or two of him.

A few of my favorite cakes through the years.

YEE-HAW!!!

Weekend Writing Prompt – Vista

Published March 14, 2021 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.

Selfie in St. Thomas

NET OF WONDER

The sea’s susurration

Murmurs sweet secrets.

Coral resonates purple majesty.

The diver’s eyes feast

On a vibrant vista of brilliant schools.

Buoyed and breathless,

Heart flipping,

She is reborn.

5 March 2021

Published March 3, 2021 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 © Roger Bultot

Genre: Histrionic Friction

Word Count: 100

UN-A-MUSED

A blank computer screen mocks me. I type, “It was a dark and stormy night.” I backspace over it. Frustration reigns supreme. “He was a stormy, dark knight.”

Screw it.

Backspace.

My mind’s as gray as the sky outside. Whoever heard of a sky inside?

Oy.

Maybe it’s all the binge watching on Netflix that has my empty mind swimming in circles.

That’s it! I’ll write about swimming. “Sloshing, stroking, flipping. Blissfully skimming.”

Backspace.

How many odes have I written to my inner mermaid?

“Dear Muse, where are you?”

The words flash across the monitor.

“Moved. Left no forwarding address.”

Weekend Writing Prompt – Kitsch

Published February 27, 2021 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.

TREASURES

One Christmas I asked for a literary agent with a contract and a huge check. Of course, it was a silly request. Nonetheless, my son did his best to fulfill my wish. A blue-suited, yellow figurine clutching a large red checkmark holds a place of honor next to Mickey Mouse and plastic Disney fairies. Worthless kitsch, you say? These tchotchkes—like my mom’s half-century-old dashboard ornament—make me smile.

A friend has referred to these doo-dads that sit on the shelf above my computer screen as my altar. Not sure about that, but each of them holds a special memory for me. BTW, whimsical clay figures are a sideline for my middle son whose main profession is that of a TV writer. (Proud mom with kvelling rights).

Weekend Writing Prompt – Beguile

Published January 31, 2021 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.

Those beguiling brown eyes could melt the coldest heart. Even when I knew I should not give in; he would convince me with a pleading glance.

“My parents warned me about sleeping with guys like you.”

He snuggled beside me, his heart thumping against mine.

“But Mommy, the thunder scares me.”

Weekend Writing Prompt – Tenacious

Published January 17, 2021 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.

AMERICAN LEGACY

Nineteen years ago, I experienced southern hospitality in Selma, Alabama with friends

A restaurant we went to served wonderful food with a side of grisly history. A pit beside the front door had been a holding cell for slave auctions. I lost my appetite.

As we drove over the Edmund Pettis bridge my heart swelled. I imagined the hundreds of American citizens who marched across it, tenaciously fighting for what was rightfully theirs.

No fiction in this story. Guess it’s the time of year. Martin Luther King Jr. day is tomorrow in the States. He was a true American Hero who leaves behind a legacy…for all Americans. (At least that’s how I see it.)

Weekend Writing Prompt – Crucible

Published January 9, 2021 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

As I’d hoped, this week’s word is perfect for the sequel to my last week’s kvetch and moan piece. 😉 Thanks, Sammi.

Genre: Just the facts, Ma’am.

OLD BOUCHERVILLE

“This photo’s amazing, Dale. I’m tempted to paint it.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure I can pull it off.”

Dale’s photo with its stellar composition and unique lighting rented space in my head, refusing to leave.

The preliminary sketch took days. And, oh those many trees.

What am I thinking?

My trial by fire didn’t end with the watercolor. The paper, nothing I’d used before, was a cotton rag with its own personality—my crucible, challenging every stroke.

When all is said and done, I’ll never ever be a fan of that paper, but I am pleased with the outcome.

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Weekend Writing Prompt – Marginal

Published January 2, 2021 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.

FIRST DRAFT

The artist welcomes

The dawning year

With a preliminary sketch

Before rendering it in watercolor,

Kneaded eraser at the ready.

Progress is marginal at best.

Can she pull this one off?

To see finished works by the artist 😉 CLICK HERE

Weekend Writing Prompt – Niggle

Published December 13, 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.

FRENETIC WATERCOLORIST

Months of seclusion

Have wrought hours of creation

Payne’s grey, cerulean

Shades of crimson

Burnt Umber, phthalo greens and blues.

Colors blend into pictures of

Faces,

Seascapes

Water and glass.

Whatever appeals to me.

Whatever challenges me.

These things I must render

Even the proverbial kitchen sink

With sable brushes on

Gloriously textured paper.

The thought niggles at me.

Have I painted myself into a corner?

Weekend Writing Prompt – Dire

Published November 28, 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.

So this is where the word took me. I couldn’t help it, it was there. 😉 (Forgive me, Mark Knopfler.)

DIRE LYRICS

Back in the ‘90’s my husband Jan and a coworker argued over certain song lyrics. It didn’t matter how many times or ways Jan pointed out and proved the error. Kevin wouldn’t budge.

Even now, when we hear Dire Straits sing it, we laugh and sing along using Kevin’s lyrics. “We’re the sultans, we’re the sultans of suede.”

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And just for fun…it’s such a great song, especially with the right words.