29 March 2024

Published March 27, 2024 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 © Dale Rogerson

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Here it is! The official cover of LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE, due out sometime in May or June. The poem in the following story is the beginning of the book and one that I actually wrote when I was in the midst of the battle.

Genre: Non-Fiction
Word Count: 100

HIS SUCCESS STORY

The Dancer

The steps used to

Be simple,

Every leap and turn;

Graceful, exultant dance.

But now

Annie leads me to murky depths

Of despair

And

Threatens,

In the most literal sense,

To devour

Soul, spirit, and body.

I’m tortured by

Pain on the faces of those

Who care.

Helpless to halt this

Insane choreography

I seek resolution

Via self-destruction.

After reading my poem, Wayne asked, “What do you hope to accomplish by starving yourself to death?”

“They’ll be better off without me.”

*****

In Memory of Wayne Clinton Witcher, my ever-patient therapist. I will always consider myself your success story.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Vellichor

Published October 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.

BY DEFINITION

Breathing in the volume’s musty aroma,

The secondhand bookstore patron opens a volume.

Rife with intricate engravings and photographs

It tells stories of long ago.

She relishes the feel of pages between her hungry fingers.

Tattered leather bindings with embossed titles entice her.

Aaah.

To read.

To dream.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Oasis

Published August 1, 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.

I’ve been MIA re the Weekend Writing Prompt for the past couple of weeks. Between art shows, extreme heat, it’s been an insane roller coaster ride.

ON THE ALTAR

The promising manuscript

Hailed by beta readers

As my opus

Has been spurned by the major and minor leagues.

Dreams laid aside

For the moment

I sequester in my oasis

With watercolors and an antique photograph

Comforted by my grandmothers.

The photo was taken around the end of the 19th century in Eastern Europe. I used the photo as a model for my first novel’s book cover. Now I’m painting the “real thing.” The ladies are my grandmother Nettie and great grandmother Edith.

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.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Bequeath

Published November 8, 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.

My paternal grandmother, Miriam Reuben Wisoff ©

My Grandma Miriam

Was a cynical and lonely

Old woman who bequeathed

Her reflections and perceptions

To her descendants in prolific poetry.

My heritage.

***

IMAGERY*

In fancy I see, like a flock of birds

Diverse poems from here and there,

Each with a different song in its throat,

Winging its way toward the editor’s chair.

Some fly low, of earthy things to tell,

While others to the sky must soar,

Each longs to impart,

What is in its soul and heart,

To a sympathetic editor.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Heather

Published October 4, 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.

Although this isn’t a true story, per se, it’s a reality for too many.

FAIRY TALE ROMANCE

Lucky white heather in her bouquet,

She approaches her Prince Charming

And links her fingers with his

Never dreaming that loving hand

Will viciously end her life.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Kaleidoscope

Published June 6, 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.

Simple pleasure

A favorite toy

My own hall of mirrors

Contained in a tin cylinder

Rotating bits of glass

Splendor of refracted color.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Intrepid

Published May 30, 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.

This week the prompt took me back to a poem I wrote when my youngest son was somewhere between four and six. It’s been a long time ago. 😉 I wrote a lot of poetry back then as a means of journalling. I took this one out of mothballs and gave it a trim and an overhaul. The sketch is from the same time.

DAUNTLESS

Today you are a cowboy

Astride your faithful steed.

Other times you’re an intrepid warrior

Stalking family pets.

You live in a world all your own,

Chattering for hours

About nothing in particular.

By turns you are both angel and rogue,

Challenging me to love you

At all cost

To my sanity.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Fade

Published May 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.

Counting on my fingers, to make sure I had the right number of syllables…I give you Haiku

Flower petals fade

Shriveling blossoms will fall

The artist preserves.

(Realizes she has seven words left over.)

Weekend Writing Prompt – Muddle

Published March 21, 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