Fiction: Sausage (prompted by a Story Challenge)

By Maik Strosahl

The following is just a little silliness playing with Michael Brownstein’s Story Challenge from August 8th. I did not require myself to follow any rules, it’s just some play with words to get these creative juices flowing after dealing with a couple weeks of the dreaded Covid.


“Kidnapped!,” cried the wife.
“Surely he’s been used
to train the fighting dogs,
ground into the dust
by a rabid beast near
five times our little Weiner!

Story Challenge #6

Featuring
a disturbing setting

By Moristotle

Thanks to Michael H. Bernstein for another challenging beginning, which he submitted modestly as “potential.”

Story Challenge #5

Write a poem for its story

By Moristotle

Thanks to Michael H. Brownstein for today’s challenging beginning, something quite different....
    It points to a story in poem form. As Michael suggested in his submission: “Finish this as a poem poem, a prose poem, or even as a work of flash fiction.” I understand “flash fiction” to be a synonym for “short short story” (only a few hundred words).

Story Challenge #4

Challenge yourself if need be

By Moristotle

The unwitting contributor of today’s challenging beginning underestimated my deviousness. He emailed me that so far none of the beginnings offered have really challenged his particular interests. But he said he hopes some future one will...or he might come up with a beginning himself, telling a story out of his own life. (Some of you may have noticed that I do exactly that with my Goines On vignettes.)

Story Challenge #3

Featuring
a character named Bob Altemyer

By Moristotle

Your challenge is to continue the narrative begun below, developing the character of Bob Altemyer in an engaging way and coming to a satisfying – and hopefully a surprising – ending, yet one that a careful reader might have foreseen. Go wherever your story (and your muse) may lead you.

Story Challenge #2

Featuring
an unnamed character in first person

By Moristotle

Thanks to Contributing Editor Paul Clark (aka motomynd) for today’s challenging beginning.

Story Challenge: Our new column

“Betty beckoned Ray to....”

By Moristotle

Inspired by my fictional character Goines’ idea yesterday, I am today launching our new column, “Story Challenge.” Our plan is to provide a 100- to 200-word beginning for a story, and the challenge is for writers to continue the narrative, developing the characters and the happenings to...wherever the story (and each writer’s muse) leads them.

Goines On: Challenging story

Click image for more vignettes

Passing a certain house on his daily walk, Goines was pleasantly surprised when the couple who lived there waved and shouted “Hi!” from their front porch. Ordinarily, Goines would have to shout first, and it was rare for both of them to be there. Drinking their coffee together, he guessed.
    Continuing on, Goines couldn’t help wondering for the umpteenth time at what someone had whispered to Mrs. Goines about the couple’s having gotten together as the result of a “spouse exchange” among the members of a sports club in town.