“Welcome to Slogan Loco, where we bring taglines to life!
“Last week, we ‘gave you a break, gave you a break; broke you off a piece of that Kit Kat bar’: each contestant fractured two bones in exchange for chocolate!
“This week, what would you do for a Klondike bar!?”
This was story was based on a title suggested by Jordan Sevenhuysen via Facebook.
“Ooh, it says it’s recommended by four-of-five early childhood educators!” said the young mother, hefting a brightly decorated box. “Two for the kids, then?”
“Why?” grunted her husband, eyeing the Squeezy Huggables Parental Affection Replacement Device suspiciously.
“Between this and a nanny, we wouldn’t have to touch them at all!”
The residents of what was colloquially known as the 9th Ave. Bawdy House were sad souls. They had abrasive personalities, they ate their fingernails, and they performed their “Yes, pleases” and “No, thank yous” with their mouths and their hands, but never their eyes.
They were rescued, but never saved.
This story was based on a request for prompts in the form of three adjectives beginning with the letters A, B, and C. The adjectives abrasive, bawdy, and colloquial, were provided by @LorGraham.
All the food was orange: carrot soup, pumpkin pie, and orange juice. I didn’t like any of it, but I ate it because I had been taught that when you are a guest you must show appreciation of whatever you are given.
I’m not going to like life on Mars.
Tanja Cilia lives in Malta, Europe, with her husband and three children. She freelances for print and online media in Maltese and English. You can read her latest blog post for the Times of Malta here.
“It’s barbaric!” she shrilled, her artificially smoothened, partially atrophied face stiff with a show of haughty dismay. “The thought of consuming such a creature!”
The manager watched the woman wobble out on four-inch heels.
“The octopus offended her,” he whispered to the chef. “With her looks, it must’ve seemed cannibalistic.”
This story was based on a request for prompts in the form of three adjectives beginning with the letters A, B, and C. The adjectives atrophied, barbaric, and cannibalistic, were provided by @keab42.
Ploughing, seeding, threshing, baling…
To Farmer Bucket, the unceasing cycle felt like being caught in a tumble dryer that reeked of diesel and hay.
But once a month, he went to the coffee shop and people-watched, gathering observations for his research.
Farmer Bucket was very passionate about his field work.
“What portion of his schooling is your young son attending, Holmes?
“How would you describe hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, Holmes?
“What do you call it when men shaped liked the letter preceding ‘M’ linger after an event, Holmes?”
After many years, Watson had grown very tired of Sherlock Holmes’ catchphrase.
This story is based on a title suggested by Matthew Ryper via Facebook.
The care-free matador brought work home with him, dodging bulls by night and sidestepping commitments and responsibilities by day.
The stolid yodeler brought work home with her, bellowing music by day and shouting judgments and criticisms by night.
He reminded her of a song.
She reminded him of a cow.
This story is based on a title created by my sister, Lisa, while playing a microfiction party game that I will share via this site at some point in the future.
Molly slipped into the icy water, her eyes closing with a steely resolve.
No more would they bully or call her names. She’d had enough.
A note and her diary sat on the counter.
Her parents turned her sad tale into a bestselling novel. It’s true: money heals all wounds.
Nancy A. Cavanaugh is a freelance writer living in Keene, NH. You can read her flash and micro fiction at myflashywords.blogspot.com.
There are 50 unitalicized words in this story, not including line numbers. The italicized words are instructions: you may choose one option and go to the appropriate line to continue your adventure!
Have fun!
1.You’re in a boat.
Line 2: Jump out.
Line 3: Eat lunch.
Line 4: Raise pirate flag.
2. You’re swimming.
Line 1: Get in the boat.
Line 5: Eat lunch.
Line 6: Dive.
3. Yum! Now you’re full.
Go to Line 1.
4. You’re in a fearsome pirate boat.
Line 2: Jump out.
Line 7: Attack a freighter.
5. Soggy food! Yuck.
Go to Line 2.
6. You’re on the ocean floor.
Line 2: Swim upwards.
Line 8: Attack a freighter.
Line 9: Explore.
7. A lubber lops off your hand.
Line 10: Staunch the bleeding.
Line 11: Shoot the lubber.
8. You are chopped up by the freighter’s propeller.
The End
9. You drown.
The End
10. While bandaging yourself, you are shot.
The End
11. You bleed to death.
The End