1. What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?
There's no such thing as writer's block. When you're stuck, write anyway. You can fix it later. If every writer waited for inspiration, for just the right moment, very little writing would get done.
2. The first and last books you fell in love with?
The first is easy. I read 1984 when I was 16. I felt so connected to poor Winston Smith that (SPOILER ALERT) when he gave up at the end, I was devastated. I threw the book at the wall across the room. I stewed for several minutes. And then I went over, picked up the book, and read it again.
The last book I fell in love with was probably Bloodman by Robert Pobi. He's created an incredibly compelling character here. An FBI profiler who is so messed up inside he might be worse than the people he's chasing. If you like your protagonists dark and tattooed, read this.
3. What are you listening to right now?
Spongebob and Patrick as they learn karate.
4. If you could be a superhero, what would your super power be?
I'd be able to glean information from the world like I had Bluetooth in my head.
5. Suppose you could travel to any place in time and history. When and where are you going?
I have no good answer for this. The "resurrection" of Jesus, with a video camera? The birth of my first child so I could experience it again? The dawn of the universe? Maybe that time in 1989 when I broke my hand so I could tell myself "Don't chase that Mustang. Nothing good will come of it." None of these are satisfying answers. I suppose I'd stay right where I am. It's a good life.
WINNER... @moonlit__girl
There were so many good ones. So many. But I kept coming back to this one. I read it again and again and again. The more I read it, the deeper it got. Goosebumps deep. This woman. I know her through your words. I feel for her. I understand how this happened and I feel like I understand how she wishes it hadn’t but is glad it did. This line “realized i had started cheating with that first smile” killed me. It still frickin kills me. And that ending. Good lord that ending. Thank you for writing this.
i wasn't unhappy at home and i wasn't looking
for the attention (but i liked it)
i flirted back because i thought it was
safe, thought you were safe.
there was no way that you, fresh
out of college, beautiful and
hard in all the right places,
would want me, married and momma.
i flirted because it was fun, just fun
a guilty pleasure but innocuous.
i liked you- not the kind of like
that was safe, but it was still okay
because you didn't like me
like that.
when i told you that day in the bar
i thought we would laugh it off
thought you would feel sorry for me.
i still remember that tortured look
on your face. i'm sure
it matched my own
when i realized you weren't safe
at all
realized i had started cheating with
that first smile.
i wasn't looking for you
but you were good, and it was good
for a while. and now
so many years later
the secret remains though
when i think about the story of us
i don't know who
the wolf was.
SECOND PLACE... @TiramiSue84
Oh. My. God. My heart broke. How did you do that in so few words? Don’t stop doing this, the writing and the making people feel things. I want to take this little girl into my house and make her some oatmeal and give her a hug. This is exactly what I hoped to get with this weird prompt. So very good.
There once was a little girl,
so pretty and lovely and pure.
Her dark hair so shiny and curled,
her face so fair and sweet.
Her eyes as deep as the ocean,
her voice as clear as a raindrop.
There once was a little girl,
so gentle and friendly and endearing.
Whose smile could light a room,
and whose soul was as untainted as freshly fallen snow.
Whose mind was full of curiosity,
and whose touch was as delicate as the brush of a feather.
There once was a little girl,
whose parents had only ever longed for a boy.
A boy so strong and capable and well,
he'd work from dawn to dusk.
Who'd see they made ends meet,
instead of being merely another mouth to feed.
There once was a little girl,
all abandoned and scared.
Left behind all alone in the dark,
whimpering, shivering, crying for help.
Shadowy giants and creepy sounds,
surrounded by them with no way out.
This little girl so weak and frail
with her heart broken she accepted her fate.
She didn't flinch when the beast found her,
and took her in his arms to carry her away.
THIRD PLACE... @sri_ffn
You got me. I didn’t want to be drawn into this because the guy is such a jerk. But there it is. I read it. I stopped. I tried to move on. And then I came back and read it again. What is it about the bad guy that draws us in? Whatever it is, you’ve figured it out. Nice work.
That dress has to go. Red flowing gown with the strapless corset that makes me want to lick, suck and bite her delicious dark red nipples raw. She’s looking at me with fear and fascination, I know that look. All it takes is one lick of her lips and I’m done. That’s my cue, my ticket to fuck her my way, I warned her. She wants to play, let’s play little girl.
My hands are on her breasts, hers are on my cock. She bites my nipples and I’m sucking her neck. I bunch up her dress and lift her hips to position myself. She looks at me and I see lust, passion and sensuality, it matches the red she’s wearing. She wants it hard and fast, I can see it. I don’t care either way because that’s the way she’ll get it, over and over again until she makes me stop which she can’t, no one can. She surprises me by thrusting right back; her head hits the wall with every thrust. She’s letting me fuck her the way I crave. Next thing I know, she claws my back and draws blood in her bliss. This
one’s mine.
HONORABLE MENTION... @lellabeth
Gah! Not only did you almost make me cry, you got me thinking about life and how it’s not things that happen to us that matter, it’s the people we know. It’s the people who love us that really direct the course of things. She has someone who loves her, and I hope that’s enough.
I turn my head away when you enter the room, ignoring the tears burning my eyelids as you run a thumb across the bandage covering my wrist in a line parallel to the one meant to end my life. The sob that you try to hold back escapes anyway, the sound rubbing at my skin more than any gauze could.
“You want to die?”
Nothing has ever felt this bad.
“It... it’s just too much, you know? I’m tired of fighting all the time. It hurts, and it’s so dark. Always dark, and I can’t find my way out. I’m terrified that I’ll always feel this way, that this void will always be inside me.” I whisper, and the shame in my voice cuts even more than the words, even more than the pressure of your hand against my ribboned skin.
But then your arms come around me, strong and tight and suffocating, weaving until you’re pressing my limbs into my torso and holding me together.
“I love you,” you say, the rasp of it like sandpaper that makes my chest clench. “I need you. That’s enough, right?”
My tears are tart on my tongue as I nod.
“It’s enough.”
...
CONGRATULATIONS @moonlit__girl
Thank you to @CrackedFic for judging and to everyone who participated.
See you all next week.
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