LAST MONDAY, SOMETHING AWESOME HAPPENED.
Ideas are great and can come to
anyone, at any time. Most are lost, forgotten, never to be realised. However, there
are a few minds out there in the world that can’t help but grab onto ideas, no
matter how small or fleeting they might be, and do something incredible with
them.
One such person previously had an
idea that led to a lot of us Flash Fiction writers being able to hold our
written words in our very own hands.
And just over a week ago, he went
and did it again.
THE HORROR. THE HORROR!!!
On the evening of Feb 22nd,
David Shakes (co-founder of the #FlashDogs movement) found an idea drifting
through his mind. He could have ignored it, could have let it carry on through the
cosmos to be claimed by someone else, or worse, just fade away. But he didn’t.
Instead he reached out and grabbed hold of the damned thing. He chewed it over,
played around with it in his minds eyes, and then, before he knew what was happening,
the idea grew.
But it wasn’t a slow blossom, or
a steady unfolding. From the evidence on Twitter, this idea exploded. From a
simple Tweet the idea became something solid within mere minutes, reaching out across
the digital ether in search of other like-minded folks from around the globe.
“One genre,” roared David. “One book.
One story per hour of the day.”
FlashDogs and non-FlashDogs alike
pricked their ears.
“I need twenty four authors to
aid in this project,” David asked. “Who will stand beside me?”
And in just two hours, the rota
was full.
ISN’T TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL
Everything in this world exists
in two ways. Everything can be used for good or evil. Technology is no
different.
Last Monday I was part of a small
event that showed how cool social media can be when the right minds get
involved.
I often moan about sites like
Facebook and Twitter when I wake up to find my feed full of stupid Minion memes,
or people slagging of strangers because of a single biased news article that’s
gone viral.
But on the 22nd Feb
2016, a single man used 144 characters to ask a question, to request assistance.
And people dotted all over the globe responded so selflessly, so positively,
that it blew me away. In fact, it went so well, the twenty four slots being
filled so quickly, that David has a standby list of people ready to step in
just in case someone can’t continue.
I’m a pessimist by nature, but
damn it if all that didn’t put a smile on my face.
I won’t talk about it just yet.
While we have authors, a little art work, and a clear set of instructions from
the creator himself (David, not God), it’s still early days. The book is a good
few months off yet.
I will say that I have the
6am-7am slot, and have already begun a story called DELAYED. Fingers crossed it meets the level of awesomeness I know the
other authors will be bringing to this project.
ON A SIDE NOTE
Before I go, I just want to
mention a little bit of good news.
After the legendary Flash Fiction
sites Flash! Friday, Micro Bookends, and Three Line Thursday all bid a sad farewell,
there was an epic Flash contest hole left for a lot of the #Flashdogs.
Thankfully a new contest arrived, a contest called Microcosms, and the world
was once again a better place.
Last week’s contest asked authors
to take 100 words and combine them with a cat, an underwater setting, and
sprinkle in a little romance.
Due to my other writing projects
I’ve not written anywhere near as much Flash as I did last year, but the three
keys words sparked an idea and I jumped in. Well, I’m chuffed to bits that I
did because my story, A GLASS DIVIDE, gave me my first Flash Fiction win of the
year.
I’m super grateful to the judges
over at Microcosmsfic.com for their kind
comments.
Check out the story below, and I’ll
see you in a fortnight.
A GLASS DIVIDE
By Brian Creek
“What is wrong, my love?”
Mr Zazzles turned from the port
hole. “Nothing,” he purred.
Goldie swam over. “You look so
sad.” She kissed the side of the glass helmet enclosing his head. “Do you no
longer wish to be with me?”
“Oh Goldie,” meowed Mr Zazzles. “I
long to feel your lips upon mine. I can’t bear being trapped behind this.”
“But that helmet is the only
thing allowing us to be together.”
“And yet, we are apart.”
“What are you saying?”
Mr Zazzles placed a paw on each
side of the helmet. “I’m saying I’ll always love you.” And with that he removed
it. “Now you’re free.”
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