Flash Fiction Friday: Deja-vu!
Today, I’m participating in the Déjà vu Blogfest hosted by D. L. Hammons. The purpose of this blogfest is to give exposure to blog articles we’ve written over the past year that we were particularly pleased with, or that didn’t seem to get as much attention as we think they deserve. Each participant re-posts their favorite blog today, and everyone on the Linky List (see D. L.’s blog) hops around visiting these masterpieces. It’s a good way to get to know other bloggers, and to give neglected posts some attention.
Regulars to my blog will know that I was particularly pleased with the flash fiction stories I posted for April’s A-to-Z Challenge. Since it’s Flash Fiction Friday, it seems only right that I re-post my favorite of these. But since it’s only 100 words long, I’ll post two of them.
Here’s my favorite of the stories (or pieces, since they’re not all strictly-speaking “stories”), originally posted April 19:
Query
Dear Ms. Price:
Angela was a hard-nosed literary agent with a flair for snark, and a rejection count as large as the national debt. Then she received the query she couldn’t turn down. The email threatened her life if she didn’t say yes, and the sender had attached the 150,000 word manuscript. There was no name at the bottom, just the signature, “I know where you live.”
TWO DAYS TO LIVE tells the story of Angela’s search for the writer who would try to kill her—and probably will. The 150,000 word manuscript is attached.
I know where you live.
And as a bonus, here’s a rare piece of poetry from me (I don’t do poetry, as a rule). Originally posted April 8:
Grandfather
Grasping hands and guiltless joy, gurgles and grins.
Sparkling eyes and a line of drool.
Is he happy to see me, or does he need to be changed?
Without words,
these innocent gestures are so vague.
If only he could talk,
tell me what he wants,
tell me how he feels,
that he wants me here,
that he needs me.
that he loves me.
All I have are these grasping hands, these gurgles and gummy grins.
A reminder of how I used to be
many years ago.
An echo of what I might become
a few short years from now.
If you enjoyed these, you can find all my other A-to-Z flash stories under “April 2014” in the Archives on the right, or you can download them as a pdf document HERE.
Now, go visit some other Déjà-vu bloggers!
Love the query. It has a sort of flash fiction feel in its self referentiality. Kind of Neil Gaiman in the way it makes you laugh and shiver at the same time.
Ooo… a sort-of Gaiman comparison. I’ll take that! Thanks, Laurel! 🙂 I’ve thought about writing the novel and suggesting this as the jacket copy. Definitely not the query I would send, though! 🙂
I considered sharing one of my A to Z posts, but ended up picking a different one. All your A to Z posts were awesome. This one was especially good.
Thanks, Patricia. I really enjoyed writing flash fiction for the A-to-Z Challenge, even though it was a challenge (it’s supposed to be though, right?). I’m strongly considering doing that again next year. We’ll see. 🙂
Hi, I saw your blog listed on the Deja Vu Blogfest list today and wanted to stop by. Great flash fiction and I enjoyed how each piece is so different in terms of style and voice. I hope you enjoy the blogfest and have a great weekend.
Thank you, Robin, and welcome to my blog! 🙂 Part of the fun with flash fiction is the opportunity to dabble with genres you wouldn’t necessarily write for a novel. It’s a great way to discover what you enjoy and what you’d rather leave to others.
I LOVED them both…but I have a special affinity for QUERY. Kudo’s!! Thank you for re-sharing them both today! 🙂
Thanks, D.L., and thank you for hosting this bloghop! I thought my fellow writers would appreciate The Query. 🙂
Okay, I definitely laughed out loud at the query 🙂
I’m glad you liked it, Tiana. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Loved your “Query.” Made me smile. Thanks.
Thank you, Connie! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
I enjoyed both of these! Excellent work to revive for the blogfest!
Happy Deja Vu!
Thanks, Chris. Glad you liked them! A happy Deja Vu to you too! 🙂
“I know where you live” does know how to draw the editor’s attention.
Thank you for sharing your interesting stories again.
You’re welcome, Romi. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
The query made me grin. The poem pulled on my heart. I enjoyed both. Thanks for sharing them.
You’re most welcome, LD! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I really enjoyed both of these! LOVED the Query. Great ending! And the ending of Grandfather is fabulous too…the reality of seeing yourself in the not too distant future is always humbling. I’ll have to catch up with some of your 2014 A-Z pieces. I hope you decide to do flash fiction again for 2015.
Happy Deja Vu weekend.
happy holidays,
michele at Angels Bark
Thank you so much, Michele! There is a certain cyclical nature to aging that I’ve often noted, and which is becoming more personal as I get older. It certainly does humble you to consider it.
I’m glad you enjoy these, and I hope you like my other A-Z pieces from this year. Perhaps I’ll see you again for the 2015 challenge…? 🙂
You absolutely will Colin! I’ve already been working on my A-Z posts but I’m not sure how well-received they’ll be. For 2014 I did a hodge-podge of topics, no theme and I really enjoyed doing it that way. This next one I’m planning to do is a musical journey of my life, highlighting the bands and the music that I listened to, the concerts that I went to, etc. (I did a similar post in the 2014: C is for Concerts — https://angelsbark.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/c-is-for-concerts/ ). But I’m thinking if people are not really into my kind of music, they might just blow past my posts. On the other hand, I’m kinda doing this for me so maybe traffic doesn’t really matter. I’m still weighing my options. Do you know what you’re doing yet?
I’m seriously considering doing flash fiction again. It’s really challenging, especially limiting myself to only 100 words, but it really helps my writing having to pack meaning into short phrases. And I enjoy it. 🙂
I did a hodge-podge the first couple of years I did A-Z, and while it was fun, I found myself drawn more to those blogs where the blogger had a theme. It was fun coming back each day to learn another new word, or find out more about a particular country, or a different aspect of someone’s childhood. Music is very personal, and not everyone will like the music you like. But I think if you explain why you like a particular band or song, either drawing on an experience, or something in the words or the tune that hits you a particular way, people can connect with that, even if they don’t like the music. I’m trying to do that to some extent with my new “Music Monday” feature, trying to balance a bit of technical music stuff along with personal anecdote.
Ultimately, do what interests you. You’ll write far more passionately about what’s close to your heart. And if anything draws readers, I think it’s that passion more than a particular topic. My 2c, anyway. 🙂
Good point!!!
Flash fiction sounds tough to do, period, let alone A-Z! I’ll look forward to seeing what you do. And I’ll definitely check out your Music Monday feature. Thanks for the input!
You’re welcome! I’ll be sure to look out for your A-to-Z posts too. 🙂
Hello from Deja Vu! I enjoyed both your pieces- both are distinct, told from a completely different voice, and both hooked me.
The piece about the query sounds like it could make a very suspenseful story. I don’t see too many suspenseful stories that take place in the publishing industry.
Thank you, Cynthia. I’m glad you liked them. After writing Query, I seriously considered making that into a novel. I’m not sure how a story about a disgruntled writer stalking a literary agent would go down in the publishing world, but if Stephen King could get away with writing about a writer being held by a psycho fan (MISERY), there could be room for it. 🙂 I’ll have to give it more thought.
Late to the party, but I’m getting there! The Query one was funny, in a creepy kind of way. But, for me, although I’m not a particular fan of poetry usually, I just loved the Grandad, really tugged at the heart strings x
The party’s 24/7 here, so there are no late-comers. Welcome, Suzanne! And thank you for your kind words. As I said, poetry’s not usually my thing either, but sometimes a story doesn’t want to come out any other way.