Friday Fiction!

 

Formerly known as #HHfiction on Twitter, #FridayFiction is the Richard Hugo House's flash fiction workshop. 

Feel free to submit your short stories here, as well as on Twitter. We're a non-profit organization, though, so make sure your posts are SFW.

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Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was “Heal”. Click on the photos above to read the stories.

This week’s prompt is “Revolution”, inspired by our upcoming Literary Series event ¡Viva la Revolucion! with Steve Almond (author of Candyfreak and regular at The Rumpus), Matthew Zapruder, author of New York Times Notable Book of the Year “Come On All You Ghosts”, and poet Elaina Ellis, with new music by Daniel Spils of Maktub.

Write a story about revolution: personal, public, economic or political. Write a story where a character is either enacting change, or being swept up in it.

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

This week is our 52nd week of #FridayFiction, one whole year of writing prompts and social media flash fiction. If you’d like a list of the last 52 prompts, see this post here.

Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was “Deceit”. Click on the photos above to read the stories in full.

This week’s prompt is “Rejection”. 

Write a story about rejection. Is your character the one rejected or the one doing the rejecting?

Why is the rejection occurring?

If your character is the one rejected, how does he or she handle that?

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction was “Rebel”. The stories were dark, edgy and hilarious. Click on the above images to read them in full.

This week’s prompt is “Damage”.

Write a story about damage. Taking on damage, getting past it, rebuilding from it, inflicting it…

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction was “Endure”. We received a lot of wonderful stories last week on being pushed to one’s limits and choosing to go beyond it. I was blown away by how people handled the prompt and the creativity that each story showed!

This week’s prompt is “Forgive”. There is nothing tougher for a person to do than to forgive. We often confuse forgiving with letting go of our rights. Often, “I forgive you” can mean “I’m going to let you do this again to me”. Forgiveness is supposed to mean that releasing someone from the debt they owe you, a moral, emotional or physical debt. What keeps us from getting there? What happens for a relationship when real forgiveness, real release, is achieved? How does it affect the person who’s forgiven? How does it change the person who forgives?

Write a story about forgiveness. Your character can be the one giving it, receiving it, or refusing to give it. Maybe forgiveness is just too hard to give. Maybe your character receives forgiveness but can’t accept it. 

Hint at the hurts, the mistakes, the problems that drove the divide in the first place. Create a story that shows us how forgiveness would affect the characters were it given, received, denied or accepted.

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction was “Paradise”, a wonderfully deep theme for any writer to work with. We received some amazing submissions last week.Click on the stories above for an expanded view of each person’s stories. 

This week’s prompt is “Pain”. Nothing prompts a plot or character development like pain:

Write a story that features some kind of pain. Is it physical? Emotional?

How does it drive your character and/or plot? Make sure it does. It’s one thing to write about pain for pain’s sake, but make it count. Write a story that uses pain for some end.


As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Our last #FridayFiction was themed “Love”, in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Click on the pictures above to see an expanded view of the stories our amazing community of writers shared with us during our last #FridayFiction. 

This week’s prompt is “Revenge”. 

I’d like to pretend that this prompt came to me while I was listening to the opera, but no, it was actually a Die Hard marathon. 

It has Alan Rickman in it. I’m still classy.

What is your character avenging? Was he/she jilted by a rotten lover? Double-crossed in a heist? Or paying back a parent for a lifetime of neglect and misery? 

Try playing with the element of surprise in the way you reveal who is being punished for past crimes and what those crimes are.

Experiment with POV, different characters, and write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in as short a way as you can.

Also, try and interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

Photoset
Richard Hugo House’s #FridayFiction flash fiction workshop runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST. Each week, we pick a theme and create one single story based off of that theme and we share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets.  Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.  For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website. Last week we wrote on the theme of “Haunting”, in honor of Halloween. Above are all the retweeted tales from the participants in #fridayfiction. This week’s prompt will be “Regret”. Write about chances not taken, mistakes that have been made, roads that weren’t followed in favor of other, more trodden paths… This week, try more than one story. I usually do two to three (one or two for Hugo House, one for my personal Twitter account). With each story, my prose gets tighter and I’m able to find the words that convey the most, which allows me to fit as much narrative as possible into the space I’m allowed.  Also, if you write more than one story, try playing with different points of view. Try first, try third… and if you’re really daring, experiment with the elusive second person point of view. While this is still challenging at any length, second person is easier to write in when your reader doesn’t have to be talked at for too long. Flash fiction allows you to speak directly to the reader with the impact that brevity allows. As always… have fun and use language like you normally don’t! Follow other writers who participate! Grow your online creative community! See you later today!

Richard Hugo House’s #FridayFiction flash fiction workshop runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST. Each week, we pick a theme and create one single story based off of that theme and we share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. 

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media. 

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week we wrote on the theme of “Haunting”, in honor of Halloween. Above are all the retweeted tales from the participants in #fridayfiction.

This week’s prompt will be “Regret”. Write about chances not taken, mistakes that have been made, roads that weren’t followed in favor of other, more trodden paths…

This week, try more than one story. I usually do two to three (one or two for Hugo House, one for my personal Twitter account). With each story, my prose gets tighter and I’m able to find the words that convey the most, which allows me to fit as much narrative as possible into the space I’m allowed. 

Also, if you write more than one story, try playing with different points of view. Try first, try third… and if you’re really daring, experiment with the elusive second person point of view. While this is still challenging at any length, second person is easier to write in when your reader doesn’t have to be talked at for too long. Flash fiction allows you to speak directly to the reader with the impact that brevity allows.

As always… have fun and use language like you normally don’t! Follow other writers who participate! Grow your online creative community!

See you later today!

Photo
Richard Hugo House’s #FridayFiction flash fiction workshop runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST. Each week we pick a theme and create one single story based off of that theme and we share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets.  Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.  For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website. Last week we wrote on the theme of “Jealousy”. Above are all the retweeted tales from the participants in #fridayfiction. Tomorrow, since it’s the Friday before Halloween, I thought it’d be fun to be cheesy and do a holiday-themed prompt.  So Friday’s theme is “Haunting”. Of course, ghouls and ghosts may be the central devices of your tale tomorrow. However, the haunting may be a more poetic “lingering” of a loved one in the mind or heart. Your choice.  As always, be creative. Try different points of view! Try both a spooky story and a more realistic tale of something lost that remains in the mind. Stretch yourself in whatever genre you feel least comfortable. See you tomorrow!

Richard Hugo House’s #FridayFiction flash fiction workshop runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST. Each week we pick a theme and create one single story based off of that theme and we share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. 

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media. 

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week we wrote on the theme of “Jealousy”. Above are all the retweeted tales from the participants in #fridayfiction.

Tomorrow, since it’s the Friday before Halloween, I thought it’d be fun to be cheesy and do a holiday-themed prompt. 

So Friday’s theme is “Haunting”.

Of course, ghouls and ghosts may be the central devices of your tale tomorrow. However, the haunting may be a more poetic “lingering” of a loved one in the mind or heart. Your choice. 

As always, be creative. Try different points of view! Try both a spooky story and a more realistic tale of something lost that remains in the mind. Stretch yourself in whatever genre you feel least comfortable.

See you tomorrow!

Photo
The above are stories from last week’s stories, inspired by the prompt “Resistance” which was inspired by the Occupy Wallstreet movement happening around the world. Click on the above image to zoom in and read each tale. Every week, the Richard Hugo House twitter feed hosts a flash fiction workshop, hoping to inspire creativity and ingenius word choice as we craft our small stories in 140 characters or less. We run the workshop from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST and post each story with the tag #FridayFiction, so we can follow the stories that come out of each week’s prompt.  Following each others’ stories is not only inspiring, but it’s a great way to meet other writers on social media. For more information on how we do this each week and why flash fiction is so wonderful, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.  This week’s prompt will be “Jealousy”. I expect we’ll have some really fun stories come out of this prompt.  This week, try experimenting with writing more than one story. I usually do two to three (one or two for Hugo House, one for my personal Twitter account). I find that with each story, my prose gets tighter and I’m able to find the words that convey the most, which allows me to fit as much narrative as possible into the space I’m allowed.  Also, if you write more than one story, try playing with different points of view. Try first, try third… and if you’re really daring, experiment with the elusive second person point of view. While this is still challenging at any length, second person is easier to write in when your reader doesn’t have to be talked at for too long. Flash fiction allows you to speak directly to the reader with the impact that brevity allows. As always… have fun! I can’t wait to read your tales!

The above are stories from last week’s stories, inspired by the prompt “Resistance” which was inspired by the Occupy Wallstreet movement happening around the world. Click on the above image to zoom in and read each tale.

Every week, the Richard Hugo House twitter feed hosts a flash fiction workshop, hoping to inspire creativity and ingenius word choice as we craft our small stories in 140 characters or less. We run the workshop from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST and post each story with the tag #FridayFiction, so we can follow the stories that come out of each week’s prompt. 

Following each others’ stories is not only inspiring, but it’s a great way to meet other writers on social media. For more information on how we do this each week and why flash fiction is so wonderful, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website. 

This week’s prompt will be “Jealousy”.

I expect we’ll have some really fun stories come out of this prompt. 

This week, try experimenting with writing more than one story. I usually do two to three (one or two for Hugo House, one for my personal Twitter account). I find that with each story, my prose gets tighter and I’m able to find the words that convey the most, which allows me to fit as much narrative as possible into the space I’m allowed. 

Also, if you write more than one story, try playing with different points of view. Try first, try third… and if you’re really daring, experiment with the elusive second person point of view. While this is still challenging at any length, second person is easier to write in when your reader doesn’t have to be talked at for too long. Flash fiction allows you to speak directly to the reader with the impact that brevity allows.

As always… have fun! I can’t wait to read your tales!

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