Monday, March 21, 2011

Second Crusader Challenge

Rach posted the following challenge for us on Friday:

Write a flash fiction story (in any format) in 100 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “The goldfish bowl teetered” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional, and not part of the judging criteria), see if you can write the story in your own genre (eg if you’re a horror writer, write a horror story; a romance writer, a romance story, etc).

Being short doesn't help me when it comes to writing short fiction, especially flash fiction. Here's my story, 99 words long sans title:

Alien Restaurant

The goldfish bowl teetered as the lizard clambered over the side, then dropped in. Her gills flared as she circled around to inspect the castle, the blue-and-white pebbles, the plastic diver. Bright orange fish fled in front of her, but with a burst of speed, she captured one and swallowed it.

The lizard poked her head out of the bowl and faced her spaceship. "Cozy, play area for hatchlings, fresh food..." She burped. "I would give this restaurant four claws, but the waitstaff is unresponsive, so only three.” A flick of her tail, and the diver lost his head.


For more goldfish-inspired fiction, check out the other entries linked to Rach's post above.


30 comments:

Cherie Reich said...

Love it! Very fun to read. I like the twist with the lizard in the fishbowl.

Tony Benson said...

LOL! I loved this. It's a new and fun take on the theme. Love the lizard :-)

Golden Eagle said...

A lizard rating a restaurant? LOL. Great flash fiction piece!

Anonymous said...

I like it! Great piece!

Carol Riggs said...

How fun! Great job, and very unique and diff from what I've read so far. Humorous too. :)

Sierra Gardner said...

What a great and unique take on the challenge. I really liked this one!

Ben Langhinrichs said...

Excellent! I love the rating aspect.

Trisha said...

hehehe, this is so cute - a lizard food critic!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Thanks, everyone!

Anonymous said...

LOL! Great take on the theme :O)

Summer Ross said...

LOL- love the diver losing his head!

Callie Leuck said...

Great imagery, and very engaging use of limited word count. Fantastic job!

Amanda Milner said...

Haha! Great! A very unique take on this prompt.

Crystal Collier said...

Love it. Great sense of humor.

Deniz Bevan said...

Ha ha! This is great - especially flicking off the diver's head.

alberta ross said...

get the diver - liked this very much - a food critic with a spaceship will never look at a lizard with the same thoughts again

Unknown said...

So funny! One of my favorite entries so far. Thanks for the giggle!

jkraus8464 said...

Hysterical! I love the humor in it. A great take on the topic. Quirky and fun.

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

Ha! At first I wasn't sure who had gills, the fish or the lizard, but the second paragraph explained it. Well done!

Witless Exposition said...

Love your use of humor! Especially the play area line. Great job.

KM Nalle said...

This is a great twisty piece. A lizard critic. Excellent.

Charity Bradford said...

Oh! Nice twist with the alien lizard and restaurant review. Thanks for sharing!

J.L. Campbell said...

Oh dear, goldfish annihilation coming up!

Michelle Merrill said...

Hey Sandra, just wanted to let you know that you've been shortlisted as one of the top 5 in the judging round! Congratulations :)

Michelle Merrill said...

Hey, you've made it through to the final judging round! Good luck and congratulations :)

Holly Vance said...

Creative.

Cally Jackson said...

Congratulations on getting runner up. Awesome job! :-)

Bess Weatherby said...

Ooh! I love this! Especially flicking the diver's head . . . lol so creative! Congratulations, Sandra!

Bess Weatherby said...

Ooh I love this! Especially the bit about flicking off the diver's head. Lol so funny! Congratulations, Sandra!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Thanks, everyone!

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