27 July 2005

Prank Star: An Exercise In Flash Fiction


THE FLASH FICTION:
While walking in the greater Mojave area, Jeff Marzan spotted a confused-looking group of vultures circling some distance away. "The varmints would dive, then something apparently spooked them, because they'd take off from the spot as though they caught sight of the Devil awaiting them on the ground," reports Marzan.

Marzan investigated, and what he found has left local archaeologists baffled. Marzan has contacted media sources with the claim that he discovered the missing skull of the desert-dwelling tribe that worshipped the Great Bull of Shiny Horns. Studies have debunked Marzan's assertion, claiming he merely wrapped the horns with aluminum foil. More tests are required to confirm the experts' conclusion.

Marzan is currently planning to start a speaking tour to share his discovery.

THE PROCESS:
I went to a search engine called alltheweb.com and entered the first two words that popped in my head: prank star. I chose the most interesting picture on the first page of results, posted it on this blog, and wrote away.

THE CHALLENGE:
Use the picture above and write your own piece of flash fiction. Flash fiction is short, so try to keep it under 150 words. You can post your work in the comments section.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Theseus who? I! Me! I defeated the Minotaur.

None of the legends really got this right. The thing didn't really eat nine Greek kids per year, like you heard. It just pretended to eat grass most of the time.

What it actually was doing, was checking the labyrinth herd's udders from a different angle, like you watching a woman bend over when you think she doesn't know you're scoping and you peek down her blouse.

And this beast liked to wrap his horns in aluminum foil to shine a little glare their way so he had a better chance of remaining un-noticed while watching the teats and bags sway.

Fine.

But, now the problem. Those were MY cows. So I got a little jealous and challenged the Minotaur to a duel in the pool.

The monster jumped right in after me and couldn't get out immediately, like I did. When he finally slumped in the shallow end, exhausted, I attached a car battery with jumper cables, positive on one side, negative on the other, and watched him re-froth the water.

This picture is what's left of yesterday's barbeque.

Kyle Stich said...

Very creative, Bill. Thanks for adding to the content with your revised mythology; I love stuff like that.