It occurred to me that The Prediction has much in
common with a weekly magazine – one with a central core of regular contributors
plus guest writers whose contributions appear when time and inspiration permit. On second thoughts, so vivid is the writing that it is more a comic, each piece accompanied by a strip of
illustrations, drawn by an equally varied core of artists.
In some ways
the requirement to declare a weekly ‘winner’, as well being near impossible
because each chimes with a different sort of pleasure, seems superfluous, but
since it is expected I assign top place on the podium this week to Chris for his Ellis Island. As ever,
the rest of you are jostling just half a step down. Antonia and Patricia were kind
enough to nominate my watercolour inspired piece as a worthy winner which I
much appreciate. As I’ve said before, we all write for the pleasure and
approval of our peers, and the giving and receiving of comments is what gives
this site its especial strengths.
Words
for the coming week are: dock, register, settlement
Entries by
midnight Thursday 28th April , new
words and winners posted on Friday 29th
Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding
title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the
genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as
always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel
free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social
media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open
to new and returning writers.
What a nice thing to wake up to! Thanks, Sandra. :)
ReplyDeleteLoved everyone's this past week - I certainly don't envy you the choosing. I would agree with my fellow contributors that you could certainly open yourself up to a win now and then!
Congratulations Chris a worthy winner.
ReplyDeleteChange of focus [176]
ReplyDeleteAn interesting division in the public gallery, between be-hatted scowling women, righteous in their indignation that sex be for other than procreation, and men united in support of paid-for availability.
Edith Edgewater’s arrival in the dock incited near as much riot as the crime she was charged with. Pettinger’s evidence insufficient, as he knew; he resigned to the court’s settlement of a warning.
Of greater value had been the opportunity to register her supporters, and thence deduce possible perpetrators of the sex-worker murders. He did not doubt that what she’d read as victory would launch another bloody round of death.
yet more mayhem and violence promised... where Pettinger goes, all that is to be found...
DeleteI'm getting really caught up in this story, I love the device deployed by Pettinger to gain further insight into the evidence.
DeleteThis is worthy of an Agatha Christie-type offering on the good old telly. Wonderful images here. I can so easily imagine those "be-hatted scowling women" in the public gallery, and what a wonderful word is "be-hatted."
DeleteI can hear the tutting and harumphing from those hats even now. Lovely.
DeleteI thought I'd already congratulated last week's winner but apparently, I was under a misconception. Anyway...many congratulations to Chris for an outstanding entry. I seem to be finding this week's prompts annoying elusive in the creation of a cohesive tale (either serialization or stand-alone). I have three days left in which to patch something together! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteSeems you are not alone Patricia - had to admit I found it hard to fit in all three and give them impact.
DeleteI'm with you on that. After an unexpected 200 mile drive to Bristol for a meeting at 9:30am. An unsettled overnight stay and further meetings followed by 200 mile drive home. I have found my self unsettled and grouchy this week and the the troublesome prompts and things abroad in the greater world have made for a festering muse this week.
DeleteUnlevel crossing [Threshold 111]
ReplyDeleteRavenscar declared the bridge unsafe.
Skewed, the centuries-old posts, now spongey, had suffered resettlement from boulder-loaded meltwater gushing down from the Heights.
His asking, ‘Downriver?‘ brought a dirty smirk to the face of the escort captain, his horse sidling amidst a slew of dock-tailed hounds.
‘No more bridges –‘
‘The other way?‘
‘Too far. Bridge is okay for persons –‘ An eye-shift of conspiracy, a trick unlikely to have been sanctioned by O’Bedrun.
Ravenscar checked I’d registered the same. ‘Leave the horses behind? We’ll risk it.’
We would have succeeded had I not been seized from behind and forcibly unmounted.
whoo hoo, more violence and mayhem, with yet more to come! Who and why are they captured, is the question. The answer will come with a new challenge, if we can wait that long.
DeleteYou never cease to take this series into an unexpected direction, bravo.
DeleteNow what? It's utterly impossible to even hazard a guess as to where you'll take us with this. Each installment is a jewel.
DeleteLike the immediate regret of "we'll risk it." It adds a dark levity here that's quite nice.
DeleteMaking Good (excerpt)
ReplyDeleteHad the black-boarded walls of the generations-ancient barn soaked up something savage from past gatherings? The hefty roof beams become impregnated with some atavistic catalyst for violence? The accumulated testosterone of assembled Burdock males reached criticality?
Or was it just these second Saturdays in August had become a time for settlement of grudges registered during the preceding twelvemonth?
This year, by sharing knowledge of a sexual sin with the man most sinned against, some person (never identified) ensured a single rape followed by a vicious beating was not the worst the barn had ever seen.
Who knew?
Who told?
[This is a slightly-tweaked excerpt from my novel 'Making Good', the last in a saga following the fortunes of the Burdock and Donovan families - given the struggles I was having with 'dock' I couldn't resist.]
looks good, reads well, the novel must be great!
DeleteSome very powerful passages here. If this is a sampling of the novel in its entirety, then you have something of a masterpiece on your hands.
DeleteThank you both. 'Making Good' is neither great nor a masterpiece, but it IS light years away from the earlier books in the series in terms of writing and (more important) readability. Evidence of the necessary path of learning.
DeleteNot the worst the barn had seen. Great phrasing.
DeleteKursaal (Episode Eighteen) -- "Daisy The Doberman"
ReplyDeleteMaximillian Corviday had acquired Daisy in settlement of a debt. Her pedigree qualified for official registration but Maximillian always avoided paper trails.
From her pricked ears to her docked tail, the steadfast Doberman was a one-man dog devoted to her master. All other mortals were simply tolerated...with one notable exception, Manasa the snake charmer. Daisy found remarkable pleasure in nuzzling Manasa's décolletage and gently nibbling her neck. Maximillian himself was exceedingly fond of the same practices.
It was, however, necessary to keep a wary eye on Manasa's overly-protective serpent brood. Archon in particular was a jealous and possessive asp.
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To read the earlier installments (a suggestion only) which led to this point in the tale, please visit:
http://www.novareinna.com/kursaal.html
A link to return to "The Prediction" can be found on the site. Thank you.
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Sly and smoothly done, and the final line a treat of interconnection.
Deletesmooth as ever, smooth as the snakes, actually! Liked this one.
Delete"décolletage" a new word for me, but I love it so. A finely rounded piece that is a fine figure of eight in it's construction like the serpents within it. (Sorry I've touched the Spanish rojo this evening).
Delete"Maximillian himself was exceedingly fond of the same practices." - such a great character piece.
DeleteInfinity 144.
ReplyDeleteBack when this here cap’n began this journal it were written I was to log thems as come and spoke but somehow they don’t get written about. Perhaps they don’t register well in my mind, or the sleep that comes when it will brings settlement and I have no need to docket the happenings. But someone else is around, someone dark, someone – who be half on my side and half not. He whispers of ships full of loot, talks of islands untouched by piracy, temptation by the shipload. Question is, do I go with it or go my own way?
There is a stolid, solid presence to the Captain, resistant but not entirely closed. and I sense he's about to be dragged into another adventure.
DeleteDark skies of intrigue abroad for the Cap'n this week, with an excellent cliff hangar to keep us begging for more. As I do.
DeleteThe Captain never fails to capture our interest with his musings and comments. No fair though...leaving us with such a leading question!
DeleteAgh - I read this as a sign of his own mortality - don't follow the light, Cap'n! It be a trap!
DeleteCongratulations, Chris! Getting my entry in early, there's a trance evening scheduled for tomorrow, so I had to get a move on. Told the Captain the trance is important (he knows that really) and I am going (which he also knows) so come give me your instalment tonight. And he did and somehow the prompts managed to blend in very well. Relief.
ReplyDeleteRelief too that the Hillsborough jury turned in the right verdicts and now truth and justice can be seen to be done - at last. Been a long time coming. It's the one bright thing in a week of slow sales and bitter cold winds, with at least two flurries of sleet and snow combined. April is a tricky month with all sorts of surprises up its sleeve. Roll on May and warmer weather, I hope!!
Bitter Illusion
ReplyDeleteThere can be no settlement, in a world that’s drunk on hate.
No peaceful existence, nor chance to lament in a measured mindful state.
I pace most nights unsettled in my pain for a world that’s shattered,
and watch in disbelief as they destroy all that has ever mattered.
I register my distaste at the way we’re held to ransom,
and the way that no one listens to opinion unless your underweight and handsome.
They can try to dock my life for holding an opinion,
but I would rather die a martyr than live my life under their dominion.
Masterly rhymings this week William - especially charmed by 'ransom' and 'handsome' and glad you were able to find time to contribute.
DeleteThere is always so much power behind your rhyming skills coupled with a jab to the conscience in order to get us to think a little more about the meanings and messages of the chosen words. Yet another shining submission.
DeletePoignant and timely.
DeleteCripplegate Junction/Part 43-The Loading Dock
ReplyDeleteThe Conductor slipped through a narrow alley which led to the antiquated Loading Dock. The abandoned area was now home to a settlement of spiders and several colonies of black ants.
Neatly stacked on the disused bay were dusty crates bearing foreign labels and registered codes stenciled on the side in faded black lettering. The Conductor consulted the sepia photograph taken from the Signal Box, but the assignment would have to wait. He had already been missing from his post far too long.
Perched upon the overhead power line, a curious Rook observed his departure.
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To read the earlier installments (a suggestion only) which led to this point in the tale please visit:
http://www.novareinna.com/cripplegate.html
A link to return to "The Prediction" can be found on the site. Thank you.
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I'm loving the curious Rook, I wonder what be his business? I'm looking forward to finding out. I'm always enamoured for how you not only build an ever expanding world, but also build plot and substance to your characters in such a few words. An excellent instalment.
DeleteI echo William - you bring to these challenges a very high level of skill and this, feeling like a further shift into intrigue, is no exception.
DeleteSo much going on here, it's amazing. Love the rook, too.
DeleteHaving returned from an unexpected trip to Bristol this week, I'm all behind and have further trips this later part of the week. So I'm sorry if I'm not around to comment for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteI saw a lovely wooden ship on Bristol waterside that made me think of the Cap'n, it was bathed in glorious sunshine. A wonderful sight it was too Antonia.
I will return tomorrow with my comments and possibly a stand-alone tale although I have to admit, just coming up with my serial continuations this week was a struggle. Anyway, we'll see!
ReplyDeleteCurious, isn't it, how some combinations of words, neither boring nor especially limiting on their own, somehow fail to inspire. A check of past prompts seems to indicates a greater level of challenge is more inspirational. I'll maybe try recycling some of those.
DeleteFirst Things First
ReplyDeleteAs the ship docked, the Captain checked his register of passengers. Only two remained and he watched them disembark. There had been many destinations and he was relieved he could now return home. The journey had been long.
The couple were proud to have been among the chosen. Together, they would build a settlement, a city. Eventually, perhaps even a nation.
But first, they would have to find the Garden.
Perfect. I've just this minute finished reading Sarah Hall's 'The Wolf Border' and to read this furthered the pleasure rather than jarred me back into the ordinary. Thank you. And what a large tale these few words tell.
DeleteI just processed the glorious enormity of this piece, that last line is the clincher that sets the hares racing.
DeleteNow I want to know where that ship went next!
DeleteThe Adventures of Rosebud, Pirate Princess #22
ReplyDeleteCourtesy
Docking procedures are one thing, forcing a ship out of the air is a whole other thing entirely. Just because we aren’t registered in their database doesn’t mean we’re going to violently murder everyone in their little “town.” (It’s barely more than a settlement carved out of the forest.) Is the Golden Rule dead?
Very nicely done and in a very few words. I think this might be my favourite installment of "Rosebud" yet.
DeleteI like the mixture of far-out and folksy here. A little bit Firefly - which is a good thing.
DeleteThe water claim
ReplyDeleteDawn hadn’t yet come to the settlement where I’d made my home these past five months. It had been an arduous trek up the coast with my remaining friends but the lure of gold was irresistible. As we got closer we got, it seemed a tangy smell crept into the air - metallic and full of possibilities.
We registered new names.
As the gold-less river water slapped at the dock, I tied rocks to the man that used to be Albert Small. It turns out that panning for the remains of the disaffected is easier. Not to mention more lucrative.
Ooooh. How nasty and devious is this? Lovely tinge of atmosphere as well. Nicely done. Very nicely done.
DeleteThat final paragraph is wonderful; its first sentence a masterpiece and were it the opening of a novel I'd have to buy it. How well you've created atmosphere too.
Delete