brain food

In this issue ...

Worrystone ... a short story by Judi Goff

The Edge ... a short story by Amanda Church

The Night Writer Challenge



~ He whom you cannot teach to fly, teach to fall faster ~

Worrystone ... a short story
worrystone

Worrystone was written in 2001 by our late friend, Judi Goff. Judi was a special lady who, despite battling a number of serious illnesses, never lost her youthful, adventurous spirit. The world was a much sadder place when she left it in 2005, but her spirit, and her writing, live on in Pandora's Lair, her website. This was one of her favorite short stories.

Excerpt from Worrystone:

Clifford looked up as Bubba walked away then he glanced down at his hands. He opened the right one and the sun glinted, hard and jarring, from the smooth surface of the rock. He folded his thumb over the rock and slowly began to rub its warm, silky surface, and as he did a wicked grin spread over his face, a grin that did not reach his eyes.

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The Edge ... a former Night Writer Challenge story

I've included The Edge here because it was written a few years back as a response to a Night Writer Challenge. The assignment was inspired by the first verse in the old Golden Earring song, "Twilight Zone."

the edge
It's two a.m., the fear has gone
I'm sittin' here waitin', the gun still warm
Maybe my connection is tired of takin' chances.
There's a storm on the loose, sirens in my head
Wrapped up in silence, all circuits are dead
Cannot decode, my whole life spins into a frenzy.

Excerpt from The Edge:

Somewhere within the barren house a clock counted a muted chime: one, two. I stared past the hot silver weight in my hand at the woman on the floor, her blood shimmering like cherry-colored oil on the slick white tile, framing a ragged hole between vacant eyes.

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The Night Writer Challenge
the Night Writer challenge

A few years ago, some friends and I formed a writer's group with the intention of jump-starting our flagging creativity. Since most of us worked all day and had families to care for in the evenings, the only time we had to spare for writing was late at night. Thus, we named the group the Night Writers.

To ensure that everyone would have something to write and critique at each meeting, we handed out weekly writing assignments, whereby each member of the group, on a rotating basis, picked a subject or situation for our weekly topic. It was up to our own individual interpretation as to how we would approach the subject.

Which brings me to the point of this article. Like many busy, creative people, I'm something of a procrastinator. Okay, I'm like the queen of the group. I even procrastinate about procrastinating, which is why I have six novels sitting around in various stages of unfinished, along with dozens of short stories and vague conceptualizations. And you know something--I'll bet I'm not alone.

I've joined several writer's groups online, some that even toyed with the concept of writing, but most turned out to be nothing more than cliques that would only accept submittals from their "buddies." That's not what I want here. In fact, I don't even care if you want to share what you write because for many people, the hardest part about writing is figuring out what to write. And that's where the Night Writer Challenge comes in.

In every issue, we'll provide 5 writing assignments. You can do 1, 2 or all 5, then share them with your mother, hide them in your underwear drawer, or send them to us and WE WILL PRINT THEM HERE (unedited) and let everyone else decide what they think. One thing we will not do, however, is refuse to print your work or tell you that you can't write (we'll leave that to everyone else). We only ask that you stay within the confines of your chosen assignment, don't plagiarize, and mind your subject matter (don't get us shut down).

Before we start you on your way to getting that Pulitzer Prize-winning prose out there for the world, we have a few submission requirements:

1. Keep your piece below 5000 words (have a heart--we have to code this stuff)
2. No more than 2 submissions per person per issue.
3. Fill out a CONTACT form with all the required information and we'll send you submittal instructions.

Be advised--due to space and bandwidth limitations, we will only keep Challenge submittals up for one issue.

So there it is and here we go with the Volume 1 assignments.

Vol 1 - Night Writer Challenge Assignments

Assignment 1:
This is the first line of your story: No matter what they might tell you, none of this was my fault.

Assignment 2:
You've been driving for hours and realize you're lost. You turn down an unmarked road and find yourself in a small town you've never visited but everyone seems to know you.

Assignment 3:
You're on a blind date and while you're immediately attracted to the other person, it's clear the feeling isn't mutual.

Assignment 4:
You're a reporter sent out to cover a new murder scene, only to discover the victim was your best friend--who died in a car accident three years ago.

Assignment 5:
This one is for all you absurdist sci-fi fans: You're an insomniac trapped on a stranded spaceship with little food, a half-empty gun, three religious zealots, and a vicious rabid squirrel, and help is at least a week away.

Because we can always use more help, if you have an idea for a future Night Writer Challenge assignment, send us an email and tell us about it.

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