You’ve heard me talk about him on The Shared Desk, tweet about him, and pledge my undying love to him on Google+; but now I’ve got to give this man a shout-out on my blog.
He got me writing flash fiction today.
I found author Chuck Wendig through Mur Lafferty, and have found a kindred spirit in this man. Why? Because he rants. He rants with a balletic grace. He tears through topics with the precision of a SEAL Team performing dark ops. He drops profanities easier than Eddie Murphy in his heyday. And something Chuck does on a regular basis that I’d never caught before was his Penmonkey Challenge (Chuck calls us writer-types “penmonkeys.” I admit, the term is growing on me.) of flash fiction. Today’s challenge was to pick one of the following words:
- Frog
- Powder
- Seagull
- Tower
- Scissors
…and  write up some flash fiction (something I didn’t think I could do) using only one of the offered words and tell a story in 100 words. Penmonkeys were invited to post their works into the Comments for the post.
I answered the call. Here’s the result…
“Scene”
The reflection in the mirror doesn’t lie; but when Jack applied the powder to his cheek, that rule shattered like a glass table under the heavy application of a brick. No seams, no odd blotches, nor any sign of who had taken his seat a few hours ago. He looked weathered. He looked tired.
He looked like his grandmother.
Jack worked his mouth to test how well this design held. He took another breath, catching the faint scent of lotion and latex.
His reflection always lied.
And people paid him good money to be the best of liars.
He’s giving folks until Black Friday to get in their flash fiction. I say “Why don’t you?!” I’ve been soldiering through today in a fog, but after this I am ready to break speed limits, get home to suck down a liquid dinner, and edit the shit out of The Janus Affair. I don’t know what it was about those 100 words but I am born again HARD and I either need to write or edit something or kill a small animal with a pair of twigs, whichever comes first.
If you aren’t doing so, do check out his blog, TerribleMinds. Chuck knows his shit when it comes to writing. Let me share with you just a sampling of his blogposts…
- Toxic Tempers and Fevered Egos in Publishing
- Turning Writers Into Motherfucking Rockstars
- Making Sense of 99 Cents
You can easily get lost in the amount of awesome found on his website. Buy his books. Download his free stuff. And jump in on his Writerpalooza of flash fiction. It could be the kick in the pants you are looking for.
Chuck Wendig, you magnificent bastard, thank you for breaking this Friday Phunk of mine!