Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 708. Year Lucky 13! The last year of the cycle, the Moon Year. To those who keep coming back, I’m delighted to see you again!
Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Discord and the group on Facebook.
Need the rules? Read on.
Here’s how it works:
- The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale.
- The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.
- The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed.
Rules to the Game:
- This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
- The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added.
- Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
- Post your story in the comments section of this post
- Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging)
- Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you)
- The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US.
- The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.
How it benefits you:
- You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!)
- You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
- Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Bluesky, MeWe, Discord, and Mastodon, etc.
Our Judge for Week 708:
College professor, equality enthusiast, and romance author, Louisa Bacio.
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram |
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
The Prompt:
“She doesn’t need fixing.”
All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads in the Moon Year. Good luck!
The Case of the Wandering Writer
Maxine Whittaker’s husband was teary-eyed when he hired me. “She’s been writing her memoir for thirty-seven years. Almost finished it…if that kind of book ever really has an end.”
He paused, winced as if he’d been poked in the eye, as if he were caught on some sharp painful notion.
“I’m worried about Max. She had a rough go of it as a kid. Crazy mother, violent father. You’ve heard of cases like that, I imagine?”
I nodded. I’d lost track of crappy childhood stories. Most of the people who came my way had one. I’d almost stopped listening.
“Yeah,” I finally said. “A few.”
“Well, then you know. You go through all that, more than she’s even told me, I suppose…it’s all in that damn memoir. Living it over and over again, picking the scabs of every shitty thing that her parents did to her, writing it all down…”
He stopped again. I was glad of that. I needed him to focus on what he wanted me to do.
“You want me to find her? Any idea where she might have gone?”
“I think so. Her home town. The street where she lived. That horrible house.”
He stopped, smiled, said, “Look, she doesn’t need fixing. The only thing wrong with her is the past. Go get her. Bring her home.”
I nodded again, said, “I can do that.”
I was thinking though. A bloody fool’s errand.
At least this fool was getting paid.
250 Words
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