The Prompt
Write a 1000 word flash fiction story that ends with the line: “That’s how a small cut in her finger led to the end of the world.”
The Author
Neha Mediratta is a freelance writer and editor based in Mumbai. Her interests include swimming, tai chi along with studying natural and human systems of organization. Check out her writing at https://www.amazon.com/Neha-Mediratta/e/B08CJSLD2H
Read A Book, Support An Indie
This year’s StoryADay May official bookseller is Reads & Company, a privately-owned indie bookseller in Pennsylvania. Any purchase from the site this month supports Reads & Co.
Leave a comment and let us know how you used the prompt, and how you’re celebrating!
What a great prompt!
It occurred to me that a slight adaptation of the prompt could be a great way to identify the theme of a new story.
I always overdo planning, and so in the spirit of adventure and exploration, I allowed myself to launch into it, with absolutely no preparation.
As a result, at 1000 words, I was maybe 2/3 of the way through a story that surprised me, although doesn’t really hook me in.
However, there was a part of the piece that I thought I’d like to explore further. Perhaps it will be the beginning of a completely different story!
I’m going to leave it alone and see if the idea grows on me!
I haven’t shared links for my other stories, but I’m sharing this one. I actually didn’t write/finish the _actual_ story, but my blog post explains that, and I put up the notes I took while trying to figure out what I was going to write. It’s way too complex for 1000 words, and I ran out of time today to try and make it shorter.
https://slforrester.com/2021/05/04/its-in-the-blood/
So my story is about a woman who drops eggs on the floor and then a glass in the mess. She lets the dog out so he doesn’t get hurt trying to help her clean up. She forgets he is out and cuts hersself while cleaning up. During the distraction caused by her finger continuing to bleed at work, she messes up a marketing campaign. All of the billboards in the morning shout that the governments all around the world have fallen (even though they haven’t) and chaos reigns. I wrote this one last minute and I don’t know how many words it is, but probably fairly close to 1000, maybe a bit less. I do my rough drafts by hand, and I figure about 250 words a page. I found it freeing to have a word count restraint for this one.
I wound up writing a story about a musician who agrees to perform for Earth Day. The day before, her love interest nudges her to go digging for razor clams, but she declines. He returns with a tote full of clams, and she agrees to help hosing them down and shucking them. She does very well, but then when she goes into the house, someone else takes her special knife, and she has to use a regular tool. Her knife slips and you can guess the rest about her Earth Day performance.
I was stuck at 500 words and didn’t know where to go. I finally got moving and ended up with a 1500 word piece about a geologist who goes to Mars and gets mars dust in a papercut, accidentally bringing the Martian race back to earth where they take over all human bodies.
I think I’m happy with it, but I can’t decide if I want to take on the challenge of cutting it down to 1000 words, or leaving it how it is.
What do you think? Take the prompt as an exact number and challenge myself, or move on and be ready for tomorrow?
Maybe see how you feel about it tomorrow. Or next week, or the week after. It might call you back to it!
Love the idea of it!
The disaster in my story was also triggered by a paper cut!
Really enjoyed today’s prompt. Today i wrote a story about the russian president’s wife being assassinated by a poisonous cut to her finger. Her death ends the world as we know it by plunging it into a catastrophic nuclear war.
After not writing anything yesterday (bad me!), I was very happy to discover that today’s prompt was about the end of the world since it’s one of the things I love to write about.
And even if I often tend to write flash no longer than 400 words, I actually managed to produce a 1000 word (exactly 1000 words – after taking out a few unnecessary ones) flash about a 27yo woman who spent her whole life in a sterile white room and decided one day that she wanted to see the world. Before, you know, she cut her finger and caused the world to end.
That is amazing!!!
That is really intriguing. Would love to read it!
https://lyncrain.com/2021/05/04/story-a-day-with-julie-duffy-4-and-selling-your-house-is-not-for-the-weak-of-heart/
I ended up writing a weird 957-word story about Death getting married and having a daughter, who grows up wild and rebellious, only to cut her finger on a Soul Cutter she was told not to touch under any circumstances. Thus ends the world.
I want to read this story!!
I was up early today! https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/2021/05/04/day-4-story-challenge/