2023 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 8
Write a piece of flash fiction each day of February with the February Flash Fiction Challenge, led by Managing Editor Moriah Richard. Each day, receive a prompt, example story, and write your own. Today’s prompt is to write a story based on an odd news headline.
For today’s prompt, write a story based on an odd news headline. Whether you use an existing headline for inspiration, make up your own, or incorporate the headline into your story, the choice is yours!
I went to the Strange Headlines section of NPR, and this headline caught my eye: An owl twice attacked a Washington woman. A biologist says it's becoming more common.
Remember: These prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you.
(Note: If you happen to run into any issues posting, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue. Fingers crossed there are no tech hiccups!)
Here’s my attempt at a story a story based on an odd news headline:
Home
The owl attacked Mrs Johnson again, my mother’s text reads. Your father says its because she took all those trees down.
I stare out the window of my 5th story office. Nature doesn’t exist here; not true nature, anyway. Cherry trees line this block, but they’re kept manicured and tame. In the cubicle next to me, Namay keeps a plant in a purple pot. Appalachia’s call aches through me like a bad winter wind.
When are you coming home next? My mother asks.
I type out I am home and then delete it. Even a half-lie is still a lie.
Since obtaining her MFA in fiction, Moriah Richard has worked with over 100 authors to help them achieve their publication dreams. As the managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine, she spearheads the world-building column Building Better Worlds, a 2023 Eddie & Ozzie Award winner. She also runs the Flash Fiction February Challenge on the WD blog, encouraging writers to pen one microstory a day over the course of the month and share their work with other participants. As a reader, Moriah is most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook.
Learn more about Moriah on her personal website.
