2024 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 18
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 that starts “I wish”
We've practiced a few times getting inspiration from a title. For today's prompt, let's write a story that starts with the words "I wish."
Remember: These prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you.
(Note: If you run into any issues with posting your story, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue.)
Here’s my attempt at a story that starts with the words "I wish":
A Wish for Exhausted Parents
I wish that your 2 a.m. feels less like an abandoned playground and more like a cocoon wrapped around you and your little one, sheltering you from the loneliness of a house settling under the moon, a kitchen table overflowing with unopened mail and Montessori toys, and unsolicited sleep training advice. I wish that even as the bags under your eyes begin to feel permanent, a small giggle will be enough to bolster you even when you hear your bed calling you from the back room. I wish that you avoid a stomach ulcer from the endless parade of coffee that has become your lifeline. I wish that even when the house is a mess and the baby is screaming themselves purple, you’re brave enough to pause. Breathe. And know that you’re doing a damn fine job.
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.
