2024 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 5
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 about a project left half-finished.
For today's prompt, write a story about a project left half-finished.
Remember: These prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you.
(Note: If your story gets flagged for review, be patient—we will be releasing comments every few hours throughout the weekdays of this challenge. Our system randomly flags comments for review, so just sit tight and wait for us to set it free! If you run into any other 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 about a half-finished project:
Labor of Love
She was almost done with the blanket. It wasn’t as hard as she remembered it being almost 30 years ago when she was 7 months pregnant and swollen almost everywhere. But whole lifetimes had passed since then.
Mel didn’t want her to finish the blanket…not since they lost the first baby. They’d been very clear that they didn’t want to get too excited. But she didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with a little hope. So, it waited in her crafting closet, almost finished. Call it a future grandmother’s optimism. This next baby would make it. She had faith.
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.
