2024 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 about a ghost finding a new purpose in the afterlife.
For today's prompt, write a story about a ghost finding a new purpose in the afterlife.
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 where a ghost finds a new purpose:
The Ghost of Apartment 5B
She died in May. She blinked—there was snow on the ground. Her apartment had been cleared out, her knick-knacks and pairs of underwear and years of hoarded teaching materials vanished. She was drifting. She wasn’t sure what came next.
A family moved into the space that was once hers. They had a young boy around 8; her favorite age, still so silly and open. But this boy was quiet, anxious. It took her a while to understand why.
When the boy’s father put a hole in the wall with his fist, the ghost knew what her new purpose was.
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.
