Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
Posted on February 5, 2018 by Colleen M. Chesebro
The Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction February 1, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that features something black and white. It could be a nun in a zebra monster truck, a rigid way of thinking, a bird in a tuxedo — be imaginative and go where the prompt leads.
Respond by February 6, 2018, to be included in the compilation (published February 7). Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
I stared at the pea-green walls of the interrogation room feeling the pinch of the handcuffs behind my back. The door opened, and a tall man wearing an ill-fitting suit strode toward me. He threw a bunch of black and white photos on the metal table.
I peered at the images noticing the age of the photos. My countenance had been captured at different points in history, yet I still looked the same today.
“How can you be in each of these photos? Who are you?”
I crossed my legs and licked my lips. “I’m your great-great-grandmother.”
© 2018 Colleen M. Chesebro
Thanks for stopping by! ❤
Category: Authors Supporting AuthorsTags: black & white, Carrot Ranch Literary Community, flash fiction
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“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
—Dylan Thomas
Click: What is a Rhyme Scheme?
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Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.
Oooh! Intriguing!!!
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Fun, huh? I really puzzled about who it could be. There were so many possibilities! 😀
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So many@
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Intriguing indeed. I wish the word limit was not there… 😀
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I know!!! I’ve been starting with the flash and then creating a longer story to be published later this year. Fun stuff! ❤️
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Love this!
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Thanks, Willow. 😍
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💜💝
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Ah, so there’s obviously more to this, than the word count would allow….
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I’m using these flash fiction for openers… These stories will end up in our Fairies, Myths, & Magic books I doing with Wendy. ❤
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Flash fiction is the seed of a great yarn. There are several questions raised by a story of such brevity.
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It was hard to write and keep this short. I hope you enjoyed it. 😀
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Very good, Colleen.
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Thanks, Robbie. These flash are fun and get my brain working. 😉❤️
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Fantastic! Excellent work, Colleen!
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Oh, thanks, Olga. I’m enjoying this flash fiction. A great creativity booster. ❤️
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Superb ending. I love this, Colleen.
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Thanks, Viva. There were so many ways I could have gone. Some how this felt right. 😀
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Excellent, Colleen. Loved the ending.
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Thanks, John. There were so many cool opportunities. This worked. 😊
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🙂
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And there was me thinking she was a time-traveller. 😀
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LOL! I wasn’t sure where to go. There were so many opportunities! She still could be a time traveler?? 😀
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Indeed. That’s what I like about these 99-word flash fiction challenges. Many of them are only the bones on what could be an even greater story. 😀
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Exactly. I’m using the flash as a basis to start a longer short story. I have a few books of poetry and short stories I’m working on. ❤️
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Fantastic, Colleen. I look forward to the launch day. 💕
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I’ll keep you posted. 😍
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Great surprise ending, Colleen. I’m wondering what she did to warrant the arrest. Thinking of a law breaking great-great-grandmother makes me giggle.
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I had so many opportunities with this piece. All I could think of was Go Granny! LOL! ❤
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That’s a fun one you had come your way, Colleen! I’m wanting to know more about this mystery.
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I’ve been saving these flash pieces and creating longer stories for a book series I have planned. These are great opening paragraphs! ❤️
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They do open up to possibilities!
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Ha! A time traveller. Great story, Colleen.
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Well… maybe? LOL! ❤️❤️❤️
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