Category: Stonehenge Story Starts

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Confession of a Lifetime (Prompt)

Welcome to Stonehenge Story Starts, a weekly writing prompt and story sharing opportunity.  Each week, we post a writing prompt: an opening line, a concept, a plot hook, maybe an image.  The following Saturday, we’ll post again with the writing the prompt inspired.

This week’s prompt is: You’re immortal, and married to a mortal. Today is the day to come clean (Prompt courtesty of blog.reedsy.com)

Our writers will be writing for the prompts, but anyone is welcome to participate!  Just come by on Sunday to see the week’s prompt, write during the week, and send any writing you’d like to share to StonehengeCircleWriters@gmail.com by the following Friday at 8 pm.  On Saturday we’ll post participants’ writing (with credit to the author, of course).

Write as much or as little as you choose: a paragraph, a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words) or a short story.  (Note, for long writing, we may choose to post only a selection.)  You are encouraged to be as creative as possible with the writing prompts.  Try to do something unexpected, or explore a particular genre like science fiction or historical fiction.  Take the prompt literally, or decide it’s a metaphor.  Your only limit is your own imagination.

Happy writing!

 

If you like to plan ahead, next week’s prompt will be:  “I knew I’d found something crucial when…” (Prompt courtesy of eadeverrell.com)

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Dragons Overhead (Results)

Happy Saturday!  Today we have two stories for your reading pleasure.

This week’s prompt was: A story involving a dragon.

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Cheryl Mahoney shares a prequel story featuring a character from her upcoming fantasy series.

Xevrix screamed into the stillness.  The sound echoed off the tall trees and the high mountain crags, and a flock of birds in the distance took alarmed flight with shrill cries, their dark shapes disappearing into the murky night sky.

Otherwise, it accomplished nothing at all.

She glowered at the nearest thing in her path, an enormous oak that had probably been rooted in place for a century.  She drew back one hand and launched a fireball straight into the heart of the tree.  It kindled, crackled and in moments was a blazing torch.

It was so satisfying that she would have set another, a third, a dozen on fire—but she could feel her breath catching, her legs quivering, and knew that her reserves of magic were too low for this kind of indulgence.  She wasn’t so blind with rage that it could make her stupid.

She let herself flop down to sit on the ground in front of her flaming oak instead, probably getting dirt on her skirt, and reveled in the fire’s heat and glow, watched the flames lick up from one branch to another.

Xevrix was going to burn Krowyn for stranding her here.  Slowly.  She might make it last for days.  If he thought he could steal all the work they had done together, dump her in the wilderness using part of their findings in a kind of added insult—he would regret it.  She would ensure he regretted it, soon and for every moment that remained of his miserable, severely shortened life.

But first she had to get off of this damn mountain.

Continue reading “Stonehenge Story Starts: Dragons Overhead (Results)”

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Dragons Overhead (Prompt)

Welcome to Stonehenge Story Starts, a weekly writing prompt and story sharing opportunity.  Each week, we post a writing prompt: an opening line, a concept, a plot hook, maybe an image.  The following Saturday, we’ll post again with the writing the prompt inspired.

This week’s prompt is: A story about a dragon

Our writers will be writing for the prompts, but anyone is welcome to participate!  Just come by on Sunday to see the week’s prompt, write during the week, and send any writing you’d like to share to StonehengeCircleWriters@gmail.com by the following Friday at 8 pm.  On Saturday we’ll post participants’ writing (with credit to the author, of course).

Write as much or as little as you choose: a paragraph, a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words) or a short story.  (Note, for long writing, we may choose to post only a selection.)  You are encouraged to be as creative as possible with the writing prompts.  Try to do something unexpected, or explore a particular genre like science fiction or historical fiction.  Take the prompt literally, or decide it’s a metaphor.  Your only limit is your own imagination.

Happy writing!

 

If you like to plan ahead, next week’s prompt will be: You’re immortal, and married to a mortal. Today is the day to come clean (Prompt courtesty of blog.reedsy.com)

 

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Solemnly Thunderous Strings (Results)

Happy Saturday!  We hope you’re enjoying some nice summer weather, wherever you’re reading this.  We have one story for you this week, which we hope you’ll enjoy!

This week’s prompt was:

A story using the words “thunderous,” “solemn” and “strings” (Prompt courtesy of @writingprompts)

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Karen Blakely has a follow-up piece to her story of last week, again featuring the heroine of her upcoming novella, Red.

I’d been working on Grandmother’s cottage in the woods for months now, ever since I’d stumbled on it. That’s where I spent most of my days off.

I hadn’t planned to come today, not with the storm coming in. I remembered all too well the first time I’d been here – how the rain came into the bedroom, feeding the moss, further decaying all the organic materials in the room.

I’d planned to stay home where it was warm and dry, but I’d been restless and edgy. I’d finally tired of looking around my living room. It was boring. Sterile. It looked more like a hotel room than the home of a grown woman who’d lived there for nearly five years. Seeing how little I’d done in that space to make it homey like Mom or Grandmother would have made my skin feel too tight.

How could I not have noticed it before? Mom had always accused me of willful blindness. I hadn’t understood what she’d meant by that before, but now, looking around my apartment, I finally got it. I hadn’t wanted to make this look like a home. I was still too resentful of losing Mom, and having to sell our house and most of our possessions to pay her medical bills.

And recognizing that made me feel worse.

That’s what drove me out into the thunderstorm, driving my four-wheel drive SUV deep into the woods, sometimes not sure if I would get stuck in the muddy ruts of the forest service road. But I made it within a couple miles of Grandmother’s house, and hiked the rest of the way.

Continue reading “Stonehenge Story Starts: Solemnly Thunderous Strings (Results)”

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Solemnly Thunderous Strings (Prompt)

Welcome to Stonehenge Story Starts, a weekly writing prompt and story sharing opportunity.  Each week, we post a writing prompt: an opening line, a concept, a plot hook, maybe an image.  The following Saturday, we’ll post again with the writing the prompt inspired.

This week’s prompt is: A story using the words “thunderous,” “solemn” and “strings”

(Prompt courtesy of @writingprompts)

Our writers will be writing for the prompts, but anyone is welcome to participate!  Just come by on Sunday to see the week’s prompt, write during the week, and send any writing you’d like to share to StonehengeCircleWriters@gmail.com by the following Friday at 8 pm.  On Saturday we’ll post participants’ writing (with credit to the author, of course).

Write as much or as little as you choose: a paragraph, a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words) or a short story.  (Note, for long writing, we may choose to post only a selection.)  You are encouraged to be as creative as possible with the writing prompts.  Try to do something unexpected, or explore a particular genre like science fiction or historical fiction.  Take the prompt literally, or decide it’s a metaphor.  Your only limit is your own imagination.

Happy writing!

 

If you like to plan ahead, next week’s prompt will be: a story about a dragon.

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Overgrown Room (Results)

We hope you’re enjoying your weekend!  We have two brief, fairy tale-inspired stories for you today in response to our weekly prompt.

This week’s prompt was visual:

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Karen Blakely has another piece featuring the heroine of her upcoming novel, Red.

When I first caught sight of the house, there were no visible signs of damage. I heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of shelter; the storm was nearly upon me. The first drops of rain had just started to fall. At least I had somewhere I could stay dry.

There was something oddly familiar about the house, but I was sure I’d never been there before. It was deep inside the woods, beyond my normal patrol area; in the no-man’s land between where I patrolled and Nick Ratchet’s assigned area.

I knocked, but there was no answer. Instead, the door creaked open under my hand.

Continue reading “Stonehenge Story Starts: Overgrown Room (Results)”

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Overgrown Room (Prompt)

Welcome to Stonehenge Story Starts, a weekly writing prompt and story sharing opportunity.  Each week, we post a writing prompt: an opening line, a concept, a plot hook, maybe an image.  The following Saturday, we’ll post again with the writing the prompt inspired.

This week’s prompt is visual:

Our writers will be writing for the prompts, but anyone is welcome to participate!  Just come by on Sunday to see the week’s prompt, write during the week, and send any writing you’d like to share to StonehengeCircleWriters@gmail.com by the following Friday at 8 pm.  On Saturday we’ll post participants’ writing (with credit to the author, of course).

Write as much or as little as you choose: a paragraph, a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words) or a short story.  (Note, for long writing, we may choose to post only a selection.)  You are encouraged to be as creative as possible with the writing prompts.  Try to do something unexpected, or explore a particular genre like science fiction or historical fiction.  Take the prompt literally, or decide it’s a metaphor.  Your only limit is your own imagination.

Happy writing!

 

If you like to plan ahead, next week’s prompt will be: a story using the words “thunderous,” “solemn” and “strings” (Prompt courtesy of @writingprompts)

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Meeting the Floor (Results)

Welcome back to another week of writing!

This week’s prompt was:  “The floor tasted like…” (Prompt courtesy of eadeverrell.com)

Three of our writers took this as an opportunity to further explore characters from larger pieces.  We have two very short flash pieces, and one longer short story.

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Karen Blakely has another piece featuring the heroine of her upcoming novel, Red.

My shoulder hit the floor with a resounding thud, my head banging against the painted concrete a moment later. Up close, the dusty red and black paint was the color of pain. I could feel it throbbing behind my eyes and in both temples. Beating in my blood.

The floor tasted like…what? Humiliation? Anger? Disgust?

The entire room had gone silent, waiting to see what I would do next. And I decided I wasn’t going to do anything next. I was going to lay here and pretend today hadn’t happened. That my co-workers hadn’t humiliated me as I was leaving.

Calling me soft. Calling me useless.

Calling me a monster-lover.

I took my job as Paranormal Species Control Officer very seriously. I was willing to put my life on the line to protect the public from the unknown. From the monsters that wanted to harm them. But not all paranormals were monsters. No matter what Nick and his sycophants said. I’d just made the mistake of reminding them of that.

I knew better. We’d had that argument too many times before, and I knew there was no way I’d ever change their minds. What had possessed me to try today?

Maybe it was that last conversation I’d had with Elli in this very bar. The one where she’d accused me of disliking all paranormals. I remembered my words to her “They aren’t like us. That’s the first thing they teach you in the Unit.”

And her response had been echoing in my head ever since. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with inter-species relationships.”

At the time, I’d been horrified. But I’d felt guilty about that conversation ever since, though I couldn’t pinpoint why. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure that whatever was making me feel guilt and remorse was what made me start that useless argument with Nick.

It was probably the same thing that had driven me into my favorite bar tonight. And made me sit here alone, pounding back beer and tequila shots for the last several hours. So many that I’d lost count, as my knees loosened and my head began to swim, while I contemplated the mess I’d made of everything.

Continue reading “Stonehenge Story Starts: Meeting the Floor (Results)”

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Meeting the Floor (Prompt)

Welcome to Stonehenge Story Starts, a weekly writing prompt and story sharing opportunity.  Each week, we post a writing prompt: an opening line, a concept, a plot hook, maybe an image.  The following Saturday, we’ll post again with the writing the prompt inspired.

This week’s prompt is: “The floor tasted like…”

(Prompt courtesy of eadeverrell.com)

Our writers will be writing for the prompts, but anyone is welcome to participate!  Just come by on Sunday to see the week’s prompt, write during the week, and send any writing you’d like to share to StonehengeCircleWriters@gmail.com by the following Friday at 8 pm.  On Saturday we’ll post participants’ writing (with credit to the author, of course).

Write as much or as little as you choose: a paragraph, a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words) or a short story.  (Note, for long writing, we may choose to post only a selection.)  You are encouraged to be as creative as possible with the writing prompts.  Try to do something unexpected, or explore a particular genre like science fiction or historical fiction.  Take the prompt literally, or decide it’s a metaphor.  Your only limit is your own imagination.

Happy writing!

 

If you like to plan ahead, next week’s prompt will be an image:

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Stonehenge Story Starts: Strange Travels (Results)

Welcome back to another week of writing!

This week’s prompt was: You got on a bus and woke up in a strange town where things seem a little wrong (Prompt courtesy of Reedsy.com)

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Cheryl Mahoney:

I know as soon as I wake up that I must have got on the wrong bus.  I lift my head off of my duffel bag and sit up to peer out the window.  We’re on what appears to be the main street of some little town that would fit in beautifully on The Twilight Zone.  Or The Andy Griffith Show.  You know, one of those stereotype 1950s small towns where everyone sits on their porch Sunday afternoon and, depending on the show, sings a folk song or meets aliens.

“Maybe this is just a stop on the way,” I murmur to myself, even though the bus has that sagged feeling of a vehicle that has stopped and isn’t moving again for a good long while.

Like a confirmation to my irrational gut feeling, the bus driver bawls out, “Final destination!  Everyone off!”

The bus is almost empty—evidently a lot of people got off while I was asleep, I suppose at previous stops—but a couple passengers shuffle along the central aisle towards the door, bleary-eyed and silent.

I grab my duffel and make my way up to the front, stopping at the driver’s seat.  “Excuse me, but this isn’t Greenwich Village.”  Despite myself, my voice is rising in alarm.  “This is definitely not Manhattan.”

The driver squints at me.  “This is Greenwitch Village.  Isn’t that where you wanted?”

“No!” I cry.  “I definitely asked for a ticket to Greenwich.  Gren-ich,” I pronounce carefully.  I’ve only been dreaming of coming here—there—my whole life.  I know how to pronounce the place.

Continue reading “Stonehenge Story Starts: Strange Travels (Results)”