Master Class 2014 Volume V

Our most recent prompt led to some really creative stories. The prompt came from The Beach Tree by Karen White. It was the 5th true line of the 5th paragraph of the 5th chapter. The line was: There was an empty lot next door, with short cement steps leading up to nothing but air, and a FOR SALE sign swinging in the barren and sand swept yard.

Seven writers answered the challenge to use this line as a 5th in your story.

Kelly stunned us all with the Come Back Kid. She weaves a tale with an interesting dialect that brings you right in, makes you feel comfortable, and listen to the narrator speak. Here’s an example:

Bev was into that generational stuff, going back in time, looking at old documents, unfolding private letters long-forgot, fouling the air with their dusty secrets. Spooked me fair out of my pelt, that child did, what with them cold staring eyes and the whitest skin a person ever could have. Dakota’s skin weren’t porcelain.

Amanda Lynn brought fire with a side of trouble in Sibling Rivalry. Here’s a short from the story:

She rushed back to Cheryl, running her hand soothing down the woman’s arm. She grabbed at her hands and gasped noticing the destruction of her perfect manicure, her fingertips raw and bleeding.

November Rain answered her own prompt with a love story filled with Beachfront Memories. Here’s a descriptive insert:

Martin inherited a large piece of land inland, and the Beach house that sat just a skip from the ocean’s edge. Maizy’s family worked for the Mathew’s nearly all of Maizy’s life, so she was familiar with it, but she had never thought about that big old house on the beach being hers one day.

The Professor found inspiration in threes to answer this week’s challenge. Her story of the dangers of getting All Caught Up in a book will make you second guess reading. Here’s an excerpt from the story:

She barely heard him. Amber was too busy running down a darkening street occupied by nothing but vacant homes with Ophelia. There was a dragon hot on their trail and they had to get to the Book of Shadows to stop him.

Lisa offered up Kindred which will captivated you with it’s old-timey charm and witchery. See for yourself:

Bare feet marking nary a print upon the drifts they walked due east toward the darkest part of the night; right into the thick of that blizzard Eleanor grasped the dry hand hard, fingering the bulging veins and staring unblinking as the house came into view.

Tara had some Memories for Sale  and how things aren’t always exactly how you remember them from childhood:

The backyard holds no remnants of the rabbit hutch where Daisy was kept, nor of the swing set where I learned to fly and fall with style. A porch, drab and in disrepair, isn’t part of my memories, but I can still smell the perfume from the lilac bush it replaced. I remember there being more climbing-size trees and not the towering oaks growing there today.

It was Rebecca’s story that captivated the Professor’s attention, however.   With the cleverly titled “Zuhnahmi,” she crafted a story that leaves your heart racing and fear racing through your blood. Check this out:

My mouth salivated in pleasurable anticipation and I quickly set my bag down and took a hot ciabatta, broke a piece and dipped it into the sauce.  Hot with a kick of spicy, just the way I liked it.  Whomever said a good home cooked meal was not equivalent to a good orgasm never experienced the gratification of good cuisine.

I asked Rebecca to open to the 33rd page of the 3rd book on her shelf and give me the 10th true line. She chose a good one. Here is the prompt for next week:

The challenge, should you accept it, is to use this line to END your story. It should be the last line of the story. You have freedom to change names as necessary to make the story fit.

You have until Tuesday, February 25, at 9:00 PM EST to link up your stories.

The link up in now live!

Ready? Set? Write!