Attempting NaNoWriMo for the first time this year, 2011. Wish me luck!
Dr. Tim’s Neurotic Rules of Ficly Life
[Disclaimer: This is not intended to be binding nor in any way an expectation of general members of Ficly, league members, family members or wearers of Member’s Only jackets]
1. Comment to Story posting ratio must exceed 5:1. Goal is 10:1. In other words, I write a story then find five others (at least) upon which to comment before writing another.
2. For every solo shot or sequel of my own material, I must write a sequel or prequel to the work of another author. If I’m going easy on myself, participating in a challenge also fulfills this requirement.
3. If someone comments on one of my stories, I go find one of theirs upon which to comment. It only seems fair, and I like to think it encourages commenting.
4. Awesomeness is the goal, always. Call me on it when I fail, please.
5. Clearly mark mature content and err on the side of caution.
6. Golden Rule remains in effect for all sequels, prequels, and comments.
Stories
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Where Dreams Take
“I had the dream again.” The words hung in the still August air, hardly able to drift to Mabel’s ears. She let the statement take its fluttering course to the earth of quiet acceptance. To signal the death knell of the thought a small...
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Oblivion Come At Last
The voice from my throat growled above the clamor of my brother’s 78 Skylark, “You said women?” “Yeah, Billy, lots of women, just across the bridge in Vicksburg. You know, that little brothel the sheriff runs.” “Name...
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True Adventures in Parenting, Part 2
Before leaving to get my doctor bag I decided to give her something to do. I instructed her to plug one nostril and blow out the other. She plugged the left and went to work. I returned. Sadly, due to disuse, my otoscope was not working. My small but v...
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True Adventures in Parenting, Part 1
From within Sam’s room came a panicked yelp. My first instinct was, sadly, “Oh great, more hysterics.” She’d just spent half an hour processing the impending first day of school with my wife, and I’d really hoped she’...
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Bad Sailing and Thirst for Tequila
“Imperialist pig dog!” came the war cry from the tavern door. The dingy yellow light silhouetted the man’s paunchy figure, a golden ray filtering through the sloshing contents of a bottle in his hand. The sigh left my lips as any hope...
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Red Lights
That was wrong. Nooks and crannies of my brain screamed it over and over again, a chorus of doubt. I’d had the debate before, a hundred times over, an argument always ended by the reassuring feel of cash in hand. This was different. This came wit...
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Folding Into the Great City
At the age of five years the world opened up to show me death, a gaping maw that swallowed up all motherly affection and hope. Within two years the clouds of doubt had so obscured my way as to make meaningful navigation a folly of comical proportions. ...
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Conflicting Mandates
What it took was not a great deal of effort. The real problem came in the form of Doreen, their raven haired designated killer of anything resembling fun. I swear the girl had a bible in her purse and was likely to pull it out at any minute. The brunet...
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Romance, A Stone, and Blood
“You,” the dashing man in black intoned gravely, “are the chosen one. With one touch of the sacred stone, you save all of vampire kind, restore our humanity. Then…” He paused, felt the tears wet his cheeks as they were her...
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Demons Will Play
Take last Friday night for example. The dive was swaying to some old Merle Haggard from the juke box. My friend and I were swaying to the beat of a fifth of something his cousin brewed, probably in a bathtub. Less than thirty people in the joint, and w...
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Angels Don't Cry
My mother once told me, “Angels don’t cry.” I was never quite sure what she meant, though it probably had something to do with not blubbering and causing a scene at dad’s funeral. She was proper like that, most of the time. I al...
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Morning Messenger After Mead
Dawn had scarcely chased the revelers back to more private quarters when Kylun heard the rap at his door. Too foggy with sleep to be either excited or annoyed he trudged from his simple cot to answer the insistent knocking. Even the dim light of mornin...
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Free From Life and Sin
“You got my money, boy?” Hands outstretched, Paul turned to face the question, no answer but a faint smile. He regarded the bloated bear of a man and felt nothing. More rightly, he felt the great upwelling of anger and resentment for the pa...
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Coming Darkness Above Purvis Creek
An hour before the appointed time, Paul stood at the midpoint of the Route 13 bridge, Rankin county to his left, Smith county to his right. The yellow-brown water of Purvis creek crept along, full of crawdads and frogs, poor oblivious creatures. He pal...
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Religion and Motivation
Mae hollered, like women of her ilk were want to do, “Paul, you sad sack, where you been?” Paul stopped well short of the screen door held open for him, smelling the usual bacon and greens, “Afternoon Mae, I just…” “...
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No Easy Day
Paul squinted at a sky made hazy with humidity, just a hint of blue. The day was not going to go easy on him. He picked at his shirt, clingy with sweat, as he picked his way around the goats and their droppings. “Particular as always,” his ...
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Whiskey and Sin
The music occupied any and every space not occupied by the seething mass of gyrating bodies, all alcohol-fueled libido and swagger. Reston was as out of place as a possum in a cotillion, but they had a surprising stock of Jack, Jim, and Jameson behind ...
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Sin by Numbers
Cruising along at 83 mph, Carl gave a bemused smile to the religious billboard, 5 of the ten commandments. He knew on his return trip he’d be treated to a view of the remaining Biblical directives. 1 hour to drive to the Hilliard/Rome exit, the s...
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Few Choices in Dark Hell
A foul smelling dust choked his gasps. A wash of heat replaced the sudden chill. A dull ache remained, just by his heart, a heart he could swear wasn’t beating any more. His lids betrayed a red glow no matter how hard he squeezed them shut. A lif...
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What It Could Be
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Easy Goodbyes
Goodbye for good Sooner or later we all part I always run out Nothing can ever stay the same Whatever we had is done Blessed be the days for holding Time, joy, love, and good fun If I thought it mattered I’d shed the tears of parting Make a show ...
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I Won't Tell
History has a way of repeating. The same coffee shop where they met welcomed him back, as it did every morning. The regulars smiled, knowing what he didn’t know, a romantic surprise. A cup of his regular sat at his regular seat, ready for his reg...
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A Real Fun Place
I watched his face, delicate features awash with consternation and contemplation. Much as I’d have liked to explain my dark predicament to him, my voice remained locked away with my soul, sentenced to the edge of existence. My body laughed derisi...
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Waiting For The Right Time
Head down, watching his feet dance through the deluge, Brooks hummed a vague tune, something about summer showers. The raindrops pelted him like tiny hammers, a thousand points of liquid assault in an Arizona monsoon. A flash of light split the clouds,...
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Defiance and Lack of Reason
“I lo…” He tried to force the words out but amidst the gale they were lost. To be honest, they were weak to begin with, his lungs struggling in their frailty against the already clawing effects of exposure. Again he tried to call out,...
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Brother Found, Brother Lost
My brother found me in the strip club. A consequence of small town living, instead of the law, Big Karl called my kin on account of my antics. Before my passive and weary view had come dances, lap and otherwise, drinks a plenty, three near-brawls, and ...
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Lost at Sea
The summer sun came through my closed eyelids in waves of pink and orange. The sea rocked us in its lazy way, while the breeze kept the smell of salt in my nostrils. A week out of Mar del Plata we had provisions a plenty and an ocean of adventure ahead...
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Family, Chaos, and Realizations
With a nod and a worried look, Gefel from swing shift sat at the adjacent com station. Within a minute, Largo from night shift was to my left, taking a data station from one of the protocol nerds. Two more minutes and Midshipman Hurald was on the other...
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Captain of a Lower Berth
Oblivion. That’s what I’d hoped for, but apparently old souls don’t die. Tuesday night, around 5:45, I laid down to rest and felt the fade, like all of my self could cease to exist. Only, it didn’t, only withered to the point th...
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The Inevitability of Swearing
I did it right. The timing was perfect. Other me never showed to assail everyone’s ears with coarse vitriol. She came, and I was charming. By the time we parted ways her number rested comfortably in my pocket, and our first date occupied a place ...
