Raven's View

This week's challenge from Flash Fiction Friday was about fear.

F3 - Cycle 81 - Lions, Tigers and Bears… Oh, My!

We fear the unknown, more specifically the unseen. Our minds wonder and wander at an odd sound, creaking cracks, things that go bump in the night.

 Behind my house is a 30 foot Pine a nearly as high Maple, reaching well over my roof. In my bed at night, my wife sleeping soundly, I hear a crash from above, patters across my ceiling. I know what it is, but I can’t help thinking something is up there more deadly than a squirrel or raccoon. Logically, I know they jump from the tree to the roof and across to my deck, food aplenty awaits them. Sometimes, the mind just wanders. Fear of the unknown reminds me of the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy and her cowardly crew get scared in the Haunted Forest more from the idea that it’s haunted, than any real danger.

This week write a story about perceived fear, either triggered or based on a phobia, and to make it fun use the following word list:

Dark, Crunching, Eerie, Monster and Fear.

Genre: Open      Word Limit: 1313

Cue: A story about fear using the words: Dark, Crunching, Eerie, Monster and Fear

Deadline: Thursday May 31, 9:00 AM EST

Here's my story -

Yet another distraction - damn you Internet!!! I recently found a link to a Youtube channel with past episodes of Ice Road Truckers online. I used to watch this show a few years ago, but had to cut back on TV and boost other things up my list - like writing. But I started watching these a few days ago and couldn't stop! Just one more, just one more, and then it's 2 am again. The annoying thing is that for me they're not really that entertaining. Good enough to keep me watching, not good enough that I feel moved or changed by what I see. More annoyed than anything it seems. The big deal is the danger of ice roads - but no one ever breaks through. That would likely be fatal - I get that - but how many times can you show shots of cracks in ice, underwater views of a truck passing overhead, driver white knuckled and talking about all the cracking noises? OK - rhetorical question - because the answer is that apparently you can show that scene, with a few tweaks - at least once each show, for five seasons. Other than that, put in a mix of characters, roll the cameras, and start pulling the puppet strings.

This is 'reality tv', a big market, a good way to produce shows cheaply, to satisfy the voyeur in the viewer. And to show us how to write a cheesy script. 

Speaking of writing, I need to get this post done and tackle some objectives. Status is OK, but these need a change of focus from so much time on "other'".

This week's challenge from Terrible Minds was about colors. Or, here in Canada, colours. 

TM 2012/5/18 - The Paint Color Title Scheme

 I love shopping for paint because the paint colors are so bizarrely and uniquely named.  And I thought, hey, a challenge based on some of those colors would be kinda rad. So, here’s the deal.

I’m going to list ten paint colors. Choose one. This chosen paint color forms the title to your story. Bonus challenge: try to make color a big part of the story. In imagery, plot, character, whatever.

 Here, then, are the colors:

 Grasshopper Wing

 Bone China

 Timeless Lilac

 Pageant Song

 Burnt Tile

 Fuchsia Kiss

 Flamingo Dream

 Glorious Gold

 Mermaid Song

 Flint Smoke

 You, as usual, have one thousand words and one week to complete. Due by Friday, the 25th, at noon.

Settling into my new community more every day it seems. I did a Facebook page this week for our local Hintonburg Economic Development Committee, as well as setting up a Twitter account. Then last night I met up with the other admins to launch it - at a local pub of course, one that's a big supporter. As part of my neighbourhood ramblings I do try to buy local whenever I can. We have a good selection of local merchants still - local as in their own business, not part of a chain. Hopefully this area doesn't become so trendy that they can't afford to be here - have already seen that with a couple of places. May to October we also have a farmer's market nearby - not necessarily cheaper than the supermarket, but fresher. And the produce is often sold to you by friends and family of whomever grew it. We have a good local bookstore too, Collected Works, that offers much more than books, in order to stay competitive. They have book launches, readings, book club meetings, and a small cafe area. Good selection of books in house and they will order. Usually that works OK, but I did have one book I waited several weeks for, then finally had to go in and cancel - with regrets. I ordered from Amazon, added in another I wanted and got free shipping, right to my door in two business days. I'll ask the book store who they ordered from, and if they can do Amazon too. Would even pay a bit extra for the convenience of picking them up there, rather than wait at home for a delivery. The two books are both research for some next novel ideas I am thinking about - The Hard Facts of Grimm's Fairy Tales, and Guns, Germs, Steel (2nd ed).