Raven's View

This week's challenge from Terrible Minds was to use a sentence Chuck had been given by a random phrase generator. A very strange sentence. From his site -  

This week's challenge from Flash Fiction Friday is based on a painting, Gray and Gold, by John Rogers Cox. From the prompt:

OK folks, break will soon be over, the next ROW80 starts October the 1st. Time to think about setting some long term goals and specific objectives.

Last session I had some general goals and a long list of SMART objectives. I did realize that I could not meet every objective every day, so used them as a target, a reminder of areas to not forget about. I think I did well with that approach, but would like to change my focus a bit.

I believe that if you want to 'be' something, then 'be' it. If you want to be a writer, then be a writer, act like one. Write, edit, imagine, explore, read, learn, publish - just be a writer for a while, every day,  and voila, you'll look back and be amazed. I have found that, being self-employed, I have the choice to avoid schedules and fixed tasks, or to impose some structure on myself. I've been choosing the former, and having fun - except when I agonize over my lack of progress on writerly things. All to say, I think it will help if I start the day with time for those writerly things, like writing and editing. I'm sure things like reading fiction and commenting on Facebook posts will find a way to sneak in just fine later in the day.

My long term goal is to be more of a writer and author. I am a writer now, and have published one (1) Flash Fiction so far, but I want to continue to develop my skills as a writer, and publish more. Another goal is to stay healthy - physically and mentally. And a third is to keep on top of chores - cleaning, laundry, bills. etc.

This week's challenge from Terrible Minds was to once again pick from three columns of 'aspects' of a story - in this case, sub-genre, setting, and element to include. 1000 words.  Here's the choices:

I did a random spin and got Lovecraftian, In a Vehicle Travelling Down the Highway, and A Robot. This was intriguing to me, as I'd never read any Lovecraft. I downloaded some and realized I may have tried to read him at times, but dozed off at the time. But - determined - I asked for some recommendations and read a couple of stories. I developed a story idea of someone trapped, in a vehicle, with a robot driver. He's trying to run from his past, from terrible things his ancestors did. He's in a truck, with something in the back, and gradually realizes there's a horror in the back. All seemed like the elements of a good story, but couldn't get going on it. Another time. In the meantime, I did still want to do something, so did a ghost story of sorts. 975 words.