The Unicorn Challenge.
A magical new weekly writing opportunity from her – Jenne Gray – and me.
Visit her blog every Friday to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in her comments section.
Or on your own blog, and stick the link down in her comments.
The rules are:
Maximum of 250 words.
Based on photo prompt.
That’s it.
To hear me read my story, just click here:
Lighthouse
The wind howls across the Firth of Clyde, sweeping icy rain from the Atlantic Ocean past the towering lighthouse, along the eighty-yard length of the stone pier, and into the man’s pain-filled eyes.
He wipes away the salt-filled spray and peers through the gloaming to the ships’ lights just starting to appear off the coast.
Beyond the lighthouse a wicked reef of jagged rocks curves far out to sea, a hidden danger in this busy channel where the near-constant traffic links Glasgow to nearby Belfast, Liverpool and Dublin, as well as to Brest and Dieppe in northern France, and even across the great ocean to St John’s and Boston.
He is already late in fulfilling his only task, to ensure the light at the top of the near 100-foot structure, designed by forebears of Robert Louis Stevenson, is flashing at the requisite intervals.
But, after too many days on a diet of porridge and dry biscuit, he had a hankering to dine on lobster, and set out in early afternoon to check his creels in the rocks to the south.
Triumphantly bearing his catch, but in his haste to return to his post, he felt his foot slip on the kelp, and tumbled awkwardly into a rock pool.
Now, having dragged his broken leg to the pier, he stares abjectly at his impossibly far-off destination, where he will face a spiral staircase of more than eighty steps.
He sighs, grits his teeth, and crawls on.
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I’m drawn into the world of your character, the difficulties, discomforts and dangers endured as he tends to his vital task. All those shipping routes radiating out and all those lives depending on him carrying out his task. And there’s such a pervading sense of urgency as the ships’ lights start to appear. You’ve created a heroic character and I’m cheering him on as he struggles toward the lighthouse. Terrific story.
Thank you, Margaret, it’s great when a reader gets so involved in a story. I always hope it will happen with my full-length works, but don’t usually expect it with these short pieces.
Seems like I got something right this week!
From triumph to disaster. I feel for him, I only have 56 steps to climb – attempting it with a busted leg would be a nightmare! However, with such resolve I can’t imagine him letting it defeat him, there’s light at the end of the staircase!
Thanks, Keith,at least he has his shirt on!
Whoa! What a story! Grit, resolve, character, perseverance. I am so impressed with your character — who lives a ho-hum existence, but, when push comes to shove, has a depth of character we can’t imagine.
Thanks, Sally, I did try to depict a man with a sense of duty and responsibility.
Happy it worked for you.
totally immersive, is all your story is this week!
(have spent time in that world/environment) could smell the iodine scent of dried seaweed)
Thanks Clark, I appreciate ‘totally immersive’.
I agree there’s nothing quite like that seaside smell!
‘Lighthouse’ or ‘How to make every word count’.
Without slowing the action in any way, every sentence is rich with descriptions and information, so that I feel I know more than 250 words can possibly convey.
An example:’But, after too many days on a diet of porridge and dry biscuit, he had a hankering to dine on lobster…’
A person can learn a lot about writing from a story like that – thank you.
Very kind, Jenne.
I think the best thing about the Unicorn Challenge is that we have a fairly small group of very talented writers with very different styles, which means that we can all learn from each other.
I know the gritting of teeth at the bottom of stairs and I only have sixteen to the top. There is no rushing it these days.
Even with two functioning legs!
Great to see you here again, Joseph. We’d love to see you contribute your own whimsical thoughts on our prompt photos!
Perhaps I shall get there again some day. I love reading the flash fiction. I used to write a lot. Things have changed a bit.
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