The cool lake water soothed Dave’s
throbbing headache and, as a bonus, blocked out the nonstop arguing coming from the
cabin. He couldn’t figure out how his
parents, far from home, could still find so many things on which to disagree.
He
assumed this argument was his fault. Dave suspected he had asked one too many
times about using the cellphone to call his friend Jeremy. When Jeremy called him back on his dad’s phone, all hell broke loose in the cabin.
Dave
dunked his head again as the words “My son is not a fag” flew out
the cabin door.
 |
| Photo by: Raegan Bird |
Every week the graceful, dear, Angela Goff,
puts a photo up on her lovely blog as a 'Visual Dare'. The photo, and
it is always a stunning photo, can be used in one of two ways:
- incorporate it into your current Work In Progress - literally, or figuratively
- use it as a 100 word flash fiction to get the brain going in a different creative direction.
Oh, OUCH. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have nailed the human condition in a snapshot. Beautifully wrought, JoAnne!! You are Flash Fiction royalty!!
You are always so supportive dear Angela. I hated putting that word in the story but it was what the entire thing was about. Difficult though.
DeleteSometimes life is ugly. Writers have a responsibility to capture the ugly along with the beautiful.
DeleteWow! This is so powerful and so telling. I know you dont like to use the word but it set the tone perfectly. The whole thing felt so real. Beautiful job JoAnne! I loved this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stacy. This photo scared me at first and I contemplated not daring to do the Visual Dare. But, at some point, I looked at it and the idea just came to me. Appreciate your kind comments!
DeleteEeek! I'm sorry the photo was scary at first...maybe that's why not many people have done it this week?....but I had originally posted another one that I wasn't satisfied with. I wanted to keep to the theme of "stuck" and then I found this photo.....very grim, I grant you, but it always astonishes me the directions in which people take their flash fiction!
DeleteYou make this look so easy. I would be tempted to try it if I didn't know better. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great challenge to get the writing flowing, and 100 words is scarcely a few lines. You should try it, sir!
DeleteYou have a JD Mader tune on the site this week! That's beyond cool. ;-) Rock on sister!
ReplyDeleteI simply love JD's tune.It's so easy and lovely and quirky. (thanking Robin for his description) I've played it about 5 times already today!
DeleteBrilliant - made me feel so sorry for Dave and want to find out more about him and his family! X
ReplyDeleteThank you Sharon for commenting! I was thinking about being an teenager and going to visit family friends who had lakeside cabins (of course, it was the 70s then...now they are probably mansions!). The story came from that feeling of unease - being cut off from friends who, we are convinced, know us better than our families do. I of course fictionalized everything (I'm not a boy, I didn't have a dad, etc...) but the theme was struck. Glad you were pulled into the story. :))
DeleteThose words that seem so effortless and flow so beautifully are hard-fought in flash fiction, I know. Powerful and moving, Jo-Anne. As a strong advocate of LGBT rights, I felt it touched on a painful subject with great delicacy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a most lovely, a most Anna, comment. I appreciate your kind words. It was difficult to use that word but I hope that it did appear in a way that made clear what my intention was. Hugs!
Delete