Author Archives: docshaw

Post 78, Meeting the In-Laws edition

Posted by on May 3, 2012 6 comments

We’ve all done it. You meet that certain someone and things just click. Everything is ripe for a new romance and then the most dreaded comes to call. You have to meet the parents. Maybe it’s a holiday and you are invited for a meal or perhaps you have only arrived to pick them up. Either way, you have some quick explaining to do to a tough crowd. Mom has already had a few drinks and doesn’t like the look of you and Dad sits and cleans his gun. Could this be prom night or just another hook-up? Don’t shy away from something personal. I once asked the father of my date how tough it was to raise such a spitfire. I wasn’t asked back but our time in the car was memorable.

In 1500 words, tell us about meeting the parents. Don’t be afraid to squirm a bit as it’s a given that the sex was incredible.

All the gory details need to be posted Wednesday 5/9 at 8:33 PM EST. After that, and the special someone turns into a conquest you don’t tell your children about. Good hunting!

Doc

 

Mephisto Edition; cycle 69

Posted by on February 24, 2012 15 comments

Welcome to cycle 69, where it’s all about the giving. This week we are going to make a deal with ol’ Scratch himself. Tales of bargaining with the dark one are as old as written history and he is a slippery cuss to deal with. So this week write a tale under 900 words where you make a deal with the devil.

Do you trade your mortal soul for money, power, fame, or for the love of your life? What if your soul isn’t all he wants? Do you get what you want and cheat him out of his reward or do you spend eternity smelling sulphur and smoke?

Is he the classic horned one with the barbed tail and goat hooves or does he have a more modern and seductive look? Is he a beautiful blond in a red dress or a small child with the voice of an angel? Does he appear in smoke and flame or simply perch on your shoulder to whisper in your ear?

So dust off that coal black soul of yours and get busy, because there is a deal to be made and it’s getting hot in here! Let’s have some fun and enjoy our 69.

All submissions must include a title and they will be published Wednesday 2/29/12 at 9 pm EST.

Yours in blood red ink,

Doc

F3 – Cycle 65 – Groundhog’s Day Stories

Posted by on February 1, 2012 2 comments

Thanks for a wonderful turnout and making my Groundhog’s Day! I’m looking forward to reading these. Don’t forget to comment!

The Querulous Squirrel: Groundhog Day

I Hardy: Under the Mistletoe

Carmen Seitan: Hidden Shadows

Michael: Lunch Date

Joyce Juzwik: Signs

Ray Yanek: Four out of Five

Fiona Johnson: Dark

Thomas Pluck: Phil’s Last Stand

 

Groundhog’s Day Edition, cycle 65

Posted by on January 27, 2012 11 comments

Well it’s time for one of our most unsung holidays: Groundhog’s Day. So this weeks challenge is to write a story that takes place on or around Feb. 2nd. Will it climax with a happy ending and the oncoming of spring or will it plunge into the bleak despair of six more weeks of winter? And just to make it a little more interesting, you have to include the word “salad” in your story, just to prove our picture wrong. Keep it under 1500 words and have it submitted by Wed. Feb. 1st. Get cracking and watch out for your shadow.

 

Doc

Cycle 50, Off To A Good Start Edition; The Stories

Posted by on September 28, 2011 5 comments

 

This week we got off to a good start on our fiftieth installment with two starter sentences and you took your pick. It will be interesting to see who went for suave Javier and who reached for the candlestick. We have several newcomers this week. I would like to extend a special welcome to them into our little community of writers. If you are a budding author or just like to tell a good tale, you’d be hard pressed to find a better site than F3.

Ray Yanek starts us off with ”Castle Walls” 

Followed by Glen with “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Then Charlie Wade gives us “Clueless”

With newcomer Charles Singletary unleashing “Too Soon”

Spudrph pens ”Lunch Break”

Newcomer Karmie makes change in “The Currency of Death”

Our very own Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw has cell phone in hand in ”Mothers and Daughters”

And I limp in last with “Who can question the power of Love?”

Thank you all for a wonderful turnout and I just know I’ve got some great reads on my hands. Make a special point of leaving a comment for the newcomers, as nothing beats some good feedback from fellow writers.

Veronica joins us this Friday as guest host and I’m certain she has something special cooked up for us. Looking forward to seeing what sprouts from her fertile imagination. In the mean time, get reading!

Yours in ink,
Doc

P.S.- Not to sound like a crank, but in the future, it would be nice if you would include the title of your story as well as the link. It saves me a little time and I already type slower than Moses anyway. Thank you for your consideration. – Doc

 

 

 

 

 

F3, Off To A Good Start Edition, Cycle 50

Posted by on September 23, 2011 25 comments

 This is it. the big Five-Oh. In two weeks time, we will have been at this for a full year and I think that is something to get excited about. This week we are going to have two starter sentences that I’ve culled from the original Flash Fiction Friday site and you get to take your pick. Your story must begin with one of the two sentences and it must be less than a thousand words. After that, it’s up to you.

First starter sentence: “You know Javier, poets say that in the spring a young man’s thoughts turn to love, but I think they’re wrong.”

or

Second starter sentence: “Taut and alert, she laid in bed with a cell phone in one hand and a candlestick in the other.”

All entries must be submitted by 9/28 at 8:30 EST. The genre is open, so good luck and get cracking!

Doc

War is Hell, the stories

Posted by on September 1, 2011 3 comments

Well it’s time to shuck the flak jacket and put the pin back in the grenade. We’ve got a slew of war stories coming at ya.

First, we have Evan Henry’s Fireflies Over Delph

Followed by Mr. L. Turner’s A Story

Newcomer Adam joins us with Echoes

Veteran Sue H chimes in with Fortunes of War

Next, the very busy newlywed Mr. Stephan Potter gives us Open Door

Spudrph provides July 1, 1863

Pink Woods brings The Missing Legend War of UL

Please take the time to read and comment on every story. These dogfaces labored very hard to capture hill F3 and they deserve a commendation for their effort. Don’t disappoint them General.

Doc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F3- War is Hell edition

Posted by on August 26, 2011 14 comments

We have covered a lot of different kinds of tales here at F3, sci-fi, crime, noir, western, etc., but the one that has been overlooked is the classic war story. Wars have been fought since the dawn of time for various reasons, from getting rich to finding a mate or to defend the glorious cause. This week let’s delve into a war story of your very own. Is it told by the general, the foot soldier,the medic, or the poor unfortunate victim who suddenly finds it in his back yard? Let’s see what we can shell out.

Genre: War, any, past,  present or future.

Length: 1250 words

Due: Wed. Aug. 31st. 8:30 EST.

Doc

F3, Cycle 38, The Stories

Posted by on July 7, 2011 7 comments

This week we slip the bounds of the reality and delve into madness. Let’s see how crazy we got:

Sue H gives us Reverie
Beach Bum gives us Having All The Facts
Newcomer Kevin Aldrich contributes Waiting For Goodow
Doc Shaw tells us about The Unwanted Man
Thomas Pluck gives us A Slice Of Life
Jenny just flat out gives us Madness
Vinod Narayan submits Looking Through The Window
R.L.W. shows us God-Fearing American Patriot
And rounding out the field, our own Flannery Alden gives us Rage Diary.

Thank you all for the wonderful turn-out this week. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to you own unique brand of madness and don’t forget to leave a comment as these are the tools that help to make us better writers.

Yours in ink,
Doc

 

F3, Cycle 38, The “I live to create madness” edition.

Posted by on July 1, 2011 29 comments

First off, I owe you all a deep heart-felt apology. I have been grossly absent and for that, I am truly sorry. First off, my computer died. It is now a very expensive paper weight with no hope of ever returning to active service. This kept me off line for a couple of weeks. Then I tried using the computer that belongs to my seven year old little girl, just so I can keep up with Flash Fiction Friday, an aspect of my life that is very important to me. I have friends here and I want to keep up with their writing and encourage them in any way I can. They have been very good to me and have nurtured my writing past the clumsy scribbles of a would-be hack into something of a more mature author. For that, I’m grateful. The S.N.A.F.U. of the whole kid’s computer is that it has a “Net Nanny” program that will not let me get to my own blog because it has alcohol, tobacco, and firearms references on it. It also won’t let me view your blog for the same reason. So I can check my email (which I don’t use) look at Facebook (not much use for it either) and play Solitare. I find the situation maddening. Everything I use a computer for, this thing won’t do.

To make matters worse, my work schedule has jumped to what seems like eighty hours a week and my new position is high stress and no thank you’s. My vacation rolls around and I spend a blissful week in the wild on a canoe trip. I return with batteries recharged and find a sleek, black Toshiba with all the whistles and bells. I have rejoined the 21st century. But enough of my woes, let’s get to the challenge.

This week we take a completely different tack. Tens of millions of people in the U.S. alone suffer from mental illness. The gamut is wide and varied, from OCD to agoraphobia to many things in between. This week we take on madness. Is it in the tradition of Edgar Allen Poe or more along the lines of the pychopathes that top the best seller lists? Is it benign like insomnia or is it a mystery to be solved with amnesia? Regardless, madness must ensue. So ready the straight jackets and the white van and get crazy!

Prompt: Write a story involving madness in whatever form appeals to you.
Genre: Open
Word Count: 1200 words.
Deadline: Thursday, July 7th, 6 pm EST.

Yours in the madness of ink,
Doc