June 2016 Flash Fiction Contest: The suitcase

JonLaidlow

JonLaidlow

Space cowboy
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
1,716
Theres a suitcase.

It's just sitting there.

Whose is it? I don't know.

What's in it? I don't know.

Where is it from? I'm not sure.

Why is it there? I can't tell you...

Gentlefolk, your story must include a suitcase. That's it. You can write time travel, space colony, SF romance, military SF, fat fantasy, grimdark, or even squirrelpunk.

It can be about the suitcase, it can be about the contents of a suitcase, or there can just be a suitcase in it.

*******************************************

THEME: A suitcase
WORD COUNT LIMIT: max 1000 words (except for @kennychaffin who has to write a MINIMUM of 1000...)
DEADLINE: June 23, 2016

If you are new to the contests, here's a general outline of what to do:

1) Think of a story idea that includes speculative fiction elements (fantasy, science fiction, horror elements) and fits the theme stated above
2) Write story
3) Edit story
4) Post story in the Stories sub-forum. (Use these guidelines to title your thread so it is easy for folks to find your entry.)
5) Come back here and let us know that you posted your story and provide a link to that story (makes it easier for me to find your story when it comes time to vote).
6) Read the other entries and offer comments that help the writer both know what they did right and what they did wrong (in your humble opinion)
7) Vote when the voting poll goes up

The winner takes over the next contest and has the honor of picking its theme.

CONTEST GUIDELINES:
  • PG-13 - generally, the forum restricts its contents to what would be acceptable at the PG-13 rating. However, we are lenient for creative purposes in the writing forum. Please warn readers if your story contains adult situations.
  • Once you post your contest entry, we discourage writers from altering the original text submitted. While it may be okay to change a few typos here and there, please do not revise your piece substantially. If you would like to respond to feedback, you are encouraged to post your revision within the thread (but not the original post).
  • Please refrain from voting for your own story.
Entries:
Facing - Inheritance.
BrooklynSkye - Suitcase
Window Bar - Growing Up
jarebcollins - "The Amazing Harvey McGarvin"
JonLaidlow - The suitcase by the door
Stray Man - What's With the Briefcase?
GaiusNicholas - Junk
Kennychaffin - A Gathering of Ducks and Dead Cats
Wyvernguard - A Dangerous Game
 
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...Kenny Chaffin, the creator and writer of Squirrelpunk, or Sciuridaedadi, had taken the world by storm. Men, women, and children of all ages are found burring their noses into the fictional world of swashbuckling squirrels, and at the end of a chapter, give pause to their furry backyard neighbors. The term, first coined by Jon Laidlow...
 
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JonLaidlow said:
Tell a story you want to tell. Put a suitcase in the background. It's meant to inspire, or allow you to ignore it, but not to restrict you.

Of course, there might be a squirrel in the suitcase.
Click to expand...

That's the easy way out, I'm not here for the elliptical, I'm here for the heavy weights lol I'd like to think I'll learn more about the craft through challenging myself and making mistakes than staying comfortable and close to home.
 
WyrvenGuard said:
What if our brains were just like raisins and we can't use em because they're dried out... this is where I'm at this morning lol
Click to expand...

This reminds me of a story I just read in Nickel Fictions by Bob Thurber...

BIOLOGY LESSON

I watched him dig the heart out. The trap's metal bar had snapped the mouse's neck. The heart was the size of a raisin. My father pinched it with the tweezers and held it close to my face.
"See that," he said "They're all like that."
Then he put it with the rest, in his jar of little hearts.
 
kennychaffin said:
This reminds me of a story I just read in Nickel Fictions by Bob Thurber...

BIOLOGY LESSON

I watched him dig the heart out. The trap's metal bar had snapped the mouse's neck. The heart was the size of a raisin. My father pinched it with the tweezers and held it close to my face.
"See that," he said "They're all like that."
Then he put it with the rest, in his jar of little hearts.
Click to expand...

Whoa, serial heartbreaker... in a biological sense.
 
I just deleted a flash about a suitcase. It wasn't genre and it wasn't worth saving but I may be able to tweak the premise into something workable. :)

I really like the idea of having the theme in the title of the thread. I'm off to go edit a couple. ;)
 
My draft is 4 words shy of the max. and I'm not even at the half way mark yet. :rolleyes: I do like the idea though.
 
so like, is there a general word minimum for this? or just as long as it is not microfiction it counts?
 
Aim for the thousand, settle for 750 if you really can't add more. That's my advice, anyway, but tell the story in the number of words it needs.

Only @kennychaffin has an actual minimum (did you see that new rule I added?)
 
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