© Goroyboy
“Oh my god, look at those cuticles. Your nails need help, Larry.”
“Hush, Violet. This isn’t about my nails. Worry about your own nails.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s with the tiny quill pen. Miniature calligraphy?”
“My long suffering wife, you know my handwriting sucks.”
“Then what’s up, dearest but daffy husband?”
“Hand me the itsy-bitsy inkwell, will you?”
“Sure, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“I think my fingers are cramping.”
“Larry!”
“Okay, okay. Don’t shout. You’ll break my concentration.”
“Ha, it’s been broken for…”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
“Well?”
“You know how I’m always saying I want to write this epic novel.”
“Right, and six years later, no novel.”
“Agreed with chagrin. I’ve finally realized that I can’t go from nothing to epic.”
“So you decided to start small. This is a bit literal isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I just finished my first small project. Want me to read it to you?”
“I’d be delighted. Let me get my coffee first.”
I wrote this for the FFfAW Challenge of the Week of March 6, 2018 hosted by Priceless Joy. The idea is to use the image above to inspire the creation of a piece of flash fiction between 100 and 175 words long. My word count is 165.
Yes, the first thing I noticed was the condition of the cuticle on the writer’s thumb and how the nail was cut (not dissimilar to my own) and only then the tiny quill pen. I decided to let the literal describe the state of many of us in the blogosphere, authors with grand dreams desperately trying to crawl off the drawing board or the sheet of paper.
You have to start somewhere and often that somewhere is a very small place.
To read other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
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Enjoyed the dialogue only approach, nice change of style James.
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Thanks, Iain. The piece just screamed “playful banter” to me.
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The cuticle was the first thing I noticed, too, but I wasn’t as creative as you to be able to weave that into such a“typical” conversation between an old, married couple. Well done.
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How do you know they’re old? I pictured them in their thirties or forties which to me, isn’t old at all.
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It just sounded to me like banter between a couple who has been married for a very long time.
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Could be about twenty years or so, but that doesn’t make them old. 😉
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Maybe it’s because it sounded like a conversation my wife and I might have…and we’re old!
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I’ll be 64 this summer. That old?
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You’re a young man to me.
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Thanks you old geezer. 😀
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True on both counts!
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That is the only way I could write a book is make the writing so small that you can’t read it because my writing sucks! LOL! Great story!
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Thank you, Joy. However, I’ve implied that he can read his own writing so he can share his story with his wife.
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Yes, I realized that your story wasn’t about a book so small you couldn’t read it. Sorry I confused you.
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No worries.
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We all have our “process” don’t we James ? Hah. Thanks for a peek at yours. For me some thoughts come easier than others. Others, I save it, zoom in and out, sleep on it.. lol
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Very nice take on this one and a great observation. Loved the part about cuticle on writer’s thumb.
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Yes, there is a certain practical reality involved in some of my stories. Thanks, yarnspinnerr.
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Things can only get bigger! Excellent James.
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I hope so, Keith. Thanks.
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I too noticed badly cut nail and sorry state of cuticles! And have used it in my take too.
A reflective tale indeed.
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Yeah, some people are hung up on nail care. Thanks, Anagha.
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Ha ha! I loved the opening lines of the cuticles. It caught my eye too. I totally relate to this guy as a writer. Start small. Flash fiction works just as well as tiny scrolls. Really enjoyed this!
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Thank you, Fatima.
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Our imaginations only need a small launching pad – and someone willing to listen to it.
Ellespeth
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Agreed. Thank you, Ellespeth.
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He literally started small. I hope the tiny writing won’t be too difficult to decipher and the story worth listening to, if his wife can keep quiet long enough. I enjoyed the dialogue.
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Thank you, Jacqueline.
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