May 2012 Flash Fiction Challenge!

The May Flash Fortnight will run from Monday 14th May (Day 1) to Sunday 27th May (Day 14). Each morning during the challenge, I'll update this post with a new prompt for the day, so please check back if you find them useful! All of the challenge prompts will remain permanently available to you, so if you'd like to use any of them outside of the Fortnight, please feel free to do so.


Think of the prompt as a starting point. When you look at it, certain words, phrases or ideas might immediately come to your mind. Try writing these down. For each of these things, consider what words, phrases or ideas that they, in turn, inspire.

Keep going in this way. You could free associate on the thoughts you're getting, or ask yourself questions on each thing: What is it about this that I'm drawn to? What would happen if I followed this train of thought to its logical conclusion?

Try not to censor yourself, or second-guess your imagination. In the end, the idea you end up with might be completely unrelated to the prompt - and that's completely fine!

Good luck!

Ooh, good luck, Tienci! You can beat 3, I have no doubt! Go go go!

If you'd like a little extra motivation and company, some of the members have been posting their daily stories in Polished and Ready. I look forward to seeing something from you there.

There will be a new challenge starting on June 14th. You can find details about the monthly prompts, as well as links to prompts from all the previous challenges, here.