Monday, February 24, 2014

Connections and Write on Edge

This week's theme will be Connections. After the recent realization that I don't have as many blogging friends as I'd like, I will be striving to become more connected with other bloggers. I'd like to find more writing blogs to read and admire!
I'll be contributing short stories to various sites with the hope that putting myself out there into the universe will generate...something. Some kind of connection to other writers. To start the week, I'm contributing a short story to a linkie prompt from Write on Edge. There's only one other story there, but I'll read that one and comment. Hopefully, others will show up during the week, and I'll comment on those, too. 

The point is forge deeper connections with other writers. Writing can be quite lonely sometimes. And friends and family don't care about grammar, story plots and characters. (I'll admit; I don't care about grammar, either. I hate it, but I can't even share that hatred with them!)

The prompt includes a picture and a quote. It requires less than 500 words using the picture or quote or both as inspiration. 



Birthday Camera

Eight-year-old Sam asked for a camera for his birthday.

"Wouldn't you enjoy a skateboard or a new bike?"

His parents exchanged a look over his head.

"I'd prefer a camera, please."

Later that night, Sam's parents discussed his request.

"He's never going to make any friends with a camera stuck to his face." The burly man settled into his worn recliner and flicked on the football game.

In a delicate armchair, Sam's mother perched on the edge of her seat.

She let out a slight exhale that wouldn't alert her husband to her racing thoughts. "If he wants a camera, maybe we should get him one. He'd need to leave the house to take pictures."

"That coward will hide on the porch with it. Why waste my money on an expensive camera when he'll never produce anything good with it?"

In a soft whisper, she said, "We can get one at a secondhand store."

His attention shifted towards her with a speed that caused her to flinch. His eyes narrowed. "Are you taking his side on this?"

She hesitated for a split second. "Of c-course not. There's no side here. A camera will toughen him up like we want."

"Fine." The roar of the crowd pulled his attention from her. "I'm swamped at the jobsite. Can I trust you to buy this camera?"

Quickly, she said, "I'll take Sam shopping at Makley's Thrift tomorrow." She leaned until she spotted Sam on the staircase and gave him a thumbs up sign.

Flushed, she practically bounced from her seat and joined Sam on the stairs. With a beaming smile, she shooed Sam back to his room.

"Back to bed, Sam. We have some shopping to do tomorrow."

Makley's Thrift had three dusty cameras in its display window, but Sam knew which one he wanted. Sam walked past this window every day. The shopping trip with his mother took less than five minutes. The camera he wanted had been calling to him for weeks.

As soon as Sam touched the camera, he knew it was the answer to all his problems. He didn't take one picture all afternoon. The camera whispered insistently in his ear the entire time he sat on the porch waiting for his father.

His father revved the truck while pulling into the driveway. As he approached Sam, he said, "I knew you'd be hiding out on the porch like a scared rabbit. A camera can't stop you from being a coward."

Sam lifted the camera to his face, and whispered, "Maybe. But it'll stop you from being a bully." And clicked the shutter button. In a blink, Sam's father disappeared.

A weight immediately lifted from Sam's chest. This was the best birthday he'd ever had. He went into the house.

His mother called from the kitchen, "I thought I heard your father come home. Are you going outside with your camera, Sam?"

Sam replied, "I don't think I'll need the camera anymore, Mom."


24 comments:

  1. Interesting. I'm sure this confused his parents. I know I would want to encourage my kids to follow dreams.

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    1. He definitely followed his dream of ridding his life of his overbearing father!

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  2. what a fun, surprising twist to the story! Can I get one of "those" cameras? I truly love how you take my hand and guide me down a path with your stories. thanks!

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    1. I'm so glad you liked it! I love twisty little stories lately.

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  3. I am just like you, I am trying to find myself in this blogging world. I am in the process of stepping out and doing new things. We can do this together! One step at a time huh?

    I love the way you capture us in your stories. I read it and hate for it to end. Wow! So Sam's camera was just a camera to get his father to disappear? A magic camera! I love this story. lol

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    1. It's tough to take a chance and leave one's comfort zone, but it's essential to growth. Or something profound like that!

      Magic is awesome! I'm happy you liked the story. It's a joy for me when people delight in my stories. It makes me all warm and fuzzy!

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  4. The you've woven this ending is brilliant! The interpretation of the meaning of the disappearing is left to the reader and I could see several in an instant. I love that the camera could be seen as an analogy for things that we can all use to change our circumstances or at least our perspectives. <3

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    1. I love that you saw something more than what I'd envisioned when writing the story! I'm not sure my stories are ever that profound or full of symbolism. Or are they? *creepy Hitchcock music*

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  5. I think your goal of networking is a good one! And I love the way you told this story!

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  6. This was great! Tell us more stories! :o) I absolutely need to network. I'm so new to blogging world and I hear about linky parties, and blog parties....all these things that are like huh? lol but the thing I'm most excited about is getting to know more bloggers. Stories like the boy with the camera keeps me motivated. :)

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    1. Welcome to the blogging world! I felt the same about linky parties and blog parties, too. I still do actually. I'm only now getting the hang of them. Good luck in your journey!

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  7. Oh... i'd love this camera for some cranky people in my life! Reminds me of the sunglasses when worn makes you invisible. Fun story, hope to see Sam again some day, maybe he'll pop up on your other prompts this week ?? or his father will pop up in another universe in your stories.. haha.. mean man.. maybe he'll come back as a mosquito! swat!!

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    1. The list of cranky people that I'd use this camera on is too long for me to even contemplate. Luckily this is only a story, or there'd be at least a dozen missing people in my immediate vicinity!

      I'll keep that in mind for another story! Maybe I can do something even worse to him later.

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  8. Your characters were quite vivid. I could picture the barrel-chested, brutish dad and the waif-like, timid mom. And the hero of the story, too! Well done.

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    1. Thanks! I'm working on being descriptive in flash fiction. It has to be so tight.

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  9. Nicely done! I love that he seemed so timid to his father but was able to figure out a way to get out from under his influence.

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    1. It was drastic, but he sure did! I definitely wanted to emphasize that the quiet "weak" son took down his father. With the help of a magic camera, of course!

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  10. Welcome. I find blogging overwhelming and frankly have become bored with it. Now, I just find my niche and a community of writers. I wish you well. This is a great start. I love the twist at the end. I know it's a 500-word limit, but I definitely feel there is more to this story. How did the boy now of it's magic and what it would do? Will it be found one day in the future like a genie's lamp??? Very intriguing.

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    1. I imagined it calling to him because he needed it. The camera knew of his problem. I tried to hint at that subtly. I'm still flexing my flash fiction muscle. It's a different kind of hard from writing a novel.

      Blogging consistently is hard! Thanks for the well wishes and for stopping by to comment.

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  11. SO glad you're connecting with us, and I love the sudden magical element. Sam's a clever boy. ~Cameron

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    1. Thanks. I'll be back to submit more soon! I enjoy the prompts.

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  12. Now, I didn't expect that to happen. I'm guessing he and his mother knew about the magical camera the whole time, and conspired in secret to rid themselves of the burden of the father. Well done! I enjoy surprise endings as well, especially in movies. Looking forward to connecting with you Missy. My story is the last one on the board.

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    1. I'm a huge fan of surprises and twists. The ones that make me cover my mouth and gasp. Those are the best. I'm not sure if I'm always successful, but I try to put surprises into my stories.

      Thanks for swinging by and for commenting. I'm heading to check out yours right now!

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