My first official writing challenge: write romantic flash fiction starting with sci-fi/fantasy title prompts  – another Chuck Wendig post

Chuck Wendig is not a romance writer. He writes about … writing. That’s how I came to know and love the guy.  Apparently, he also writes dystopian fiction, paranormal fiction, urban fantasy, and whatever else suits his fancy. That’s the part of him I don’t know yet. Don’t worry, I will get there.

As far as I can tell though, romance has not suited his fancy yet. Soooo … why did I go to his blog expecting to find inspiration for my romantic fiction? The short answer? I didn’t!

The longer answer is long. As in several paragraphs long. As in I-might-bore-you-to-death long. But, as long (pun intended) as your demise can’t be traced back to me, that’s a risk I’m willing to take. So, here’s the long answer:

• First, I went there just because the guy has a wicked sense of humor that jolts me out of my I’m-a-new-writer-that-got-stuck-at-chapter-three depressive moods;

• Second, I find him inspiring for writing in general, not for writing romance. I should add that I’m only talking about his blog and “The Kick-Ass Writer” book here. The man himself … well, one can fantasize any way they want, can’t they? And if the fantasies have some kind of romantic touch to them, how is that a bad thing?

For the record: all humor aside, I do not have any X-rated fantasies about Chuck Wendig. The source of any current steamy fantasies I might or might not have is … elsewhere.

• Third, I had no clue there was going to be some kind of writing challenge on his blog. Once I read about it, I could have pretended that I never saw it and go on with my deadline free life.

Still, sometimes you need a kick in the bum to get you moving forward. Once all is said and done, you might still be stuck at chapter three in your novel, but at least you have two pieces of flash fiction you can brag about … hopefully. Unless, they turn out so bad that you can’t even convince yourself to read them, let alone entice someone else to do so. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

• Fourth and … good news … last, how can you resist the challenge of writing romantic fiction starting with title prompts suited for everything-but-romance? You can’t!

Instead, you get your kids to randomly choose a number between 1 and 20 and end up with titles like “Screaming Snowflake” and “Endless Medallion”.

Do not do the “random” number choosing yourself. You will cheat and end up with titles that actually make sense, like “The Cocktail Waitress” – nothing wrong with simple, right? Or something more dreamy like “My Heaven’s Keeper” and “Daniel’s Medallion”.

Since I chose not to cheat … this time, I will stick with “Screaming Snowflake” and “Endless Medallion”. Prepare to be amazed!

P.S. As it has become my habit, I’m adding a link to Chuck’s book “The Kick-Ass Writer” and his blog. That way you can enjoy more of his wit. You might even sign up for the next writing challenge.