Drabblewrimo 2022

[sojourner]

MOLD (U)

Stachybotrys chartarum is a species of microfungus that produces its conidia in slime heads. It is sometimes found in soil and grain, but is mostly detected in cellulose-rich building materials such as drywall and wallpaper, and in damp or water-damaged buildings.

It is not intrinsically right or wrong, has no life’s purpose or value system. It simply grows, and spreads if left untreated.

It possesses no morals, ethics or empathy, nor does it have any concept of responsibility. In this regard, it is comparable to private residential landlords who allow children to die as a direct result of their negligence.

 

[sojourner]

VANILLA

Meet my puppy, Vanillapops. He’s a super-cute little fluffball, loves being tickled and stroked. He wets himself sometimes though so I rub his naughty nose in it and smack his bottom. He does this adorable woofwoof at the end when he knows his punishment is over.

It didn’t come out on I’m A Celebrity because well, one thing at a time eh? But Matt does want the whole world to know that he is not vanilla at all, and just wants people to accept him as he is.

His PR machine will ensure front page coverage for this one. Again.

 

[May Kasahara]

FIELD

"Where do all the bodies go?" We're lying in the field behind Sean's house, under weak stars.

"Bodies?"

"You know, of the people they never find. Missing women, missing kids. The ones who never turn up. Where do all the bodies go? They must collect somewhere. The world's not that big."

"Maybe they come back, if we're patient enough." I feel your breath fighting to act casual. "Or…maybe they go to fucking boring parties like this one."

You splutter a laugh, pass the joint. Our hands touch. We both know the world is that big, and the dead don't mingle.

 

[Knotted]

Reads like an excerpt from an experimental sci fi novel Knotted . Interesting!

Did you enjoy writing it?

Thanks so much for saying that. Was worried it looked pretentious, though I had a bigger fear it would be flat and boring. Yeah I did enjoy writing it.

 

[sojourner]

Thanks so much for saying that. Was worried it looked pretentious, though I had a bigger fear it would be flat and boring. Yeah I did enjoy writing it.

Have a go at another then! There's only 2 days left of Drabblewrimo

 

[sojourner]

BURIAL

I’ve always been terrified of being buried alive. Too much Poe as a child. But when Burial For Life was proposed for benefit claimants, the ecological merit combined with loss of financial anxiety made it a no-brainer.

It’s not actually that bad down here. I have a nutritube, oxygen, and my faeces and urine fertilise the exhausted, arid soil.

I signed up for 5 years. Not sure how long it’s been now though. I have no way of checking and the comms channel has gone annoyingly quiet. No need to panic though. They wouldn’t leave me down here, would they?

 

[sojourner]

You are the absolute Mistress of The Goosebump, May Kasahara !

 

[May Kasahara]

BURIAL

I’ve always been terrified of being buried alive. Too much Poe as a child. But when Burial For Life was proposed for benefit claimants, the ecological merit combined with loss of financial anxiety made it a no-brainer.

It’s not actually that bad down here. I have a nutritube, oxygen, and my faeces and urine fertilise the exhausted, arid soil.

I signed up for 5 years. Not sure how long it’s been now though. I have no way of checking and the comms channel has gone annoyingly quiet. No need to panic though. They wouldn’t leave me down here, would they?

Superstition prevents me from 'liking' this post, but it's a mini-masterpiece for sure.

 

[sojourner]

Here we go then - my last drabble for Drabblewrimo 2022. Once again, I have absolutely fucking LOVED it, writing something new and interesting each day has been fantastic for my winter mental health. I'll deffo be publishing another drabble pamphlet with all the new stuff.

I'm so glad so many of you joined in. I have loved reading each and every one of them. The imagination and talent here has been outstanding

ACORN

They planted seeds in each of the Burial For Life pods. That was the plan from the start. They never had any intention of bringing them back up. Knew that with the Great Hunger, no one would kick up much of a fuss about it. People just needed to eat.

So wheat, corn, barley, rape, maize, potatoes, sunflower, millet. Acorns.

Turns out, a decomposing human body provides a wealth of nutrients; it makes exceptionally rich fertiliser. It was also economically viable. A no-brainer.

There are more ethical methods of re-cropping and re-foresting a barren planet, but certainly none more successful.

 

[MrCurry]

Thanks for starting the thread sojourner. Although I didn’t participate much, I did enjoy it a lot. My main takeaway is that some of you are super talented at making an engaging and meaningful story with very limited words, whereas my leadenfooted lack of economy with words was clumsy by comparison!

Nevertheless, if it’s allowed within the rules, I might revisit the thread and add my attempt at some of the subject words I skipped over at the time, when I was feeling uninspired. Hopefully we might get a few other late entrants too, as people who missed it at the time notice the thread.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

I loved this thread and miss it already. I ended up building some of what I wrote here into a longer piece, and it will be published in an English-language magazine here later this month.

Writing for this thread made me more disciplined and it forced me to play with more elements of fiction such as dialogue, which I'd always evaded before.

I love reading all the submissions here and getting awed and inspired!

 

[sojourner]

Thanks for starting the thread sojourner. Although I didn’t participate much, I did enjoy it a lot. My main takeaway is that some of you are super talented at making an engaging and meaningful story with very limited words, whereas my leadenfooted lack of economy with words was clumsy by comparison!

Nevertheless, if it’s allowed within the rules, I might revisit the thread and add my attempt at some of the subject words I skipped over at the time, when I was feeling uninspired. Hopefully we might get a few other late entrants too, as people who missed it at the time notice the thread.

Y'welcome chuck I must thank scifisam for getting me into it last year.

Give over! The point is to have fun, to enjoy the creative process and the challenge!

While it's you, go on then...

 

[sojourner]

I loved this thread and miss it already. I ended up building some of what I wrote here into a longer piece, and it will be published in an English-language magazine here later this month.

Writing for this thread made me more disciplined and it forced me to play with more elements of fiction such as dialogue, which I'd always evaded before.

I love reading all the submissions here and getting awed and inspired!

I miss it too haha. Great news though on your published piece!

I am putting together another pamphlet like I did last year.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Do we have a general writing thread, by the way?

 

[sojourner]

Do we have a general writing thread, by the way?

Not that I know of.

 

[frogwoman]

Anyone got any more prompts? I'm trying something different to the things I've written before and trying to write a sci fi book but am having trouble working out the plot.