One of the surprising things I have discovered on Twitter is the range of writing challenges that are hosted there. It’s been refreshing to be forced to think within the very restricting confines of 140 characters, and it has been a lot of fun to join in with some of these exercises.
In particular I like the way the format helps to concentrate your thoughts. I had never imagined that it would be possible to distil a story into such a few lines.
Here is a round up of some of my efforts. Some work, some don’t. I just thought it would be nice to gather them together.
If you fancy checking out some superb masters of the craft, take a look at the Twitter accounts of Stairs To The Abyss, Arden Tyne Kent or Frank Watson
They write some stunning little gems.
Response to the theme “Cold Sunlight”
She asked them to move her bed to the window and they did so. A mellow light dappled the air, cold as a shiver but, for now, enough #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) February 7, 2014
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 20, 2013
Response to the theme The Wrong Bus
He rested his head upon the window, and watched as the streets whizzed by. Unfamiliar. A blur. The bus moved on. Direction unknown. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 21, 2013
Response to the theme Collecting A Wolf
She casts her silver light among the trees, luring them. Her glow intensifying as their furtive howls pierce the air like a shiver #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 19, 2013
Response to the theme Sarcophagus
She looked inside. How dark it was. She longed then for the towers of silence where the vultures eat the flesh and not this stone. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 24, 2013
Response to the theme Passed Away
A quiet rage filled him.”Passed away”, they said.Yet this was not how it felt. She did not go gently.She blazed & now she was dead. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 26, 2013
Response to the theme Balloon
The party carried on as she watched the balloon float free and rise into the air, untethered & more alive than the scene around her #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 28, 2013
Response to the theme The Imaginary Monk
They imagined him into existence. A guardian who prayed for them, watched over them, was their miracle. A faith that never wavered #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 25, 2013
Response to the theme Starting Over
How difficult it must be for flesh & blood. A.I. That was him. But he had what they longed for. Ctrl Alt Del & he could start again #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 24, 2013
Response to the theme Ear
He caressed the curve of her ear. It was soft and downy, like velvet. He brushed her cheek, lips, neck. Down, ever down. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 29, 2013
Response to the theme Rest In Peace
The first tears were heavy. Eternal. Drop by drop they fell, until time righted itself. Bringing with it, something akin to peace. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) December 4, 2013
Response to the theme Family Business
They closed the door on her. Family business. But their raised voices revealed their secrets making her glad not to be one of them. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 30, 2013
Response to the theme The Soprano
So this is how it is, she thought. Life, little more than a cadenza. A whispered aria, taken by the wind. Lost like an exhalation. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) December 5, 2013
Response to the theme Cold Skin
We lay there, skin on skin. A breeze billowed the curtain & I watched as goosebumps shivered on the small of your back like a kiss. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 5, 2013
Response to the theme Gunpowder
I pinched the tiny pellet of Gunpowder tea between my fingers and inhaled. Its copper tang prickling my senses with anticipation. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 5, 2013
Response to the theme Hidden
I take the steps down to the river and meet you under the bridge. Sheltered there & hidden, we walk, aware such moments never last. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 4, 2013
Response to the theme Hole
She arranged the satin pins threaded the bobbin & wove an intricate pattern where the spaces in between, the holes received meaning #thepush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 10, 2013
Response to the theme The Phone Call
The screen lit up. Another text. Where RU? Tried 2 call. W8 4 me? We can go 2gether Could he not just call? That was all she wanted #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 8, 2013
Response to the theme Strength
She swam out into the bay then turned to watch the people on the shore only then feeling the strength of the riptide as it held her #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 12, 2013
Response to the theme The Dead
A tiny girl with cottonwool curls stood by the coffin She lifted her doll so it could see & explained This is Mr Owen he’s dead now #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 12, 2013
Response to the theme The Wire
He strummed his fingers on the wheel & sighed A kestrel sat on a wire observing them then took off circling above relishing freedom #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) November 12, 2013
Response to theme “Anatomy”
Once, my heart pumped pieces of you & me through blood, sinew & bone. When did it ossify, this love? My heart now mere anatomy. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) October 23, 2013
Response to the theme “Pebbles and Stones”
We traded pebbles and shells. For 1 pink scallop I gave you 5 stones polished smooth by waves. They glistened in your open palm. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) October 9, 2013
Response to the theme “The Taxi”
The taxi slithered through traffic, a snake in the urban jungle.I saw our reflection in a window. A yellow streak, & blazing horns. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) October 5, 2013
Response to the theme “Conscientiously”
He was the good son. The reliable one. And so he tidied what remained, quietly, conscientiously, just as they always knew he would. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 24, 2013
Response to theme “Beautiful Light”
We prowled the Taiga, a ghostly light, green and ephemeral dancing across the sky. Beautiful. Haunting us. Like a howl at the moon. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 16, 2013
Response to theme “Bewildered Baloons”
I couldn’t see the child. Just the bobbing red balloon. It floated aimlessly along the privet, like a lost, bewildered party guest. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 15, 2013
Response to theme “Bad Night”
“Bad night?” she asks. I nod. “Full moon.” She pulls her sleeve to hide the scratches but I see them. And somewhere a growl rises. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 6, 2013
Response to theme “Misty Morning”
I can hear them, out on the lake. Canada geese. But their sound is no longer familiar. More like an echo as it lingers on the mist. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 6, 2013
Response to theme “Men”
She fingered the little red book, then let it fall open. “So many men” she mused. She read the name. “Red lipstick for this one.” #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 14, 2013
Response to theme “Crisp”
Her diction was crisp and precise Like the tinkle of a silver spoon on crystal She used words like diamonds to cut and splinter. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 9, 2013
Response to theme “Problem Solved”
4 Down:Crux, core, nub 2 Across:Complex, conundrum, dilemma 6 Down:Resolved, licked, understood The heart of the problem, solved? #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 9, 2013
Response to theme “Angry”
It was still there. She styled her hair just so. So that it was hidden. From ear to jaw. An angry welt. Raised. Just like his fist. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 14, 2013
Response to the theme “Smash”
In Wertheim Park the monument shattered. The dissonance as it splintered, reverberating from the past, though no-one speaks of it. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 30, 2013
Response to word of the day “eldritch”.
A siren call, eldritch and bewitching, fluttered in the air. Enchanting, alluring, it pulled him deep into the shimmering sea #artwiculate — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 28, 2013
Response to the theme “The Push”
So Sally from marketing starts telling me about push-pull strategy, how we got to push more of this stuff. She knows her dope. #vss #ThePush — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 27, 2013
Response to the theme “Story Shop”
The bell tinkles syllables. The door yawns a vowel. Consonants patter waking volumes. Stretching their spines, tales pour forth. #StoryShop
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 26, 2013
Response to the theme “Memory”
Your perfume triggers a synaptic flash.The heady musk too sensual really, for my mother, the memory transformed now by your smile #StoryShop
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 24, 2013
Response to the theme “‘Tis 60 Years Since”
‘Tis 60 Years Since Can it really be true? When you looked at me and I looked at you Time blinked, like a wince that cruel adieu #StoryShop — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 23, 2013
Response to the theme “Romance”
By the Sacre-Coeur, we looked out over the city of light. The smell of Gitanes whirled around us. Love like smoke and mirrors. #StoryShop — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 21, 2013
Response to the theme “Superhero Scientists”
Super Hippy pressed the trigger of her love, peace and happiness gun, and smiled as the joy exploded. #StoryShop
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 20, 2013
Response to the theme “What Chairs Speak Of”
I’m the designer piece. Meant to impress. No-one may sit on me. But I long for it. That soft squeeze of flesh, settling in. #StoryShop
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 19, 2013
Response to seeing a woman in a shopping mall
I bought this I bought this I bought this I got this I got this I got this I am rich I am rich I am rich Well, the credit card company is — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 19, 2013
Response to the theme “Maps”
Here be dragons. It was charted territory. Clearly delineated but they sailed on. The map in the drawer undiscovered, unheeded. #StoryShop — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) August 18, 2013
Response to the theme “Fever”
When I came round, after it had subsided, the room had a sheen to it, like a fata morgana. And I wanted it to stay that way. #vss #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) July 14, 2013
@BitchHaiku She’s available It’s what makes her attractive But oh so lonely #BitchHaiku
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) June 27, 2013
@BitchHaiku You prefer your pets And have a cat that scratches Your lover’s heart out. #BitchHaiku — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) June 14, 2013
@BitchHaiku Pink frosted cupcakes Her speciality, just Don’t call her sugar. #BitchHaiku — Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) May 21, 2013
@BitchHaiku Boy oh boy oh boy You look real good in that dress Shame you know it though #BitchHaiku
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) May 19, 2013
@BitchHaiku She’s weighing her food Counting calories again Smile gone from her face #BitchHaiku
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) May 19, 2013
Response to theme “Scattered Icing Shards”
The ship glided nervously through the floes, the sun a glowering white as a berg calved and scattered icing shards into the sea. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 30, 2013
Response to theme “The Broken Necklace”
The pearls scattered on the floor, pitter-pattering like rain on a tin roof. She watched them roll. Broken. But then, so was she. #ThePush
— Jennifer Harvey (@JenAnneHarvey) September 27, 2013
