Creativity Brewing

100 Day Writing Challenge Day #11 Prompt : “The garden shrank at night.” There was a once man in a land of famine who had pleased the king by his plentiful crops and saved the kingdom. The man was granted a single wish from the Oracle. Upon deep consideration and with a cunning wit inherited from his parents, the man decided to wish for his garden to shrink during the evening and spring back to life during the day. Thus, he carried his shrinking garden in his hat during the night as he traveled from one kingdom to another, presenting the yields of his garden to the kings and queens thereof, acquiring a bundle of wishes to be redeemed as he saw fit. With wishes for riches in possessions and land, he became the wealthiest and most influential farmer in all the lands because of the garden that shrank at night. -(c) Kevin Barrick 

100 Day Writing Challenge Day # 10 Prompt: “The kingdom was like a quilt…” Amani crept down to the river, holding her breath as she passed her parents’ quarters. She dared not wake her father. Not only would he be enraged over losing precious sleep when he had to wake up early to tend the farm, but he’d be unhinged knowing where she was sneaking off to. The frogs croaked out their evening sonatas in the fields around her house. She hopped over the fence and weaved her way through a grove, flailing her arms about her as she crossed through an invisible swarm of gnats. The river below babbled loudly, and she climbed up a tree that stretched out above it. The river fed water into the farmlands, snaking from the Great Sea. Her village benefited the most as the water swelled to about half a kilometer wide through much of region until it began narrowing to a few meters wide throughout the rest of the kingdom. Her fingers and toes were nimble as she scaled the mighty oak feeli

100 Day Writing Challenge Day #9 Prompt: “The Third Terra was going the way of the First…” Humanity has encountered extinction twice before. Once a couple millennia ago on the planet Earth, and again circa 500 years ago on the planet Horus. Both times humanity drove its home planet into an inhabitable, unsustainable land stripped of all its resources. No one likes to take responsibility, but I personally blame the obvious offenders: Overpopulation, greed, power-mongering, radical religions, and narcissism. It’s rather easy to burn at the stake the big companies for polluting the water supplies, corrupting the media, or sucking the planets dry of all their life-blood. Notwithstanding, it is individuals who enterprise those vile corporations. Individuals over-breed their populations out of carelessness, ideologies, or criminal pursuits of passion and power. Corporations only sell what individuals will consume and only fabricate what the listeners will accept as truth. The

100 Day Writing Challenge Day # 8 Prompt: “We were going to have to find a locksmith…” The rhythm of the seductive slow dance pulled the strings as we swayed there in lockstep in the middle of the room. The entire wedding party danced in a circle around us as I held my newly-wed wife close. Her head rested against my shoulder, her fragrant aroma wafted around my face. We had just met three months ago, but I knew from the moment my eyes caught a glimpse of the life behind her own. There was a mystery about her, but I loved mystery. Her smile was like a bolt of electricity to my heart, knocking it off rhythm. Her strength of spirit commandeered my soul and took it captive in her near-whimsical nature. She took her passions by the horns and followed wherever they may take her, even if she might not know the destination. The slow dance ended abruptly to the upbeat rhythms of dub-step. My wife’s train-less wedding dress was her advantage as she sprung away from me up in a sty

100 Day Writing Challenge Day # 7 Prompt: There were 48,000 gods in their mythology and not one…” -Daniel Conway  The Ancients viewed the world through the eyes of gods and goddesses, explaining the nature of science and mathematics through communicating the accounts of the different members of the pantheon. The sun rose and set on a predetermined timescale; this phenomenon became the birth of the sun god. The moon kept reign over the sky during the night when the sun god rested and thus a moon god emerged. Or perhaps the pantheon itself created the world and the various laws within in respect to their own personalities. The terrible might of the thunder god wreaked thunderous havoc upon Earth. The flamboyant nature god gave flight to the bee, dance to the vines, and joy of the flowers. And yet, despite there being 48,000 gods in the pantheon that devoted their lives to various scientific and social functions of the world, not one saw the meteor encroaching upon

100 Day Writing Challenge Day 6 Prompt: A moth-craft, ether, a plant that tells your fortune. The world was expansive to the jungle critters. More so was the enormity of the world to a species of elf-like creatures smaller than a ladybug, yet whose ambitions were as grand as the moon. It was under this moon that an Enkulal relaxed on a warm banana leaf. Marsi the Enkulal looked up at the moon blotting out the evening sky. His nerves were on edge. His heart beat an irregular rhythm. He breathed in the calming ambient air of the jungle. The floral snaking around the base of the banana tree wafted up to him. The next morning was the day he embarked on a journey to the great Nibiyu. Nibiyu was an enchanted plant with the ability to foresee the future of anyone who dared to venture through the dangerous chasm of invisible exploding dew. The trek was far from easy, and only a few could ever navigate their way to the plant of fortune. Marsi was the prince with this task being

100 Day Writing Challenge Day #5 Prompt: “The dress spoke to her…” Carved into the face of the grand Mount Heiwan bustled a royal city known for hosting balls in a palace facing a lake that stretched towards the horizon. This palace was adorned with golden gargoyles that guarded the gate and lakeside terraces. Only the richest of the rich and the finest of the fine ladies and gentlemen of the surrounding kingdoms were invited to attend. And even then, there were strict regulations for admittance. This palace wasn’t a center for royal socializing. Rather, it was an arena. Instead of gladiators or warriors wielding swords and lances, the arena boasted elegance and dancers to rule the kingdom. For whoever can control his or her own body to the rhythm of sonnets and ballads in a beauty of telling a story is more fit to control a kingdom. When life beats its own drum in the rhythm of every day, the one who can sway with fate can more appropriately guide a kingdom through the

100 Day Writing Challenge Day #4 Prompt: “Walking back home along the rim of the galaxy…” Henok gripped the neck of his guitar as he made his way out of the concert hall. The archaic strumming of his melodies brought many people from Galaxy 9 to attend his various concerts. Yet he felt empty. He was on the Top 10 List of the galaxy which included the esteemed Maestro Eyoatam who could masterfully play any instrument placed in front of him. Nevertheless, Henok’s heart yearned for more. He wanted to be more than a sensation; he wanted to be a legend. He wanted his music to make a difference. As he crossed the road, he took the path to the rim of the galaxy to watch the suns set. He connected his Life Harness to a Float Station and propelled up into the upper atmosphere. He listened to the hum of his oxygen tank. Perhaps that is why Eoyatam can thrive in this galaxy for his musical talents. He was a native to this galaxy. He could survive off the air with no need for a c

100 Day Writing Challenge Day #3 Prompt: “There was a ring in his teacup…” Carlyle walked into the bustling restaurant with a newspaper tucked under his arm and a pipe stuck between his lips. The restaurant was positioned at the peak of the massive Communications Tower that loomed over the district. Centuries ago the term skyscraper was coined for such building, but if those business men could work in the buildings in this district, they would call them moonscrapers . In fact, only this district housed the portals as they were so named. Three times as high as the Communications Tower, the portals served as a sort of launching pad for shuttles to the International Space Station. Once a year, the district shuttled a team of astronauts-ambassadors to the ISS to began their preparations for inter-galactic travel. It was perhaps fifty years ago that Carlyle’s grandmother was tinkering with her father’s radio system when she tuned into a frequency emitting a communications bro

100 Day Challenge Day #2 Prompt: “She twisted her fate between her fingers…” Fatima was twelve years old when she began school. Her parents were too poor to send her to school. The village often only sent the boys to school while the girls stayed home to cook and clean. She always envied her older brothers who could go to school--her parents seemed to have enough money for them, just not her. Even her younger brother had managed to enroll in the kindergarten class. Everyone, but her. It wasn’t fair, but she accepted her role in the family and in her society. She was to be a servant to others. She was to be the housewife who kept the place clean and the food prepared--as was the way most women in her village lived. But she wanted more. She wanted to be more. Whenever her brothers came home from school, she would sneak and pickpocket one of their notebooks so she could learn by herself. She taught herself to read using the picture alphabet books used by her younger brother t

100 Day Challenge - Flash Fiction Day #1 Prompt: Time travel, the Angel Gabriel, a bookmark. I awoke to an infuriating rapping against my window. A violent, constant prattling reverberated throughout the otherwise silent room. The annoyance continued as I lifted the book I had been reading from my chest. Inserting a bookmark I received from my sister’s church, I tossed the book onto the nightstand and averted my attention to the headache summoning me. Prancing about on the window-sill garden was a deranged bird, ceaselessly attacking the glass. I rushed to shoo it, opening the window outward to brush it off of my mangled herbs. The bird fluttered off across the street to the park visible from my loft. The park. With a deep exhale, I made my way to my son’s room, passing with a glance the giant globe-shaped clock hanging above my bed. I ignored the hesitation that came with waking a pre-teen at seven on a Sunday morning, but the urge to shuck work and spend the da

Telling stories is a passion of mine. Like art, fiction paints a tale with strokes of anger, sorrow, joy, and fear. My dream is to go big or to go home, but my skills are no where near where they need to be. Sometimes I have an entire novel length story roiling in my head, but I can't ever seem to craft that first sentence. That's why I've begun this challenge. Over the next 100 days I will be writing a flash fiction based on prompts or on my own whim. Each day I will limit myself to no more than 1500 words, but with a goal of 750-1,000. Many people pursue their artistic passions through these challenges through painting, drawing, photography, or even reading a new book. I venture into the magical world of words where I can conjure emotions through letters and phrases. I will endeavor to bone the skill of telling a story in a breath so that I can begin weaving that novel. Buckle up and enjoy the ride! -Kevin