Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Although the WEP group--Write...Edit...Publish--has ceased regular operation, our wonderful leaders brought it back with an October prompt to write about what terrifies us. To see the contributions, check the list on the WEP page .  I've been needing some motivation to write flash fiction, so I'm happy to have this nudge, even if horror isn't my thing.     We are meant to provide a tag-line for the story, so here's mine:  On a gloomy wet day, a writer discovers what is truly terrifying in a world that can seem hostile all around. 835 words, full critique acceptable. True Terror What terrifies you? What makes you shake in your shoes and go watery at the knees? It may not be what you think. I’m afraid of heights. Well, not really heights. I like mountain tops. I just don’t like edges. The feeling that I could fall, and can imagine just what it feels like when I hit the bottom. That’s bad enough, but a person can manage it, mostly by staying away fr...

I haven't done a lot of flash fiction lately, but with the WEP closing down I came back from my non-participation (I wasn't getting the inspiration from the songs and movies, as well as moving away from so much flash fiction on the blog). I also thought I'd look in on the WritePhoto prompt at KL Caley's New2Writing, and that put me in mind of my on-going story about the Scots vs. Aliens. I'd kind of finished that, but decided a little wrapping up wouldn't hurt. It's not much of a story, but here it is. The WEP prompt is "Over to You," which is offered as freedom to write what we want, so I did, but am linking back for the farewell. The WritePhoto Challenge is issued each Thursday with posts to be up and shared by the following Tuesday. The prompt is, of course a photo: Photo credit KL Caley My story isn't particulalry related to the photo, even if it did start my mind going back to that castle where the Campbells began the rebellion. Here...

This December challenge wraps up the year of artistic inspiration from some great works of art. The WEP is open to all, following the simple rules: 1. SUBMIT your name to the list below on December 1 thru the 15th . Add your link (URL) 2. POST your entry, put WEP is in the TITLE along with The Narcissus badge within your entry. 3. STATE feedback preferences and word count at the end of your entry. 4. READ other entries, giving feedback if requested. 5. SHARE THE CHALLENGE on social media. Tweets are ready on the WEP blog. PLEASE NOTE: ENTRIES CLOSE Dec. 15th @ midnight (NY Time - check WEP blog clock) ALL GENRES WELCOME except erotica - 1,000 words maximum My story for this month's challenge is maybe cheating a little--I didn't write it for the challenge, but I decided that the common understanding of Narcissus and narcissism fits well enough, even if the story doesn't relate to the painting. I wrote this while trekking in Nepal last month, highlighting a character w...

WEP challenges are FREE and open to all. On the 1st   of the challenge month, there will be a   get-your-thinking-caps   on post. The badge will include the dates of the challenge and the winner’s   prizes. The InLinkz sign up will open on the third Wednesday and close 3 days later. It will contain no news, just the sign up. Participants link up with their DLs (Direct Links to their entry).  Learn all about it here .    My entry this time is based on an actual incident. Mom and my brothers will recognize it. My apologies to them for the non-trivial liberties I took with history and their personalities. We are now also meant to provide a tag line for our stories, so here's mine: What terrors lurk in the root cellar?     The Scream The house we lived in that year wasn’t much. The wind blew in everywhere you could imagine a draft, and some places you couldn’t. The old enclosed porch we used as a root cellar was worse. It wasn’t just the win...

 It's time for the bi-monthly WEP challenge. This year's prompts are all from famous paintings, interpretation up to us, of course. Here's the June prompt: WEP Challenge are open to anyone. Post during the 3-day posting window, then link back to the WEP post page, and visit the other writers to enjoy a bunch of great stories! Read more about it here . 920 words, FCA     Great Wave The hooded figure was reported to have visited the same rocky point on the shore every day for a week. Always at high tide, and carrying a large pack. It wasn’t that no one knew who it was; there were no strangers in the tiny coastal town. Nor did anyone wonder about the hood. Any sensible person outside was wearing a hooded rain parka, and rain pants as well. The question everyone was asking was what Mildred Perkins thought she was doing out there in the rain and crashing surf, and what she had in her pack. There was some attempt to speculate that she was engaged in some form of smuggling, but ...

    What could be more appropriate for Valentine month than Gustav Klimt’s   The Kiss ? This shimmery, early 20 th  century painting of a couple embracing in a patch of wildflowers has riveted art afficionados  across the world for decades. Use this amazing painting to kick off  a romantic love story of star crossed lovers. Or maybe a much married pair who’ve been together for years. Of unrequited or lost love. Or any love of the other gazillion types. For unValentinish souls, remember that there are kisses other than romantic ones.  The kiss of life, the kiss of death, the kiss of betrayal, the angels’ kiss in spring. The mystical thousand ways of kneeling and kissing the ground. One golden artwork, a zillion directions to go. Pick yours and run with it. We’re cheering for you. And can't wait to see what you come up with! That's the February challenge. And this is my response. I struggled a bit, until I remembered something my boys told me a...

  It's time for the October WEP challenge, and after missing several this year, I'm back with a tentative offering. I couldn't do any of the horror-type stories that the prompt and badge suggest. It's humor, and I hope you all enjoy it as a sort of palate-cleanser after all the spooky stories out there this month. But be sure to pop on over to the WEP and check out the other stories in the hop! As for me--I'm back on the road again, and will be reading the stories when and as I  can, probably continuing into next month. If you leave a comment I *will* get back to you. Just don't hold your breath, okay? I don't want to be responsible for anyone turning blue in the face. 686 words. FCA Grave Mistake “It’s a lovely piece, don’t you think, dear?” “Mmm, yes. Is that the one you want, then?” “I’m not sure. This has a lovely color, and the fine grain would look well, I think.” “WIll it do the job?” “Well, any of them will be cold enough. And I presume we can get wh...

      The WEP posts every second month with a prompt and a bunch of short stories or other creative writing. This month's prompt has inspired me to something a little less conventional, but I'm feeling ready to write a little about it. This is non-fiction, and personal.  291 words; Comments only.  LONG SHADOW A small decision can cast a long shadow. The choice to go for an evening bike ride. Or how far back do you trace the decisions? A move to a new town? The refusal to give night rides after one accident? Or can we blame it on COVID? Because if not for the pandemic, we would have been deep in training for a strenuous July trip to the Swiss Alps. Or was May 8 too early to have shifted from bikes to trails? I can't be sure now. The decision he made was to ride his bike after dinner, when it was a little cooler, and the sun was no longer beating down on everything. It seemed like a reasonable choice at the time. As far as I know, it was the last decision he made,...

  It's that time, a little early this month because of the holidays. I put off writing my story to the last minute, hoping for inspiration. You get to decide if I got it :) WEP/IWSG challenges are open to all. On the 1st of the challenge month, there will be a get-your-thinking-caps on post. The badge will include the dates of the challenge and the winner’s prize. Going forward, the InLinkz sign up will open on the third Wednesday and close 3 days later. Participants link up with the DLs. Team members collate a SHORTLIST and Nick Wilford judges WINNER, RUNNER UP and ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD. The BEST COMMENTER AWARD will continue, shared by different people, so keep on reading wonderful people! And look who won the Commenter Award this time! Xavier Xanthum may deserve a little explanation. I invented him years ago for an X post in the A to Z blogging challenge, and kind of fell in love with my absurd space explorer. He's a bit of a dweeb, a bit of a nerd, and a loner who is...