Flash Fiction #254

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

DREAMS UP IN SMOKE

Cheryl offered to help him with his writing.  A couple who worked at the newspaper dropped by each Friday, and they often discussed the craft.  “Join us.”

The husband said the first thing they did, was smoke dope.  “It frees the creativity.”  He silently demurred, not for moral or legal reasons, but from skepticism.  He’d be the abstaining benchmark.  “I’ll get a beer and catch up.”

A Cheech and Chong blunt got passed around…. around…. and around.  Potatoes, motorcycles, redhead in sales, socks with sandals…. Bright topics bubbled into the conversation – and were immediately forgotten.

There was no creativity here.

***

Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.

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26 thoughts on “Flash Fiction #254

  1. It’s neat where a photo prompt can take us, and I agree with the last line of the story. I’ve seen the quote “write drunk, edit sober” attached to Hemingway, then some websites say he never uttered those words. Once I tried writing while drinking, and it was a mess.

    Like

    • Archon's Den says:

      It’s always interesting to see the panoply of responses to the same photo.
      I’ve never run into that quote – blamed on Hemingway, or not.
      I did a post once about how six quick beers calmed my Asperger’s enough that I could think straight. Since I’m not half-looped, I can’t find it.
      Thanx for visiting. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Bummer, Dude. Thinking he just needs to write without “help”.

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  3. Unique great take on the prompt, well done!

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  4. This methodology only works if you’re as creative as Bob Marley.

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  5. Rivergirl says:

    I don’t know, I think I’ve had some marvelous ideas when high. Just ask me….
    😉

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  6. For sure! Loved this. 😀

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  7. GHLearner says:

    Looks to me like this ‘writing help’ was an excuse for the drinking and drugs. Great take on the prompt.

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    • Archon's Den says:

      This fiction was taken from real life. These people smoked dope continually, but they honestly thought that it improved the finished product. What I observed from another room gave the lie to that assumption. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Dale says:

    While it might allow one’s thoughts to go free, getting them down is a whole ‘nother matter.
    Was your daughter able to help you?

    Like

    • Archon's Den says:

      She successfully guided me through it once. I published 3 or 4 posts using Classic, then apparently did something to reverse the settings. I published another 2 or 3 using Block. I’m getting to understand it better. (Still don’t like it.) I developed work-arounds for almost all problems except font size. She came over for supper with us tonight, and showed me where I’d gone wrong. Monday’s post – and hopefully all subsequent ones – used Classic. Thanx for your help. I passed it on to Cordelia’s Mom, and she was happy that she mastered it. 😀 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  9. granonine says:

    I really have nothing intelligent to say. Never having used any drug or touched alcohol at all,I simply have no comment. __Except to suppose that last line is completely correct. 🙂

    Like

    • Archon's Den says:

      This woman even twisted the saying into, “Reality is for people who can’t handle drugs.” I simply don’t understand the lure. I feel sorry for those who need drugs to get away from their life. She had a very abusive father. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      • granonine says:

        When I was working as a counselor, I usually referred drug addiction cases to someone with experience. But I did hear the stories, and an abusive father and/or mother was often the catalyst that landed people into abusing substances. Sad, sad world.

        Liked by 2 people

  10. msjadeli says:

    Ah, but to them it *feels* like there is lol.

    Like

    • Archon's Den says:

      Indeed it does, and then problems arise when they treat it like the truth. I worked in a boot/shoe plant where the two young guys in the moulding department smoked hash, and produced 17 pairs of rubber boots in a row with marble-sized holes in them – and never noticed. Their drug use reduced, at least temporarily, when they immediately got fired. 😳

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Newbloggycat says:

    I get it..it’s a joint effort! Lol 😜

    Liked by 2 people

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