A drabble challenge

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Burning Sun
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A drabble challenge

#1 Post by Burning Sun »

OK, this is a fun little game that's been lifted off the blogosphere and then modified for my own nefarious purposes.

The aim of the game is simple. What you do, is you write a drabble based on a previous set of words, then pick three words of your own for someone else to write from. The word list is provided below. Ideally no word should be repeated between picks, but I'm not too bothered to be honest.

I remind people that a drabble must be exactly one hundred words in length, not a word more, or a word less. Most of the challenge in drabble writing is getting exactly on that limit.

Various other rules:
  • This is for fun, take it that way.
  • You may write from a set of words that's already been written from. Creativity is more important.
  • You cannot submit a set of words unless you've written something, or it's been 24 hours since the last person wrote something
  • The words are inspiration, nothing more. Some of the best drabbles from this word list started off using the words and ended up having nothing to do with them. Some relationship should be visible.
  • Don't feel you have to write in the warhammer universe, I most likely won't.*
*This word list has been adapted to work within a universe called "Maelstrom". I can't find the original unbiased list. That's also the universe I'm most likely to write in.

001. Beginnings. 002. Middles. 003. Ends. 004. Insides. 005. Outsides.
006. Hours. 007. Days. 008. Weeks. 009. Months. 010. Years.
011. Red. 012. Orange. 013. Yellow. 014. Green. 015. Blue.
016. Purple. 017. Brown. 018. Black. 019. White. 020. Colourless.
021. Friends. 022. Enemies. 023. Lovers. 024. Family. 025. Strangers.
026. Comrades. 027. Parents. 028. Children. 029. Birth. 030. Death.
031. Sunrise. 032. Sunset. 033. Too Much. 034. Not Enough. 035. Sixth Sense.
036. Smell. 037. Sound. 038. Touch. 039. Taste. 040. Sight.
041. Teacher. 042. Weaver. 043. Huntress. 044. Merchant. 045. Smith.
046. Star. 047. Heart. 048. Diamond. 049. Club. 050. Spade.
051. Water. 052. Fire. 053. Earth. 054. Air. 055. Spirit.
056. Breakfast. 057. Lunch. 058. Dinner. 059. Food. 060. Drink.
061. Winter. 062. Spring. 063. Summer. 064. Autumn. 065. Sharks.
066. Rain. 067. Snow. 068. Lightning. 069. Thunder. 070. Storm.
071. Broken. 072. Fixed. 073. Light. 074. Dark. 075. Shade.
076. Who? 077. What? 078. Where? 079. When? 080. Why?
081. Coyote. 082. Ant. 083. Serpent. 084. Jaguar. 085. Basilisk.
086. Choices. 087. Life. 088. Lesson. 089. Work. 090. Home.
091. Equinox. 092. Solstice. 093. Tomorrow. 094. Yesterday. 095. Birthday.
096. Alternative 097. Luck. 098. Gamble 099. Past. 100. Future

(The alternate formatting is simply to make the list more readable)

So, let me start. Courtesy of a couple of dice, I've got the words, 4. Insides, 72. Fixed, and 75. Shade, as we have no-one to pick first time
_________

It didn't matter really. Nothing he did was going to change that shadow looming towards him. He fumbled with his pistol, pulled the trigger, but there was just the thud of flint on steel. He tried again. Nothing. It was getting closer, with an inevitable feel to it's walk. He considered running again, but this corridor wasn't guaranteed to go on forever. He dashed backwards around the next corner, attempting to reload his pistol again. He was fumbling from his fear. One last try he thought. He turned the corner, and shot it dead, not 4 feet away.
_________

I now present the next challenge: 14. Green, 46. Star, and 71. Broken
Last edited by Burning Sun on Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
[size=90]Ex-Loremaster, despite what some of the profile may say, I can't edit it any more. Contact one of the others for issues.

Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei - Maori Proverb
(Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain)[/size]
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Paraicj
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#2 Post by Paraicj »

Verdant was the field, as Elrohir, shining Paragon of elvishness, strode forth under darkening skies. Bright was his armour, reflecting a thousandfold the overarching constellations, pinpoints of light on a flag of dusk. Sharp was his blade, forged deep within the dwarvish mines, to the clanging hammers of their smithies. Loud sounded the trumpets and drums, announcing to the foe his presence that they might quake in fear at his coming, and that terror might grip their craven hearts and end any thought of foolish battle. Louder still the sound of cheering from his host. Victory walked with this one.

Hmmm, it seems I'm not much for writing in the high style. Ah well! :D

Makes for a fun write, BS, good idea for keeping the Story forum going after the Scrivener's comp.

020. Colourless
081. Coyote
088. Lesson

Good luck!
[img]http://www.abload.de/img/bg11hc95.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/lw6ecde.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/mora3q5k.gif[/img]
[i]Dread Lord Zakhital Goremane the Incompetent, 181 kills 5/22/11
[color=red][b]Vaul's Vengeful Villain[/b][/color]
[url=http://img3.abload.de/img/paraicamonueiq.jpg]Paraicamon, I choose you![/url][/i]
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Burning Sun
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#3 Post by Burning Sun »

Paraicj, I thought that was jolly decent, especially as I get the feeling this is your first time writing to the 100 word limit.

It's a completely different challenge, and has that odd advantage that it doesn't take very long to write. So little in fact that I generally write drabbles with the post window open for whatever I'm writing for (and textpad to type in for my word count).

Oh, and incidentally I might recommend labelling any piece with what words you started with, especially if writing for an older set of words.

Colourless, Coyote, Lesson:
The shrine here was his mentor's, now dead. He opened it and inspected the contents. Several normal things, candles, herbs. He carefully opened the piece of paper folded within. It was a prayer to the lady. It listed his mentor's parents, sister, and wife, all as being with the lady already. He closed his eyes and cried. For unless his mentor had unknown children, that was the last of his line. He had to wonder about the deaths in the names of Jaguar and Coyote, and whether this last one, even in the name of the lady, was worth it.

New list:
32. Lovers
51. Water
97. Luck
[size=90]Ex-Loremaster, despite what some of the profile may say, I can't edit it any more. Contact one of the others for issues.

Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei - Maori Proverb
(Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain)[/size]
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Ruerl Khan
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Location: Århus, Denmark.

#4 Post by Ruerl Khan »

My first attempt at a drabble: Lovers, water, luck:

Two lovers, reviled and pursued by kin and strangers alike for their twin crimes of breaking tradition and loving each other where they where supposed to have hate, moved to the lake of no return, having long since abandoned their home and dreams of the future Long had they fled, but now at long last, they had found it. The waters of eternal bliss, eternal peace, eternal love and luck. Then they kissed each other, once for love, once for the sparkling deep blue water, and once for luck, before the waters closed above them, giving them the eternal peace.

New list:
003. Ends, 065. sharks, 100. Future.
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Elias Kalderon
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#5 Post by Elias Kalderon »

Ends, sharks, future:

An ocean of spectators surged above me, roaring with every lethal blow. It would not be long before my turn, thrown into the deep at the mercy of ruthless predators. They prey upon the weak, or the inexperienced, like I was. And what greater goal served my struggle for life? Mere entertainment? A guard opened the door to the pit. I tested the grip of my sweaty fingers around the hilt of my sword. There is a future after the games, I told myself. The key to the way out is survival. And to survive I only had to kill.

New list: 12. orange, 74. dark, 93. tomorrow
[size=75]I'll think of something[/size]
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Burning Sun
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#6 Post by Burning Sun »

12. orange, 74. dark, 93. tomorrow

He spotted her by the house shrine. She was crying. He considered approaching, but they her grief had to be sorted out by her, or if she needed it she would ask, she always had. As he turned to back away, she called him.
"Pray with me, brother"
He knelt by the shrine, and saw it there, the little tuft of Tug's orange hair. He then realised she was mourning. He disarmed as Tug used to and knelt by the shrine.
"Lady Weaver, protect Tug's soul. Guide it through the Maelstrom, and give us many tomorrows to pray for it..."


Sorry, I realise this is my second shrine based story, it's based on a real event which I'm struggling to work out how to come to terms with.

Lets try something more... upbeat:

36. Smell, 62. Spring, and 87. Life
[size=90]Ex-Loremaster, despite what some of the profile may say, I can't edit it any more. Contact one of the others for issues.

Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei - Maori Proverb
(Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain)[/size]
User avatar
Burning Sun
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Posts: 543
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:12 pm
Location: Defending the New Forge

#7 Post by Burning Sun »

36. Smell, 62. Spring, and 87. Life:

Spring had passed to summer, and for Kes this meant the year was getting hot, and with the temperature rising, currently so was the humidity. It was getting hot and sticky. He considered his choices, and decided to risk the trip rather than wait and hope it would stop raining later.
Within a few minutes he regretted this choice, as the tropical storm hit, and he was soaked to the bone. He considered shelter, but decided he couldn't get wetter.
He paused, he could smell something. It was almost...
He jumped aside as the lightning landed a few foot away.


Now presenting:
19. White, 38. Touch, and 89. Work
[size=90]Ex-Loremaster, despite what some of the profile may say, I can't edit it any more. Contact one of the others for issues.

Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei - Maori Proverb
(Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain)[/size]
Raukov
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:43 am
Location: Al-Aqsa Poster's Brigade

#8 Post by Raukov »

19. White, 38. Touch, and 89. Work

The glow of the monitor shone on his pasty white skin as he carefully evaluated his work. Was it exactly a hundred words? No. Curses! Muttering under his breath, he highlighted a portion of the document, deleting it. His mind raced. How could that line be rephrased so as to convey the same meaning within the word limit? A bead of sweat formed on his forehead. Wait... yes! That was it! His fingers flew over the crumb-encrusted keyboard. Triumph! Satisfied, he clicked "submit", smiled, and leaned back in his chair. He would never know the touch of a woman.

Requesting:
20. Colorless, 50. Spade, 85. Basilisk
[size=75][b]Azreghai Wormkin, Ghöl of the North, Eater of the Dead, Plague-Wight of Onogal[/b]

30/4/5 : 387 kills

[i]Maggot Fetus, rapture of the conqueror worm,
Blackest Venom, the ghost in the carcass womb
Teeth like thorns, carrier of plague and filth
Spine crawler, plague-bearing virus-child[/size][/i]
VictorK

#9 Post by VictorK »

20. Colorless, 50. Spade, 85. Basilisk

This one has a warhammer theme.

A group of reverent elves passed through a colorless forest. The guardians of Asuryan bore one of their own on a bier as they made their silent way home. At a crossroads they fell under a basilisk’s empty stare. They turned still as stone as they looked upon the fearsome visage of the man hidden behind the skull of some horned animal. He looked down on them but his halberd with its spade top was still. They regarded each other for a moment, and then passed. He spoke: “And so too will the words written on your sacred walls crumble.”

I rolled and got these. I call it the 'Warcraft Orc Shaman' set of words:

52. Fire, 68. Lightning, 55. Spirit
DarkTyrany22
Posts: 412
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2006 12:45 am
Location: Naggaroth (California)

#10 Post by DarkTyrany22 »

Fire, Lightning, Spirit

The lock's inscription read "the key is the most primal force." Revan and his hooded companion shared a look, before he unleashed spells of fire, water, lightning, and earth upon their accursed impediment.
“You know that is not what it means.”
Revan frowned, knowing what was coming… the cold logic of it all.
“You are too important, it must be me.”
The hooded figure approached the mechanism and leaned in close.
“To this I relinquish my spirit wholly and willingly.”
An airy wisp transmitted from host to recipient, and Revan carried the lifeless form of his love through the opening.

I quite like this drabble business.

Courtesy of the dice gods: Sight, Outsides, Choices.
Jyrus Yenlukhaesrath, High Prince of Tiranoc - 211 Slain; 26/4/6
[img]http://www.abload.de/img/drtjuu.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/bg1-2z7vn.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/vacfvv.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.abload.de/img/lw6ecde.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/b4vh6w.gif[/img][img]http://www.abload.de/img/phoemze6.gif[/img]
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