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WRITING TIPS STORYTELLING MEET THE TEAM
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Multiple prompts in one post – Good reader, I married them
CONTENTS
For Friday Fictioneers – One Act Play
For The Sunday Muse – The Music of Love
Eye On the World -loud mouthed columnists have their say
For Poets & Storytellers United – A Selction of Delicious Red Fruits
For dVerse – All of them
ONE ACT PLAY
One by one they appear – like a montage.
All the world’s a stage, so it is good the backdrop is a theatre.
And they are all actors – As I am (was) …
… except … I can’t say it … except …
… I had to eventually accept I was not very good.
My fellow actors all told me so!
That’s when I began the one act play.
After I learnt new skills, that is.
The play begins by photographing them …
… continues by slitting their throats.
Stuffing them.
Placing them on timber stands upon the stage.
Then I act.
Who’s wooden now?!
THE MUSIC OF LOVE
The music of love can be a symphony of emotion, she knew.
It can range from sultry adagio to the crescendo of wild passion.
Cathy – or ‘C’, as he called her – knew this.
She had recently had a crescendo – and not the nice kind.
He had taken a vow of celibacy, whereas she was a passionate concert pianist …
… and she wanted more than love – she wanted sex. As the nearly dress she wore, made clear.
‘I can’t go on like this!’ she had screamed.
His reply included his usual silly language of anagrams and word games.
‘Sex is just ex s,’ he had replied.
She stormed out. Went home. Sat at her piano and played a dirge all night long …
… until …
She answered the door to the courier.
Took the envelope.
Opened it. Viewed the picture of him in bed.
(hateful?)
And the music sheet for one of Chopin’s Nocturnes.
Music of the night? His bed? Could it be … ?
She placed the music on the piano. Stared. Then she remembered his word games:
… hop in C …
The music of love played long.
Philip Osophy says:
‘Poisonous’ atmosphere throughout UK govt? I doubt it. It is a typical excuse when a new regime moves in and begins a U turn. unCivil Servcie don’t like change.
Politics Page
Techie Without a Clue says:
AI finds a super compound that could fight many medical conditions? Great! But it’s still dumb – does only what it’s told. Then human intelligence takes over.
Technology Page
Dr Illya Ness says:
Life expectancy has ground to a halt in UK. Austerity blamed. No! Austerity was an excuse for the Tory Cameron Regime to purposely destroy the Welfare State.
Illness Page
Major de Ranger says:
Staff at UK Houses of Parliament find door dating back to 1660? Am I alone in thinking this not knowing could have had dire security implications?
Warfare Page
Polly Ticks says:
UK EU trade talks sabre rattling begins. The EU can’t afford to let UK go without a deal. The Commonwealth has a third of world population and the Queen is head.
Economics Page
Guru Tony says:
UK court ruled Heathrow 3rd runway illegal on environmental grounds. Not over yet. Heathrow appealing but not govt. Big Boris didn’t want it anyway.
Environment Page
A SELECTION OF DELICIOUS RED FRUITS
It had been the strangest of job interviews.
Was he merely eccentric, or could he really be a vampire?
Regardless, after my interview he invited me back to his flat for dinner.
‘We share so many interests,’ he said, as he poured the wine.
It was blood red in colour – as for its constituency and taste?
I gagged.
There was only one course – what he called, ‘a delectable dish of steamed red fruits.’
He continued, dribbling as he forked one piece after another:
‘This piece is like a breath of fresh air; and this?
‘So good for the blood.’
Now a bigger piece – a delightful smile as it slithered down his throat.
‘Ah, the fruit of love.’
I thought it was horrendous and far too fleshy.
After dinner I said: ‘I’ll take the job.’
He was elated. But of course, he wasn’t a vampire.
No, like me, he’s a fellow cannibal – though a lousy cook.
And tomorrow?
I begin work at the organ transplant distribution centre.
Book 27 of 68, Mysteries of the Bible, out 27 March
THAN A BLOGA microcosm of knowledge and literature from the inner muses of thinker & storyteller Anthony North
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Dear Anthony,
I’m afraid your actor isn’t making many friends. Love the last line in One Act Play. “Who’s wooden now?”
A suggestion. It would be easier for other Friday Fictioneers to leave comments if you were to devote one page to a single prompt. On that note, I’m happy to see you here. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Indeed, Rochelle. As advised privately, I’m withdrawing from FF for this week, and will begin again on Wednesday with a ‘post that grows’ idea. Look forward to seeing your participants then.
Hi Anthony, I am not sure if this comment will attach to your FF story as I intend, I had some trouble finding my way around your blog.
This is very likely more to do with me than the site design.
Anyway, I enjoyed the story, if there’s one thing I enjoy more than a good murder it is a crow of murders!
Hi CE Ayr, or a murder of crows, even. Many thanks for the kind words. As for your difficulty in navigation, I have worked out a remedy to this with Rochelle (see above comment) and have added an announcement at the top of the post to ease navigation and explain why it’s so big.
Great multi-tasking Anthony. I do love “The Music of Love”….love the word play and great use of music through out, and the ending was superb!
Thank you Carrie, very kind.
Hi Anthony, glad you are back.
What’s missing? To there it was the “Piano Player”, did they play that song in the U.K?
Well I found it, poor soul, a life of celibacy is hard unless you live in a convent or monastery.
There is one Convent that I am considering in San Antonio. That is an amnesty city like Houston. The convent is now a very nice, ancient, assisted living home. With a large room I could bring my piano. Or a Keyboard.
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Oh yes, we had Piano Player in the UK. Great song. As for me, it would have to be a guitar, though. That used to be my instrument.
Ah, you write of a rarity…a man who pledges celibacy! It seems “C” will win out, however.
Yep, I don’t understand the fella, myself. Thanks for that, Bev.
As others have mentioned, commenting is easier when a post deals with a single prompt. I did find the Muse poem, and enjoyed it. Yes, online has changed greatly. But some of us are hanging in. Nice to see you back, Anthony.
Hi Sherry, thanks for that. On the single prompt thing, the idea of these posts is to attract new participants, once I get keyudos properly up and running.
The anagrams are very much like chord progressions. A slight rearrangement and it sounds entirely different. I was just as bemused as C and then amused by the resolution.
Hi Lori, many thanks for that.
Great to find your blog Anthony, hope to read more of your stories 🙂
Thank you Iain, and welcome here.
Hi Anthony, I must say, I’m really enjoying your blog. Great story-telling.
The One Act Play had me in stitches and the red fruits tale was deliciously gory.
Great commentary on politics- by the way, what is ‘door dating’?
And do we really need another runway??? I’m glad the courts said no.
Hi Vivian, thank you for the lovely comment. Much appreciated. As for door dating, bad punctuation on my part. Should be ‘… door, dating back to 1660 … ‘ 🙂
LOL, now Hannibal Lector, there was a cannibal who didn’t leave flavor and presentation on the cutting room floor! Perhaps the host should have added fava beans and chianti to the menu?
Hi Rimmy, thanks for that. Now, I wouldn’t want to be accused of plagiarism 🙂
There are quite a few prompts here — today coming from Poetry and storytellers united but could have come from FF as well .. murders always works there. The passion of music was also nice to read.
Hi Bjorn, thanks for that. I guess I’ll see you Wednesday, then.
loved your buffet of stories, really delicious. even the last one.
well, ‘C’ finally took the hint. 😉
Indeed 🙂 Thank you for the kind words.
Enjoyed the one-act, which felt catty and cozy at the same time as well as the argument for passion & playfulness in the Sunday Muse piece.
Hi Chrissa, thanks for that. Glad you enjoyed them.
The site looks good, Anthony. Good work. As I use google and blogger, I have trouble posting on wordpress and dotcom sites, as well as sites that use Akismet for security, unless there is a facebook option I can access. Will keep trying, and let me know if you are receiving comments or not……..thanks for the wealth of info, and wonderful poetry.
Ha! Look at that! I got through! Yay!
You certainly did, Sherry. Hopefully it’s sorted now. Funnily enough, I use wordpress and often have trouble commenting on wordpress. It keeps wanting to link to my old site. Many thanks for the kind words.
C and I are on the same ‘page’ … enjoyed your Muse piece!!!!
Thanks for that Helen. Glad you liked it.
I’m having a bit of a problem negotiating your site and finding where to leave comments on what! I’ll keep trying to sort it out. I can see you have expended much energy in bring it all together.
Thanks for the comment, Bev. Hope I explained it okay for you on your blog.
Hey, who doesn’t appreciate an honest cannibal, right?
Absolutely. Always appreciate an honest person – even if he goes on to eat you 🙂
I nearly gave up finding where to comment: Unfortunately, I don’t have time to read and comment on more than the muse. Too much to get through. I liked the daring and fun of your poem. I paused at “the nearly dress she wore” thinking–oh no–this guy is going to blame the dress BUT I was so pleasantly surprised that you depicted a switch in roles (or a partial switch), and that increased the fun. I would be content with the Chopin, given the choice between the sheet music and the picture.
Hi Susan, many thanks for that. And I can assure sure I have no problem with nearly dresses 🙂
I am confused. There is so much stuff on this page. Which ONE poem did you write for the prompt?
A little abrupt for this friendly place. The first clue is the contents at the top – the second is the big picture of the lady at the piano.
Ewwww!
?
“Music of Love” is a wonderful depiction of this artwork.
Hi Sara, many thanks for the kind words.
And a fine young cannibal he is… You have a bit of a dark side, Anthony. A modern Rod Serling that combines humor with a sadistic twist. What does it say about someone like me who keeps coming back for more?
That’s quite a compliment – so very kind of you 🙂 As for your question – a very nice intelligent person 😉
Ha ha! The set up reads like a program. The vampire/cannibal poem is dripping with intrigue and humor.
Very kind. Thank you – and great use of ‘dripping’ 🙂
Interesting twist to the vampire/cannibal story 🙂
Thank you. I like to think outside the box.
I see others have already suggested a “like” and/or “comment” option for your FF contributions. I did have to do some searching to find a way to comment 🙂 And I enjoyed your story very much, looking forward to more.
Hi Linda, thanks for that. Yes, it will be much easier next week.
I laughed at your red fruits story, although I shudder to think that somewhere in the world it is probably real.
Now, now, don’t frighten the horror writer 🙂 Seriously, I hope not. Thanks for the comment.
It was complicated….lol! That’s putting it mildly. Nice work.
Thank you for that. Yes, I’m simplifying things in future.