I hope the title is enough of a teaser. You’ll have to read my Friday Fictioneers’ story to see what it’s teasing.

Yeah, that’s a tease, too.

Recently, the creator and driving force behind Friday Fictioneers, Madison Woods, wanted to know what, if anything, we’ve learned from participating all these many weeks and months. I’ve blogged a little about that before, but one thing I’ve learned is I can write flash fiction. Before Friday Fictioneers, I thought 2,500 words was short for me. How could you possibly tell an entire story in a mere 100 words? Well, you can, if the right person challenges and encourages you.

So, Friday Fictioneers makes you focus, intently, on what you’ve written. You see you’ve written 118 words, and you think, “I can’t find 18 words to cut.” But you don’t give up. You find those 18 cuts and sometimes more, which then allows you to develop the story a little better. And, I can translate that type of editing to longer works. I’ve begun to realize which words are fluff and which ones the story needs to tell itself.

I’ve also “allowed” myself to write in genres or about things I never thought I would. I mean, did I ever think I’d be writing ditties about two leprechauns named Seamus and Declan? No, but I have, and those two wee folk are growing on me. Did I ever think I’d write a conversation between two moths? No, but I did, and not only was it fun, it was instructive–I got to research moth reproduction.

And I’ve learned to ignore the naysayers who proclaim it’s death to your writing career to publish on-line. I’m having fun, I’m honing my craft, and I’ve found an incredible community of writers whose work I look forward to every week.

All that is a lot to get from a little, 100-word story challenge.

This week’s photo, which you’ll see in my story, is by Friday Fictioneer Doug McIlroy, whose stories are some of my favorites. And how cool is this? He is associated with the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, which has discovered exoplanets. That was partly the inspiration for my story this week, Expendable. (If you don’t see the link on the story title, hover your cursor over the Friday Fictioneers tab above, and select “Expendable” from the drop-down menu.)

To read more Friday Fictioneers, go to Madison Woods’ blog. Consider joining us. Who knows what you’ll learn?