It’s Friday Fictioneers! Rochelle Wisoff-Fields runs this band of merry writers, posting a weekly photo prompt for us. Using the photo for inspiration, participants are asked to write a 100-word story, with a beginning, middle and end. It’s a wonderful challenge with lots of interesting outcomes. Check out other participants here.
This week was easy breezy for me. I saw the photo and wrote my piece in ten minutes. That’s a first! That said, for the record, I like the green. However, one of these days I hope to remember to add my link, when I write the story… not hours later! I always welcome feedback, positive or constructive. Leave something in the comments, and make my day. Check out Tales From the Motherland on Facebook, and hit like. I will smile for hours.
Image: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Mary picked up the can of paint and stared at the walls of her music room. She’d spent weeks running back and forth from the paint store, comparing color swatches; now she wasn’t sure.
“Honey, you’ve already spent hours on this! Just put some color up and see how you feel.” Her husband John, kissed the back of her neck.
“I just don’t want to have to do this all over again.”
“I’m confident you chose wisely. You’re a talented musician and artist. I know color is important, but keep in mind, anything will be better than that green.”
(99 words)
TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND 
That green is just like the wall in my living room….”avocado” the paint chip called it… 🙂
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So, for the record… I actually like it. But it was the perfect one liner for the husband. 😉
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Yes, the conversation is vivid – I can see it!
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Thanks Kat! Much appreciated. I wanted it to be a simple interaction, that happens on the daily.
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Fun Friday idea. Great way to get literary juices flowing.
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I have LOVED participating Susan. The challenge is impacting my writing overall, and the sense of community is great! Give it a whirl. I know you’d rock it. 🙂
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Nice way to play off the photo and avoid the obvious. Well-written, too.
janet
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I try not to be too obvious. 😉 Thanks Janet!
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Sometimes in FF I think that the obvious becomes the new not-obvious as we all strive to not be obvious. 😉
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Obviously. 😉
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I like how your closing line snuck up and pulled the rug out from under all the lovey dovey stuff. Maybe it is because I have unwittingly been that guy a number of times. I was already playing out the rest of the scene in my head – the no-brainer part. – Mike
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I really wanted to focus on something other than the instruments… it was a knee jerk decision, and the story just fell into place. The wall color, just seemed like something many husbands might say. Glad you agree. 😉
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too funny. I like the green too! But can see my hubby saying the exact same thing. Love the challenge idea!
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Thanks Robin… it seemed like something more than a few husbands might say. When I saw the walls, I just went in that direction. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment; much appreciated!
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I actually like the green in this room. But I can appreciate the wife’s dilemma here. Especially for a creative space…you want everything to be perfect. But it’s just like her husband says. It’s all about how you feel. Great little story!
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Thanks Tiffany. I too like the green, but it seemed like a perfect final line for my story… so I had to sacrifice the walls. Thanks for reading and commenting; much appreciated.
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It really was the perfect ending line! No problem, it’s my pleasure. 🙂
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Well then… I’ll just let that be the final word. 😉
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Nice interpretation, Dawn! And nice story.
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Thanks Cathy. I really have fun with these prompts and flash fiction. I appreciate you taking the time to read them.
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Its the colour of my kitchen, popular green, lol. Great little story 🙂
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Oh my, I’m sure I will have lots of feedback on my color issues. As I said in my note, I like the color as well… but the line worked for my story. It’s a very soothing color, but I wanted to to with something other than the instruments. 😉
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Actually, I’m going to do my house in that green. And my complexion too! I love it, thanks for the suggestion. Funny little twist, well done.
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Thanks Perry. Your house would probably look great, but your face… maybe go with a lighter shade. I try to amuse.
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I kept thinking the green was what she’d painted it, and the hubby didn’t remember what color it was to start with. But then, I was projecting my life into the story. 😉 So what color is she going to paint it?
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I think she’s going with a warm orange. She’s a musician and a painter, and she craves bold colors. They just converted the spare bedroom, so she’d have a work space. That’s the story in my head, anyway. It’s funny how each reader has a sense of what it should be… and most would keep the green. That green is pretty similar to the one in my office. 😉
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Love the unpredicable twist at the end. I vote for the green, too.
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Thanks for visiting TFTM, Karen! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. I think the greens have it!
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How true, it is a nasty green. Well written very well told.
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Ha! A reader who doesn’t like the green… who knew that her husband’s comment would generate so much commentary? Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Much appreciated.
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You’re welcome
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Dear Dawn,
Spoken like a true husband to an obsessing wife. Loved this story. Well done.
Aloha,
Doug
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Aloha Doug. Thanks for weighing in. That is exactly the point I was aiming for. 😉
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Dear Dawn,
A well-chosen use of the prompt. I enjoyed it.
On a side note. I took this picture in my son’s living room. He chose that green because it’s his favorite color. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Well, Rochelle… no sooner had I hit publish, when I wondered if this might not offend on some level. What if, for instance, this was your favorite room and favorite color… But, the story was there, waiting to be told. It is a color I like as well, and is in fact pretty close to the what I painted in my own office. Soothing. However, my character wanted something bolder, and her husband knows just what to say. 😉 Thanks for the back story! Dawn
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I thought at first that she’d already painted it green, and that his comment would drive her nuts. This was a nice, realistic interaction.
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Thanks Helena. I was wanting to go in a different direction, and it’s always nice to surprise the reader… at least a little. Thanks for taking the time; much appreciated!
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I’m all for green, especially if it’s the kind I can fold up and stick in my wallet. 🙂
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No doubt! We all love green, when it comes down to that. Personally, I like this green, but the story worked better if my character didn’t. Thanks for checking out Tales From the Motherland; your time is much appreciated.
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Oh, that would be my husband. He tries so hard to be nice and doesn’t even realize when he comes out with a zinger! I imagine this wife really loved that green on the swatch. It’s just a little different on the wall…
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I think most husbands don’t know they’ve made a zinger… but then, mine is color blind, and does it without even knowing it. In my mind, in this story, the wife prefers a warm orange… her husband is just humoring her. 😉 Thanks for taking the time, Valery. I always love your comments.
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Can’t help but remember the time my dad painted our dining room 3 times in a row. Because mom just couldn’t decide which was the best shade of… off-white. I kid you not.
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That is SO cute, Val! I can actually see that. Thanks for sharing… brings back memories.
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I happen to love this green. Ha ha! Perhaps she is avoiding the playing of the instrument. That’s what I thought while I read this and it made me laugh. Great take on the prompt! One of those golden moments for you that it came so quickly to you. Congrats!
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Apparently, I should have left the green alone. But, as I said in my intro, I like the green too! Have something very similar in my office… but the wife in my story, she’s a different bird. 😉 Thanks, Amy!
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Very brave of you to insult our hostesses wall color, lol. Ah well it is Fiction, after all.
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OH FOR THE LOVE OF G… I LOVE GREEN!!! I LOVE GREEN!! FORGIVE ME, Rochelle! So, Dawn… that was building and you’re the lucky commenter who said something about the green again. It’s just fiction. I’m a fictioneer. My character likes orange. There, tantrum is over. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Dawn. 😉
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Glad i could be there for you. 😉
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A Dawn’s gotta trust a Dawn. 😉
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Yup!
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I think the room will stay green … unless she take the coward way.. paint it white.
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I think she’s more determined than that, Bjrn. Just a hunch. wink wink
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Clever tale.
AnElephant is also colourly challenged, so restricts his comments to the quality of writing.
Excellent.
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Thank you Sir. Much appreciated.
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lol 🙂 i loved how you took the focus off the very obvious keyboard and wrote a story about the wall instead. great job
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Thanks KZ. My goal was to do something a little less obvious, but somehow I only brought lots of focus to the green wall, in comments! Alas…
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Yeah, that pea green has just got to go! Well done.
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I took a lot of heat for that color… most of the comments are about the color, and not the writing. Next time, I’ll tread more lightly. That said, my character’s husband had strong feelings about that green, but this is fiction. 😉
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Oh the writing was quite good, just in case you haven’t heard that enough.
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Well thank you. There have been some very kind comments, but a lot of focus on my color issue. That said, as a writer, it’s better to be talked about controversially, than not at all. Right? 😉 I appreciate your nice words.
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LOL. Fun flash fiction, though I’m thinking there are shades of yellow and orange that may be worse than that green. 😉
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There are lots of things worse than that green. For sure. But my character, she doesn’t like it. 😉
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A case of painter’s block, methinks. Decorating, it’s all in the preparation.
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The preparation is so important, but sometimes we have to just be patient and see what comes… Thanks for stopping by, Mike. Much appreciated!
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Environment is important to creativity–she should ax her husband’s preferences and go for her own. Good story.
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My intention in the story, was to show that the husband is trying to support her… she wants something new, but can’t decide. He is there to encourage. I love that each reader sees something different in the same photo, and the same story! Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment!
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Hi Dawn,
Glad you went to the beat of a different drum. Almost all the stories focus on the keyboard, but you found inspiration in the wall color! Looks like pea soup. Creative direction to take! Ron
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Thanks Ron. I try to look at the photos each week and pull something unique out. I love both the challenge of figuring out what I see there, and then how to write it. A few weeks ago, the photo of the amphitheater seemed so obvious, but it was the railing that really took me away. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, and for noticing my effort. Much appreciated! dawn
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Dawn- I love that you focused on the wall color in your story not the keyboard. I think I had just such a conversation once with my ex.Deja vu.
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Hence, the “ex,” ouí? It’s a balancing act, of the biggest proportions! Amazing what a green or orange or yellow wall can really mean. Thanks so much for stopping by, to share your thoughts. Much appreciated!
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