Streak begins and read new short story Fossilization
Started one story every work day streak
On Monday, Aug 22, 2011 I decided to see how many days in a row I could write at least one new short story each working day. I'm seven days in now and have written seven brand new short stories. All have been flash fiction pieces under 300 words (some call this microfiction), but I have been working on longer works at the same time. The longer works hopefully will be completed and appear at some point in the future during the streak. Keep reading for explanation how that might happen.
No idea how long this streak will continue and I've decided to use Major League Baseball consecutive games rules. The same rules applied to Joltin' Joe DiMaggio from May 15, 1941 - July 16, 1941 when he set the record for consecutive games with at least one hit. Nobody has beaten his record since 1941. If you check the game records DiMaggio's team didn't play games on the dates listed below.
Days off during DiMaggio hit streak
May 26, 1941 - 11 consecutive games
May 31, 1941 - 5 games (16 total games)
June 4, 1941 - 3 games (19)
June 6, 1941 - 2 games (21)
June 9, 1941 - 3 games (24)
June 11, 1941 - 1 games (25)
June 13, 1941 - 1 games (26)
June 23, 1941 - 9 games (35)
June 30, 1941 - 7 games (42) Note: June 31, 1941 an invalid date
(2) July 3-4, 1941 - 3 games (45)
(3) July 7-9, 1941 - 3 games (48)
streak ended July 17, 1941 - 8 games (56)
Even for non baseball fans, DiMaggio's streak is impressive. He had 14 non-working days to rest during his streak of 56 consecutive games with a hit. He had 91 total hits with an overall batting average of .408.
All this baseball stuff means that, yes, I will take days off here and there along the way.
The streak will end when I do not write a complete new fiction story (can be any length, any genre, but must be fiction) on a working day.
Multiple day stories may count
This got me thinking: what if I write a story that takes say 3 days to complete? Yes, I could include that story on day 3 as a valid completed new story, assuming I had completed other stories the other two days. So not all of my stories must be started, written and completed on the same day, as long as I have completed stories the other days in the streak.
No stories started before 8-22-2011 will count
Here's the no sandbagging rule.
EXAMPLE. I can't count my debut novel Fresh Flesh that comes out 9-29-2011 on 9-29-2011 if that's a working day, even though I'm still tweaking the work and adding a few new words as feedback continues to roll in during the final proofing stage because I started working on this book a long, long time ago.
What does my typical work year look like?
My typical work year schedule involves working six days a week on average and taking two 1-2 week long vacations a year. So if we factor in four weeks vacation (30 days) + 48 single days off (one day off per work week, vacation weeks already counted) and subtract that from 365 days in a year, I should have at least 287 working days per year (365 - 78 = 287). That's a very low number of days worked and my actual working days are more like 310-330+ days per year. Depending on how long this streak goes, we'll learn the actual numbers together in time.
List of stories in streak so far
"Pine of the Indians" - A man collides with history in this flash fiction story. (#1, Monday Aug 22, 2011)
"Fossilization" - Caught in a fire of unknown origin, the strength of a couple's love is exhibited. (#2, Tuesday Aug 23, 2011)
"Pyracantha Eyes" - A well-trained man encounters unexpected witnesses. (#3, Wednesday Aug 24, 2011)
"Texting Triangle" - A woman's friend dies in a suspicious car accident and sends text messages from the grave. (#4, Thursday Aug 25, 2011)
"Dead Lead" - Exploring life and death in the easel tray. (#5, Friday Aug 26, 2011)
"The Loser Winner" - A swimmer tries to beat her best time against faceless creatures with curled tails. (#6, Saturday Aug 27, 2011)
"Another Day" - A chess match in a strange diner between a recluse and a violent criminal (#7, August 28, 2011)
Where can the streak stories be read?
As a means of third party independent verification and to share with readers who want to follow along, I am sharing non-permanent links in my fan area: http://toddrwrite.com/fans/ and sometimes I might mention some stories on Twitter and my Facebook page.
Many of these stories will only be available online for a brief period of time (at least 66 hours, no guarantees beyond that), so those who are interested in reading each and every story will need to bookmark my fan page and check daily (my work days, anyway) for updates. Some stories I may post permanently here in the blog or perhaps combine in a book or other projects of interest down the road. Anything posted in this blog, like the story "Fossilization" below is permanent, so please if you like the story feel free in linking from your sites/blogs/social networks.
The reason I'm not keeping the stories up permanently is that I might be reworking some of the stories into longer stories or scenes. Again, I have no plans to take any stories down that are posted in this blog, so readers are encouraged always to link to anything in this blog.
Enough story streak talk, where's the story "Fossilization"?
On August 23, I took first place in a flash fiction online prompt contest with the story "Fossilization" below. The contest had a maximum word limit of 300 words and required that the story included the words: orange, fire and fossil. I hope you enjoy the story as much as others that left reviews. Please use the comments and give me your feedback.
Fossilization
by Todd Russell
How and why the fire started, who started it, Donner and Maria would never know. Everywhere they turned in the forest the orange-red, flickering tongues cut off their escape.
"We're not gonna make it!" Maria said, coughing.
Donner hugged his wife of thirty-two years. "Remember that bear cave we saw late yesterday? Over there, beyond the smoky ridge."
Donner led his wife through the gray haze. He could feel the smoke burning through his lungs. Maria coughed harder. If they didn't get to safety soon, smoke inhalation would claim their lives long before the flames.
As they passed the bridge, Maria collapsed. Donner picked her up and carried her into the cave.
"Stay with me, honey. We made it."
The cave air was cool and musty. Donner walked toward the back, holding Maria. "I love you and will never let you go."
"I--" (COUGH) "love...you, too."
And then Donner, with Maria still in his arms, fell into the hole. Falling, colder, colder, black.
* * *
Axmar's FF-129D detection light blinked and projected light against the cave wall showing a detailed projection of what was buried deep beneath the surface. He found something unique and rare that he could take back to his home world.
"Request fossil date projection."
The FF-129D responded with a red digital counter incrementing on the wall and stopping on a year.
2011.
"Humans were so primitive," Axmar said aloud, recalling from his studies that this year had been plagued by widespread economic conflict and raging terrorist factions.
The orientation of the skeletal remains, preserved in rock for over 12,000 years, appeared as if they died holding hands.
Never-ending love, Axmar thought. That's what I'll call this earth World War III exhibit.
Copyright 2011 Todd Russell All Rights Reserved
