There has been a trend in the past few decades of retelling fairy tales or other old stories. This could mean putting them in a modern time period or in another setting or changing other details about the story. This is an effective technique since fairy tales tend to be universal stories that many cultures…
Tag: Fantasy
Head Monsters
This story is written as a response to the Muse on Monday writing prompt for May 19, 2025: A figure in a black cloak and sword approaches you and tells you not to be afraid. Head Monsters I had a list of people to see that day. A figure in a dark cloak wasn’t one of…
Bringing a Knife to a Laser Fight
This story is written as a response to the Muse on Monday writing prompt for July 7, 2025: Write a story about an anachronism. Bringing a Knife to a Laser Fight They told us we could pick any weapon we wanted for the semi-annual battle royale. It was all in virtual reality, so no one…
Doommates
Doommates I came home to see my bike bent out of shape. And blood covering the front porch. Not again. Jorgan the Doomhammer was on the couch, watching an infomercial. It was the same old story: you meet a barbarian in another dimension, he saves your life, follows you home. “You broke my bike.” I…
Got a Light?
Got a Light? Quintus just needed to melt the ice to get a drink. He felt in his pockets for a dragon. He pulled out a pygmy griffon that yawned and curled up in his palm. He swore he had a dragon. Maybe in his other jacket. Even a chimera would do. A shadow fell…
Waking Zippy
Waking Zippy Road maintenance isn’t what it used to be. When my dad had this job, there were downed trees after a storm and occasionally a mudslide or some fallen rocks. Nothing that required biology, or worse, psychology. It was 8:00 am, right around peak rush hour, when I got the call. “Hey, Juan, Zippy’s…
Wishbelly – Let Me Tell You a Story
Wishbelly – Let Me Tell You a Story This is a storytelling video based on a story that I posted here in the past. It is a story about a young boy on a quest to save his father. I don’t know where the name came from: it just kind of came to me. It’s…
Muse on Monday – July 17, 2023
Happy Monday and Happy Independence Day for anyone from Slovakia that might be reading. I hope you have a great day. For the summer, Muse on Monday writing prompts are a combination of a theme and a genre. Last week we had exploration and mystery. Here is the prompt for this week. Story Prompt: July…
Jumping Day
Jumping Day The Flea has just started lowering, preparing to jump. And now, as the Springmaster, everything is up to me. “Thank you for coming,” I say to the assembled inhabitants of Kirppu. There are seven hundred of us in the small city built on the back of the Flea. “As you know, we are…
The Impossible Circle
The date was December 13, 2022. That’s important, as you’ll see. I was walking to work, the rain pattering in fitful drops, not enough for an umbrella, but just enough that your coat is wet through by the time you arrive. I reached the crosswalk on 38th and Maple and retreated under the canopy of…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 