Author: Derek R Henig

Categories
The Word

Orrery

[ awr–uh-ree, or– ]

Noun

  1. A mechanical model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions and motions.

Let’s Write…

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem–inspired by the word, orrery, where does it take me? Where does it take you?

Click… click… click…

 Gerard sat in an uncomfortably stiff chair, which matched his mood perfectly as he stared at the ancient orrery before him. 

 Click… click… click…

 The gears of the machine ticked on, one second at a time, as they’d done for centuries. A simple turn of one cog, powered by a simple motor, and an entire solar system of planets and moons would click in harmony to their next calculated position.

 Click… click… click… 

 Those sounds used to give Gerard comfort as a child, and the planets a sense of wonder; but, now he knew what it really was, what it always was: a countdown. 

 Click… click… click…

 Gerard stood up from his seat and leaned over the railing, looking down a near-perfect line of moons and planets. Within the hour, the effects would start–if they hadn’t already. Perhaps they wouldn’t feel them for a month or more–he figured–but they would feel them eventually.

Click… click… click…

 The extra pull of the outer planets on Earth, aligned against the Sun in a tug-of-war for their orbit. Just a slight shift, and they’d feel a profound change in Winter cold and giant shifts in Summer heat. They could all survive it; yes, everyone could. It would require unity, a collective pursuit to conserve and share and work together. 

 Gerard turned away from the orrery and walked down the line of growing vegetables and grains. His son ran towards him from the end of the long room, and Gerard scooped him up. 

 “How long will we live underground, daddy?”

 “As long as it takes, but I built this place so you won’t even miss the stars!”

 His son laughed, and it was that smile, that laugh, which helped Gerard through his decision years ago. It gave him peace now as well. 

 The world just wasn’t ready for unity. All that mattered was this smiling boy and his wife. Gerard carried his son to the end of the indoor farm, set him down, and watched as he ran through the underground park beyond.

 Gerard turned back, the line of the planets visible. Did he still hear the sound, over all the other noises? Or was it in his mind?

 Click… click… click…

Notes/Thoughts/Ideas

 Went a little dark with this one, lol. Did it “click”? He decides the world isn’t ready for unity, perhaps sealing the fates for millions or billions, and in turn, becomes his own “proof.” His lack of concern, or belief in unity, causes him to separate and worry about “his own.”

 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I tried to give this story a bit of finality. A piece of “flash fiction.” Also, I decided to go right at the word this time.

 I tinkered with some other initial thoughts at first, like maybe setting up some character-driven story where everyone revolves around a central conflict. Something like the movie Crash. 

 Then, I had the visual of an older man and an ancient orrery, and some secret that the machine held. Naturally, that led to a world-ending doomsday thing! 

 This could turn into a longer story too, and what I wrote here could be the beginning, or it could be an end. It depends on a lot of other factors like, what message do you want the story to convey? But, that’s what I want to hear from you!

What do you think of Orrery?

Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning/ending, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did orrery or my story take you?

If you enjoy a little bit of a “darker” sci-fi/fantasy story, check out my short stories The Devil’s Tri-Tone or Bent.

Today’s word is from Word Genius.

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Categories
The Word

Fugacious

[ fyoo-gey-shuh s ]

Adjective

  1. Tending to disappear.
  2. Fleeting.

Let’s Write…

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem–inspired by the word, fugacious, where does it take me? Where does it take you?

Was the ghost my friend? I wondered and, despite my doubts, there was still a sense of closeness I felt from its recurring presence. I mean, what motivations, desires, or things in common could we have? I’m alive, and it’s dead. Right? 

A flash of uncertainty with that idea washed over me, and I made up my mind.

The wispy form swirled around the foot of my bed in the early morning hours like a ribbon of smoke.

“Good morning,” I said, the pleasure for its presence was clear in my voice. 

The reply wasn’t distinct, but the ribbon of smoke circled my head, and a sing-song sound filled my ears. No words, but, to me, the message was clear:  good morning!

“You need a name,” I said. “Do you have a name?”

I figured that after two days, I should call it something other than “ghost.” After all, it was unlike any ghost I ever read about in fairytales or in ghost stories. Again, the reply came the same way, swirling about my head, but no words were distinguishable.

“How about, Song?” I said, shrugging my shoulders, which turned into a sky-reaching stretch and a yawn.

The ribbon swirled before me, hovering above my bed, and with a puff, it turned into a checkmark. The same wispy texture about its edges, but the image was clear.

“Alright, then. Song, it is.”

Song whirled around my ears, playing its tune when it suddenly vanished. Not a second later, I heard my mother’s footsteps climbing the stairs, coming to get me out of bed.

Notes/Thoughts/Ideas

This was really fun, and my imagination is swimming!

I love the mystery involved in this. What exactly is this swirling ghost? What can it do? Why has it come, and is it only to this main character? Plus a bunch of other questions in my mind. 

This could be another fantasy quest story, with the main character following instructions from Song, and we follow where it takes her. There’s also the mystery element. Trying to uncover who or what Song is, and the message it’s trying to convey to her.

There’s clearly an ancient magic or mythology to uncover, which I love. There could even be a latent ability in the main character that allows her to do more than just see this “ghost.” Some sort of magical ability she didn’t know she had, which she uncovers along her journey. I love stories like that!

Lots of possibilities!

What do you think of Fugacious?

Sound like an exciting story to you? Where do you see it going? Perhaps this ghost really isn’t her friend? Now we have a darker story to tell. 

Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did fugacious or my story take you?

If you liked this story, check out my podcast of short stories, More Than A Story.

Today’s word is from Merriam-Webster.

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Enjoy a One-Minute Story, Learn a New Word, and Create With Me! Delivered to you every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Categories
The Word

Flocculent

[ flok-yuh-luh nt ]

Adjective

  1. Having or resembling tufts of wool.
  2. Having a loosely clumped texture.

Let’s Write…

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction–inspired by the word, flocculent, where does it take me? Where does it take you?

All worlds have them. It’s a part of the natural order of things. Just how things work. Yet, also in the natural order of things, is for worlds to create something purely unique. Such were the Orblents on the planet called Tacch.

Alan lay on his back in an open field, staring up at the giant cloud beings. Most feared the Orblents when they passed by, but Alan liked to watch them. Stories of towns being ripped away by the beings, or people disappearing were all anyone ever spoke about.

“Praying for a cloudless sky,” they would say as a greeting, as Alan made his way to his lonesome field to watch the Orblents move.

They were different than clouds, and were easily distinguishable from them, more solid, yet they were definitely made of clouds. Or, that’s at least what Alan had determined from his many days of lying there, looking up, dreaming of touching the sky.

Soon, the town bells would ring, and Alan would get up and join in the normal proceedings of the day with the normal townsfolk. He’d work, eat, work, eat, and go to sleep. But, right now, in these early morning moments, he could study the Orblents.

Ding, ding, ding!

The bell rang out, and Alan sat up, gave one last glance to the sky, and then left it behind.

Notes/Thoughts/Ideas

Cloud people! I’ve always wanted to write a story about cloud people. I started this “story” three times before just going for something here. The idea with these is to write something every day but within thirty minutes tops. That includes these notes!

So, where could this go? Right now, it’s written like your traditional fantasy adventure/quest story. Alan meets up with his friend, a girl, and somehow they discover a map or they simply get the idea to climb the tallest mountain in an attempt to speak to an Orblent.

Or, I could start it all over and tell it from the cloud people POV, and it could be any kind of story with them as the main characters. I like the first idea a little better.

Another idea that was “floating” around in my head was how these beings moved and so on. I pictured them looking like people in a way with legs and arms, but as they walked, it would be more like their leg would disappear where it was and reform ahead where it would be going.

Sort of like the cloud stuff always comes back to the center and then moves out from there. Also, I imagined they’d possess other attributes of clouds where they could almost merge together with other Orblents, but then they could separate again. That could be interesting mythology, the day the Orblents all come together as one to do something.

Ok, now I’m rambling!

What do you think of Flocculent?

Is this a story worth pursuing? Want to write it yourself? Go for it! Take an idea and run with it. That’s what they’re here for!

Where did this word take you? Did you go for a Shepard? Something else?

Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning, or flash-fiction writing in the comments! Where did flocculent take you?

If you liked this story, check out my podcast of short stories, More Than A Story.

Today’s word is from Merriam-Webster.

Get THE WORD Every Day!

Enjoy a One-Minute Story, Learn a New Word, and Create With Me! Delivered to you every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Categories
The Word

Disport

[ dih-spawrt, –spohrt ]

Verb

  1. Enjoy oneself unrestrainedly.
  2. Frolic.

Let’s write…

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, disport, where does it take me? Where does it take you?

It doesn’t really matter in the end, does it? All those times we think over and debate over the minutia of life, in the end, we all die. Wow, that’s dark! Maybe true, but dark. I’d like to think of myself as an optimist, a positive person overall. It’s just how you look at things. I see our inevitable deaths as something like permission to run free. 

For instance: do I eat dessert, or do I worry it’s too unhealthy? I eat dessert! I engorge myself on life, period. 

 That’s kind of where all this trouble started for me. A bit too much disporting, and not enough “getting down to business.” Tell me this, why do people prefer to look at misery, darkness, troubles, and pain? Is it a human condition? Or a conditioning of the human mind? I’m not sure, but the fact of the matter is this–people who enjoy life tend to get the extreme judgment from those who don’t. 

I’m supposed to be telling you a story, right? Let me get to it already!

A sunny day, a bright blue sky…

… and the first warm day of spring where we can all wear shorts and t-shirts. And it’s the weekend! The perfect recipe for some adventure. That’s how it started. 

 I left my house early in the morning, just after I finished breakfast to meet some friends at the park. We ran around playing soccer, and then kick-ball. Everyone was sweaty. 

 “Back it up!” John yelled, pointing to the sky. “I’m going for the fence.” 

 “You won’t reach it,” Tyler said from the pitcher’s mound. “Not a chance.” 

John didn’t respond, just crouched a little in anticipation of the rolling ball to be hurled his way. I was at the first base, ready for anything. Tyler rolled the ball, putting some spin on it, and John stepped forward and kicked with all his might–a little too much might. John slipped and sliced the ball, which shot towards me and then curved further away off the field. 

 The ball went over a fence, but not the one John intended. It bounced in the parking lot, and then out into the main road. All we heard next were screeching tires, followed by a loud slam! 

Notes/Thoughts/Ideas

I think there’s a story here about how we tend to squash out the playfulness in children to turn them into “mature adults.” There’s no time to “disport.”

As I wrote, I imagined a story of this young girl who is happy and loves life and the journey of adults around her who keep telling her to grow up.

We’d start to see this playfulness die a little, but, ultimately, I’d like the story to turn back around towards this main character understanding this loss and seeking to get it back.

So, maybe this brief beginning above is a flashback to a moment when her life was changed? The moment when the world began its squandering of fun and joy. Then, the story could follow the present-day woman trying to get it back. A story with two timelines.

The young girl losing her innocence, and following the typical societal “norms” and the effect on her psychology and overall well-being. Then, the present-day timeline of the woman aiming to revert back to the child-like wonder she once had.

It’s an interesting flip of the typical “coming of age” story, I think. This time, maturity is returning back to elements of our child-like state.

What do you think of Disport?

Is this a story worth pursuing? Want to write it yourself? Go for it! Take an idea and run with it. That’s what they’re here for!

Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning, or flash-fiction writing in the comments! Where does disport take you? Just let your mind run!

If you liked this story, check out my podcast of short stories, More Than A Story.

Today’s word is from Merriam-Webster.

Get THE WORD Every Day!

Enjoy a One-Minute Story, Learn a New Word, and Create With Me! Delivered to you every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Categories
Blog Mindset

Keeping an Eye on the Positive

Our mind is a powerful thing. The thoughts we let in (positive or negative), the ideas we let in, and so on, have a major effect on our well-being. The example of the placebo effect can give us enough proof of that. Check out this article, or this article if you’re not sure what I mean, or want to dive deeper. Ultimately, what we believe in can influence our physical health. What we focus on can influence our success, our level of stress, and so on. It all comes down to mindset.

Continue reading “Keeping an Eye on the Positive”