Carrot Ranch contest

Rodeo #2: Memoir Flash Nonfiction Contest at the Carrot Ranch Literary Community

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Carrot Ranch contest

 

 

Last month Charlie Mills of the CarrotRanch ran a month long Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest. Each weekly contest consisted of a subject to compose our 99 word entries for. Today I’m sharing my entry for the Memoir Flash Fiction Challenge. The subject for the story was “She Did It”. Although I didn’t win, it was a fun challenge and I wish a hardy congratulations to those who won.

 

 

The Narcissist

 

Mother broke hearts with her beauty. Her heart was impenetrable. Her razor-sharp tongue peppered with acidic words, seared holes through my self-esteem, perplexing my childhood and self-worth. I envied her beauty, despite not desiring to emulate.

Cutting words, her specialty. Brainwashed by lies, I thought I needed help. It was my mother requiring analysis. Desperation loomed, anticipating escaping her twisted manipulation and projecting unto others of what festered in her soul.

I escaped. The wounds didn’t. Words embedded, stifled with guilt, my spirit shattered from her black, troubled soul.

Fifty years later, the shackles released. “I banish you Mother.”

 

If you’d like to see some of the entries and the list of winners please visit the CarrotRanch.

37 thoughts on “Rodeo #2: Memoir Flash Nonfiction Contest at the Carrot Ranch Literary Community”

    1. Thanks so much Norah. It seems all the competitions were tough. It’s good discipline taking a story and condensing it down to 99 words – just the facts while engaging the reader. 🙂

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  6. This was a very tough contest, but you did a brilliant job, Debby. I found writing something for it very challenging with the prompt we had to use but managed to my entry in just before the contest closed.
    Congratulations on your entry.

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  13. An excellent heart-felt understood entry Debby, It may have taken half a century to finally unlock those shackles,but oh boy once we finally find those keys… We not only banish the cause of those wounds but we find a new sense of freedom in the realisation we were not to blame, and we Are Worthy.
    Beautifully written from one child to another my friend. ❤
    Much love sent your way Spirit Sister.. 🙂

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  17. A powerful, moving read, Deb. I find writing memoir as well as fiction in 99 words a great way for deeper, distilled expression, as you’ve demonstrated here. I am just so sorry you had to grow up in such sorrow…but baby, look at you now! 🙂 ❤ 🙂

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  19. Such a strong piece, Debby. And hard to condense a flood of emotions and thoughts into a cohesive and compelling 99 words. Well done. I also thought that flash fiction always had to be fiction, but I guess there are different themes and genres? Have a nice rest of the week!

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