I survived my wife’s birthday party…

…and the 45+ people who invaded my home with their happiness, small children, and immense amounts of food.

I was struggling to be brilliant for you today, when the brilliance arrived in the form of someone I followed on Twitter. ‏@KMLaw writes for a website called EveryPhotoTells, and they have a wonderful concept going on over there. They post a photo and writers are challenged to create a short story based on it (between 1,000 and 5,000 words).

As a writer, regardless of your preferred genre, it can be difficult to find a challenge that will stretch you. I’m about to give you a challenge, and I’d like for you to take it seriously. I’m going to post a photo here, and I want you to take a week to come up with 1,000 to 2,500 words about what you see. If you have a website or a blog, I’d like you to respond to this post with a link to your story. We are all better off for sharing.

NOW. This is the actual challenge—because I know you all can do 1,000 words about almost anything—write your story in a genre you don’t like or have never tried before. If you’re a mystery writer, go for romance. Hard science fiction? Try humor. Give your imagination a little stretch and see what you can learn from the experience.

Here’s your photo.

-James Crawford

follow me on Twitter @crawford4033

www.bloodsoakedandwriting.com