Mr. Edwards stumbled over a capital letter as he retreated. He had been written as a one-dimensional minor character and the dusty pages had tormented him for a century. A hasty decision, he exited exactly 100 words past his introduction.
In the pages that followed, his lady-love always captured The Rake’s heart after a scandalous episode of mistaken identity and a passionate romp in the library, thus thrusting a metaphorical knife into his heart, time and time again.
Never to witness the unfurling of the loathsome pages again he applauded his cleverness, foreshadowed only by the realization that he didn’t in fact have a plan past, enter new century.
You can find more flash fiction here.
What's for dinner, Doc? 
Oh this is so witty, Tracey.
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Thanks Tish. I hope someone comes to Mr. Edwards rescue with pen in hand or I’m afraid he’ll be standing on the street corner for an eternity.
🙂
Tracey
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Dear Tracey,
Oh the pain of being a one-dimensional character in a book. Your last sentence do you mean “foreshadowed on by the realization” rather than “realized?”
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
Not only one dimensional but a 100 word character ! That leaves poor Mr. Edwards with very little chance of developing a plan.
Thank you, I caught the error this morning. I swear my iPad changes words after I close the page.
Tracey
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He better starts plotting. Great piece, loved the stumbling over a capital letter, and all the rest. Poor tormented soul. 🙂
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Stumbling over letters – that was me last night. I found 3 post publishing typos. Maybe I’m the one-dimensional character. ha ha
Tracey
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I don’t know you very well, but this you are certainly not, LOL. 😀 I so love the imagery of a character stumbling through the pages and changing the plot. That would make a great longer story.
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So I feel a tad bad about asking about “scandalously” vs “scandalous”?
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Very cute and clever!
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Thanks Joy. Maybe I can pass Mr. Edwards along to my blog friends to write another 100 words for him. Otherwise, he’s stuck.
Tracey
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Clever, my dear. Like gahlearner, I totally enjoyed the stumble over a capital letter.
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Thanks. I think I like this silly character. He might stumbling into FF again.
Tracey
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I stumble over letters all the time, sometimes even commas, but colons are the worst. Whatever you do, don’t step in one.
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Every time I pick up a keyboard I’m stumbling. But the colons are definitely the worst. We learn to tread lightly around the colon early in our surgical careers. 🙂
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Ingenious and crafted with great skill. You must continue. You couldn’t possible leave Mr.Edwards in that way. : (
Loved it !!!! 😄
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I can’t Isadora. He and I are out of words. I laugh every time I see him in the photo prompt just standing there frozen in time.
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I think I know this guy! 😉
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Dawn,
If you know him, then perhaps you can write him a 100 word plan. ha ha
Tracey
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Only a 100 words! No wonder the guy is upset. Maybe he can get a spot in a new story altogether. Very witty and clever, Tracey.
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100 words and he never gets the girl! It’s obviously a tragedy.
T
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Yes, it’s so very tragic!
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Very clever take on the prompt Tracey. 🙂
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Thank you for the photo and the compliment Sandy.
Especially since I find you very clever. 🙂
Tracey
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Clever and inventive! Trapped in flash fiction (yeeks). He’ll probably fall into a 100 word apocalyptic nightmare next 🙂
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Ali,
Take Mr. Edwards and write it. He’s stuck until someone changes his destiny but make sure he gets the girl in those 100 words. ha ha
Tracey
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If all the one-dimensional characters we have written came to life…..it’s a scary concept. Clever take on the prompt.
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Right? Especially the creepy killers. But we have had some beloved characters as well.
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Meta-flash-fiction. Very clever. I love it!
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Thanks Melanie 🙂
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Such a wonderful story! Yes, please do bring him back.
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Thanks for the correction. This was sloppy. I stumbled over words and letters this week.
Thank you for reading.
Tracey
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Don’t chastise yourself. We all have our days!
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Wonderful! So clever. You’ve made quite a lot happen in your hundred words, and built a most enchanting character. Have you read any of Jasper Fforde’s books? He has a whole series (humour) where fiction and reality merge. The series begins with ‘The Eyre Affair’. I got hooked on them for ages.
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Margaret,
I have read Jasper Fforde, I fully admit that this is a 100 word twist on his idea. I hope he doesn’t mind.
😉
Tracey
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I’m sure he won’t. It’s a brilliant twist. I just read it again and enjoyed it even more.
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Very clever and loved the wit! I always feel the pain and feelings of all my characters very keenly, so I can identify with that 🙂
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He was so brave to make the jump but I hope someone writes a new destiny for him. 🙂
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Loved it! A character knowing he’s a character in a novel and trying to escape his fate. I must echo the others, extremely clever!
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Thank you Yolanda.
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Hi, Tracy! I like your take on the prompt this week. One always wonders about those poor characters who get so little “air time.”
There’s one little nit I’d like to mention, if you don’t mind. Be careful with your introductory clauses. They are great ways to help us sandwich more information into micro-fiction, but they are also easy to do wrong or over use. The one that bothers me here is “Written as a one-dimensional character, the dusty pages . . . ” Obviously, you mean that the character is written to be one-dimensional, but the phrase actually indicates that the pages are a one-dimensional character.
I hope you don’t mind this pointer. I enjoy reading your stories, and those in these halls that know me best know I don’t take the time to comment in this manner unless a story or a writer has truly captivated me. For better or worse, you have managed to engage my attention, and I have been reading (even when I don’t have time to post comments).
Keep up the good work.
All my best,
Marie Gail
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I see what you mean “He was written as a one dimensional character and the dusty pages had tormented him … ” We do sometimes sacrifice clarity in an attempt to limit the number of words. I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks for reading.
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What a great story, I loved everything about it.
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Thanks Snow.
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You’re right, Mr. Edwards is getting more adventurous! I’ve enjoyed his escapades so far. I’m sure there must be more coming up…?
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He is very pushy so I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of him. Ok, now I either sound crazy or I sound like an author.
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You’re an author of course! :~)
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