In the quarantine, I’ve been experimenting with writing microfiction on Twitter.  The goal is to tell a story in a single tweet (280 characters). I created a new account for this project:  Dr. Fortuno’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

For your weekend reading enjoyment, here are the top 3 most liked posts from the past week.  Note that two of them have the “CeruleanProse” tag. That’s a daily writing prompt in which the moderator posts a color and your challenge is to work it in to the microfiction in some way.

The book drew her in. She immersed herself in its vivid story. But she was careless and didn’t leave a lifeline, a trail of breadcrumbs, or a spool of thread. She was lost and unable to find her way back. The book liked it that way, for some books teach, and some books tempt.

Every reader has experienced being lost in a book, so I imagined this one as a literal getting lost in which the book wants to keep the reader entrapped.

The Professor huffed through his handlebar mustache. His balding pate glistened. “The revolver isn’t mine. I wasn’t even in the Billiard Room.” He stroked the lapel of his plum colored blazer, praying no-one would find the bloodied wrench hidden in the library. #CeruleanProse

The Cerulean Prose prompt was “Plum.”  My mind went straight to Clue. I imagine Professor Plum with a vaguely British colonial air about him, and the moustache being outrageously ridiculous.  Everything else just fell into place.

Gel slicked hair. Mustache pencil thin. Cinnamon blazer, vanilla white trousers, butter cream shirt, and baby blue ascot. He sipped cachaça as a Tito Puente mambo played. Yet only her memory warmed him in the relentless winter of this godforsaken mining town. #CeruleanProse

“Cinnamon” was the prompt for this one. It all grew out of the Cinnamon blazer. The rest of the wardrobe came next. As this character emerged, I knew he was pining for someone, but it wasn’t until the very end that I realized he was stuck in a mining town.

Hope you enjoyed these microfiction stories.  There are lots more of them on Dr. Fortuno’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

And another great microfiction account to explore is K.R. Garcia.  She is the moderator of the Cerulean Prose Prompt.  Not only does she write really delightful tales, but she is generous in retweeting some of the best of Cerulean Prose.   Take some time this weekend and enjoy some bite size fiction.