Visual – Page 2 – Erin Penn's Second Base

Flash: Dream a Boy Adventure

August 10, 2025August 10, 2025 Erin Penn

On 8/9/2025, Raconteur Press issued a writing challenge based on a visual prompt. Fifty words, no more, no less, on their substack. The visual prompt is there, and below is my response. There is already a dozen comments – join in if you want.

https://raconteurpress.substack.com/p/50-words-of-boys-adventure

The challenge is related to release of a Boys Adventure “Dreams of Gold and Fire” by Fred Phillips.

Cold moist air alternated with hot ashy breeze as the dragon cave breathed. Within snowmelt ran beside the interior stony spine. In daily youthful forever, Elijah had swum alongside friends inside the cavern’s icy waters, playing make-believe explorers. Today, the cave ceased being make-believe. Today, Elijah dreamed the Dragon Cave.

(50 words; first published 8/9/2025)

Flash: Lab Safety Rules

June 22, 2025June 14, 2025 Erin Penn

Raconteur Press

The above illustration is from a Raconteur Press Substack post on 14 June 2025. As part of their advertising the “Mad Science!” anthology, they challenged their Substack readers to write a 50-word story based on the picture as a prompt.

Raconteur Press regularly publishes anthologies, like every two weeks. A wonderful boon for short stories reader. The theme vary from weird west to detective noir to mad scientists and more. The anthology they are pushing can be found here: Mad Science! (Raconteur Press Anthologies Book 54)

My 50-word story (EXACT! as required by the prompt) is below and was first published on 6/14/2025 on the Substack post.

***

“What are you doing up there Undergrad Student Shephard?” the professor asked Luke.

“Um,” came the over-educated reply from the man hovering mid-air.

“Did you store your drink in the lab sample refrigerator again?”

“Um.”

“It’s basic lab safety, Shephard. Food in the food fridge, lab in the lab fridge.”

Flash: The Final Door

March 2, 2025November 5, 2024 Erin Penn

Photo by Efe Kurnaz on Unsplash

The blue corridor leads to an illuminated red-orange door. You thought it would be a glowing white tunnel. That is what everyone said it would be. Those that came back. Maybe that is the waiting room version.

The beeps had stopped. So many beeps. Seemed like days. You remember jumping when every muscle in your body contracted while on the bed. Had you been sick? Or was it an accident? Were you young or old? A short life or a filled one? Were family mourning you or waiting on the other side of the door?

The short walk ends with two steps leading up to the bright door. Clearly a front door of some sort, there is no doorbell, no knocker, not even a thrice damn (should you be using that language here?) camera-speaker to explain why you are here.

You knock.

It’s the polite thing to do.

Were you polite before? Things are slippery.

You knock again.

Third time’s the charm. You knock a little harder.

You try the doorknob.

It rattles as you move it, but only moves so far.

The door is locked.

Is the door to the afterlife supposed to be locked?

How long should you wait for someone to answer?

You bang on it hard, but it makes no more noise than the polite knock.

You wait.

Not long. You do remember you don’t have much patience. It was either because you were too young and everything waited for took forever, or you were too old and you felt the press of time. Maybe you were an important person and always had a place to be. Or was it you were always running late?

You look back along the corridor to where you came from. The corridor that direction ends in a neon yellow-green door.

One last knock, just in case.

No answer, you go back the way you came.

Is this why there are ghosts? Or maybe reincarnation? The green door’s knob turns easily.

(words 330; first published 3/2/2025 – – created based on a visual prompt for a Facebook writer’s group, aim is about 50 words)

Flash: Smol Snak

February 16, 2025February 24, 2025 Erin Penn

Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

:Hallo Fren. Mi nam is snak and I is smol: The green snake blinked its sparkling black eyes and flicked its tongue out.

I stared at it in amazement.

Raising up, it started wrapping itself around my finger. :You taste-smell-heat big. I luv u. Hug u.:

“Daniel … that speak with animals I just cast in-game.”

“Yeah, I’m still looking up the intelligent level of the racoons.” The DM glanced over his carved wooden screen. “Oh, Rascal got out again. I need to get a better cover for him. Don’t worry, he isn’t poisonous.”

“Venomous, he isn’t venomous.”

:I swift like wind. Hunt spring on buggies. Nom nom.:

Daniel shrugged. “Not poisonous either.” He flipped a few more pages. “Alright I found it.”

“Where did you get the chant you gave to me?”

“Oh, do you like it? I thought since we are doing one-on-one games while Mica and Dave are on their honeymoon, we could really explore your magic-using. Found it in an old Dragon Magazine at C-Me-Rolling. Someone had marked a set of six to hell and gone, so I got them for a steal – early publications, like in the thirties or fifties, and found that in the margins.”

“Um, so these other five charms you gave me…”

:You nice warm – bettir than lamp. I sleep.:

As you will, I thought toward it. I got back something that felt like a vibration-purr-drifting-off.

“Yeah, whoever did it stuck in a few in every book. They seemed cool, usually surrounding articles explaining how to make the game more immersive.”

“Just curious, did you read these aloud?”

“Sure, just checking the cadence and what-not. They felt good.”

Looking over the list Daniel gave me, after speak with animals, there was also Detect Magic; Light; Magic Missile; Invisibility; and Fire Bolt. “Anything strange happen?”

“What, like a light show? Nah, I never play magic-users, not like you.” Daniel smiled. “Give me a fighter any day. Something that could be real.”

“Right … um, could I see those magazines when we are done this session? They sound cool.”

“Sure, now the Racoon asks for some of your peanuts in exchange for the location the goblins went.”

(words 364; first published 2/16/2025)

Ye Olde Dragon Magazines Series

Writing Exercise: 50-Word Prompts 2024

December 24, 2024December 30, 2025 Erin Penn

Days are getting longer, finally, not that we are past the 21st. The deep winter celebrations have appeased the deities once again. Now to celebrate the birth of a child and the end of a calendar year. As I have done in years pass, we are working on two 50-word prompts: one text prompt from a single word and one visual prompt.

Have fun. Remember this is to be a quick flash or scene. See if you can tell a full story, but it isn’t required. Aim for only 50 words, give or take five extra (or fewer). Don’t read my attempts until after you do your own. Write them directly into the comment section to focus on the one-and-done aspect of flashes, just typing things out.

TEXT PROMPT: Angle

VISUAL PROMPT:

Image from Unsplash: Peter Bryan

My Attempts

Text Prompt: Angle

Kenton hesitated. Checking the laser guideline, remeasuring the angle, doublechecking the saw’s user guide for compatibility with wood fibers. He had never seen wood outside of pictures. Hauled over 100,000 AUs, this piece of wood was irreplaceable but needed shaping to repair something equally irreplaceable. He breathed deeply and pushed the button. (words 52; first published 12/30/2025)

Visual Prompt

“Everything in place?” At Robert’s nod, Desma dropped her breasts onto the clockwork half-corset support. Together they stuffed, tucked, and plumped the display within the linen overfabric and buckled straps before spraying gold glitter across her dark cleavage.

“I love you for this,” he said, meaning a dozen different things, his eyes sparkling. (words 53; first published 12/30/2025)

Series: 50-word Prompts