Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Melody
Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.
Here’s how it works:
Set a timer for five minutes and start writing
Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off
No editing allowed—raw writing only
When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.)
Today’s Prompt: The Melody.
A woman is sitting alone in a café when she hears a song playing quietly in the background. She doesn’t know what it is or who it’s by, but something about it is so familiar it makes her put down her cup and stop mid-thought. She has heard this melody before, somewhere, but she cannot place it.
Write the moment she hears the song. What does the melody sound like? What physical effect does it have on her — does she hold her breath, does her hand stop moving, does the room seem to shift around her? What half-formed memory begins to surface, and why can’t she quite reach it?
Write what she does next. Does she ask someone what the song is? Does she sit with the feeling and let it wash over her? Does the memory fully arrive, or does it remain just out of reach? Has something changed in her by the time she leaves the café, even if she can’t explain what?
If you want to make it even more interesting, you could consider the following –
The song could remain unidentified throughout the story.
The story could end on a single sensory detail — something she sees, hears, tastes, touches, or smells — not a thought.
As always, have fun.
by 
Novel Kicks Writing Room: The Object
Welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.
Today’s exercise is about looking at something a different way.
First, choose your object –
Look around you right now. Pick the first object that catches your eye. It could be anything — a mug, a set of keys, a book, a pen, a candle. Don’t overthink it. Just choose.
Observe it –
Take a few minutes to study the object closely. Notice the details you’d normally overlook — the texture, the weight, the colour, the wear and tear. Does it have a scratch, a chip, a stain? Write down five specific physical details about it in short, precise sentences.
Now it’s time to give it a history –
Now, imagine this object belongs to a fictional character. Write a short passage (150–250 words) from that character’s perspective explaining how they came to own it and why they could never throw it away. Think about:
Who gave it to them, or where did they find it?
What memory is attached to it?
What would losing it mean?
Don’t worry about perfection. Just write.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Inheritance
Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.
Here’s how it works:
Set a timer for five minutes and start writing
Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off
No editing allowed—raw writing only
When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.)
Today’s prompt: The Inheritance.
You discover a hidden compartment in your grandmother or grandfather’s house containing a journal with entries dated from 50 years ago. The final page describes a choice they made that day—one that changed everything.
However, the crucial entries in the middle have been deliberately torn out, and the handwriting becomes increasingly frantic toward the end.
Write a story revealing what happened during those missing years and why your grandparent removed those pages. Was it shame, protection, or something else entirely?
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: The Collector
Welcome to Fiction Friday, our weekly flash fiction challenge.
Here’s how it works:
Set a timer for five minutes and start writing
Keep going for as long as you can once the timer goes off
No editing allowed—raw writing only
When you’re finished, feel free to share in the comments (but there’s no pressure.)
Today’s prompt – “The Collector”
Your character works a job where they interact with hundreds of strangers daily. One day, they notice something: a regular customer always buys the same item, but never the most obvious version of it. They buy the slightly damaged book instead of the pristine one. The shirt with the barely-noticeable stain. The dented can. The last apple in the bruised bin.
Curious, your character starts paying attention. They realize this person is deliberately choosing things that others have rejected or overlooked.
When your character finally asks why, the answer changes everything. It reveals a philosophy, a grief, a mission, or a secret that forces your protagonist to see their own life differently.
The story ends with your character making a choice that mirrors what they’ve learned.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Side Characters
Hello and welcome back to the Novel Kicks Writing Room.
Side characters are sometimes a bit forgotten when we’re writing a story.
The main protagonist is obviously important, but today, those supporting characters are getting a bit of love.
First, pick a setting from the following (if you want to make it more interesting, pick one at random. Here’s a link to a random number generator.) –
. An abandoned hotel on a cliff edge
. A hospital at night
. A busy carnival/fair/theme park
. A forest
. A small town
Next, pick a genre –
by Book Club
