Hello and welcome to MC66!
The eminent Billie Holiday was born on 7 April 1915. She was a famous American jazz singer who grew up poor and faced many, many hardships in her life. She was not a classically trained singer, but people were drawn to her for her unique and sultry voice.
Her most famous song is arguably “Strange Fruit”, which was a song based upon a poem meant to protest racism in America, especially lynchings, a horrible practice that I’ll let you read about on your own, should you be so inclined.
7 April also happens to be the symbolic birthday of the Internet, with the signing of Publication RFC1 in 1969, which happened roughly 10 years after her death in 1959.
Holiday died at the young age of 44, but her legacy lives on (as does the legacy of racism in America).
The prompts this week are based mostly upon events and people in Holiday’s life. Since many of the options are a bit grim, I’ve thrown in a couple of wildcards inspired by the Internet to lighten the mood.
KM
(If YOU have an idea for a future contest and would like to be guest host, please contact us.)
Our contest this week begins with THREE things: character, setting and genre.
We spun, and our three elements are – character: Musician, setting: Hospital, and genre: Fantasy.
Write a story using those OR feel free to click on the “Spin!” button, and the slot machine will come up with a new set – you can keep clicking until you have a set of elements that inspires you.
*** HEY! Remember to include which THREE elements you’re using AND a title for your entry. ***
- Jazz Singer
- Addict
- Musician
- Dog Named Mister
- Prostitute
- Mafia Wife
- Abuse Victim
- Railroad Worker
- Actress
- Sentient Technology
- A Youtuber
- The American South
- A Hospital
- A Recording Studio
- A Courthouse
- “Online”
- New Orleans
- A Bedroom
- Steve Jobs’s Garage
- A Brothel
- Tragedy
- Crime
- Romance
- Horror
- Memoir
- Comedy
- Fantasy
Judging this week is Microcosms 65 Judge’s Pick, Sian Brighal.
All submissions should be a maximum of 300 words in length. You have until midnight, New York time (EDT) to submit.
*** If you are new to Microcosms, remember to check out the full submission guidelines. ***
All being well, results will be posted on Monday.
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