# May 2017 - LM - Everything Must Go



## kilroy214 (May 1, 2017)

*LITERARY MANEUVERS
*
*Everything Must Go*​
The winner will receive a badge pinned to their  profile and given a month’s access to FoWF where you’ll have access to  hidden forums and use of the chat room. 

This is a Fiction writing competition, and the prompt for this month in '*Everything Must Go*' Pick your own title, write about whatever you want, as long as it's related in some way to the prompt.


 The Judges for this LM are: Pluralized, Joshybo, kilroy214, and ppsage*
*If you want to judge and I left  you out, send me your scores by the deadline. If you're listed here and  don't wish to judge, let me know at once (please).

 All entries that wish to retain their first rights should post in the _LM Workshop Thread_.

 All Judges scores will be PMed to *kilroy214*. 

All anonymous entries will be PMed to *kilroy214*.


*Rules*






*All forum rules apply.* The LM competition is considered a creative area of the forum. If your story contains inappropriate language or content, do _not_ forget add a disclaimer or it could result in disciplinary actions taken. Click *here* for the full list of rules and guidelines of the forum.
*No Poetry!*  Nothing against you poets out there, but this isn’t a place for your  poems. Head on over to the poetry challenges for good competition over  there. Some of us fiction people wouldn’t be able to understand your  work! Click *here* for the poetry challenges. Play the prose-poem game at your own risk.
*No posts that are not entries into the competition are allowed.* If you have any questions, concerns, or wish to take part in discussion please head over to the *LM Coffee Shop. *We’ll be glad to take care of your needs over there.
*Editing your entry after posting isn’t allowed.* You’ll be given a ten minute grace period, but after that your story may not be scored.
*Only one entry per member.*
*The word limit is 650 words not including the title.*  If you go over - Your story will not be counted. Microsoft Word is the  standard for checking this. If you are unsure of the word count and  don't have Word, please send your story to me and I'll check it for you.





*There are a few ways to post your entry:*







If you aren't too concerned about your first rights, then you can simply post your entry here in this thread.
You can opt to have your entry posted in the* Workshop*which  is a special thread just for LM entries. You would put your story there  if you wish to protect your first rights, in case you wish to have the  story published one day. Note: If you do post it in the  workshop thread, you must post a link to it here in this thread  otherwise your story may not be counted.
You may  post your story anonymously. To do so, send your story to the host of  the competition. If you wish to have us post it in the workshop thread  then say so. Your name will be revealed upon the release of the score.






Everyone is welcome to participate. A  judge's entry will receive a review by their fellow judges, but it will  not receive a score. Please refrain from 'like'-ing or 'lol'-ing an  entry until the scores are posted.

Judges: In the tradition of LM competitions  of yore, if you could send the scores one week after deadline it will  ensure a timely release of scores and minimize the overall  implementation of porkforking. Please see the *Judging Guidelines* if you have questions. Following the suggested formatting will be much appreciated, too. 

*This competition will close on:*Monday, the 15th of May at 11:59 PM, GMT time.​
Scores would be appreciated by Tuesday, the 30th of May. 

Click here for the current time.


----------



## plawrence (May 2, 2017)

*Momentos - 649 words*

Three piles sat in the attic.  Betty had decided to downsize -- move into a small condo, -- now that her husband, Carl, had died.  The detritus of sixty years in the same house wouldn’t fit into her new place.  As she dug through the trunks and boxes and bags of stuff, memories flooded through her mind.

She had built three piles; things she must keep, things she wished she could keep and things she could part with.  She squatted over boxes, like a dog digging for a bone, carefully placing each item into one of the three piles.

Her grandson, Tony, offered to help, but she insisted it was a job only she could do.  As she went through each box, she would recite to Tony what each item represented.

“This is a picture of your great-great-grandfather, Pieter.  He came over from Holland and settled in Pennsylvania.  When the family moved west, this picture traveled with them.  Your great-great-grandmother gave it to me when I was a little child.  You have the same brown hair and brown eyes.”

Tony listened intently, not wanting to miss any detail.

“This rocking horse belonged to your great-great-grandmother, Carolien.  She used to ride it when she was a little girl, just four years old.”

She placed it in the wished-she-could-keep pile.

“Was she pretty?” he asked.  “Do you have a picture of her?”

She rummaged around through the box, picking up pictures and rejecting them, one at a time, until she found one.  She handed it to him.

“Here, this is Carolien.”

He looked at it, held it up so he could look at her and the picture at the same time.  “She looks a lot like you.  She has the same pretty nose and blue eyes.”

“Yes, she does.”

“Did her hair turn grey like yours?”

“Her hair turned yellow-gray.”

“Tell me about Carolien, Grandma.”

She launched into a story about Carolien and how she had milked cows, churned butter, and baked bread all her life.  She talked about farm life and reminisced about getting up at five am to milk the cows with grandma and grandpa when she visited the farm during the summer.

The part-with pile wasn’t growing.  She looked it, sighed, and started going through the wished-she-could-keep pile, looking for things that could go into the part-with pile.  As she touched each item, a twinge of pain rushed through her heart.  Unearthing old memories was both heartwarming and painful at the same time.  Even though she hadn’t touched the boxes in years, the thought of giving up mementos forever distressed her.

In a moment of discouragement, she thought, everything must go – except the pictures.  I have to keep those.  Determined not to allow that to happen, she began carefully examining each item in the wished-she-could-keep pile.

I can put this on the bookshelf, she thought.  That can go in my bedroom.  These I will put in a keepsake album.  Those I will have to put in storage, but I will not get rid of them.  I absolutely will not!

She continued for hours, unwilling to leave any item untouched and therefore destined for the part-with pile.

Tony saw the tears in her eyes.  “Grandma, maybe you should take a break.”

“No, I have to finish this today.  I can’t put it off until the last minute, because if I do, I’ll take it all with me.  I don’t have the room for that, and I have very little storage space in the condo garage.  It’s barely big enough for my Accord.”

“At least let me help you.  Why don’t I take the giveaway pile and carry it downstairs?  That way you no longer have to think about it.”

“You’re such a sweet boy – just like your mother.  That’s why I love you so much.”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and went back to work.


----------



## kilroy214 (May 4, 2017)

Street and Strella Constantly Rest in San Fransico
by anonymous


----------



## kilroy214 (May 6, 2017)

Everything Must Go
by anonymous


----------



## kilroy214 (May 9, 2017)

they duh
by anonymous


----------



## Phil Istine (May 13, 2017)

Closing Down Sale [references murder and alludes to drug taking] 645 words


----------

