The universal motivator – Friday Fictioneers

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Hello. It’s time for another Friday Fictioneers entry. The challenge is to write a 100-word story in response to a weekly photo prompt chosen by our host Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Follow the link to her blog for more information.

It only took a global pandemic to get me to write two successive Friday Fictioneers stories. What’s it going to take to get the novel written?

Thank you to all who take the time to read, like, or comment.

2020 04 24

PHOTO PROMPT © C.E.Ayr

The universal motivator

“Why can’t you be a hero?”

The boy shifted under the question’s weight.

“Because I’m not brave.” The words clawed at the back of his throat, desperate to remain unspoken. “I’m afraid of everything.”

“Afraid?” The woman laughed. “Take any person on this planet, strip back their layers, and do you know what you’ll find at the centre? Fear. The universal motivator. Being afraid has no effect on your ability to do great good, or great evil. It is the nature of your fear, the way it evolves, and the way you react, that determines how you will be remembered.”

Word count: 100.

6 responses to “The universal motivator – Friday Fictioneers”

  1. neilmacdon Avatar

    There is an important sense in which people who do brave things are not necessarily what we’ve come to think of as heroes. And it’s true that fear can be part of what motivates them. Soldiers, for example,may be motivated by fear of letting their comrades down. But I’m not sure I agree that fear is the fundamental motivator (though I can see how you’d make the argument that it was)

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  2. Susan A Eames Avatar

    Wise words, indeed! Thought provoking take on the photo prompt, Thom.

    Susan A Eames at
    Travel, Fiction and Photos

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  3. ceayr Avatar

    I wonder how true this is.
    I suspect it is not that simple, or universal, but nevertheless it is food for thought…

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  4. msjadeli Avatar

    Profound and most likely true.

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  5. rochellewisoff Avatar

    Dear Thom,

    Words of wisdom fitly spoken.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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  6. granonine Avatar

    A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Psalm 25:11. First thing that came to mind while reading your piece. Excellent.

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