Judging is a buffet where I love every dish. How do I pick just one? As I read through the entries, I jot notes down and assign a number to rank them. I re-read the top-ranked stories and even some lower ranked ones that are still on my mind. Then I wring my hands and …
Tag: flash fiction
Flash Contest Detour: No Microcosms, No Problem!
Each session of my 5000 Words class, we devote one week to flash fiction. The assignment is to enter a piece in Microcosms, which experiences a rather dramatic spike in entrants. 🙂 This morning when I opened my email, I found Microcosms is having technical difficulties this week, the week my students are to enter …
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What You Get When You Flood Your Mind With Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”
Lenore’s Reprisal (inspired by “The Raven”) January is a dangerous month. January is deadly. Don’t believe me? January. killed. my. Lenore. Ok truth. A-steering-wheel-through-the-heart killed Lenore, but it was January’s fault. Lenore’ll tell it was the road, slick with ice and a blanket of snow. She’ll tell it was the brakes on the Volkswagon—that’s what …
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The Perks of Galactic Transport
Uncle Asbestos brings me presents when his tour is done. There are always interesting treats lurking in his pockets. He removes his helmet with a wry smile and dramatic sloth. My fidgeting betrays my impatience. He inside-outs his pockets and a slew of my favorite tiny, multi-colored creatures fall out. I squeal. We play with …
Better Than Candy: Bite-size Halloween Stories
My friend Cyndi gave me the idea to showcase some of the Halloween stories I received from the flash contest. Enjoy these bite-sized stories from Ethan Zabka, Anna Marsick, and Cynthia Hilston. The Last Halloween By Ethan Zabka “This is going to be awesome!” My friend Jeremy exclaimed. ” It’s going to be the greatest …
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Flash Fiction Contest! Blind Judge TBA
There's nothing like a contest to draw out great stories. Blogging friends, here's the challenge. You have until Friday, October 12th at the stroke of midnight to craft an amazing piece of flash fiction. My middle & high school students are being forced to enter assigned this contest, so consider it the literary version of …
Book Worm*
Zahara's jaw fell open. Her book slid off her knees and hit the floor. She scrambled for it and flipped to find her page, all the while shaking her head in denial. Page found, she pored over the words once more. Unconsciously her hand went to her throat. Zahara let the book fall in her …
Collateral
Could it only have been two hours since Devon last pushed open the glass door? That was a lifetime ago. That was when Devon dreamed a dream. When he didn't hate banks and bankers and the soul-crushing thing called collateral. The loan officer chanted the word as if it were a talisman. With a savage …
You Call It Coffee
I don't get it. You never took the covers before. You never minded about my snoring, about my restless legs. I peek at you with one eye. Your long hair fans out against my pillow. Your perfumed shampoo claws my nostrils. Do I complain? No. "Out!" You give me the shout-and-shove. "Your breath stinks," you say. …
Fiction: The Colonel’s Last Wish
In the bombed-out shell of a Starbucks cafe, he sat at a buckling and tilted table. What the colonel wouldn't give for a green-smocked barista right now. A US Army truck painted over with his familiar insignia passed by, likely headed to the dump. Halfheartedly, he returned salute, then covered his nose. The dead Americans …
KL Griffiths 