Welcome to the seventieth in this daily series that is ‘5pm Fiction’.
Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.
I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s was to write a dialogue including the keywords: red, vicar, curtains, laugh, face, so here is my 212-worder.
Yes, Mildred
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s the vicar, he’s out jogging again.”
“And that’s funny how?”
“His face… like a beetroot. Well, not quite, more red than purple.”
“Come away from the window, he’ll see the curtains moving.”
“In a… Oh no!”
“What?”
“He’s clutching his chest! Norman, go out there and do something!”
“Like what? I’m not a…”
“Call for an ambulance then!”
“While you do what?”
“Norman!”
“Alright woman. Keep your…”
“It’s OK. He wasn’t clutching his chest, he was just reaching for his mobile. That’s a funny place to…”
“So I don’t need to call for an ambulance then.”
“No, Norman.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Why?”
“Some of the paramedics you see on TV are quite… ”
“He’s dropped to his knees! Why would he do that?”
“Do you want the ambulance now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is he just kneeling or rolling around on the floor?”
“Kneeling.”
“And his face?”
“Still red.”
“Maybe one of us should…”
“Oh no, it’s alright. He’s patting the ground.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe it’s a religious thing.”
“What?”
“You know… thanking God for the earth.”
“Norman, sometimes you’re… It’s OK. Looks like it was just a contact lens. He’s holding it up like an Oscar. He’d make a good actor. Very dramatic.”
“Yes, Mildred.”
***
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) 
on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
