Welcome to the ninety-first 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 based on the keyword of ‘powder’, so here is my 328-worder.
Off the back of a lorry
“He told me it was curry powder.”
“And it isn’t?”
“Doesn’t smell like it.”
“Let’s have a look… you’re right, and it’s rather pale. Have you tried adding water to it?”
“Good idea.”
“You’ve bought a lot of it. What if you can’t use it?”
“I could, when I know what it is. Besides, it was cheap.”
“Cheap because he probably doesn’t know what it is. Saffron, I reckon.”
“Saffron. What’s that?”
“Only about 100 times the price.”
“Really?”
“For once that boyfriend of yours has done you a favour.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Everything’s off the back of the lorry with Laurie.”
“Ha. I think I’d rather have had curry powder.”
“Why?”
“At least I’d have known what to do with it.”
“Google it… or sell it on.”
“I wouldn’t know…”
“eBay it.”
“eBay it? But it’s food, isn’t it?”
“It is but… it’s got a date stamp, well in date, just missing the label. Take a photo and…”
“They do say people will buy anything.”
“And believe anything. What did Laurie tell about where he got it?”
“Friend’s Indian restaurant. Wrong delivery, or something.”
“They’d have sent it back, especially saffron. Or kept it and not said anything.”
“Or sold it and not said anything.”
“Then they’re as bad as he is.”
“He’s not bad.”
“He’s just drawn that way.”
“Sorry?”
“Jessica Rabbit. Who framed… film, late 80s, before your time.”
“Uh, OK.”
“So what are you going to do with it?”
“I’d like to cook with it. Make Laurie something nice.”
“You could make a third world food mountain with all that lot.”
“Mmm…”
“Mmm?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“What? Cooking a food mountain? Even Lard-arse Laurie doesn’t eat that much.”
“Don’t like him much do you?”
“Can you tell, sis? So what’s your grand plan?”
“Look for a local charity that can use it, maybe do an event with it, or something.”
“Like try to break a record.”
“Yeah.”
“Serena Goodman, you’re all heart.”
***
Mmm, not sure about that one… a work in progress for sure.
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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.
