Flash Fiction Friday 145: 6-word stories

October 24, 2014October 31, 20145 Comments

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and forty-fifth piece in this series. This week’s is the twelfth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies!

6-word stories

by Sal Buttaci finds humor in life.

The ticks of time burrow deeply.
In sunlight, my snow tires melted.
DNA proves these tears are mine.

by Chong Teck SIM – aspiring Singaporean writer

With faith, her dreams came true.
A woman. Cascading tears. Burnt photographs.
College boys. Energetic music. Free-flowing beer.

by Mark K – a writer? Trying hard.

Better rich than poor. Trust me.
invalid + pillow = death, jury + prison = life
There are many ways to kill!

by Joanne Hayle – Loves to write and very blessed.

Soul weary, my reflection’s a stranger.
Burning sun and ferocious waves. Sunk.
Surprise trip recklessly ruined. Magic lost.

by Fari Wu micro-fiction writer, F1 lover.

Third time caesarean. Finally, a girl.
She kept quiet for nine months.

and then three from yours truly… Morgen Bailey, Morgen With an E

Ted was curious. It bit him.
Big stared at Little. Little barked.
Clock ticking. Last breath. Funeral Saturday.

Thank you, everyone.

If you’d like to submit your 6-worders (two per blog post, although you can send as many as you like) or 500-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here, or up to 1,000 words for critique on my Online Short Story Writing Group (links below).

You can subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything.

You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating. Thank you.

For anyone looking for an editor, do take a look at Editing and Critique.

If you would like to send me a book review of another author’s books or like your book reviewed (short stories, contemporary crime / women’s novels or writing guides), see book-reviews for the guidelines. Other options listed on opportunities-on-this-blog. And I post writing exercises every weekday on four online writing groups.

Flash Fiction Friday 144: 6-word stories

August 29, 20147 Comments

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and forty-fourth piece in this series. This week’s is the twelfth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies!

6-word stories

by Sal Buttaci finds humor in life

Predictors of my future were charlatans.
Hell’s free. The devil will pay.
In old age I’m bald again.

by Chong Teck SIM – aspiring Singaporean writer

Rice farmer. Cricket-chirping night. Snake wine.
As his eyes close, Heaven tears.
Love has no discounts, no freebies.

by… Mark K – a writer?… trying hard

Dwarf throwing contestants hate political correctness.
Men cry too, you know? Liar!
I love pain: C’mon tazer me!

and then three from yours truly… Morgen Bailey, Morgen With an E

Sides splitting. Hilarious comic? No. Murderer.
Lost in music. Doesn’t see cliff.
Football chant. Favourite team. Hearts sink.

Thank you, everyone.

If you’d like to submit your 6-worders (two per blog post, although you can send as many as you like) or 500-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post a spotlight or interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. If there’s anything you’d like to take part in, take a look at Opportunities on this blog.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Flash Fiction Friday 143: 6-word stories

July 25, 2014Leave a comment

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and forty-third piece in this series. This week’s is the thirteenth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies. These stories will be podcasted in episode 43 (with three <500-word stories) on Sunday 31st August.

6-word stories

by… Sal Buttaci finds humor in life.

Destined for greatness, I’m now obese.
Hired, wired, tired, and then fired.
Serial killers eat muffins for breakfast.

by Chong Teck SIM – aspiring Singaporean writer

Broken toys. Discoloured photographs. Forgotten childhood.
Parched earth. Windless comfort. Burning summer.
Reclusive elder. Mountain cavern. Simple meals.

by… Mark K – a writer?… trying hard

Don’t be mature… Grow old disgracefully.
Family friendly fiction’s no friggin’ fun.
Simple Simon always gets it wrong.

by Nancy Zielinski, trying her very best

Hot sun. Scorched sand. Burnt feet.
Table for one please; recently widowed.
He yawns. She yawns. I yawn.

and then three from yours truly… Morgen Bailey, Morgen With an E

It’s gone again. To be expected.
Spies lying low. Quiet next-door neighbours.
Top dog. Rules the roost. Bully.

Thank you, everyone.

Continue reading →

Flash Fiction Friday 139: 6-word stories

June 27, 2014June 30, 20145 Comments

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and thirty-ninth piece in this series. This week’s is the twelfth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies! These stories will be podcasted in episode 42 (with three <500-word stories) on Sunday 27th July.

6-word stories

by Sal Buttaci – finds humor in life.

Love our neighbors beyond hello goodbye.
Something’s cooking; I need a plate.
Papa was not ashamed to cry.

by Mark K – a writer?… trying hard

When she’s pedantic try being romantic.
If silence is golden, why talk?
Love in a sauna burns things.

by Jon Gyngell – ginger-faced word herder

Supposedly deaf girl hears unspoken words.
Afterwards my doppelgänger welcomed me home.
Dying reformed gambler coughs up cash.

by Nancy Raynsford – teaching numbers, writing words

Books the holiday, reads the books.
Body in locked room. Detective solves.
Take the test. Tell the Dad.

by Chris Farley – searching for fictional inspiration

I gambled with stupidity; and lost.
One life lived fully. Ended abruptly.
Hussar had it. Horse heading home.

by Joanne Hayle – writes despite brain. Grateful. blessed.

Bloodshed. He worshipped and despised her.
Love struck, bitterly disappointed by infidelity.
Reads determinedly to her comatose son.

by Steph Post – loves words and tattoos.

I love your face in darkness.
New phone under tires, glittering heartbreak.
Your scars are stars on skin.

by Chong Teck SIM – aspiring Singaporean writer

A woman. Cascading tears. Burnt photographs.
College boys. Energetic music. Free-flowing beer.
Weeping clouds. Rite of passage. Death.

and then three from yours truly… Morgen Bailey – Morgen With an E

Getting on well, then text silence.
Young on birth certificate – feeling old.
Bad day, bad hair, big smile.

Thank you, everyone.

If you’d like to submit your 6-worders (three per monthly blog post, although you can send as many as you like) or 500-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here. Continue reading →

Flash Fiction Friday 138: Dead Man’s Boots by Morgen Bailey

June 13, 201413 Comments

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and thirty-eighth piece in this series. This week’s is a 783- worder by yours truly, Morgen Bailey. This story will be podcasted in episode 42 (with two other stories and some 6-worders) on Sunday 27th July.

Neville wasn’t used to this. No one usually took any notice. He was the grey man who blended into any scene. Here, everyone looked at him, at his face. His face was, Neville corrected, the last but one thing they looked at after they’d stared at his feet, working their way up his too-skinny body. A quick glance at his beaver-felt hat with its simple black banding, and they’d be back at his boots, before looking away or talking to their neighbour who’d repeat the process.

The expressions on the faces of the men and women – children didn’t seem to understand the significance – had been hard to read until Neville saw enough of them to work out why they were paying him, or rather the boots – the dead man’s boots – so much attention.

All he had to do, Neville decided, was to act brave and he’d be brave. Be the new boots’ owner and live up to their reputation. So he’d held his head a few inches higher, his shoulders squarer to their frame, his scrawny chest puffed out as far as it would go and still allow him to breathe.

The first challenge, he knew, was to dismount the grey mare with the confidence of a seasoned rider, not of a man who’d screamed when he’d come across the half-dozen bodies, sending all but two of their horses fleeing. He’d then grabbed on to the reins of the grey and the chestnut, and gone where they led. The chestnut reminded him too much of his uncle’s horse, so Neville hadn’t wanted to try to get on that one. The grey seemed calmer so, after three failed attempts and a mouthful of dirt, Neville had shuffled his almost non-existent backside into the saddle and gently nudged the grey into action, with the chestnut’s reins secured so it had no choice but to follow.

As it turned out, when Neville reached the town’s only hotel, he needn’t have worried about dismounting, as a tubby little man rushed towards him. Normally Neville would have flinched, but he watched the man grab the two sets of reins and secure them to the long wooden rail that stretched the width of the hotel’s saloon bar.

The man shuffled a few feet and picked up what looked to Neville like a plain box but as the man brought it nearer, Neville could see it was a large step. The man put it down between the horses, looked at Neville’s boots and laughed nervously. He then held out his hand. Neville nodded, dismounted with ease, and gave the man one of two silver coins – the only money Neville possessed.

The man grinned, nodded repeatedly as he backed away, then watched, head bowed, as Neville entered the saloon.

Neville’s new boots were three sizes too big, so he dug his toes down on to the leather lining so that his feet didn’t move around too much, and took slow, deliberate strides into the bar.

He knew everyone was looking at him, even those who couldn’t see his boots. The pianist stopped playing, card games paused, and the few women in the room broke into hushed conversation while the men watched Neville, their eyes narrowing.

Neville wanted to smile, to lap up the attention but he knew hard men didn’t smile – his uncle had never smiled – so he gritted his teeth, straightened his shoulders until his back ached, and made it to the counter.

Most of the customers waere seated, leaving just three people at the bar: the tall dark-haired barman, a shorter white-haired man with most of his teeth missing, and a woman in a very fetching russet ruffled dress who had been fawning over the man despite him being old enough to be her grandfather. “Probably is,” Neville thought.

The old man shooed the woman away as Neville took off his hat, pushed back a stray auburn hair that had been tickling his nose for the entire ride along the dirt-track that was the main road into town, despite him puffing air at it until he’d spotted people staring at him.

Neville placed the hat on the bar – not his hat, another dead man’s hat – and turned it round so it faced front. Neville liked things to be neat, just like his mother had. He couldn’t help but make the sign of the cross on his torso whenever he thought of her. The barman put down a glass he’d been cleaning, replicated Neville’s gesture, pausing his index finger on his right shoulder blade before lowering his hand and picking up another glass.

“Hello,” Neville squeaked.

The barman and customer exchanged glances.

Neville coughed then growled, “Get me a beer.”

Here I usually ask my guest what prompted this piece, so this is what prompted me…

Continue reading →

Flash Fiction Friday 137: 6-word stories

May 30, 2014May 30, 20145 Comments

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and thirty-seventh piece in this series. This week’s is the eleventh bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies! These stories will be podcasted in episode 41 (with the tenth batch and two <500-word stories) on Sunday 29th June.

6-word stories

by… William Bortz, afreshnewview.blogspot.com, writer, barista, dreamer.

These shoes are stained with travel
Old letters, outdated postage, same desires
Fathers Day; no gift to give (third Sunday in June)

by… Tony Tibbenham – Writing because I must.

Happy family. Infidelity. End of trust.
Go fishing. Lose footing. Get wet.

by… Maria; my dog is my muse

Heart pounds. Cheeks flush. Calm down.
I’m mad. So wrong. You know?
Brush me. Soulful eyes. Belly please. …

by… Mark K, a writer?… trying hard

Electric chair: A shocking bit of kit.
Dutch footwear factory gets clogged up.
That a jacuzzi? No. I’m farting.

by… Sal Buttaci is an open book.

She’s ten degrees shy of hot-tempered.
Diabetics are sweet enough without sugar.
Only fountains of youth stay young.

by… Vicki, always interested, retrospective, searching, writing

Sun room. Spring time all year.
Hummingbirds. Nectar for these tiny gods.
Paint my soul with dewdrop flowers.

by Dan Collins, sci-fi lover, family man.

Prize fighter, thrown match, debts paid.
Bank heist, innocent bystander, murder charges.
Computer genius billionaire, scammed, poor house.

by Jon Gyngell: ginger-faced word herder

Man bites dog, likes the taste.
Heart mended, I will kill again.
Child: free to a cheap home.

by Nancy Raynsford – teaching numbers, writing words

Listen, learn. Review, revise. Exam envelope.
Pain, baby. Grow, love. Leave, return.
Mirror, make-up. Party, people. Home, hangover.

and then three from yours truly, Morgen Bailey, Morgen With an E

Rubbing hands. Garden. Glee. Gone forever.
Her pleading eyes say too much.
Dirty glasses. Dirty soul. Big smile.

Thank you, everyone.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast – short stories episode no.40

May 25, 2014October 24, 20141 Comment

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast ‘short stories’ episode number 40 went live today and contained three flash fictions and a batch of 6-worders, that have appeared on my blog as Flash Fiction Fridays. Do email me should you like to submit your own. And if you’re after writing tips, there are loads on this blog’s writing-101 page.

This episode contained: the ninth batch of 6-word stories by William Bortz, Salvatore Buttaci, Tony Tibbenham, Mark K, Steph Post, Maria, Roger Hurn, Joan H. Young, KS Tan, and yours truly, then three longer pieces:

Drawings (255 words) by poet, short story author and blogger Jade Kennedy,
Where There Is Hope There Is Hunger (420-words) by Chris Farley, and
Both Sides (302 words) by yours truly, Morgen Bailey.

See the links above to read the stories… or hear my dulcet tones on the podcast.

The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

Bios

Jade Kennedy is a writer of poetry, prose, flash fiction and a collector of borrowed expressions. She lives in East Yorkshire, UK.

Her poetry has been included in various zines and she is now looking to find more homes for her flash fiction.

Jade’s blog is ‘Borrowed Expressions’ at http://www.jadekennedywriter.blogspot.co.uk.

***

Christopher Farley. He lived a sheltered life in the wilds of Kent from where he was saved by the written word. So much so that he still corresponds with certain people with A PEN AND PAPER!!

Upon moving to London, a bit like Dick Whittington, searching for streets of gold, he happened upon a beautiful Italian lady who later decided to take him to the sunny realm of southern Switzerland, where he can still be found, smiling inanely, continuously in search of Weissbier.

When he is not working or drinking he sits in front of the computer, searching for fictional inspiration. You can find Chris via his blogs http://christopherfarley.wordpress.com and http://talkingtosh.wordpress.com.

***

Based in Northamptonshire, England, Morgen Bailey (“Morgen with an E”) is a prolific blogger, podcaster, editor / critiquer, Chair of NWG (which runs the annual H.E. Bates Short Story Competition), Head Judge for the NLG Flash Fiction Competition. She is also a freelance author of numerous ‘dark and light’ short stories, novels, articles, and very occasional dabbler of poetry.

Like her, her blog, https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com, is consumed by all things literary. She also recently created five online writing groups and an interview-only blog. Her debut novel is the chick lit eBook The Serial Dater’s Shopping List.

***

Thank you for downloading / listening to this short story episode – I hope you enjoyed it. The next episode will be another short stories episode in four weeks’ time.

All the details of these episodes are listed on this blog’s Podcast Short Stories page and my email address to submit your stories is morgen@morgenbailey.com.

The podcast is / will be available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

** You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Flash Fiction Friday 136: Morgen’s Story A Day May week 1

May 9, 2014May 9, 20141 Comment

Julie Duffy of storyaday.org has been giving us daily writing prompts this week which I’ve been blogging and summarising on this blog’s SADM 2014 page. I’ve been writing to them but not posting them daily here this year as I have done 2011-2013 but instead picking my favourite of the week and posting it as Flash Fiction Fridays for this month only. Below is my first which was Monday’s prompt of Shame. This story will be podcasted in episode 41 (Sunday 29th June).

A Different Kind of Sympathy

I knew it was wrong as I was putting it in my bag but I had no choice. Then, as I walked out the store, willing the detectors to go off – they didn’t – I felt a hand on my shoulder. It had happened twice before so I was expecting the words, “Please come back inside, Miss”. I took a deep breath and turned round to the man.

They always look sympathetic but you know when they’ve got you in that little room that any sympathy they did have stays outside the door. But this man’s different; no uniform. A different kind of sympathy. Genuine. I look down at his outstretched hand. A twenty-pound note. “Miss, you dropped this.”

I shake my head. Can’t remember the last time I owned a note that big, and I certainly don’t have them long enough to let them go that frivolous.

The man nods and pushes the note towards me.

I take it and mumble a “thank you” before he changes his mind, before he realises it wasn’t me. I tuck it in a zip pocket of my bag and glance at the stolen tin of Irish Stew that was to keep me going for who knows how long.

(208 words)

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Story A Day May – May 6th: Two prompts

May 6, 2014May 7, 2014Leave a comment

Today there are two prompts from storyaday.org are below. For the other prompts given this month see the SADM 2014 page.

Prompt 1: Today we’re going to try something new. I’m not assigning a word count, but rather a time limit. Set aside a full hour to write a short story. Start and finish the story during that time.

Tips

Some people work really well with deadlines. Maybe this is yours.
Don’t panic if you can’t start writing at 00:01. Sketch out some ideas, try on a few characters. An hour is quite a long time if you focus on one moment, one instant (the perfect milieu for a short story). As long as you’re writing by 00:30, you’ll probably get a decent draft out of this exercise.
Pay attention to how you deal with the pressure of the hour finishing up. Is your story’s pacing clearly influenced by the deadline? (If it is, don’t worry, you can always clean things up in the rewrites).
Assess this exercise. Did you finish? Did you have to ‘cheat’ (i.e. write stuff like [put details in here], [move characters across town] etc.)?
Did the time limit work for you better than the word count as an exercise? Could this be something you use every day?

Go!

Prompt 2: The Unexpected Guest

Your protagonist opens the door and finds an unexpected guest–a friend from high school who hasn’t been heard from in many years.

This friend has fallen on hard times and wants to stay with your protagonist a few days. As your protagonist and friend sit in the kitchen, the friend reminisces about the old days… and stirs up trouble by recalling some unhappy teen moments, too.

How does your protagonist react, and what are those good and bad times in the past?

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Story A Day May – May 3rd: Keywords

May 3, 2014May 7, 2014Leave a comment

Today’s prompt from storyaday.org is below. For the other prompts given this month see the SADM 2014 page.

Work the words vermillion and musky somewhere in the next 250 words you write.

That’s it. You could write a 250-word story with those two words. Good luck.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com **

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups.

Morgen 'with an E' Bailey

Author, Tutor, Speaker, Editor, Comp Judge: www.morgenbailey.com

Tag: 5pm fiction

Flash Fiction Friday 145: 6-word stories

Flash Fiction Friday 144: 6-word stories

Flash Fiction Friday 143: 6-word stories

Flash Fiction Friday 139: 6-word stories

Flash Fiction Friday 138: Dead Man’s Boots by Morgen Bailey

Flash Fiction Friday 137: 6-word stories

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast – short stories episode no.40

Flash Fiction Friday 136: Morgen’s Story A Day May week 1

Story A Day May – May 6th: Two prompts

Story A Day May – May 3rd: Keywords