Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-ninth month of this competition. There were 39 entries from 18 authors for the theme of ‘a mature student’. NB You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked.
PLEASE NOTE: I changed website provider and lost emails from 3rd to 5th August inclusive. If you submitted any stories during that time, please submit again using the usual form before 31st August. Thank you!
Two stories were disqualified for being 101 words with no obvious reason. Another (sadly from the same author) started at 102 but went down to 99 when numbers were correctly hyphenated (fifty-five and eighteen-year-old before a noun). Another for the same reason (fifty-year-old).
Another was disqualified for being a word over as it had ‘everyday’ (e.g. an everyday occurrence) rather than ‘every day’ (it happens every day).
The winning stories are ones that I reacted most favourably to. They were clever, surprising, eek-making (in a good way), or gave me a warm fuzzy feeling (without being sickly). Sometimes a story beats another because it has a stronger link to the theme so it’s worth writing a story to the theme rather than tweaking a story you already have to loosely fit it. Alternatively there may have been several stories on with same topic so I chose my favourite of those. With any competition, much rests upon the judge’s preference.
You may have chosen a different order or indeed not placed one or more of them so if you entered and didn’t find your story / stories here, don’t lose heart. You probably only just missed out so do enter new stories this month*, next month, whenever you like (but not in advance!). It’s an ongoing competition and free, so you could win at any time. There were new and familiar names this month so anyone could win… it’s all dependent upon whether your story grabs me, for whatever reason (whether it be clever, funny, unusual, quirky, or sweet).
Apart from the top three and highly commended, there are some ‘Honourable Mentions’. They don’t win anything but they were so close to being Highly Commended that I wanted them to know how close they came. It’s still something for them to put on their CVs.
*The theme for August is ‘update’ but for an extra challenge this month, the story must not have any sentences beginning with a pronoun: i.e. the characters’ names, I, you, he or she nor ‘The’.
You can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Monday 31st August. Details and entry forms on https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/100-word-free-monthly-competition. So without further ado, below are the successful entries this month.
PLEASE NOTE: I changed website provider and lost emails from 3rd to 5th August inclusive. If you submitted any stories during that time, please submit again using the usual form before 31st August. Thank you!
First place (winning free access to three of my online creative writing courses (currently worth £60 / $60) or a free edit and critique of up to 2,000 words (worth £30 / $42):
Alan Barker with ‘Kissing Under The Magnolia Tree’
“Draw something that brings back a happy childhood memory.”
He ambles round the classroom, glancing over the shoulders of the students as they sketch. Most are girls in their late teens who remind him of Clare: carefree and pretty with long hair.
At the last desk he lingers. The picture depicts a boy and a girl kissing under a magnolia tree beside a lake. His gaze shifts to the student, but her head stays resolutely down and her short-bobbed greying hair masks her face.
Loosening his tie, he sidles back to his desk to check the names on the register.
*
Joint second place (each winning free access to two of my online creative writing courses (currently worth £40 / $40) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,500 words (worth £22.50 / $31):
Jane Brown with ‘Bubble Bubble’ (I also loved Jane’s ‘Never Too Late’ but chose this upbeat story)
“No, no! ‘Eye of newt’ not ‘tie of mute’!”
Sally sighed, then started from scratch. A few minutes later her potion was bubbling lime green.
“Very nice!” Theodora beamed. “Gold star for you, Sally!”
That night, Sally’s children did the usual “We’re not eating this slop!”
Billy said, “Mum, I thought your food would improve after all these cooking lessons you keep running off to. When are you making one of your new recipes for us?”
Sally thought back to that morning’s potions lesson – ‘How to transform humans into toads’.
She looked around at her ungrateful children.
“Soon.” She smiled.
*
Joyce Bingham with ‘The Most Free I Have Ever Been’
Entering the building the noise from the cafe is deafening, music blaring, voices raised to compete. Chairs are set into amorphous shapes, students milling in and out of the abandoned tables. The sign for the library points through the melee, I reason there must be another way round, too many people, bags, books, laptops, dirty coffee cups, abandoned rubbish. Then I remember I am allowed to be here, free from parental responsibility, these are not my children but my fellow students. I decide to plough through the tangle of humans. Someone calls my name, I am welcomed into the fray.
*
Joint third place (each winning free access to one of my online creative writing courses (currently worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £15 / $21):
Patricia Cooksley with ‘First Class’
Elsie may have been the oldest student in the class, but becoming a mature student was the best thing she had ever done. Her husband had objected to her studies, as he wanted her to stay home. He claimed that she just needed maths. However, he should not have worried about the milkman overcharging Elsie. (He was paid with favours!)
As the orchestra heralded the arrival of Elsie’s group to the podium, Elsie accepted her First Class degree in Chemistry. Unsurprisingly, Elsie had learned about lethal chemicals. She knew she could add them to liquids unnoticed. Elsie’s husband liked tea!
*
Peter Lambden with ‘Experience Counts’
Sam ignored the whoops and cheers from the kitchen. She hadn’t come to university at her age to waste time drinking. No, she’d come to prove herself.
She thought back to the previous night. She could’ve forgiven herself for not spotting the cling film over the toilet, but she really should’ve noticed the butter on the door handle.
Sam snuck across the corridor into Ben’s bathroom, unscrewed the shower head and poured in the loose tea and coffee grounds. She then headed into the kitchen with a smile on her face. A mature student was not to be messed with.
*
Highly commended (winning my Entering Writing Competitions course worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £15 / $21) – in alphabetical order:
- Darren York with ‘A Matured Vintage’
- Laura Besley with ‘Never Too Late’
- Lestie Mulholland with ‘Easy Times’
- Paul Mastaglio with ‘Trying A New Tablet’
- Sue Massey with ‘Secret Success’
Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:
- Amy Gaffney with ‘Noddies’
- Bev Philcox with ‘Mature Student’
- James Montgomery with ‘35 Years Fielding’
- Maddy Hoffman with ‘The Lights Were On’
- M Anthony David with ‘Kamala’s Decision’
- Stef Smulders with ‘Homework’
Congratulations, everyone. The entries for this month are already drifting in. Remember, you can send up to three per month so rather than miss out on a chance by sending one story, do submit more.
If you’ve enjoyed these stories and / or just want to leave a comment, please do so below and / or you can email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com., although I won’t (can’t) discuss forthcoming entries unless it’s a general query.
PLEASE NOTE: I changed website provider and lost emails from 3rd to 5th August inclusive. If you submitted any stories during that time, please submit again using the usual form before 31st August. Thank you!
Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-eighth month of this competition. There were 20 entries from 10 authors for the theme of ‘a Twitter conversation’… a really tough month so I’m not surprised the entries were down from the usual 30-40+. The ones that came in though were really fun to read.
@dennis hows things?
@harrypot got him
@popster Topical random prompts. Reply by song title.
@Godot: what do you want for Christmas?
Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-seventh month of this competition. Sorry it’s so late this month… unforeseen circumstances (new books, elderly mother etc.). There were 42 entries from 21 authors for the theme of ‘may or may not’… I did struggle this month with some stories to see where the theme fitted. There either felt no connect or so loose that they felt as if they been tweaked to try to fit the ‘may or may not’. NB You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked.
The smile now leaving our station is yours.
We discuss Morgen’s May prompt. Jane thinks “may” sounds more eloquent than “might”. She uses “might” a lot. She may try to change that. We recall our childhood manners, “Please may I leave the table?” Only after we’d eaten all our dinner. We decide to have fun with the prompt. During our regular telephone conversations and emails, we will include a sentence using Morgen’s phrase. As many times as we like. After several glasses of wine, its usage becomes funnier and wittier. A month on and it’s still keeping us amused. We may or may not grow out of it!
Two shoppers reach for the last stickered loaf.
I may or may not have a drink today. That’s my choice. I don’t have to have one, I could stop drinking any time I like, but why should I? It’s my life and I’ll do whatever I like despite what my husband says. He thinks I’m drinking too much. He was mad at me last night, accusing me of flirting with the guy at the bar, and ended up sleeping downstairs. Boring old fart.
“Do I look like a genie?” hissed the scaly demon.
‘You may or may not believe me, Maisie, but messy Molly makes magical mulberry muffins.’
Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-sixth month of this competition. There were 38 entries from 21 authors for the theme of ’20:20 vision’. NB You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked.
‘Wow!’ John exclaims. ‘This table setting looks amazing. But you don’t need to go to so much trouble!’
George sauntered down Chapel Hill Lane. The smells of horse manure and silage entered his nostrils, making him sneeze. He looked up at John, not knowing where he was headed. As they approached an old farmhouse, John was tempted by the sweet aroma of freshly baked scones. He loved them hot with lots of butter and cherry jam. “How about it?” he asked George.
I was born in Wuhan, a small province in China.
Delicately coloured tulips, vibrant hyacinths, selected to match the hellebores, are snatched, chewed and enjoyed. I can’t look away as yellow teeth pull and tear at delicate plants, hooves crush, maiming new emerging shoots.
Yes, April has been and gone. A weird time and a step toward normality and another lighter hour in the evenings.
Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-fifth month of this competition. There were 50 entries from 24 authors for the theme of ‘since sliced bread’. NB You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked.
Past: His hands squeezing her neck.
Alan Barker with ‘My Little Miracle’
Jane Broughton with ‘Easy as Pie’
Lestie Mulholland with ‘Where’s Mine?’
Hello everyone and welcome to the fifty-fourth month of this competition. There were 47 entries from 24 authors where the theme was to include the following words: single, cover, appear, close, case. NB You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked.
“Mummy. Close your eyes and hold out your hands. I’ve got you a present.”
‘Quick! Cover your eyes!’ Ben whispers. ‘He could appear at any moment. People have dropped dead from a single glance.’
If Marianne had to describe herself, she’d say: short, covered in freckles and permanently close to tears. ‘Normal,’ people say. ‘Considering.’
Dolores liked to appear stupid. It was good cover when she was on a case. It allowed her to get close to her prey. That night she’d chosen a scarlet sheath gown and ordered single malt.
A single duvet cover, blue with white stars. It had seemed ideal to carry his belongings to the car when Susan demanded he leave.
The woman sitting opposite you in the train could be your mother. She seems really nice. You liked the sympathetic way she smiled as you struggled to squeeze your case onto the rack before dropping into your seat. “Relax now,” she said.
You see her, but keep on walking, hoping she won’t see you.
It begins as a tickle on your neck. Then the wind builds momentum, tugging at your dress. And your nerves.
You have been a friend now for seventy years. When you were a little girl you were always the one at the centre of trouble. Fierce. Forceful. First.
Cute kid claiming homelessness rings doorbell and you let her in. You left her alone while you went to Tescos and returned to find she’d eaten you out of porridge, trashed the beds and nicked Daddy Bear’s PS4.
You gaze down at the enormous wooden chest. It’s taken you a lifetime, and you’ve made many sacrifices to attain it, but the legendary item is finally in your possession.