Hello everyone. This month I received 41 entries from 22 writers. Two stories were disqualified for only being 97 and 98 words as they included the two- / three-word title. Fortunately, that author later submitted a third story which was 100 words spot on (excluding the title) so that went through for consideration. It’s very unusual for competitions to include the title in the word count so do check the rules before entering. A new author to this competition submitted three stories (yay) but sadly two were disqualified for being 97 words. One had three dashes in them which don’t count as words (and Word doesn’t include them in the word count) – as I state in the rules. The other had two dashes so not sure where the other word was missing but fortunately the third story was 100 words exactly. Another author (a regular) submitted four stories so the fourth was discounted. Another story (from a regular) was disqualified because one of the opening speech marks had come detached from its neighbouring word so when reattached only totalled 99 words.
One (from a newbie to this competition) was really clever but sadly didn’t make the shortlist as it had a flat ending. One author submitted the same story twice but I just filed the second version as the rules state that the first entry of a story is the one accepted. There were also a couple that didn’t have anything to do with ‘ticking’ (the theme). Shame. Another had the word ‘state’ where it should have read ‘stay’ and had an apostrophe in a plural word so lost points for those (and missed out on a joint third-place slot). Yes, I’m harsh but fair to everyone. Quite a few new names this time so well done and do enter again.
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). My favourite reminded me of adventure games (by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson) I used to play as a teen… with a clever twist.
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 (I usually have too many highly commended / honourable mentions then have to whittle them down) 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).
Again 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 September is ‘afraid, very afraid’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three so you have a better chance of reaching the shortlist) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Saturday 30th September.
So without further ado, below are the successful entries this month.
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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 £14 / $18):
Paul Isaac with ‘Letter Bomb’
You arrive home to a package. It’s ticking, and it’s signed by your crazy ex. Do you open it?
(Read your choice backwards.)
No.
Chance a stood never you, damn. Detonator remote the blow they before see you thing last the is face crazy ex’s your. Bushes the in movement there’s. Phone your for reach you or, run to try you.
Yes.
Cared they know you time this least at, hey. Detonator remote the blow they before see you thing last the is face crazy ex’s your. Bushes the in movement there’s. ‘You love I’ reads clock ornamental engraved an.
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Second place (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 £11 / $14):
Lyndon Loweth with ‘My List’
Eat an oyster, ‘Oh God, THE worst thing that’s ever been in my mouth.’
Get a tattoo, ‘Doh! Should’ve made sure the tattooist wasn’t dyslexic.’
Go to bed with twins, ‘Why didn’t I put that down twice?’
Text a random number to say “I’ve hidden the body”, ‘The police have a very poor sense of humour.’
Spend a night in gaol, ‘Hmm, see above’
Do a bungee jump, ‘Wish I’d taken my false teeth out first!’
Crossdress for a day, ‘Wow, that was an eye opener.’
‘So I’ve finished ticking off my list, the only thing left is… the bucket.’
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Third place (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 £7 / $9):
Veronica Whittaker with ‘Ticking to a Different Beat’
Grandfather clock, with pendulous gait, crumbling into weighted wintering days.
Grandmother clock, with flat cracked face, stumbling into those last seconds of living.
Father, with his snapped shut fob watch, watching the world with a shuttered mind.
Mother, with her alarm clock, wound up so tight, face open wide, always on edge.
Son, with his Fitbit, eyes fixed forward, sprinting too fast to see what he’s missing.
Daughter, with her Mickey Mouse watch, arms cartwheeling with joy, too young to care,
yet all of them ticking, all of them striking, and all of them coming together to tell their time.
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Highly commended (winning my Entering Writing Competitions course worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:
- Gaynor Jones with ‘The Time it Takes’
- Kai Michael Neumann with ‘Epigone’
- Mark Sadler with ‘The Other Body’
- Susan Carey with ‘A Woman’s Clock’
- Tarquin Calver with ‘The Watch’
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Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:
- Andy Morfett with ‘Tick… Tock?’
- Carol Pryke with ‘Ticking Until July’
- Laura Besley with ‘Eye for Detail’
- Lesley Mace with ‘Out of Time’
- Lestie Mullholland with ‘In Search of Crosses’
- Martin Fuller with ‘Box Ticking’
- Robert N Park with ‘Thirty Seconds’
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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.
Coppelia Tingley with ‘The Train to Nowhere’
John Murphy with ‘Two Moths’
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Two tribes surge forward through newly opened doors. War-painted warriors in red and blue display their colours proudly; jostling rudely and counting coup.
Gretel kneads, as yeast unlocks the bread. Dough fattens in tins.
The British soldier froze at the sight of the dark eye of Berthold’s rifle. The man, around the same age as his son, babbled incomprehensibly, dropped his pistol and reached towards his pocket.
Lena floats around the house she shared with William for forty-seven years. Faded wallpaper, threads hanging from cushions; so many things she never noticed.
Hello everyone. This month I received 31 entries from 16 authors. There was a mixture of amusing and entertaining but the ones I chose were, for me, the ones that summed up the prompt of ‘comic’.
For some of us sitting down to transcribe or pen a memoir can be an overwhelming task. I recommend approaching it in bite-size pieces or rather applying flash. By freeze framing a moment, a memory, like a camera snapshot, and dwelling there you are creating the foundation for longer memoir, a jumping off place to expand upon later. (see my other eBook, Freeze Frame: How to Write Flash Memoir)
Taste is a huge trigger—recall Proust in In Search of Lost Time or also known as Remembrance of Things Past where he writes about involuntary memory instigated by a simple cookie. Dunking a tea biscuit can easily lead one on a journey into the past. Some call this nostalgia or déjà vu.
Hello everyone. This month I received 39 entries from 20 authors, some funny, some sad, and as you’ll see, I’ve picked a variety.
The Job Centre adviser stared at the claimant. “Why the long face?”
Caught adrift in a supermarket aisle, grief, pure and simple, washed through me like a wave. I hastily concocted cover and dropped some canned food onto my foot.
Zak perused his handiwork. He was pleased Chef had let him loose on menu preparation.
‘Angela?’ I lean over the partition.
