Flash Fiction Friday 192: 6-word stories batch 45

November 10, 2018November 11, 2018Leave a comment

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday (albeit on the Saturday!) and the one hundred and ninety-second piece in this series. This is the forty-fifth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies!

6-word stories

by Chong Teck SIM – aspiring Singaporean writer

Moonless night. Howling dogs. Quick footsteps.
No… no… I didn’t tell tales!
Foreign investor. Local businessman. Conflicting priorities.
Hidden talent: I’m a bathroom crooner.
Chocolate cake: for Pinkie, my Chihuahua.
With dread, he ate century eggs.
In tears, he returned the ring.
Big appetite. Ten burgers. Still hungry.
Slippery floor. I fell, face down.
He follows her from a distance.

by Kathryn Jones, a mysterious Christian writer

She was found – dead. Killer cuffed.

by Lyndon Loweth, imagination is my escape.

Inserting the syringe, hope fills me.

by André Lepine, just writing down dreams.

Rainy sidewalks make graveyards for worms.
Coffee and whiskey bookend Father’s days.
Whining car, whining driver, winter morning.
Home isn’t built in a day.
Elephants never put off till tomorrow…

by Valerie Fish – Writing from the heart

No heartbeat, no life. Heartbreaking delivery.
Redhead finds blonde hair. Wedding off.
Snoring husband smothered. Verdict crime passionel.
Winning ticket down drain. Divorce pending.
Wrong button pressed. Nuclear explosion. Obliteration.

by Samikshya Mishra, writer of anything fiction

I hated because I saw myself.
I was always forgotten, never ignored.
‘Twas goodbye, but we met again.
She cooked for all, never herself.
“Fight,” they said, hiding behind me.
I’ll wait until I find us.
After receiving everything, she’d said, “More.”
Look around, you are not alone.
None would know that they’re God.
I loved myself, never got betrayed.

by Pippa Stroud, insomniac and mountain biker

Mosquito net. Windows open. Door locked.

by Anita Bowden – happy bunny in disguise

Old flame sent photo. Eyes missing.
Opens card. “Happy deathday.” Wardrobe opens.
Delivers cat food. Starved child eats.
Decades later lovers reunite. Barren. Impotent.
Caught in the act. Homicidal thespian.
Packed arena. Special performance. Lion roars.
Murder your darlings. Before she does.
Cold hands, warm heart. Transplant success.

by Chris Tattersall, esteemed writer in waiting.

Football hooligans, waiting to kick off.

by Taj Fregene. Doctor. Writer. Musician. Dreamer

Her beauty and his love faded

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

Productive day but nothing to show.
Watching TV – I should be writing.
Unrequited love – it’s finally sunk in.

If you’d like to submit your 6-worders (up to ten per blog post, although you can send as many as you like and I’ll either pick the best ones or if I like most / all of them, schedule ahead) and / or 500-word max. stories for considerationfor Flash Fiction Friday take a lookhere.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: September 2018

October 15, 2018Leave a comment

Hello everyone and welcome to the thirty-seventh month of this competition! In September I received 34 entries from 18 authors for the theme of ‘complex’. NB. You can all send in three stories for a better chance of being picked!

One was disqualified for only being 99 words with no apparent reason why. Another was the same but had a one-word title so I assume that had been included. It’s a shame as few competitions (if any) include the title in their word counts. Another was one word over because two words had been hyphenated that shouldn’t have been (light bulb, only hyphenated when preceding a noun, e.g. light-bulb moment). It’s a shame because it was really funny. I had to be fair to everyone and change it. Fortunately the author had already submitted another story which I’d scored higher anyway so no harm done but worth mentioning so you’re careful with your submission (and are aware how tough I am!).

Another author, who had fortunately submitted three stories, lost marks on one for the wrong word choice (boasting instead of boosting).

Sadly I had to disqualify one of my favourite stories because there were two words that should have been hyphenated (‘open-handed’ preceding a noun, not if alone), bringing the story down to 99 words. Fortunately, the author had sent another story so that went through to the scoring. Another 99-word story started as 100 words but hadn’t hyphenated ‘two hour’ which should have been hyphenated as preceding a noun.

Another (fabulous) story was disqualified for two unhyphenated words – sorry I’m being tough this month! When you talk about a person’s age, they are, for example six but calling him or her a six-year-old child then it’s hyphenated. This time, the author had sent two other stories but one of those was also disqualified for being hyphenated (something being fool proof rather than a fool-proof plan) so the remaining story went through. It’s clearly the month for hyphens!

At one point there were four winning stories, two second placed and three thirds so I had to do a lot of juggling, focussing on which fitted closest to the theme, while still ultimately choosing my favourites.

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 strong 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.

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 October is ‘departure’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Wednesday 31st October. 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.

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):

Diana Hayden with ‘Broken’

Underneath our photo the brochure says, ‘Portugal’s premiere holiday apartment complex’. We are twenty luxury apartments ‘with stunning views and swimming pool’.
People were happy when they stayed inside us. We loved our families. Most stayed a fortnight. Some returned year after year and we recognised them.
But we’re abandoned and silent now. The pool is empty, and no children eat ice cream in the shade of our veranda. A little boy fell from the balcony of number sixteen on the first floor because our railing broke. He didn’t move. People cried.
It’s not our fault. Tomorrow we’ll be demolished.

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 £11 / $14):

Amberlie Robinson with ‘At the Bus Stop’
He wore silver braces to keep his Harlequin trousers suspended. On his feet he sported battered Converse trainers, rubber soles hanging at the toe. A striped sock was visible on his left ankle; however it appeared that his right ankle was bare. Perhaps it was out of solidarity with the foot that his chest was also naked. His arms had escaped this indignity as they were enshrouded in a moth-eaten woollen cardigan.
The man sat at the bus stop every day. He never got on the bus. Nobody ever spoke to him. He was a complex character.
To be avoided.

Karen Lawrence with ‘Death of a God’
She first spotted her mark strutting towards the pier. A good-looking man followed by a couple of lesser mortals.
‘Oh sorry,’ she purred as her manicured hand reached for the last Magnum in the freezer. ‘Did you want this one?’
‘Yes, er no … please you have it.’
Later, in a dimly lit restaurant, he chose a booth, dismissing his minders with a hubristic flick of his hand.
He talked about himself, his achievements. On and on.
As she pulled him close, readied the blade to slip between his ribs, she whispered, ‘My boss is right, you’ve a god complex.’

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 £7 / $9):

Jennie Cordner with ‘First Steps’
My layabout husband never worked but he wrote the rules, dictating economy and control.
I had two pairs of shoes: one for wear and a pair for spare. They lived in the hallstand.
Organising children, chasing dreams, I attempted to keep my complex world in order.
However, one evening, totally exhausted, my work shoes stayed where I stepped out of them.
The next morning, I found them rigid with cold, hidden in the freezer.
Softening the leather over the gas burner, I realised Preston had taught me a lesson.
I didn’t need shoes to walk.
So, I kept on walking.

Terri Mertz with ‘Writing for the Masses’
A compound sentence is made up of two simple sentences joined by a conjunction. Complex sentences contain an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. A compound-complex sentence is comprised of more than one clause joined by a conjunction, with at least one of those clauses being complex. In other words, it is a compound sentence with a dependent, or subordinate clause. So, if a person gets on a bus at 9 am traveling 50 miles per hour going to Newark, and stops for lunch twice, what color are the bus driver’s eyes, and where are the survivors buried?

Highly commended (winning my Entering Writing Competitionscourse worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:

Alan Barker with ‘Maze of Confusion’
Jan Brown with ‘Seeing is Believing’
Louise Burgess with ‘Confused’
Peter J. Corbally with ‘Craniology’
Sarah Mosedale with ‘A Complex Reaction?”

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Celia Jenkins with ‘The Complex Nature of Middle Children’
Ian Marshall with ‘Regional News’
Jane Sleight with ‘Complex and Ex’
Lestie Mulholland with ‘In a Flash’

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.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: August 2018

September 15, 20186 Comments

Hello everyone. Last month I received 29 entries from 17 authors. One was disqualified for only being 99 words because it was 100 words including the title. 😦 Another for being 98 words (100 including the title) which was a real shame because it was the author’s only entry and a newbie to this competition.

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). A tougher mix this month so

*The theme for September is ‘complex’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Sunday 30th September. 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.

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):

Lesley McLean with ‘Peeping Tom’

Mary scraped leftovers into the slop bucket. Her pigs would eat well tonight.

She locked the restaurant door and mopped the kitchen floor.

As she cashed up, she sensed Tom behind her. A swift flick of her mop had him on his back.

Pole positioned over his throat she jumped on it like a surfer mounts his board. Mary didn’t like being watched.

She strung her victim upside down from the pulley. Blood dripped from his slashed throat into the sink.

Eyeballs bobbed like ping pongs in the slop as Mary lifted the bucket to go to feed the pigs.

Two second place (both 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) – in alphabetical order:

Hilary Ayshford with ‘Last One Standing’

She had always known she was not the same as everyone else. At school she was on her own at lunchtime or in the playground, the last to be picked for sports teams, the only one not to have a boyfriend.

Her mother told her that a time would come when being different would be a good thing.

She waited patiently.

When the epidemic struck, killing all those around her, she was left untouched.

She prayed that it would take her too, but here she was, standing alone surrounded by a sea of carnage, once again the one left over.

Patricia Cooksley with ‘Dad’s Café’

What would you call a new café on the Costa Del Sol?

It was Dad’s idea to call it ‘Las Sobras’, which he composed from the initials of his six grandchildren, as he wanted them to help out in their holidays in exchange for lodgings.

It had been his life’s ambition to develop a cafe in Spain and now, in his semi-retirement, ‘Las Sobras’ opened on a busy promenade in Fuengirola.

To his dismay, the café was not patronised.

While drowning his sorrows at a neighbouring bar, amidst peals of laughter, Dad learned the translation of his café’s name: leftovers.

Two 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 £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:

Celia Jenkins with ‘ The Smallest Snips of Silk’

We got married in the spring. I’d spent the winter months making my wedding dress (having inherited my mother’s seamstresses’ fingers) and was surprisingly pleased with the result.

Silk is notoriously difficult to work with, but I’d ordered extra, just in case something went wrong.

We hadn’t planned on having a baby so soon, but that’s the way it happened. I made a tiny christening gown from my leftover fabric – the ivory bamboo silk was perfect. So delicate.

We used it as a burial gown, on a cold November morning, for a baby we hadn’t wanted until he was gone.

Laura Besley with Being Neighbourly

I know her husband has just died, but still. Opening the door at three thirty in the afternoon in your dressing gown. It’s not on.

I’m holding leftover curry in a Tupperware tub. Always make too much, I do.

Her hand shakes as she reaches out for it. ‘Thank you.’

‘A little advice, dear–’

‘No, thank you.’ She closes the door.

A sharpness around my stomach. I was only going to say. I could’ve been more help to her than she’ll ever know. Nothing beats first-hand experience.

Slowly, I walk back home. I hope I get my Tupperware tub back.

Highly commended (winning my Entering Writing Competitionscourse worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:

Jennie Gardner with ‘No More Seconds’
Justin Rulton with ‘Subjugation Pending’
Lestie Mulholland with ‘Moving On’
Peter J. Corbally with ‘Clearing Up’

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Bridget Scrannage with ‘Time to Leave’
Diana Hayden with ‘Plenty for Everyone’
Ian Marshall with ‘Silence’
Terri Mertz with ‘The Apprentice’

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.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: July 2018

August 6, 20181 Comment

Hello everyone. Last month I received 21 entries from 13 authors. Two were disqualified for only being 99 words. Four stories (from two authors) were submitted twice so the first versions were counted, the second deleted. I don’t know if they were the same but the rules state the first is the one that goes through to judging. There were a handful of stories where I was expecting (hoping) for a twist but none came. They can work really well so do considering giving your story a twist and the later the better: at least the final sentence if not, where possible, the final word for an “Ooh!” reaction.

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).

*The theme for August is ‘leftovers’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Friday 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.

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):

Barbara Young with ‘A Unique Opportunity’

The agent has brought two more eager faces. He describes me as a unique opportunity; an original Victorian sawmill, ripe for renovation.

She finds me charming and talks of ripping out the waterwheel and remodelling the pool as a Japanese water garden. Her husband will strip my interior – modernise, capitalise.

My cogs gleam in the dusty air as she bends close to my heart. He pulls her away, says I am dangerous and must be dismantled.

As the couple agree to put in an offer my blades twitch. Human flesh is soft and my teeth are sharp, hungry for work.

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):

Diana Hayden with ‘Little Boxes’

Ten small boxes, covered in stained satin and decorated with gemstones, sat on the workshop shelf. Each box had a label. One said, “Jane H”. Another said, “hobo”.

Inside each box was an eyeball. One box, marked “Fay’s baby”, contained a much smaller eyeball.

It wasn’t until five years after my aunt died that the workshop gave up its secrets, and the police concluded she had been the Butcher of Basingstoke.

Fay is my sister. Her baby was abducted at six weeks old.

When I visit Fay in hospital she’s always crafting little boxes out of cardboard, satin and gemstones.

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):

Christine Law with ‘The Loner’

Albert looked at his long gnarled fingers stretching out in front of him he picked up the spoon. It wasn’t good enough this broth of potatoes and peas. Pushing the spoon away, he swore grabbing hold of his shaggy grey beard.

Life had to become more exciting. He never got caught, mutilated bodies lined the odd passage. Grabbing someone from behind, dragging his nails inside their windpipe, one push before the fat trollop could scream. A grin appeared on his lips.

They saw him sitting in the library, watching, waiting sometimes. He raised a bushy eyebrow and smiled at life.

Highly commended (winning my Entering Writing Competitionscourse worth £20 / $20) or a free edit and critique of up to 1,000 words (worth £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:

Angela Greenwood with ‘Go To Sleep’
Charlene Mertz with ‘The Doctor Is In’
Hilary Ayshford with ‘Obsession’
Lesley McLean with ‘The Nightmare’

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Andy Morfett with ‘The Horror’
Ian Marshall with ‘Breathless’
Justin Rulton with ‘Uninvited Company’
Patricia Cooksley with ‘Beach Babe’

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.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: June 2018

July 16, 20184 Comments

Hello everyone. Last month I received 25 entries from 17 authors. Ten were disqualified for not being 100 words (three 101s, four 99s, a 98, two 97s and a 96), all but three being 100 INcluding rather than EXcluding their title. It’s a shame, especially as three were from one author. Fortunately their entries this month are spot on the 100. Yay. Two of the 101s were submitted as a 100-word stories but both were missing an ‘a’ before one of the noun (a plate in one, a mood in another) so corrected, would have pushed them over the limit. Two of the 99s (one of which was actually my favourite story this month) was disqualified as there was a word that had been split in two (and was flagged in the grammar check) and one of the stories had a similar word which had, correctly, not been so it amounted to 99 words. To be fair to everyone, I had to correct then disqualify them. 😦

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). 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).

*The theme for July is ‘a horror story’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Tuesday 31st July. 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.

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):

Steve Root with ‘Silent Running’

It wasn’t the tyres. Properly inflated, legally treaded, they still performed as per design as they incongruously sped down the road unattached to a vehicle of any kind.

It wasn’t the brakes. Recently tested, they had performed well, although in this time of crisis they were never troubled.

The tree was not to blame. It had stood for many years. Those years had made it big, strong, and most importantly utterly immobile.

No, the culprit was still in place, wide staring eyes still proving the old adage: the most dangerous part of a car is the nut behind the wheel.

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):

Jane Broughton with ‘Greener Pastures’

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Great Garibaldi will astonish and amaze. Prepare to gasp as he throws the knives, while blindfolded, at the lovely Dolores. Bobo, spin that wheel.”

Bobo the clown started to turn the glittery wheel.

Dolores looked at Graham, also known as the Great Garibaldi, in contempt. She couldn’t wait for the fool to finish so she could leave him for greener pastures.

Graham levelled the knife. The audience held its breath. Graham smirked and mouthed ‘goodbye’ to the horrified Dolores.

After the funeral, Graham and Bobo consoled each other during a long weekend in Whitby.

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):

Cathy MacKenzie with ‘Squeaky Runs’

Squeaky jumps off the wheel and rests.

When I stick a finger into his cage, he leaps at it.

I spin everyday on a wheel to nowhere. Squeaky races to nowhere on a trip to somewhere, unaware he’ll spin for eternity, not missing what he’s never had.

A breeze drifts through the open window where the forest beckons.

I unlatch Squeaky’s door. He glances at me, glimpses the open door and the window. He darts out of the cage and bounds out the window like a bullet whizzing into the forest.

“Bye, Squeaky,” I whisper. “Perhaps I’ll see you again.”

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:

Juan Andrés González Romero with ‘The Longest Trip’
Justin Rulton with ‘The Wheel of Misfortune’
Laura Besley with ‘All Day Long’
Shalom Aranas with ‘Curse of the Wheel’

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Jane Broughton with ‘Red 7’
Lestie Mulholland with ‘Wheel Not Meet Again’

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.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: May 2018

June 16, 20188 Comments

Hello everyone. Last month I received 17 entries, a quieter month than normal… perhaps a trickier theme, although not all were written with a flying-toy-type kite in mind.

One was disqualified for only being 88 words. This was submitted by a regular entrant so a faux pas, I think. Another was disqualified for being 101 words and it turned out that a word had been duplicated in error. It was a simple mistake which I could have overlooked but it would have been unfair to other entrants. Sadly it was the entrant’s only submission so missed out. A third was disqualified for only being 99 words (perhaps 100 with the title but that’s against the rules). Fortunately the author had submitted another story so that went through to the judging. Another lost a point for slipping in tense (a ‘has’ in a past tense story) but still made it through, as did a story that lost a point for an ‘it’ instead of an ‘it’. Silly mistakes that should have been picked up when read back through (and why I listen to them – via text-to-speech – while I read on the screen). Finally, another lost a point for using the spelling of a word rather than the noun version. Easily done but always worth checking if you’re unsure.

Winning stories are generally 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).

*The theme for June is ‘the wheel’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Saturday 30th June.

So without further ado, below are the successful entries this month.

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): Patricia Cooksley with ‘Emily’s Knickers’

Emily did not need knickers. She was so thin, hers did not fit anyway.

Emily’s imprisonment in the vicarage had been immeasurably cruel. Starved and abused, Emily planned her escape.

She had captured unwary birds through the broken window, for nourishment, and she kept the feathers and bones in the dark recesses of her cell.

Armed with fragments of knickers and bones, Emily fashioned a kite. She pierced her finger until a trickle of blood stained the material: HELP Emily.

Emily patiently waited for sufficient wind to pass her window and all her hopes and dreams left with the kite.

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): Jennie Gardner with ‘Time to Soar’

“Have fun at Uni.”

Myla wipes a tear and prepares to wave. It only felt like five minutes ago she was waving him off to school, clutching his blue bear. She’d felt bereft then too, letting go of the tiny hand and retracing her steps, scooter dangling off her left arm.

Now, driving home, his ‘gone-ness’ is inescapable.

They pass a tree, a kite tangled in its branches, the torn canvas tugging in vain. Myla smiles at the memory of coaxing kites with her boy.

“You have to let it go. When it’s ready it will come back to you.”

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): Lestie Mulholland with ‘If you Love Something, Let it Go’

Raptor was his name because he was majestic enough to capture all of his genus in one. Red Kites are beautiful, graceful, harmless (unless you were a worm) and my chap, with his royal attitude, his masterly management of the wind and his gorgeous colours was a fine bird indeed.

If only I could share my joy with someone else.

Raptor seemed to know what I was thinking. He looked at me perceptively, sort of waggled an impatient tail, asking to be let go. The sky beckoned.

I obliged. It was easy thus to do. I knew he’d come back.

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:

Amanda Niehaus-Hard with ‘My Graduation Wish to You: Catch the Wind’
Angela Greenwood with ‘Swooping Soaring and Free’
Karen Turner-Smith with ‘The Red Kite’

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Barbara Young with ‘Morning Flight’
Justin Rulton with ‘Breaking The Bank’
Laura Besley with ‘The Ritual of Mating’

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.

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: April 2018

May 15, 20182 Comments

Hello everyone. Last month I received 24 entries from 12 authors, six of whom had sent three stories (recommended). One was disqualified for only being 99 words. Fortunately the author had submitted two other stories so I had those to choose from. It was actually my least favourite of the three and as well as a word missing, there was a typo (though instead of through… easily done!). Another was disqualified for having a non-hyphenated number (ninety nine rather than ninety-nine) which then made it a 99-word story. Sorry but it’s a typo. Again, the author had sent in two other stories so still had a chance to be placed. Another author who had submitted three (always recommended) had a 102-word story. There was a hyphenated word (well-known) which could have been counted as two words (it isn’t) but no apparent reason for the other excess word.

The winning stories are ones that I reacted most favourably to; usually the winner making me go “Wow”. They were clever, surprising, eek-making (in a good way), or gave me a warm fuzzy feeling (without being sickly).

*The theme for May is ‘the kite’ and you can submit your entries (and do send three) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Thursday 31st May.

So without further ado, below are the successful entries this month.

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):

D J Shine with ‘The Green Bucket’

I held the green bucket so close that the smell of earth washed up my nostrils, making me wrinkle my nose. I had used my thumb to put seeds into that earth and spent ages placing stickers of smiling princesses and clowns around my bucket. It was a magic world of happiness. I cried when Dad said I couldn’t take it into bed with me.
The sun did send love through the window but the earth didn’t hear it.
Dad spotted the grape in my bucket and said it was a miracle. It’s not a miracle it’s from the fridge.

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):

Laura Besley with ‘Blue on a Red Day’
‘Grandma, why is Mummy crying?’
‘She’s feeling a little blue, darling.’
I look down at the chopped up strawberries and raspberries in my bowl. ‘But that can’t be true, Grandma. Today’s a red day.’
Grandma slowly dries up the cup in her hand. ‘Not everyone believes the days of the week are colour-coded.’
‘I know. Peter Johnson says I’m silly, but Miss Anne always tells him off when he says that.’
Grandma sort of smiles. ‘Eat up.
‘But what does it mean?’
‘It means you feel sad.’
‘Is Mummy sad because the baby died?’
‘Yes, darling. That’s why she’s sad.’

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 £7 / $9) – in alphabetical order:

Angela Greenwood with ‘Animal Facts’
An ostrich lays gigantic eggs, while snakes don’t have any legs. An elephant’s nose is called a trunk and terrible smells come from a skunk. Bees are great at making honey, a hyena laughing isn’t funny. Zebra stripes are always black and wolves go hunting in a pack. A cheetah can run very fast, while a tortoise will always be last. Giraffes have the longest necks and geese will give you spiteful pecks. A lion gives a vicious bite, bats won’t fly unless it’s night. White rhinos have massive heads. But if a bear hugs you, you will be dead!

Lesley McLean with ‘The Moment’
The foxy seven year old swanked up to the teacher’s table, pivoted on the gaudy platform heels and announced to the class, New Shoes! She twirled then strutted down her catwalk, like a diva in drag. All eyes were on the fantastic footwear as she sat back down at her desk, grinning broadly.
It had taken tantrums and tears to acquire these magnificent creations. Mission accomplished, she owned the multi-coloured lace-up clumpertons. And to think, if she hadn’t mortified mother enough, she probably would have had to shamefully hide the horrid dowdy brown sensible Clark’s buckle shoes under her desk.

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:

Fiona M Jones with ‘A Hundred Words’
Justin Rulton with ‘Discombobulated’
Patricia Cooksley with ‘Jessie’s Surprise’

Honourable mentions (not winning anything but only narrowly missing out and still looking good on their CV) – in alphabetical order:

Ishika with ‘A Loss of Innocence’
Jennie Gardner with ‘A Stirring Tale’
Karen Turner-Smith with ‘My Best Friend’
Lestie Mulholland with ‘It’s a Dog’s Life’
Shalom Galve Aranas with ‘Lira and the Arab Prince’

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.

Morgen 'with an e' Bailey

Editor, Author, Tutor & Mentor, Speaker, Competition Columnist & Judge

Tag: story authors

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