Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: Aug 2017

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.

*

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.

*

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.’

*

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.

*

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’

*

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’

*

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.

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Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: July 2017

Hello everyone. This month I received 33 entries from 20 writers. Three were disqualified for only being 99 words which was a real shame as one was from someone who’d promised frequently on social media to enter and finally did, and only the one story. Another lost out because the author had included a dash – in the 100 words and as the rules state, they aren’t. Fortunately there were two other stories to choose from and I preferred them anyway. Another was over the word count because of dreaded ellipses (not being separate from the following word). Another story was exactly 100 but lost points because it had an extra ‘the’. Fortunately the author had sent two more stories – one of which I preferred. Another was again the right word count but had a rogue ‘r’ on the end of a word and a rogue ‘e’ on another, so lost points – and it was the only story submitted by that author. It goes to prove that you need to read your stories (ideally aloud) carefully before submitting anywhere, especially if you’re paying for the privilege. One story was disqualified as there was no mention of a train. Fortunately it wasn’t the author’s only submission. Phew. 🙂 Finally, another story lost points for having a word missing a letter which meant something else… and for having a cliché.

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 (there were originally eight highly commended then I whittled down to the maximum three) so do enter new stories this month*, next month, whenever you like (but not in advance!).

It’s an ongoing competition and free. 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).

A new recent feature… 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 ‘ticking’ and you can submit your entries at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Thursday 31^st August.

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):

Coppelia Tingley with ‘The Train to Nowhere’

The shrill of the guard’s whistle rang out. Clambering on board, nothing people. Strangers in drab clothes, blank expressionless faces, stared ahead. No conversation. Apathy shrouded them.
The tracks disappeared into nothingness. A wall of misty grey. The people had squandered life, wasted opportunities, let things happen around them. Now on their way to nowhere.
The other platform. Animated, friendly people, brightly attired, climbed on board. They had, grabbed opportunities at every turn, and held on for dear life. They had made things happen.
The lines ahead stretched into infinity. Wild buildings, fields of flowers. Technicolor. Exciting adventures awaited them.

*

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):

John Murphy with ‘Two Moths’

When he saw those two young people seated across the aisle from each other, he was reminded of a Linklater film he once saw. He closed his book and leaned against the window and listened to the sound of the train, its hums and murmurs. The two young people shared a brief smile. He smiled at their smile, unbeknownst to them. An image came to his mind, an image of two moths colliding in the dark, and he thought that this was the image of contentment. Looking once more at the young couple, he blessed them, and then he vanished.

*

Join third place – in alphabetical order, 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):

ados123 with ‘Acknowlegement’

Saturday morning, Henry Doveton sat with tea, toast, the local paper. As he reached the obituaries, he froze. He knew that face.
Thirty years on the 7.10 to Clapham. Same carriage, same seat, but he’d never exchanged a word with the man.
Strike days, iced points, leaves on the track, signalling problems and even the odd bomb scare and they’d never done more than nod.
Henry looked back at the page.
‘Arthur Lemery, sixty-seven years. Service at St Martins Church, Tuesday afternoon.’
He folded the paper open.
He should go.
Least he could do for a stranger from the train.

*

Simone Davis with ‘Strangers on a Train’
Two tribes surge forward through newly opened doors. War-painted warriors in red and blue display their colours proudly; jostling rudely and counting coup.
They make the sacred signs and proudly wave their standards then retreat to their own appointed territory, each man unto his brothers.
In the no-man’s-land of the buffet car is pre-battle feasting: bacon butties and special brew.
Mind the gap.
Now, seize the glorious field and fight!
We’ll meet here again once the war is won, to sing the victory song or nurse in agony a broken heart.
Till next year on Twickenham’s hallowed ground.
Beloved enemies.

*

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:

• Alyson Faye with ‘3D Audrey’
• Gaynor Jones with ‘Ruffled’
• Laura Besley with ‘A Chance Encounter’
• Mark Sadler with ‘Caught in the Ruffles’
• MW Brown with ‘The Book Club’

*

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

• Andy Davis with ‘Strangers on a Train’
• Justin Rulton with ‘Small Talk’
• Rehanna Neky with ‘They are Strangers’
• Sam Bowie with ‘Strangers on a Train’

*

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.

 

Flash Fiction Friday: Morgen’s Life in the Old Dog

The first story in my 5pm Fictions collection is ‘Life in the Old Dog’. I was asked recently to read one of my short pieces (plenty of choice – there are 250 in this collection alone!) to the members of one of the local theatres, Moulton Theatre. A friend had read this recently as practice for being a voice over artist (he has a great voice) so I chose this one. I hope you like it…

Life in the Old Dog

Condoms. Why are there condoms in your handbag? You look at the outside again to make sure it’s your bag. You knew it was when you opened it and the rest of the contents are yours, but these certainly aren’t.

Your mind races for clues. The only other person to go near the bag was Albert and he’d have no use for condoms. As far as you’re aware he’s never cheated on you and anyway, he’s so short-sighted and deaf he’d never notice or hear if anyone was… what’s the phrase the youngsters use today?… ‘hitting on’ him.

You’re always so fastidious about leaving your bag unattended, ever since being cautioned at the airport when Albert took you to Paris for your fortieth wedding anniversary. Not cautioned, he’d say, warned, but it felt like they were the police, with their uniforms and polished shoes.

Today, the only time you went out was to go to the supermarket then the garage for petrol. You’d filled the trolley while Albert sat in the café then you’d filled the car with unleaded while he queued to pay. Then he’d thrown the receipt and some chocolate in your bag. The chocolate you’d picked out when you’d got home, put it to one side on top of the washing machine while he parked the car, and that’s when you’d found the condoms.

The receipt, you remember, will explain all. Petrol… chocolate… condoms. So it was Albert. You look up to the ceiling to avoid the tears you know you want to cry, but you won’t give him the satisfaction. You know he’s not bought them for you, you stopped having babies years ago, so if they’re not for you…

The threat of tears turns to welling anger, and you have your arms crossed when he walks into the kitchen from the garage.

He looks at the contents on top of the washing machine and smiles. “Great. Fancy some?”

You frown so he continues. “Chocolate? It’s Fruit & Nut, your favourite.”

“And these?” you ask, holding up the packet of condoms.

“I know,” he says. “I’ve tried giving up. I didn’t think you’d mind if I only got a pack of ten.”

“Ten?”

“I’ll make them last. I chose a different brand to normal.”

“Normal!”

“These are supposed to be better for you.”

You’re about to throw them at him when he continues. “Low tar.”

“What?”

“Cigarettes. I shouldn’t, I know.”

“These aren’t cigarettes, Albert!”

“Aren’t they?”

“No, Albert. These are condoms.”

“They are? Why did she give me condoms?”

You burst out laughing at his pained expression, like the little boy you remember from school.

Albert winks, takes your hand and leads you upstairs.

***

 

 

 

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: June 2017

Hello everyone. The sharp-eyed amongst you will know that these results are super early. They should be announced a week next Friday, 14th July, but (a) I’ve been more organised this month and (b) I have a ridiculously busy few weeks coming up (mostly client editing) so this helps me tick another job off the list… and I’m sure no one listed minds knowing ahead of time. Back to the news…

This month I received 27 entries from 19 authors. I’m pleased to say that only one story was disqualified this month and that was for being 101 words. Fortunately the author had submitted two other stories which were spot on, as the cliché goes.

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.

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 (there were originally eight highly commended then I whittled down to the maximum three) 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).

A new recent feature… 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 July is ‘strangers on a train’ and you can submit your entries at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Monday 31st July.

While I’m talking of competitions, I’m the new Competitions Calendar columnist for Writer’s Forum magazine (from the September 2017 edition) so if you’ve had any experience of entering or judging competitions, do let me know via this online form or you can email me.

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 Mace with ‘Grimm’

Gretel kneads, as yeast unlocks the bread. Dough fattens in tins.

Hansel swings above her in a cage. She can’t bear to look at what it’s made from.

Its lock whispers, ‘Flee! Go home, little girl.’

Gingerbread men shout of sugary death. Bread screams – cooking. Hansel fattens.

Blind witch, tricked by Gretel, believes the boy’s not meaty. But she’s impatient. Today’s the day she’s chosen for sweet feeding.

Gretel opens the oven door – crone bends, testing the heat. Gretel pushes her in and bolts it fast.

Hansel bursts the cage of bones. Followed by blistering shrieks, they escape, hand-in-hand, into the forest.

*

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):

M W Brown with ‘On Familiar Terms’

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.

‘Halt!’

‘Bitte…’ The soldier’s tear-filled eyes pleaded with him and Berthold nodded.

A picture of a smiling woman holding a baby was thrust towards him. Berthold wondered if his own son had begged for his life in Reims. It was a generation of fatherless children and childless parents. Overwhelmed with sudden fatigue, Berthold turned his back and dropped his rifle.

‘Danke,’ he heard as he walked away.

*

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):

Laura Besley with ‘Resting Place’

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.

She drifts downstairs, lured by the myriad of voices. ‘Wonderful woman,’ her friend Betty says. ‘I’ll miss her,’ Sally-from-next-door says.

Forty-eight years ago Lena fled Germany, a country which had let her down. In England she worked, she married, she never quite settled, the black guilt firmly nestled between her ribs.

Today, listening to the unguarded words of others, she feels the blackness drift away. Maybe now she can settle in her resting place of choice.

*

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:

• Alyson Faye with ‘Visiting with Dad’
• Jennie Gardner with ‘When the Penny Drops’
• Lestie Mulholland with ‘For the Birds’

*

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.

As mentioned above, I’m the new Competitions Calendar columnist for Writer’s Forum magazine (from the September 2017 issue) so if you’ve had any experience of entering or judging competitions, do let me know via this online form or you can email me.

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: May 2017

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’.

Four were disqualified for only being 99 words (no obvious reason why) and sadly three were the only entries by those (new to this competition) authors. One should actually have been 98 as two words weren’t hyphened that should have been.

Every month, I say to check your word count (both via whichever document software you use and manually) and DO send in more than one entry because if you’re disqualified for your one and only story (or two and only) then you’ve missed out for the whole month.

One lost a point for having a ‘gong’ instead of a ‘going’*. That may sound tough but most, if not all, competitions will do this. It’s only fair to the other entrants. So please read, re-read, and read your stories again. *It’s a shame because that story particularly tickled me as it featured a character (even the same name) that featured in one of my novels.

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.

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 (there were originally eight highly commended then I whittled down to the maximum three) 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).

A new recent feature… 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 June is ‘German’ and you can submit your entries at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Friday 30^th June.

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

 

Flash Fiction Friday 191: 6-word stories batch 44

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

6-word stories

by Asra Choudhury – thinker, feeler, aspiring writer

• Whiskey, jazz, sleepless night; playing solo.
• Fire, water, wind, earth – distant reality.
• I played your rules to lose.
• Profanity thus became the absolute endgame.
• Epitaph: finally she found her home.
• Crimson, could be blood or love.
• Take my doppelganger – she collects souls.
• You and I complete the yin-yang.
• I kiss my prince, the frog.

by Carol Pryke – trying hard to write.

• He went. He won. So good.
• He loved and lost, then cried.
• Storms, wind. Vast damage. Eventually calm.
• Sunbathing, burning, swimming, cooling off, drowning.
• Wedding dress. Driving too fast. Shroud.
• Church. Vows. Speeding. Morgue. Shroud.
• Slipping. Sliding. Submerging. Sinking. Sunk.
• Father’s gun. Murdered spouse. Hangman’s noose.
• Stealing sweets. Robbing banks. Prison cell.
• Edit. Delete. Send. Rejection. Write.

by Chong Teck SIM – Singapore, Bookworm, Volunteer

• Huge lighting flashes. Shaking in bed.
• Walking cane. Uneven ground. Tense muscles.
• Flu season. New strain. Packed hospitals.
• First-time model. Jittery bugs. Runway mishap.
• Precocious student. Multi lingual education. Sought after translator.
• Male model. Aquamarine eyes. Screaming fans.
• Charity event. Bad economy. Few donors.
• A creeping shadow advances. Loud screams…
• Failed automobile business. Drinking until morning.
• Classical Chinese. Beginner’s level. Already confusing.

by Mark K – a writer? Trying hard.

• Humpty Dumpty’s a really good egg.
• Rolex TV, you gotta watch it.
• Snap crack ’n’ pop.  Osteopath fails.
• Wanna break bones? Let’s get cracking.
• Boomerangs’ return, and so will I.
• He tumbled harder than Jericho’s walls.
• Eyes sting? Don’t snort chilli… Fool.”
• “Speak louder please, I have tinnitus.”
• A priest will always cross you.
• Is there anybody there? Yeah. A ghost.

by Peggy Schimmelman – writer, poet, dribbler, drabbler

• He forgot his dirty laundry, witch.
• Surprise sixtieth birthday party? Celebrate this.
• Your wife died of boredom, sir.
• Back it up next time, crybaby.
• Sorry, honey. Stolen husbands aren’t returnable.

by Rehanna writes to silence internal chatter

• Attempted a five-word story! Failed. Grr.
• I came, I saw, I fled.
• She sells seashells… he crushes them.
• Their eyes met. Then slid apart.
• Once, a Londoner spoke while commuting!
• One, two, three, four – I forgot.
• You think this is a story?
• ‘Once upon a time’, she began.
• ‘Drop the gun! Ow, my toe.’
• A six-word restriction can inspire trepidation.

by Steve Lodge – writer specialising in gibberish

• His sinister visitor wasn’t even odd.
• She is learning a new language.
• This is exactly what it seems.
• Draw me closer, nibble my ear.
• Ice skating makes my teeth itch.
• Let me caress your gorgeous shoulders.
• Let me look into your eyes.
• I would rather not eat courgettes.
• Bad planning never made life easy.
• Several hours later, he made toast.

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

• Country House Rescue. Epitome of Britain.
• Underrated medium. Lost weight. Became small.
• Shooting. TV documentary? No, murder.

*

Thank you, everyone.

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 consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.

Related articles:

• http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/14/how-to-write-flash-fiction
• http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/blog/flash-fiction-all-you-ever-wanted-know-were-afraid-ask
• http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/flashfiction.html
• http://www.awkwordpapercut.com/writing-flash-fiction.html
• http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/short-and-sweet-reading-and-writing-flash-fiction
• http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Flash-Fiction
• http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/flash.shtml
• http://www.thereviewreview.net/publishing-tips/flash-fiction-whats-it-all-about
• http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog
• and guest blogs about short stories on this blog: Alberta Ross, Jane Hertenstein, Helen M Hunt, Morgen Bailey, Sarah Grace Logan, Warren Bull.

 

Results of Morgen’s 100-word competition: April 2017

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.

One was disqualified for being 99 words (with no obvious reason why, i.e. no added punctuation that didn’t count as a word) which was a shame, especially as it was submitted on 1st April! Fortunately the author had submitted two other stories. However one of those had an extra ‘to’ in it so deleting that took the story down to 99 words. A story by another multi-entrant was effectively 99 as it had an extra ‘the’ in it. Again a great story but again, two others to choose from.

Another (from a newbie) had a rogue ‘said’ so removing it took the story down to 99 words. Sadly, it was the only story from that author, although I did receive two revised versions of the same story which, as per the rules, I didn’t accept. Another 99-worder was so because it had a row of asterisks which don’t count as a word (as per the rules) and although from a regular entrant, it was their only one this month so their opportunity ended there.

Finally another story was disqualified for having no (apparent) relevance to the theme of ‘fool’.

PLEASE read and re-read your stories before submitting them. This also shows the importance of sending in three stories.

Another was disqualified for being two words over… because the words were connected with ellipses (…) so when separated, pushed the word count over (see the rules on this matter) which was a real shame because it was a really clever story (Beatles themed – I’m a big fan!). Fortunately, again, the author had sent two other stories, both on the word count. Yay.

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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. 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 (there were originally eight highly commended then I whittled down to the maximum three) so do enter new stories this month*, next month, whenever you like. 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).

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For the first time ever, and I may well do this again, there are some ‘Honorable 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.

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*The theme for May is ‘comic’, which doesn’t just have to be about humour – there is more than one meaning of a word – and you can submit your entries (do send three!) at any time up to midnight (UK time) on Wednesday 31st May.

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):

Ash Nazir with ‘Master of Disguise’

The Job Centre adviser stared at the claimant. “Why the long face?”
“Little mishap,” Bottom said. “With a feisty fairy. Turned my head into a donkey’s. Will it affect my benefits?”
“As long as you’re available for work. What can you offer an employer?”
He smiled, showing his goofy teeth. “Laughter and fun. I was a Fool for Queen Titania and King Oberon.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Short contract. Only for midsummer.”
The adviser perused the form. “How will you fit into an office environment?”
“Like this.” Bottom stuck a moustache on his snout and put on some glasses. “Ta-da!”

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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):

Paul Isaac with ‘Not Okay’

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.
‘These damned hands!’ I said, forcing a smile through freshly salted cheeks. ‘Help me pick these up will you?’
‘No.’ My son’s eyes were smouldering. ‘You’re not hurt. You’re crying. Again. You’re not fooling anyone,’ he sighed. ‘Just admit it.’
‘I’m-‘
Ten years young and freshly motherless, it should be me keeping him afloat. An approaching sea of faces whispered their symphony of sympathy.
‘I’m…’
Worse. They circled with concern.
‘I’m fine.’

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Joint 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):

Carol Pryke with ‘Dinner Four Too’

Zak perused his handiwork. He was pleased Chef had let him loose on menu preparation.
Starters: Crawn Poptail. Carrot Sloop. Pish Flatter.
Main course: Chigh and pips. Gammon and pony apple. Post rork.
Sweat course: Strawberry pool. Cares and mustard. Clueberries and bream. Janana and Belly.
“Oh, what a choice,” he mused. “Hey, Boss, done the menu.”
“Sure ya spelt it right today, Zak? ‘Old beef and salad’ yesterday was not very appetising. Nor was ‘Scrumbled Oggs’.”
Grabbing the screwed-up paper, Chef waved his ladle about. “Fool. Haven’t you learned anything? It should be gammon and pineapple, NOT pony apple.”

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Laura Besley with ‘Farewell’

‘Angela?’ I lean over the partition.
She blinks once before looking up from her computer. ‘Hi, Derek.’
‘I’m leaving.’
‘Oh, right. See you on Monday.’
‘No, I’ve got a new job. I won’t be back.’
She blinks three times. ‘But?’
‘But?’
‘But you can’t.’
‘I can’t? What do you mean?’ My heart clacks as quickly as the keys on the computers around me.
‘Nothing. Ignore me. Good luck.’
‘Thank you. I… uh… no, nothing. Take care.’
She nods. ‘You too.’
I walk away, turning back only once, to see her blinking rapidly whilst looking out at the early evening sky.

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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:

• Helen Jones with ‘Strawberry Fool’
• M W Brown with ‘Phoneutria’
• Sarah Treadwell with ‘Nobody’s Fool’

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

• Danielle Henderson with ‘A Brief Encounter’
• Elizabeth Kearney with‘Joy Fool’
• Jennie Gardner with ‘Knicker-bicker-glory’
• Pamela Humphrey with ‘Just A Fool’
• Sibbo with ‘The Takedown’

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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.