weekly flash fiction
Hello and welcome to Week 21! So this week, I want you to use a nonsense word in your story but do not define it directly. Rather, let the explanation be in the context. For example: "Hank, grab the sannibroet!" "No, Martha, I really don't think it has come to that. I mean, look at... Continue Reading →
Turns out, if you Google "small town", my hometown is right there on top. I look forward to seeing your stories and if you have any suggestions for tomorrow's playlist, add it in the comments.
Hi there. Well, now that we got off to a terrific start, let's keep the (flash fiction) party going. This week's prompt is SUMMER NIGHT(S), inspired by the heat wave that is baking my adopted homeland right now. As always, 500 words or less submitted by Thursday at 8 pm EST to mercurialstories@gmail.com. And please... Continue Reading →
Hi there. Did you miss me? I know a few of you did and I do appreciate the messages of concern, truly. I am sorry I did not leave a note telling you about my extended absence but at the time it was a bit impossible (technical issues). All is fine now so we can... Continue Reading →
In this week's news we saw a tragedy of four people killed while dining early in the morning at a Waffle House. Watching/reading the coverage, the aspect that struck me was how fixated everyone was on the nudity of the shooter. There are many bizarre details to this story but his nakedness is definitely ranking... Continue Reading →
Hi there and welcome to week 16. This week the focus is on the structure of your story. I want you to write your story in the form of either a text message or an email (or series of emails). Try to make it unpredictable or unexpected. Dismiss the first three ideas that came to... Continue Reading →
Hi there. For the next two weeks, I will be busy with other projects so I have decided to do something different here. I am going to double the amount of words and time you have. 1000 words due April 12th, 8 pm EST. Send to the usual place: mercurialstories@gmail.com. And the prompt, which seems... Continue Reading →
Hello, hello and welcome to week 12. Yesterday, scrolling through my Vimeo feed (yes, that's a thing) I came across this short film. https://vimeo.com/259677327 At the end of it, I thought, now that is a perfect piece of very short fiction. It revealed the characters without explanation. It had a rather traditional structure with a... Continue Reading →
Hello, hello and welcome to week ten. This week our prompt has been crafted by the illustrious regular contributor Debbie Felio. She writes: "I’ve been thinking about the prompt. Because I like twists ( have you noticed?), I could suggest “when good goes bad” - good advice, good acts, etc.(something a little more than milk in... Continue Reading →
