Month: October 2020

NYC Flash Fiction 2020

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A couple of weeks ago I was stunned to learn that I managed a first place finish in my group for NYC Midnight 2020 Flash Fiction round 1.

This round has two challenges.  For the first challenge, my prompts were Comedy/Car Wash/An Apple.  I had a lot of fun with this round, crafting a quirky tale titled 'Pomme and Circumstance' about a space car wash worker that manages to get himself involved in a precarious situation with a highly controlled substance -- apples.  I was proud of the piece I churned out, and it managed a 5th place finish for the round.  Not bad.

The second challenge was a bit tougher for me to write.  The prompts were Drama/A Gymnasium/A Fanny Pack.  Drama can be an uphill genre to write (at least for me).  That said, it's can be pretty broad and I managed a piece about an elderly lady and her younger healthcare worker who has become close with his patient.  The story has a tragic ending and while I was happy with how the piece turned out, I wasn't sure about its chances.  Imagine my surprise when it came back with first place!

With the 5th and 1st place finishes, it gave me enough points for an overall 1st place win for my group.  Did I mention... stunned.

The 3rd challenge kicked off on October, 16th and my prompts were Drama (again!)/An Audition/A Keyboard.  This round will be tougher still as only the top 5 from the previous groups move forward and they are usually very solid writers.  Last year, I got this far and managed an honorable mention, but didn't move on.  I'm hoping the story I crafted, titled 'The Waiting Room' will propel me into the finals.  This story is about a man who has to face some of his past transgressions before being allowed to move on in the afterlife.  Some of the stories in my group have been posted in the forums and I'm surprised that other writers decided to go a similar route with afterlife/death kind of stories.  I thought taking this angle on the "audition" part of the prompt might be a bit outside of the box, but it seems I wasn't as original as I thought.

In any event, making it this far again is a huge confidence boost and I continue to enjoy participating in this competition year-over-year.

Tint

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I've been trying to get this piece published for well over a year and it saw it's fair share of rejections.  I really liked this story and I knew I'd eventually find it a home, but it's sometimes disheartening to have to wait that long.

Well, the fine folks as Flashes finally gave 'Tint' a look and it's up on their site today.

I always liked the use of color in writing, it brings scenes to life and, for me personally, makes them more memorable.  So I decided to write a piece that played almost entirely off of that idea.  A lot of feedback I received while drafting the piece was how the readers enjoyed the narration and point of view -- i.e. the voice.  That, combined with the use of color as a vehicle, I think really helped bring this story to life.

See what you think -- Tint

It hath arrived!

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A tad late in reporting, but last week this arrived:

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Chris Fielden runs a number of challenges and puts together anthologies from the submitted works.   And I have one of my stories in volume 3.  The proceeds from the anthologies go to support a charity in the UK named The Daisy Garland - a charity dedicated to assisting children with drug-resistant epilepsy.

If you're at all interested in purchasing a copy, they can be found on Amazon:

Nonsensically Challenged - Volume 3

I receive no money from this at all, just the extreme satisfaction of seeing my work in (physical) print and sharing alongside some really clever and talented writers, and also helping a good cause.  And hey, if you don't like my story, there's 99 others in the anthology, so there has to be one that will appeal to you!

I personally purchased 2 copies.  I'd like to say it was one each for my daughters, but neither seemed interested so I guess I have one to carry in each hand now...