She felt tired, beaten-down, bored with the day-to-day drudgery. Roused by the call of “Mom, the toilet’s clogged!” she trudged to the bathroom. After the final flush, she cried in triumph, “I am the #queen! May all lesser uncloggers bow before me!” “Mom’s being weird.” #whistpr
Monthly Archives: June 2020
The Limits of Love
“But Sara, #love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” “Frank, either the mustache goes or I do, Shakespeare be damned.” #flexvss
Repaying the Griffin
I flew to #Phoenix on the red-eye, hoping to avoid an #ambush, but the #griffin was waiting for me at the car rental counter, and he looked #hungry. “Dammit, Steve,” I muttered. I owed him far more than a Grand Slam Breakfast, but I was still annoyed. #366FF
Out of the Frying Pan
I was nearly out of oxygen when I emerged, gasping, into the sea cave. Dark spots swam across my field of vision, but when I blinked, the woman was still there. “Are you a mermaid?” I asked. “A #naga,” she replied. “What’s the difference?” “Mermaids don’t bite.” #366FF
Now available!
Podcast!
Listen to my Microfiction today here!
Happy Pride!
I came up with a rainbow scarf pattern that’s for sale here: Buy pattern now
You only need to know how to knit and purl once you manage to cast on an unbelievable amount of stitches. I’m selling the pattern for $5 and donating the fee to The Trevor Project. I’ve made four so far and I just cast on for a fifth.
A note about microfiction
I participate in a few twitter prompts, not always consistently and often not following the rules. Some of my post titles might be confusing if you’re not familiar with microfiction hashtags, so here’s the guide! Twitter allows 280 characters per tweet, and VSS (Very Short Story) prompts challenge you to create a whole story within 280 characters. This works for me better at some times than at others, and I often end up with something that’s not quite self-contained but is more of a writing prompt.
#vss365: a daily prompt word for producing a very short story in tweet-length
#flexvss: a newer daily prompt of a more common word (since #vss365 can be obscure).
#whistpr is another daily one-word prompt (for any art, not necessarily for a very short story)
#366FF, which has a monthly optional theme and a daily prompt (the FF stands for Fanciful Fables).
#bravewrite is another daily one-word prompt.
I’ve also done the weekly #brieflywrite and semi-daily #mentalhealthprompt as the whim strikes me.
These are mostly a fun exercise for my brain, and the reason I repost them on the blog instead of leaving them in the Twitterverse to die is that some may be writing prompts for future stories. I end up writing in genres or voices I don’t usually use because the time investment is so small and sometimes I’m surprised by what I come up with. I usually knock these off in the morning, but sometimes I let them marinate all day. Sometimes I combine prompts and sometimes I do separate tweets for each prompt. Some days I just don’t feel it and skip. Some days I come back to a previous word.
So for the weirdly short posts with hashtaggy titles, that’s what’s going on!
Insomnia
The #manticore is a #sly creature, paws padding softly on the grass, but I hear the swish of his scorpion-tail as he nears the back door. Closer, closer. I turn on the kitchen #lights and put the #kettle on since we’re both having trouble sleeping tonight.
366FF/#whistpr
Not the French Fries
“Are you going to #finish those?” she asks. Well, this date is over. Stealing French fries is a dealbreaker. “Why didn’t you order your own?” I snap. She gives me a look that could break glass. “I was going to stack the #plates for the server.” Oh, God, she’s perfect. #flexvss