Tag: flash fiction

  • 81 words Anthology World Record

    81 words Anthology World Record

    81 words author
    81 words author81 words Anthology World Record

    81 words Anthology World Record

    Most contributing authors published in a Flash Fiction Anthology: world record set by 1000 Authors

    Jun 15, 2022

    81 World Stories Published

      Note: I am so pleased to have been included in this project. They published my story,  “Dreams Do Come True ” as author 942 on page 478

    ” In 1974,Sam had a dream that changed his life forever.

        He fell asleep in a class and saw the most beautiful woman in the universe talking to him.  She haunted his life for years.  He went to the ends of the world to find her. 

    Then one day, in 1982, she walked off a bus, out of his dreams and into his life, to become his wife three months later.  That is the beginning of the rest of the story.”‘

    As you may know this is based on my true love story.  For more details see the following:

    Dreamgirl re-published

    Joy Links Forever Just Published Dream Girl and Cheating Death Twenty Times

    Where to Find Cosmos’s Work on the Web updates

    dreams

    City Limits Publishes Love Poems

    “Dreams Do Come True”

    81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology

    New York CIty  New York, United States–The ’81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology’, a book containing 1,000 stories written by 1,000 authors, contains 1,000 stories that are exactly 81 words in length, the result of almost seven years of hard work and the generosity of writers living all over, sets the world record for The Most Contributing Authors Published in a Flash Fiction Anthology, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY,

    The world record book was published by Victorina Press, an independent UK publisher that follows the principles of biodiversity (the cultural diversity applied to the writing and publishing world, developed by a group of Chilean independent publishers). Because there are authors from many different countries featured in the book, this felt like the perfect project for them to be involved with.

    “I’d like to thank VP’s Managing Director, Consuelo Rivera-Fuentes, and the rest of the Victorina Press team (Sophie, Jorge, Page, and Amanda) for supporting this project and publishing the anthology, says Christopher Fielden, the book’s Editor.

    “Their involvement adds credibility to the unofficial world record attempt and will help the book (and every author featured in it) gain more exposure.”

    “The challenge was conceived by Adam Rubinstein, a self-professed educational basket-case from the ’70s who says he finds his sense of meaning and well-being through creativity.

    “The 81 Words writing challenge was originally launched on 81words.net. It became part of my website and I soon developed the challenge into a world record attempt for the most contributing authors published in an anthology. The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology was published.”

    The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology contains 1,000 stories submitted to the 81 Words writing challenge.

    The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology contains 1,000 stories written by 1,000 authors who submitted their work to the 81 Words Writing Challenge run on Chris Fielden’s website. Each story is exactly 81 words in length.Chris Fielden web site

    April 2022, the 81 Words Anthology was shortlisted in the ‘Best Anthology’ category of the Saboteur Awards, run by Sabotage Reviews. And on 14th May 2022, the book was announced as the winner.

    Victorina Press also won the ‘Most Innovative Publisher’ category.

    Testimonials from Amazon:

    “I loved Lee Kull’s devilish story. I wonder what that sly herbalist will concoct in future readings for her next heavy-handed victim!”

    I have been pleased the variety of stories all told with just 81 words. Not only are the stories diverse, but the authors are too. Ranging in age from 4 years to many more lived years, the authors come from all over the world. It’s a terrific book to leave out in a waiting area or by your throne for an enjoyable few minutes of very short and entertaining distraction. I highly recommend this book.”

    “The quality and variety of stories in this book are magnificent and I love the mini-biography for each author after their short story. I am author No. 533 but hadn’t read any of the other work until I purchased it on launch day and although I knew the quality of writing would be good I had no idea how high the standard would be.

    Well done to all involved and thank you to those who have purchased.”

    A  lot of work has gone into creating this anthology of tiny stories so well done Chris Fielden. Well done to all the authors too – 81 words isn’t a lot to work with to create a rounded story. A great book to dip into and would make a good Christmas present……and it supports the Arkbound charity too.”

    Porcceds from book sales will be donated to the Arkbound Foundation, a charity that aims to widen access to literature and improve diversity within publishing by running projects that empower people from disadvantaged backgrounds and deprived communities to get their voices heard.

    Where to Buy

    The book can be bought from all of Amazon’s websites. You can find it by searching for the book by name or the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN):  B09JZXVYL8

    You can buy paperback copies of the book from Victorina Press here:

    https://www.victorinapress.com/product/81-words-flash-fiction-anthology/

    You can also buy paperbacks from Amazon here.

    The 1,000 Writers In The Anthology

    note: I am number 942.

    Here is a (rather epic) list of the 1,000 contributing authors featured in the anthology. There are more than 1,000 writers in the book because some of the stories were written by two-person author teams. As mentioned further up this page, all the details are in the introduction of the book. Here is the list, presented alphabetically based on first name/initial:

    1. A. Rubin
      A. Gustafson
      A.H. Creed
      Aaron McDermott
      Abby Shue
      Abhi Shan
      Abigail Rowe
      Abigail Williamson
      Adam Bevan
      Adam Down
      Adam Rubinstein
      Adam Waters
      Adam Wright-Johnson
      Adele Evershed
      Adrian Hall church
      Adrian Nichol
      Aerin Bernstein
      Ahmad Abu Sharkh
      Aigbonoga Omoh
      Aishwarya Harikumar
      Akindu Perera
      Alan Barker
      Alan Barker [Note: same name but a different human being to the previous Alan]
      Alan D. Przybylski
      Alan Dale
      Alan Greaves
      Alan Pattison
      Alan Ridley
      Alcuin Edwards
      Aleah Bingham
      Alex Blair
      Alex Fullerton
      Alexandra Klyueva
      Alexio Gomes
      Ali Bounds
      Ali Clarke
      Alice Hale
      Alice Payne
      Alice Penfold
      Alicia McGrath
      Alicia Sledge
      Alicia Yau
      Alison Clary
      Alison Reese
      Alison Wren
      Alistair Forsyth
      Allen Ashley
      Ally Cook
      Alyson Faye
      Amanda Garzia
      Amanda Huggins
      Amanita Peridot Festoon
      Amberlie Robinson
      Amelia Brown
      Amisha Bansal
      Ana D.
      Anastasia Bromberg
      Anastasia Mosher
      Andre Othenin-Girard
      Andrew Ball
      Andrew Carter
      Andrew Dawkins
      Andrew James Spence
      Andrew Jones
      Andrew McGill
      Andrew Perry
      Andrzej Christopher Marczewski
      Andy Langdale
      Angela P Googh
      Angelique Dusengimana
      Ani Martin
      Ania Kovas
      Anita Goveas
      Ankush Vijay Chawla
      Anna Capstick
      Anna Ferrar
      Anna Sanderson
      Anne Copeland
      Annie Francis
      Annika Franke
      Anu Roy
      Arlene Everingham
      Arthur KC Chan
      Arya Amlani
      Ash Gray
      Ashleigh Whittle
      Ashley Kim
      Ashley Scott
      Ashley Vohrer
      Ashutosh Pant
      Austrian Spencer
      Ava Groth
      Avery Pryce
      Ayesha Hassan
      B. K. Bolen
      B. P. Garcia
      B.C. Ong
      Barbara Eustace
      Barnaby Page
      Barry Rhodes
      Barry Smith
      Bart Elbey
      Bec Lewis
      Becky Benishek
      Bekk Escott
      Benjamin Noel
      Bernard Hicks
      Bernard Muslin
      Bert Velthuis
      Beth Greenwood
      Beth Kander
      Betty Hattersley
      Betty J Burton
      Blake Holcomb
      Blerina Kapllani
      Boaksey
      Brett Elliott-Palmer
      Brian Johnstone
      Brian Mackinney
      Brianna Damplo
      Bridget Blankley
      Bridget Scrannage
      Bridget Yates
      Brinkinfield
      Brittany Holmes
      Bruce Millar
      Bruce Wyness
      Bryan Keefe
      Byron Coulson
      C. H. Connor
      C.R. Berry
      Caiden Lang
      Caleb Jansen
      Cameron Crebs
      Campbell Hinshelwood
      Carl Palmer
      Carla Vlad
      Caroline Cowan
      Caroline Wright
      Carolyn Roden
      Carolyn Ward
      Carrie Hewlett
      Cath Allwood
      Catherine Broxton
      Catherine Cade
      Catherine Harkness
      Cathi Radner
      Catrin Rutland
      CB McCall
      Ceris Brewis
      Charles Bonkowsky
      Charles K Manila
      Charles Lee
      Charles Murphy
      Charles Osborne
      Charlie Taylor
      Charlie Turner
      Charlotte Ella Read
      Charlotte Farrell-Banks
      Charlotte Ward
      Charlotte West
      Cheah Yin Mee
      Cheryl Buck
      Chip Jett
      Chloe Frost
      Chloe Nkomo
      Chloe Testa
      Chris Black
      Chris Cantor
      Chris Espenshade
      Chris Green
      Chris McLoughlin
      Chris Pritchard
      Chris Tattersall
      Christian Andrei Nuez Laplap
      Christian Obaitan
      Christianna Sahadeo
      Christina Burton
      Christina M. Y. Chow
      Christine Bukania
      Christine Hursell
      Christine Kingshott
      Christine O’Donnell
      Christine Reeves
      Christine Tapper
      Christopher Fielden
      Christopher Searle
      CJ Nicol
      CJ Wigg
      CL Wearne
      Claire Allinson
      Claire Apps
      Claire Gagnon
      Claire Gee
      Claire Lee
      Claire Schön
      Claire Taylor
      Claire Temple
      Clara Baird
      Clare Owen
      Clare Tivey
      Clarrie Rose
      Cleiton Pinho
      Colette KrielColleen Hue
      CompletelyBoofyBlitzed
      Constance Bourg
      Crilly O’Neil
      Cristina Bresser
      Cynthia Akagi
      Dan McConnell
      Daniel L. Link
      Daniel McClaskey
      Danielle Linsey
      Danny Macks
      Darci-Leigh Robinson-Askew
      Darren Hackett
      Dave Firth
      David Batteiger
      David Brewis
      David Conway
      David Don
      David Guilfoyle
      David Heaton
      David John Griffin
      David Lowis
      David McTigue
      David Rhymes
      David S Mitchell
      David Silver
      David Turton
      David Vargas Alfonso
      David Viner
      David Wright
      Dean Hollands
      Debaprasad Mukherjee
      Debbie Rolls
      Debbie Singh
      Deborah Wroe
      Dee La Vardera
      Dee Tilsley
      Denis Joseph
      Denise Senecal
      Derek McMillan
      Devin Greene
      Devon Goodchild
      Dez T.
      Diana Senechal
      Diane de Anda
      Diane Harding
      Dianne D. Pingalo
      Dimiana Wassef
      Dinesh Shihantha De Silva
      Dionne Burton
      Diontae Jaegli
      Don Bartlome
      Don Marler
      Dorothy Francis
      Doug Forrest
      Doug Hawley
      Douglas J. Shearer
      Dr. Sriharsha Sripathi
      DT Langdale
      Duane L. Herrmann
      E. F. S. Byrne
      Edmund Piper
      Edward Mortenson
      Edward Rouse
      Edwin Stern
      Eileen Baldwin
      Elaine Carlyle
      Eleanor Dickenson
      Elena Zhuang
      Elizabeth Lamb
      Elizabeth Stanley
      Ella Cass
      Ella Wilson
      Elliot Cambrey
      Em Daurio
      Emily K Martin
      Emily Knight
      Emma Burnett
      Emma Nokes
      Emma Robertson
      Emma Stammeyer
      Emma Wilson
      Erin Hardman
      Esosa Kolawole
      Evelyn Hawke
      Everest Pen
      Evie Nicol
      Ezeh Michael Ogonna
      Fabio Crispim
      Farzaneh Hajirasouliha
      Fay Franklin
      Fee Johnstone
      Felix Castrillon
      Femi S. Craigwell
      Finlay Thomas Tweedie
      Fiona Aitken
      Fiona Campbell
      Fiona Flower
      Fliss Zakaszewska
      Franca Basta
      Frances Tate
      Francesca Pappadogiannis
      Francisca Staines
      Frank Daurio
      Frank Havemann
      Frank Hubeny
      Frank Radcliffe
      G. Gaurav
      Gail Everett
      Gary Couzens
      Gary McGrath
      Gavin Biddlecombe
      Gemma Bevan
      Gemma Martiskainen
      Geoff Freedman
      Geoff Holme
      George Cornilă
      Gillian M Seed
      Gillian Macleod
      Ginger Marcinkowski
      Gitanjali Escobar Travieso
      Glen Donaldson
      Glo Curl
      Gloria Ames
      Glynis Ann Downey
      Gordon Williams
      Gowravy Ravanan
      Grace Turner-Higgins
      Grannd Kane
      Grant McKain
      Grant O’Townson
      Gwyneth Williams
      Gwynne Weir
      Hajra Saeed
      Haley M. Hwang
      Hannah Brown
      Hannah Cole
      Harley Logan Thompson
      Harriet Payne
      Hazel Turner
      Heather Haigh
      Heather Stuart Primbs
      Heidi Lobecker
      Heidi Vanlandingham
      Helen Aitchison
      Helen Combe
      Helen Matthews
      Helen Merrick
      Hervé Suys
      Hilary Taylor
      Holly Garcia
      Holly Webster
      Huguette Van Akkeren
      Hullabaloo22
      Ian Andrew
      Ian Buzard
      Ian James Stewart
      Ian Tucker
      Ibukun Keyamo
      Imogen Argent
      IR Belletti
      Irene Banfield
      Iris & Phil Hatchard
      Irving Benjamin
      Isabel Flynn
      Isabella Rae Wharton-McLellan
      Iuliana Khadyxa Filisanu
      Ivan Richardson
      Ixai Salvo
      J. L. Harland
      J. Rosina Harlow
      J.S Taols
      Jace Henderson
      Jacek Wilkos
      Jack Dabell
      Jack Dudley
      Jack Hanlon
      Jack Purkis
      Jackie Batteiger
      Jackie Hindmarsh
      Jacky Ellis
      Jade Swann
      Jaimen Shires
      Jaine Irish
      Jake Cosmos Aller
      James Braun
      James Byrne
      James Colfox
      James Crerar
      James Hornby
      James Louis Peel
      James Northern
      James Pemberton
      James Sanders
      James Smart
      Jamie Graham
      Jamie Welch
      Jan Brown
      Jan Courtney
      Jane Fell
      Jane Imrie
      Jane Sleight
      Janet L Davies
      Janet Lister
      Jasmine Hunt
      Jasmine Lee
      Jasmine Tan Chin Chwee
      Jason B
      Jason Barbo
      Jay Bee
      Jayanta Bhaumik
      Jaycee Durand
      Jayne Morgan
      Jaz Leigh
      Jeff Kemp
      Jeffrey H. Toney
      Jeni Lawes
      Jennifer Hankin
      Jennifer P. L. Leong
      Jennifer Riddalls
      Jenny Butler
      Jenny Drury
      Jenny Simmons
      Jerome Parsons
      Jerry Wilson
      Jessica Bowden
      Jessica Everitt
      Jessica Joy
      Jessica Kirby
      Jessica Richard
      Jessica Turnbull
      Jill Lang
      Jimmy Doom
      Jo Howarth
      Joan C. Hobart
      Joanna Ball
      Jocelyn Wong
      Jodi Nicholls
      Jodi Novak
      Joe Bailey
      Joe Brothers
      Joe McMullen
      Johanna McDonald
      Johannah Lipscher Simon
      John Bevan
      John Cooper
      John D Lary
      John Hannan
      John Holland
      John Holmes
      John James Morris
      John L Bell
      John Lane
      John Mark Miller
      John Notley
      John Rivers
      John Robertson
      John S Alty
      John Vandore
      Jon Drake
      Jon Spencer
      Jonathan Fryer
      Jonathan Hastings
      Jonathan Hunter
      Jonathan Inglesfield
      Jonathan Martindale
      Jonathan Pacheco
      Jordan B. Jolley
      Jordan Bahnub
      Jordis Fasheh
      Jose Luis Torres
      Joseph Lancaster
      Joseph Mould
      Josephine Queen
      Josh Joseph Dixon
      Josh Leeson
      Josie Gowler
      Joy Thomas
      Joyce Bingham
      Joyce Walker
      JS Cline
      Judi Edwards
      Judy Reeves
      Julia Graves
      Julia O’Dowd
      Julia T. Spano
      Julia Wood
      Julie Goodswen
      Julie Howard
      Julie Mayger
      Julie Stone
      Justine Quammie
      Justyce Solomon
      K. J. Watson
      Kaelin Lee
      Kailin Guo
      Kaitlin Ellis
      Karen Bevan
      Karen McClure
      Karen McDermott
      Karen Rust
      Karen Waldron
      Karen Walker
      Karen Western
      Kate Hamilton
      Kate Leimer
      Kate Miller
      Katerina Hellam
      Katherine Kogoy
      Kathleen E Williams
      Kathleen Hearnshaw
      Kathleen Keenan
      Kathryn Dixon
      Kathryn Evans
      Kathryn J Barrow
      Kathryn Joyce
      Kathryn Smith
      Katie Chapman
      Katie Labbe
      Katie Pepper
      Katie Singer
      Katy Clayton
      Kavitha Yarlagadda
      Kay Sandry
      Keian Murray
      Keith Pearson-Sandelands
      Kelly Van Nelson
      Kelsey Gallo
      Kelsey Juean Irving
      Kennedy Meechan
      Kenneth Cahall
      Kent Raddatz
      Kerry Robinson
      Khamis Kabeu
      Kim Hart
      Kim Montgomery
      Kim Steindel
      Kim Witbeck
      Kimana McCallum
      Kimberly Owen
      Kira Inglis
      Kirk I. Holden
      Kitty Litteur
      Klaus Gehling
      KM Arhel
      Kolade Ajila
      Kudakwashe Chirapa
      Kwame M.A. McPherson
      Kylan Fedje
      L J King
      L J McQueen
      L. A. Cunningham
      L.E. Daurio
      Laila Miller
      Laura Besley
      Laura Day
      Laura Foakes
      Lauren J. Phillips
      Lauren M Foster
      Lauren Raybould
      Laurie Hicks
      Layla Ahmed
      Layla Calarco
      Layla Rogers
      Lee Foley
      Lee Holland
      Lee Kull
      Leigh Hastings
      Len Saculla
      Lena MacDonald
      Lesley Anne Truchet
      Levi Earl
      Lewis Ayers
      Lexikon
      Liam Hogan
      Liam Lawer
      Liam Rayner
      Libby Batteiger
      Lidia Giusa
      Lim Swee Kim
      Linda Foy
      Linda Hibbin
      Linda Jones
      Linda Lewis
      Linda Scogings
      Linda Smith
      Linda Taylor
      Lindsey Esplin
      Lindy Gibbon
      Linn Kier
      Lisa Miller
      Lisa Reynolds
      Lisa Stone
      Livia Furia
      Liz Berg
      Liz Howard
      Liz Krogman
      Lorna Dougan
      Lorna Stewart
      Lorraine Smith
      Louise Burgess
      Louise Furre
      Louise Goulding
      Louise Snape
      Lucinda Thelwell
      Lucy Camilla
      Lucy Lucy
      Lucy Morrice
      Lumen Ros
      Lydia Collins
      Lyndsay Lomax
      Lynn Gale
      Lynn Morcombe
      Lynn White
      Lynn Zeleski
      Lynne Arnot
      Lynne Chitty
      Lynsey Calvert
      M Anthony David
      Madamraj Mrinalini
      Maddy Hamley
      Madeleine McCabe
      Madeleine McDonald
      Madeline Green
      Madiana Dethan
      Madison Pickering
      Maggie Elliott
      Mahek Khwaja
      Mairead Robinson
      Majella Pinto
      Malcolm Richardson
      Manda Riehl
      Mandy Raywood
      Mandy Whyman
      Marci Girton
      Marco Cardoni
      Margaret Bell
      Margaret Davis
      Margee Unger
      Maria Carvalho
      Maria DePaul
      Maria Noble
      Mariam Bibi
      Mariam Mansuryan
      Marie Arbon
      Marie McGinn
      Marieta Maglas
      Marilyn Rucker
      Mark Burke
      Mark J Towers
      Mark Johnson
      Mark Pritchard
      Mark Stocker
      Marsha K. Hanson
      Martin Strike
      Mary Daurio
      Mary Dharsi
      Mary Papageorgiou
      Mary Prior
      Mason Bell
      Matilda Pinto
      Matthew Bines
      Matthew Dawson
      Matthew Galic
      Matthew Gooch
      Matthew J Morine
      Matthew Kerns
      Matthew Willis
      Max Dobb
      Maxine Smith
      Maxx Dominic
      Maya Barnett
      Mckenzie Tompson
      Medeia Sharif
      Meg Gain
      Meghan O’Brien
      Mehak Vijay Chawla
      Melanie Goodell
      Melissa Odom
      Melody Bowers
      Meredith Argent
      MF Mika
      Mhairi Bakertzi
      Michael E James
      Michael Farmer
      Michael Hardy
      Michael J. Labbe
      Michael J. Lowis
      Michael Lane
      Michael Mclaughlin
      Michael Rumsey
      Michael Swift
      Michael Ward
      Michaela Mechura
      Michele Kelly
      Michele Witthaus
      Michelle Compton
      Michelle Cook
      Michelle Konov
      Michelle Weaver
      Micky Rowe
      Mike Blakemore
      Mike Scott Thomson
      Miriam Hurdle
      Misa Hennin
      Mohamed Atta Amer
      Mohit Dass
      Muriel Garvis
      Murodova Marjona
      Myron Dunavan
      N. J. Spencer
      N.B. Craven
      Nam Raj Khatri
      Natalia Wojcik-Smith
      Natalie Marshall
      Natalie Wu
      Natasha Ali
      Natasha Nagle
      Nathaniel David Knox
      Neil Brooks
      Neil D Cross
      Neil Davie
      Neil Goodwin
      Neil Phillips
      Neil Renton
      Niamh Burke
      Nick Fairclough
      Nicole Loh
      Niina Olenbluu
      Nikki Butcher
      Nili Roberts
      Noel Alcoba
      Norm Veasman
      NT Franklin
      Nurholis
      Oghogho Odiase
      Olatz Irigarai
      Oliver Lynton
      Olivia Ackers
      Olivia Magnuson
      Olivia-Ann Saxton
      Olusanya Anjorin
      Oort Kuiper
      Oriel Dobb
      Oscar Kenway
      Özge Göztürk
      Paige Murray
      Pam Jackson
      Pam Knapp
      Pamela Hibbert
      Pamela Pope
      Pappo Nindo
      Parzival Sattva
      Pat Hough
      Patricia Mudge
      Patricia Tarrant Brown
      Patrick Antonio
      Patrick Christian
      Patrick Moorhouse
      Patrick ten Brink
      Paul Mastaglio
      Paul Phillips
      Paul Rhodes
      Paul Shaw
      Paula Lacey
      Paulette Pierre
      Peggy Gerber
      Penelope Henry
      Pete Armstrong
      Peter Gregory & David Gough
      Peter J. Corbally
      Peter Loftus
      Peter Stanton
      Phil Maud
      Phil Thomas
      Philip Charter
      Phoebe Tatham
      PJ Stephenson
      Prajith Menon
      Prisha Gupta
      R. J. Kinnarney
      R.A. Krueger
      R.J. Saxon
      Rachael Hinshaw
      Rachel Smith
      Rachel Wood
      Rafe Bellers
      Rajagopal Kaimal
      Ray Sarlin
      Raymond E. Strawn III
      Raymond Sloan
      Rebecca Capel
      Rebecca Hubbard
      Rebecca Krohman
      Rebeccah Yeadon
      Reed Markham
      Reha Tanör
      Renate Schiansky
      Rene Astle
      Rex Charger
      Richard Anthony Morris
      Richard Freeman
      Richard H. Argent
      Richard Stanley
      Richard Swaine
      Ripunjoy Borgohain
      RJS Cantwell
      RK
      RL Comstock
      Rob Bray
      Rob Vogt
      Robbie Brown
      Robbie Porter
      Robert Adams
      Robert Alan Ryder
      Robert Brewis
      Robert Kombol
      Robert Tucker
      Robert Wood
      Roberta Scafidi
      Roger Newton
      Roger West
      Rohana Chomick
      Ron Smith
      Ronald Hall
      Ros Byrne
      Ros Masterson
      Rosalind Adam
      Rosalind Newton
      Rose Farris
      Roshna Rusiniya
      Rosie Arcane
      Rosie Cullen
      Ross Lowe
      Rowan Lewis
      Roz Levens
      Rudy S. Uribe Jr.
      Rui Soares
      Rupert Payne
      Ruth Pedley
      Ryan Fell
      Ryu Ando
      S Thomson-Hillis
      S. M. Chiles
      S. Rupsha Mitra
      S. W. Hardy
      S.B. Borgersen
      S.E. Taylor
      Sachin Prakash
      Sagar Jadhav
      Sai Muthukumar
      Sally Skeptic
      Sam Freer
      Sam May
      Samantha Gentzel
      Samantha Gunton
      Sandee Lee
      Sandra ‘Chas’ Hines
      Sandra Orellana
      Sandra Purdy
      Sarah Ann Hall
      Sarah Brown
      Sarah Burrett
      Sarah Charmley
      Sarah Engeham
      Sarah Everett
      Sarah Fletcher
      Sarah Hoad
      Sarah Jae Walsh
      Sarah Littleton
      Sarah Mosedale
      Sarah Stansfield
      Sarah Stephenson
      Saras Ojha
      Sarthak Das
      Saskia Ashby
      Scott Parent
      Sean Bain
      Sean Tobias May
      Sebastian Cowen
      Seth Turner-Higgins
      Shahnaz Ali
      Shannon J Alger
      Sharon Pinner
      Shaun Clarke
      Shauna Elizabeth Murray
      Sheannah Guillemette
      Sheila Rosart
      Shelly Teems
      Shirley Muir
      Shobha Wilson
      Sidonie Baylis
      Siegfried E Finser
      Sihaam Osman
      Silver Morris
      Simone Wallace
      Sivan Pillai
      Skylar Kim
      Smritirekha Talukdar
      Sophia Manubay
      Sophie Henson
      Sophie Scriven
      Sreedevi Ganti Mahapatra
      Stefan Dimitrov
      Stephanie Ngoei
      Stephanie Potts
      Stephen P. Thompson
      Stephie Simpson
      Steve Lodge
      Steven Barrett
      Stuart Atkinson
      Sue Johnson
      Sue Moos
      Sue Partridge
      Sue Vincent
      Sunshine Tibod
      Susan Howarth
      Susan Wickham
      Susanne Berger
      Susi J Smith
      Susie Frame
      Swi Neo Mary Yap
      Sydney Clarence
      Sylvia Ketchum
      Syreeta Muir
      T. Luxton
      T. W. Garland
      T.L. Shenkin
      T.N.M. Sheppard
      Tamires Cunha
      Tamsin Partington
      Tanya Butler
      Tanya Hill
      Tanya Johnson
      Tarquin Calver
      Taye Carrol
      Taylor Elliott
      Taylor Moore
      Ted Bragg
      Tess M Shepherd
      Tessa Elliott
      Thatchayani Ravanan
      Thomas Belmar
      Thomas James Busby
      Thomas O’Mara
      Tiarnán Murphy
      Tiffany Williams
      Tim Gomersall
      Tim Warren
      Tom Bullimore
      Tom Gaunt
      Toni G.
      Toni Peers
      Tonia Nem
      Tony Lawrence
      Tony Mooney
      Tony Thatcher
      Tony Tremblett
      Tracey Maitland
      TS Lanchbery
      Ty Hall
      Umme Ammarah
      Val Chapman
      Valerie Fish
      Valerie Griffin
      Valerie J Shay
      Veena Rah
      Veronica Crerar
      Vesper Wunderlin
      Vichar Lochan
      Vicki Murray
      Vicki Sinclair
      Vicky Garlick
      Victoria Gaylor
      Violet James
      Vishnu Nandan
      Vivian Oldaker
      Vivienne O’Boyle
      W. E. Jones
      W. G. Miller
      Waltraud Pospischil
      Wanda Wright
      Wayne B. Chorney
      Wayne Hewitt
      Wendy Christopher
      Wendy Fletcher
      Wendy Roe
      William Telford
      Wright Stone
      Wyatt Payne
      Yabo Anderson
      Yelena Kart
      Yvonne Clarke
      Yvonne Mastaglio
      Zoe J Walker
      Zoey Rowan

     

     

  • February Flash Fiction Challenge

    February Flash Fiction Challenge

    Where to Find Cosmos’s Work

    Where to Find Me on the Web

    All Poetry Poems

    writers digest flash fiction

    Three February Challenges!

    I have been taking a bit of a hiatus from this site. Then it crashed and took a while to restore.  In any event, I will try to update it at least once a week,

    This month I am trying three new things.  First, the February Flash Fiction Challenge that Writers Digest is mounting, second the Writing Com micro flash contest that goes on for another nine weeks, and the Poetry Magnum Opus Daily Haiku contest.

    I will update this weekly with a few of my entries but not all of them as I need to reserve most as “unpublished” as most publishers are quite anal about not publishing previously published items.

    So, if you are like me, if you write a lot, you need to save a lot for later use. At the end of the month, I will update my progress and list everything I wrote.

    The details follow if any of you want to join in. The Poetry Magnum Opus and Writers Digest are both free to enter; the writing com is for members only but is closed now.  I have been taking part In Writing Com for a few years and find it is a welcoming and open community and I have learned so much about the craft of poetry writing by trying their constant challenges. Writer’s Digest and Poetry Magnum Opus both have an impressive list of poetry forms and prompts that I use all the time. All Poetry, Facebook and Poetry Soup are also among my weekly or bi-weekly places I submit to. I submit to a few other places including Cosmos Funnel, Instagram not that often, medium, (poetry nook, poetry circle, LinkedIn (auto-linked to my blog) ) Tumblr (auto-linked to my blog) and Wattpad, but not as frequently just running out of steam.

    I have written a lot, so later this year, over 400 short pieces, mostly poetry.  I  plan to slow up. Getting a little hard to keep up at age 66! And after that, who knows? I’ll keep it all going for a while in any event.

    Enjoy

    2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge

    Write a piece of flash fiction each day of February with the February Flash Fiction Challenge, led by editor Moriah Richard. Each day, receive a prompt, an example story, and write your own.  Time to get writing! If you’re on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (or anywhere else), be sure to use the #FlashFictionFeb hashtag. Now, let’s get cracking!

    Day I prompt:

    For today’s prompt, write about a key. It could be a physical key, a metaphorical one, or even something completely abstract—it’s up to you!

    Day Two Prompt Circular

    Day three Prompt limitations

    Day four A Dream that Came true

    Day Five  Write about a character who tries to be “Heartful”

    I have finished five flash fiction pieces so far this month.  On day five.

    Hidden Keys to The Universe

    End of The Beginning, Beginning of The End

    A Man Has to Know His Limitations

    Dream That Came to True Dream Girl

    Character Who Has to Learn How to Be Heartful Sam Adams Crisis of Conscious

    My posted entry for week one:

    “Dream Girl”

    Published in ‘Dreams and the Unexplainable” by the Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers. Also on my blog, the World According to Cosmos.

    Line count 816

    You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

    The dreams started when I was a senior at Berkeley High School in 1974. About a month before I graduated, I fell asleep in a physics class after lunch and had the first dream:

    A beautiful Asian woman was standing next to me, talking in a strange language. She was stunning—the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was in her early twenties, with long black hair, and piercing black eyes. She had the look of royalty. She looked at me and then disappeared, beamed out of my dream-like in Star Trek. I fell out of my chair screaming, “Who are you?” She did not answer.

    About a month went by, and then I started having the dream repeatedly. Always the same pattern. Early morning, she would stand next to me talking. I would ask who she was, and she would disappear. She was the most beautiful, alluring woman I had ever seen. I was struck speechless every time I had the dream.

    I had the dream every month during the eight years during which I went to college and served in the Peace Corps. When I joined the Peace Corps, I had to decide whether to go to Korea or Thailand. The night before I had to submit my decision, I had the dream again and she made me sure that I knew she was in Korea waiting for me.

    All she said was when I asked again as always who are you? Where are you?”

    “I am in Korea”

    After the Peace Corps, I still hadn’t met my dream woman. I got a job working for the U.S. Army as an instructor and stayed in Korea. I kept having the dream until I had the very last one: She was standing next to me, speaking to me in Korean, but I finally understood her. She said, “Don’t worry, we will be together soon.”

    Why was that the last time I had the dream?

    Because the very next night, the girl in my dream got off the bus in front of me. She went on to the base with an acquaintance of mine, a fellow teacher, and they went to see a movie. I saw her and found the courage to speak with her.

    We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet that weekend.

    The next night, she was waiting for me as I entered the Army base to teach a class. She told me she was a college senior and she had something to tell me. I signed her on to the base and left her at the library to study while I taught, and then we went out for coffee after class.

    She told me she was madly in love with me, and that I was the man for her. I told her not to worry as I felt the same.

    That weekend, we met Saturday and Sunday and hung out all day. On Sunday night, I proposed to her. It was only three days after we had met, but for me, it felt like we had met eight years ago. I had been waiting all my life for her to walk out of my dreams and into my life, and here she was.

    Her mother did not want her to marry a foreigner. One day, about a month after we met, she invited me to meet her parents. I brought a bottle of Jack Daniels for her father and drank the entire bottle with him. He approved of me, but her mother still had reservations.

    After a Buddhist priest told her my future wife and I were a perfect astrological combination, she agreed, and we planned our wedding.

    The wedding was a media sensation in South Korea. My wife explained it to me years later. At the time, I was overwhelmed just by the fact that we were getting married and I didn’t fully understand how unusual this was.

    My wife was of the old royal clan, distant relatives to the former kings of Korea. In the clan’s history, only two people had ever married foreigners: my
    wife, and Rhee Syngman, who was the first President of South Korea. My father, who was a former Undersecretary of Labor, came out for the wedding, which fueled even more media interest.

    Our marriage defied the stereotypical Korean-foreign marriage where the women
    married some hapless GI just to escape poverty and immigrate to the U.S. We were the first foreign/Korean couple to get married at a Korean Army base. Over 1,000 people came to the wedding, and my father was interviewed on the morning news programs.

    This all happened thirty-nine years ago, and I am still married to the girl in my dreams. Now in my dreams, she watches over me when we are apart.

    Writing Com Flash Fiction contest  – Sign-up now CLOSED!!!

    The activity begins on Monday, January 31st
    and ends on Sunday, April 10th
    10 weeks of fun and adventure!

    What is micro fiction?

    A micro-fiction piece is a story told in 300 or fewer words. For our purposes, we limit the word count to 100. It’s a subset of flash fiction, which limits stories to 1000 words.
    Ernest Hemingway wrote the most famous micro-story. He used only six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

    The challenge of writing a micro-story is to make every word count. You must pick meaningful words and build strong sentences.

    The structure of a micro-story:

    Like any other fiction piece, a micro-story has a sequence: a beginning, a middle, and an end. It includes a twist or a conflict: either it’s a change in the character (character arc) or a twist in the plot. The micro-story also has a scenario, which doesn’t need much detail – you don’t have enough length to incorporate descriptions.

    Start with the conflict

    In a micro-story, there is no space for descriptions, backstory, or character-building; you start writing in the middle: straight to the conflict.

    Focus on the character arc

    Flat characters offer nothing to readers. Something must happen to your character: a drastic event, a deep emotion, a discovery. He/she must end the story differently from when it started.

    In the end, the character should feel or do something different than he/she was doing before.

    Write your story as long as you wish

    Like any other first draft, yours will be a micro-story told with many unnecessary words.

    To elaborate your micro-story, write everything that comes up in your mind: describe the emotions, the scenarios, the characters. The goal is to form the story inside of you, to feel it.

    By writing everything down, you’ll be able to choose what’s relevant and what’s not.

    Chose only one POV

    Micro-fiction uses a single point of view [POV]; there’s not enough word-counting to swap POV without losing the coherence of the story.  Choose either the 1st limited or 3rd person limited POV as they perform better in connecting the reader to the characters.

    Cut the fluff

    Now that you wrote the first draft, it’s time to cut!
    The remaining wording in your story will be the ones that matter, that add value and significance to your story.

    Polish each sentence

    The last step in writing a micro-fiction story is to polish the sentences.

    Each word must contain meaning: an emotion, an action, a detail. The sentences should also have a meaning, but also as part of a whole, it actively builds up the story.

    Ensure your first and last sentences are the strongest. They are the entrance and the exit of the story. The first sentence will hook readers to continue reading; the last one will make them chew on your story. And even re-read it, to savor it one more time.

    Create an appealing title

    The title is the presentation, the promise of what’s coming: the title is the first impression of your story. Name your story, revealing the theme, but not giving away any event. Note: The title does not count toward your total word count.

    Enjoy the process and keep practicing.  Writing micro-fiction is a challenge, but — in my modest opinion — one of the best challenges in the writing set.

    Once you try it, you will come for more. With practice, your first drafts will become shorter; they will be the closest version of your final draft.

    Writing micro-fiction it’s an effective way to hone your writing skills: it demands focus and the use of strong verbs and emotional words. Your writing will develop into a sharper and more concise version.

    My entry

    “Sam Adams Swears It Was Self Defense”

    “Well, Sam Adams, you are in a lot of trouble. Better tell us what happened. How did you end up killing Bill Lee?”

    “Well, I should speak to a lawyer and the Embassy first, but what the H.

    Bill Lee and I had a relationship so to speak, we were frenemies. I knew him for a long time since we were children and I knew that he was a real bad dude at heart.
    We had gone to the Cosmos Bar that night to have a drink. When he attacked me, I responded of course., It was self-defense. and that’s how the fight started.

    note:  I like micro fiction.  I have had a number published. They are fun and challenging to write.  Sort of a prose version of a Haiku.

    Poetry Magnum Opus February Haiku Challenge

    February is Haiku Month

    Tinker posted a topic in Playground

    …Reading that February is Haiku Month was the spark that I needed to ease in. So here I am on February 1, 2022, Chinese New Year – The Year of the Tiger. Maybe a haiku a day for 28 days will

    get me going. You are welcome to join me if you feel so inclined. I missed this community. ~~Tin…

    free but requires registration  Tinker’s list of poetry forms is quite comprehensive!

    My haiku for February 1

    What is Groundhog Day?
    Why does seeing his shadow
    Mean early Spring?

    The End