I love writing. I particularly enjoy crafting fictional stories that capture characters at their most vulnerable moment. Writing novels is a labor of love that can take a great deal of time to complete. Gratification is certainly delayed. However, when I need a jolt of instant gratification from storytelling, I write flash fiction. Flash fiction is a short story (or what I’ve coined as a “Ridiculously Short Story”) usually told in fewer than 500 words. Sometimes they’re longer. But mine typically can be read in fewer than five minutes. How’s that for instant gratification?
Each of my Ridiculously Short Stories either began as a two-sentence horror story or was inspired by themes or writing prompts provided by friends and family who were trying to help me out of a writing slump.
These are my stories (cut to Law & Order’s iconic two-note theme “duh duh”):
The Shower was inspired by my Facebook and blogger friend, Linda Mansfield. Her idea was to expand on my 2-sentence horror story called The Shower. Here’s the expanded version of that story.
The Keyhole was my very first Ridiculously Short Story. In this story, Cyril had only one goal: Celine. But when Paxton showed up, everything changed, including Cyril’s fate. Here’s the story.
Black was inspired by my writer friend, Dalia Florea, whose writing prompt was: “My thoughts were no longer mine. It was as if someone else was in my head. I didn’t want to do those terrible things.” Here’s the story.
Eugenia was inspired by my cousin, Lisa Brannon, who offered the writing theme: genetics. Here’s the story.
[More to come!]
Stories that leave you breathless 