Ugly Duckling

This is the third of three (exactly) fifty-word stories that I wrote for the Brian Dibble Shortest Story Competition. I didn't win.

Sarah was a pimply, pudgy teenager. Her mother tenderly took her hand, and told her the story of "The Ugly Duckling".

"One day," she said, "you'll become a beautiful swan."

"You don't just think I'm ugly," said Sarah, between sobs. "You think I'm a whole different species!"

Fifty

This is the second of three (exactly) fifty-word stories that I wrote for the Brian Dibble Shortest Story Competition. I didn't win.

I broke down in tears when I tried to write a story in only fifty words. I threw my pen across the room and swore.

"That's not a story," I said to the scribbling on my notebook. "That's a paragraph!"

I went back to working on my novel.

Rally Car

This is the first of three (exactly) fifty-word stories that I wrote for the Brian Dibble Shortest Story Competition. I didn't win.

Shane punched the throttle as his Subaru entered the straight. In one beat of his heart he was slowing for the next corner; but he misjudged it, badly. Shane smiled as the car left the track and started to roll. He loved playing with his slot cars.

Hint Fiction Anthology Competition

hint fiction (n) : a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story.

If you'd like to write, why not enter this competition?

The guidelines are here. Really, it won't take long to think of something. You'll spend more time thinking of which words to remove to get to twenty-five, rather than which words to add.

SD Harvey Short Story Shortlist

The SD Harvey Short Story award (part of the Ned Kelly Awards of the Crime Writers Association of Australia) short list has been announced:

• Fidget's Farewell, Scott McDermott
• Farewell My Lovelies, Chris Womersley
• Fern's Farwell, Bronwyn Mehan
• Farewell to the shade, Cheryl Rogers
  

You will notice two things here:

1. Each story has "farewell" in the title. This was a requirement of entry. The word "farewell" had to be included in the title, and be reflected in the story. Each year will be a different word.


2. I'm not on the shortlist. This is not for want of entering: My entry was called "Farewell Gift". I won't be posting it to surgebin because:
   
   
   
   1. It's a bit long; and
   
   
   2. I want to tweak it and then resubmit it to more open short story competitions.