I’m so excited that my flash piece, “Blue Monkey,” was published today at Ellipsis Zine!
I wrote this in a Sarah Freligh workshop that centered around place. After drawing a map of a street in my city, I realized there were tons of stories I could write… so I did! And this is the first to find a home, so I hope you read it and love it and demand someone publish my chapbook centered around midtown Memphis.
As my last post mentioned, I had a great time writing and submitting to The Write-In on National Flash Fiction day. I’m thrilled that five of my submissions were published! I’m sharing the links here, along with the prompts to give an idea of the guidelines/constraints.
Crosstown Traffic: A triptych where each section takes place in the same moment of time.
Moving Day: A story in which the action happens backwards.
Trick or Treat: Flash without a full stop or period as a punctuation mark.
She’s Where the Sky Meets the Water: 24-word flash with a seven-word title.
Dreamless Reality: A version of a fairy tale set in modern times.
Yes, I’m posting this right before the day officially ends in the UK, but I’ve been writing since The Write-In started posting prompts yesterday evening (my time)! I always love writing from a prompt, as evidenced by so many of my recent publications having origin stories in workshops.
Anyway, this year NFFD is doing a badge system, and I love collecting little trinkets that show where I’ve been and what I’ve done, so here are the pieces I’ve written and submitted so far.
Since the deadline to submit is tomorrow at 5:59p my time, I’m going to keep writing because this concept of time in the prompts is perfect for how I’m trying to push myself to go speculative, so I’m going to continue writing. Anyone else participating today?
I’m so happy that Visual Verse shared my May submission, “Close Your Eyes.”
I’m so happy that Visual Verse shared my April submission, “Mother of Pearl.”
As I dedicate some time to writing a new piece for the April prompt at Visual Verse, I’m excited to share the piece I wrote for March.
Here’s “Death of an Influencer.”
I wrote this micro in one of Sarah Freligh’s workshops – if you haven’t taken one, I highly recommend them! I’ve taken three now and am always so inspired by the lessons and prompts. This story started as “The Object of My Affection” and got plenty of polish from workshop feedback.
It’s the first of February, meaning there’s a new prompt up at Visual Verse. Looking for the new image made me realize that they published my December submission! I sent it and forgot to check back, so here it is, extremely delayed.
As always, I’m honored that they’re sharing my work. Here’s “A Minute, A Lifetime.”
I’m excited and honored that Atlas and Alice nominated my piece “No Place Like Home” for Best Microfiction 2023!
I now spend the first of the month eagerly awaiting the image shared by Visual Verse. You have an hour to write a micro or flash ranging from 50 to 500 words, based on or inspired by the image. I’ve always felt like such a visual writer anyway, with a scene or person encouraging me to make up a story, and so far I’ve been so inspired by their images.
I’m honored that they’re sharing my piece, “Colors in the Air,” this month.
Allison Renner Writes 