Tag: Contest

‘Astro Naught’: Read my space-themed short story for this week’s Reedsy contest!

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You know what time it is — Reedsy contest time! This week had the theme of ‘off on an adventure’!

I chose prompt #3 — ‘Write a story about an adventure in space.’ I had a lot of fun with this one, as it was relatively new territory for me! The short story is called Astro Naught, and you can read it here on WordPress, or over here on my Reedsy profile.

“It’s okay, Ground Control. I know you did everything you could.”

Continue Reading

Enjoy the adventure in space! And ask yourself: what would you do if you were stranded out in the cosmos, with no hope of rescue?

 

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P.S. Bite-Sized Horror has taken a brief break, as I’ve had many other things to post about (such as various awards nominations, other contests, etc.) — it’ll be back next week! I didn’t want to spam all of your feeds with my gory nonsense…

‘The Comicbook Kid’: My entry for this week’s Reedsy contest!

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Well, here we are again! It seems as though no time has passed at all, but somehow another week has gone by… This week’s theme was a celebration of legendary children’s author, Roald Dahl.

I chose prompt #5 — “Write a story infused with dark humour.” I wrote this story very quickly, as I spent the better part of the week in Prague for my brother’s stag party (the hangover was atrocious!). The title of the story is The Comicbook Kid, and you can read it here and here.

“Ralph’s parents were never the same after they died.” Continue Reading

As always, I hope you have fun reading the piece — I would have liked to work on it a bit more, but I’m happy with the story, considering how little time I invested in it!

 

P.S. Check back tomorrow for the 50th Bite-Size Horror!

Read ‘Two Wheels to the Coast’: This week’s Reedsy short story!

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Hey all! Hope you’ve had a good week — it’s flown by! This week’s Reedsy theme was centered around road trips!

I chose prompt — “Write a story about a family road trip.” I think my story straddles the boundary between my horror and non-horror pieces of work. I’m quite pleased with it! The story is called Two Wheels to the Coast, and you can read it here.

Enjoy the short story! And think: how would you and your family fare on a road trip without a motorised vehicle?

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

‘How to Build a Boat’: This week’s entry for the Reedsy short story contest!

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Hey there! How’s everyone doing? It’s that time of the week again! This week’s Reedsy theme was Ernest Hemingway!

I used prompt — “Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.” The piece I wrote wasn’t horror (similar to my previous entry, The Things That Do Not Float, which won). It’s titled How to Build a Boat, and you can read the short story here!

“I knew I was in for a spot of bother when the plane’s left wing exploded.” Continue Reading

As always, I hope you find it to be an enjoyable read!

 

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

‘Good Boy’: A story in 99 words

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During the days they walked, the man and his dog, searching for food, clean water, and shelter for the evening. They also searched for other survivors in the rubble, but were yet to find anything alive.

At night, they hid, and took refuge from the things that stalked the twilight for prey. They slept sporadically, huddled together for warmth.

They shared each other’s food and each other’s company, refusing to surrender that last ounce of hope. They held on to their reminiscences, remembering the good times.

But they could not erase the awful memory of that blooming mushroom cloud.

 

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Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

 

Written in response to CarrotRanch’s September 5, 2019, prompt: true grit.

Read my short story for the September 2019 #BlogBattle: ‘The Night Has Teeth’

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Hey guys! It’s that time of the month again — the new prompt for the #BlogBattle is out! The word for this month is ‘shield’. As I found previously, my short story came together very quickly — within the space of an hour — as I bashed ferociously at my keyboard! (Poor thing.)

You can read my short horror story here, it’s called The Night Has Teeth.

“She could hear their frenzied footfalls, just metres behind. She could hear their growls and their shrieks, raging and ravenous. She could hear their gnashing teeth, sharp and merciless.” Continue Reading

I felt really exhilarated whilst writing this little piece — I hope you like it! As always, please have a read of the other stories too; they’re great!

 

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

‘Water Wears Rock’: Read my entry for this week’s Woodstock-themed Reedsy writing contest!

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Hi guys! Hope you’re all well. As usual, I entered Reedsy’s weekly short story competition. This week’s theme was Woodstock! The prompts were all based on songs that were played at the 1969 festival.

I used prompt — “Beside the Sea” by Mountain.  Seeing as the music of Woodstock was (for the time) very mind-bending and experimental, I tried my hand at writing something experimental too. The title of my short story is Water Wears Rock, and you can read it here.

“The seagulls are circling overhead, crying. The ocean’s waves are lapping up against the sand, whispering. In the distance stand the resolute shadows of mountains, shimmering.” Continue Reading

I hope it’s fun to read! It was rather enjoyable to write!

If you’re interested in my winning entry for last week’s contest, you can read The Things That Do Not Float right here!

 

P.S. As usual, Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

I won last week’s Reedsy contest with my story ‘The Things That Do Not Float’!

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Hey everyone! Happy Friday! Last Saturday, I made a post about once again entering the weekly Reedsy short story contest… it turns out that I won!

I was really pleased to hear that the team over at Reedsy enjoyed my story — it’s always nice to know that somebody out there liked your work. If you haven’t already, you can check out my winning entry here on WordPress, titled The Things That Do Not Float. Reedsy also published the story on their site and on their Medium blog.

So, a massive thanks to the Reedsy team for hosting these weekly contests (I look forward to the new prompts every Friday!), and thank you for picking The Things That Do Not Float as the winner!

Head over to Reedsy’s site to learn more about their weekly contests.

‘The Things That Do Not Float’: My entry for this week’s Reedsy contest — it’s not horror!

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Hey all! How’s everyone doing? This week’s Reedsy theme was based loosely on their recommended 100 books to read in your lifetime.

I chose prompt — “Write a story about a teenager visiting the place they grew up.” Surprisingly, I didn’t write a horror story. This wasn’t intentional, the story simply went in a non-horrific direction rather naturally. The title of my short story for this week is The Things That Do Not Float, and you can read it here.

“Shaun jumped from the cliff’s edge. With each passing second, he felt the temperature drop and the pressure rise. The sensation of the movement was faint; if he closed his eyes, it felt as if he weren’t moving at all.” Continue Reading

I rather enjoyed writing this slightly unusual (for me, at least) short story — I hope it is as fun to read!

P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!

‘Printed Words’: My short story for this week’s Reedsy contest!

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Hey there! How’s it going? I participated in the Reedsy contest again — I’m trying to not miss a single one! This week’s contest had a slightly sad theme — remembering the beloved Toni Morrison.

I chose prompt — “write a story about someone trying to escape their situation.” I decided to take the story in a slightly comical and absurd direction, in the hopes of making some people grin in spite of the sad news that seems to constantly barrage us. The title of my short story is Printed Words, and you can read it here.

“The worst moment came when I needed to use the bathroom.” Continue Reading

I hope you like it! I had fun writing it! (I always have fun with my finished pieces — those which aren’t fun don’t get completed!)

P.S. As is the standard, there’ll be no Bite-Sized Horror today — back tomorrow!