Happy Halloween, guys and gals! So, here we are: number four! This one is a bit more cheery, and good deal less bloody than the last one. It was written for the prompt, “Write about someone taking a child trick-or-treating for the very first time.”
The title of this one is All HAL’s Eve, and you can read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile!
So, these next two really break the mould for me — they’re both children’s stories. (I know, right?!) They were each written for different prompts, but they both have similar themes and protagonists, so I thought I’d bundle ’em together in this double feature!
The first one was written for the contest Fuzzy Friends (Or Foes?) — I chose the prompt, “Write a story featuring an animal who subverts expectations.” The title is Deep Space Canine (yes, that is a pun on Deep Space Nine…) and you can read it here on WordPress, or over on my Reedsy profile.
“Grrround Control, mission has successfully been completed, repeat, mission has been successfully completed, Grrround Control.”
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All right! The next one was written for the contest Kidding Around — I chose the prompt, “Write a story about someone who discovers a mysterious object in their home.” The title is Winston and the Legend of Va-Khum, and you can read it here on WordPress, or over on my Reedsy profile!
Listen closely, Little One, and I shall tell you a tale of a day long since passed.
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Well, I hope you liked these! I actually had a lot of fun writing ’em — even if they are completely different to my usual fare. This doesn’t mean I’m leaving my horror roots, I just like to branch out and explore a bit, y’know?
Hey, all! I hope you’re all well during these trying times. I know I write a lot of horror, but at heart I think I’m a big softie. So, from the bottom of my heart, look after yourselves, look after each other, and always be kind.
Okay, that’s enough hippie philosophising, Josh… Time for the story! This one is called Blind Visitors, and I really like it! It was written for the contest Earth to Writers. I chose the prompt, “Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.” You can read Blind Visitors here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile!
It’s looking up at the stars. Or is it looking down at them?
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Well, until next time, guys!
Hey, guys! How’s everyone doing? We all in the Christmas mood, yet? My partner and I bought our very first Christmas tree the other day, so we’re feeling quite festive!
This week’s Reedsy theme was ‘Pocketful of Sunshine’. I had a hard time picking which prompt I wanted to write to, but I eventually went with #2 — “Your fingers tensed around the object in your pocket, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice.”
I really liked how the story turned out, and I feel that the characters and worlds have the potential for many more stories. I definitely want to pay these guys a visit again, at some point in the future. I think a prequel or a sequel would be in order… The title of the story is Timebomb, and (you know how it goes, by now!) you can read it here on WordPress, or over on my Reedsy profile.
There were too many to fight. He was outnumbered ten thousand to one. He watched as they all raced towards him, vengeance in their eyes and murder on their lips.
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Well, that’s it for today, guys! Oh, and I hope you’re enjoying my little Bite-Sized Xmas series! If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can read part one of Yule Be Sorry: A Very Bite-Sized Xmas right here!
Well, hello there! Fancy seeing you here. How’ve you been? That good, huh? Well, actually, I’ve been quite ill, but it hasn’t stopped me from working. I’ve done some writing, but it was done whilst in a state of delirium, so…
This week’s Reedsy theme was the literary classic, Little Women! I chose prompt #4 — “Write a story that uses flowers as a symbol.” As mentioned, I wrote this piece whilst not entirely here on Earth. I found the finished thing on my desktop, once I’d recovered, with only a vague memory of writing it. I tweaked it a little, once I was better — but for the most part, I left it as it was. I think it’s got a ‘woozy’ sensation to it, probably imbued from my fever! The title of the story is A Village Under the Purple Moon, and you can read it here on WordPress, or over here on my Reedsy profile. It’s a kind of fantasy story, which I never really write — so that’s a first!
Marianne felt the eyes of the townsfolk upon her; hatred intermingled with fear. Although they’d never know it, the people of Maydale had played a role in their own demise.
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As always, I hope you enjoy the piece! And remember: never exile a witch!
If you’d like to read Astro Naught, my winning entry for last week’s Reedsy contest, you can find it here on WordPress, or over here on Reedsy, where it has been published!
Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing great! I have once again won the weekly Reedsy contest — this time with my short sci-fi story Astro Naught!
It was really great to hear that Arielle and her team over at Reedsy enjoyed my story. I often put these things out there, with no idea how well they’ll be received — so it’s lovely to find out that people actually enjoyed them.
If you haven’t read it already, you can check out Astro Naught here on WordPress, or over on Reedsy’s site, where it’s been published.
So, a huge thank you to Arielle and her team for hosting these contests and for picking my story as this week’s winner! I really love these prompts, and highly recommend writers of all skill levels to have a go! I’ve noticed a massive improvement in my writing as a result of these weekly challenges.
I previously won the Reedsy contest back in August, with my story The Things That Do Not Float. If you’re interested, you can read that piece here on WordPress, over here on Reedsy’s site, or over here on Reedsy’s Medium blog!
Head over to Reedsy’s site to learn more about their weekly contests. (And be sure to read the other stories on there, too! There’s some brilliant pieces.)
P.S. Check back tomorrow for my entry for this week’s Reedsy contest! I wrote it whilst deliriously ill…
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.”
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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?
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…
Joshua G. J. Insole 