Rip settings and other devices

Sheltering from the football and selecting a shortlist I realise, for alliteration’s sake, I should pour myself a Smirnoff.  Not that vodka will help – I get the strong impression that each week each of us is spurred to further heights by others’ posts. Jim takes a new path by trying out three endings to his Problem, each of Patricia’s  strong-voiced posts held new delights and I truly loved the hugging humanity of Joe’s ‘The Virus’, but top place, by a whisker, goes to Dave for ‘These things are all fakes’.

Thank you all for your participation – both in offering such a bounty of tales and for commenting.

Words for next week: barbaric nuisance  smut

Entries by midnight Thursday 5th July, words and winners posted Friday 6th

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media you prefer.

Dreams out of the ivory gate*

And entries enough to disturb many a dream and delight me with the many wicked abuses of innocent words.  For me, candy floss, remembered for its pink and white childhood appeal and subsequent disappointing hard-edged stickiness, on face and in hair, was much more appealing as a character in David’s tale of the same name and I declare him this week’s winner.
*[Sir Thomas Browne 1605-1682]

Words for next week: auger/augur intrinsic pellet

Apologies:  once again my spelling and failure to check has let me down.
The word I meant to be used is augur but for those quick off the mark the alternative version is equally acceptable (although I will delete if instructed to do so) 

Entries by midnight Thursday 28th June, words and winners posted Friday 29th

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media you prefer.

Black trees against a sunrise sky

I don’t always say, but ought to acknowledge how much your comments validate my pieces. Primarily for me Prediction is valuable for  keeping writing muscles in trim, needless to say your input is a very  pleasurable bonus. 

And bonus points this week, following a lot of shuffling and changing of my mind, go to Terrie for ‘Going Home’. This series goes from strength to strength, plus the title reminded me of Mark Knopfler’s version, theme tune for ‘Local Hero’. 

Words for next week: floss history sketch

Entries by midnight Thursday 21st June, words and winners posted Friday 22nd

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media you prefer.

Is expiration the opposite of inspiration?

Breathing life into a short story ... or not. It will come, but not, apparently, this week. (And on the subject of short, please do take a look at Rosie's entry, for a master class.) 

And so I came to re-read this week’s several inspirations, thrown up by three not entirely simple words. As ever, the breadth of response is breathtaking, but this week’s joint winners both delivered something a little bit extra. R J Wayne’s ‘The Books Of Immortality 1.1’ grew more powerful with every subsequent reading . and Rob Evangelista wrote something heavyweight and sad. I trust they’ll manage to cling together on top of the podium. 

Words for next week: apparatus deduct  jazz

Entries by midnight Thursday 14th June, words and winners posted Friday 15th June

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media you prefer.

‘When all candles be out, all cats be grey’

From John Heywood's book of proverbs (1546), the word ‘grey’ sought because that’s been the colour of the sky in the North East of England much of the past week – dishcloth and dreary. Which meant this week’s offerings  – ranging from lizards and armadillos via a sociopath, the devil, female genital mutilation and a fairground attraction;  a dodgy mirror to a salivating diplomat – felt all the more colourful.

But to judge, to rank, to choose a winner – SO very hard. In the somewhat desperate end I decided on John’s ‘Close Shave’, as much for the perfection of the title as my involuntary shock of laughter at the end. Thank you all, for contributions and comments.  

Words for next week: excise tumultuous verify

Entries by midnight Thursday 7th June, words and winners posted Friday 8th June

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media you prefer.