Sometimes a twist at the end of a story can work, and other times it falls flat. Here's an example in one of my flash fiction stories. Do you think it works? Mother and Child Your cry annihilates a rare dream. Since you came I snatch at sleep like a starving refugee. I pad through…
Covet
I wrote this story ten years ago. It was runner-up in the Reader's Digest 100-word story competition 2013. It has exactly 100 words. Covet You stand in the corner, silent. Your legs, your arms, your back all curve luxuriously, stealing space. You are taunting me. Teasing me. Come. Closer. Caress. Covet. I circle you, regarding…
Elizabeth Goes Shopping
One day Elizabeth woke up and decided to go shopping. She dressed in trousers and an anorak and wrapped a paisley scarf around her hair. After breakfast she ducked through the kitchen, out the gates and was on the No. 32 bus before anyone had noticed she was gone. First stop, Boots the Chemist for…
Crossing Over
Just for fun: I've written the same story, first in under 150 words, and then in under 300 words. I've entered both in different Flash Fiction competitions. Which do you think is best? Why? Crossing Over (150 words) We spear through the pre-dawn. As we shoot down the last hill before the pier, all wheels…
Patricia Bell, Author 