Queer writer of weird things
I sometimes feel as if I'm cheating when it comes to ’Nathan's monthly flash fiction draw. Instead of writing a self-contained piece of fiction, I often use these to work out a continuation of an earlier story. That's the case for September, which follows up on this post. (Which was a follow-up to an earlier …
Continue reading "It’ll Be Easy—A Flash Fiction Draw Challenge"
Midwestern Gothic has a three-round flash fiction contest ever summer, and this summer, against all odds, I won round 2. Entries for each round are based on a given photo prompt, and you can see round 2's prompt over there on the right. The resulting story, "Transport," came together pretty quickly, which surprised me. I've …
Every month on the first Monday of the month, ’Nathan posts a series of prompts for a flash fiction story due the following Monday. (Well, I say “due” but it’s not as if it’s a homework assignment; it’s completely no-pressure and I’ve saved up prompts and done them weeks or months later. Prompts never expire, …
Continue reading "August Flash Fiction: The Drag Queen with the Emerald Earring"
When ’Nathan posted this picture last week for his Friday Flash Fiction piece (which you should go read), it brought to mind something I wrote about four years ago. At least, I think it was four years. My memory is not what it was. (Narrator: his memory was never good.) I wrote a half-finished draft …
One of the things I like about short stories—or any fiction, really—is imagining the lives of the characters beyond the last page. If the story continued, what would they do next? When it's my own story, I can answer that question fairly easily: write more! And that's what this bit of flash fiction is. Back …
So, this entry in ’Nathan Burgoine's June Flash Fiction Draw is a bit of a cheat in two ways. First off, it's Tuesday, and these are supposed to go up on Monday. Hey, I'm slow. Sue me. Second, the prompt for this month's flash fiction is: Well, I've got the hot chocolate and the scrapyard, …
So last Friday my friend ’Nathan posted a flash fic piece in response to the photo below. I thought it was adorable, both his story and the photo. See for yourself: And I figured I'd see if I could come up with something by today to post, and what do you know, I did. It's …
There’s something uniquely wonderful about spending a week surrounded by people who “get” a) being queer and b) being a writer without my having to explain myself.
...yes, I know it’s already Wednesday. I’ll blame jet lag as I’ve just gotten back from a writing retreat and book festival in Nottingham, England for Bold Strokes Books. In a word, wonderful. In another word, exhausted. More on that later. Be that as it may, the last day I was there, my friend ‘Nathan …
Continue reading "‘Nathan’s Monday Flash Fiction Draw, drawn by me!"
Four years is not such a long time when you think about it. On the other hand, in such a short time a lot can happen. Leaders change, geniuses die, Kate Bush stubbornly does not come out with a new album. Did you know that in the last four years you've traveled 3.76 billion kilometers …
Continue reading "Don’t measure success using someone else’s yardstick"