What Does A Vampire Eat During A Plague by Jerry Harwood

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Johan, a traveling salesman, returns to his medieval village during the black plague outbreak. As he enters, he meets a stark, hungry man on the village’s outskirts. The storyline follows the verses of “Ring Around O’Roses.”

About the Author

Jerry Harwood was born in Ooltewah, TN. His mother was an elementary school teacher and he spent his afternoons reading books in her classroom or the nearby library. He currently is a writer, which makes sense based on the fact you are reading this here. He has experimented with other occupations: camp director, program director at a counseling center, college professor and middle school teacher. Jerry has backpacked Europe, taught in a Ukrainian University, worked in Rwanda after the genocide, is a first responder, sort-of remodeled a VW Thing, and has a love for Cherry Coke Zero that is only surpassed by his love for his wife, six children, and grandson.

The Glowing Embers by Urvi Roy

Read The Story Here

About the Story

I fixated upon a stout and pudgy elderly man in front of me. His demeanor looked awfully rigid and his eyes flitted unwittingly. It must have been his first-time.

About the Author

Urvi Roy is an avid writer of realistic fiction and opinionated pieces on societal events. When she’s not scribbling out the words to a creative piece of flash fiction, short story, or poem, she can be found devouring the works of Kiera Cass or the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, dancing to classical Indian or contemporary pieces, practicing lines for a theater performance, or trying to sew with a new piece of fabric. She was wholeheartedly inspired to write this piece of flash fiction by her preoccupation with cliff-hanger ending, mysterious, and suspenseful episodes that leave viewers or readers, like herself, thoroughly insatiable!

The Time-Traveller’s Strife by Alan Grant

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Jason Mourn, still struggling to recover from a bad breakup has a chance to change his future by altering his cringeworthy past.

About the Author

Alan Grant is a writer from Ireland with a focus and emphasis on humorous fiction.

Right There by Anneliese Schultz

Read The Story Here

About the Story

A young woman decides to take a Covid-era chance. (Not a screw-social-distancing chance; more like a he-may-Unfriend-me-for-this chance.) Now all she has to do is bring her past, hold the present, and have faith in future as she meets him first time amidst these fading gravestones.

About the Author

A Bread Loaf Scholar and Pushcart Prize nominee, Anneliese completed her MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, and was shortlisted for the 2016 HarperCollins/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction. The prompt for this story was one she mightily resisted—until the character showed up and suggested she get out of the way. Anneliese works on her YA climate fiction, a Middle Grade ghost story, and lockdown flash fiction in Vancouver, BC. Pre-border closure, much of her writing time was spent in Boulder, CO, and points between on the train. She can also be found at http://laughinginthelanguage.com/

The Spot by Claudia Hauter

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Abbi is cooking up yet another dinner party, but this one may turn out the be different.

About the Author

Claudia Hauter is a writer of no wrongs – a moniker she adapted from Don Quixote. When she’s not reading books and writing about them, she’s working in South African television creating digital content. She also loves movies, coffee, and saving planet Earth.

Morning Glory by Isha Bakar

Read The Story Here

About the Story

About how a daughter is coping with her mother’s death.

About the Author

I love writers who play with characters’ view points to tell a story from different angles. For the previous StoryADay, I explored writing stories written in the voices of different characters over a central theme.

When To Talk To Strangers by Sharon X. Wong

Read The Story Here

About the Story

What if talking to strangers is the right thing to do? A different take on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

About the Author

Sharon lives in Perth, Western Australia, but spends most of her time in completely imaginary worlds. She has worked as a translator and language tutor and enjoys symphonic music and stories in all their forms.

Parentheses by Laura Porter

Read The Story Here

About the Story

It was the waiting that was the worst.

The chalk stopped tapping against the blackboard, and the droning came to a halt, ending on the up note of a question. Next, a long and deliberately antagonistic pause. The feet began their slow heel to toe stroll toward the tables.

About the Author

Laura Porter is a freelance writer and editor who writes regularly for area newspapers and magazines. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. Her historical novel, Turned Adrift, is in process. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, the dog and the cat, as well as whichever millennial child needs a break from the real world at the moment.

Good Meat by Neha Mediratta

Read The Story Here

About the Story

In a tent, atop a mountain, do couples dream of killing each other?

About the Author

Neha Mediratta is a freelance writer and editor based in Mumbai. Her interests include swimming, tai chi alongwith studying natural and human systems of organization)

Glorious and Sunny by Lisa Rutledge

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Sunny’s momma hardly leaves the house these days. Sunny’s always been able to cheer her up before, but now he can’t seem to help. And it’s no surprise to Sunny that his sister doesn’t help either. Can these three family members find happiness together in changed circumstances?

About the Author

Lisa Rutledge writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She reads in the historical fiction, fantasy, and humor genres, to name just a few of her favorites. Visit her website at https://lisarutledgeauthor.com/to check out more of her work and subscribe to her blog.

Humpty Dumpty’s Demise by Maery Rose

Read The Story Here

About the Story

“We had long thought Humpty Dumpty would meet his demise with reckless abandon. And we weren’t far from the truth.”

About the Author

Maery Rose is a Minnesota writer who has been blogging for over twenty years at maeryrose.com. She likes to believe that the wide variety of topics she writes about represent an unquenchable curiosity. Maery’s most recent and harrowing trek has taken her into the world of writing and publishing short stories.

Cinderella Jones by Anita G. Gorman

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About the Story

A teen named Cinderella is ridiculed, but she makes use of the elements of the fairytale to be a success in unusual ways.

About the Author

Anita G. Gorman grew up in Queens and now lives in northeast Ohio. Since 2014 she has had a number of short stories and essays accepted for publication. Her one-act play, Astrid: or, My Swedish Mama, produced at Youngstown Ohio’s Hopewell Theatre in March 2018, starred Anita and her daughter Ingrid.

Alphabet Soup by J. E. M. Wildfire

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Living in a jump rope nursery rhyme is not what you’d expect.

About the Author

J.E.M. Wildfire danced on the edge of creative writing throughout her life, culminating with lawyerly briefs and memorandums filled with facts presented as creatively as possible while remaining truthful. After retiring, she decided to dispense with facts and concentrate on creativity. She discovered that the diversity of StoryADay May prompts sparked her late-blooming talent and led down writing paths she would not have stumbled upon otherwise. This piece is one of them. While she can’t say for sure whether it’s actually a story, the writing exercise was fun. She thinks readers will enjoy the puzzle or the humor or both.

Graceless by Gabrielle Johansen

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About the Story

A young Witch faces her first true test in spellcasting. Will she rise to the occasion? Find out in “Graceless”!

About the Author

Gabrielle Johansen is an aspiring young adult fantasy author. She enjoys reading everything from Maas to Atwood to Briggs. This story was inspired by the idea that every character wants something and often those wants are in direct opposition. This is her first foray into the StoryADay world, which she has found inspiring and extremely helpful.

Love Among The Tombstones by Kath Saxby

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About the Story

Eileen’s mom, wanting a safe place for her daughter’s ashes, buried them among the roots of the yew tree without a tombstone and without permission.

About the Author

Kath Saxby’s fiction has been published by Storyscape and her travel writing by major New Zealand newspapers and TNT magazine in England. She was a finalist in competitions held by Arts and Letters, Summer Literary Seminars, Hunger Mountain and shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize. She was selected for a New York Mills residency in northern Minnesota and she holds an MFA in creative writing from the City College of New York. Kath grew up in Fiji and in New Zealand where she worked on the family farm. She has held jobs in computer programming, sales, truck driving, meat-packing and office administration, and currently teaches English as a second language in East Harlem. She has a completed novel-in-waiting, titled Dog Wars.

Conrad’s Fitting by Courtney M.

Read The Story Here

About the Story

Retelling of a German nursery rhyme. Warnings: gruesome and child hurt in this story.

About the Author

I love reading and writing micro fiction. I didn’t walk away with 31 amazing stories this StoryADay, but I pushed myself to try new techniques and styles and look forward to snipping away at the drafts to tailor little nuggets of strangeness.

The Curse of the Purple Witch by Prachi

Read The Story Here

About the Story

When the Purple Witch curses the Prince in a fit of rage and turns him into a crayon, she doesn’t realise the consequences. How will the curse be reversed?

About the Author

I have been reading and writing (mostly in my journals and blogs though) since I was a child. I love reading fantasy, fiction, romance, thriller, and sometimes inspiring non fiction. I came across Story A Day’s challenges two years back and have been trying my hand at commercial writing since then. I haven’t published anywhere other than my blog yet, but I enjoy the process of writing and creating. I just want my writing to make people laugh or smile 🙂 I wrote this story from one of the Story A Day May 2020 prompts, and with the help of my four year old daughter, who sparked the idea of the colour monster, looking at that picture.

Praying by Bear Creek by Charlotte Neussle

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About the Story

Oregon’s natural beauty flows through its creeks to the sea. It carries evergreen prayers, as timely now as for aboriginal peoples. In this story, follow some of those prayers home.

About the Author

Writing is a friend that has been gently nudging me to speak. Now as a participant in StoryADay, I’ve committed myself to writing memoir, using a process to bring forth perspective, healing and wholeness. Engaging in this process and belonging to this group all came at just the right time. Read more about me at charlottenuessle.com/about-charlotte

Dissolve And Gather by Monique Cuillerier

Read The Story Here

About the Story

At the height of summer, in the midst of a pandemic, a woman searches for respite.

About the Author

Monique Cuillerier has gained a lot through participating in Story A Day over the last nine years, not least of which is a deep attachment to writing short fiction. She mostly writes science fiction, although some of her work is difficult to categorize. When not writing, she runs, gardens, knits, and organizes large online events.

About Straps by Margo A. Mertz

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About the Story

I thought only good things would happen once we removed the top part of our wool jumper…I didn’t expect to be “the girl in the undershirt.” That’s not fair!

About the Author

Margo Artale Mertz has lived in Burlington, Vermont for the last 30 years. She spent her first 10 years in Brooklyn, NY, the next 11 in Pittsburgh, PA, and the following 7 in New Rochelle, NY. She writes humor in short fictions, creative non-fictions, and essays. She has participated in several StoryADay critique groups and challenges, and can’t thank Julie enough.

100 by Natalie Goodwin

Read The Story Here

About the Story

A 100 word story about One and his brothers Aught and Naught

About the Author

I’m a writer of fantasy, mystery, suspense, and sometimes literary fiction. My favorite authors are Neil Gaiman and Janie Chang. For this story, I wanted to pick a number and write a story about it. I chose the number 100 with the goal of writing the story in exactly 100 words.

Part of:

StoryFest 2020 Logo

Lesson Plans by Michele Reisinger

Read The Story Here

About the Story

A novice teacher facing burn-out must learn the most valuable lessons aren’t necessarily the ones we teach.

About the Author

Michele E. Reisinger lives with her family near Philadelphia and teaches English at a New Jersey High School. Her short fiction has been featured online at Light and Dark Magazine, Prometheus Dreaming, 34th Parallel, The Mighty Line, and Dreamers Creative Writing, as well as the 2019 anthology Stories That need to be told. She loves to read stories that make her think and wonder and learn. Lesson Plans was inspired by StoryADay’s list prompt and her conversation with a burned-out colleague who questioned the value of careers in education. Michele credits StoryADay and its awesome community of fellow writers with encouraging her along every step of her writing journey. You can find more of her writing at My Name Was Supposed To Be Elizabeth Ann (mereisinger.com).

StoryFest 2020: How to Participate

This is our chance to celebrate all our hard work, either by nominating one of your stories to be featured during StoryFest, or by sharing the stories of your fellow StoryADay writers.

StoryFest 2020

June 27-28

storyaday.org

WHAT IS STORYFEST?

StoryFest is a weekend when the stories take over StoryADay.org.

On Jun 27, the front page of StoryADay.org will change to one dedicated to you and your stories. It will be full of links to your stories, online, until June 28

It’s our end-of-year party, our recital, our chance to share our work with readers.

(It’s also my birthday month, so consider your participation as your birthday gift to me!)

HOW TO CELEBRATE STORYFEST

  • If you wrote even one story in this (or any previous) StoryADay, submit one to be featured on the site’s front page June 27-28.
  • Whether or not you submit a story you can help spread the word: from now until StoryFest, tell everyone you know on every social network (especially the ones with readers in them) about StoryFest. Tell them to come to the site June 27-28 to read new and exciting work by up-and-coming future stars of the literary world!
  • Post the graphic on your blog, your Facebook timeline, tattoo it on your leg, whatever! (Get your graphics here)
  • Come to the site June 27-28, follow a link to a story, read it and comment on it.

HOW TO SUBMIT/NOMINATE A STORY

Simple.

Continue reading “StoryFest 2020: How to Participate”

Lesson Plans by Michele Reisinger

Read The Story Here

About the Story

A novice teacher facing burn-out must learn the most valuable lessons aren’t necessarily the ones we teach.

About the Author

Michele E. Reisinger lives with her family near Philadelphia and teaches English at a New Jersey High School. Her short fiction has been featured online at Light and Dark Magazine, Prometheus Dreaming, 34th Parallel, The Mighty Line, and Dreamers Creative Writing, as well as the 2019 anthology Stories That need to be told. She loves to read stories that make her think and wonder and learn. Lesson Plans was inspired by StoryADay’s list prompt and her conversation with a burned-out colleague who questioned the value of careers in education. Michele credits StoryADay and its awesome community of fellow writers with encouraging her along every step of her writing journey. You can find more of her writing at My Name Was Supposed To Be Elizabeth Ann (mereisinger.com).

Part of

StoryFest 2020 Logo

Read More

Lesson Plan by Michele E. Reisinger
100 by Natalie Goodwin
Praying by Bear Creek by Charlotte Neussle
Good Meat by Neha Mediratta
Conrad's Fitting by Courtney M.
Love Among The Tombstones by Kath Saxby
Graceless by Gabrielle Johansen
Alphabet Soup by J. E. M. Wildfire
Cinderella Jones by Anita G. Gorman
Humpty Dumpty's Demise by Maery Rose
Glorious and Sunny by Lisa Rutledge
Parentheses by Laura Porter
When To Talk To Strangers by Sharon X. Wong
What Does a Vampire Eat During The Plague? by Jerry Harwood
The Tell-Tale Heart Reimagined by Alan Grant
Midnight Blue by Andrea Kikuchi
The Time-Traveller's Strife by Alan Grant
Fast-Life Blues by Jason Steven Ruan
The Merchant's Table by Sophia Hoetzler
Glowing Embers by Urvi Roy
Right There by Anneliese Schultz
ReisingerStoryFest2020
GoodwinStoryFest2020
MertzStoryFest2020
CUILLERIERStoryFest2020
PrachiStoryFest2020
NeussleStoryFest2020
MedirattaStoryFest2020
Conrad’s Fitting by Courtney M.
SaxbyStoryfFest2020
JohansenStoryfFest2020
Alphabet Soup by J. E. M. Wildfire
GormanStoryFest2020
ROSEStoryFest2020
RutledgeStoryFest2020
Porter StoryFest2020
WongStoryFest2020
What Does a Vampire Eat During The Plague? by Jerry Harwood
HauterStoryFest2020
Grant2StoryFest2020
KikuchiStoryFest2020
BakarStoryFest2020
GrantStoryFest2020
Fast-Life Blues by Jason Steven Ruan
The Merchant’s Table by Sophia Hoetzler
Glowing Embers by Urvi Roy
SchultzSF2020
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StoryFest 2019 Is Coming!

This is for everyone – whether you wrote or you didn’t. If you wrote in a previous year; if you wanted to write but couldn’t make it; if you wrote one story; if you simply read and enjoyed someone else’s.

This is our chance to celebrate, and boost both the short story and our friends in StoryADay.

StoryFest 2019

June 29-30

storyaday.org

What is StoryFest?

StoryFest is a weekend when the stories take over StoryADay.org.

On Jun 29, the front page of StoryADay.org will change to one dedicated to you and your stories. It will be full of links to your stories, online, until June 30

It’s our end-of-year party, our recital, our chance to share our work with readers.

(It’s also my birthday month, so consider your participation as your birthday gift to me!)

How To Celebrate StoryFest

  • If you wrote even one story in this (or any previous) StoryADay, submit one to be featured on the site’s front page June 29-30.
  • Nominate someone else’s story to be featured.
  • Spread the word: from now until StoryFest, tell everyone you know on every social network (especially the ones with readers in them) about StoryFest. Tell them to come to the site June 29-30 to read new and exciting work by up-and-coming future stars of the literary world!
  • Post the graphic on your blog, your Facebook timeline, tattoo it on your leg, whatever! (Get your graphics here)
  • Come to the site June 29-30, follow a link to a story, read it and comment on it.

How To Submit/Nominate A Story

Simple.

Fill Out This Form.

Be ready to supply your storyaday username, your real name or psuedonym, a link to the story you’re nominating, its title and a summary, a link to a story by someone else (optional but karmically recommended).

Deadline: Thursday, June 27.

This gives you a few days to pick your story and possibly polish it a bit. If you can get it to me before the deadline I’ll love you forever, though, as it’s going to take me a while to organize all the submissions.

StoryFest FAQ


Does my story have to be online?

Yes. We want to create a reader fanbase for you. Stories must be posted somewhere online, in full.

Is it OK if my story is on my personal blog (or other site).

Absolutely. Just supply the link.

Will it be considered published?

Your story is not being published by StoryADay, but you should be aware that some editors still consider a story that has been posted online, as having been previously published. If you think this is your last good story ever, by all means guard it with your life. Or, if you plan to submit it to a publication in its current form, you may not want it posted online. Otherwise, I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about this.

Does It Have To Be A Story I Wrote During StoryADay?

Yes. I’ll have to trust you on this. But it can be a story you wrote in a previous year.

Why Do I Have To Select A Genre Label?

Try not to agonize over this. I know most fiction is really cross-genre. It’s just short-hand for readers. I know I’m more likely to plump for a Speculative/Sci-Fi story or a mystery before I will read a fantasy story. As a reader, you don’t want to scroll through a long list of stories with no clues as to which you might prefer. Genre labels simply help readers make a quick decision, rather than being paralyzed or overwhelmed and not clicking on anything. Just think like a reader, grit your teeth and pick a genre.

Can I Submit Erotica/Horror/TheWierdStuff?

Um, okay. But I’d appreciate it if you’d label it as such, so as not to scare the grownups.

Can I Revise My Story?

Absolutely. Polish it up, shine its little shoes, put a bow in its hair and send it into the world looking its best. But don’t take too long! And remember, you’re unlikely to ever be 100% satisfied. Polish it a bit, then let it go.

Deadline is Thursday, June 27.

StoryFest 2015 Is Coming!

This is for everyone – whether you wrote or you didn’t. If you wrote in a previous year; if you wanted to write but couldn’t make it; if you wrote one story; if you simply read and enjoyed someone else’s.

This is our chance to celebrate, and boost both the short story and our friends in StoryADay.

StoryFest 2015

June 13-14

storyaday.org

 

StoryFest 2015 logo

How To Celebrate StoryFest

 

  • Come to the site June 13-14, follow a link to a story, read it and comment on it.
  • If you wrote even one story in this (or any previous) StoryADay, submit one to be featured on the site’s front page June 13-14.
  • Nominate someone else’s story to be featured.
  • Spread the word: from Jun 1-14, tell everyone you know on every social network (especially the ones with readers in them) about StoryFest. Tell them to come to the site June 13-14 to read new and exciting work by up-and-coming future stars of the literary world!
  • Post the graphic on your blog, your Facebook timeline, tattoo it on your leg, whatever! (Get your graphics here)

 

What is StoryFest?

StoryFest is a weekend when the stories take over StoryADay.org.

On Jun 13, the front page of StoryADay.org will change to one dedicated to you and your stories. It will be full of links to your stories, online, until June 14.

It’s our end-of-year party, our recital, our chance to share our work with readers.

(It’s also my birthday weekend, so consider your participation as your birthday gift to me!)

 

How To Submit/Nominate A Story

Simple.

Fill Out This Form.

Be ready to supply your storyaday username, your real name or psuedonym, a link to the story you’re nominating, its title and a summary, a link to a story by someone else (optional but karmically recommended).

Deadline: Sunday, June 7.

This gives you a few days to pick your story and possibly polish it a bit. If you can get it to me before the deadline I’ll love you forever, though, as it’s going to take me a while to organize all the submissions.

StoryFest FAQ

 


Does my story have to be online?

Yes. We want to create a reader fanbase for you. Stories must be posted somewhere online, in full.

Is it OK if my story is on my personal blog (or other site).

Absolutely. Just supply the link.

Will it be considered published?

Your story is not being published by StoryADay, but you should be aware that some editors still consider a story that has been posted online, as having been previously published. If you think this is your last good story ever, by all means guard it with your life. Or, if you plan to submit it to a publication in its current form, you may not want it posted online. Otherwise, I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about this.

Does It Have To Be A Story I Wrote During StoryADay?

Yes. I’ll have to trust you on this. But it can be a story you wrote in a previous year.

Why Do I Have To Select A Genre Label?

Try not to agonize over this. I know most fiction is really cross-genre. It’s just short-hand for readers. I know I’m more likely to plump for a Speculative/Sci-Fi story or a mystery before I will read a fantasy story. As a reader, you don’t want to scroll through a long list of stories with no clues as to which you might prefer. Genre labels simply help readers make a quick decision, rather than being paralysed or overwhelmed and not clicking on anything. Just think like a reader, grit your teeth and pick a genre.

Can I Submit Erotica/Horror/TheWierdStuff?

Um, okay. But I’d appreciate it if you’d label it as such, so as not to scare the grownups.

Can I Revise My Story?

Absolutely. Polish it up, shine its little shoes, put a bow in its hair and send it into the world looking its best. But don’t take too long! And remember, you’re unlikely to ever be 100% satisfied. Polish it a bit, then let it go.

Deadline is Tuesday, June 7.

Nominate Stories for StoryFest 2014

StoryFest June 13-15, 2014 logo

What Is StoryFest?

StoryFest is a celebration of StoryADay May and all our hard work.

Nominate your own story (or someone else’s) and it’ll be featured on the front page of StoryADay.org during my birthday weekend: June 14-15, 2014. (Here’s how it looked in 2010)

StoryFest is a chance for us to promote each other’s stories to the wider world by linking to them from Twitter, Facebook, blogs and anywhere else we can post. It takes place over one weekend only, in order to create some urgency, for people to come by and visit now, and not put it off.

How Can I Nominate My Own Story?

Use this form.

Stories aren’t judged by anyone, just featured, so edit up your best story and submit it for some free link-love.

What If I Want To Nominate Someone Else’s StoryADay May 2014 Story?

That’s great! If you read and loved a story by a fellow participant during this year’s challenge, find the link and use the second part of the nominations form to highlight it.

(If it was a story that was published behind a password wall — i.e. not public — you can still give the writer a shout-out, without providing a link to their story.)

How Can I Help Promote StoryFest?

  • Starting on Friday evening, June 13, start spreading the word about StoryFest to your story-loving friends.
  • You can use these graphics to promote it, or simply use links. (StoryFest will take over the front page of StoryADay May during this weekend and will later move to [permalink: https://storyaday.org/storyfest-2014]. )
  • Use the hashtag #storyfest to help us find your social media mentions.
  • Keep spreading the word all weekend.
  • Take the opportunity to blog about what you learned during StoryADay and encourage other writers to get creative, like you! Use #storyfest and, if I see your link, I’ll retweet/link to it.

Social Media Starters

Whether you’re posting in a blog, on Twitter, on Facebook or any of those other sharing sites out there, feel free to take any of these starter suggestions or make up your own. Customize them to link to your stories, other people’s stories or just the front of the storyaday.org site. Go wild!

#StoryFest: a celebration of the short story. This weekend, [DATES]. No admission fee: https://storyaday.org

[customize this next one for the genre and link to a specific story]
Need a little romance/mystery/time-travel/humor/suspense/sci-fi in your life? Try a short story today: [URL] #StoryFest

Short Stories: bit-sized brain food. Fine one that’s to your taste during #StoryFest: https://storyaday.org

Broaden your horizons with a day trip into someone-else’s world. Read a short story during #StoryFest: https://storyaday.org

Travel the world for free: Read a short story set in [insert location]: [link to specific story] #StoryFest

Ever wanted to time travel? Read a short story [link to a story set not in present day] #StoryFest

Don’t forget to nominate your story by Thursday, June 11, 2014

Celebrate StoryADay May 2014!!!

StoryFest June 13-15, 2014 logo

Coming to this site, June 14-15, 2014 (nominate your stories here!)

Today is the last day of StoryADay May 2014!!

Even if you haven’t written a single story yet this month why not write and finish a story today? Writing and finishing one story in a single day is quite an achievement. You’ll be proud, I promise.

To those who have been writing every day: wow! You are awesome and every other writer on the planet envies you.  Well done!

Things You Have Done This Month

Q: Can you improve as a writer by writing a lot? CLUE: There’s a reason this challenge is in a month named “May”…

STORYFEST REMINDER

Don’t forget to submit or nominate stories for StoryFest by June 10 (and yes, there will be more details, a link to a form and another reminder, in the next few days). Then start planning to tell the world to visit StoryADay.org on June 1-15 for StoryFest!

(Seriously. This is your party. I don’t have email addresses for all the people you’d like to invite. You’ll have to do it!)

WHAT NEXT?

I’ll still be writing away, bring you interviews with writers, the Tuesday Reading Room, the Write On Wednesday writing prompt and regular Kick-In-The-Pants articles on Thursdays, with the newsletter serving as a regular digest of articles.

Take a moment today (or maybe tomorrow) to recap. Write an End of StoryADay report for yourself detailing any or all of the following:

  •    how you felt at the start,
  •    what you did,
  •    what you failed to do,
  •    how you kept going,
  •    what you learned,
  •    what you’re proud of
  •    how you plan to use the lessons learned this month to keep moving on your journey to literary superstardom (no wait, fulfillment. I meant to say ‘fulfillment’).

If you do write a recap and would like to share it, please post a link to it in the comments or simply send me a link in an email. I’d love to read about your experience.

Then get back to writing, polishing and submitting your short stories.

Further Reading

  • For help on developing the craft of writing, I suggest checking out DIYMFA.com.
  • For accountability and camaraderie in the year-round world of writing and submitting short stories, I refer you to Write1Sub1.

(Both of these sites have been started by former StoryADay writers since their first StADa experiences. I’m so proud!)

COME BACK EACH WEEK AND WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Every Wednesday throughout the year I post a Write On Wednesday prompt. (If you are subscribed to the Daily Prompt email list you’ll receive these Wednesday prompts in your inbox).

The ‘rules’ for the Write on Wednesday prompt are: write a rough and ready story to the prompt within  24 hours, post it IN THE COMMENTS and comment on someone else’s. You don’t have to write it on Wednesday, but you’ll probably get the most feedback if you do.

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AND FINALLY

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has talked about StoryADay, taken part, read stories, left comments, sent me an email, or written in secret. It is an absolute honor to have been your ringmaster again this year and I will be bereft … until we do it all again next time!!