A New Beginning

MicroFiction Roundup #1

Flicker Fics

Everyday Improvement

Every day, he trained to be better. One more pound of weight. One more crunch. One more squat. One more act of kindness. One more chapter read. No limit, just ‘one more.’ And when he woke up and found he couldn’t move, he learned the most important thing: one more day of rest.

Grief Monster

Grief is a monster slashing you with tiny pinpricks of your past. They’re reminders that give you pause as you drop the milk carton at the store, turning to look for the face of an imagined whisperer.

But it’s a friend, too. Reminding you to love the blissful reality you live in today.

Too Wide

Eve scrolled through Zoya’s profile. “This won’t get you many dates, Zee. You have to cast a wider net.”

“I don’t want more dates. I want to find a specific fish. One with pretty scales and good intentions. Not bad breath, bad attitude, and… weird tentacles.”

“Um, that’s really specific.”

Lightning 100

Just a Number

Death Report #9352:

Subject’s name is Alicia Heralda from Turnita, an unremarkable world. She became a traveler roughly a month ago when she left Turnita and entered Festasia, a world where inhabitants can see and manipulate their lifespans.

Likely through accident, Heralda found that carrots lengthened her life. Naturally, this discovery heralded a strict regimen of carrot sticks, carrot cakes, and carrot juices.

Unfortunately, nobody told her there was a strict upper limit to life extension on Festasia, and that overflow was possible. We found her body this morning, wholly orange and with a baby carrot stuffed up each nostril.

The Wire

Jagged wire wrapped around the wrists, cutting deeply. Crimson blood pools on the carpet; a reminder not to struggle. Procrastination. Demotivation. Chronic pain. The names vary, but the result is the same: drip, drip, drip.

But creation is breathing, and art is life. It burns within us all. Stoke the flame until, eventually, the weathered wire can’t resist and melts like the weakest wax, sealing wounds shut and providing a short reprieve. Drip, drip, drip.

Hostile environments. Busy schedules. Imposter syndrome. They’re fights that sometimes feel eternal. But creating art for one’s well-being, when possible, allows persistence—despite feelings otherwise.

Fact in Fiction

Hello, and happy New Year! It’s been a (long, long) while. In case the above stories haven’t made it clear, I’m back! I have a lot on the site to iron out and new features to look through, so please bear with me as I metaphorically dust things off.

For all you know, this is actually me waving (it’s not)! (Photo by Ioana Cristiana on Unsplash)

My goal for this newsletter is to release a new issue every 1-2 weeks on Tuesdays until I feel comfortable fully committing to a weekly schedule again. I’ll be alternating between microfiction and flash fiction issues.

Two of the Flicker Fics in this issue are actually from my BlueSky account. I often write these based on prompts that get posted there, so if you want the first look, feel free to follow. Otherwise, you’ll see them when I repost them for this format (and occasionally add a brand-new one). Eventually, I should have enough of these to start theming issues again, but that’s a ways off. The Lightning 100 stories will be new unless stated otherwise, so there will always be new content to read here.

I only want to send you emails/notifications for what you want. If you’d like to pick and choose what you get from me, you can do so here. Once you are logged in, you can toggle which sort of issues you want under the Notifications section. Here is a quick rundown of each option:

• Stories From Another Realm - only turn this off if you want to completely unsubscribe. If you do unsub, thank you for giving me the chance, and I’m sorry to see you go!

• Quick as a Flash - One short story that’s 1000 words or less (if it’s particularly short, I may do a 2-in-1 issue). You’ll see one of these every 2-4 weeks.

• The Catcher Files - my serial that I’ll be starting later this year. More announcements to come; I hope you’ll give it a try once it comes out!

• The MicroFiction Roundup - three stories that are roughly the length of a tweet; two stories that are exactly 100 words long. The thing you’re reading right now. :) You’ll see one of these every 2-4 weeks.

• New chat threads - a feature I currently don’t use or have any plans for. I’m open to hearing requests for if I did start using it in the (distant) future.

That’s all for now. Hope everyone has had a great start to the year!