short stories
-
It’s Thursday and your new five-word challenge is here. This week, your prompt is FISH. So can you tell a story in five words, using the word FISH in it somewhere? Here are your HUMAN stories from last week: EDC Writing: Human. Being, can’t be. Really? Ritu: I’m only human, you know. Christine Mallaband-Brown: My…
-
For part one, click here. 6th September Dad came to see me today and he was on his own. He tried to act all pally, giving me a pat on the back and ruffling my hair. He shoved an ‘HMV’ bag in my hand. He winked at me and said that he knew I liked…
-
3rd September Mum and Dad’s divorce came through today. Mum danced round the breakfast table singing, ‘I’m gonna get that man right out of my hair.’ She looked like a witch with her hair stuck up and a grin Tony Blair would have been proud of. Then she ran up to me and kissed me…
-
For part one, please click here. For part two, please click here. I went blank after that. I couldn’t think, speak, move or function in any way. I didn’t want to either. I wanted to die too. I didn’t want to wake up and know you weren’t going to be there any more. But I…
-
For part one, please click here. But I didn’t know. You were only ten. You were looking forward to going to the big school in the autumn, to being in the school play and travelling on the Inter City up to London with me and your friend for your birthday treat. You weren’t supposed to…
-
I pick a pretty daffodil from the vase on the sideboard. But then they’re all pretty, aren’t they, Jenny? I gently stroke the soft silken surface of the flower and tears stream down my face. Daffodils were always your favourite. They were just coming into bloom on the day you were born. I was standing…
-
Choices Fay couldn’t stop the terrible thoughts trampling through her head. She battled for calm. Think! Think! she shouted to her tormented mind. This was a matter of life or death. Well, almost. At the very least, it would change her life forever. She looked at her hands, at the objects held in them. The…
-
As many of you know, I love writing flash fiction. Here’s a new story for you: Escape I stop, tears streaming down my cheeks. Soft whispers caress me, building in sound slowly, the harshness of the words with them. The snap of stiff wood to my right, a yell of triumph to my left. Fingers…
-
One of my former Writers Bureau students, Alan Dale, asked if he could interview me for his new blog. I was delighted to be asked and to support Alan as he starts on his blogging journey. Here’s a short extract from the interview: Perhaps we could start by looking at a few aspects of short…
-
Happy Friday! Have a great weekend everyone. As it’s Friday, it’s time for my guest post. If you’d like to feature as a guest on my blog, please get in touch. I’m looking for stories and non-fiction pieces of up to 1500 words and poems of up to 40 lines. If you can also send…
Esther Chilton 