I'm obsessed with NYC Midnight's flash fiction competitions and enter just about every contest they sponsor. What I love is the opportunity to see how my writing stacks up among thousands of writers worldwide and the detailed feedback every entry receives from the judges. Here's a piece I wrote for the 500-word story competition, which ended up placing first in my Round One group--a first for me. I got knocked out in the second round, but that's how it goes. For this story, I drew on my deep attachment to Roanoke Island, North Caroline. The characters are fictitious, but they would fit right in.


​Tuesday
9:05 a.m.: Missing person. A Silver Alert has been issued for 84-year-old Olivia Early of Manteo after she failed to show for the annual Tillett/Early family reunion on Sunday. She was last seen Saturday at about 11 a.m. riding her yellow scooter away from her ex-husband’s home on Agona Street in downtown Manteo. Anyone with information is urged to call the Dare County Sheriff’s Office.
 
Wednesday
7:12 a.m.: Vandalism. Police were dispatched to the Manteo Waterfront after receiving reports that the wooden statue of Sir Walter Raleigh had been defaced. On close examination, it was determined to be a wood pecker, according to Sheriff Andrea Tillett. No further investigation.
 
9:23 a.m.: Breaking and entering. A costume used in The Lost Colony outdoor drama was reported stolen from Waterside Theatre after the Tuesday night performance. The thief or thieves apparently broke a window to gain entrance and took a gown valued at more than $20,000. An investigation is pending.
 
Thursday
12:44 p.m.: Suspicious substance. Police were called to the First Baptist Church when a volunteer who had been wrapping donated gifts for the “Christmas in July” gala discovered a bag of marijuana among the donations. Upon questioning, the volunteer, Sally Lester, denied knowledge of the package. Sheriff Tillett asks the donor to come forward to retrieve it. 
 
Friday
9:00 a.m.: Reward offered. The family of Olivia Early is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts. There have been no sightings of the 84-year-old Early or her yellow scooter since she was last seen Saturday leaving her ex-husband’s home.
 
9:53 p.m.: Suspicious persons. A person or persons were reported ding dong ditching homes in downtown Manteo. They fled before police arrived.
 
10:00 p.m.: Indecent exposure. Uber Eats driver sought for indecent exposure. The suspect was fully clothed in a Santa suit when he picked up an order from Darrell’s Restaurant but was later seen driving a yellow scooter wearing nothing but a Santa hat. The suspect is described as a heavily bearded, elderly white man. He is also wanted for questioning in the disappearance of 84-year-old Olivia Early of Manteo. If you see this individual or vehicle, call 911.
 
Saturday
11:39 a.m.: Petty theft. An unidentified person stole two cartons of eggs from the Piggly Wiggly in Manteo. Under investigation.
 
2:40 p.m.: Assault. Police were called to the First Baptist Church after a woman dressed in Elizabethan costume interrupted a wedding and threw eggs at the groom, 87-year-old Rufus Early, and bride, 48-year-old Sally Lester. The assailant was taken into custody and later released when the couple declined to press charges.
 
3:00 p.m. Missing person found. A Silver Alert issued Tuesday has been cancelled after 84-year-old Olivia Early was found safe and unharmed.
 
Sunday
9:00 a.m. Stolen costume recovered. The gown stolen from The Lost Colony’s backstage costume shop has been recovered, according to Sheriff Tillett. No charges have been filed in connection with the theft.
 
 

Flash fiction is short fiction--complete stories rendered in fewer than 1,500 words.

​There are outlets for stories of far fewer words, like Dime Show Review, which invites writers to submit ten-word stories. Ever try to tell a complete story in ten words? Yeah, me neither. I require a minimum of 53 words, and am working on a couple of those now.

Part of what I love about flash fiction is that it lends itself to experimentation. It's a playground for goofing around with different genres and voices and techniques. Just give me a prompt and a word count, and I'll give you a story, or maybe just a character sketch. Blank pages don't unnerve me if all I have to do is lay down 53 or 101 words. I can spend contented hours on end getting the words just so. I love the craft of writing every bit as much as the creativity.

Still, I don't consider myself a fiction writer (kids' books notwithstanding), so I was surprised when, after working up my courage to submit a story to Flash Fiction Magazine, it was accepted. I wrote "The Dancer" years ago in a writing workshop. The instruction was to read The Spanish Dancer, a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, and write a story on whatever comes to mind. Buoyed by that small success, I kept on writing my little stories.

​But damn, the stuff bleeding from my imagination can be dark. One of my more macabre pieces, "The Lesson," was published on 101words.com. I imagined this story one night after looking up at the waning moon and thinking how sinister it looked. It made me wonder that people fixate on the full moon as the stuff of horror when a fat, happy, bright moon seems so benign in contrast to a sliver of a moon, so stingy with light.

Writers understand how an innocent prompt or a rogue thought can yield unexpected results. The rest of you: take my word for it, and try not to be alarmed.
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