Judging Flashes

It is with extreme humility that I announce how honored I am to be chosen by Stevie McCoy (aka @TheGlitterLady) to judge her #TuesdayTales flash fiction contest today.

I love flash fiction: super-short complete stories that pack a punch are the literary equivalent of a triple espresso. Or a hit of 5-Hour Energy. Or stepping over an electric fence and discovering that it's still on. They hit you with a jolt that sticks with you long after you're finished.

According to Wikipedia, "flash fiction" is all about length. 6 words. 55 words. 78 words (Like the current Esquire Short Short Fiction Contest. It's free to enter and open till October 7. Check it out!). 100 words -- like Glitter Lady's #TuesdayTales.

But thanks to Twitter, "flash fiction" has also evolved to include a time limit. Many flash fiction contests last 24 hours... or less. And to make things fair, they often include a theme, word prompt, word (or words) that must be incorporated into the finished piece.

Some of my favorite Twitter Flash Fiction contests are Stevie's #TuesdayTales (on Tuesdays) and Tracey M. Hansen's, aka @THansenWrites, #HumpDayChallenge (on Wednesdays. Full disclosure: I'm a previous winner, so of course I'm gonna like Tracey's contest.) I'm sure there are others. If you know of any, feel free to mention them in the comments.

Really, what was Stevie thinking?
Perhaps someone dumped a 5-Hour Energy
into her espresso and then sat her
on an electric fence? That would explain it.

Today, I am the Grand Poobah She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed of Stevie's #TuesdayTales. As I said, I'm honored to be chosen.  So, today -- and today only -- I'm going to ask you to stop reading MY blog and go read someone else's.

Go to Stevie's Glitter Word blog, follow her instructions, discover the Secret Word, and hit me with your best 100. Winner gets bragging rights and a way-cool blog button. Plus, I'm offering a special prize to the winner AND to the writer receiving honorable mention.

Oh -- and to thank you for reading all the way to the end (instead of cutting out early and skipping over to Stevie's place) -- here's a hint as to what I'm looking for in a knock-my-socks-off entry.

Labor Day is over. So is summer. School is in session. It's time for kids to buckle down and learn something. Well, we're all students at heart, right? So I'm going to give special preference to entries that make me think. I'm not talking the "Great! I finally get to use trigonometry after all these years" kind of thinking. I'm talking about the "WHOA! I didn't see that coming. But... of course. It's perfect... Hmmm..." kind.

You know what I mean. I can't wait to read what you come up with.