Flash Contest!

In today’s Journal

* Flash Contest!
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Flash Contest!

It’s been a long time since StoneThread Publishing held a contest and published an anthology. But a timely comment from a writer and Journal reader made me realize it’s time.

If this contest works out well, I probably will host similar contests in the future. Maybe for more short stories or for openings of novels or whatever. I’m actually excited about this.

In her comment, Emilia wrote (excerpted)

“I used to read other peoples stories and give feedback, but I stopped because it made my critical voice stronger.

“There are two short stories which still stand out to me. One was hilarious, and I laughed out loud several times. Another was a clever fantasy/fairy tale and had a theme of living happily in an illusion because the truth hurt so much. It also had the perfect ending,

“I wanted to read another story with the author’s voice and characters. The author said they had written it quickly for a challenge and hoped it was good. I don’t think either author realized how good those stories already were. I would’ve paid for either in a heartbeat.”

So there you go. Further testimony that writing into the dark—writing the characters’ authentic story as you run through it with them—really does work.

The writers Emilia spoke about started with a challenge. So here’s a challenge (and a paying contest) for you. I can think of no better way to get you to risk writing into the dark:

The Rules of the Contest

• There is no entry fee.
• The contest is open to all readers of the Journal, regardless of professional or amateur status, whether you’ve published other work, or whether you’ve submitted entries to a previous StoneThread Publishing anthology.
• Deadline: Midnight Arizona time, May 8, 2024.
• Write a short story (or two) into the dark from 2000 words (minimum) to 7999 words in any genre during the contest period (April 24 through May 8, 2024).
• You may submit up to two stories for this contest.
• You may send the story to a first reader (or read it aloud) to catch wrong words, misspellings, or inconsistencies, but no editors or critique group members or other critical minds (even yours) can be involved.
• Run your submission through a spell checker.
• Send it to me as an attachment in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. Please put Contest Submission in the subject line. (If you’re in the Bradbury Challenge, yes, you may also report the story or stories for that challenge.)
• By the act of submitting your work, you grant StoneThread Publishing (me) First North American Serial Rights to publish your story or stories in an anthology. (For an explanation of FNASR and other rights, please visit Poets&Writers magazine.)
• Submission of your work does not guarantee either publication or critique.
• Of course, you retain all copyright to your work and all other licensing rights.
• Payment of prizes and-or publication in the ensuing anthology will constitute full payment for your work. No other payments or “royalty splits” will be forthcoming.
• Cash prizes and Honorable Mentions will be awarded only on merit.

Your Contest Judge

• I will be the sole judge of the contest.
• I will verify receipt of your entry or entries via email
• I will read for pleasure only.
• If I am not drawn into your story for some reason, I might tell you why via private email but a response is neither required nor guaranteed.

The Prizes

• First Prize $50
• Second Prize $40
• Third Prize $30
• Fourth Prize $20
• Fifth Prize $10
• Honorable Mentions and all prize winners will receive one free copy of any of my nonfiction titles on writing (your choice).
• If STP publishes an anthology as a result of this contest, all entrants will receive one copy of the resulting anthology in their preferred eformat.

In the body of your submission email, specify

• that you grant StoneThread Publishing FNASR (see The Rules above).
• that you wrote the story or stories into the dark (meaning there were no revisions or rewrites or seeking critical input—cycling is fine),
• your name or pen name(s),
• the title(s) and word count(s) of the story or stories
• you PayPal email address or mailing address (for payment), and
• which of my nonfiction books on writing you would like (and in which eformat), and

The Manuscript

For ease of reading, please set your manuscript at

• 1.5 spacing (not single or double, please),
• indent the first line of each paragraph by up to .5″ (I personally use 0.15″), and
• please set your before and after paragraph spacing to zero. Thanks!

That’s it. Any questions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

Unique beaches you’ll never want to leave “10 one-of-a-kind beaches the crowds have yet to discover.” Story ideas? Writing research? Or go while you can?

No one buys books NOTE that this is about traditional publishing. And see PG’s short note.

Zen and the Art

The Numbers

The Journal……………………………… 790

Writing of Blackwell Ops 24: Buck Jackson Returns (tentative title)

Day 1…… 3724 words. To date…… 3724
Day 2…… 3706 words. To date…… 7430
Day 3…… 2110 words. To date…… 9540
Day 4…… 3243 words. To date…… 12783
Day 5…… 1606 words. To date…… 14389
Day 6…… 1306 words. To date…… 15695
Day 7…… 3063 words. To date…… 18758
Day 8…… 3743 words. To date…… 22501

Fiction for April…………………….….… 58762
Fiction for 2024…………………………. 284554
Fiction since October 1………………… 587610
Nonfiction for April……………………… 20480
Nonfiction for 2024……………………… 149200
2024 consumable words……………… 433754

2024 Novels to Date……………………… 7
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)……………… 89
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 239
Short story collections…………………… 29

Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing are lies, and they will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Note: This contest was made possible only by your gracious donations and paid subscriptions. To be sure you continue receiving the Journal after May 31, subscribe free, then click the Donate link at the end of this post and make a recurring donation of $3 per month. In doing that, you’re effectively paying me 5 cents per hour to provide you with the Journal every day. Donate Here.