Somehow or other ten years had gone by and she lost her voice. Her name, Orpha, was the last word she ever spoke out loud. Spoken in a whisper, it sounded like Alpha, a promising beginning. But perhaps creation, once it has been opened with Alpha, can only be followed by silence. Sitting in her chair on the porch she watched the empty parked cars. Frost scribbled on the windows and a small after-image froze: her fingers dangled in the air after she crossed herself three times. She often said to herself: I am the only one here. Much earlier in her life (she had come over mountains and the ocean), she had seen rivers that looked like small streams,… Continue >>
When the door clicks shut, his mouth starts running. Outside there is only snow, a pale sheet stretching three miles in all directions. Sunset turns the sky into an aging bruise. From the glass, this reflected father looks healthier, thicker, less translucent. He’s lost in her hair now, the way it fell in tangled strands. A briar patch of red curls. They met at an engineering conference in Jersey. Things devolved quickly. I wipe juice from the dying forest of his beard while a stranger watches through diluted eyes. A steady voice. I‘d never, I’d never, I’d never. Dying lungs wheeze. Urine stink fills the room. Reaching for my book, I try imagining how he sees me. Still wearing his… Continue >>
Ever realized that the writing on the page is nowhere near as good as the idea in your head? You’re not alone…
pjmorledge.com is having a short story competition. Check it out.
Bob Jacobs has been the administrator and member of many successful online writing, creative writing and short story forums (fora??) and has written a great couple of articles about how you too can make it through the forest of critique and encouragement… Bob has previously had this short story featured on Backhand Stories.
I found a great little site that forces you to just… write. You are given a random word, and then sixty seconds to write whatever comes into your head. It’s a great little writing exercise. oneword.com Martin
I’ve had the pleasure of publishing a few pieces from members of Write Words, a great writing community based in the UK. They asked me to tell them a little more about Backhand Stories, so they’ve published a short interview with me about the site. You can read it here. Martin
I just stumbled upon this list of sites for writers to submit their work: http://socialmediatrader.com/resource-list-40-sites-for-writers/ Enjoy! Martin.