[John Whitworth]

I thought I'd said this. It must be a Senior moment. Shhhh! Keep it to yourself.

[Brian Allgar]

In case John is being a bit cryptic, I think that what he means is:

Don't forget that anything you post here will be disqualified by the New Statesman on the grounds of previous publication.

[basil ransome-davies]

I suppose 'veni, vidi, vici' might be the, um, locus classicus for this one, but whether or not the baby-shoes quote issues from Hemingway it illustrates the method in his best (early) work: the emotional core of the situation is inferential, not stated, squeezed into the space between words. Probably a good way to go here if 'very brief' means what it says (10-20?), & not 150 words. Moi, I'm used to composing micro-fictions at 100-150 words, but I don't think I'll try it in this case.

[RCL]

Adam

Spit filled dust,
rib a bust,
inherited lust,
raised some dust,
started to rust
died as he must
dust to dust

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by basil ransome-davies

Probably a good way to go here if 'very brief' means what it says (10-20?), & not 150 words. Moi, I'm used to composing micro-fictions at 100-150 words, but I don't think I'll try it in this case.

You're probably right, Bazza. The trouble is that these 10-20 word thingies (and especially the 6-word example) are doomed to be pretty boring - which, admittedly, wouldn't be a first for the NS. So I'm sticking with the 150 words. At least that way, when I lose, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I wuz cheated.

[basil ransome-davies]

On reflection, I could do a 100-word story plus a few shorter ones. It's a bugger, though. I certainly preferred the recent Speccie one that asked for 1 flash fiction with a twist.

[Jayne Osborn]

Don't forget that anything you post here will be disqualified by the New Statesman on the grounds of previous publication.

But don't forget, everyone, that Alex has kindly created "Deep Drills" to cater especially for such a scenario.

(Chris, why not simply post the NS comps on this new board, away from prying eyes?)

John and I have the password, if anyone needs it.

Jayne

[RCL]

A (micro) Tragedy

5 yrs in bliss
5 in abyss
10 yrs wed
11th dead