After bitter disappointment in both 100 and 250 NYCM this year, I’ve made the difficult decision to… do the 500! Yes, the @nycmidnight.bsky.social 500-word Fiction Challenge starts in about 19 hours and I clearly have a problem. Learn more (about the comp, not my problem) at nycmidnight.com/500

"Gerald, what are you looking at?" "It's the neighbours, Marjorie, they're unloading this month's #FuriousFiction story showcase today. I'm trying to hear what they're saying about the top stories!" "Honestly Gerald, just borrow a cup of sugar like a normal person..."

Thought I'd done enough with my story for R2, but once again the judges had other ideas. Good luck to those who are progressing. #historicalfriction

Mums: 👏

If you like Jason Bateman or Twin Peaks or recumbent bicycles or sign language or quirky dark comedies, you'll love TV show "DTF St Louis" (@hbomax.bsky.social). David Harbour will win you over (again) and there are great supporting roles too (Linda C, Richard J to name exactly two). #qualitysweets

Just dialled in and recorded my chat with @notquitewrite.com Ed and Amanda for their Shortlist episode, with a quick recap of the round and awarding my WildCard prize from #TeamAmanda. A clue: it has an even number of words in the title. 👀 To everyone who entered, thanks for your creativity! x

writingbattle.com/join-battle/... I joined the upcoming Verdant Raven Battle with writers from around the world. Get Ready to Battle on May 8, 2026! @writingbattle.bsky.social #flashfiction #writingprompts #writerslife #WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky Join the Battle and Learn More

White smoke rises from NQW HQ!

Just picked my wildcard winner for the April @notquitewrite.com prize. And the lucky winner is… LA LA LAND! Oh wait a minute…

Final breakdown for #TeamAmanda @notquitewrite.com stories from me. 33 stories either YES or MAYBE+ Congrats to all stories for putting your creativity out there and good luck everyone!

Final two stories in my @notquitewrite.com vagueposting this round. So let me be generous with the clues. Both featured similar shaped glass boxes – one a phone box, the other a shower. Sound familiar? Did I recommend one for LL? Both? 🫠 Not telling!

Okay, I've eyeballed stories 16, 17 and 18 in the @notquitewrite.com batch. One was dark and visceral, screaming behind its smiling façade. The next included a graphic insects scene. And the final one involved a school. Does one of these three sound like yours?

Okay, we're up to stories 13, 14 and 15 now in my final batch of @notquitewrite.com offerings. The 5-word-titled one was all about identity and opportunity. The 2-worded one was spell-binding. And the 3-worder was dripping with intrigue (and coffee). Will they make the LL? Who knows!

Oh, yeahhhhh it's another YES! My lucky number 11 did not disappoint, with a @notquitewrite.com story that grew on me as I read it and had a setting that felt painfully authentic. If you mentioned the name of a country in your story, it could be yours! #80833

And now for @notquitewrite.com stories 9&10 in this batch – one feathering its nest with a home-based story, while the other was more homie-based, with its breakout more dermatological in nature. I am loving the variety!

Bouncing back with @notquitewrite.com stories 8&9 – coincidentally both strongly featuring inanimate objects. #792362 had an 8-word title and soared in its prose. Meanwhile, 4-word titled #801627 was a punny paradise that leaned into the theme deftly. Contenders for sure. Bravo!

Back to earth with a soft thud with @notquitewrite.com stories 6&7 for the day. They're not bad at all, just didn't soar to great heights for me. And that's okay.

Dear diary, in the 5th @notquitewrite.com story of the day, I finally found the treasure I have been seeking... The map said X would mark the spot, and looking at this story's title, that's not entirely incorrect. It was quirky, it was sassy, it was original and most importantly... IT WAS A YES!

OK, next it's @notquitewrite.com stories 3&4 in this batch. Two-word titled #766439 returned us to the beatnik cafe vibes with its staccato style working most of the time, if not always. Meanwhile, the 4-word-titled #7717 yanked HARD on those heartstrings and included an iconic animal. Strong stuff!

Okay, @notquitewrite.com stories 1&2 in this batch are a strong start. #744521 has a 10+word-title and a strong female POV that felt lived in. Then another strong female POV in #747360 – and a particularly well written passage that includes a bookshelf. Not quite yesses, but still LL potential.

Join me as I vaguepost the final batch of 20 #TeamAmanda @notquitewrite.com stories, sight unseen. It's like a lucky dip of literature, a showbag of storytelling, a fortune-cookie of flash fiction and apparently an avalanche of alliteration...

Ooooooh that @notquitewrite.com story was VERY VERY close to being a yes. It might have been yours if your story has a specific time of day mentioned in it... #66545

Nawwww, bless this @notquitewrite.com author who quoted an online article to justify "the worm" as a valid dance move. Oh, don't worry, WE KNOW. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, "Worms, we've had a few..." (then again, too few to mention...) But still, well done to this story. You did it your way...

Did YOUR @notquitewrite.com story involve a unique kind of fetish? If so, I just read it and I'm still deciding if it left a bad taste in my mouth or not... but it WAS highly original! #602106

"Ahoy! Maybe+ stories ahead!" Dear Diary, today we ran aground upon rich reserves of @notquitewrite.com storytelling! The crew was delighted to feast on such tasty narratives. Tomorrow I shall climb one of the high concepts and survey the surroundings. I am confident a YES is just over the horizon.

If your @notquitewrite.com story involves travel, I just read it. Hmmm what other clues can I give? Oh yes, that's right. It's 12 words long. 🤷‍♂️

Dear diary... it has been many @notquitewrite.com stories since my last YES. The people grow restless. They taunt me. They throw things at me in the STREET. (Actually, don't even get me started on the STREET.) I pray a YES will emerge very soon. Also, unrelated, we have started eating our horses.

@notquitewrite.com judging lesson #421391: "Prelude to a Miss" Make sure you don't end up with a story that is more of a prelude to the story your reader WANTS to read. We can't judge on what WOULD have come next, only the words in front of us! We're simply left hanging.

I've reached the @notquitewrite.com story judging 'doldrums', becalming myself on plots that go nowhere, dialogue-heavy yawnfests and promising concepts that fizzle out. Meh. That's right, it's the dreaded MAYBE zone...

Apologies @akscotland.bsky.social as I just read that @elisescott.bsky.social over on #teamed for @notquitewrite.com often has time to change her vote while she “types her notes”… bahahaaaa sometimes all my notes consist of is “wtf did I just read?” — not a lot of rethinking time in there!

Without getting too preachy (steps up to pulpit), many @notquitewrite.com stories I'm reading have lovely prose, beautiful descriptive language and metaphors, but they still need SOMETHING to happen. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but more than just a parade of pretty words, if that makes sense.

Did YOUR @notquitewrite.com have a 2-word title and a strong but slightly disturbing narrative voice? Then it could be YOUR story I just nodded along to... #204608

I do love a quirky inanimate object POV, but the last two @notquitewrite.com stories forgot that with it, comes great responsibility (and hopefully some kind of story).

This @notquitewrite.com writer was on some freaky shit when they wrote story #893355. Seriously, WTF???

Okay, that @notquitewrite.com 1-word-titled story had me snapping my fingers, beatnik cafe style. Now, where's my beret... #913591

Balance has been restored to the @notquitewrite.com-averse with all those early yesses more than matched by the run of FIVE NO stories I just had. Excuse me, I need to go wash my hands.

Ahhh crap. Marked this is my diary. Asked others if they'd entered. Cool, cool. Forgot to actually enter myself. Oops. Good luck everyone!

Two NO stories from @notquitewrite.com in a row. Phew, I was starting to think I'd lost my grinch touch.

Did YOUR @notquitewrite.com story include a momentous historical event? For this particular one, I have just one question: WHY??????? #9508

@notquitewrite.com presents... Flash fiction lesson #956227: Metaphors are fantastic and very useful for a very short story. But they cannot be the ONLY thing in your story. You also need a... story.

Wow, that @notquitewrite.com was pretty hilarious. Like a zombie apocalypse but with [REDACTED] instead. Some of those visuals are very funny. #959648

Just said YES to another @notquitewrite.com story. So for one writer, it's perhaps congratulatory? Of course, it's no guarantee – Amanda may disagree, If out of ten, she gives just three. But as for me... ...I've marked it down for long-list glory. #96605

Okay, this @notquitewrite.com had some nice writing but then something rather dramatic happens WITH NO CONTEXT OR EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER. As if it's a regular occurrence. (I assure you, this thing is NOT.) 10 points from Gryffindor for that! #98230

Oh my, another YES for a @notquitewrite.com story. Is the weekend making me soft? This one has a topical nature to it, with pacing and writing that was out of this world... 👀 Oh, and it has a 4-word title #983222

I spy another @notquitewrite.com YES story... with a story that teeters on the edge throughout. Should I spill more tea? Nah. #985606

That was a very silly @notquitewrite.com story. At one point it included a bar. Kudos to the author for fully committing to the concept. #193022

First YES recommendation of @notquitewrite.com stories to date! And lordy, it was tough read, so if you wrote about kittens and puppies and bubble tea, this one probably wasn't yours. #127147

Okay, that @notquitewrite.com story was very original and good use of the "breaking out" prompt. If it featured a school, it could be yours! #108351

Wait... what fever dream of a @notquitewrite.com story did I just read? And I'm not talking about a good fever. This one is 106.7 and I'm pulling the plug. #notagreatstart #notsovagueposts

The breaking (hearts, dancing etc) starts today. Can you handle my vagueposts?