Tag: Short Stories

Elderfly Press

Beautiful and Terrifying releases today: Step into the uncanny!

Mandy Webster

It’s here—and it’s been a long time coming. Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny officially releases today, and I couldn’t be more excited (or a little unsettled) to finally share it with you.

Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny is available for purchase today!

This anthology brings together a collection of short fiction, poetry, and black-and-white art that all live in that uneasy space where beauty and horror overlap. These are stories that don’t just aim to scare—they linger. They follow you. They ask you to look a little closer than you’re comfortable with.

Continue reading “Beautiful and Terrifying releases today: Step into the uncanny!” →
Short Story

Love photography? Want to collaborate on a story? Join The 52.

Mandy Webster

Do you take a lot of pictures? If so, author Richard Wright is doing something over at his blog that I think you should check out and possibly help out with. He’s calling it The 52.

Here’s the deal. Richard is planning to write one short story per week in 2014. Each short story will be based on one of many pictures that he is asking his readers to submit. To join, all you have to do is send him a picture. He writes a story based on your image, then posts it to his blog sometime next year. You maintain the rights to your image, and he gives you full credit on his blog.

Sound like fun? I thought so. Here’s my entry:

The 52 - Image by Amanda L Webster - WriteOnTheWorld dot WordPress dot com
This is the image I submitted to Richard Wright for The 52.

Want to join in? Visit Richard Wright’s website for details.

Challenge: Write your own short story about Continue reading “Love photography? Want to collaborate on a story? Join The 52.” →

Writing Prompts

Themes and motifs in everyday life

Mandy Webster

Everyday life in art ქართული: ყოველდღიურობა ხე...
How do the themes and motifs of your everyday life influence your writing? | Everyday life in art ქართული: ყოველდღიურობა ხელოვნებაში (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a high school student, I always hated it when my literature teachers insisted that we identify the themes and motifs of the stories we read. However, as an adult, I have found that my life is laced with a few distinct recurring themes and motifs.

For today’s Wednesday Writing Prompt, I invite you to take a look at your own life and consider what themes and motifs seem to appear most frequently. Then choose one of these themes (and/or motifs) and write an essay, short story, or poem that explores the impact of this theme on your life.

You might also consider how the themes and motifs from your everyday life influence your writing in general. For example, do you often find yourself incorporating these same themes into each piece? Continue reading “Themes and motifs in everyday life” →

Random Writing Rants

What happened first: The fight, or the apple pie incident?

Mandy Webster

Nederlands: Het Short Story bushokje op transf...
Image via Wikipedia

Today I’m writing a story about something that happened to me about 13 years ago. I don’t know how you feel about the passing of time, but for me, 13 years is a LONG time ago. So, I can remember major details, but some of those minor details have me questioning my memory. In this particular story, there is a nasty fight and an unfortunate incident with an apple pie. But I can’t, for the life of me, remember which happened first. Dilemma, dilemma.

So, what do you do when you’re writing about something that actually happened but can’t remember such important details? And what if you can remember the details, but the story works better if you rearrange events? I’m not writing a memoir, simply using actually happenings as the basis for a short story I’ll pass off as fiction. All names will be changed to protect the identities of those involved, of course.  Continue reading “What happened first: The fight, or the apple pie incident?” →