Flash Tales, Week One: “Something New”

Hi, everyone-

This week we’re launching our new feature, Flash Tales. If you fancy yourself a writer, or just feel like trying something different, you are urged to participate. As Black Ship continues its goal of furthering creativity in every medium, we want to give talented writers a venue to express themselves, and we feel that the concentrated, compact nature of very short “flash fiction” is perhaps the best format for us to do that on a weekly basis.

Starting this week, Black Ship will post a prompt every Friday, briefly describing a scenario or theme around which you can build a short story, interpreting our prompt as you see fit. To participate, simply write your story, publish it to your blog (or, if you don’t have a blog, email the story to evan@blackshipbooks.com), and post the link in the comments section by midnight the following Thursday. The previous week’s submitted stories will be posted on Friday morning, along with the newest prompt.

So, without further ado, let’s kick this one off…

PROMPT: Write a story about something new. Our featured image is one example of something new, but feel free to take this in any direction you see fit. Maybe a scientist invents a cure for an old disease, or creates a new one; maybe an astronaut uncovers an alien relic on a long-dead world; or maybe you find those earrings your mother always wore that you thought were lost in the last move, and something old becomes new again. Anything that fits is fair game.

GENRE: Open

LENGTH: < 1,300 words

DEADLINE: Thursday, September 18, 11:59 PM