Tuesday, July 26, 2011

(Yet Another) Failed Competition Entry: txtlit.co.uk

Txtlit.co.uk

The name of the game is to write a micro-story in 154 characters or less – that includes letters AND punctuation – on your mobile (one standard message). You are given a theme by the website wizards and then left to your own imagination.

June’s theme was ‘Crime’ and this was my entry:

Her shriek pierced the still, icy night. Pinned under him, she stared up at him with dead eyes as he tore into her, stealing her spirit with every thrust.

I didn’t win, nor did I place as a runner up. I can see why, it’s quite macabre and other entries that placed were comedy gold rather than "serious" stories. Nevermind though, maybe next month!

2 comments:

  1. This is so utterly dark. I was really intrigued. There's so much violence in such a short story. It's a testament to the potency of the short story in its microscopic form. I'm particularly struck by the violence of this piece (so much so that I've mentioned it twice). I also like the ambiguity, I'm not sure whether this is murder or rape that we are witnessing. That sense of confusion is extremely effective. I certainly think that the judges were mad not to at least short list you.

    Maybe you should try submitting something to http://thepygmygiant.com/submissions/

    They specialise in British flash fiction - stories and poems under 800 words. They've been kind enough to publish me a few times, and although it takes them a little while to get back to you, they usually have encouraging and positive things to say, as well as some constructive feedback. :)

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  2. I think the story is too violent to have been published on the site - even as a runner up. :S

    I like the ambiguity too but I think that because it's so short, clear and consice should have been the way to go so that the audience understood what was happening rather than leaving them guessing.

    Thanks for recommending pygmygiant.com. I'm deffinitly going to have a look at submitting something. :)

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