I do my best to keep this site updated with as much new stuff as possible. In that regard, I’ve just added my flash fiction story Terminal Illness to the Dark Shorts page.
This story was originally published in the March 2009 edition of Antipodean SF. I was really pleased to get something accepted by Antipodean SF as it’s a web magazine that I really like, and I love their idea. They regularly publish good quality flash fiction. Flash fiction is the term used for any really short stories, usually 1,000 words or less. In the case of Antipodean SF the word limit is 500 words. I have another submission with them now that I’m waiting to hear back on.
Terminal Illness is a dark little futuristic tale. I hope you like it.
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[...] Terminal Illness now added to the Dark Shorts page [...]
Hey Alan, I like this story a lot; particularly the minimalistic prose and allusion, all of which were supportive and important to the story. I admit that after researching over the past several weeks how I can begin building my writing platform and reading loads of speculative fiction on publisher sites, I have a new appreciation for spec-fiction writers. I’ve never tried to get a story published, but I see the importance of it now as being the bread & butter of building a platform. I’ve learned a lot from your site and many others about how I should approach things.
BTW, I read the pdf into to your novel “RealmShift” and found it intense and gripping from the first sentence onward. Very focused and potent. When I have some free time to read the entire thing, I’ll buy a copy. This past several weeks of really examining what the market calls for has been a fantastic education. I really never thought I’d want to get so serious with writing until I found myself writing constantly at all hours. Here’s to hard work:)
Hi Bobby – thanks for the kind words. And thanks for buying RealmShift. I hope you enjoy it all the way through. Be sure to let me know what you think of it.
As for hard work, you just hit the nail on the head. You have to write, write and write some more. The more I write the more I realise that I have a lot to learn. And the more I hone my craft.
I thought I was a good writer years ago. I’m starting to realise that I’m actually still no good, but I am getting better. I’m improving by just writing as much as possible and submitting as much as possible. From solid rejections I’ve started to get some stuff published and some stuff shortlisted. It’s all about perseverance and paying attention to critiques. Onwards and upwards!