As I explained in my last post, Of Guts and Ethics, I recently re-subscribed to the Escape Artists podcasts (links below) after about a 5-year hiatus. That hiatus happened because of Life Reasons - suffice to say I was taking time away from more important things in my life which required 5 years of my undivided attention.
Back when I was a regular visitor, though, I got to participate in one of the most rewarding experiences I've had that I can talk about in public: the Flash Fiction Contest.
For those who don't know, "Flash" fiction refers to very short stories; for the sake of the contest, submissions were limited to 300 words. Entries were posted in groups on the forums, and members voted up their favorites; winners advanced to semi-finals, and the top stories from the Final round won the honor of getting produced for the podcast (links to the 2013 winners are also below).
My 2007 contest entries didn't make it past the Semi-final round (I had one make it out of the first round, at least!), but I was pretty proud of them. I'm sure I've posted them before, but apparently I never posted them on Tad's Happy Funtime, so I'm going to do so now. To make it seem like I'm putting more effort into this than I actually am (and to tease any regular visitors I might have), I've scheduled these to post over the next three weeks. Maybe it will give you something to look forward to on Monday mornings?
The first Monday, 28 July, you can see Presence of Mind, the only one of my three stories to pass the 1st round. (Out now!)
The next week, you'll get sent to Rehab - which, if I had it to do over again, might have stuck with 250 words. Your mileage (and your wattage) may vary.
And I saved my favorite of the three for last: Stage Fright.
If you're in the mood for a story NOW and haven't already read Silver, my only professionally published story (which can still be found on the Dunesteef audio fiction magazine!), that is always an option to tide you over.
Unfortunately, I re-joined the forums just AFTER the 2013 contest, and they don't run these every year because it is a voracious time consumer for the all-volunteer moderator force. But you can bet I'm gathering ideas now, and plan to be ready when the opportunity knocks again!
The Escape Artists' podcasts are:
Escape Pod for science fiction; their most recent contest winners can be heard here.
Podcastle for fantasy, and their winners ran in November.
Pseudopod for horror - Pseudopod wants you to hear its winners, as well.
You can find their forums at http://forum.escapeartists.net/ - if you hope to participate (either as a writer or a voter) in their Flash contests, you best sign up today!
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