Cheryl King’s a Little Behind on Writing Things

Well, I have been writing things, but privately.

Let’s get caught up, shall we? First off, the NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge, Round 1: I did not advance to the second round but walked away with an honorable mention — bummer, but nice to be recognized in a pool of so many talented writers.

Secondly, I entered NYCM’s 100-word Microfiction Challenge, which was quite, well, challenging. One hundred words — that’s a greeting card. Anyway, I’d rather not post my round one entry because I took that idea and expanded it into a full-length novel, which I just finished (yay!) and am now shopping around to literary agents. Now you know why I haven’t posted here in so long — been busy (not to mention all of the Covid craziness that has been going on). But the good news is that my 100-word story took first place in my group of about 100 writers! I have now completed my story for round 2, and the top 10 writers will advance to the final round (results to come around July 22). The prompts I received are as follows:

Genre — sci-fi

Action that must take place within the story — tying a knot

Word that must appear in the story — bonus

Here’s my story:

Knots

Sweating, I watch the alien craft on the screen. To my left sits a bowl of cherries. Now that’s ironic. I pop one into my mouth. A distraction.

What are my options? Kill the enemy and be hailed a hero – medals, bonus pay. Yes, civilians will die. But to spare them I’d have to sacrifice myself, my team. I glance at them, a father, a wife, a friend. I work the cherry stem in my mouth, tying it into a knot. Like the one in my stomach.

I lean back, let go of the controls.

And do nothing.

Final update, the Booksie contest, the one where I had to write a story based on the photograph — unfortunately, I am not a finalist for that prize.

Final final update (8/6/2020): I did not advance to the final round of the 100-word microfiction challenge.

Unsplash photo by Debby Hudson @hudsoncrafted