Week 566 of #ThursThreads, and y’all never disappoint. We’re more than halfway through our tenth year and the time is flying. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! You’re in good company. May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to guest judge Sabrina York for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc.
Entries:
- Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
- Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil
- Silver James | @SilverJames_
- Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
- Mark A. Morris
- Patty Dump
- Lexikon | @Lexikonical
- David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig
- Eric Martell | @drmag00
- Joel Sandersen | @Whirlwindsof
- M.T. Decker | @mishmhem
Sabrina says: First of all, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read such fun stories. They were creative, engaging and I loved seeing how each author incorporated the prompt. I had a great time. It was tough choosing a favorite though…
Honorable Mentions
Silver James | @SilverJames_
Sabrina says: I really enjoyed reading this short. At 250 words it painted a picture of friends gathered around a table at a pub sharing stories and telling jokes…and I felt like I was there. It was vibrant, engaging, finny and well crafted. The characters pop, the dialog is natural and evocative, and the narrative is well-crafted. Silver also delivered an excellent use of the prompt, which was seamlessly folded into the tale.
Patty Dump
Sabrina says: Who can resist the cursed lover trope? Fun story.
David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig
Sabria says: There’s a wealth of unspoken feeling in this tale. It truly caught my attention.
winner announcement
Week 566 Winner
Sabrina says: Why this short impacted me:
First of all, the narrative flowed beautifully, was well crafted and error free. Dialog flowed with the narrative and subtly augmented the theme. The depth of character was phenomenal. Not only did I get a great sense of “her,” I could feel the love and admiration the narrator had for her. It was depicted powerfully in the subtext throughout.
And finally, I really enjoyed the way the prompt wasn’t just integrated into the text, but was central to the message of the piece.
As I believe it’s a writer’s job to invoke emotion in the reader—and this short 235-word story gave me all the feels and lingered with me throughout the day—I chose it as my favorite.
I always loved watching her when we went to a hardware store at the beginning of a project. I knew the basics, but she was an expert. She could look at shelf after shelf of whoozits and whatsits and know exactly what we were going to need.
I was her assistant. I’d fetch whatever she needed, and sometimes I’d even get it right the first time.
Her eyes lit up when we’d get to the lumberyard. There was something about the smell, I think. It wasn’t the same as her smell at the end of the day – a combination of sawdust and sweat that never failed to excite me. It was more the smell of potential, of *possibility*. These boards and sheets of plywood could be anything in the right hands.
I’d grab a two by four for her inspection. “That one has too many knots,” she’d tell me, or “that one may be true,” or “stop making ‘wood’ jokes.” Well, that last one was more of a look than words.
She was the foreperson now more than the lead carpenter, guiding the kids through their own projects. I knew that someday, we wouldn’t be around, but she’d still be with them every time they went to the hardware store. “That one may be true,” they’d hear in their heads. And they would know, just like I did, that she wasn’t always talking about lumber.
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Congratulations TWENTY-FIVE TIME WINNER Eric, and Honorable Mentions Silver, Patty, and David! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂
