No one saw it flying towards Earth. No telescopes spotted it. It was invisible. But everyone felt it, the dancing star. In the living room, it started with Dad tapping his foot. Mom came in and Dad took her hand and spun her around. The kids started jumping up and down on the couch like…
Mechon Ball
Mechon Ball Have you ever wanted to be a soccer ball? If you have, you’re probably crazy since those things get hit around a lot. But that’s basically what Mechon (meck-in) Ball is. There are two people on each team. One is in a big robot—the mech—about four meters tall. The other person is inside…
Muse on Monday – May 10, 2021, Featuring “Swimming Practice”
It’s Monday again and time for Muse on Monday, the time of the week when we give you a writing prompt. The challenge is to write a short story and use the elements listed below. If you’re 18 years old or younger, you can submit your story using this link for a chance to have…
Writing Corner: Endings
Endings Two weeks ago, I wrote about story beginnings but today I am going to write about endings. The difference, however, is that I am not going to give any examples from real stories. The problem with endings is that they really do not make sense without knowing the story that came ahead of them…
Alone on Top of the World
Alone on Top of the World Dawn came early on top of the world. It was a hard dawn, not like the mellow mornings down below. Up on top, the glaring sunrays were as flint-edged as the wind and the burning cold. But there was light and it found its way through the crack in…
Fire Drill, COVID-Style
Fire Drill, COVID-Style “Just because things aren’t actually ‘normal’ right now, doesn’t mean we’re going to jeopardize your safety,” the principal’s voice said over the speaker. He had the desperately forced cheerfulness of a man who has said “Six weeks from now, tops” for over a year and counting. “Remember, if we change even one…
Muse on Monday – May 3, 2021, Featuring “The Monster of Eidolon Cave”
Happy May everyone and welcome to Muse on Monday! The challenge is to write a story of your own based on the prompt below. If you’re 18 years old or younger, you can submit it using this link for a chance to have it published next Monday when the new prompt comes out. You just…
Writing Corner: Flash Fiction
Flash Fiction There are various definitions of what flash fiction is, but for our purposes here, let’s just say that flash fiction means a very short story, usually less than 1000 words. This is a good type of story for a blog or website since people do not usually browse the internet looking for 20,000-word…
Muse on Monday – April 26, 2021, Featuring “Saad’s Planet”
Welcome back to Muse on Monday! The challenge is to write a story of your own based on the prompt below. If you’re 18 years old or younger, you can submit it using this link for a chance to have it published next Monday when the new prompt comes out. You just need to submit…
Writing Corner: Beginnings
Beginnings They say you only get one chance to make a first impression and the beginning of your story is your first impression. You want to “hook” a reader, to grab them and make them interested enough to read the rest of the story. That sounds like a lot, but don’t stress about it. We’ll…
