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Fiction Short Story

by  Cynthia M. Saracco

Nano Fiction

Stories exceeding 1000 words will be rejected outright.

"Twelve thousand, and four. Damn. Well, a little nip and tuck can't hurt, right?"

Wow us.

"Dazzling scenes, spitfire dialog, an intricate plot—I can do that."

We want vivid images, compelling characters. Make us think. Make us laugh. Make us cry.

"Now you're making me cry. Wait a minute . . . Maybe I can change my main character. How about a two-headed, snot-dripping Cyclops overcome with jealousy instead of a middle-aged housewife distraught over her daughter's death?"

We like stories with an edge.

"OK. The two-headed Cyclops stabs her daughter, fries up the kid's heart and feeds it to the girl's father. Ending: 'Emily's heart always belonged to you.' Edgy enough?"

We prefer literary works that break new ground.

"Fine. I'll have the Cyclops quote Shakespeare—in Latin."

No pornography or excessive violence.

"Alright. The Cyclops will spike Emily's chamomile tea with sedatives, lulling her into everlasting sleep. Not too much rewrite there."

Don't tell us everything. Good flash fiction lets readers fill in the blanks.

"So do I keep the snot-dripping part or not?"

No genres, please.

"Damn. There goes the Cyclops."

We only accept submissions on even-numbered days in even-numbered months ending with a hard consonant.

"Uh, I guess I'll send it Thursday."

We offer this advice for would-be authors: kill your darlings.

"I can think of something else I'd like to kill right now."

We favor very short stories—micro fiction of less than 300 words.

"What happened to 1000?"

Above all, surprise us.

"OK. I've got the perfect story for you . . . No gore. No profanity. No horror. No romance. Just a quick tale that's provocative, experimental, even edgy:

'!'

Try editing that!"


About the Author
Cynthia M. Saracco lives in California and writes fiction in her spare time. Her work has been published in several magazines and will soon appear in an anthology. For details, visit her web site at http://www.geocities.com/cm_saracco.