Whew! So, I've never written flash fiction but wanted to take a shot at this contest. Here goes; a short story about how hard it is to live up to big brothers.
Jun 16, 2023·edited Jun 16, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid
WOW!!! Talk about picking the ultimate "red shirt" character! There's so much to love about this Stephen and your attention to detail is amazing. As a Bible believing Jesus follower this story really popped for me. Am I right is assuming that the character we are following is James? Don't answer that if you'd rather keep it under wraps :-)
One part that stood out to me is something that many might miss. We often think of Jesus Bar Joseph as being a carpenter who worked with wood. Yet you mention him being a stone mason. Historically that is probably closer to the truth. Not a lot of lumber in and around Nazareth back then and even now. So, just a small detail perhaps but I appreciated you thinking that through. You have a new fan in me sir. Excellent work!
Absolutely right Alex in that it is James! So glad you enjoyed it. My hope was that Bible believers would get an extra kick out of spotting all the clues 😉
Can’t remember if it was Kenneth E. Bailey or someone else I learnt from that he most likely worked with stone but it’s one of those things few people know.
If you want to drop a vote in for the story as well, don’t forget to like my comment up above with the story link 😁 Appreciate your comment!
100% liked (voted) for your story immediately. I also can't recall where I first learned that Jesus most likely worked with stone rather than lumber as part of his trade. I just remember that once I looked into it more it made sense. Keep up the great work mate. You're my front runner to win this contest so wishing you all the best.
You wrote this well enough that I was caught by surprise here:
“Do you know what your brother is saying? What he is calling himself? Who he is claiming to be? Calling himself the ‘Son of Man’ and the Lord of Shabbat?”
And me, a preacher! I went, 'Ohhhhhh' ... then looked back and saw that I should have picked up on it earlier... but your skill in making it just under the surface until you were ready to reveal was very clever.
After reading your story, I looked again at the little line that prefaced it: "Here goes; a short story about how hard it is to live up to big brothers." I see how the storytelling started even back that far. Well done! Clever, clever. :-)
This grew on me the more I read, and I had to keep revising my idea of what was happening. I thought you did some clever things with the prompt! Well paced, and well done. :-)
Here is my entry into the contest. Please check it out. I would love to hear comments and love reading the other stories. Thanks for hosting such a great idea - https://buckw.substack.com/p/the-widows-walk
Oh, now I'm curious about Ivy. Is she going to the island because of the pandemic (I'm assuming it's our pandemic, could be wrong), or another reason? Why can't she get out to see the seals? Curiosity is piqued!
I'm glad A Thing Must Be Loved has gotten a good reception. I liked the horror movie commentary of the main character and what it said about him.
As for the flash fiction, most of my first thoughts were fan fiction, but the legal grey area makes me hesitant to share them on Substack rather than a dedicated fanfic website. In theory I don't think there's anything risky about fanfic as a free post, but still, might be easier on me to go for something original or public domain if I do the contest.
Totally up to your comfort level, William! No rules on genre as far as I'm concerned; I'm just looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and I'm sure others are, too!
Here's my entry in your flash fiction contest! Looking forward to reading the others!
https://gibberish.substack.com/p/get-well-man
Hi there! I'm new to substack and a little late to this contest, but here is my submission never-the-less. Thank you for hosting!
https://apward.substack.com/p/screen-time
Thanks for entering, Andrew!!
Loved this short story!
Whew! So, I've never written flash fiction but wanted to take a shot at this contest. Here goes; a short story about how hard it is to live up to big brothers.
https://underland.substack.com/p/the-eyewitnesses
Thank you for entering, Stephen!
WOW!!! Talk about picking the ultimate "red shirt" character! There's so much to love about this Stephen and your attention to detail is amazing. As a Bible believing Jesus follower this story really popped for me. Am I right is assuming that the character we are following is James? Don't answer that if you'd rather keep it under wraps :-)
One part that stood out to me is something that many might miss. We often think of Jesus Bar Joseph as being a carpenter who worked with wood. Yet you mention him being a stone mason. Historically that is probably closer to the truth. Not a lot of lumber in and around Nazareth back then and even now. So, just a small detail perhaps but I appreciated you thinking that through. You have a new fan in me sir. Excellent work!
Absolutely right Alex in that it is James! So glad you enjoyed it. My hope was that Bible believers would get an extra kick out of spotting all the clues 😉
Can’t remember if it was Kenneth E. Bailey or someone else I learnt from that he most likely worked with stone but it’s one of those things few people know.
If you want to drop a vote in for the story as well, don’t forget to like my comment up above with the story link 😁 Appreciate your comment!
100% liked (voted) for your story immediately. I also can't recall where I first learned that Jesus most likely worked with stone rather than lumber as part of his trade. I just remember that once I looked into it more it made sense. Keep up the great work mate. You're my front runner to win this contest so wishing you all the best.
Love this so much!
Thanks John! Glad you liked it. Any particular standout moments for you?
You wrote this well enough that I was caught by surprise here:
“Do you know what your brother is saying? What he is calling himself? Who he is claiming to be? Calling himself the ‘Son of Man’ and the Lord of Shabbat?”
And me, a preacher! I went, 'Ohhhhhh' ... then looked back and saw that I should have picked up on it earlier... but your skill in making it just under the surface until you were ready to reveal was very clever.
Haha that’s awesome, I’m glad I was able to disguise it enough that it would catch a preacher by surprise.
After reading your story, I looked again at the little line that prefaced it: "Here goes; a short story about how hard it is to live up to big brothers." I see how the storytelling started even back that far. Well done! Clever, clever. :-)
Thanks for hosting this contest! Here's my little contribution: Through the Back Door
https://kindlinghorror.substack.com/p/through-the-back-door
Took a bit of chewing but I figured something out for the prompt contest :) Thanks for hosting!
My entry: A Mother's Worry
https://reddoscarwrites.substack.com/p/a-mothers-worry
Here's my entry for the flash fiction contest! Better almost late than never. :)
https://wednesdayafternoon.substack.com/p/the-invisibles
Wonderful, Olivia!! Thank you for entering! 🎉
This grew on me the more I read, and I had to keep revising my idea of what was happening. I thought you did some clever things with the prompt! Well paced, and well done. :-)
Here's my entry to your Flash Fiction contest. (Sorry it took so long getting it on line, had an emergency lunch at the beach.) https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/a-song-for-david?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I didn't actually expect to have a story to submit, but then I remembered this piece I had written a few months back and forgotten all about.
https://leighparrish.substack.com/p/the-caretaker?sd=pf
Here is my entry into the contest. Please check it out. I would love to hear comments and love reading the other stories. Thanks for hosting such a great idea - https://buckw.substack.com/p/the-widows-walk
Here's my submission. It's basically a prequel to my web novel featuring the dead parents (in the story) of the hero:
https://germanicuscaesar117.substack.com/p/a-princess-of-lepanto
Fantastic!! Thanks for entering, Michael!
Here's my attempt at the flash fiction contest. I look forward to reading the others.
https://johndobbs.substack.com/p/she-waits-for-him-to-notice
Oh, now I'm curious about Ivy. Is she going to the island because of the pandemic (I'm assuming it's our pandemic, could be wrong), or another reason? Why can't she get out to see the seals? Curiosity is piqued!
Also, here's my contest entry! https://indianamichael.substack.com/p/traffic
Thanks for entering, Michael!! ✨
This is probably wrong, but here goes nothing:
https://barryburton.substack.com/p/memo-correspondence-from-the-butt
Here's my late entry to the contest. https://warthogreport.substack.com/p/father-of-the-slain
I'm glad A Thing Must Be Loved has gotten a good reception. I liked the horror movie commentary of the main character and what it said about him.
As for the flash fiction, most of my first thoughts were fan fiction, but the legal grey area makes me hesitant to share them on Substack rather than a dedicated fanfic website. In theory I don't think there's anything risky about fanfic as a free post, but still, might be easier on me to go for something original or public domain if I do the contest.
Totally up to your comfort level, William! No rules on genre as far as I'm concerned; I'm just looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and I'm sure others are, too!
I for one would love to read your work William!
That's such a great prompt / contest! I was just working on this piece, and it seems to meet your requirement (a character usually being in the background): https://zoecarada.substack.com/p/accepting-and-letting-go-are-twins. Hope it makes a nice reading! :)
Thank you so much for entering, Zoe!! ✨