I missed a couple weeks, because my life exploded. So I’m trying to get back on track, and I’m starting with a #FridayFlash week: 3 posts for the three #FridayFlash Favorites I have due.

Each Friday, writers post on twitter a link to a short-short story they’ve written, marked with the tag #FridayFlash. On July 9, I posted a zombie love story, for the Zombie Luv Flash Fic contest. I wasn’t going to write a story for this contest. But then I was inspired, because I figured out what zombies need—deep down in that soulless psyche—that could make love meaningful for them. And then I was really inspired by something someone said to me, resulting in this story.

On the topic of the Zombie Luv Flash Fic contest—a quick aside—here are my favorite 3 zombie luv stories.

• “Light, After All” by Mark Anthony Crittenden

• “Rose” by Delia

• “Chik-Chik-BLAM: A Headshot Love Story” by Gabriel Gadfly

(And if you compare the winners at Mari’s Randomities, you’ll see why my opinion means so little in the grand scheme of things. To me, these three were clearly the best entries. And although “Rose” ranked highly with the crowd—though not #1—none of the others did.)

Back on topic: of the #FridayFlash stories that were posted (besides my own), here are my…

#FridayFlash Favorites for July 9

There were more stories posted on July 9 than on most weeks, 117 stories (including the 95 that made it onto the official #FridayFlash Report for July 9). Of all those, here are my 12 favorites, listed in no particular order.

• “Seduction” by Neil Shurley — The things a woman has to do to seduce her man…

• “Survivor” by Laura Eno — A fun twist on the insufferable reality show.

• “Peace through Attitude Adjustment” by Karen Schindler — Very short, very funny, and more than a little inspiring. (Uh… Inspiring if you interpret it right. Don’t worry: I’m not psychotic yet.)

• “Pinkerton” by Lesley Wood — The wisdom of a homeless man and a legless flamingo.

• “Good Mothers” by Joanie Rich — Our kids can (and do) usually handle more than we give them credit for. To quote the Hitchhiker’s Guide, “Don’t panic!”

• “Shattered” by Leah Petersen — Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and sex… A sign of the times?

• “After Armageddon” by Aislinn O’Connor — A story of community restored.

• “The Guardian” by T.S. Bazelli — Taken for granted: the life of a guardian angel.

• “Memories in a Box” by Wulfie — A dying child connects with the future in this paranormal science-fiction tale.

• “Remembering Stella” by Kemari Howell — A woman deals with the loss of her best friend in this not-preachy-for-a-change homosexual romance.

• “Would you have popped the bubble?” by Lauren Cude — Do wishes on rainbows come true?

• “The Steed and the Page Boy” by Stephen Watkins — A dragon steed must go on after the loss of his master.

Note: To be selected as one of my #FridayFlash Favorites, the post must be a genuine flash story, not a chapter in a longer piece, a series of one-paragraph vignettes, or anything else. It should have a beginning (conflict), a middle (thickening), and an end (resolution). Not necessarily a happy ending (though I do enjoy happy endings), but whatever conflict the story introduces at the beginning, it must resolve at the end. No fair building up suspense and then stopping in the middle of the story, just so you don’t have to figure out how to save the hero in 1,000 words or less; that’s cheating. The story should also be a single scene, because multi-scene flash usually does too much “telling” and doesn’t “show” enough to engage me in the story. (And scene divisions stop the flow, which is usually a bad idea in flash.) While I do browse Twitter for #FridayFlash posts, the best way to get me to read yours is to put it on the #FridayFlash Collector. I judge posted stories according to my own preferences; your mileage may vary.

Till next week, and…

Keep writing!
-TimK