Short story – Page 4 – Jean's Writing

True Love Waits

Published on February 12, 2015April 16, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

open_window-t2 — Thanks to Lillie McFerrin Writes

She waited and listened, sitting in the same chair for hours. The road remained silent and empty, just like the last year of her life.

Another day gone, one day left, his letter said this week. Her hand trembled as she moved to close the window and shut out the cool night air. In the distance, a cloud of dust clouded her vision and she ran to meet her love half-way.

What this about?

Lillie McFerrin Writes Five Sentence Fiction

Prompt -Open

Join in the fun, write a story in five words and join in the fun.

If you enjoyed this please share with your Twitter and Facebook Kingdoms. Thanks

Spelling Homework

Published on February 5, 2015April 16, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Mazie traced the letters and sounded out the words as we worked on her assignment.

My heart raced as flashes of depraved evil played in my mind and I dreaded explaining the word villainous to my sweet ten-year old.

I forced away the memories and focused as she read, “Wicked, bad, hateful… .”

She paused, tilted back her head and shrieked, “Oh, that’s Robbie and James when they pull my hair and chase me on the playground, they’re wicked, villainous boys.”

Her peals of laughter chased away the dark shadows of pain and I smiled relieved loving her more in her innocence.

What was this?

A free writing prompt, and you can join in the fun too.

Get this weeks Writing Prompt – Villainous

at Five Sentence Fiction

Get more free writing prompts here.

Losing and Winning – I prefer winning

Published on January 5, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell10 Comments

Ouch! “We regret …”

How I hate those words. Don’t we all? But since I shared my excitement and success with you, thought it only fair to share my disappointment and failure. Rejections keep me humble, reminding me, I’m not all that, and sometimes I’m just plain dumb.

I’d little time to bask in the warm glow of publication when up popped the damned devil, Rejection.

All comfy in my pjs and slippers, I sat down to relax in front of the fire, sip eggnog and catch up on emails.

After all, the holidays are a time to kick back and relax. A time to chill and enjoy the fact Fiction Southeast had published my essay. Can you tell I was feeling a bit proud?

Well, everyone knows with pride comes the fall.

My eggnog grew warm as the cold wind of reality swept though my computer and I read the following line in an email.

Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately….

I sulked, ranted and raved over my good story, which they’d declined. Why the hell, was it rejected? Apparently, the judges didn’t know good writing from a hole in the ground.

Then the free critique offered by the magazine arrived. Gulp.

Time to eat crow. Dumb, dumb, and dumber, I’m such a dummy. I repeated as I banged my head on the desk.

The judges liked my story.

“This story is well written, with a good character dynamic.” However, I’d failed to comply with one of the rules. Me I disqualified myself! Non-negotiable. No exceptions.

Messing up or missing a rule equals rejection.

Guess the judges did recognize good writing and they also recognized a dumb one too. A writer that can’t follow instructions.

Stupid, stupid… I took another minute and banged head on keyboard.

One step forward and two back… that’s me.

Now that I need Ibuprofen for my headache I’ll take a deep breath and try again.

Back to the keyboard, writing, reading and studying. To improve my chances for publication I’m reading and rereading a few websites. However not sure anything can help me remember to follow the rules.

Banging head again, need a minute.

7 How to websites for writing, winning and publishing.

Have you practiced today?

Published on May 22, 2014May 22, 2014 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Thanks to Lillie McFerrin for reminding me to practice, practice, practice. Sometimes I get so busy with my WIP, and life in general, that I forget how important it is to practice my writing.

Five Sentence Fiction is a great place to do just that. So again, a big thank you to Lillie.

If you are looking for a place to work on your skills check out FSF.

Below is my Five Sentence contribution this week. Enjoy.

Let me know how you practice. Do you have a favorite site or routine? Leave a comment and the link. Thanks.

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week I will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This week: ANCHOR

All week people came to attend the celebrations.

They honored her with words like groundbreaking, innovative and pioneer.

She accepted their admiration; after all, she’d worked long hours to arrive at this pinnacle in life.

She’d dodged bullets, survived mergers and interviewed presidents.

As she listened to her well-meaning friends, she grew weary from the weight of her accomplishments, and now she just wanted to go home.