22 pieces · 2023–2025
Fiction
Short pieces written against a five-minute timer — stop typing and the draft deletes itself. Most run under a thousand words, and all of them are first drafts that stayed first drafts.
As he fell, he waited for
As he fell, he waited for the calm of last moments. You know it.
1 min · SUBSTACK
She didn't like it but she'd been recalled to life for a reason.
She didn't like it but she'd been recalled to life for a reason .
1 min · SUBSTACK
First came the smell of the flowers
First came the smell of the flowers. Tulips, or orchids, he wasn't sure.
1 min · SUBSTACK
She suddenly realised she might be alone for the rest of her life
She suddenly realised she might be alone for the rest of her life .
1 min · SUBSTACK
She knelt on the carpet in her new living-room, a big cardboard box in front of her, unwrapping ornaments
Set the timer to 10 minutes for this one She knelt on the carpet in her new living-room, a big cardboard box in front…
2 min · SUBSTACK
The fire was getting closer.
The fire was getting closer. Whips of red hot flames shot out from the blaze like a King Cobra's bite.
1 min · SUBSTACK
The pink glove lay on the ground, almost covered
The pink glove lay on the ground, almost covered.
1 min · SUBSTACK
She felt for the lock in the dark
She felt for the lock in the dark. How long she had been in here she didn't know. Maybe a day, maybe two.
2 min · SUBSTACK
Was it a knock that had woken her?
Was it a knock that had woken her? She had been lapping in and out of consciousness for hours now, like the tide…
1 min · SUBSTACK
The house wasn't the same to her anymore.
The house wasn't the same to her anymore. Don't misunderstand. It was the same structurally, of course.
1 min · SUBSTACK
Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman's fire was nearly out
Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman's fire was nearly out.
2 min · SUBSTACK
He had waited twenty years to return it
He had waited twenty years to return it - he rather enjoyed the idea that there would be a reason he would get to see…
1 min · SUBSTACK
He had waited twenty years to return it
He had waited twenty years to return it — he rather enjoyed the idea that there would be a reason he would get to…
1 min · SUBSTACK
She had made a poor job of hiding the damage
She had made a poor job of hiding the damage.
1 min · SUBSTACK
They had been together for twenty-five years
They had been together for twenty-five years but it felt like only an autumn afternoon.
2 min · SUBSTACK
The footsteps were moving away.
The footsteps were moving away. After 10 minutes of uncertainty, not knowing whether his captor was approaching his…
1 min · SUBSTACK
Only the very oldest people remembered a time when humans could see in colour
Only the very oldest people remembered a time when humans could see in colour.
2 min · SUBSTACK
The sound of laughter drifted up from the street below, making him feel very alone in this new town.
The sound of laughter drifted up from the street below, making him feel very alone in this new town.
1 min · SUBSTACK
The whole family had been cursed since
The whole family had been cursed since Alex entered that odd cave last November.
2 min · SUBSTACK
There was something not quite right about the window.
There was something not quite right about the window. Emile couldn't recall when he had noticed it at first.
3 min · SUBSTACK
My First Post - An Outline for the Blog
This is the world's most dangerous substack - an idea founded out of my impending boredom.
3 min · SUBSTACK
She'd only given in because she was lonely.
She'd only given in because she was lonely. She had never wanted to open her own bookstore.
2 min · SUBSTACK