Fiction
Sunday Dinner
There had been a christening at St. Mary’s that morning, and Susan and her cousin were going on and on about babies. Blair said she would name her daughters Ellen and Beverly, and her first son would carry his father’s name with a Roman numeral following.
By Harper Lewis 5 months ago in Critique
Goodnight, Sweet Prince . Content Warning.
Susan pulled her car, loaded down with all of her worldly belongings, into Trey's driveway behind his car. As she approached the house, she noticed a line of ants marching over the walkway, not having the sense to go around the crack that every third or fourth ant fell into. There was a dead bird under the dogwood tree, and the ants were working hard, taking treasure back to their queen.
By Harper Lewis 5 months ago in Critique
Mirror Image. Honorable Mention in Not Quite There Yet Challenge.
I started this short story for a Vocal Challenge that called for the first line. I didn't finish it in time to submit to the challenge, but I keep coming back to it. A woman loses her earring. A woman loses her earring. A woman's earrings are stolen from her tomb. The connections haven't all been made between the women. The lost earring and the way it was lost is real. I still have the other one. So is the gatehouse, the main house and the antique mirror that has an angry spirit. They are all cobbled together over time and place. I've handled ancient Egyptian tomb beads while cataloguing a fashion collection. Shivers. The rest is imagined, I think.
By Natalie Wilkinson5 months ago in Critique
Small Prophets
Introduction I enjoyed Mackenzie Crook's first series, "Detectorists" which I wrote about here: So when "Small Prophets" was announced, I was obviously tempted and was glad I was. If you have access to the BBC's iPlayer, you can watch it here:
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 5 months ago in Critique
The River. Honorable Mention in Not Quite There Yet Challenge. Content Warning.
The air over the river was heavy and still, clouds merging overhead into cumulus fortresses blocking the sun as the battered pontoon boat chugged up the river toward the rapids. Shannon elbowed Katie and said, “Maybe we should go back.”
By Harper Lewis 5 months ago in Critique
Authorship vs Refinement
Much of the confusion surrounding artificial intelligence and writing comes from a failure to distinguish between two fundamentally different acts: originating ideas and refining their expression. These acts are often treated as interchangeable, as though whoever touches the final form must also be the source of the thought itself. That assumption does not reflect how writing has ever worked, nor does it reflect how human thinking actually unfolds.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Critique
