Vocal Community Microfiction Series

When the Microfiction Magic Challenge was announced I thought I could pull a Hemmingway, write a tiny story, and be done with it. But then I saw the word count (50-100 words) and realized my first entry did not meet the requirements.

That's when an idea popped into my head: Why not write a microfiction story for each of the 40 writing communities in Vocal and submit them all to the challenge?

At that point the challenge was in its 3rd day. That meant if I were to start posting on the 4th day I would have to post at least 3x a day in order to get 40 microstories in before the deadline (with time to spare).

In addition, each story would have to be 93 words or less since my sign off and the spacing before it ate up 7 of my 100 word allowance. Still, I didn't think it'd be too hard.

In fact, I thought it would be a great idea.

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Here are all 40 stories in the order they appeared!

JP Morgan Chase is seeking to patent a method that would use AI to seek and select the best candidates for any job on the market. This piece was inspired by that news. 🤖

How much do you want to bet that the church condemned natural beauty products as witchcraft back in the day?

A famous singer once revealed the hurtful words an ex-lover said to her. If you know, you know.

I know nothing about soccer, but I do know that Pelé was one of the best soccer players in the world.

If I could be a fly on the wall... 👀

Stephanie J. Bradberry let slip that the first two words gave her flashbacks of the time she spent wrestling with the Tautogram Challenge. Decisions were made 😬

This one was inspired by a story I heard from one of my classmates back in highschool 🌸

My highschool specialized in the arts (visual, musical and theatre). We were fortunate to have teachers like Mr. Shamji.

This is a very personal story. In my case, the response to the tourists' question was, "No, the roofer did." My father, Roscoe, was a damn good roofer.

My mother has a recipe for lumpia (Filipino springrolls). I am still learning.

I had a brain-fart when it came to the microfiction for the Fiction Community. This was the best I could come up with.

Lol. 🙈 🙉 🙊

I'm certain we'd be just as flummoxed as our grandparents were when they saw what we did to kill time...

...just as I am certain some things will never change 😆

I'm gonna go ahead and call this a pro gamer move.

Though I'm not a movie buff, I do appreciate the adaptations of Stan's work. 🦸‍♀️ 🦸

A felt a lot of pressure leading up to the microfiction for Horror. I didn't want to disappoint Dharrsheena ❤️

For some reason you guys really liked this one 😂.

I'm not quite at Heather's or Mariann's level when it comes to interviews, but I'm getting there 😆

Not gonna lie, this is a tame summary of the r/maliciouscompliance subreddit rabbit hole I sometimes fall into.

I recently tried this trick with an "empty" jar of ube jam. O.M.G!!! 🤯

Sometimes, it's the best advice.

As Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock wisely said, "Love is love is love is love is love is love is love...."

I used to run a lot. Not so much now, but this might make me reconsider 😅

The last line was paraphrased from a villain in a manga I used to read and it just wouldn't let me go. I now see why.

"Yeah." 😎

Remember when I mentioned that one of the microfictions gave Stephanie J. Bradberry flashbacks of the Tautogram Challenge? Don't say I don't listen 😆

Totally not inspired by personal events 😅

Unfortunately, this one was inspired by recent events in my neighborhood. There are more details in the comment section and links in the comment section under this story in the Facebook Group Vocal+Assist.

First it's exciting, then it's annoying, then it's flattering - and then it's...😐

I wasn't sure what to write for the Psyche Community until I came across this Ted Talk. I recall having to write an essay about adversity, but this is another thing entirely.

The Philippines has its own stories about WWII...and its own heroes as well.

Anyone who reads this knows which hill I'm dying on. 😝

This is in no way financial advice, nor is it an accurate description of blockchain technology as that tech is still evolving. Take what you read with a grain of salt.

Say what you will; I'm with Nana on this one.

Once again, this is in no way financial advice...though it may be sound advice 😜

How well do you know your memes?

Daddy ain't the only one who can lay down the law 💁‍♀️.

Am I exaggerating?

Maybe.

Am I lying?

Nope 😂

This narrator wasn't lying either!

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There you have it folks! All 40 microfiction stories wrapped up in one big article. Thank you so much to everyone who supported me and put up with seeing my posts pop up 3x a day during this challenge. I really appreciate you guys for not reporting me as spam 🤣.

I want to give a special shout out to the writers and readers on Vocal+Assist and Great Incantations for encouraging this series. Big thank you to Mike Singleton-Mikeydred and Judey Kalchik for suggesting a collection like this one.

If you haven't tried your hand at this format I highly encourage you to do so. Microfiction forces you to boil each story down to its essential elements, a skill you can then translate into longer works.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to give a warm hug to my fiancé for keeping me comfortable in my writing hole in those nights when my brain kept farting and nothing came out right. I love you, Tiger ❤️.

Now, without further ado...

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Thank you for lingering