@lvoeltz.bsky.social
@smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge This is a very off-kilter story which is one my favorite styles to write. Really great work on a difficult and sensitive topic.
To Beget a Life — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 10, 2025 at 10:08 PM
@smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge This is a very off-kilter story which is one my favorite styles to write. Really great work on a difficult and sensitive topic.
American Avocet: a new lifer for me :)
July 9, 2025 at 2:30 PM
American Avocet: a new lifer for me :)
I really enjoyed this gem, written by Preeti Vangani. It is grounded in references to Amy Winehouse, which I loved. Really deep and am interesting angle on a relationship story.
Who Needs Rehab When You Have a Man? — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 9, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I really enjoyed this gem, written by Preeti Vangani. It is grounded in references to Amy Winehouse, which I loved. Really deep and am interesting angle on a relationship story.
Who Needs Rehab When You Have a Man? — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 9, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I really enjoyed this gem, written by Preeti Vangani. It is grounded in references to Amy Winehouse, which I loved. Really deep and am interesting angle on a relationship story.
This is a very haunting flash! Sometimes I've heard as an early writer to avoid dreams but this shows rules are sometimes meant to be broken. Such a great quality of flash, too. #archivechallenge @smokelong.bsky.social
Dream Twins — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 8, 2025 at 6:10 AM
This is a very haunting flash! Sometimes I've heard as an early writer to avoid dreams but this shows rules are sometimes meant to be broken. Such a great quality of flash, too. #archivechallenge @smokelong.bsky.social
#archivechallenge I love this story by Meg Pokrass. I don't often find flashes about sisterly love so this was a treat! @smokelong.bsky.social
Invisible Arrows — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 6, 2025 at 3:30 PM
#archivechallenge I love this story by Meg Pokrass. I don't often find flashes about sisterly love so this was a treat! @smokelong.bsky.social
A lovely deer in velvet
July 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
A lovely deer in velvet
Showy Lady Slipper (MN state flower)
July 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Showy Lady Slipper (MN state flower)
I really enjoyed this off-kilter sort of sci-fi-literary story by Michael Chapey. The premise was really fun and I enjoyed where the story went. It made me sad for this misunderstood narrator as well. Great work! @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Clockwork Kid — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 4, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I really enjoyed this off-kilter sort of sci-fi-literary story by Michael Chapey. The premise was really fun and I enjoyed where the story went. It made me sad for this misunderstood narrator as well. Great work! @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Really enjoyed this flash by Francine Witte. She takes the every day occurrences of shopping & elevates it to something much deeper about marriages, beauty, & history of women. How it feels to be unseen. #archivechallenge @smokelong.bsky.social
Eve to Me — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 3, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Really enjoyed this flash by Francine Witte. She takes the every day occurrences of shopping & elevates it to something much deeper about marriages, beauty, & history of women. How it feels to be unseen. #archivechallenge @smokelong.bsky.social
Cedar Waxwings have the coolest feathers and that mask! :)
July 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Cedar Waxwings have the coolest feathers and that mask! :)
Riham Adly uses such unique language in this story, making the child's point of view really intriguing. It's not so much the specific words but the way in which the child words their experiences and worldview. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Bubbles, Mermaids and Broccoli — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Riham Adly uses such unique language in this story, making the child's point of view really intriguing. It's not so much the specific words but the way in which the child words their experiences and worldview. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Love this story by Jennifer Wortman "We both crave it: my abjection, his arrogance. These are gifts we can give each other." This is a soft story with a kind of quiet tension. She's also made great use of lists. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
As It So Happens — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 2, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Love this story by Jennifer Wortman "We both crave it: my abjection, his arrogance. These are gifts we can give each other." This is a soft story with a kind of quiet tension. She's also made great use of lists. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
A great story by Eliot Li. I love the way he weaves war, hearts throughout the piece. It's very artful. "I hear thumping, a sinister percussion from underneath the cemetery grass." @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Shrapnel — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
July 1, 2025 at 9:53 PM
A great story by Eliot Li. I love the way he weaves war, hearts throughout the piece. It's very artful. "I hear thumping, a sinister percussion from underneath the cemetery grass." @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
@smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge I love the unexpectedness in this story, how theft is so thought out & how the story pivots.
The Problem with This Theft — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
@smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge I love the unexpectedness in this story, how theft is so thought out & how the story pivots.
Another story from Aimee Bender. Love this! Here's a favorite quote "...my emptiness, the internal vacancy that perhaps made space for them to pour in their own imaginings." Great work.
Evacuated — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Another story from Aimee Bender. Love this! Here's a favorite quote "...my emptiness, the internal vacancy that perhaps made space for them to pour in their own imaginings." Great work.
Wow, this one is powerful. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge I loved Michelle Morouse's use of lists and her final ending point. I think sometimes it can be challenging to use lyrics in a flash fiction due to copyright etc. but it's so well done here. It's a great breathless sort of piece.
I listen to the Cranberries whenever I please now — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Wow, this one is powerful. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge I loved Michelle Morouse's use of lists and her final ending point. I think sometimes it can be challenging to use lyrics in a flash fiction due to copyright etc. but it's so well done here. It's a great breathless sort of piece.
This is such a haunting story about a man and his sons leaving their mother behind at the house every day. There are so many great world building details. It left me with some intriguing questions--like, what is really going on with Mom? @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Our Father — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
This is such a haunting story about a man and his sons leaving their mother behind at the house every day. There are so many great world building details. It left me with some intriguing questions--like, what is really going on with Mom? @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
This flash by Pamela Painter does a great job of telling a story by telling you what it is not. So creative. I have read a few stories like this & like them all @smokelong.bsky.social
Not a Ghost Story — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 27, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This flash by Pamela Painter does a great job of telling a story by telling you what it is not. So creative. I have read a few stories like this & like them all @smokelong.bsky.social
This flash is painful wonderful with fantastic metaphor about music and the radio after the loss of the narrator's father. It's such a a heartbreaking look at grief & feels so authentic
Blues — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
This flash is painful wonderful with fantastic metaphor about music and the radio after the loss of the narrator's father. It's such a a heartbreaking look at grief & feels so authentic
Another beautiful bird story. This one is subtle but so emotional. particularly I love the title, "Chickadees Dance on my Windowsill." The last paragraph is so perfect. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
The Pick 2016 — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 26, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Another beautiful bird story. This one is subtle but so emotional. particularly I love the title, "Chickadees Dance on my Windowsill." The last paragraph is so perfect. @smokelong.bsky.social #archivechallenge
Aimee Bender writes amazing stories. This one is no exception! I love the fairy-tale style mixed a flash-forward of Cinderella. So creative and fun. And of course, birds!!! @smokelong.bsky.social
The Pick 2012 — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Aimee Bender writes amazing stories. This one is no exception! I love the fairy-tale style mixed a flash-forward of Cinderella. So creative and fun. And of course, birds!!! @smokelong.bsky.social
Reposted
If you're not already reading flash fiction, this contest is a great reason to start!
And we're off! Start a 2-week deep dive TODAY into a favorite online flash journal older than 10 years and get your name in the hat to win $400! Please share at least 1 flash daily (up to 4) and tag SmokeLong so we see you! Get on it! www.smokelong.com/the-archive-...
The Archive Challenge — Win $400! - SmokeLong Quarterly
How often do you read the literary journals you submit your work to? Flash has been around for centuries but as “flash” only for around 23 years, when James Thomas’s wife suggested the term. Lots of o...
www.smokelong.com
June 25, 2025 at 12:09 PM
If you're not already reading flash fiction, this contest is a great reason to start!
What a unique story! I love the voice here and the perspective of a child in the womb. So unique. I love how this sensory-oriented flash shifts at the end towards the mother and her needs. Beautiful! @smokrl.bsky.social
A Womb of Her Own — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
June 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
What a unique story! I love the voice here and the perspective of a child in the womb. So unique. I love how this sensory-oriented flash shifts at the end towards the mother and her needs. Beautiful! @smokrl.bsky.social