In This Issue: Jake Freivald

Marching On

As this goes live, we’re marching out of winter and into spring here in the northern hemisphere. To accompany us, we have two mainstream stories — Deconstructing the Nihilist by Iris Macor and The Whole Of The Brush by T D Edge — and a very dry bit of speculative fiction called Ring Worlds by Peter Fisk. Our Classic Flash is a little comic relief from Punch called Cutting Down. Bruce is back with part II of his article on titles, “Naming the Baby”.

April promises to be plenty foolish; until then, enjoy! Read more: HTML

Flash 3/2011, #1: Iris Macor

Deconstructing the Nihilist

I asked Evan once what he believed. He paused, scissors in one hand, photograph in the other.

“Everything,” he said. He touched his tongue to his lip, all his focus flowing to a point, and he snipped a near-perfect circle out of the picture.

“What did you do that for?” The picture had been taken by my father when we all went skiing two months before. He’d told me ... Read more: HTML

Your ad could be here, right now.

Technically Speaking #3: Bruce Holland Rogers

Naming the Baby: Titles (Part II)...

In part one of this article, Bruce explained some theory and then wrote: The title pulls the reader in. Then the story delivers on the title. This column takes the next step.

Enough theory. What a writer lacking a title can really use is some Things to Try. Here are a few.

1. Look at your bookshelf. What are the patterns of the titles you see there? Read more: HTML

Flash 3/2011, #2: Peter Fisk

Ring Worlds

Sir Charles Wilton had just poured himself a glass of brandy and flipped open a book he’d been looking forward to reading, when a sudden whooshing sound made him look up in time to witness a demon materializing in the library.

For a moment Sir Charles considered running out of the house and then down the road to the church to fetch Father Berlioz — but... Read more: HTML

Flash 3/2011, #3: T D Edge

The Whole Of The Brush

I found Uncle Jim in his workshop at the end of his garden.

“Hello, Paul,” he said, “what’s the problem this time?”

I blushed at this but he was smiling so I sat on a three-legged stool next to his bench and said, “Julie wants a divorce.”

“You’ll have to talk while I work,” he said, nodding at the white-painted board perched on the easel before him. Read more: HTML

Classic Flash #48: Punch, September 23, 1914

Cutting Down

“Everybody’s doing it,” I said, “so as to have more for the Funds. Also for other reasons. The only question is what?”

“Well,” said Ursula, “let’s make a beginning.” She produced a silver pencil and some celluloid tablets that are supposed to look like ivory. “What first?” she asked, frowning.

I reflected. “Clearly the superfluities ought to go first....” Read more: HTML