Like an amuse-bouche—a small appetizer that provides a full taste experience in just one bite—Flash Fiction provides a full narrative in just one sitting. In one hundred words, your Flash Fiction Competition entries gave us fully realized worlds, characters, and tension. And, like a good amuse-bouche, they left us both satisfied and wanting more.
Read on to see Guest Judge Janelle Milanes’s winning picks!
WINNERS AND FINALISTS:
Winner: What the Lizards Think by philomel (US)
This piece drew me in immediately with the simplicity of its opening line and the shift as the story continued. The author makes an interesting choice to center the point of view on the surrounding environment and the creatures inhabiting it. So often we consider ourselves the main characters in our own lives rather than fellow creatures on a shared planet, but here the major storyline is obscured, with the focus on how the animals respond to it. The word choice is precise and vivid, with action verbs such as “wheeled,” “scuttled,” and “flitting,” allowing the reader to visualize the story as it unfolds. The author’s use of specific details help ground the piece, from the Nike shoe brand to the cherry laurels lining the walkways. While death can feel so momentous, here it is portrayed as impersonal, a shift in the environment, a small ripple effect on the ecosystem. Eventually, the creatures adapt and move on. The author uses language that is descriptive yet subtle, with well-placed details throughout that allow the reader to infer what has happened. Even so, enough is left unexplained so that the reader can make their own conclusions as to the piece’s meaning. This piece is a beautiful example of showing and not telling in one’s writing.
Runner Up: Yellow Rose Baskets by Paisley Blue (US)
The curious narrator functions as a stand-in for readers in this story, as they observe the character mysteriously titled “Englishman” tend to his flowers. The author provides beautiful imagery and personification from the beginning of the piece, as the sun “molds” around the sweater vest and “caresses” Englishman’s flowers. There is much left to the reader’s imagination as it is never fully revealed what happens to Englishman. The author instead zeroes in on the reaction of the neighbors, providing sensory details to express their concern and confusion, such as the “low voices” and “wrinkled foreheads.” The details given about Englishman allow the reader small hints into his personality—the sweater vest indicating a reserved nature, the daily pruning of his flowers suggesting a fastidiousness. The author expertly foreshadows the story’s end with the line, “With enough care, maybe they’ll never die.” The last line of the story subtly reveals that the flowers are artificial, and readers are left questioning what the Englishman’s intentions were. Were the yellow rose baskets a symbol of his quest for perfection? A subconscious rejection of mortality? The author never explicitly reveals the “why,” preferring instead to leave readers wondering.
Finalists:
Hide and Seek by rosie_ (Australia)
Missing the hood whilst in boarding school by MelaniGarcia (US)
The Line by yae23 (Korea)
Unique by Tejal Doshi (India)
Highly Commended:
The Ladies Stardust by Kess (US)
My Sister, the Matchmaker by EmFu (Canada)
Separated by Seasons by 21.47 (Singapore)
PEER REVIEW WINNER AND FINALISTS:
Best Peer Review: Chai Tea’s (Australia) review of Hunted
This review was presented in a thoughtful, detailed manner. The reviewer dove into the story with highlighted line edits that precisely narrowed in on what was effective and what needed more development. I found the edits quite insightful and concrete, particularly the suggestions for word substitutions and the reasoning behind them. The peer review struck an ideal balance between encouragement and analysis. The reviewer praised the author’s use of short, simple sentences, but cautioned overuse of the technique and suggested varying the sentence structure at certain points to add clarity. I agreed with the opinions of the reviewer, particularly in advising the author to incorporate more sensory descriptions in the moments of the story when the action slowed. This would allow more interesting contrast and variation to hold the reader’s attention and better visualize the scene. I found this to be a respectful, well-constructed review that offered the author comprehensive suggestions on how to improve their piece.
Peer Review Finalists:
wishtree’s (US) review of Fade
Anish Aradhey’s (US) review of Judgement
Tejal Doshi’s (India) review of The Beast and Her Beauty