Flash Fiction Contest

We moved this post to the top to encourage more entries to our contest. Two readers have posted their stories in the comments and both are awesome! Please read below and enter your own stories. (Note that the first contest to guess the Working Stiff is over.)



We Working Stiffs have a little surprise for you in February. We're calling this month February Shorts, or Flash Fiction February if you prefer alliteration. Either way, we think it'll be lots of fun!

In addition to fantastic guest bloggers Hank Phillippi Ryan on Thursday, February 4th, and Nancy Martin on Thursday, February 18th, we'll be blogging about shorts. No, not the ones you wear! (Although knowing this gang, that's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.) Since February is the shortest month, we thought we'd have some short story themed posts throughout the month.

And that's not all.

We have not one, but TWO contests. Jennie Bentley and Wilfred Bereswill have generously offered to donate a book to the winner. One winner will get Jennie's book, the other will get Will's.

The first contest will be on Friday February 5th. On Jennie's post that day, there will be 200 word stories that begin, "If you have to die, February is the best month for it." The catch? The stories will be anonymous. You won't know who wrote them! Your job will be to figure out which Stiff wrote what story. The reader who gets the most right, wins a book! In case of a tie, Jennie will pick the winner at random from those who tied.

We also have a second contest. Using the same opening sentence, "If you have to die, February is the best month for it," post your own 200 word story in the Comments. (Stories may be less than 200 words, but any that are over will be disqualified.) We'll gather them throughout the month, and Working Stiffs will pick a winner.

POST YOUR 200 WORD STORY IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST.

Ode to February

By Annette Dashofy


Good ol’ Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday. No big surprise there. And I’m not going to launch into my usual round of curses on groundhogs, because it never works. We’re going to have to face it. Shadow or not, we still have six weeks of crappy weather ahead of us.

Around here, folks start getting a glazed look in their eyes in February. I think the main reason someone decided to plunk Valentine’s Day smack in the middle of the month was so we wouldn’t all go postal on each other. Instead, we bribe those closest to us (and therefore, those who are the most annoyed with us) with gifts of chocolate and flowers and trinkets. Just a little something to tide us over to blue skies and sunshine.

I’m sure the sun comes out somewhere in February, but not in southwestern Pennsylvania. Here, the gray clouds roll in shortly after Thanksgiving and stay until May.

Perhaps I exaggerate. But not much.

Worse, though, than the clouds in February, is the dirt. February is a dirty month. January’s snow has melted into grungy gray mounds along the highways. Cars are all the same color: Road Salt. No use washing them. It rains or snows (or both) most days, so they’ll just get slopped up again.

And of course, there are the potholes. It must be February. The potholes are in bloom! My husband recently informed me that my car is in desperate need of an alignment. I laughed. Why in the world would I want to spend the money on that NOW? It would be undone two miles down the road with the first crater I smacked into.

Alignments and car washes have to wait until spring. Which is still six weeks away.

There are only two good things about February as far as I can tell.
1.) It means we survived January.
2.) It’s the shortest month.

Bring on March!