Day: December 23, 2015

Which “Sauna Time” Flash Fiction Story Gets Your Vote?

Vote5It’s that time again…time to choose your favorite flash fiction story of the week! The judges have whittled down the entries to a select few, and now it’s your turn: time for the public to have the final say. It’s super easy – choose your favorite and cast your vote below for this week’s Flash Fiction champion.

Remember, the winning entries will all be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology.

Check out this week’s entries here – we’ve even labeled the finalists to make them easier to spot. Make your decision, then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

Voting polls close Thursday at 5 PM Pacific time.

Which "Sauna Time" story should be in the anthology?

  • Chris Sparks (42%, 23 Votes)
  • Daniel Peyton (35%, 19 Votes)
  • Christopher "Irish Goat" Knodel (9%, 5 Votes)
  • Doreen Strom (7%, 4 Votes)
  • AP Bose (5%, 3 Votes)
  • Joe Wocoski (2%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 55

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions are not relevant to the prompts and/or exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll. ONE VOTE PER PERSON, please. Duplicate votes will be deleted. The results displayed above are unofficial until verified by administration.

How to Use Twitter for the Complete Newbie

A real Blue Bird not a twitter birdImagine a bunch of friends and acquaintances all in the same room wandering around yelling out random short remarks (maybe where they plan to go out to dinner or that they love their spouse) while others are screaming. Add other people waving a handful of pamphlets in the air, yelling “read this” or screaming “buy my book” or some other attempt to sell something. Occasionally another person will shout out a response to one of those questions. Sometimes people will grab half of those pamphlets and run to an adjoining room to try passing them out there or to repeat one of those remarks or questions for the people in the other room.

To be fair, most of the people above are polite; everyone takes their turn and doesn’t talk over the other guy. But even so, keeping track of all the things being said and the multiple conversations that interest you is tricky. It’s heaven (or maybe hell) for someone suffering from ADHD. I’m not so sure it doesn’t cause it in others.

This, in a nutshell, is Twitter. Continue reading “How to Use Twitter for the Complete Newbie”

Bookish Recipes for the Holidays

TurkeyWe all have our favorite holiday stories. And, of course, the holidays usually center around families and food. That means in those favorite stories, the characters are probably, at some point, seated around a festive meal at a dining room table.

Cuisine can play an important part in books – whether it sets a mood or illustrates the tastes of a character. So how about we take a moment to salute food – especially holiday food? Type your favorite literary holiday dish (or one you just like eating) in the comments below – and if you have a SHORT recipe, go ahead and include that. (Short as in one paragraph, please don’t abuse this! The moderators are already cranky! Bah humbug!) Your entry should look something like:

Plum pudding (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)
Recipe: Go to the store, buy some, bring it home, heat it up.

Happy cooking and happy holidays to you all.