I submitted two short stories (one VERY short) to online contests last month. Press53.com runs a monthly 53-word story contest every month. They post a visual prompt and take submissions that must be exactly fifty-three words long. I submitted the following against this prompt in January:
For some of us, this season of resolution is one of deprivations. Detrimental foodstuffs will linger on shelves; other vices will be left wanting. We will nurture an unfilled space within our mass. Incidentally, this month in 1875 George Green patented the first electric dental drill. Behold the convergence of unfulfillment and decay.
Write a 53-word story about a cavity
<I can't seem to find the picture, which was a deep, dark well.>
Dark and Hungry
The protons streaked through the perfect vacuum, their anti-twins whirling in the opposite direction. Faster and faster, they were squeezed shoulder to shoulder. The vanguards dove for each other, their attraction inexorable, their collision inevitable. In a flash brighter than a million suns, the black hole was born and it began to eat.
Post a comment with your thoughts -- even if (especially if) you don't like it. I'm still learning how to put together a good story, so all feedback is very welcome.
The other submission this month was a short story for the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest. Jim Baen was a very influential editor and publisher of science fiction for many decades. My submission, titled "Scholar's Mate", was not selected as a finalist, but if you subscribe to my website here, I'll be happy to send you a copy.