Is humanity ready for what awaits us on distant worlds? — The one-hundred-twelve-year-old spaceship rattled against the first molecules of the planet’s upper atmosphere. “We’re not going to make it!” Hal, the crew’s science officer, screamed. “The ship’s going to break apart.” Nothing was visible through Nova’s windows, except for the fire of atmospheric friction. Glowing instruments occupied every available space…

Some words are worse than others — “I don’t want to be ten,” Deidre screamed. She stomped her foot so hard the wood floor in the living room almost cracked. A vertical fracture appeared on the nearest wall. “Do you hear me?! I don’t want to be f-staring ten years old.” “You get a phone when you’re…

We publish stories written with pen on paper — Welcome to The Handwritten Story, a publication that celebrates short stories written by pen on paper. We publish stories that are between 50 and 2,500 words in all genres. Why write a story by hand when typing is faster? When you write by hand, you’re forced to slow your writing…

How to submit your story to The Handwritten Story — The Handwritten Story publishes fiction written by pen on paper. You can submit either: A handwritten final version of your short story or A handwritten draft of your short story 1. If you submit a complete, handwritten final version, put the photo (or photos) of your story where the text…

I’m sorry —

Sweep away your typos and other mistakes — As a general rule, proofreading and editing flash fiction is easier than editing a 100,000-word novel. It’s certainly faster. But as with longer works, typos and errors creep into flash fiction like crickets invading a basement. Mistakes stand out in flash fiction far more than they do in longer stories…

Here’s what you need to know to get published in The 100 Images — Welcome to the guidelines for The 100 Images. We’re excited you’re here and looking forward to reading your stories. Please read the article about The 100 Images, which explains this publication in detail. Here’s the quick and dirty on what you need to know: Your story needs to be about…

This week’s Centina Pentina prompt is to write a story that takes place on a mountain — I grew up in Manhattan, a land of tall structures, but no mountains. The first time I saw a mountain was when I went to Maine as a child. Wow. …

Why I like flying solo with fiction — My innate, slothful tendencies brought me to Medium. I used to submit short stories to various literary, science fiction, fantasy, and horror publications, and in those rare cases where the publication said, “yes,” I reveled in delight. But submitting to different magazines is a slog: It can take months and…