Time slipped through their minds like sand through the fingers of children. Years passed by unnoticed; decades disappeared without remark. They searched for the proverbial needle in a haystack, the one single moment in the whole of history on which their future- creation, destruction, entropy -hung. The pendulum kept swinging, relentlessly counting the seconds to the end.

A glimpse here, a hint there, they would pause and hope, but no answers were forthcoming. Time was running out, both in their search and in their reality. Had they missed it, should they rewind or keep moving forward? The silence was deafening.

I love my critique group. They are the biggest reason that my writing continues to improve. But sometimes I need to trust my writing and just go with it.

Today I decided to write and submit a piece of flash fiction to The Molotov Cocktail, an online flash magazine located here at wordpress. At 550 words, there’s not much critique can do for it, without making it longer, turning it in to something its not.

I have realized lately that I really do prefer the short form. Flash is great because I can write and revise it around 2 hours.

I used to host a 50 word microfiction contest. I ran it weekly, and after a while, there were very few entries and fewer votes for the winning entry, so I stopped. But I do love microfiction. I love the challenge of telling a complete story in so few words. At some point, I will probably post 100 word microfiction stories here.

Today I want to tell you about another microfiction contest. The entry fee is $15; you could win $500. Unlike my contest, which required exactly 50 words, this one calls for 100 Words or Fewer. So get writing.