July Flash Fiction Carnival

Hello again!

This is Glenn D'mello, your host for the July Flash Fiction Carnival.

If you're new to the Flash Fiction Carnivals, please see the FAQ and read Virginia's introductory post and the sidebar.

The theme for this month's carnival is:

   Holiday    
You have from Wed, Jul 2nd, through the end of Sat, Jul 19th, to finish your stories.

All genres and all writers are welcome.
To participate in the July FFC:

• Write a 500-1000 word flash story based on the theme: Holiday.


• Post it on your blog.


• Put a comment here, with a link to your story. Add a short bio or note.Leave your email address.(See the March FFC announcement for why an email address is needed).


• If you do not have a blog, send me your story and I will post it here.


• Read and comment on the stories after they have been posted, which should be in the order that they are received.

That's it really. Sharpen your pencils and start writing.
And thanks for playing!

June FFC: Thanks for participating!

And here are the stories:

Breakfast by Susan Helene Gottfried.
Susan shows us why the no shirt, no service rule was instituted at a free breakfast buffet in this story from Trevor's Song Era.

Oatmeal by Glenn D'mello.
Glenn tells the tale of an unnamed character's introduction to a breakfast staple.

Stay tuned for next month's FFC right here on this blog.

FFC Hosts Needed!

DO YOU CRAVE POWER?

Are you interested in having a group of writers follow your lead? Do you feel up to the challenge of creating a theme for the next Flash Fiction Carnival? Finally, are you willing to put forth the time and effort to promote the FFC you host and gather the permalinks and stories to be hosted here at the FFC 2008 blog and then post them on the expected day? Shoot me an email and volunteer!

Seriously, we need hosts for the coming months. Also, if you are interested in hosting special FFCs, send me a proposal and I'll discuss it with my advisors (yes, I do have advisors) and if it flies we'll give it a go. As of now, I'm thinking that after a while I'd like to offer up themes for micro-flashes to be delivered in 24 hours. Traffic to our little FFC 2008 blog is increasing daily and as interest grows, hopefully the number of writers will as well.

Meanwhile, I have a theme in mind for March if no one else wants to do one. I do not know, as yet, if BunnyGirl is planning a St. Patrick's themed flash, but she'll let us know before long I'm sure. At any rate, I'll be posting the theme for March one week from tomorrow on the 27th and there will be a full two weeks to write this time. Cowardice did way better than I was afraid it might with only a week, but I do wonder how many more folks would have participated if they'd had the full fourteen days.

So holler if you want to host. Or, if you like, you can just send me some theme ideas. I'm open to suggestions.

We Have a Holiday Host!

I am happy to announce that the intelligent, beautiful, and talented BunnyGirl has agreed to join the FFC 2008 team as host for our holiday themed flashes.

WATCH THIS SPACE for her announcements about holiday flash specifics.

WELCOME BUNNYGIRL ! ! !

How's Everyone Doing?

I've got something in mind for my FFC post. I aim to get it up next week.

How's your story coming along? I can't wait to read it.

The World Is Welcome!

I just took a gander at the stats map and I'm happy to report there is interest from all corners of the globe. That's just GREAT!

We have interest from writers all over Canada and the USA, and a good many flashers from Australia, Ireland, and the UK. Japan, Israel, Germany, Sweden and more have all come in to have a look at the theme post, the FAQ, and my general silliness.

I hope all of you join us for January's FFC. Don't forget, you don't need a blog to join in the fun and you are free to write in your preferred genre or stretch a bit and try a new one.

Thanks for stopping in. I can't wait to read your stories!

Flash Fiction Carnival FAQ

What is a Flash Fiction Carnival?

• In a Flash Fiction Carnival, participating writers write and post a flash fiction story in their blog based on the theme chosen by the FFC host for that carnival. Flash fiction stories are short, usually limited to 500 - 1000 words, though each carnival will have its own specific word count range per the FFC host's guidelines.


• Each person involved in the carnival then comments on the flash fiction stories of other members. There will be a minimum number of different stories each FFCer must comment on, but all readers are welcome to post comments on any or all of the stories participating in the flash.

Do I need to write in a specific genre?

No. Any genre is welcome. You can write what you're comfortable with or stretch a bit and try something different than your usual milieu.


What kind of themes are chosen?

Past themes included Beginning, Madness, and Transform. Ann Pino/BunnyGirl hosted Halloween and Winter Holiday themed FFCs in her writing blog as well.


How do I submit a story that's on my blog?

• Write a 500-1000 word story that suits the theme of the FFC and post it in your blog. (Note: Length may vary per the preference of the individual FFC host, so please verify story length in the theme announcement and guideline post.)


• Turn on your comments. You may leave comment moderation on, but people must be able to comment on your story post. Otherwise you're pretty much defeating the purpose of participating in a FFC.


• Email the carnival host with the permalink to your story's individual blog post. Your email address MUST be valid so we can verify that we've received your entry.

Can I still participate if I don't have a blog?

Of course! In that case, you email your story to the carnival host to be posted here on the official Flash Fiction Carnival 2008 blog. Here's what you do:

• Send us a short biography with your story. A couple of sentences are just fine.


• Proof your story before hitting send. FFC hosts are not your mama or your English teacher and your story will be published as we receive it.


• Send your short biography and edited story via email to the relevant FFC host. Your email address MUST be valid so we can verify that we've received your entry.

I saw this really cool flash somewhere else that fits the theme. Can I use it for my entry?

Absolutely NOT! You are only to submit your original material to the FFC 2008 blog. You can read it at the bottom of the page, but here is our

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT:
All participating authors are expected to submit their own original material. It is the responsibility of each individual to police themselves, not that of the blog owner or FFC hosts. In that vein, all participating stories belong to the author submitting them. This means © 2008. Thank you for your cooperation and veracity.

Hooray for Arachne Jericho!

The lovely and talented Arachne Jericho has volunteered to be the host for January's FFC.

Huzzah! Hurrah! O frabjous day! We have ourselves a host!

It is yet to be determined when the theme and guidelines will be posted, but I have a feeling it will be soon, so make certain to return before too long.

I'll be looking for hosts for the upcoming months as well, so do keep us in mind if you are inclined to be a leader among writers. You may contact me via the email in my Blogger profile. Don't forget, you need a Blogger account so I can add you to the team.

If you have a question, please feel free to ask in the comments as others probably have the same one or something similar.

Welcome Flashers!

Because everyone who blogs does not have a specific blog dedicated just to their creative writing, I decided to create a blog dedicated to Flash Fiction Carnivals. Why? Simplicity.

Writers who wish to participate will have one central location in which they will find the current theme for a FFC. For now I envision no more than two FFCs to be running at a time. One will be the regular monthly themed carnival and the other will be seasonal or topical in some other way yet to be determined.

Hosting can and will be passed around. Each person hosting needs a Blogger account so they can be added to the list of posters for this blog. That way the host can run the carnival more easily which only makes sense. Since the hosting spot will switch off among different people, each host will post the list of participating stories in their personal blog as well as here. The chosen theme will be posted in the host’s blog as well. If someone wishes to host a carnival and does not have a blog, they may host it all in this space. That's one reason I created it.

Writers who do not have a blog but wish to participate in a FFC can be hosted here. All they have to do is send their flash story to the current FFC host per the instructions in the theme announcement. For easier navigation, the sidebar will be emended so that the top module contains links to the current FFC and theme announcements.

Comment moderation is not enabled as yet. Abusive comments will be removed, however, as will those deemed to be spam. Moderation will be enabled if comment removal becomes too much of a problem.

You will notice that AdSense ads are part of this blog. The reason for this is that eventually I hope to offer prizes to participating writers. These prizes will NOT be monetary. More than likely prizes will start out as gently used books from among those sent to me by my bff. The revenue from AdSense clicks will be to defray shipping costs. If needed I will add a PayPal button to that same end. This blog is not about profit, it is about writing. I have no idea when or how this will work, I am just seeing if people are interested in having this as an incentive. Suggestions and comments are welcome. Feel free to email me privately if you so desire.

If this thing flies? I figure the possibilities are endless. One day we may find a publisher who wants to do “The Best Of…” or we may decide to self-publish via POD. This site is about challenging yourself to write to a theme, to become a better writer, to see what other writers do with a common theme, and to have FUN.

January’s theme will be posted in the next couple of days. WATCH THIS SPACE!