S.A. McNaughton

When I titled this story, it didn’t occur to me how funny it would be to see person after person post “Have You Looked In the Couch?”

YDL Short Horror Story Competition: Week 1 Voting is now open for the first week of the Ypsilanti District Library's Short Horror Story Competition. The theme of week 1 was "Hauntings." My story, "Have You Looked in the Couch?" is a finalist. You can read it (and vote for it) on any or all of the following social media sites! Facebook Instagram Bluesky Week 2's theme will be "Body Horror."

YDL Short Horror Story Competition: Week 1

Voting is now open for the first week of the Ypsilanti District Library's Short Horror Story Competition. The theme of week 1 was "Hauntings." My story, "Have You Looked in the Couch?" is a finalist. You can read it (and vote for it) on any or all of the…

Please vote for my story!

www.writingbattle.com/join-battle I joined the upcoming Fear Flash Fiction Battle with writers from around the world. Get Ready to Battle on Oct 5, 2025! @writingbattle.bsky.social
#flashfiction #writingprompts #writerslife #WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky

Join the Battle and Learn More

September 2025 Updates Contests Entered Results Submissions Plans and Goals for Next Month Contests entered NYC Midnight Rhyming Story, round 1 Results The Dread Tootling Jen deals with the chaos of a snowed-in vacation with her in-laws Holding the Bag A bank robber finds himself without a getaway vehicle and makes do Falling in Glove A stream-of-consciousness reflection on the daughter of the house's missing glove…

September 2025 Updates

Contests Entered Results Submissions Plans and Goals for Next Month Contests entered NYC Midnight Rhyming Story, round 1 Results The Dread Tootling Jen deals with the chaos of a snowed-in vacation with her in-laws Holding the Bag A bank robber finds himself without a getaway…

A static-filled, distorted view of what appears to be a doorway or entrance with glass panels. The image has significant digital corruption and scan line effects. Text overlay reads 'HORROR STORY SHORTS IN' with a large red number '3' (with a small drip effect) and 'DAYS' in glitchy white typography.

The theme for the first week of the 2025 Short Horror Story Contest is... HAUNTINGS. Houses, hospitals, toys, lockets. If you can name it, you can haunt it. 👻

A Tale of Milk and Eggs An academic on her way to a conference struggles with leaving her newborn behind, and makes an unexpected connection with a dragon on the airport runway

A TALE OF MILK AND EGGS (999 words)
An academic on her way to a conference struggles with leaving her newborn behind, and makes an unexpected connection with a dragon on the airport runway
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Written for the NYC Midnight #flashfictionchallenge round 2

A screenshot from the NYC Midnight website says: Upload Success! Congratulations, you have successfully uploaded your story for the Rhyming Story Challenge 2025!

#RhymingStoryChallenge: A week
To write six hundred words
I waited til I had six hours
To write the last two-thirds.

I could have used a bit more time
But I'd have frittered it away
At last my story's at an end
As so, too, is the day.

Falling in Glove A stream-of-consciousness reflection on the daughter of the house's missing glove

"Yearning" was a fun prompt for round 3 of #TwistedTournament. I wrote FALLING IN GLOVE (100 words).

Holding the Bag A bank robber finds himself without a getaway vehicle and makes do

Holding the Bag

A bank robber finds himself without a getaway vehicle and makes do

The Dread Tootling Jen deals with the chaos of a snowed-in vacation with her in-laws

“Uh-oh, did Bitsy make a wee-wee?”

That is the least of Jen's problems in THE DREAD TOOTLING (499 words), written for round 1 of #TwistedTournament

(Bitsy did, in fact, make a wee-wee.)

Display of some of the top scores in the Twisted Tournament competition. S.A. McNaughton is in 13th place with 9.14 points.

13th! My best finish yet in @twistinthetale.bsky.social #TwistedTournament!
Plus:
1x Best Last Line 🎭
1x Most Heartfelt 💔
4x Funniest 😂
1x Best Title 📖

(I shared anonymously and don't seem to be able to change that setting - it's called The Dread Tootling.)

Looking forward to the @nycmidnight.bsky.social #RhymingStoryChallenge starting tonight. I had so much fun writing my rhyming stories last year!

Summer 2025 Updates Contests Entered Results Submissions Plans and Goals for Next Month Contests Entered in June, July and August NYC Midnight Flash Fiction, round 1 Not Quite Write NYC Midnight Flash Fiction, round 2 NYC Midnight 500, round 1 Twisted Tournament, round 1 Twisted Tournament, round 2 Twisted Tournament, round 3 Results Victoria and the Mess Perfectionist baking show contestant Victoria learns to embrace mess and go with the flow…

Summer 2025 writing progress and plans for September

Not Quite Write-Up Last year I included the Not Quite Write Prize in my holiday post about writing contest entries you can give as gifts, despite having never actually taken part myself. It has a great reputation, and it always looked like a lot of fun. I’ve now participated in three Not Quite Write challenges, so I can confirm from experience that it’s a great time.

Not Quite Write-Up: an introduction to the #NotQuiteWritePrize for anyone considering taking part in a future competition

The Mothman Who Loved Me Sitting around the backyard bonfire, Lucille meets someone new, who helps her see things in a new light

THE MOTHMAN WHO LOVED ME - written for #NotQuiteWritePrize

This was mine!

@nycmidnight.bsky.social Do you have dates for the 2026 screenwriting challenge yet? I want to finally do it next year, so I want to make sure I block the time off and don’t make any other plans.

In Uniform Archer, a historical reenactor on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, is drawn into a chase on foot and ferry boat after a bomb explodes at the governor’s summer residence

IN UNIFORM (999 words): Archer, a historical reenactor on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, is drawn into a chase on foot and ferry boat after a bomb explodes at the governor’s summer residence (1st place, NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge 2025, round 1)

Will we know our story’s number after they’re judged or is it for your own reference so you can tell the podcast audience which stories you mentioned?

Screenshot from the results page of the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge, round 1 says: Group 85 - Prompts: Action/Adventure / A ferryboat / A tourniquet 1st Place "In Uniform" by S.A. McNaughton SYNOPSIS - Archer, a historical reenactor on Michigan's Mackinac Island, is drawn into a chase on foot and ferry boat after a bomb explodes at the governor's summer residence

I’m really excited to have made it to the next round in the #FlashFictionChallenge2025, much less gotten my first @nycmidnight.bsky.social 1st place finish!!!!!!

Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction: Submitted. In the image behind the text, streamers fly out of a gold cup.

I haven't finished anything in nearly two months, so it's a relief to have written this.

500 words is not a lot! I started out with an idea that was too big for the word count and had to simplify a lot. I wasn't shooting for GOOD, but I'm really glad to have it DONE.

The Rhyming Story Challenge — nycmidnight The Rhyming Story Challenge is a creative writing competition that challenges writers worldwide to create rhyming stories based on three assigned prompts in as little as 48 hours.

Join me in the @nycmidnight.bsky.social Rhyming Story Challenge on September 5th! Learn more at nycmidnight.com/rhyme

Sheep of Fools Inspired by a story from Greece, a bunch of gassy Britons pile into a wooden sheep

SHEEP OF FOOLS, a microfiction dark comedy written for Twisted Tournament

The Show Must Go On In the future, the world has become a violent hellscape, but a long-standing trivia game show has survived

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

In the future, the world has become a violent hellscape, but a long-standing trivia game show has survived

- Written for Writing Battle Spring Microfiction

Victoria and the Mess Perfectionist baking show contestant Victoria learns to embrace mess and go with the flow

VICTORIA AND THE MESS

Perfectionist baking show contestant Victoria learns to embrace mess and go with the flow

Written for Not Quite Write

😂

May 2025 Updates Contests Entered Results Submissions Plans and Goals for Next Month Contests Entered Writing Battle Spring Microfiction Twisted Tournament Results None this month! Submissions Submissions: 0 Rejections: 1 Plans and Goals for Next Month May 30 - June 1: NYC Midnight Flash Fiction June 1 - June 7: TL;DR 1,000 Word Herd Challenge June 13 - June 16: Writer's Games Practice Event June 20 - June 23: Writer's Games round 1 June 27 - June 30: Writer's Games round 2

May 2025 Updates

Contests Entered Results Submissions Plans and Goals for Next Month Contests Entered Writing Battle Spring Microfiction Twisted Tournament Results None this month! Submissions Submissions: 0 Rejections: 1 Plans and Goals for Next Month May 30 - June 1: NYC Midnight Flash Fiction…

@notquitewrite.com I'm so honored to be called out in the podcast! One note, though, my story involved the seals being broken down and fed to the baking show judges... if they'd been made of glass (as you stated), rather than meringue, it would have been a very different story! 😆

My story for round 1 of #TwistedTournament is submitted!