Gaius Coffey

No, I _edited_ it.

Thanks, but I got a good mix with the last readthrough — some who loved it, some who didn't — enough to inform my changes for a wee while.

Recently had a set of beta readers look at one of mine, and the whole process was enjoyable, educational and transformational. As a result, the draft is objectively better.

But how can reader interpretations of the same words in the same context vary so much? #dividedByACommonLanguage #amWriting

Not exactly overrun since volunteering as a reader at everydayfiction.com
They had a bit of a hiatus recently, but have a good ethos. Drop by and read, comment, like and join in. Maybe even consider whether yours are a good fit. #amwriting #ezines #flashFiction #microfiction #shortstory

I watched his fate with face aghast,
I watched from Mary’s tree,
Until her great gorilla,
Climbed up to savage me.

Mary liked her animals,
They numbered twenty-three,
With big and small and tame and fierce,
In her menagerie.
-
Mary’s dog had great big teeth,
Strong jaws and savage temper.
The stalker screamed without relief,
As dog did him dismember.

Mary had a stalker;
Of that I am quite certain.
(After seeing her foul gawker
Peeking through her curtain.)
-
If only she had heeded me,
And only dressed upstairs,
He’d not have seen her knickers,
And caught her unawares.

I should have looked up some better hashtags as I didn't include #Microfiction #ShortStory #WritingCommunity #LiteraryMagazines #WritersNetwork ... that's first draft posting for you. ;)

And if it wasn't clear, @everydayfiction.bsky.social is a great place to do that. #amwriting #ezines #flashfiction

If you want to be published in ezines, participate in ezines! Read their stories, comment, like and join in. #amwriting #ezines #flashfiction

Oh woe that I should be so bland
Else I should build a substack
That spreadeth out across the land
Filled with verbal gimcrack
My fans would grow from here to there
On their phones and in their crypts
Agents at my fanbase stare
Then fight to take my manuscripts

I thought that was old, too, until the advance of the marauding nostril hair.

I would love to reduce my emails to that number. How does one achieve it?

My posts' clear aim is incomplete.

My posts today are short and sweet.

My posts so far must tempt it not.

How might I tempt iambic bot?

Was there once a zebra called Z,
With magnificent striped equine head,
Did that zebra roam free,
When the yanks called him Z,
To rhyme with a joint in his leg?

It is a long time since last I did post,
And I bet you have missed me much less than most,
Still with this rhyme of whimsical poesy,
I amuse myself and keep my cheeks rosy.

On the upside, I finally know the ending. On the downside, it is 4AM so I’ll be too tired to write it.

Noodle.

I bet they taste like chicken.

images.app.goo.gl/gaiu8QGx1wNF...

Deciding whether to feel validated or persecuted?
Is this the hill to die on?
Were I to be filthy rich perhaps I’d have a scion, a wealthy baby lobster to fight for me this battle, hopefully without a war where people die like cattle.

I have nothing to put here worthy of note but insist I might type it and say what I wrote.
The void of my posting though blank intellectually asserts still my freedom online here contextually.

I quip and jest and rant and babble
My words do not excite the rabble

With careless eye I tempt the bot,
Success so far is not a lot.

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Happy #Easter Weekend! 🤣

You are saying it’s lost that X-factor?

Not yet blown away by it… but less repulsed by the feed suggestions… so…