100 Stories in 2023
100 Stories in 2023
08/03/23: The project was originally 100 stories in 100 days, but I switched to 100 stories in a year after story #37.
I’ve sorted the stories so far into four categories below. These are my personal preference and your mileage may vary - I may be interested in different genres or styles or themes to you. I probably won’t update this too regularly as I’d need time to reflect on how I feel about a story.
These aren’t sorted within each category, I’ve just put them in the order they were written.
Currently sorted up to #37.
Stories I’m proud I wrote in a day
These are mostly lengthier stories - in a way that means there are more flaws to pick at, but it also means there’s more to get your teeth into. I’ll be honest, they all have endings that feel rather rushed (in my opinion). Several of these stories I’d be interested in taking another look at in the future.
#1: Hope for Tomorrow - Not sure how to categorise it. Dystopian? After breaking a protester's leg, a corporate enforcer tries to save her career by infiltrating a movement her ex-girlfriend is involved in.
#4: Silk - Flash fiction body horror. My captors shovelled silkworms into my mouth.
#5: A Delicate Matter - My first attempt at an epistolary story, so I suspect I may unduly like it for that reason. Also an attempt at humour. Julia demands her sister's aid regarding her latest peculiar love affair.
#11: A Pleasing Performance - Several perspectives. Historical fantasy? Plots abound at the princess's banquet as many suitors try to win her hand.
#17: The Divine Drive - Mix of sci-fi and fantasy. The generation ship Penelope lives on is powered by a motionless divine being, but when Penelope is tasked with maintaining it, she can't help but feel a connection with the goddess.
Stories I think have interesting elements
These are stories where there is some quality I find pleasing or promising (idea, characters or world), but don’t hit the mark for execution. Some of these I might be interested in wrangling with again.
#7 of 100: The Collection - Flash fiction horror. A young gentleman from Berlin came round to view my collection today.
#13: How to Fold In On Yourself Until You Can Fit Into A Shoebox - Horror-adjacent story in the style of an instruction manual. In ten easy steps!
#15 of 100: A Smile That Could Launch A Thousand Ships - Sci-fi flash fiction with poor execution but it still sticks in my head enough to be in this category. You are gorgeous. You always have been. You have a smile that could launch a thousand ships, and every day I feel grateful that you chose to work in the exploration team.
#16: Hands in the Darkness - Horrror flash fiction. In the inky blackness of Between I feel hands all over me.
#23: Dreamstream - Sci-fi? My favourite dreamstream creator ensured I was eager to fall asleep every night, but then the dreams twisted into nightmares.
#26: The Freedom to Soar - Fantasy flash fiction. Aidan is trapped in a prison cell, but with his power to inhabit other animals he can still experience a modicum of freedom... As long as his jailers don't find out.
#29: My Father, the Criminal - Non-fiction.
#31: Animals of the Arena - Roman-inspired flash fiction. After every fight, Hadriana dragged the animal carcasses out and shovelled the most bloodied sand into a wheelbarrow.
#34: Devoured Possibilities - Horror short story. After the Henge Event, people strike bargains with unknowable beings to manipulate their future. Nadia pushes her own boundaries to investigate and save those caught in the middle.
#36: The Waterfall Sisters - Fantasy flash fiction. Two immortal sisters play cat and mouse over the centuries, but a mortal enemy discovers their secrets.
#37: Ancestral Memories - 100 word story.
Stories I don’t hate
I find these stories mediocre. There might still be something about them I find interesting, but on the whole I have no interest in returning to them.
#2: Better the Devil - Called “cosy horror” by a friend. When crisis helplines aren't picking up, why not summon a demon for company?
#3: Our Immortal Queen - Fantasy. We traversed the wastes to share news of our queen's new-found immortality.
#8: A Trip Down Memory Lane - Surreal. When Ilona decides to revisit her childhood home, she brings a spool of red thread so she doesn't get lost in the memories.
#14: Reappearance - Not sure on genre. Five years after my wife disappeared, I saw her again in a photo on Twitter.
#18: Hunting Down Memories - Roman-inspired fantasy. Pompeia has been commanded by the Empress to bring a disgraced senator to justice and she has no qualms about putting her unique talents to good use.
#19: The Cultist and the Beast - Dark (and humorous?) fairy tale. Once upon a time, in a forest far, far away, there lived a cultist called Norbert.
#21: Stolen Fragments of the Soul - Fantasy. Melania rummages through an abandoned lab, searching for a vial containing the stolen fragments of her soul.
#22: A Secret Chord - Roman-inspired fantasy. Sabina's brother, Emperor Marcellus, has been enchanted by his favorite musician, and let him and his friends run rampant through the Palace. Sabina is determined to put a stop to their activities.
#24: Unfinished Business - A ghostly flash fiction. I am a ghost with unfinished business. Unfinished living. Freed from observation by others, I am now overwhelmed with curiosity at everything around me.
#25: Rejuvenation - Fantasy. Matthaios's palace is besieged by his own son, and his loyal daughter demands to be granted access to the same unnatural power he uncovered decades before.
#28: Quiet Disobedience - Roman-inspired fantasy flash fiction. The cobblestones are slick with rain as I stalk my prey.
#30: Crystalline Divinity - 100 word fantasy.
#32: Finnegan’s Arch - 100 word story.
#35: The Reconfigured - Flash fiction fantasy. Lars’s crimes were etched across his body.
Stories I’m embarrassed to have my name on
I hate these. I also put very little effort into them.
#6: The Right Tools - Boring fantasy. The monastery has been purged, the library ransacked, and the only survivor has been artificially kept alive.
#9: Nightmare Knotweed - Horror. Doesn’t make much sense. Tilda plants some seeds sold to her in a dream, but the consequences end up being more hideous than she could imagine.
#10: The Mirrored King - Boring horror. Harold Barkane is happy to spin a false tale about his occult curios to any customer who walks through the door, but one day he buys a selection of items that truly unnerve him.
#12: Mouthy - Not exactly boring, but surreal to the point of non-sensical. I had buried my mouth in an overgrown graveyard.
#20: The Abyss - Borrrrring. No one spoke about the abyss that had appeared overnight.
#27: Contraband - Robot sci-fi flash fiction. I am the contraband the officials are looking for.
#33: Pride before a Fall - Boring horror. Pavel scrambled up a muddy riverbank, his jewellery jangling against his chest.