February - PONDER (Word limit: 100)

Positive Words Short Story Competition

By Latika M

She would seldom ponder the futility of the human endeavour. As someone who saw the glass as half full, she approached life with vigour, trying to achieve as much as possible every day – be it as mundane as cleaning the oven or as life-altering as a cake decorating course for her new venture at the local farmers' market. So when the flash flooding turned her flawlessly iced cupcakes into a mushy puddle at the inaugural of her market stall, she was left despondent and torpid. The torrential downpour had washed away her optimism together with the perfectly piped buttercream rosettes.

January - BIKINI (word limit: 100)

Positive Words Short Story Competition

By Latika M

She dribbled on herself a lot. It wasn't a medical condition, she was certain. She spilt water on her crisp corporate attire while clearing her throat in the middle of a meeting. She flinched as the morning coffee drips scalded her chin. An embarrassed giggle escaped along with a droplet of icy blue slushie that stained her pink bikini top on a sticky summer day. Always reaching for a tissue, glancing around awkwardly as her cheeks burned a bright red. Forever feeling foolish and frothing with fury at her inner klutz, wishing her clumsiness would drown in her own saliva.

Mini Words Competition

Check out Sandra James' Positive Words Magazine blog where she runs a monthly short story writing competition. Word limit is 100 and each month there is a new word that  needs to be mentioned in your story at least once. The entry fee is $1.40 worth of unused stamps that you'll need to post along with your story. I'll be posting my stories here each month. I've written the one for January, just haven't gotten around to posting it...always running late!

Autumn Leaves

By Latika M

Ideas sprout to life.

Imagination runs wild.

My head; an unkempt garden.

Out-of-control thoughts germinate and grow like weed,

Choking, crowding, invading every available space.

Like leaves, words fall through fingertips,

Permeating page upon page with the colours of autumn.

A collection of foliage; pressed, preserved, captured forever

Unless, of course, I hit delete.