Published stories

View between two trees showing other trees
I relish writing and editing short stories and flash fiction, and have a self-imposed rule of submitting every month. If you write, I highly recommend this trick. It ensures that for every rejection, there are still a handful of tales out in the world that may yet be published, plus a gentle flurry of successes to bolster your writing mojo!

Here are some of my recent and upcoming publications.

Forthcoming publications

Reasons to Rescue Strangers – National Flash Fiction Day Anthology 2024.

Why We Dance on the Pier – Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine

February 2024

Blue-naped Parrots See More Than They SayNew Flash Fiction Review Issue 32 Family Life.

January 2024

A Bright Day – winner of the New Writers UK Winter Story competition.

October 2023

Mycorrhiza – Flash Frontier GARDEN / MĀRA issue

A Still, Golden Light – The Simple Things Magazine issue 136

What Was Lost & How Insects Signal Their Love – Flash Boulevard

June 2023

Windowledge Archives – National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood UK 2023

The Long Way Home – National Flash Fiction Day NZ Micro Madness

April 2023

This is Not a Story About Chickens – The Hooghly Review issue 1

February 2023

How Many is 80? Paragraph Planet (scroll to Feb 23rd)

January 2023

Life Hacks – 12 Fragile Things Not to Use as a Doorstop – Wensum Literary Magazine issue 1/Winter 2023

December 2022

Natural Miracles – Flash Frontier Wonder issue

October 2022

The Art of Pivot and Flit – Dually Noted, Brink Literacy Project

September 2022

The Bee Man’s Secret – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Five

August 2022

The Green-Gold of Wet Kelp – Fairlight Books

June 2022

The egret and I don’t belong here – The Phare Literary Magazine Summer 2022 issue

Tricks to uproot a guest who has outstayed their welcome – Tiny Molecules issue 13

After Dad Goes into Care – National Flash Fiction Day FlashFlood 2022

Bees Breathe Without Lungs – Honeyguide Magazine

How to Hook a Heart – And We Live Happily Ever After, National Flash Fiction Day anthology 2022

The Tempest Inside – Micro Madness

April 2022

Milk Tooth – Wyldblood Press

March 2022

Awkward Liaisons – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Four

Falling in a Forest Mslexia magazine issue 93

Oxblood – Flash Frontier

Fishing for Green and Blue – Retreat West 10th Birthday Anthology

December 2021

Reasons Your Kefir Might Sour – Litro Magazine Flash Friday

The Only Language He knows Now is Touch – Blink-Ink, Moonlight #46

The Finch in My Sister’s Hair – The Birdseed

The Sea Lives in Her Mum’s Head – Ellipsis Zine

November 2021

The Salt Sting of Learning When To Say No – Flash Frontier

September 2021

My Choice – Six Sentence Stories

Three Shades of Summer – Flash Fiction Magazine

Storm Beckoner – Bandit Fiction

June 2021

Leaf After Leaf – National Flash Fiction Day Write-In

The Hare I Miss – Thimble Literary Magazine

What’s That? – Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis

May 2021

Reaching (collaborate work – I wrote the first stanza) – 100 Words of Solitude

April 2021

Stretching Out – Hencroft

The Sideways House – Twin Pies Volume IV

March 2021

Unstill Life With Plums – The Pomegranate

Writing prompt – between

I’ve always been intrigued by the space between things. In this case, the space shows the view between the boards of a Victorian pier, where the Bristol Channel’s waves beat far below.

Imagine a scenario where someone, or something, slips between these storm-battered planks of wood. Could it be something metaphysical rather than solid, like a promise, a hope or a memory?

Can you turn this idea into a thought-provoking tale?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – reeds

Reed beds beneath blue wintery sky in Clevedon. Photo by Judy Darley

Near where I live, reed beds provide a fantastic habitat for birds such as warblers and small mammals. Whispering in the wind, I find these golden strands quite magical.

I do worry, though, that dogs running and hunting in this area could decimate nests of precious eggs or chicks.

Could you weave a tale to encourage people to keep dogs on leads in these areas?

Alternatively, why not have a dog or human character discover something unexpected sheltering in the reeds?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – peril

Unstable cliff. Photo by Judy Darley

Few things rev up a story like a hint of peril. A warning sign like this one announcing an unstable cliff can lead a tale in a multitude of waves. Add in those colourful swimming goggles and you’ve got a full treacherous narrative at your fingertips, or even a twist on the famous “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” attributed to Hemingway, though that’s now said to be untrue (there’s a tale in itself!).

How did these goggles happen to be hanging here? What happened to the person who owned them? What storm cast them here? What drama was left in their wake?

In a terrible twist on this prompt, there was a landslide here just last week, plunging tons of rock and mud over this coastal path, only hours after I strolled here. The area is currently off-limits for safety’s sake. Sometimes real life is more dramatic than any fiction.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – season

Red tree in January. Photo by Judy Darley

In the woodlands you can hear spring being heralded by birds forging friendships and boasting about territory.

One small tree shines out in this tiny forest, where its autumnal red leaves blaze against the glossy greens.

What made this tree hang on to its autumn foliage all the way into February? What is it declaring about the seasons?

What will happen as spring fully arrives, and then summer?

Can you weave this into a story of nature and folklore?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – two

Two benches_Clevedon. Photo by Judy Darley

These two benches each offer glorious coastal views, but I can’t help noticing that the one further from the water also provides an excellent view of the other bench.

Imagine a person quietly gazing at the sea and sky, but gradually becoming aware of the person sitting on the bench before them. They might be intrigued or even entranced by the stranger there, but too shy to approach them.

What could bring them together? Is this the beginning of a love story, or something more sinister?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – purse

Mermaid's Purse_Photo by

This black pillowy scrap was lying on the ground in a boatyard, possibly dropped by a gull after being scooped from the nearby rocky beach. These scorched-looking ravioli are known colloquially as mermaid’s purses, which is an interesting idea. Why would a mermaid adorned with peals and shells carry such a dull little bag?

Besides, the truth is even weirder, when you think about it. These are actually egg cases for sea creatures such as rays, skates and sharks. The one I saw looks like it might once have cradled the eggs of a spotted ray.

Imagine the teeny sea creature emerging from this leathery bag!

I love that myths and marine biology have been woven together in this way, making nature even more enticing by creating a narrative. Could you turn this into a story that encourages wonder and respect?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – frost

Ice in the shadow of a bench.

Walking along Clevedon’s waterfront, I noticed that where shadows lay, ice lingers, while it’s melted away anywhere sun has reached.

I’ve been writing a lot about memory and the act of remembering recently, and it’s almost as though the shadows preserve the memory of frost and ice. The shadow shelters its own mirror image in white.

Can you turn this into a story about memory, or about shelter?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – blush

Pink hat and flowers_Photo by Judy Darley

This pink hat hanging from a flowering bush caught my eye partly because of the vivid colour and partly because this fluffy hat and the blush-pink blooms really oughtn’t be seen at the same time. Surely these flowers shouldn’t appear until springtime, and certainly not when it’s cold enough to warrant wearing a woolly hat.

Can you write a story that makes sense of this odd pairing and what it tells us about climate breakdown? What happened to the person who wore that hat? What could they, and your readers, do to help slow or even reverse climate breakdown?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Writing prompt – branch

Door and Tree_ZigZagPath Clevedon. Photo by Judy Darley1

This gorgeous door has been barred to entry by a tree that has had its branches lopped. So many questions arise from this sight, and so many potential fairytales.

How was this seed planted, and how did no one notice the sapling growing until it was so tall? Who decided to cut off its limbs and with what aims. Is this door ever used, and who by? Could the tree have been planted in a fit of jealousy or annoyance? Could the occupant have failed to spot it due to some ailment, or illusion?

The possibilities branch off in all kinds of directions!

What story will you choose to write?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.