Update: The 81 Words anthology has launched!

I was idly checking writing contests yesterday and came across this rather innovative challenge: An attempt to set a World Record for the most contributing authors published in an anthology.

Submissions were free. I liked that part, too. The catch? Your story had to be exactly 81 words! And there were only 5 spots left out of 1000.

Could I? Yes! I decided.

I sifted through my archive of story ideas, some only snippets and bones, some more fully-fledged. One of them grabbed me, but was longer than 81 words. Refining and polishing took some time, but I loved it. These challenges are pure brain candy.

I’m thrilled to say I nabbed a spot! Story #999 (whew). Everything is up on the website, so you can read it for free! Just scroll down to #999. Then you’ll see why I chose that sinister picture for this post, muwahahaha.

The anthology will be published sometime this year. Now launched!