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The Registrar of Ideas, by David Lowis

15/9/2023

 
The official sat behind an oak desk. "Take a seat," he said, motioning to a chair.

I accepted the offer and read his name plate. 'Clive Tweedy'. His appearance made me think of a 1970's TV newsreader.

"Go ahead," Tweedy said, without looking up from an enormous, leather-bound book that was lying open on the desk. The writing on the yellowed pages was too small for me to read, especially from the wrong way round.

I cleared my throat. "Well, my idea is that a man finds a pair of crutches that have been dumped at a recycling centre. Something compels him to try and trace the previous owner. As the story progresses, the crutches become a metaphor for the protagonist's life. The book will be called Dependency."

"Tell me more."

I expanded on my idea as Tweedy scoured the pages of the book, tracing his progress with his index finger. Wafts of air brushed my face as he turned the pages, bringing with them a faint musty smell. Whenever I paused he said, "Uh hmm", to prompt me to continue.

When Tweedy had finished scanning the last page he said, "No, can't see that idea registered. You're free to proceed."

***

A couple of years later, having reached the final editing stage of my novel, I took an afternoon off to look round a book store. I was browsing the new release shelves when I froze. There, staring back at me, was a brand new hardcover: Dependency by Clive Tweedy.
Sue Clayton
16/9/2023 05:24:40 am

Terrible Mr. Tweedy. But Dependency by David Lowis sounds like a winner.

Christa Loughrey
16/9/2023 09:43:59 am

There are unscrupulous types everywhere, who would scam your very soul out of you if they thought they could make a fast buck out of it.


Comments are closed.

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    Longer Friday Flash Fiction Stories

    Friday Flash Fiction is primarily a site for stories of 100 words or fewer, and our authors are expected to take on that challenge if they possibly can. Most stories of under 150 words can be trimmed and we do not accept submissions of 101-150 words.


    However, in response to demand, the FFF team constructed this forum for significantly longer stories of 151-500 words. Please send submissions for these using the Submissions Page.

    Stories to the 500 word thread will be posted as soon as we can mange.


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    Please feel free to comment (nicely!) on any stories – writers appreciate it.
    Just at the moment, though, we're moderating some of them so there might be a slight delat before they appear
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    One little further note. Posting and publishing 500-word stories takes a little time if they need to be formatted, too.
    ​Please note that we tend to post longer flash fiction exactly as we find it – wrong spacing, everything.

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