Laura Besley

Join me for "Dialogue that Zings" a 6-hour workshop with Flash Fiction Magazine which includes: - practical aspects, i.e. dialogue tags; - storytelling aspects, i.e. showing characters thru dialogue & much more! #writingcommunity #amwriting Sign up link: flashfictionmagazine.com/dialogue-tha...

#vss365 #MicroFiction #Travel gives me respite. My focus is on: timing, waking, leaving, observing, sleeping. But after a while, fucking grief returns like an uninvited guest, and I have to move on again.

We will be open again for submissions by immigrant and diaspora writers from November 1 to November 30 🍁 We are open to short stories under 5,000 words; translations under 3,500 words from any language into English; and flash fiction under 1,500 words. Accepted stories are paid USD$0.10/word.

Thanks to Tim for publishing my 50-word story, UNCAGED. #fiction #microfiction #50wordstory #amwriting #writingcommunity fiftywordstories.com/2026/10/26/l...

#vss365 #prompt #Miles We worked together yesterday and it sure looks like we conquered a lot of doubt. So now, let's see where the miles take us today. Have fun on your journeys.

One morning, basking in the morning sun, a nettle turns to her nettle friends. 'I'm starting to #doubt my purpose in life,' she says. 'Is it just to hurt people, then die?' #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

#vss365 #prompt #doubt Doubt can be so tricky. It sneaks in when we aren't looking. At times, we may need help to quiet it. It may even make an appearance right before we share our posts. But don't let it get in our way today. 😊

Sometimes, the sun tires of being centre stage. 'Just leave me alone.,' she blasts. But the planets are #committed. 'Fine,' she sighs. 'I suppose you can have another round.' #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

Just some of the new bookish treats out this week! Signed copies and sprayed edges galore! Anything catching your eye? Treat yourself and support an indie bookshop 🦊🧡📚 FoxLaneBooks.co.uk #ChooseBookshops #SignedBooks #bookstagram #indiebookshop

#vss365 #prompt #Commitment Once a commitment is made, sharing it publicly can help us keep it. Here's my commitment and I hope you'll join me. Find 3 new writers in our community & ❤️or repost their stories. Oh, and have fun.

You pack your feelings into boxes, put them in the loft. For a few days, there's nothing, nothing, nothing. But soon that's worse than something, so you unpack the boxes again. #Nervous is cowering at the top so that's where you'll start. You take a deep breath, and go! #vss365 #amwriting

#vss365 #prompt #nervous There is an inevitable moment when something we are about to do makes us nervous. It's a universal feeling. Let's share our experiences with this. For me, standing at the start line of any race.

TODAY IS THE DAY TO BUY THIS! "Wayfarers", the new book by @levparikian.bsky.social It's out next April. Lev has very kindly agreed to SIGN & PERSONALLY DEDICATE any copies ordered from us. Worldwide postage available. Get your orders in now! HERE. biggreenbookshop.com/signed-copie...

You turn 18 & think: Finally! I've made it! Your 20s are work, work, work. Your 30s only kids. You wish there was a #training manual for life. Then, in your late 40s, you start to realise who you are. You've still got a long way to go, but you've at least taken a few steps. #vss365

It's International Dictionary Day today!!! Come on, what are your favourite words? Today I'm a pachyglossal (thick-tongued) nephophile (lover of clouds) who's fudgelling (pretending to work while actually doing nothing) and engaging in mataeology (worthless conversation)...

'In his stories, the sea is a lake is a puddle is a single drop of water on a horse chestnut leaf. It is a thousand leagues behind him.' Gorgeous writing by @mattkendrick.bsky.social @nervetowrite.bsky.social #fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity www.nervetowrite.com/post/little-...

'When I was a child, Octobers used to be cold. This was back in the country where I was born, and though I know the nights never freeze so early anymore, they did once upon a time.' GOSSAMER is a beautiful wistful piece by @erincalabria.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social wigleaf.com

#vss365 #prompt #sneakers Yesterday we all won the lottery. What great stories. Now lace up your sneakers, real or imagined, and see where you'll take off today. I'll be right there with you.

Shall I compare thee to worn-in #sneakers? Thou art more lovely and more comfortable. #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity #Shakespeare

#vss365 Our World’s beset By evil Its stench I cannot bear I try To hold my breath Til I’m forced To gasp for air The stink Ain’t #unexpected Found rot Beneath the stairs I grab Mop & bucket Cuz the rot Won’t go nowhere… Til I apply “Elbow grease” & show the World Some care

Shortlisted for the W&A Working Class Writers’ Prize 2022, On the Bodies of Strangers is an exquisite collection of short stories linked by the theme of tattoos. books.windandbones.com/product/on-t...

Choose your numbers. Maybe you win, maybe you lose. Give it away. Go on a cruise. Become famous. Or a recluse. Maybe you find love, or seek solitude. Maybe, in a different light, all your choices look the same. #vss365 #lottery #amwriting #writingcommunity

Shortlisted for the W&A Working Class Writers’ Prize 2022, On the Bodies of Strangers is an exquisite collection of short stories linked by the theme of tattoos. books.windandbones.com/product/on-t...

The knock at the door is #unexpected. It's 2.54pm on a Tuesday. It's your father. He's holding a massive bouquet of all your favourite flowers, in all your favourite shades of orange. Do you: a) Slam the door shut? b) Let him in? #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

"But she’s noticed recently that even when they turn in at the same time, for instance after dinners with the neighbours or events at the expat club, he doesn’t try anything." I love this extraordinary piece of writing by @laurabesley.bsky.social in @ellipsiszine.bsky.social 💙💙💙

#vss365 #prompt #Unexpected Hi Everyone. Planned adventures can sometimes change due to the #unexpected. Yet, new plans can spring forth. Let’s go on this two-week word journey together. I’m excited to read your stories. I hope we'll encounter new writers along the way.

Thanks so much to Steve for publishing 'An Act of Desperation' which is a story from my wip novella-in-flash. #amwriting #novellainflash #writingcommunity

You haven't spoken to anyone in days. You might even be #dead. You order a coffee through your app. Wait. Then you hear your name. You're alive! You're alive! You grin. At the counter, someone pushes your coffee towards you. Doesn't look up. #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

Another great author event in the shop last night! I chatted with Rachel Canwell about her debut historical novel PAPER SISTERS and her fascinating family connection to the hospital at the centre of the novel. (1/2)

Expect: - atmospheric sweeping landscapes - complicated female relationships - the emotional impact of family tragedy - a tale of hope and resilience - the perfect book to curl up with this autumn Copies of PAPER SISTERS are available to purchase in the shop. (2/2) @northodoxpress.bsky.social

We are delighted to announce Ben Reeves as our keynote speaker for the London Festival of Writing 2027. Ben's debut novel 'Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' was released earlier this year and became an instant New York Times bestseller, with a film adaptation currently in the works.

Hoping to see lots of you there this Friday to read from my new pamphlet alongside other V Press writers! @laurabesley.bsky.social @clairebooker.bsky.social @vpresslit.bsky.social #PoetsOfBluesky #WritersOfBluesky

Everything physical has a date. But how you make others feel last forever. With this, my run reached the destination but never stop writing, unlike the physical, it never ends up... Like the #vss365 #prompt, which is #dead.

#vss365 Every one of us is brave. It takes #bravery to get out of bed to face the demons and monsters each day brings.

You miss him so much, you're no longer sure you exist. What if he hates you? Or, worse, never even thinks about you? You pedal through feelings - loneliness, devastation, desperation - but one day, #bravery wins. You reach out, and you wait. #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

Our fears taught us that life was best lived in defiance. Those walls were a challenge not a deterrent. So today's #vss365 #prompt is #bravery.

windless morning — the shallow river makes no sound #vss365

In the queue is a man, tattooed and t-shirted. You imagine tracing the ink on his skin, while his hands grip your hips. The #sounds your bodies would make. His order is called, then yours. As your kids bite into their burgers, you watch him walk out, join the slipstream of strangers. #vss365

'The taste of tulip bulbs and hunger lingers in my mouth.' The complexity of war drawn so well by Sarah van den Elzen @ellipsiszine.bsky.social #fiction #flashfiction #historicalfiction #writingcommunity www.ellipsis-zine.com/writing/vict...

'The clouds looked like bruises, the air smelled like used saxophones, and something in PJ wanted to drive straight through.' Great story by @writesofkathryn.bsky.social @mrbullbull.bsky.social #fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity mrbullbull.com/newbull/flas...

'The pigs stirred in their pen. An April half-moon hung low.' A perfect balance of beauty and savagery in 'He Never Killed a Man' by @thorntonforreal.bsky.social @ellipsiszine.bsky.social #fiction #flashfiction #historicalfiction #writingcommunity www.ellipsis-zine.com/writing/he-n...

What you hear is lower than a fjord but deeper than most secrets. They speak of their past and the ones blessed with those stories must carry on with better futures. The next #vss365 #prompt is #sound.

The pile grows thinner. We’re reading our way through your submissions, and damn—you all gave us some GOOD stuff. We’ve laughed, winced, reread lines, and argued over favorites. We’re having an absolute blast. Keep an eye on your inbox. #GlassKnucklesPress #LitMag #IndieLit

Monday morning and this week I'm still reading The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies by Kim Newman and James Marriott, though I'm over half way through now What book(s) are you reading this week? 💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR

I've been thinking about writers being accused of using AI & how to ensure this doesn't happen to me. I don't usually keep multiple drafts, but I've started saving them. What are other people doing/not doing? #amwriting #writingcommunity

#vss365 #calm is a temporary state it has to be if humans were always calm we’d be extinct

i think of you i am calm i think of you i am torrent i think of you i am content i think of you i am longing i think of you i am inspired i think of you i am wordless i think of you thinking of me and i am fire i think of you all the f***ing time #vss365 #calm

The boy is never #calm. His limbs storm, his mind is a blizzard. Only she will believe him when he says his mind and body stilled when he saw her. And then every forgotten memory rushed back like a whirlwind. #vss365 #amwriting #writingcommunity

After failure, it is best to dispell the heartache, steady the mind, inhale and be like the still waters. Today, the #vss365 #prompt is #calm.