NYC Midnight Microfiction Challenge: Writing Big Stories in 100-Words
My first dive into the world of tiny tales
This weekend, I participated in the first round of NYC Midnight’s 100-word microfiction challenge. Thousands of writers from across the globe were given short story assignments, including genre, action, and word assignments. We had 24 hours to write our stories and submit them for review. In May, I’ll learn if my story has earned me a place in the second round of the competition.
Microfiction is new to me, and the assignment proved far more challenging than anticipated. I began by perusing the winning stories from prior years for inspiration. Below is the winning story from 2023:
Genre: Open
Action: Seeing a reflection
Word: best
“Can’t sleep, Dad?”
He turns, confused. No walker. I lead him to the couch, fearing a fall. I’m strong, but he’s tall. Too heavy to carry alone.
“Where’s Mom?” he asks, peering outside.
His reflection in the window looks blurred. Young. The father who carried me in from the car asleep so many times.
“Mom’s visiting Val until tomorrow.” Truth and dementia aren’t the best bedfellows. I find an old Star Trek episode, and he settles in
He’s lost the twenty years since Mom’s death. The years we rarely spoke. Heavy, and now mine to carry alone.
I settle in.
By Sandra Leary, Westborough, MA, USA
So good, right?
Here are some examples of the 2025 assignments:
My assigned prompts were:
Genre: Comedy
Action: Skipping Breakfast
Word: Ratio
I’m not a comedy writer, so I found the assignment particularly challenging. I wrote a story about alternate side of the street parking in NYC. I can’t share it with you until the judges rule on the first round of submissions, so I created a second story to share.
My daughter, Carolina, has difficulty falling asleep, so I often lie with her and tell her stories. Her favorite stories are a series I’ve made up about a fictional family that lives in Candyland.
One story is about a yellow butterfly stuck in the lollipop factory overnight and drinks the blueberry lollipop syrup, turning itself green. Inspired by this tale, I wrote this 100-word story:
Taste Testers
Dad was a flavor scientist. He combined sugar, water, extracts, and color in precise ratios to make lollipops. On Saturday mornings, Mom and I skipped breakfast to be his taste testers.
“You have to experience the flavor on an empty stomach,” he said.
This bundle was labeled Electric Raspberry.
"Tingly and delicious," I said with my blue tongue.
"Incredible," Mom agreed. "I feel sweet all over."
Dad's smile vanished as Mom's lips turned blue, then her nose, then cheeks.
"A harmless, rare reaction," he assured her.
Mom looked like a Smurf for three days. She never tasted Dad’s lollipops again.
I hope this week’s newsletter made you smile.
Till next week,
Words of the Week
“I will not allow the dark skies to affect me,” —David Shrigley
Photo of the Week
A photo I took a couple of weeks ago of the Manhattan skyline from Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Brooklyn. It’s easy to forget that Manhattan is an island when you’re walking along the concrete sidewalks. From this vantage point, you can really appreciate the density and verticality that make Manhattan iconic. The park's perspective offers a reminder of how the natural and urban environments continue their century-old dance together.
One of my daughters entered a contest where she had to write a poem of 22 words or less describing why her mother (me) deserved a diamond. A lot harder to be succinct than to overwrite! I admire your skills and bravery to enter this little (pun intended, haha) competition! Loved the lollipop story; looking forward to reading your real entry!
Ooooh! If the lollipop story is your second attempt, I can’t wait to read your street parking story!