No Extra Words: One Person's Search For Story

In "A Dangling Man," a stranded hiker contemplates the turns his life has taken to get him to his precarious position. By T.R. Healy, copyright 2015, used with permission. Read his bio here. In "Sequels," a father and son on a cemetery visit try to navigate their complex relationship and reveal the real truth about their past and present. By Christopher Acker, copyright 2015, used with permission. Read his bio here.

In "The House," Madaline moves to a new town and is intrigued by the old theater, which is totally empty and boarded up. Or is it? By Karen Soutar, copyright 2014, used with permission. Find more of Karen's work and see a picture of The House at http://karensoutar.wordpress.com In "Crawling Hand (with a gun)," a man left alone in a beach club is terrorized by what he knows can't be real: a crawling hand with no face or features aiming a gun right at him. By Earl Hatsby, copyright 2013, used with permission. Check out Earl's website at www.practicallyserious.com

In "Life Lessons," a woman reflects on a world she had for a moment and didn't think she'd miss. By Lorna Wood, copyright 2015, used with permission. Check out Lorna's author page at http://amazon.com/author/lornawood In "Trivia," the contestant on a public access game show thinks she is prepared until she sees what questions are being asked. By Madaline Foglesong, copyright 2015, used with permission. Find more of Madaline's work at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/maddyfo In "Flight of Desire," a man obseres a neighbor with a hobby he'll never understand. By Diane Payne, copyright 2014, used with permission. Read Diane's bio here.   No Extra Words by the Numbers: We have dozens of listeners! Every day, on average, we have 6-11 downloads of either current or back episodes. This gives us lots of room to grow...tell your friends! Including today, we have aired 24 different short stories. 10 short stories were by contributors, 2 from the public domain, and one by a listener. More contributor stories are

"A Form of Idolotry" comes to us from Guyana. It asks the question: after the revolution, will the new government ever be able to truly move forward? By John S. Lewis, copyright 2015, used with permission. Read his bio here. In "Ex-Pats," we travel to a tiny island in Micronesia where people go to escape from their past...and the rules. By Cristina Querrer, copyright 2014, used with permission. Find more of Cristina's work at yourartsygirl.blogspot.com. Want to help the podcast grow? Three things you can do: Share, Subscribe, Review

The public domain is a clause in copyright law allowing works which have been around for some time to be re-used and re-imagined without having to obtain permission from the copyright holder.  (It's why there are so many versions of "A Christmas Carol.") No Extra Words is thrilled to use this clause to bring you two classic pieces of flash fiction. "The Tradesman," written ca. 1920 is a lesser-known story by 20th century literary great Franz Kafka.  It has amazing power to resonate with 21st century readers. "I Won't," originally published in 1875 is a parable by 19th century children's writer Juliana Horatia Ewing.  How is it similar to and different from the morality tales of its time? Don't forget!  We have an active Challenge to the Listeners going on right now.  Read the writing prompt and send your response in by Thursday, August 13 for your chance to be featured on Episode 9.

In "The Frog Prince," three frogs watch from a lily pad while the princess conducts her happily ever after search on Twitter.  They remain passive observers until she decides to turn to an old story for help.  By Lucy Mitchell, copyright 2015, used with permission.  Find more about Lucy and her writing at http://blondewritemore.wordpress.com/ In "The 18 Facebook Statuses of a Relationship," we follow the relationship of Jen Smith the way most of us do these days - vicariously through her facebook page.  By Kris Baker Dersch, copyright 2015, all rights reserved. Reminder: our current Challenge to the Listeners is ongoing!  Write your up to 500 word short story on the Lenin statue for your chance to be featured on episode 8 of the podcast, coming August 19.

Very short stories on becoming who and what you really are. In "On/Off" by Taylor Eaton, a small boy uses a magical power no one else can see.  Copyright 2015 by Taylor Eaton, used with permission.  Find out more about Taylor at littlewritelies.com In "Selkie" by Lisa Falzon, a mythical creature does not do what the myth says she will do.  Copyright 2014 by Lisa Falzon, used with permission.  Check out Lisa's visual storytelling at flashwounds.tumblr.com In "Requiem: for piano" by Nancy Stohlman a man's true love is becoming something he loves, but her transition will come between them.  Previously published in "Literary Oprhans," copyright 2012 by Nancy Stohlman, used with permission.  Read more about Nancy at www.nancystohlman.com Editor's commentary features the six word short story "Semicolon," an homage to Ernest Hemingway.  Copyright 2015 by Kris Baker Dersch, all rights reserved. Thank you to our show sponsor, The Catapult Podcast. Join us August 5th for Love and Heartbreak in the 21st Century, our "fl

Starting with one of the oldest forms of storytelling...the annoying camp song! Today's campfire theme is "What Summer Camp Means to Me."  Thank you to our marvelous listeners and friends for sharing their thoughts. In "A Not-so-Ghostly Ghost Story" by Kris Baker Dersch, the looming specter of a mysterious shape in the woods is terrifying, but not what it seems. Campfire closes with a piece of microfiction called "What Summer Camp Means to Me," submitted by listener Mrs. J. Join us July 22 for the Microfiction Triumvirate Episode featuring flash fiction by Taylor Eaton, Lisa Falzon, and Nancy Stohlman. Check us out at http://noextrawords.wordpress.com for all the fun stuff coming up!

In "A Parable on the Challenge of Being an Unpublished Writer," novelist Reed is considering taking a break from the financial and emotional strain of writing a novel, until he meets an unexpected visitor.  By Tom Farr, copyright 2015, used with permission. In "Secret is Safe," mom LeeAnn usies all kinds of words around her infant son and one day realizes how well he has been listening.  By Kris Baker Dersch, copyright 2015, all rights reserved. About the contributor: Tom Farr is a blogger, freelance writer, and storyteller who spends his days teaching English Language Arts to high school students. He loves creating and spending time with his wife and three children. Follow him on Twitter, on Medium, or visit his blog The Whisper Project for writing tips and updates on his latest projects. Check out http://noextrawords.wordpress.com or use our listener feedback line at 425-686-9495 to leave your comments on the show. Theme music is Requiem: Small Theme by _ghost, used under a Creative Commons license.

In "Parent-Teacher Conference Day," a stressed-out mom of two has to fit a conference with a teacher about how to help her seven-year-old learn to read into an already busy day and already busy life.  She fights her mom guilt and wonders if all of it is her fault. In "The Old Family Problem," a man remembers his father who couldn't read and endures his own struggles with reading before his son is finally diagnosed with dyslexia and he can begin to understand what his family has struggled with for generations.

In "Obituary for Poetry on a Manual Typewriter," the writer realizes that without attention paid to it, poetry has somehow disappeared.  By Kris Baker Dersch, copyright 2015, all rights reserved. In "A Well-Ordered Laundry Room," a new mama who is also a writer craves the organization her spacious laundry room gives her as she navigates finding time to write and realizing how fast her infant is growing.  By Kris Baker Dersch, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.

In “Old Photographs,” the narrator wonders why she carries a Depression-era snapshot of an unknown house her grandmother took around with her. In “Homework,” a busy mom reflects on the struggles of homework, including the parents who do homework for their kids and the time homework takes out of her busy family's life.