Short Story

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January 18, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: The Despondency of Taking A Break

Summer holiday writing block is the building block for the year. And from such terrible foundations all one can do is hope to build on it. Brick by brick you chip away at the task. You pile it up and hope it doesn’t come crashing down. If it does – and when it does – […]

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November 24, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Neighbourhood Fragments # 9

I was listening to Pip Adam’s podcast. Because I like to listen to Pip Adam’s podcast. She has good guests. She gives good chat. She likes good books (and writes good books) and it’s a fun way to spend 40 minutes (or so). Particularly while walking. (I love podcasts best when I’m walking). The other […]

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November 15, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: I Blame Neil Gaiman

It was probably 6pm when my father dragged Amanda Palmer off the fence and dunked her face in the pool. Almost everyone had been drinking. And now Ms. Palmer had a face full of water. I’d once given her a pretty unkind review way back, but this seemed excessive even to me. I had to […]

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September 15, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: The Short And Long Of It

Of all the chronic addictions I am going to guess that masturbation is the hardest one to pull off. And still feel good about yourself.

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August 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Stubs: # 272 – Litcrawl, Wellington, 2018

Litcrawl is Wellington’s coolest (best) literary event, a spectacular, jam-packed with ideas and showcases – and in 2018 I was lucky to be asked to be part of one of the events. Lucky. And shitting myself. Why not both? The event was called Lit-Sync For Your Life and it featured three readers – I was […]

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July 31, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: The Declining

All play and no work makes Jack a broke boy. All play and no work makes Jack a broke boy. All play and no work makes Jack a broke boy. All play and no work makes Jack a broke boy. All play and no work makes Jack a broke boy. All play and no work […]

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June 29, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Back In The Loop

We couldn’t go out for a while. So we didn’t. And then we could. So we did. We walked out and about and we looked like we were taking it all with us, big strutting. Everything that is but the kitchen sink. Oh, and also, any stink or trace of when we said that we’d […]

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February 4, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: The CV of a Music Journalist

2001: Desperate to be edgy, hoping to be relevant… 2002 – 2014: Free Tickets 2015 – 2019: Desperate to be relevant, hoping to be edgy… 2020: R.I.P.

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October 22, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Snookered

“You’ve just got to play the long game”, he said to me, while on a break from his short game.

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September 25, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: If Bruce Springsteen Wrote Wichita Lineman

Well, Billy was a lineman working for the man down in Darlington County And he’d drive the main road, heart in his mouth, chrome wheeled, fuel injected, Searchin’ in the sun for another overload and steppin’ out over the line One day, he heard Mary singin’, yeah she was singin’ in the wire, All about […]

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September 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: 7 Reasons I’d Never Get Tricked by A Con-Artist

1. I don’t date. 2. I don’t relate. 3. I’ve watched a lot of true-crime TV. And now podcasts… 4. I know my onions. 5. It’s just something that happens to other people. 6. You’d have to be dumb-as-fuck! 7. I’m broke-as-fuck!

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June 11, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Shift Arrow Down

He was 44 when he was diagnosed. Column Cancel. Dormant at first. But after 2nd, 3rd and 545th readings the growth was now thriving. It was too late. Yes, he would ask to have it removed. His editor would assist. Digitally. And though that process was painless, shift cells left, shift cells right, the column would never […]