When I’m finished grocery shopping, I look for a line that’s moving, a cashier who knows what they’re doing, and other customers with small orders. Usually in a rush, I want to get out of the store and home with my groceries as quickly as possible but lines are often long and waiting can be torturous unless you have something to read.
Use self-checkout, you say? I prefer not to for two reasons.
1. I’m not the store’s trained employee. If they want me to use self-checkout, they can pay me or give me a discount to make it worth my while.
2. I believe in supporting the workers, the cashiers and baggers, whose jobs are in jeopardy whenever a self-checkout is installed.
While I’m in line, I double-check my list and then check my texts and my email. If there’s nothing interesting, I’ll read a story. Usually, it will be flash fiction from an online journal.
Where do I find these stories? I search for free flash fiction online or find the links in reading or writing newsletters. Word-of-mouth or recommendations from other writers lead me to new journals. Most of my Friday Micro emails include a few links to online journals.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite online journals that offer free access to their published stories. Click the links to check them out.
- Smokelong Quarterly
- Flash Fiction Online
- Flash Fiction Magazine
- 101 Words
- 50 Word Stories
- 100 Word Story
- Flash Frog
- Maudlin House
- Milk Candy Review
- Friday Flash Fiction
- Craft Literary
- Fractured Lit
Reading in check-out lines, doctor waiting rooms, or anywhere you must wait is a good way to make time for reading. Short-short stories classified as flash fiction or micro fiction are perfect for these situations.
Subscribe to Friday Micro to read a free weekly microfiction story. Click the link to find out more.