Seven Signs of Impossible Times

A reporter and camera operator expect to uncover a hoax when they investigate sightings of flying pigs, but soon find themselves on the path of a much stranger story. Genre: Fantastic Mystery

Excerpt: “The boss wants us to relate it to the flying pigs story,” Quentin said.

They were driving out to another farm, within the county this time. And this time, it was a commercial farm where the workers had reported that the chickens had begun growing teeth.

What’s the Writing Prompt that inspired the story?“Draw: When pigs fly” (I didn’t actually draw a flying pig…not for this story anyway.) Source: 500 Creative Prompts. Copyright © 2019 Piccadilly (USA) Inc. Additional inspiration from the following source. https://omniglot.com/language/idioms/flyingpigs.php Idioms that mean something that is highly unlikely to happen

Faster FictioneerI held my first free writing workshop over Zoom to teach my method of writing short stories (an abbreviated version) on 11/8/2023. The workshop is based on my course, called “Faster Fictioneer: A Doable Method to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish in Five Weeks.”

You can watch a replay of the workshop here: FASTER FICTIONEER

(You can also buy the course there.)

Follow my Fictioneering MischiefThe Storyfeather Gazette is a monthly round-up of my recent podcast episodes, short stories, trailers, news, recommendations, and more sent by email. Follow the link to look through old issues and to Sign Up: STORYFEATHER GAZETTE

Storyfeather-themed merchandiseT-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE

CREDITSStory: “Seven Signs of Impossible Times” Copyright © 2020 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production:  Nila L. Patel

Music: “Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background” by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro)

Music by LEE ROSEVERE “Awkward Silences (version a)” “Not My Problem” “Knowing the Truth” “Slow Lights” “Betrayal” “Awkward Silences (version b)”

Music by ANDREW SITKOV (MuzStation Game Music)* “Hidden Fear” “Mystical House (Short Loop)” “Story at Night” “Scary Theme #5” “Scary Theme #3” “Scary Theme #4 (Version 2)”

*These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.

Music by Andrew Sitkov licensed from GameDev Market Music by Lee Rosevere is licensed under CC BY 4.0Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket

Find more music by Digital_Emotions at audiojungle.netFind more music by Andrew Sitkov at gamedevmarket.netFind more music by Lee Rosevere at freemusicarchive.org and bandcamp.comFind more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

Episode Art Description: Digital drawing. Central image with a top and bottom border to make the format square. At center, two figures seen from mid-thigh up standing in front of a massive gate that is halfway open. The man at left faces forward. He holds a microphone up to his mouth with his right hand and gestures to the gate with his left. The woman at right holds a professional camera over her right shoulder. The camera is pointed toward the man. On either side of the frame in foreground are towers of gladiolus flowers. Snow appears to be blowing down and out from the open gate. A plaque on the left side of the gate reads “Pandemonium.”