Hi there,

Wherever you are reading this from, I hope all is well.

I have some exciting news to share!

I’m delighted to announce that 50 Fifties: A Justin Deming Literary Project is now available for purchase on Amazon in both print and Kindle editions. Please click here if you would like to take a look.

It’s a bit of a surreal feeling to hold my very own book in my hands.

Thanks to all those who used to read my work here on Medium or took part in our fifty-word story community over at The Friday Fix. Those years were critical for me in developing confidence and consistency.

If you used to write “fifties” at The Friday Fix, I revamped and built a new writing community over at my Substack, Along the Hudson. Our bi-weekly meetups are called Fifties by the Fire and they are great fun — very similar to the old feel here on Medium. This is an open invitation to anyone who might be interested in popping by.

Hope to see you by the fire.

All the best,

Justin

Justin Deming lives and teaches in the Hudson Valley region of New York. His work has appeared in Spelk, Flash Fiction Magazine, Emerge Literary Journal, and elsewhere. He writes weekly fiction and hosts “Fifties by the Fire” at Along the Hudson, his Substack newsletter. More of his stories can be found at jdeming.com.

I Wrote and Published My First Book! was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hi there,

I hope this message finds you well.

I haven’t logged on to Medium for years, but I used to run a publication called The Friday Fix, which focused on publishing fifty-word stories. We had built a fun and lively writing community.

Since that time, I have rebooted my efforts in developing a writing community over at my Substack publication, Along the Hudson. Every other week, I invite fellow fictioneers to write prompt-based, fifty-word stories with me. I’ve titled these community events Fifties by the Fire, and the overall atmosphere feels very similar to the old community we had developed here on Medium.

If you used to read or write “fifties” at The Friday Fix, I hope you’ll consider taking a look at my fiction newsletter.

Perhaps I’ll even see you by the fire.

All the best,

Justin

Justin Deming lives and teaches in the Hudson Valley region of New York. His work has appeared in Spelk, Flash Fiction Magazine, Emerge Literary Journal, and elsewhere. He writes weekly fiction and hosts “Fifties by the Fire” at Along the Hudson, his Substack newsletter. More of his stories can be found at jdeming.com.

Fifties by the Fire was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

You may be asking yourself, “Where the heck is the prompt for this week?”

Well, everyone, I have some bittersweet news to share.

Effective today, I will no longer be publishing stories at The Friday Fix on Medium. I’m sorry to pull the E brake so suddenly with little to no warning.

Trust me, this decision was not an easy one to make. I’ve enjoyed running this publication from day one. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know many of you, having the chance to read your fifty-word stories, and sharing them with this community.

There are many reasons why I’ve made this decision: my family is expanding, we’re in the process of moving, I’m heading back to the classroom to teach in September, and, simply, I have to choose how to allocate my time. The recent Terms of Service are a small factor in this decision — I’ve been contemplating my departure for a couple of months now. I am merely expediting the process.

I do have very good news, though.

Something exciting is in the works and has been going on behind the scenes. It ties into prompt-based microfiction, and will essentially be the next chapter for The Friday Fix. I’m not at liberty to reveal what it is yet, but it’s coming around the bend. If you’ve enjoyed the prompts and being a part of this community, I hope you’ll join in once it’s ready to roll. I’ve decided to pour my creative energy into this pursuit, and I’m excited about the opportunity.

Please consider following The Friday Fix on Twitter. My plan during this transition period is to still post a story prompt on Fridays. You can tweet a fifty-word story response @fix_friday, post your story on Medium, or do whatever you would like with it! It will be entirely up to you. Expect the first tweet prompt on Friday, August 28th. More importantly, keep an eye out for news and updates as The Friday Fix evolves.

I’ll still have a Medium profile, so I will post an update or two here as well. You can also follow me on Twitter to stay in touch or check out my WordPress blog, which I will try to update periodically with other writing-related stuff, too. (Just know that my skills are lacking in the web development department.)

With all of this said, Medium has been an incredibly positive experience for me, and I’m thankful I decided to sign up in March of 2019. I’ve had the chance to meet wonderful people, read brilliant stories, and experiment with writing.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. This has been such an amazing experience, and I hope we can continue this writing journey together.

Stay tuned!

All the best,

Justin

PS — A couple of additional notes: The Friday Fix publication will remain on Medium indefinitely so you can still access all of the stories. Feel free to keep your stories here, remove them, or do whatever you would like — they’re your creations.

Also, in an overabundance of caution, I may be in contact with some of you regarding July’s stories (using song lyrics could be perceived as a copyright issue). If you have a story from July that uses a lyric or line from a song, I would encourage you to revise your story to remove the lyric. If you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to me directly.

Lastly, all current submissions in the queue will be returned unread. Thank you for your understanding!

The Next Chapter was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

She avoided the rubble as she walked unsurely. Every path appeared strange to her. It had been ten years since the war; since she had abandoned the place.

But in the remains of the forgotten city lay the memories of a life that she would carry in her heart forever.

Home was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Hey Tony? Remember that money I borrowed from you? Well, I got it here.”

I placed the envelope of money on the table.

“So we’re good now, right, Tony? About the other thing? We’re good?”

Tony nodded to Johnny, who pocketed the envelope.

“Fuggedaboutit,” he said, and waved me away.

Nothing to worry about was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Earlene remembers when life was easy — before typewriters took over. All you needed was paper and pen. It’s so complicated now with her Remington — typewriter ribbons, carbon paper, and whiteout in three colors. She knows there are many advantages of the typewriter age, but she longs for a simpler time.

Thanks to Justin Deming for the 50-word Friday Fix story prompt, “Forget & Remember:”

The Friday Fix Story Prompt for August 21st, 2020

Earlene Remembers a Simpler Time was originally published in The Friday Fix on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.