LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.</s>Ms. ANN PATCHETT (Author): And I'm Ann Patchett.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: Ann Patchett is the best-selling author of "Bel Canto" and "The Magician's Assistant." She's also judging the current round of our Three Minute Fiction contest.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: And we're here to remind you that today is the last day to get your stories in. We're asking listeners to send in original short fiction that can be read in three minutes or less, so no more than 600 words, but there's a catch.</s>Ms. ANN PATCHETT (Author): Right. I picked out four words that have to appear in every story: plant, button, trick and fly. They can be used as nouns, adjectives or verbs.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: And if they're verbs, any tense is fine. So she buttoned her lips.</s>Ms. ANN PATCHETT (Author): Or I flew off the handle.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: Which you will, Ann, once you see how many stories we send you. To read the full rules and to submit your story, go to our Web site, npr.org/threeminutefiction - all words spelled out, no spaces. Your deadline is tonight, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Good luck.
At the stroke of midnight, it will be too late! Host Linda Wertheimer reminds listeners that they have until 11:59 p.m. ET to submit their stories to our Three-Minute Fiction contest. The challenge this round is to write an original piece of fiction that includes these four words: plant, button, trick and fly. Host Ann Patchett is the judge, and she'll read the winner's story on the air.