On being forced to write

I spent this morning with a group of fellow 3P Publishing authors. We got together to compare notes on overcoming writer's block, what we're reading and writing at the moment, and to have a good old natter about words. It was a very useful way to pass a couple of hours.

Andy, who facilitated the session, gave us an exercise to get our brains working. He gave us three words - suicide, prostitute, Brexit - and asked us to write a  sentence that included one of those words. I wrote:

I'm not a prostitute, it's just the way the light plays on my cleavage.'

Then we had to pass that sentence to the person on our right, so we each had a new sentence to develop into a paragraph or two. I was given:

Brexit drives one to consider suicide.

I continued as follows:

Doris, though, thought she'd rather someone else took responsibility. So she put on her best hat, bought a National Express ticket to London, put a small pistol in her handbag and set off. Quite what she expected to achieve wasn't clear, but someone had to pay and she didn't think it should be her.

It was surprisingly easy to get into the House of Commons. Playing the role of the dizzy old lady, she charmed her way past the security guard and into the lobby, then set off in search of her first quarry. She found the office of Septimus Nobworthy (Con), knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for permission.

He looked up in annoyance at the interruption: 'Who the hell are you?' Then he saw the gun in Doris's hand. 'Look, if this is about that shares business...'

'No,' she said. 'This is about Brexit. It's time to settle up.'

Now, I'm not saying this is a great piece of work, but given that we had no warning and about five minutes to write, I don't think it's too bad. The point is that sometimes you just need a little push to get started.

Celebrate the small things, 18 November

I'm feeling decidedly more cheerful this Friday than last. As predicted, things have indeed got better.

It's been a good week on the work front: I've achieved a decent amount of writing - an article on leeks for one thing, but also a couple of fiction pieces. There's been a few nice social events, too. Last night, for instance, I went to see comedian Rich Hall here in town, and he was hilarious as always.

A more specific celebration is that I've won a flash fiction competition, which is pleasing.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop hosted by  Lexa's Blog. Join us.   

Nearly celebrating

Having been on the long and then the short list of a flash fiction competition recently, I suppose I should be celebrating coming in the top five. The top three were awarded prizes and the judge named the fourth and fifth-placed stories, one of which was mine. Close, but no cigar. I shall console myself with the fact that I had some nice feedback from fellow students on a recent assignment on my FutureLearn course. Swings and roundabouts.

Other good stuff this week:

• Seeing The Play That Went Wrong at the Royal Theatre in Northampton. One of the best things I've ever seen.
• Lunch with number one son, and discovering that the American diner in town is really nice.
• Hilarious ukulele rehearsal last night, when we started playing in one key and singing in another.
• Lovely yoga with my guys and gals, and the prospect of a Dru class tomorrow.
• Seeing singer Rachel Ries tonight and looking forward, too, to seeing comedian and writer Richard Tyrone Jones tomorrow.

Have you got something to celebrate? 'Celebrate the small things' is a bloghop instigated by VikLit on her blog 'Scribblings of an Aspiring Author'. Details are here.

Last Friday passed me by without my having time to join in with Celebrate the Small Things; sorry. This is a bloghop instigated by VikLit on her blog 'Scribblings of an Aspiring Author'. Details are here.

I had to smile when the tab on my screen truncated a headline from my local paper to: 'Campaigners launch fight to save pie'. Sounds like my kind of battle, I thought. On opening the story, the rest of the heading read 'ce of Kettering's heritage'. Still a good story and still my kind of thing, but not quite as entertaining.

I've made it to the long list for a flash fiction competition, which is encouraging. I've also found time to enter a couple more comps this week.

Last celebration pointer for today is that our hallway is finally finished: hurrah!

(I've just had to pause in my writing to listen to The Archers. Never mind EastEnders: it's all happening in Ambridge!)

Have a good weekend, folks. 

Judging competitions

I am in the middle of helping to judge a flash fiction competition. (I won't say which one in case you've entered.) I like writing flash fiction; it appeals to the editor in me. However, I know some people who hate it either as a writer or a  reader, saying it's too short for anything meaningful to happen. I disagree.

All the entries I have read are very good and even though some are not to my taste I can appreciate the work that has gone into them and the skill behind the words. Some, though, are examples of writing craft without the element of fiction: perhaps they are pure description or opinion. One of the factors that has helped me to decide which stories deserve (IMHO) to go through to the final is whether they are complete stories - with a beginning, middle and end; with conflict and resolution; with character development: with everything you would expect from a longer story. Winners will be announced shortly.

On a completely unrelated topic, I'm celebrating having finally finished and passed my anatomy and physiology course. I'm hoping this will find me better to placed to help my yoga students with their aches and pains. If nothing else, it has enabled me to explain to my son why he struggled to walk after his first ever game of squash. *Smiles maternally*