Chrissy

Good idea, Mad. Can’t think of anything right now, but will rack my brains. Would be great to see others’ suggestions

I really liked this Squidge. Very immediate, straight into the action. Lovely voice. Thumbs up all around.

Thank you Squidge,I appreciate the input. Food for thought.

Thanks Jules.

Read some of those stories, @johnalty – superb stuff, all with a strong, distinct voice. Even a couple of twists. Looking forward to finding @elle‘s stuff too

Kaz! KAAAAAZZZZ! This is utterly brilliant news. I’m so delighted and excited for you. You’re absolutely right to have an agent too, even though you’ve already got what most people want from an agent. As soon as there’s somewhere online that I can link to, I’ll be adding you to the Self-Edit Hall of Fame. Lots of you are already listed there.…[Read more]

You mean the coppery tang of blood as her scalpel slices through pale flesh?! Just kidding. I know what you mean, Laure, I need to work on the atmosphere.
I hope this exercise is helping others to get a grasp of what makes a story work – join in everyone.

I’m doing the moonwalk here for you, Kaz. Slippin’ and a slidin’ all over the place in celebration.
Well done!! Delighted for you and Ava and the agent and PRH who have a great book that’ll sell bucketloads.

Amazing stuff Janette. Well done!!

This is brilliant news. Congratulations.

Huge congratulations.

This is absolutely wonderful Kaz, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. To find someone like that who ‘gets’ your writing and you click with, and the double endorsement of the PRH editor as well! Absolutely delighted with this, and can’t wait to read the book

Fantastic, Janette. Delighted for you. What a lot of power you’ve packed into a few words. Cracking bit of writing and a well deserved winner.

Any plans for the second-place piece?

Brilliant news Janette – definitely one for the Podium. And make sure you put a note there when the story’s published 🙂

Taking on board the comments so far, here’s an edited version, with a title change.

The First Time
Two men wearing overcoats followed the nurse down the corridor.
“Florence has quite perked up since you arranged this visit so she should be able to answer your questions. She’ll tire quickly, though, remember she’s over ninety.”
“Thank you, we’l…[Read more]

Thanks Tony, good points, noted.
Thanks, Elle. I guess my spell checker doesn’t speak French! Good points. I think I have a tendency to over-explain or I would have ended it at “He was my first”. Need to trust the reader more. The telly paragraph is a bit of a cop out – I’ll need to rewrite it.

I can’t remember what the original prompt was, but I…[Read more]