Daedalus

Ah yes, I wondered about the various roles of garnet @seagreen after I’d started looking it up. I’d no idea. It’s very interesting. Geology in general, not just the applied stuff, always feels like a significant gap in my knowledge.

Those rigs have a fascination even for a landlubber like me. The meeting of elements perhaps. At sea but fixed -…[Read more]

That’s interesting @knickylaurelle – makes me enjoy the piece even more. I think it’s hard to write well about one’s own experiences – at least I find it so!

@Seagreen, the ‘lightweight’ of your entry was in the well-chosen words; that they so well-expressed the solidity, the impact of that moment was the really clever bit. Thank you for this explanation.

You know, I’m always surprised when I win the monthly comp (not that it happens often!) but never more so than this time. Such strong entries – I did feel mine was a little lightweight in comparison.

Thank you, @Libby, for hosting the comp and for such fabulous feedback, and thanks to Ath, Sandra, Squidge and Knicky for making me work harder to…[Read more]

Thank you for hosting this month’s comp, Libby, and for your thoughtful words on my piece. And congratulations, Seagreen, I thought your piece was wonderfully evocative. I enjoyed each entry for this month.

@Libby Grit was about my rather difficult pregnancy, and how the only peace and pleasure I found (from the daily waves of nausea and hostile…[Read more]

Libby, thanks for a super topic and the fabulous reviews. Seagreen, a well-deserved win.

Brilliantly well done Seagreen, and thank you Libby for the challenge, your insightful comments and for picking my favourite as winner, though all were enjoyable variations on the theme.

Wow! This is the best collection of stories I’ve read in response to a single competition. They’re a joy to read and completely daunting to judge.

What impressed me most, on top of all the individual skills displayed, is that every piece is such a distinct rendition of the author’s voice. I’ve read most of you before and could recognise you in…[Read more]

Credit where credit is due: I believe it was Libby who first used the phrase ‘instinctive writer,’ even if she was replying to me.

@ Libby – I confess I never print off an MS even for my own novels, but I do, when I’m feeling confident that the end is nigh, order it as a paperback book from Blurb.

@ Richard – thank you for that description ‘instinctive writer’ which very accurately describes my creative approach (and as an artist too) It may sound like a talent but the…[Read more]

EMERGENCE

You stand alone, in the northwest corner of the cellar deck, gloved hands resting on the handrail and face tilted to the sun.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Above you, clouds rag-roll an azure sky, while beneath you, an aging platform sways to the rhythm of the North Sea.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Solitude. It catches you unawares,…[Read more]

It was the same every year.

She took as many precautions as possible, wrapping everything carefully, keeping the box closed tight until the right moment came, making sure her hands were washed clean when it did.

And then…

Ordering everyone to sit down, sit still. Questioning each participant in turn to make sure she knew their exact r…[Read more]

One week left for the monthly competition!

Here are the requirements:

The other day I discovered that sabulous means sandy or gritty. For this month’s competition please use sand and/or grit as a prompt for a piece of fiction or non-fiction, word range 100 – 500. You can use the word sabulous itself if you wish but you don’t have to.

Be liter…[Read more]