Bren

@Daedalus, I know exactly what you mean: most of my novels start with a conversation between two characters, me thinking they’ll be the opening chapter, then, as things develop, I find they’ve moved to the middle of the middle.

@sandradavies thanks, I will look that up. I’m a fan of keeping speech tags/descriptions to a minimum and I often write scenes with dialogue first and then build the other stuff around it, so this is very much up my street

@Raine – exactly! When I first read A L Kennedy’s tale, I had to re-read to see how it was done. Then di my best to emulate.

@Daedalus: the story is in ‘What becomes’, the theme of which comes from the song, and it the tale of a man and a woman, previously unknown to each other, having sex in a hotel bedroom.
I’ve never tried an all-dialogue story, but have to say what were served up here showed similar skills to Kennedy’s.

Great competition Sandra, am really intrigued to read the story that inspired it now. Well done Ath, and everyone else, good set of stories

Smashing comp, Sandra and a similarly smashing selection of entries. So I’m really pleased to be picked!

Hugely impressed with the variety of proper, fully-fledged and entertaining tales arising from that simple six word start, each then heading in its unique and individual direction; a process which I find fascinating and reassuring, i.e. there is no one and only right way of doing it and all are of equal merit.

Neil
Instant scene setting,…[Read more]

Seven stories already in this month’s competition – and seven days to go, so if you’re dreaming up a dialogue please don’t leave it too long. And if you are in need of inspiration, you’ll get it by reading those already posted.

I dreamt about you last night.

Really? I haven’t thought about you for ages.

Ooh! Harsh.

Aha – Sorry, Jack. That sounded terrible. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, well, you know – the kids and all that. I don’t have much time for myself.

How old are they now?

Callum’s ten and Orla will be seven on Saturday. Most of this shopping is…[Read more]

“I dreamt about you last night. No, don’t look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s a line or… like I’m being…?”
“What?”
“I dunno. Overly sentimental.”
“OK. I won’t then.

…Well you can’t leave it hanging like that. What was I doing in this dream?”
“That’s the thing. I can’t actually remember. You know what dreams are like.”
“I know what my…[Read more]

The Sanctum of Dreams

“I dreamt about you last night. You were in the sanctum.”
“Well, that’s hardly surprising, is it? Given what’s about to happen.”
“No. I suppose not. It was just so…”
“So…what? Are you going to share? Or just sit there looking worried? I’m not a mind reader.”
“Yet.”
“Ha! True. Well, tell me about it. I don’t like to see y…[Read more]

Thank you Sea, not least for the challenge itself, which forced me to face and write a scene I had been putting off; I look forward to the time that bottle of wine is anything but virtual. And yes, I was glad not to be the judge this month, so many differing emotions to choose from. I’ll be back in the morning with a challenge for November.

There’s a monster inside of me.

It was born when Noellia moved into number 14.

The car started it. A shiny new Fiat 500. Electric. In powder blue. Parked on the drive. I looked at my own clapped out Fiesta and felt the first stirrings of new life, deep in my chest.

She fed the monster well, did Noellia.

Had an open house, she did. Invited…[Read more]

0815 Wednesday 12 December (350 words, 1 an expletive)

I assumed … God help me, I assumed McCallan had come with news of arrests, of mitigation. Or at least reassurance of progress
Instead –
Instead – Rob.
Robbie my son, my first-born.
Dead.
Dead in her car.
She the driver. No blame … no blame for Robbie, McCallan said.

Robbie, who Moira r…[Read more]