Emma Robinson

500 words

Jim’s ballet exercises weren’t about dancing, they were about muscle fitness, until he was bent over, clutching the Aga rail which was his barre, and the shooting pains in his back were a quiversful of landed arrows. Gasping for breath he thought of that painting of St Sebastian, a dreary affair in his view, inspirational of not…[Read more]

Thank you, Terrie! And congratulations on a truly creepy story, Ath. And Jill for a heart-warming, magical tale – exactly right for the time of year.

You asked for a heart-warming tale, Terrie, but my story, after I started it and got stuck, became the opposite. You’re welcome to disqualify it or not read it at all.

Content warning: includes postnatal depression

499 words including title

I Lied When I Said My Daughter Lived Abroad

After that walk up and down a steep crag, I sat beside t…[Read more]

What fabulous entries, all of them fantastical, brilliant and captivating. Halloween has prompted very good stories.

@jillsted – here was an enticing mystery with a comic touch. Told with great pacing and a strong atmosphere of folk tale, it hooked me from start to finish.

@purplewitch (Terrie) – what wonderful creepiness. I loved the rich lan…[Read more]

A reminder for anyone who, like me, forget this month’s competition deadline is tonight: the October monthly comp deadline is midnight tonight! You might have a suitable WIP hiding away somewhere…

Thanks, Ath. Yes, I was thinking that writers might collect some AI produced fiction and do something with its tropes, sort of like Pop Art did. I’m vague about this. Am looking for reasons for optimism!

Hi Sandra, I saw your comment about self-pub authors but it has disappeared from the thread. As you say, it’s harder to see how authors could guarantee their own writing. I expect someone will think of something to address this, or try to address it.

I also think some readers will seek out AI novels because AI writing will be reliable. It will…[Read more]

Some great stories have already come in. We’re half way through the month – plenty of time for more entries.

A reminder of the details:

It’s October and I’m going for the obvious: Halloween. Or All Saints’ Eve or Hallowmas Eve or whatever you prefer. It doesn’t have to be ghostly, though if you can give us all the shivers that would be fun.

M…[Read more]

Thank you, Jill! That was a lovely surprise when I switched on this morning. Such brilliant writing from Knicks and Ath, everything so vivid and pleasurable to read.

This month I’ve gone for an essay, or at any rate not a story.

338 words

Outside my window there’s the small garden and then a field, where a tractor drags a harrow. The harrow’s arms are open and horizontal. Metal discs hang below them, making contact with the ground, and I hear the discs rattling along the soil and bouncing over flints. The…[Read more]