Kate

‘Mirror, Mirror …

When I say my bathroom mirror is old you shouldn’t imagine some gilt-framed, spidery-silvered  antique, for it is a bevelled-edged two-foot square of glass, bought in ~1969  and screwed at each corner onto the wall above the sink and opposite a window twelve inches larger in each direction.

In daylight, my image backlit…[Read more]

Not sure what exactly is happening. Maybe old age is catching me up but I posted this already. There was an amusing intro about how it’s too long and how I’d have to take my chances. And so on. Anyway, it is too long (by loads), so I will have to take my chances.

The Stoggy

I’m a magical creature called a stoggy. Don’t get too excited bec…[Read more]

Mr Burkhardt is an interesting character who has, it seems, been profoundly interested in trains his entire life. Your blog inspired me to research the man a bit and it does seem that he knows best in matters of running a railroad. Of course, he had “previous” for being the manager of a railroad that allowed a train to run down a sloap while…[Read more]

Well done Alex. Also, sorry Janette – I had half an entry written when I glanced up and noticed it was all over. Not good enough ????

I enjoyed this prompt @Seagreen . At first I thought I wouldn’t have time to enter the comp this month but being able to work on something I’d already written gave me fresh energy. My piece still needs a bit more work but the exercise you gave us was very helpful and one to be remembered.

You have my apologies too. I also had a busy month, but mainly I have to confess that every time I turned to the prompt I hit brick walls. I admit defeat. And it is a fine prompt. One good thing from my point of view though is that I had another look at my short story from the Random’s anthology Stalking Leviathan. I had some critique that the…[Read more]

This is from my novel. It’s 1937. Hester is shortly to leave school and has asked her father if she can have flying lessons. He’s said no, it’s too dangerous. That’s the novel’s inciting incident. The is the next scene, told from her father’s pov.

412 words

In Worcester Cathedral, Hester’s father Frederick Longley gazed at the vaulted ceiling…[Read more]

I’m now almost halfway through Salter’s ‘Collected Stories’ and can understand how the short, sharp sentences make an impact, but I find most of his characters, male and female, seem a bit self-obsessed, and, for me, there is over-much description (as is often the case with American literature.) At least they are readable! Some time since I read…[Read more]

Well, these last few posts sent me off on a chase, which I shall spare you the detail of. I have never read anything by Salter, but probably shall, now. For what it’s worth, I emerged from my chase with a greater respect for George Orwell (though perhaps not his earlier novels) and a suspicion that Will Self may have confused writing literature…[Read more]

I think for me Salter stands out because the spareness is also lyrical. I find many ‘less is more’ authors to be a bit dull, but his prose manages to be as poetic as it is simple

Yes, Salter’s detachment. Is that what makes his writing interesting? I think it may be – for me anyway.

John, I wouldn’t press Salter on you, or anyone, but his prose is an example of American spareness if you ever want to investigate same.

Salter is an author I’ve never read. 90% of my favourite                                                                                                                                                   contemporary authors are women, but that may be as much about genre as gender. I read very few thrillers or crime novels, and only occasional l…[Read more]