Knicks

I can’t remember what inspired my first WIP.

My second was inspired by a trip to Benidorm and I thought it would be fun to make a character suffer it too.

The current WIP was inspired by reading something about the Ten Pound Poms and thinking that would add an interesting aspect to a novel. Another couple of ideas have been sparked by stuff I…[Read more]

How intersting Sea. I have a couple of short stories that are often in the back of my mind as having potential to develop into something else. And back story is often the first idea that comes to me and then I have to work out how the situation will play out in the now.

Yes, Raine, I absolutely have to know where the setting is, or I can’t w…[Read more]

The project I want to do next came as a result of one of the monthly comps – the one Daeds set about doorways. I wrote about twelve pages of notes at the time and added to it at odd moments when things occurred to me – obstacles, dialogue, conflict.
One thing I have learned over the past year, is the part backstory can play in giving my…[Read more]

INteresting question. Funnily enough, sometimes the first thing I get is the setting. I’m very into the atmospheric setting & its role in the story, so that’s definitely there before I start any planning or research or even think about characters! The other thing though is a pretty formless idea of some sort of ‘issue’ I want to explore. Not big…[Read more]

Congratulations Alan. Excellent news. As Raine says, do let us know how the course goes!

Wow, well done, Alan. That’s a major bit of validation, and those courses look great. I’ve eyed them a few times, but never bitten, so will be really interested to hear how you get on.

Yes, sorry, meant to congratulate the worthy winner – great, unsettling and dreamlike tale that owns the innate silliness of the tiny guitar and the bizarre phenomenon of the vast ukulele band. Great stuff, and thanks Sea for a challenging and fun competition

Congratulations Jonathan, fascinating story – sounds like there’s a lot more to it than in the words on the virtual page. And congratulations to everybody who entered. I’m in awe of how you manage to come up with stories at the drop of a hat. Every month I read the prompts and think I’ll have a go but somehow I never do. Maybe this month….

Oh, well done, @alanr! That’s fantastic. So which course are you going for?

That’s a fantastic achievement @alanr! Congratulations! What an exciting choice to be faced with …:-)

That’s great Alan, well done. The courses sound superb

AAARRRGGHHH! (as it used to say in my comics)

Up with the count. Resisted the temptation to count the 2500 “seed” words that I had before the start. I think I’ll have a couple of hundred more to do before I give up tonight. Remarkable difference in the way I feel about making myself write at this pace which, honestly, isn’t that high a word…[Read more]

@kazg, thanks so much for that link.

And you’ve expressed above so beautifully my exact thoughts on story structure – including the necessity of balancing all our technical knowledge with room for the subconscious to speak.

I’m not sure what fascinates me more – the list of items you came up with or the fact you came up with them when you were caught by surprise…🤔

Wow. Gobsmacked. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s a change from the crack of regular rejections I’ve been getting used to, so thank you Seagreen! Great entries all 🙂

I’ll set another prompt shortly. Just … got to come up with something.

Thank you all for taking the time to post an entry, especially Sandra, who kicked things off (phew!), but later withdrew by reason of unavailability to set the next comp should she win.

Anyway, as most of you know, I’m rubbish at any kind of feedback so I’ll keep this short.

Sandra – strong voice. And some perfect turns of phrase – ‘Like a…[Read more]