Melanie Fraser

Thank you, Janette!

That’s a great shame. All best wishes to Ath.

How about finding another judge?

Could anyone else reading this be willing to judge the comp? Five delightful entries. Then the winner can set the April comp.

Running

499 words

My sister’s boyfriend dumped her so she booked a day at a willow-weaving workshop – in the countryside, calming and therapeutic. She’d make a sculpture of a hare though she’d never seen one in real life. Ironic, I thought, as she’d never seen herself either.

I admit the dumping had been nasty. Sis waiting to meet the…[Read more]

The February comp has drawn a delightful selection of stories.

@jillsted Jill, you do an evocative encapsulation of Isabel’s memories of different kinds of love. Her memories are compelling, a sense of her moving through a full life. The ending has a twist, if I’ve read it correctly, that adds a shiver to the story, a question of whether Lydia’s…[Read more]

A reminder of the monthly comp, as we’re over half way through February already.

Here’s the original post:

As it’s February the theme this month is love. It needn’t be romantic. It can be of any sort – for a place, a piece of music, an animal – whatever you like that that provokes a feeling of love.

Max 400 words, deadline midnight Saturda…[Read more]

Thank you, Terrie. That’s a lovely surprise! Thank you, Jill and Sandra too. The thrill of a new baby from Jill, with other newnesses too. And Sandra – creative writing books are such a mixed bag. I’m glad you have one which is properly helpful.

I’ll post the February comp later.

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…