@thea
Active 2 months, 3 weeks ago-
Sandra started the topic Monthly competition – August 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
“In a yellow rectangle, in the black facade of a house, a woman is laying a table.”
The above is taken fromĀ a prose poem by Thomas A Clark entitled by ‘A walk by moonlight’.Ā For August’s comp I would like you to develop this scene in not more than 300 words. Deadline 3rd September as I’ll be away until then.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – July 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
Wow, Libby, and thank you, a big surprise, especially as Iād already identified winners 1,2 and 3 and, my laptop having died and been taken away, and only having my ancient, over-full and steaming one, I wasnāt checking as often as I have been. Iāll try and come up with something as interestingly challenging as the last few have been.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – July 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
Brutal
Graham was beside himself. Furious, speechless, incandescent with rage. They had demolished the ancient well in his garden, thrown the centuries old stonework down inside, and constructed a former which showed their intention to pour footings a full twenty metres from where the summerhouse should be. He leaned forward and peered down. All…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 3 years, 1 month ago
And we’re there. Thank you to all the generous donors. We’re here for another year!
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Athelstone posted an update 3 years, 1 month ago
One More Year!
Probably daft, bearing in mind we have maybe 10 to 15 members who are even close to regular, and perhaps half a dozen who are. I need to raise about Ā£150 this month to keep the site going. It will keep going; it’s just a case of finding as much as I can. SO… please see the donations group for details. Simple as that. -
Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – July 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
Hi Janette – as discussed, it’s gone. Feel free to post again when ready.
Ath.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – July 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
Right man for the job!
Half eight, overnight ice on the inside of the windows, me already double Aran-wrapped, my phone rang:
āMissus Blake? Morpeth Builders. Weāve a cancellation. Can come and have a look at your chimney today.ā
āThatād be great. Thereās some sort of, of ⦠blockage. The boilerās broke, so lighting a fire the only way to kee…[Read more] -
Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
Congratulations, Libby, and thank you Seagreen for such an enticing theme – I had a dozen possibilities in my head, and it was obvious others did too, strong voices all and I was glad not to have to do the judging.
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
I knew from the minute I started reading these that judging would be a tricky businessā¦
Thanks all for entering! I love that you each took a perfectly mundane experience ā like sitting in traffic ā and gave me a fabulous peek into the headspace of your characters.
Ath, straight in there with your character reference of the man in the siler GT. T…[Read more]
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Thank you, Sea, for such a good challenge. Congratulations @Libby – a worthy win.
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
What is this? I turn my back for TWO days and Iām inundated!! ????
Please bear with me. Worked a fifteen hour shift today (with the same tomorrow). I promise to come back with a winner by Monday at the absolute latest x
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 1 month ago
Car
Look at that bloke. Arm out of the window, cigarette in hand. Marks and Sparks polo shirt that his wife bought him. Revving the engine every five seconds; counting down the time until death. And he got the silver car, the GT model. He chose that. He calls it āmy carā. But if anybody asks, āWe chose it. Me and my lady.ā
How old do you reckon?…[Read more]
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John T posted an update 3 years, 1 month ago
Sorry for my prolonged absence from here. What with writing a new novel and proofreading two other, as well as all the drama and complications of choosing to self-publish, all my writing energy has been directed in less sociable pursuits. But, I have news. My first book should be published within a month or so, when the wonderful Leigh Forbes has…[Read more]
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Drama and complications, John? Nothing you won’t overcome, I’m sure. Great news about the books, and loving the website.
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Cheers, Athelstone. Since I wrote that, ‘a month or so’ now looks optimistic, at least for the ebook version. Amazon are giving Leigh less freedom to format the book, and what looks perfect on Apple Books or Kobo looks a mess on Kindle. We need two different ebook versions to work around the limited options they now give. The paperback version is…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
āO dolce manoā another opera
Coming out of the theatre, in the carpark, beeping the car unlocked, you say āIf weāre dropping Judy off, sheād be best in the front āā
Because itās SO difficult to get out of the back seat? Nevertheless, I say nothing. It was Judy ā a work colleague āthat offered him the tickets. I bought the third on seeing the…[Read more] -
Daedalus started the topic HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition in the forum Competitions, Open calls and Writing Opportunities 3 years, 2 months ago
The 2023 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition is now open for entries. Up to 3,500 words, set 35 or more years ago, exploring every aspect of historical fiction.
Deadline 1 July
Full details and how to enter: https://historicalwriters.org/awards/ddshwass-award-2023/
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Thanks, Daeds. I’m trying to get a story ready in time. Are you going to enter?
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I was thinking of entering one Iād already written, thought Iād missed the deadline but I havenāt, so I might go for it. Howās yours coming along?
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@daedalus
Mine is becoming a more interesting story than I’d thought it was but it needs more time so I’m not going to enter. Good luck with yours if you do enter.
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Seagreen started the topic Monthly comp – June 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
Youāre sitting in traffic. Tell me about the car and the person (people) in the car next to you.
400 words
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
Pleasantly surprised by this, especially given the company ☺️
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
Wow! They were all classy little pieces of writing. Seagreen, I really enjoyed that. Well done.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
Well done Sea, for an intriguing tale, and thank you Kate for a topic that had me seeking a tale I KNEW I’d written on this theme, then, not finding it, having to concoct something else. Thanks also for all the other entries; I still haven’t solved the anagram.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
The Unmarked Letter
Itās a circular, sitting there on the mat. Or is it? It doesnāt look like the sort of envelope they use. And they usually say To the Householder or something like that. When Arthur was alive, heād say, āThatās me. The householder,ā as though I didnāt count. This one has nothing on it.
Right, thatās Edith at the door. Iād b…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years, 2 months ago
There’ll be kites [497 words]
It isnāt often that seeing an envelope on oneās doormat transports one back some forty years through time.
Took me long enough ā the wrestling of the key in the lock ever more painful thanks to the curse of arthritis; the nudging open of the door with my shoulder just enough to know Iād be able to push it wide en…[Read more] - Load More
