Show Menu

NaNoWriMo – Day 3

 Not the best time to get poorly, but I seem to have picked up a chest infection. Despite this I have managed to stay on target having produced just shy of 5,000 words in 3 days. The plan is to pick up the pace once this week is over as I have an assignment due on Friday as part of my Advanced Creative Writing course with the OU. Currently feel like I am juggling far too many balls; my arms struggling to make meaningful movements being directed, as they are, by a brain made of cotton wool. I am pleased that Adam, my twelve year old main character seems to…

Read more

NaNoWriMo – Day 1

 After being AFK due to visiting family over half-term (hence the lack of posts recently) and a mad rush through Halloween, NaNoWriMo has finally kicked off. I have managed just over 1,990 words so pretty pleased that, for day one at least, I am on target to complete the required 50,000 words. Normal service for danpowellfiction should resume this week, as the kids are back to school tomorrow. Look for more stuff about NaNoWriMo, my Fourth Fiction Round 9 response, a #fridayflash post and more later this week. I’m off to listen to some Lambchop CDs.

Read more

Lazy Sunday

 NaNoWriMo is rapidly approaching and the following links all contain some useful stuff to help anyone preparing for the month long scramble to write 50,000 words. Ten Things For NaNoWriMo NaNoWriMo Web Aids 9 Ways To Prepare For NaNoWriMo Write Anything is also posting a series of NaNoWriMo prep workshops this week so be sure to check the site for the latest advice from NaNoWriMo veterans. Lastly, while I was unable to post a #fridayflash this week, due to the death of my Zxyel homeplugs denying pc internet privileges, an impressive 62 stories were posted. Check out @jmstro’s #fridayflash report for the full list of links.

Read more

Lazy Sunday

 A few bits and links to stuff you might have time for on a Sunday. This weeks #fridayflash saw a massive 62 flash fiction stories posted on blogs across the interweb. Check out @jmstro’s #fridayflash report for the full list of links. Booksprung posted a refreshingly honest picture about the issue of e-book piracy earlier this week. As an e-book owner frustrated by either the pricing or poor backlists of most e-book publishers I fully agree with the points here. Publishers are in danger of driving readers to piracy because to avoid DRM, being fleeced by extortionate pricing, or simply because it is more convenient. For a look at how…

Read more

Pre-Wedding Tension – #fridayflash

 I’m hanging the wedding dress back in the spare room when Mum returns with two glasses of rosé. She makes some half-hearted attempt to compliment me on my choice, which I thank her for equally half-heartedly. I concentrate on the dress, sipping my wine and waiting for her to blame my silence on nerves about the wedding. She probably thinks I’m having second thoughts. ‘Are you okay, sweetheart,’ Mum says, ‘You seem very quiet.’ Her voice is full of that faux concern she does so well, as if she’s eagerly anticipating my calling off the wedding. ‘Is it Robert? Are you worrying about tomorrow? Are you having second thoughts?’ I…

Read more

Nanowrimo – The Decision

 Last Saturday, while suffering from a nasty virus and exhaustion from caring for my two poorly boys over the week previous, I managed to delete about 3,500 words of my novel in progress while saving my latest Fourth Fiction guest participant post in my writing file. The problem was I was working on my laptop when I was disturbed by my youngest waking in tears from his nap. Struggling to shut down my computer and pack everything away and console a howling two year old, I took a shortcut and, all too quickly, saved my whole writing folder from my pen drive over the one on my laptop. In this…

Read more

Smile – #fridayflash

 When buying the leather sample bag, he made doubly sure it was large enough to hold every one of his smiles. Clicking the twin clasps shut and twirling the miniature combination locks he imagined capturing every last one within the plush interior. The woman behind the counter advised him that the bag had a twenty-four month guarantee covering stitching and handles. ‘I’ll keep my receipt,’ he said, a polite smile finding its way to his lips. He made a mental note to place that one deep inside the bag’s lowest pockets when he got home. Walking out of the shop, he imagined being already home, a glass of wine on…

Read more

Chinese Whisperings

 In recent weeks you may have seen me retweeting about an interesting short fiction project that is due for release late this year. Chinese Whisperings is a conceptual anthology created by Australian writer Jodi Cleghorn and Scottish writer Paul Anderson. Each anthology is a collection of interwoven short stories by emerging writers from across the English-speaking world. Unlike other anthologies, Chinese Whisperings is created in a sequential fashion.  The Red Book, the first of the anthologies to be produced through Chinese Whisperings, has each successive writer taking a minor character from the preceding story and telling their story as the major character in the next story. Each writer also references…

Read more

Loop – #fridayflash

 The sphere hangs impossibly in the air, its fluid metal surface shivering, rippling. It demands genetic identification. Karem places her hands either side of it, dips her fingers in and a glow shudders through the thousands of tiny waves cascading across the surface. ‘That level of tech is never going to fall for DNA grafts.’ My voice strains as the seconds around us begin to tighten. Her eyes bleed fear. ‘I’m sorry,’ she says, stepping back. She holds her hands up in front of her face, fingers dripping with whatever improbable matter the sphere consists of. ‘Too late for that,’ I say, ‘you triggered a chronal clamp.’ Two months of…

Read more

Heading Home – #fridayflash

 Shaking fingers close the buttons of my blouse, then my raincoat as I escape the hotel. I keep my head down, my hair hiding much of my face. Behind me heavy rain beats on the monolithic glass front of the Hyatt as people flee inside, chased by the downpour. Starting the trudge out of the city centre, a fierce wind shears rain into my face as if to erode my resolve. I pay it no mind. Having had the strength to leave, walking away is easy and I let my momentum carry me. The pavements are filled with wet, shambling pedestrians, stumbling determinedly through sheets of rain. I move slower…

Read more

#fridayflash report

 Another mammoth response to #fridayflash this week with 49 contributor’s listed here. As always, use the links below to check out the free flash fiction on offer. If you like what you read leave a comment telling the author and use the twitter links below to follow anyone you wish to read more from. A real joker, by John Wiswell @WiswellA Very Fine Year, by Ryan Harron @rharronBad Maintenance, by Laura Eno @lauraenoBreaks, by Marisa Birns @marisabirnsBrothers, by Leigh Barlow @LeighBarlowCatholic Guilt and Lima Beans, by Kylie Szymesko @lautirChances, by Anthony Deaver @AnthonyDeaverDarkening, by Alan Baxter @AlanBaxterDon’t Touch, by Anton Gully @antongullyDragonwalk, by Sayer @SayerDutch Elm Disease, by J. M.…

Read more

Virus Scans & Empty Promises – #fridayflash

 She whispers I love you into my headset and I whisper it right back. Our insta-message feeds embrace and her server files away the attachments we have made with each other. Do you mean it, she asks me and I remind her I have given her my word.doc, watch her avatar take it and stack it in her root. Confident of my intentions she begins the scan of my code to ensure I am free from infection. Only then can we move on to full digital intercourse. I allow her to explore my codebase, taking care to keep my partitioned drives trojaned. Scan complete I go through the motions of…

Read more

Fourth Fiction – Round 4 LitCrit (Part 2)

 Three eliminations in, Fourth Fiction, the first ever blog based literary reality show, has seen the ‘new-age nonsense’ of Isis, the ‘beat-meets-street’ stylings of Fido, and the ‘virtual unreality ramblings’ of enigmatic Fyor voted off in favour of the remaining nine contestants. This second part of my litcrit of the contestants novellas-in-progress continues where my previous post left off.Omar As the only contestant writing a narrative in verse form, Omar has pitched his literary tent further out than most of the Fourth Fiction writers. This idiosyncracy gives his story a whimsical quality that suits his subject, the aftermath of the Pied Piper story. Omar gives further character to his work…

Read more

Fourth Fiction – Round 4 LitCrit (Part 1)

 Three eliminations in, Fourth Fiction, the first ever blog based literary reality show, has seen the ‘new-age nonsense’ of Isis, the ‘beat-meets-street’ stylings of Fido, and the ‘virtual unreality ramblings’ of enigmatic Fyor voted off in favour of the remaining nine contestants. While it could be argued that Fido was put down way before that particular dog had his day, as all three of the rejection letter recipients have found, there is no arguing with the public vote. As we head towards the vote for Round 4, the remaining nine contestants are busy posting their responses to the most recent challenge: Weave an element of Fyor’s story into your passage.…

Read more

Fourth Fiction Round 4 Video

 Here’s this week’s rejection and challenge video for Fourth Fiction, the first ever blog based literary reality show. Looks like things are hotting up. I plan to do another lit crit of some description this week so, if you liked my previous ones, watch out for that.

Read more

#fridayflash report

 #fridayflash contiues to grow with a mammoth 47 contributors this month. What’s the betting we break 50 next week? In the meantime, use the links below to catch up and comment on this weeks excellent crop of free flash fiction. 28 Gears – Part 2, by Kylie Szymesko @lautirA Passionate Robot Murder, by Christine Love @christineloveA Summer Job, by Susan J Cross @SusanJCrossA Thought for a Sentence, by Jim Wisneski @WisneskiAchievement, by Gloria Oliver @GloriaOliverBirth of an Idol, by shannon esposito @soespositoChange of Season, by Jennifer Duncan @quiditeDecennial General Meeting, by Alan Baxter @AlanBaxterDo Unto Others, by Karen Schindler – Karen is not on Twitter. Follow her on her blog.Earth…

Read more

I see dead people.

 I am starting to see a trend in my writing. Dead people. Looking back through my #fridayflash and flash fiction posts (click on the Flash Fiction tab above to see them), I noticed 50% of my output of flash fiction has featured death in one shape or form. Death of a loved one. Suicide. Murder. Even accidental death. I noticed this because I drafted my #fridayflash piece for this week this morning. It too features a death and will push me over the fifty-fifty brink, up to 53.3%. I have to admit as well that the three major projects I am working on at the moment (Fourth Fiction, my YA…

Read more