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#fridayflash – fast fiction

 Another great #fridayflash day, yesterday. Below you’ll find links to all this week’s contributors plus their blogs and twitter profiles (helpfully compiled by jmstro in this weeks fridayflash report). Harmony, by Pippa HennessyHer blog – The Old BatFollow @battypip on Twitter Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, by Judy B.Blog – Onze/11Follow @jbonze Life Happens, by Stephen BookBlog – Powder Burns and BulletsFollow @StephenBook Long, long ago…, by Kevin J. MackeyBlog – KjM On the WebFollow @kevinjmackey Past, Present, Future, by Tomara ArmstrongBlog – This, That… the Other ThingFollow @2maraA Semper Fidelis, by J. M. StrotherBlog – Mad UtopiaFollow @jmstro The One That Got Away, by Dan PowellBlog – dan…

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Land of Nod

 Have you ever started a job and woefully underestimated the time it will take to do it right? The last three weeks I have been redrafting an entry for the Bridport Short Story Prize. I had the whole thing planned, the first draft completed and was ready for the rewrite. A few full drafts and a copy/line edit I reckoned. Eleven major rewrites later and my comfortable margin between completion and deadline shrank. I ended up posting the story via the online entries process about three hours before the midnight GMT deadline. I’m feeling a little fazed after focusing for so long on one story, a claustrophobic tale at that,…

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The One That Got Away

 Holding hands with Mel, heading into the underground when I see her. The face I hoped hard to bump into for four or five years after everything exploded. The face to the name that I searched Friends Reunited, Facebook, MySpace, the whole fucking internet for. I’m happy, relaxed, enjoying the city for the weekend with Mel and there she is. The one person I wished so long to see, finally bumps into me when I least need it.  I didn’t tell you she wrote me a letter. About ten years ago now, about three years after we last saw each other. I was with someone else then too. We’re talking…

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Snuff – Chuck Palahniuk (Review)

 Snuff is the story of Cassie Wright, porn princess, who attempts to end her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial sex with a 600 man gang bang. The story is obviously inspired by Annabel Chong’s famous real life record breaking movie and Palahniuk references Chong’s ‘porn classic’ throughout. Three of the voices used to tell the story are those of ‘dicks’ in the queue, waiting their turn with Cassie, the fourth is that of her PA, who came up with the idea for the whole thing. The action of the novel takes place largely in the waiting area, a sordid basement filled with the slowly dwindling numbers…

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[fiction] friday #110

 Previously on dan powell’s [fiction] friday: Karl, a narcoleptic piano accordianist, falls asleep while busking in a busy town centre. A young woman approaches his sleeping form while the crowd he attracted disperses. She watches him for a moment and is disturbed by a WPC who asks if she knows the man. Carla reveals she is his brother, explains his condition and agrees to have him gone by the time the policewoman passes the precinct again. Carla sits beside her brother and waits for him to wake up. She sat beside her brother as the policewoman continued through the precinct. Carla brushed the hair from his face. He looked older…

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WAG #16 Results and WAG #17 instructions

 The theme for the Writing Adventure Group 16 was “True Love” Go people watching and select a couple. Write about the “secret” part of their relationship… the things about this couple that they don’t show to the world. The Writing Adventure Group is on Facebook. Join us there too, and get weekly reminders so you never miss an adventure. ————————– How to Join the Writing Adventure Group Gail Stekler (New to WAG!) Dan Powell Frances Wookey Mickey Hoffman Christine Kirchoff Paige Bruce Marsha Next Week: “WAG #17: The One That Got Away” From your own point of view (or the point of view of a stranger you observe) write a…

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True Love

 The prompt: “WAG #16: True Love” People watching time! This time, go people watching and select a couple. Write about the “secret” part of their relationship… the things about this couple that they don’t show to the world. It can be good and sweet things, like gooey pet names, or darker things, like arguing over who should take out the trash.  We don’t get out of the car, we never do. Beryl passes me the thermos and I poor us both a tea. My plastic plate balances on the dash loaded with sandwiches and cherry tomatoes from the tupperware boxes she packed for our lunch. We eat and drink in…

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#ideaswap 2

 A little over a week ago I posted about #ideaswap, an idea I had for a twitter hashtag group. To quote myself: #ideaswap does exactly what it says on the tin, if indeed it had one. Writers take a look at their notebooks, digital files, post-its, old dictaphone tapes, whatever and find any ideas they have had that they really don’t see themselves using. Then they post a brief post on their blog and/or tweet offering the idea up to anyone out there who wants to run with it. Then the person taking the idea can have a crack at writing something, anything with the idea, giving them fuel for…

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#fridayflash – fiction on fast forward.

 This week I took part in #fridayflash, a cool idea from J.M.Strother: If you are unfamiliar with #fridayflash let me explain. It is a Twitter hash tag I started using and encourage other writers to use. The idea is to write and polish a piece of flash fiction of 1000 words or less (please, only finished pieces – no rough drafts), post the fiction on your blog, and then tweet the URL on Twitter. The idea is to use the power of crowd-sourcing, or word-of-mouth marketing, to build a following of loyal readers. If you are a writer use the #fridayflash hashtag to advertise your new fiction. If you are…

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[fiction] friday #109

 I’ve been a bit cheeky with my [fiction]friday piece this week in two ways; I’ve continued right from where last weeks [fiction]friday piece ended and my character’s jump is a metaphorical one. It’s short but sweet. I wonder if I can carry this on and write a complete first draft story over the next few weeks from the prompts given. She turned to face a woman police officer. ‘I’m sorry, what?’ ‘I was wondering if you knew this gentlemen.’ Carla thought for a moment, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped. ‘He’s my brother,’ she said. ‘What’s wrong with him?’ ‘Nothing. He’s narcoleptic.’ ‘He’s what?’ ‘It’s a medically…

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Reverse

 Marcus is irritated more than usual by his drive to work. Every few minutes someone reverses out from a driveway or side road and into his path, requiring him to slow-but-not-quite-stop his car to let them out. This happens a few times before he starts keeping count. He reaches the office with the number of cars backing into his path at double figures. Rounding the corner of the car park, he finds someone reversing from his reserved space, breaks hard and utters a string of expletives. By the time the lift deposits Marcus on his floor he is late for the morning’s scheduled conference call. He hurries down the thin…

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Writing Adventure Group: Results #15 / Instructions #16

 The theme for the Writing Adventure Group #15: Best Tool for the Job”. Describe a favourite tool in concrete terms, but also show how you (or whomever it belongs to) feel about using it, and how it leaves an individual or particular mark on the end product. The Writing Adventure Group is on Facebook. Join us there too, and get weekly reminders so you never miss an adventure. ————————– How to Join the Writing Adventure Group Nancy Parra Melanie Trevelyan Dan Powell Frances Wookey J Strother – Mad Utopia “WAG #16: True Love” People watching time! This time, go people watching and select a couple. Write about the “secret” part…

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FlashFiction40 – Voting Open!

 Voting has opened for the Flash Fiction 40 Contest presented by Editor Unleashed and Smashwords . You can read the competition entires and vote on the Editor Unleashed Forums. If you haven’t already you will need to register to see the Contest Forum. Voting will take place from June 15-June 26 (midnight EST on June 26) If you have registered, you can read my effort, by clicking here, and all ratings left will be gratefully received Best of luck to everyone else who has entered. From the voting rules: We’re using the star ranking system (examples: 1 = terrible, 5 = excellent) to rank stories. To rank a story after…

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[fiction] friday #108

 The piano accordian player slumped forward, his instrument wheezing in sympathy. This confused the crowd surrounding him. They stood in silence, unsure whether this was part of the act, an idosyncracy perhaps, that the accordianist used to end his performance. A little boy stepped forward, stretched out an arm ready to poke the dormant figure with a chubby finger but was stopped by his mother who pulled him back, remonstrating with her young son in hushed tones. The accordian player had slumped in such a way that the keyboard end of the concertina propped him under his chin. The hand holding the other end had slipped down to his side,…

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#ideaswap

 As you can see from the funky sidebar to your right I have recently got to grips with twitter. Having previously dismissed the microblogging site on the basis that no one could be that interested in what I am doing now, I am only now getting to grips with the ways a writer can use it to communicate and share all sorts of good stuff via the internets many pipes. My new favourite thing is the hashtag groups functionality. A superfast way to share links and ideas and anything else you can fit into 140 characters or less. Which brings me to, hopefully, my bright idea – #ideaswap. #ideaswap does…

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Fifteen that will always stick.

 Found this exercise via Tom J Vowler’s blog, How To Write A Novel. This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you.  Mine, in no particular order: Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson The Road – Cormac McCarthy Behold The Man – Michael Moorcock The World According To Garp – John Irving Dracula – Bram Stoker The Man In The High Castle – Phillip K Dick The White Family – Maggie Gee Saturday – Ian McEwan Will You Please Be Quiet Please – Raymond Carver Lullaby – Chuck Palahniuk Some Rain Must Fall – Michel…

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WAG #15: Best Tool For The Job

 The prompt: Thanks to Paige for the topic idea! Paige’s idea was to have the topic this week be about writing tools such as a keyboard or favourite pen, but I’d like to expand this to be any type of tool, whether it’s a gardening tool or a jackhammer or a toenail clipper. Describe a favourite tool in concrete terms, but also show how you (or whomever it belongs to) feel about using it, and how it leaves an individual or particular mark on the end product. My effort: There’s a precision about writing with a fountain pen, a precision I had forgotten until last September when my wife bought…

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Writer’s Grump.

 There’s a whole lot of focus on writer’s block. Right now though I seem to be suffering from the opposite. I have too much writing wanting to stretch out onto the page. Currently my notebooks have about eight short story ideas between them. Then there’s the constant nagging from a possible novel and a definite children’s fiction book aimed at 9 to early teens age group; plan is to write this book so that my eldest son will have something of mine to read in a few years time. And with that and a bubbling of other ideas I find myself hampered by Writer’s Grump. I have found in recent…

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WAG #14 Results and WAG #15 instructions

 WAG #14 Results The theme for the Writing Adventure Group #14: Do Overs”. Think of a time where you’d like to change what happened – whether it’s to get that witty retort in or to say something you never got the chance to say. Write how it should have been and compare it to the reality. The Writing Adventure Group is on Facebook. Join us there too, and get weekly reminders so you never miss an adventure. ————————– How to Join the Writing Adventure Group Nancy Parra Nixy Valentine Dan Powell Frances Wookey Paige Bruce J.M. Strother – Mad Utopia Peter Spalton Christine Kirchoff Brenda M Marsha Mickey Hoffman “WAG…

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The Last Guardian

 Some argue that videogames can’t be art. Most of those people haven’t played a videogame designed by Fumito Ueda. His last game, the utterly beautiful Shadow of the Colossus, was a deeply affecting emotional experience. The fusion of narrative and gameplay created something truly unique. Ueda, along with his talented develpoment team, was also responsible for Ico, a game that genuinely made you care for the AI NPC. Both these games are hailed as defining moments in videogames. I would argue that they are defining moments in the art of story-telling in interactive media. I cared more about Agro, the horse in Shadow of the Colossus, than I have about…

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