Category: writing
Finally a decision
I’ve been sitting on my story Miss Havisham’s Ghost for over two (or even three) months, unable to go anywhere with it, so I decided the best thing to do was to give up. Not give up on writing the story but on trying to combine the two stories into one. I have done this – bring in something autobiographical – before in a … Read More Finally a decision
Short novel or long short story – that is the question
About a year ago I wrote the first chapter of a novel for an assignment. It was called Miss Havisham’s Ghost and was loosely based on my own childhood but was intended to be a work of fiction. To be honest it didn’t get that good a mark so I shelved it. Then a couple of months ago (or more) I started writing a ghost story. The … Read More Short novel or long short story – that is the question
Stage of Fools and other stories
‘Stage of Fools’ is a quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear. However, I used it as the title of a short story in which a theatre director decides to stage a production of The Medea, a Greek tragedy by Euripedes. Peter, the director, is a pretentious fool with ideas well above his station and talent. In the meanime his marriage to his French wife, Justine, … Read More Stage of Fools and other stories
The sweet smell of lilies reminds me…
Ok that sounds like an observation. It’s actually another excerpt from An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short stories. This one is called The Sweet Smell of Lilies. So here goes… Lilies remind me of funerals. Not a very original observation, I hear you thinking. Why not roses or gardenias or boring old Sweet Williams or those plants that everyone loves the smell … Read More The sweet smell of lilies reminds me…
You live and learn
What a total ….. up my first effort at self-publishing turned out to be. Probem is that I am used to proof reading on paper so it is only when I received my ‘test’ hard copy this morning that I spotted all the mistakes! Firstly – no table of contents. Secondly – no page numbering (don’t know why but I thought this would just … Read More You live and learn
I’m so excited!
Yes I am still going on about my new book which I just self-published on Lulu.com. I can’t wait to get my copies and see what it looks like. I’m so excited! Have a look at An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short stories Here is yet another extract. This is from a story called The Indulgence: ‘How long have you been dead?’ … Read More I’m so excited!
An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other stories again
Yesterday I self published this as an A4 paperback. That of course is not the right size for a book, more like a magazine! So today I republished in A5 size but it works out far more expensive per copy as it’s 92 pages. Have a look at An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short stories Here is another extract. This time it’s … Read More An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other stories again
An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short stories
Well, I finally have my degree after seven years so I thought I would stop being a student and actually publish something. I did this on Lulu.com (self publishing I know but you have to start somewhere and I wanted to see my stories in proper print). I therefore uploaded six short stories under the title An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short … Read More An Irrational Fear of Dogs and other short stories
Haiku
First of the month. White rabbits and all that stuff. Beginning of a new era. I get my result on Friday. Time for a quick Haiku. Once This is no rehearsal Life is only once and then The chance has slipped away
+ literature, poetry, writing
Epitaph
Of all the poems I have written, this is not my favourite. I am still not sure about it, but I want to publish the best and the worst. The theme is religious because I have always had an interest in religion. It wasn’t intended that way but sometimes you are driven subconsciously by your background and your childhood. Epitaph This was my son … Read More Epitaph
Feeling guilty
I swore I’d never let this blog get out of date and now it’s been four weeks since I last posted. I haven’t written anything new (other than two short stories too long to put on here and half a sestina) which means that technically I have nothing to post. So what else can I do apart from write a little Haiku. (Not sure … Read More Feeling guilty
If I were a king
Just like I rarely write funny poetry, I almost never write poems for children. However, I wrote this one many years ago and thought I would share it at long last. It was inspired by a book called ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’ by Robert Louis Stevenson which I won as a school prize when I was about seven (could have been a poetry … Read More If I were a king
Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit 