Weird Writing Prompt Happenings and the First Writing Tip of the Week - It's all happening here!!

 I've written, more than once, that I subscribe to two monthly writing magazines. I have succeeded in both getting letters published, and I have entered several competitions in them.

I look forward, each month, to when they arrive through the door at home. They are two slightly different publications, both doing the same thing, encouraging us to write and assist with all the 'technical' stuff while writing stories and poems.

Both magazines regularly have a couple of pages of writing prompts. These are brilliant ways of waking the writing muscle daily and can lead to something else, as did the one I tried on Tuesday. 

It was rather weird. As we approached where we were going, I spied someone on the roof of a bungalow. The man was removing roof tiles and stacking them up. Fair enough, but the Health and Safety Officer in me sparked my 'spider' senses. He wasn't wearing a safety harness and had no scaffolding or safety surround. If he slipped or fell, he would be in real trouble.

Getting back to the writing prompt, what do you think it was? Here is the prompt;

Create a scenario starting from the question: Why is that person on the roof?

Who is telling the story?

Why and how have they observed the person on a neighbouring rooftop?

What is going through the observer's mind?

What might happen?

Write a new piece of prose or poetry stemming from watching the person on the roof and wondering what they're doing.

After about an hour of writing, I came up with a story which I think that with a bit of editing and reworking, could be the next story for my entries to the Bath Flash Fiction awards,

I seek further writing prompts to stir the story writer in me. I am enjoying entering these competitions. You never know; I might win one someday! 

Tip of the week - always email your work to yourself. You'll have a copy saved, and it will prove your copyright.

Welcome to 2023 and some Flash Fiction News

 Most probably due to the Royal Mail Postal Strikes, my monthly writing magazines arrived on the same day. I was eager to see the results of the Flash Fiction short story competition in the Writers Forum I entered last month. I wasn't expecting to see that I had won as they would have been in touch beforehand.

Sadly, I wasn't placed or highly commended this time, not to worry. However, it was interesting to read the editor's comment. It was a 500-word story with a twist ending. The editor wrote on the results page,

'I was surprised to receive so many entries where the main character turns out to be an animal or dead. Such old chestnuts will always struggle to turn a judge's head. A few entries did manage to bring new life to the 'dead ending, but they didn't make it past the shortlist.'

I didn't realise that this is how the judges were thinking about these subjects. I want to feel that my story brought life to the 'dead ending'. It was one that I had used for the Ottery Literary Festival, where it was awarded highly commended. After further editing and a few changes, I entered it for this competition. I received favourable results when I took it to work for a couple of colleagues to read through, and it got the reactions I wanted when they got to the end and the 'twist'.

I will not be using it again for competition other than to submit it for the Ottery Writers anthology or save it for an anthology of my own. I'm now getting a collection of these short stories.

I have another flash fiction short story, this time only 300 words, ready for the Bath Flash Fiction Award to be submitted any day now.

Anyway, for your enjoyment, I will now post the story here. As a note, the details at the end are not accurate. They are close to being correct but far enough away so as not to be recognisable to anyone.

THE Sun shone brightly on Lion-sur-Mer. The late spring sunshine on the Normandy coast starkly contrasted with the dark and dank weather 78 years ago, on the morning of 6th June 1944. Today, on the beach once code-named Sword, a crowd gathered for a service to honour those who had bravely stormed ashore on that momentous morning. Several re-enactment volunteers joined returning heroes and their families. Dressed in the uniforms of the times, they conveyed the scenes and feelings of the battles past.

There is a brilliant blue sky, and it's already a hot day. Thankfully the service didn't last too long in deference to the ageing heroes and the heat. 

The assembled crowd enjoyed a cooling, refreshing drink before boarding an air-conditioned coach for the journey to the cemetery at Ranville. I decided to yomp towards Ranville just as the allied troops had in 1944.

The coach passed me. The boys didn't have the luxury of transport on that fateful day. The purring engine of the passing coach differed vastly from the loud explosions, gunshots and the rattle of tanks rumbling along this road 75 years ago.

In 1944 Brigadier Lord Lovat marched his 1st Special Service Brigade down this road with his Bag Piper to the fore. The bagpipes caused much mirth amongst the passing tankers who waved their support to the lines of troops marching, whose task it was to relieve the paratroopers dropped overnight at Pegasus Bridge.

I was close to the bridge, yomping ahead in the day's rising heat. There I could mingle with the re-enactment volunteers to pay my respects. After a break, I picked up my kit and continued towards the cemetery at Ranville.

 A loud bang had me diving into the roadside ditch to take cover, but I quickly realised it was the jeep belonging to the re-enactors backfiring. The roar of engine noise as a couple of Douglas DC3 Dakotas flew overhead, dropping their parachute passengers off over Pegasus Bridge. Although today was a hot sunlit day, you could almost smell the fear and death that permeated the area on 6th June 1944.

I neared Ranville; the coaches were offloading the families. I was puffing a bit when I finally arrived at the cemetery.

I went straight to the row where the lads we had lost that day laid to rest. A family joined me alongside the resting place of my colleagues.

"Here's Grandpa's grave. Hasn't it gone cold suddenly?" one of the women remarked.

I turned and tried to answer but knew I couldn't. I looked down at the headstone as the woman placed a small wreath.

I realised it was my headstone; it was me who they were remembering. They are my family.

Ford, Frederick Henry

PLY/X204848

No. 48 Commando

Royal Marines

Died Tuesday, 6th June 1944.

I'm in limbo; I've been here every year since 6th June 1944. I'm not at rest. I'm trapped.

Successes, no failures and getting busy once more

 

This week, a former Royal Marine colleague and fellow Blogger inspired me. I received an email from James Pilates with his latest blog, apologising that he hadn't blogged for nearly three years! He has been a very busy chap during that time, and at least my blog is only three months adrift!

These last three months have been a less productive time for my writing, but the tiny bit I have done has been at least successful. My Flash Fiction story 'Trapped' received Highly Commended in the Ottery Literary Festival, which was very pleasing.

During the festival, I attended a workshop, Introduction to Short Story Writing. Our lead was author Jenny Kane. Jenny passed on her knowledge wonderfully and was a true inspiration to us all. I've joined her mailing list for future online courses. In the meantime, I have been searching for more short story competitions.

Having found a few competitions, I have been fervently writing and editing a few more stories. I started one at the workshop, which has since turned into a rather good story with a twist. Having edited it over the last couple of evenings, I had a colleague at work have a read, and it went down quite well. I will leave it again for a few weeks before a final edit.

Another story that I am working on comes from the opening of my novel. When I first came up with this opening many years ago, I did wonder if it was a short story. I am doubtful at the moment. 

The question being is, it is a story or a scene from a bigger story. I want to get it to work in 300 words. Other than that, I might look at it working it up into a longer story of 1000 to 2000 words.

With all these stories potentially written, It got me thinking about what to do with them. If one were to win a competition, it would appear in a competition anthology; however, I have thought about compiling a collection of my own. It's a thought.

Writing work does come in fits and starts for me, and at the moment, I've again got a few things that will keep me busy for the rest of this month. I will keep updating this blog, and there is another project that I must briefly mention.

You may realise that this blog is on the Microsofts Blogger platform. With the greatest respect, Blogger has been an excellent platform for many years, but now it's time to move on to a newer platform. Blogger is proving to be rather difficult with formatting. I should be able to do much more on a unique platform. I've got my eye on one, so it is up to me to find the time to set it up.

There we are, then, the latest update. I have thought about posting my 'Trapped' short story. I must be careful as I might use it in another competition sometimes, and I would like it to be protected.

I'll blog again in a couple of weeks. I won't let it be three months this time!