The Notebook

Please find The Notebook below, my entry to FLASH MOB 2013. This is a blog competition celebrating International Flash Fiction Day on 22 June. To join the carnival all you have to do is post a previously unpublished piece of flash fiction (300 words or fewer, not including title) to your own blog before the 10 June. Not long to go, so you’d better get cracking! Find more details here.

           The Notebook

            ‘You’ll have another one?’ Paul drained his pint glass and nodded towards Jane’s tumbler containing only water from the melted ice. ‘One more G and T won’t do you any harm.’

            ‘I guess not,’ she said.

            While he was at the bar, Jane took the pad from her handbag and made a note of jobs for the weekend: woollen wash, change sheets, dismantle wardrobe, take to dump.

            ‘What’s that you’re doing?’ He ground the base of her glass against the table and leaned over, trying to read the words.

            ‘It’s to stop me forgetting the one or two things I need to do.’

            ‘You and your lists.’

            ‘Indeed,’ Jane closed the cover.

            Paul weaved his fingers through his fringe and Jane’s spine contracted with a stab of irritation. He’d always worn that ring on his right hand, as if he never was sure about being married. A shaft of light through the stained glass made a kaleidoscope of colours on the carpet, a torch through the fug.

            ‘Of course, if you really had your priorities right, my name would be at the top of your list,’ said Paul.‘That would show you believe in me.’

            ‘I do Paul,’ sighed Jane. ‘You’ll get a job soon enough.’

            ‘I worked 20 years for that firm and what do I get for my loyalty?’

            ‘They made the whole department redundant. It’s not as if they were picking on you.’

            ‘Less of the lecture, Jane.’

            By ten o’clock Paul’s shoulders were hunched and he jabbed Jane’s notebook. ‘Come on then. Put me at the top of the list.’

            Jane took the ballpoint and scrawled across the page: I be-leave-in you, Paul.

            She passed the paper over and he squinted, trying to decipher her writing.

            ‘That’ll do,’ he said.

Things are looking brighter…

I received an email this week confirming that I’ve been accepted onto the Masters in Creative Writing at the University of South Wales. This is a part-time, distance learning, research degree which includes a creative writing project. Although my proposal still has to be passed by the Research Panel, I’m cracking on with ideas for the novel that will accompany the research. I’ll be investigating the child’s voice in adult fiction and putting together a manuscript written from a child’s viewpoint about the abduction of a sibling. I have to say a massive thank you to Carol McGrath who has offered considerable advice and support that has kept me focused and positive throughout the application process.

I am really excited about returning to study. The university only accepts eight students onto the course each year so I am fortunate to be one of them. Previous students include Emma Darwin (click here for Emma’s blog which is well worth a read) and Maria McCann.

Other good news is that I was successful in getting through the interview with an educational charity which will offer me the chance to work with schools on a part-time basis during 2013-14. I’m also building up my contacts with schools to deliver consultancy work and I’ve had some interest in a project that I wish to seek funding from the Arts Council to deliver.  All this activity means I’ve been incredibly busy and writing has taken something of a backseat. Now that I have a little free time, I will work on a piece of flash fiction to submit to the Bridport prize at the end of the month.  Other opportunities you might like to consider include:

• Dorset Flash Fiction Competition
• Upton Story Slam

What keeps you busy at the minute?

NEW Dorset Flash Fiction Competition

The Dorset Writers’ Network is running a flash fiction competition to raise funds to support the valuable work they offer in helping isolated writers throughout the county. The first three winners will receive a book or writing related prize.  The best stories will be recorded as a podcast and put on the website. I have been asked to judge the competition, so I’m absolutely thrilled. You can find further details below:

Flash Fiction Competition

New competition from Dorset Writers’ Network, write a story in 300 words. You must include the words: hesitant, string, relative, hand. You can use the words anywhere in the story or in the title. Please make sure that the words make sense in the context of the story. In order to do this, you may wish to add letters to the words, but you can’t take away any of the letters. For example, you can change relative to relatively but not to relation because the ‘v’ and the ‘e’ are missing from the original word. You can check that you’ve included all the words correctly before submission by using the ‘find’ facility. Gail Aldwin will judge the shortlisted entries.

• Email or post your entry (Sue Ashby, Corner Cottage, Bridge Street, Dorset SP8 5BA; sue@dorsetwritersnetwork.co.uk). Include your name and contact details (address, telephone, email) – but not on your entry. Entries are judged anonymously, so your name and details must be on a separate document.
• There’s a charge of £5 for entry and you must live or work in Dorset. Make cheques out to Dorset Writers’ Network.
• You can make more than one entry (£8 for 2 stories, £10 for 3) – there is no limit.
• A winner and two runners up will be selected.
• Your work must not have been previously published on-line or in print.
• The entry must be written by you.
• Copyright remains with the writer.
• Maximum length is 300 words.
• The title is in addition to the 300 words.
• Your story must not have won or been placed in another competition.
• Deadline for entries is Friday May 31st 2013. The results will be announced on the DWN website  where the winners will be published.

If you’re a Dorset-based writer, will you have a go at entering this competition?

A visit to Winstone Books of Sherborne

Winstone’s is situated at 8 Cheap Street, towards the top of the town in Sherborne.  The shop is double fronted and light streams into the space that contains a huge range of books. As well as shelves along the walls, there are central displays and stands for book-themed gift cards.  A quarter of the floor space is dedicated to children’s books and the owner, Wayne Winstone has worked hard to establish links with schools to promote reading as an important life experience for children of all ages.

The children’s area is inviting with a couch, a rocking horse and a standard lamp to entice families to stay and browse.  Children are invited to review books and as part of the Sherborne Literary Festival, a short story competition for children was held.

Wayne has been successful in attracting authors to deliver talks and book signings at the shop and recent events included a book launch by Sarah Challis.

Wimborne Literary Festival, 1-3 November 2012

Earlier in the year I paid a visit to Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne and you can read about my experience here.  I’m delighted to again be writing about Gullivers but this time in relation to the Wimborne Literary Festival which the book shop is hosting for the second year.  The on-line programme has just been published and there’s a wide range of workshops for adults and children. Click here for the link to the site.

I’m pleased to see Dorset’s writing talent on the programme, including a workshop to be delivered by Sarah Steele who runs the Wimborne Writing Group. This will be a treat for anyone interested in poetry.  Sarah is an experienced tutor who runs the Wimborne Writing Group which meets once a month on a Wednesday in the Community Learning and Resource Centre. Members are experienced and talented writers who enjoy tasks and activities set by Sarah to develop writing skills.  The collaborative support offered by group members is something I definitely miss now that I am temporarily  unable to attend the sessions due to work commitments.  You can read more about Sarah here.

Mere Literary Festival and flash fiction competition

I was pleased to learn about the Mere Literary Festival and I can now share with you details of their flash fiction competition. You’re asked to write up to 350 words which must include a given phrase which will be announced on the website on 27 September. There is a category for the under 16s which is free but all other entries are charged at £2 with £1 for additional entries.  Please send your story through the post which must be received by 5 October.  Prizes are £50, £25 and £10. For further details, click here for the MFL website.

My blog now has over 100 blog followers and I when I started out on 30 November 2011, I promised myself that I’d run a small competition to celebrate if I ever reached the 100 mark. I’m delighted and honoured to have so many people interested in reading my posts. Thank you.  My only concern is whether there are enough people interested in entering a competition.  I have a prize in mind, a copy of ‘Reading Like A Writer’ and you can read a review of the book by Louise Doughty here. If I get more than 10 comments expressing an interest in entering, I’ll get cracking with deciding on the format and drawing up the rules of entry.  Have a think about it and let me know.

This is the cover of the first edition but you can win  a new paperback copy.

(Image used under fair use rationale).

What the Dickens? magazine – going for a print edition

If you haven’t had a chance to read the brilliant bi-monthly What the Dickens? magazine that celebrates creativity in the visual arts and writing, now’s the time to take a look here. There are all sorts of articles of interest including author interviews, book and film reviews, competitions, creative writing and poetry and a fantastic range of visual stimulation.  On top of all that, I offer a column titled ‘Help! The dog at my manuscript!’ which answers writers’ questions.

The editor, Victoria Bantock is aiming to get the seventh edition of the magazine published in print as well as on-line.  This provides a unique opportunity for a double dose of submissions to be received by 15 September.  What the Dickens? magazine invites submissions with the theme of Pumpkin for the October issue and Journey for the December issue. Please get busy with your ideas, be creative and enter your work by the deadline.  Full details for submission can be found here.

Heading for Edinburgh, a holiday hit

Ann Hathaway’s Cottage, Stratford

The destination for our family holiday was Edinburgh. We stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon so that we could use the hotel reservation and theatre tickets cancelled earlier in the year due to exam revision pressure. (I’m pleased to say that my daughter got two As and a B in her A levels and will be going to study history and American studies at Nottingham University). We saw Troilus and Cressida at the Swan which I enjoyed but my husband thought it pretentious and my son wanted to slit his throat rather than go back in after the interval. The interpretation was baffling with the Trojans represented as North American Indians and the Greeks as desert soldiers and there was a transvestite for the fool. In addition, there were TV screens around the stage showing footage of Inuit cultural traditions interspersed with Hollywood movies. Now that was a little confusing, particularly when the actors watched the screens and replicated the actions. Overall the family gave it the thumbs down, as did The Guardian, and  you can read review here.

Beatrix Potter’s Cottage

We stopped for a few days in Cumbria with our friends the Huggetts and managed to visit the lakes, Beatrix Potter’s home and spent a day at the seaside. The weather was wonderful and the company great. Our first night in Scotland was in Glasgow and we had breakfast in the Willow Tea Rooms which boasts an interior designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and serves a splendid Scottish breakfast. Following a visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (there’s a fascinating and brave section on Glasgow life) we drove to Edinburgh where we stayed in a Stockbridge flat for the rest of our holiday. 

A splendid story slam in Shaftesbury

I wrote an earlier post promoting the story slam in Shaftesbury here and I’m now delighted to share with you details of this great event.  Organised by  Jennifer Oliver and Jennifer Bell who run Storyslingers a creative writing group held at the Shaftesbury Arts Centre, the story slam offered the chance for writers to read their work to an audience and gain feedback.  Five writers put their names forward for the competitive element of the evening, and five others took the microphone to showcase their work.

The judging panel comprised Allie Spencer author of romantic comedy novels including Summer Loving and Summer Nights and myself (recently awarded first prize in the Winchester Writers’ Conference ‘Slim Volume, Small Edition’ competition).

Allie Spencer (left) and Gail Aldwin (right)

I was thrilled to be invited to judge the event and I’d love to see more story slams taking place across the county. Allie was a great person to deliberate with in finding the winner and runner-up, particularly as the standard of all the stories was very high. We finally agreed that James Broomfield’s story should win due to its extraordinary content (about a man trying to find his brotherhood in North Devon by experimenting with smoking beard trimmings).  Technically the writing was superb with a strong and unique voice.  Runner up came Andy Hamilton’s ‘Stage Fright’ a classic ugly duckling scenario told in a fresh way.

Story Slam in Shaftesbury, North Dorset

In the tradition of a poetry slam, where poetry is recited, a story slam encourages prose writers to take the stage and read their work.  Events are informal and fun, with feedback from judges and applause from the audience.  The idea is to enjoy sharing stories from a range of genres with a wider audience and prizes are awarded.  In July, Storyslingers in Shaftesbury are holding their first story slam event and would be very pleased to have you join them.