gayles-blog

Friday Flash - After the Wake

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:10:31 +0100

This is a story I wrote back in 2009. It won second prize in the Flash500 March 2010 Quarter Flash Fiction Competition.

Len died on Thursday and I buried him on Tuesday. In the days between, I meant to cry but my tears, packed dense with sorrow, were stuck in their ducts. My time was eaten along with my biscuits, by visitors and relatives who came to sip tea from my best china and tut tut their sorries in hushed voices. Helen flew down from Sydney to bid her father farewell and then on Tuesday evening, departed along with everyone else when the cakes and stories ran out.

Afterwards I sit alone in the dark wondering what the use of me is. I have been daughter, wife, mother and carer. All of you, you were the markers upon which I measured my worth. You have cut me adrift and I float, borne along by a tide bound for unknown foreign shores.

In the morning, I make tea and toast, one serve. I collect the newspaper and lay it flat. Today I am the first to read it. I dwell on the ordered crispness of its new pages, the way they feel, the way they fall, the way they smell. I pause at the crossword, its random checkerboard beckoning pristine. I read the cartoon strips and decide for myself if they are funny.

The emptiness of mid-morning hunts me out of the house. At the bank, a very patient young man explains that I have to wait for a death certificate to finalise our affairs. He helps me open my own account and orders me an EFTPOS card.

When the card arrives in the mail, I stare at it for a long time, at my name stamped in sharp relief, a singular bold statement. I close my eyes and run my finger over it, savouring the feel of it, this beautiful EFTPOS Braille. For two days following, I watch eagerly for the postman from behind lace curtains, anticipating the arrival of my Personal Identification Number.

At the supermarket I buy what I want, I don’t check my cash first, I don’t keep a tally as I go. A charming young lady at the checkout shows me how to use the card and enrolls me in their loyalty program. My trolley in tow, I go to the food court and sit joyfully sipping a cup of tea I haven’t made myself.

Sometimes in the evenings, I watch movies I’ve seen before just because I liked them so much the first time. Sometimes I knit or read with the room lights up high and go to bed when I’m tired no matter how early or late.

One afternoon I go into a gift shop and spend over an hour admiring the delicate treasures for sale. With my EFTPOS card I buy a little statuette, a beautiful cream skinned young girl in an elegant flowing gown. I name her Cinderella.

At home, I place Cinderella on the mantle at the end of a line of photos. My parents, Len, Helen, Cinderella. Daughter. Wife. Mother. Me.

To find out more aabout Friday Flash visit: http://fridayflash.org/press/about-fridayflash/

Friday Flash - Jim the Invincible

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:26:53 +0100

“Sludge, are ya coming?” Jim threw his school bag towards the front verandah and into his mother’s rose bushes. “Sludge,” he yelled as he raced past the shed, “ya coming?”

Jim’s brother emerged from the chook yard and fell in behind him.

“Where we going Jim?”

“Out past the back paddock to check me rabbit trap.” It was his father’s new ‘friendly’ rabbit trap but Jim wasn’t one to dwell on the finer points of ownership.

“What if there’s a rabbit in it?”

“Then I’ll get it out, stupid.” He rolled his eyes skyward, a gesture lost on his brother who was two years younger and still hadn’t managed to catch up.

“How ya gunna get it out without it getting away?”

“Jeez Sludge, I’m just gunna reach in and pull it out.” Jim slowed slightly to squeeze between the fence wires at the front paddock and almost let Sludge catch up before racing off again.

“How ya gunna pull it out without it kickin ya?”

“I’ll just grab it by its back feet and yank it straight up in the air. It can’t kick ya when ya got its back feet.”

“What if it’s facing the trap door Jim? It might scratch ya. It might come flying out when ya open the door, and jump up at yer face and scratch yer eye out.”

“It’s not gunna scratch me eye out. I am Jim ... the Invincible!”

“What if it bites ya Jim? What if it sinks its teeth right through yer finger from one side to the other?”

“Jim the Invincible has fingers of steel.”

“What if it’s got myxo and ya get poxy germs all over ya, and ya get sick and ya die in hospital of rabbit disease?”

“Jim the Invincible is immune to germs.”

“Hey Jim, what ya gunna do with it?”

“I’m gunna whack it with a lump of wood and see if it screams.”

Sludge felt his sweat turn frigid. “I’m pretty sure rabbits don’t make noise Jim so there’s no point whacking it.”

“Then I’m gunna swing it against a tree and see if it gets knocked out.”

Sludge slowed his pace for a second. “What’s the point of catching it if yer just gunna kill it Jim?”

“I’m not gunna kill it, I just wanna have some fun. Maybe I’ll poke one of its eyes out.”

“If Dad finds out you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Jim the Invincible laughs at trouble.”

“Yer not supposed to torture animals, Jim.”

“Maybe I’ll pull its claws out.”

Sludge could feel his heart pounding against the wall of his chest. “It could tear yer hands to pieces with its claws Jim.”

“Jim the Invincible is not afraid of rabbit claaaaarrrrrgh!” Jim crashed to the ground, his foot wedged in a rabbit hole. His scream was more animal than human.

Sludge tasted vomit in his mouth. “There’s bone sticking out of yer leg Jim!”

To find out more about Friday Flash visit: http://fridayflash.org/press/about-fridayflash/fridayflash/

Friday Flash - An Unfortunate Circumstance

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:08:08 +0100

I never get sick, never leave work in the middle of the day, at least I never have before. Today nausea peaks and ebbs with the sway of the car, over speed-humps, around corners. An ache throbs beneath my right eye, like a bass drum, ominous as a death march. I must have been sick as a child but I don’t remember it and I am frightened now. I wish Joel was here, I want to call him to meet me at home, to look after me, but I don’t. He works so many extra hours, so many evenings; I know he can’t afford the time.

The rude bark of a car horn and a glimpse of metal too close jars my consciousness. I’ve crossed lanes. I didn’t mean to. I overcorrect. My car heaves to the roadside, slides in the gravel and I swallow bile as I pull it back. My sweat oiled hands glide on the wheel. I wish Joel was here, to take over, to drive me safely home, while I shield aching eyes from sunlight’s assault.

Home is a lonely relief. I leave the car in the drive; Joel will put it away later. A sweetly fragrant scent wraps around me as I step inside, one I’ve smelt before and cannot place. I don’t think about it now. I want to lie in my bed, wait to be well, but that space is filled, by a sweetly fragrant woman and Joel.

I wish he wasn’t here.
Find out more about Friday Flash here: http://fridayflash.org/press/about-fridayflash/

Bite Size Writer's Resolutions

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:32:40 +0100

New Year is a time for making resolutions and all too often, for breaking them. And why - because we set goals but forget to make the plans to achieve them. Writers the world over will be resolving to write more, to pursue publication, to develop their craft and career only to find the stuff of life gets in their way. It doesn’t have to be so. Here are some bite sized tasks to get you started.

ü Dust off the stories you’ve already written, those that have neither been published, nor placed in competitions, and submit them.

§ What magazines or anthologies might they be suitable for? This can be researched at www.duotrope.com.

§ Or perhaps submit them to a competition. Download a list from the Competitions page of this website.There are nearly 100 to choose from.

§ Send your manuscript to a suitable agent, and another and another for as long and as many as it takes.

ü Have some of your stories professionally critiqued. A number of competitions such as http://www.writers-forum.com/storycomp.html provide this for a small additional fee, or if funds permit you might hire a professional such as http://debzhobbs-wyatt.co.uk/CritiquingService.aspx .

ü Find your local writer’s group and join.

ü Read the stories in your local newspaper and use them as the basis for a story plot. Note these rough outlines for future reference.

ü Write anything, a story, a blog, a letter to a friend, a poem, a play, something silly, or something serious.

ü If you don’t write today, do not allow yourself to be burdened by regret, write tomorrow instead.

What are writing resolutions this New Year?

Do you have some writing tips to share with others?

How Long is A Novel?

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:51:32 +0100

How long is a novel and at what length does it become a marketable proposition? There are varying opinions about this with some suggesting word counts are decreasing in line with society’s move to a lifestyle focused on instant gratification.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) targets 50,000 words but in his book, No Plot No Problem, founder Chris Baty notes this is a short novel.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is open to books of 50,000 to 150,000 words.

The Clive Cussler Society, for its 2012 Adventure Writers Competition will consider novels of 50,000 to 130,000 words.

In Australia, the CAL/Scribe Fiction Prize considers novels of 40,000 words or more.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for its annual Nebula Award considers a novel to be of 40,000 words or more.

No doubt, the answer to the question how long is a novel, will be different than the answer to how long is a marketable novel. I have heard 80,000 to 100,000 being touted as the ‘correct’ length for a marketable novel - 80,000 to give people a sense of value for money and 100,000 because beyond this the cost of production would require a higher price than the reading public is prepared to pay.

Regardless of the word count, a novel is fictional prose in a narrative style that tells a story in a sequential way. Surely, it is the telling of the story rather than the length of it that is of greatest importance.

What do you think is a minimum length for a marketable novel? What do you think best defines a novel?

'Expected' - An Interview with the Author, Sarah England.

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:24:51 +0100

Today it’s my honour to speak to Sarah England, author of Expected which has been released as a Kindle ebook. Expected which Sarah describes as bad girl’s anti-chicklit is a tale about a working class girl, Samantha Sweet, trapped with the wrong man, Simon. A voluptuous redhead, Samantha has little self-belief and seems to be stirring up a whole lot of trouble. Then she meets Joel, every girl's fantasy; he is a cowboy from the Southern States. Will Samantha make her mother happy and marry Simon or is Joel part of her future.

Sarah England is a freelance writer based in Dorset, in the UK. To date she has around 100 short stories published predominantly in women's fiction magazines such as Woman's Weekly, My Weekly, Take a Break, Yours, and That’s Life Fast Fiction and in newspapers including The Weekly News, The Sunday Post and The Sunday Telegraph. Sarah also has stories in four anthologies published by Bridge House Publishing.

Sarah, what inspired you to write Expected?

I have long thought our lives are largely dictated to us by the expectations of others. Particularly for women who are expected to marry and have children – eventually. When I was hitting my late twenties I felt pressured and married the wrong person. I quickly realised what a terrible mistake I had made and that I was expected to have his children. I was a career woman with a man I didn’t love or even like very much. I had married to make others happy and to fulfil their expectations rather than my own needs and dreams. To have children would have tied me to him forever and I started to panic. It was difficult to extract myself from that situation and it caused a great deal of upset all round. How much better to have stood up for myself in the first place. I’ve also had a stormy career journey, mostly working in sales and marketing for global companies. So lots of life material meant the book was forming for a long time.

How long did it take you to write Expected and what did you enjoy the most about it?

It took a long time because the initial draft was not well written as I was a complete novice. I started writing short stories after I wrote the novel, then once I became published and a much better writer, I went back to the book and was appalled at how awful it was. I re-wrote it about 4 times before I was happy to publish it, and that was after it was critiqued and I had received a wonderfully positive letter from a leading literary agent. There was a lot I enjoyed about writing it - particularly the cathartic exercise of demonising Simon. I love writing comedy and satire - so I can say hand on heart that I really enjoyed writing Expected from start to finish.

Did you plan Expected before you started writing? Are you a planner or a pantser?

I roughly planned out how the story would be told but really my 'pen' flew, and I had to edit, edit, edit afterwards. I write from the heart and soul and am not a particularly good planner/plot organiser. My characters take a hold and I'm in their heads – reacting.

What do you like most about being a published author?
To be honest I write to be read, and the more people who read and more particularly are entertained by, what I write the better. I don't write for my own entertainment - although I feel compelled to write - but to put some joy into the world, some smiles, something nice. If that's recognised then I'm pleased for a job well.

You’ve written many short stories, do you have a favourite genre and why?
Yes I've written loads and had over a hundred published in various magazines and newspapers and anthologies around the world. My favourite genre is comedy/satire, the reason being that hopefully I have made someone, somewhere, smile.

What is your writing routine?

An idea will come into my head at the most inconvenient time - like the middle of the night or just as I'm waking up or out walking the dog - then I will jot it down and allow the whole story to take seed. Writing the story up will be quick and frantic. I'll then go over it in a more methodical way and edit, edit, edit - then decide who will like it best and send it to them. Recently I have been writing almost exclusively for Woman's Weekly as I've had several family dramas come to mind. There is no particular time of day or routine - but the actual writing and editing process is usually morning when I'm at my most awake.

How long have you been writing and what started your interest in it?

I was good at creative writing and English at school but never considered being a writer. I fancied being in publishing but it wasn't to be and I found myself pushed into nursing. Like most other people I had to earn a living to pay the bills and soon I was working in pharmaceutical companies. I didn't have the time or the circumstances to consider writing until my husband (2nd one and we've been happily married nearly 20 years) was relocated to the South of England and we bought a house in the middle of nowhere - lovely and quiet. I've had to forget about earning money and buying things, and just write and write and write until one day someone bought a story. Since then I haven't looked back. I've been writing seriously for about 6 years. What started my interest? I can only say I felt compelled. Driven. Needed to do it.

What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on a serial for Woman's Weekly. It will be my first as the editor asked me to have a try just a few days ago. I want it to be very special so I don't let myself or her down.

What advice do you have for other writers wanting to be published?
First of all I would have to say it needs to be something you want to do very badly because it sure ain't easy! You've got to work hard at getting good - read other people's work, accept all the constructive critiques that come your way, take the rejections on the chin and keep getting back up and trying again. Believe in yourself and have masses of tenacity.

The Kindle edition of Expected is available from Amazon http://amzn.to/orgYUS

Sarah’s website and blog are at http://sarahengland.yolasite.com/

Or find her on Facebook http://on.fb.me/q32kIU

Or Twitter @SarahEngland16

Is E-Publishing the Future for Short Stories?

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:29:25 +0100

We hear it all the time - banter about the death of the short story, tales about how hard it is to sell short story anthologies. But might it be truer, in this modern world full of time pressures and expectations of instant gratification, to prophesize a revival of the short story.

Short stories and flash fiction allow readers to enjoy a whole story in a short period of time. If these stories were readily and economically available for reading during a tea break or a lunch break, on the train or the tram, or in the waiting room, would readership increase? At least one publisher thinks so and is taking advantage of technology to offer the stories through apps for smart phones and other mobile devices.

Ether Books is making short stories and flash fiction available through a free to download app for iPhone, iPad and iPodtouch. Ether delivers short fiction, articles, poetry and serials from both bestselling and emerging contemporary writers direct to mobile phones for less than the cost of a block of chocolate.

Ether believes readers will bypass electronic readers like Kindle, Nook and Sony E-reader in favour of reading bite-size stories on mobile devices they already own.

For more information go to Ether Books: http://www.etherbooks.com/

To download the free app: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id362070951?mt=8

My personal thanks go to Ether for accepting my short stories ‘Cry of the Plover’ and ‘Espresso’ for publication on the app.

Do you think this kind of app will lead to a resurgence of interest in the short story? We’s love to hear your views.

Are you an Ether author or have you downloaded any Ether stories?

Are You A WriMo Too? NaNoWriMo, What’s In It For You.

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:20:30 +0100

For those of you who aren’t WriMos – a brief explanation. A WriMo is a participant in NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, an international challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month, run in November.

50,000 words in one month, it sounds daunting. 1,667 words each and every day and all this on top of work and family commitments. If you think this means that for one month you’d have to become a social hermit and abandon any thought of getting to bed before midnight you would be right. It is demanding, it is tiring, it is torturous and there’s no prize or promise of publication. So why did over 200,000 people around the world participate in 2010?

This is why becoming a WriMo is worth the journey.

· It’s a motivator. You get a target - 50,000 words, a deadline - 30^th November, pep talks via email, graphs to chart your progress, writing buddies and forums to spur you along.

· You can meet and chat with likeminded people through the many forums or in person through local NaNoWriMo write-ins.

· It doesn’t require perfect writing and discourages editing prior to finishing the first draft; NaNoWriMo is about unlocking the creative you.

· Participation costs nothing and you can write anywhere.

If you’ve been dreaming of giving that novel a go, here’s an opportunity to get on with it, to turn dreams into reality. Find out more at the NaNoWriMo website http://www.nanowrimo.org/

If you’re not sure how to start, here’s a list of references I found to be helpful:

· No Plot No Problem by NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty.

· Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.

· Write Away by Elizabeth George

· Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell

Last year I participated for the first time. I did reach the 50,000 word target and complete the first draft of a novel. Prior to NaNoWriMo I would not have thought it possible. In the year since, I have edited the novel twice and paid for a professional assessment. To my delight, despite having much work to do yet, it isn’t rubbish.

Are you a Wrimo? Share your NaNoWriMo experiences here.

Critiques, are they Worth the Price?

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:31:19 +0100

This week I sent my first novel for a professional critique, a costly venture and Deborah Rickard, a writer from Bristol, http://deborahrickard.wordpress.com/, has asked if professional critiques are worth the cost.The short answer is yes. I retain my critique reports as a valuable reference library.

Although I will not have my novel critique for four to six weeks I have, in the past, purchased professional critiques on some of my short stories. The reports were detailed and helpful; all of them led to revisions and to success. All of them provided tools for becoming a better writer.

Critiques by the Victorian Writers’ Centre (in Australia)

http://vwc.org.au/services/manuscript-assessment-services

Commentary was offered on plot, language and style, pace, voice, character names, manuscript presentation, story length, synopsis, and readership and marketing possibilities.

'The Garramoda’, a short story of 2,300 words, is a fantasy piece and one of the character names I had chosen, was jarring the reader. I select names with care now and always read my stories aloud. I had been guilty of telling rather than showing. The assessor made suggestions on how to improve this and following revisions ‘The Garramoda’ was shortlisted for the Writers’ Village Best Writing 2009 Award.

'Cry of The Plover’, a short story of 2,100 words, is a dramatic, emotionally charged piece and the motif I had chosen, the plover, had been repeated throughout the story, losing some of the weight it deserved. In other attempts to create dramatic imagery I had unwittingly become repetitive, expressing the same idea in different ways. Much was also noted regarding the plot.

I learned to be sparing with story motifs, to be on guard for repetition and to show the reader rather than tell them. ‘Cry of the Plover’ was revised and was shortlisted for the Writers’ Village Best Writing 2009 Award. It has subsequently been published by Ether Books on the Ether App for iPhone.

Critique by Alison Laurent of Write Voice

‘Get Teddy’ is a dramatic, contemporary short story of 2,000 words. Alison’s critique covered all the topics the VWC covered in the two examples above but gave more detailed guidance on how to revise the story. Alison also commented on what she liked about it. Her view was balanced and informative. The revised ‘Get Teddy’ was First Prize Winner in the Eastwood/Hills Literary Awards 2011 – Short Story Section.

Critiques with Competition Entries

Some writing competitions offer critiques for only a small cost additional to the entry fee, or in rare cases for no additional cost at all. I recommend writers take advantage of these. Some are more detailed than others but all add to the writer’s skills and to a better understanding of how readers perceive our work. A few of these affordable critiques are listed below but this is by no means an exhaustive list.

WOW! Women on Writing
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com
WOW! Run a quarterly flash fiction competition. Currently $10US in addition to the entry fee of $10US with purchase a critique of your story, issued after the judging of the competition.

The Stringy Bark Awards

http://www.stringybarkstories.net
The Stringy Bark Awards run a number of competitions throughout the year and currently offer feedback for $10AU additional to the entry fee.

Writer’s Village

http://www.writers-village.org
Writer’s Village currently offers a free critique for every entry to its writing competition.

What's your experience with critiques?

Twenty Writing Prompts. Escaping Writer’s Block

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:33:13 +0100

We’ve all had it, the dreaded writers block. Minutes or even hours staring at a blank page, the struggle to stay focussed, plagued by diversions; the internet, twitter, facebook, an overwhelming need to read every word of someone else’s blog. What to do about it – write! Write anything. It doesn’t have to be a story, write a diary entry, a recipe, describe the room you’re sitting in, describe your significant other, your child, your parent, pretend you’ve won the lottery and write your shopping list. No good you say, your muse is still hiding, lost in the dust behind the couch, in the pantry with the treats, under the bed next to your slippers. No? Perhaps we can coax it out with one of these twenty writing prompts.

1. It was difficult for Lidia to shut the curtains without being seen.

2. Melinda Morris was killed. She was either killed by her husband or she killed herself. There are no other alternatives.

3. She was beautiful in a way that made him want to stare forever.

4. The concrete spewed from the pump and the men moved as one, pushing the mixture to and fro until it slopped and settled. Their muscles pulsed in time with their unified but rather unfortunate rendition of Folsom Prison Blues.

5. Helen might have lived her whole life without seeing a dead body had she not gone to the Harrison’s house that day and had she not, on seeing the door slightly ajar, pushed it and ventured in.

6. The ward was quiet but for the constant pip-pip-pipping of the monitor beside Stavros’ bed.

7. Mrs. Blue-Leather wanted those shoes. Slim court shoes, with elegant slender heels.

8. Jordan scrunched the magazine in his fist and left the room. He wondered if she would notice he had gone.

9. It was in the third phase of the Galagon Moon, in the blackout hours, when only the guardians and the mentally crazed roam the streets; the night we didn’t snib the door.

10. I hadn’t expected them to play rock and roll at his funeral.

11. We found it while we were hunting for Easter eggs.

12. I only fart once a day except on Wednesdays when I fart three times.

13. Helen Sanderson was near to fainting. Brian would have gone to her aid had his own legs not turned to jelly.

14. I stand and stare at the closed door, this is forbidden territory.

15. Janelle breezed into the room. As she walked around the bed, her skirt, hanging from perfectly proportioned hips, swirled around her long, slim legs.

16. I picture Marty playing cricket after school, on a vacant block not far from home.

17. Peter Little was by no means an endangered species; a sad misfortune for a world far too heavily populated with such malcontents as he.

18. She wrings her hands, stiff from the cold. The car keys she forgot she was holding cut uncomfortably into her palm.

19. “Don’t open that bag; there’s nothing in there.”

20. There was a shame brewing within, bubbling menacingly from the core of her.

Would you like to share some writing prompts of your own?