Flying high
I’ve just received the news that my story ‘The Last of the Shower’ placed first in the 2011 HISSAC (Highlands and Islands Short Story Competition)!!!
Whoohoo!!!
I’m really so thrilled about this- and it means I’ll be able to buy a new laptop !!
Yippidyzippidydodah!
'The Last of the Shower' shortlisted for the HISSAC
Couldn’t resist the temptation to bring some good news to my new website…
Just received this email from HISSAC about my story:
Many, many thanks to all you lovely people for your support and inspired suggestions re how I ought to spend my hard earned twenty quid (thirty dollars).
It was a tough call, given some of the rather interesting and tempting suggestions you dangled before me but my newly fortyish head won out and I blew the lot on an upgrade from blog-to-own website.
So, welcome to suehealy.org : )
Ici n’est pas une banane
watch this space xo
And a ship comes home….
A Sheila-na-Gig
Just received a cheque for twenty pounds sterling from ‘New Writer Magazine’ who have published my story ‘Sheila-na-Gig’ in their Autumn edition. Okay, so I’m not jacking in the prison job just yet but twenty quid in writing payment is like two grand in normal people’s money. Now, what to blow it on… All suggestions gratefully received.
Vicar’s Close, Wells, the oldest continuously inhabited street in existence, apparently.
So, I didn’t place at the Wells Literary Festival, the comp I’d been shortlisted for- but I did get to spend a weekend in nearby Wales with my sis and a day out in Wells – probaby England’s prettiest metropolis (and definitely its smallest). I’ve also advanced no further than the shortlist with the Meridian Autumn comp – results out yesterday. Which leaves only the HISSAC longlisting for me to watch out there on the horizon- the shortlist will be announced on Thursday.
A friend said that winning sometimes blunts the urge to continue – so I’m meditating on that thought today.
How are all the six monthers going?
Get Your Muse On
There are writers feel story and character ideas are fed to them from “somewhere else”. That “somewhere else” is a very vague concept and means different things to different scribes. Nonetheless, writers who hold such beliefs say it is very important to allow your mind to be open to receiving these ideas – wherever they come from.
Personally, I’ve had moments when I felt plugged into a conduit, receiving stories, characters and ideas- though I hesitate to say if this was a spiritual event or just the way the brain works in creative mode.
And it is a rare enough event – I can never conjure ‘the writing rapture’ but if I write often it’ll roll around every now and again. And when it does, it’s a magical moment when stories and characters come swimming to me, all done-up, pre-packaged and ready to go.
All we can do is sit down to write every day- most days you’ll get coal but if you keep at it, the diamond muse will show up sooner or later.
Be free
Freewriting is what you write when there’s no one looking. Freewriting is the madman in your brain taking the controls and sending words all the way down to the tips of your fingers. Freewriting is where you’ll find the most brilliant story ideas, if you look hard enough.
To freewrite, just write. Write the first word that comes to mind and then follow it with another. Set an alarm if you can. Don’t worry about grammar, structure, character development – just write. And when you’re done, stand back and take a look. Is there anything in there you can use. I’ll say there is!
Here’s an example:
‘Right now I’m sitting at my computer and the coffee cup is on the edge of my desk. It looks a little like an iceberg, as it is white and chipped and cold because the coffee has been in it since the morning as I didn’t do the washing up last night and the sink is full of plates and saucers. All those plates look surreal sitting unwashed in the sink like that. All at different angles like a Picasso painting with ketchup instead of paint dribbled over the plates. I wonder if Picasso got his ideas from waking up one morning and seeing his jumble of washing up in the sink I wonder if all the museums in the world actually have pictures of Picasso’s washing up and not his mistresses and Guernica and does that mean the joke is on us?’
The above freewrite might seem silly but it’s also an example of how freewriting could, potentially, inspire a proper piece of writing. This daft thought about Picasso’s washing up could easily be worked into a comedy radio play where a hung-over Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse wake up after a night out on the town and dare each other to paint a picture of the mess of washing up in the sink. Thus, the modern art movement is accidentally launched. Another possibility you could take from this freewrite is the concept that something generally considered ugly and in need of repair or attention (washing up) can lead to tremendous artistic inspiration – and this idea could form the kernel of a short story or a poem.
Here, chose one of the prompts below and let it lead you into a three minute freewrite.
I wish I had said….
It was no use pretending….
A long time ago…
For the first time ever….
Jokes! Jokes are a great source of plot ideas. An established writer gave me this tip years ago and it has served me well.
Jokes, you see, are plots in miniature. Stories sealed up and ready to go. You’ve got your beginning, middle, end, your conflict, your characters – flaws and all. All you’ve got to do is flesh it out. Expland on it. Change gender and setting if possible. And no, it doesn’t have to be funny because many jokes (indeed, stories) need an element of tragedy to make comedy (and vice vearsa) and you can just crank up the aspect you want to emphasize.
Here’s a joke that gave me an idea for a short story recently shortlisted for a competition:
“It was Ryan’s funeral and the pallbearers were carrying the casket out from the church. When they bumped into a pillar, one of them heard a moan from inside the coffin. They opened the lid and found Ryan alive. He lived for another ten years before he properly died. Another funeral was held for him and, as the pallbearers were carrying out the coffin, Mrs Ryan shouted “Now, watch out for that pillar!”
OK, it’s the way ya tell ‘em… But the point is that they don’t have to be the funniest jokes – just so long as there is a story in there, a universal truth with which your readers will react and engage. Wordplay/puns won’t work so well, go for the story…
Here’s another one you can chew on for a story idea (it goes down well in the creative writing classes I give in an English prison…)
The defendant knew he didn’t have a prayer of beating the murder rap, so he bribed one of the jurors to find him guilty of manslaughter. The jury was out for days before they finally returned a verdict of manslaughter. Afterward the defendant asked, ‘How come it took you so long?’ the juror said, ‘All the others wanted to acquit’.
Got an email from Meridian this morning, I’ve also been shortlisted for their short story comp: )This brings a grand total of three ships on the horizon. Now, here’s wishing one of them will come back to port….
Come home to Mama, come on, come on...
Meridian– shortlisted
Wells Literary Festival– shortlisted
HISSAC Award– longlisted
I should know where I stand with the Meridian and the Wells by this time next week, and the HISSAC by the end of the month.
But probably the best news of the weekend is that I’ve finally managed to catch up on my six month challenge word count and have 4,287 words down.
I finally feel like I’m back. Thanks to all of you who’ve motivated me and each other by posting your progression!
Got that morning feeling?
It’s dawn 6am and you’ve risen early just to get those ‘morning pages’ done. And you’re staring at a blank sheet. Writer, you need warm up.
Just as many painters will apply a beige wash to a blank canvas to stop it looking so virgin – you’ll need to put something down on the page – “hggahgoidihgogha” will do, just get something down, break that white, crack that ice. Next, do a non-dominant hand exercise. If you are right-handed, then pick up a pen and start to write with your left. If you’re on a laptop, then type “The quick brown fox…” with your left hand alone. If you’re left-handed, apply vice vearsa.
Enjoy the sensation of the pen flowing over your paper or the tap of your finger tips on the keyboard and don’t think too hard about what you’re writing. Let it flow. When you’ve written out the fox/dog sentence a few times, continue on with the story. Where does the fox go next? Why is the dog feeling lazy? Where are they? What does the air smell like? What sounds can you/they hear? Is it hot or cold? Wet or dry? How does the dog feel when the fox jumps over him? Does he plan revenge? Once you’ve done a paragraph or two, you’ll probably find that the creative juices are flowing enough for you to turn your attention to that story you were working on before – or read over your freewrite, there might be the kernel of something worth working on.
Now, I’m off to take my own advice…
suehealy 