I’ve been writing speculative fiction for about six months now, and very much focusing on the short story. The length of these new stories varies, but on the whole they’re between 4,000 to 6,000 words, the perfect length for submitting to magazines. But I have one that I keep returning to, and it keeps growingContinue reading “Self-doubt and the short story”
Category Archives: Art & Literature
…things you have lost
64.You have lost the tattooed lemon that lived in your freezer for many years. The lemon was illustrated by your daughter during her apprenticeship, the waxy yellow skin bearing a swallow in vivid blue and yellow and red. It was one of the most precious things you owned, and was lost during a busy fewContinue reading “…things you have lost”
…marking the page
63.You sometimes read a book without thinking about the bookmark that holds your place. As you read, this strip of cardboard gets tucked into the back pages or casually discarded on the bed covers, seemingly dispensable for all its functionality. But when you begin a new book the feeling is deeper than practicality, starting asContinue reading “…marking the page”
…flying over mountains
54. Sometimes you read a book that you sink into so completely you don’t want it to finish, and when onward time means that you reach that final page, you want to hang it around your neck on a simple strap so you can wear it always against your heart. So it is with JackContinue reading “…flying over mountains”
…books in formation: 6 to 10
6. Winter Journal, by Paul Auster Auster writes his journal in the second person. He is the you of his own story, but the reader is also the you of his experience, living with him and inside his mind. And so my own you is born, a you who is both me and not me,Continue reading “…books in formation: 6 to 10”
…books in formation: 1 to 5
1. Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande Brande taught you how to think into your stories. She explained the strange alchemy between movement and creativity, a cocktail of circumstance that is both individual and universal, and, if the measurements are right, as potent as morning light on a sunflower. Still now you think while washingContinue reading “…books in formation: 1 to 5”
…a bed of many things
‘Then here again are two lovers, flesh pressed to flesh … their bed heaves as with the swell of the sea, whispers and sways, as if it were itself alive and joyful because it was seeing the consummation of the rapturous mystery of love.’from Le Lit, by Guy de Maupassant 47.The bed is a placeContinue reading “…a bed of many things”
…fishing for books
46.Today the river that runs through your town is high after days of rain, a fine mist rising from the weir. Her water is brown and thick, the currents and eddies rippling the surface as she seeks out a favourable path, finding pleasure in her intimate relationship with the land. You and your sister haveContinue reading “…fishing for books”
…spelling isn’t everything
44. ‘you can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn’t count…’Rabbit, The House at Pooh Corner (A.A. Milne) words you can’t spellphy…psch…psychology; calander… calendar; consious… concious… conscious; contentious… contientious… conscientious A baby begins to learn languageContinue reading “…spelling isn’t everything”
…soon you will write
23.Books on your coffee table: — The Philosophy of the Bed, by Mary Eden & Richard CarringtonYou found this book in a strange kind of thrift shop, a greenhouse beside a garden cafe, its glassy walls housing furniture and crockery, paintings and books. The book has a tattered dust jacket bearing a reproduction of GrandeContinue reading “…soon you will write”
Sally Gander 