You can get your FREE tickets via EventBrite. It would be lovely to see you there. I will be getting presented with the Scriever shield and will be reading some of my work alongside the Makar, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, and other great writers from the Federation of Writers (Scotland), maybe even you! Register your interest to read at fwsanthology@gmail.com with READER in the subject line.
A video again today about the importance of using your voice and not being silenced by others.
A few weeks ago I told you that I have become the Federation of Writers (Scotland) Scriever. Now, having added very basic video editing skills to my toolkit, here is my first video – more to follow.
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Now how is that for a book title? Even better that it is published by Mslexia and whoop, whoop, contains one of my short stories, Egyptian Cotton, about a woman who decides to lie on the floor in a shopping centre, just … well, you’ll need to read it to find out why.
Being a writer can be a tough gig. You work away on your own, never knowing whether your writing will reach an audience or whether they’ll like what you’ve written. So, to receive an email from one of the UK’s top literary magazines to say that you are a runner up in their short story competition is exciting beyond belief.
‘They were all stories whose images haunted me; I came back to them again and again.’ – Deborah Moggach
Care commitments meant that six months of this year were pretty much a wash out in terms of writing, but when I forced myself back into the groove, this story was one of the first to be sent out. To get such positive feedback really is food for the soul.
‘The diversity of the stories explodes the myth that there’s a formula for holding a judge’s attention.’ – Tania Hershman
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the publication – twelve short stories and twelve flash fiction – including the winners of the two competitions It might be lonelier without loneliness by Elen Lewis and I poke holes in our condoms by Manu St Thomas (the story that inspired the cover illustration).
But there’s no time to rest on my laurels – other deadlines loom- I better get writing.
If you’ve been paying attention you would have noticed that I gave a halfway update on the challenge I set myself to write a piece of flash every day in August. Well, I managed 14 non-consecutive days of flash writing, which resulted in two pieces (one highly commended) on Friday Flash Fiction and a flash that became a poem and is now out in the world.
If I was being harsh on myself then I could say that I failed on 17 days. What I would rather do is say that I succeeded on 14 days and got back into the habit of writing. (The habit had been broken by my care commitments suddenly exploding.) I used one Word file to write all the flashes and then picked out the ones that I wanted to work with. There are another few that could definitely lead to something bigger.
As a result of this exercise I have been looking through old files that maybe only have a wee idea or a paragraph or two and combining them into documents – Ideas and Fragments needing work. This way I have more of a chance of actually using them, rather than them languishing in obtusely named files.
So basically, although I failed in the absolute task of writing everyday, I did succeed in the objective. I see that as a win.
I have now started the rather more complex task of going through my physical notebooks. I have realised that I really don’t need any more ideas; I need to do something with the ideas that I have had. With that aim, I am working through the notebooks and typing them up into the aforementioned files. On some days it’s just a case of typing what’s there and on others, something is sparked immediately and I can draft a longer piece. (I will tell you more about how I use notebooks in another post.)
One of the nice things about being able to work a bit more at the moment (care commitments permitting) is that I have been sending out work and have got a couple of acceptances. I queried a publication that I hadn’t heard back from yesterday (as I thought the story had legs and if they didn’t want it I was going to send it elsewhere). The editor told me that they had been trying to contact me, and ‘yes’, they did want the story. Hooray!
I was trying to change the rather out-dated photo of me on the sidebar before I blogged today, but failed. While I was footering about I did change the colour scheme. What do you think? Let me know. I can see your comments, although despite activating Comments dozens of times on WordPress, they won’t show up without being clicked on.
Well, I promised you a freebie, so here it is, the title story of my collection Forgotten Dreams and Other Stories. To get the PDF click here. I hope you enjoy it.
If you like the story, you might want to grab a copy of my collection (or my novel). You can do that by clicking here. Remember, if you have Kindle Unlimited, you won’t have to pay a penny. If you don’t, the books are still reasonably prices.
If you are not up for a whole book (yet), it would be lovely if you could show your appreciation in some way – commenting or sharing on Facebook or Twitter (I’m not calling it X as it is just too stupid a name). I am Colette Coen – Writer (on Facebook) and @colettecoen (on Twitter). Alternatively, you could help a thirsty author out by buying me a coffee on the lovely wee site Ko-fi.
You can read Potty Mouth – flash fiction here.
Watch out for a freebie, coming soon!
You can read my story on Friday Flash Fiction here
I found out over the weekend that my story has been Highly Commended by the Friday Flash Fiction judges. Chuffed.
Well, we’re half way through the month, and although I have given myself the weekends off, I have managed to write 10 new flashes (some more complete than others) and have been writing something every weekday (poetry today). I even added my flashing as a tip on the Bridport Prize Facebook page Perhaps a little cheeky when I had just started doing it, but there is a bundle of books at stake!
If you enjoy reading my stories, remember I have a few publications on Amazon (Kindle and paperback), or you could buy me a virtual coffee here – all this blogging is thirsty work.
Colette Coen has been widely published online and in print, most recently in Five Glasgow Stories. Her new collection of short stories Forgotten Dreams is available on Amazon. She lives in East Renfrewshire where she runs Beech Editorial Services. Buy her a red wine (or a coffee) and she will tell you a story. https://colettecoen.wordpress.com
Colette Coen 