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.
Success or Not?
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.
Powering Forward
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!
New Look
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.
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.
Update on 31 Stories of Writing
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.
A phone call from a writer friend (hi, Charlie Gracie) made me pull out all the stops to submit a story to a book called Five Glasgow Stories. The good news is that both Charlie and I made the cut and we will both be reading from the book next Wednesday, 5 April 2023 at 7pm at 226 Gallowgate, Glasgow.
More good news is that I have finished proofreading my new collection of short stories Forgotten Dreams and it is now on Amazon (with Kindle edition to follow).
In the process of proofreading the book, which is a collection of stories that I have had published in a variety of magazines over the years, I realised that I kept using the same character names. This is fine when they are standalone stories, but when you are reading the collection, I don’t want you assuming or wondering if the same characters appear in different stories. You could say that I lack imagination, but in my defence, many of the stories are set at a time (characters born from roughly the 1970s onwards) when everyone did seem to be called David, Sandra or Margaret.
Yesterday, with the help of some Googling of names, I managed to rename people, allowing the significant characters to keep their assigned names, while the minor characters were quickly taken along to the Deed Poll office to get their names changed. It is definitely easier when I have to think up names for my younger characters – my children’s schoolmates have their names pillaged.
Other News
I also started a five day challenge yesterday, called 555. The aim is to write exactly 100 words of creative non-fiction on a given theme every day. The themes were given in advance, so I decided to get a head start on Day One. During the webinar by Nicole Breit, however, I was prompted to write about a favourite thing from childhood. I scribbled something down during the exercise and revisited it today. More Googling brought up the same make of doll’s house that we had, and that I was writing about. I also found the metal furniture for sale on Ebay, but the memories of my sister impaling her foot on an upturned TV stand reminded me of how dangerous kid’s toys were in the 70s. It’s a wonder we survived.
Last thing, for today anyway, I have another flash fiction up on the Friday Flash Fiction site https://www.fridayflashfiction.com/100-word-stories (you might need to scroll down to find mine on the theme of Traditions, called How It Is Done).
She forgets her age and runs up the white slopes, interacting as the sign permits her to. On the next level she stops at a wooden stool. Blankets, neatly folded: lambswool tartan, beige and pink; coarse battlefield grey; blue waffle from a hospital ward. A teenage tut. ‘Call that art?’
Every month the Scottish Book Trust puts up a prompt for a 50-word story. This was my unsuccessful entry from last month. I rather like it. It was inspired by a trip a few years ago to Tate Liverpool.
This month’s prompt is a story that features a blackbird.
My second flash fiction for the Friday Flash Fiction Edinburgh Festival competition is now online at Friday Flash Fiction. It is called Gifts for Him posted on the 7th of August. There is a companion piece called Gifts for Her, posted on the 6th of August.
It would be great if you could add a wee comment below the stories letting me know what you think.
Less than a week into the lockdown and patience is beginning to wear thin. Zoom, Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, House Party – all great ways to keep in touch but all groaning a bit under the weight of use. WordPress is also being a bit of a pain – I have been trying to load this post for the last two days.
I tried to Skype my family yesterday (Skype has subtitles, so it meant my mum could take part), but I couldn’t get my sound to work. ‘It was working earlier,’ I said, as three members of the crew here started clicking on my screen, pulling out cables, and telling me that I should try all things I had already tried.
Later, when it was working (I had switched it off and back on again, which solved the problem), one of my sisters couldn’t get online. By the time we had all sorted out the IT problems and discussed what had gone wrong, we were all too fed up to have much of a chat.
None of that is very positive, is it? But, we were able to see each other, wave, have a chat, catch up with how everyone is coping (my siblings all work in the public sector, so no one has been furlough yet, but some of their kids haven’t been as fortunate). As I work freelance and remotely, I’m still not sure how I will be affected, but my husband and daughter are still in work (fingers crossed).
Hope springs eternal
Hope springs eternal
It’s been dry since the lockdown started too, which is a big bonus when you live in Scotland, so we’ve been able to walk, have lunch outside and enjoy the first days of spring.
Another big plus point here, is that we have the space not to be tripping over each other, and three of us are working from home without having to restrict Netflix watching for the two that have had their formal education paused. Although, the garden does need a bit of attention, so Netflix might have to wait.
But, no matter how much space we have, we all need to take the occasional deep breath. And then tell them to stop foottering with my computer, thank you VERY MUCH.
I have been moving my office/desk almost every week – with my son coming back from uni, and then having two Australians to stay. I am now in my new semi-permanent position in the dining room, which has the bonus of a door out to the back garden. I had set things up in one corner last month, but that wasn’t working, so have moved things again. One of today’s jobs is to set up properly here and take the opportunity to sort through my muddle and complete a few tasks. Happy days.
Now that we’ve got all this time on our hands (although I’m not sure I’ve quite reached that stage) there is a temptation to pick up that notebook which has been languishing in the bottom of your cupboard, and begin a journal.
I woke up at 4 am the other morning (very unlike me), and wondered if I should be documenting all my thoughts and feelings about Covid-19 and the Social Isolating/Distancing/Lockdown.
While I found writing a journal really useful, (in fact it was how I morphed into being a writer of fiction), I have decided against it. I’ll tell you why.
I have suffered from depression in the past and know that I can easily spiral into negative thoughts. Writing down your thoughts can be a useful way to get them out of your head (you might even want to write down all your negativity, then scrunch it into a ball and chuck it away). But it can also get you into a rut or feed paranoia. ‘Day 5 of the the Lockdown and my family members are ganging up on me…’
I do, however, find taking myself off into a wee world where I can control what is happening, to be supremely therapeutic and fun.
So think carefully about what you want to get out of writing a journal and be conscious that it might not be the type of writing that is best for you at this time.
That said, you can’t flush notebooks, so you might as well give writing of some kind a go. I am going to try to post more flash fiction here, but also some writing tips and inspirations.
Take care, be kind and if you’ve been told not to go out: don’t go out.
What can I say, I’ve been busy, and here’s what I’ve been busy doing (or at least one of the things I’ve been busy doing). My new little book, filled with writing tips and available now on Amazon for the price of half an Americano (i.e. 99p).
Write Away: A Quick Guide to Get You Writing gives bite-sized pieces of wisdom (from Stephen King and Eeyore) with a a good dose of things I have learned in my years of writing and editing.
At the moment, there isn’t a cover showing on Amazon, but, since I did create one, it should magically appear soon.
As ever, it would be great if you could give me your support by buying a copy (or reading it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited) and leaving a wee review.
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 