30 November 2015

Fishing for success


Today I entered my first writing competition. I entered a flash fiction piece, the first I have ever written.  I submitted it to Fish, the anthology publishers for first time writers. I didn't even know such a genre existed a few months ago, yet somehow it captured my imagination. To get across in 300 words a complete story with an emotional edge to it was an interesting challenge. I loved writing it.

It sprang up on me. I didn't know that story was inside me until I started writing it. Now I wonder if they'll think it was worth reading. I'm hoping they will, but I'm dreading they won't. So long to wait. At least I'll have four months of hope to cling to.

Competitions are different from just straight publishing. It's not just about your work. It's about being judged against all others who have submitted. That's different. Tougher in a way. But if you succeed, you'll be a winner.

Somehow, I feel like I've already crossed the line, though. I submitted it.

19 November 2015

Standing still


If we lay down on the earth and let our brains just take in the sky throughout the night, this is what we would see.  In a carefully chosen spot on Mount Teide aboard the island of Tenerife in the Atlantic Ocean,  one would see the stars moving across the night sky. The procession of stars around the north celestial pole creates an other worldy scene. Would our mind's eye be able to see this image, recreated from the slowly etched impressions on the film in our brains? Or does our mind sift through and retain only those fleeting snapshots that make an instant exposure? I don't know the answer, but it's food for today's thought.

Credit to Daniel Lopez http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100618.html. 

09 November 2015

Forecast for writing

Yesterday's weather was partly awful. Today's weather forecast is dire. Tomorrow's is worse. The day after continues poorly. The time is ripe to write.

I find joy and glee in a dire forecast. It means I won't be tempted to go outside and garden or romp in the fields. No. I will write. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, too. I may even finish the first draft of my first fiction book.


Writing productivity ≧ Weather x Duration / Speed + Creativity