Read My Two Christmas Stories in Fiction Feast

I was very excited to see my two Christmas stories in the Christmas edition of Take a Break's Fiction Feast today. If you would like to read them, they are called 'Will Santa Come to Gatwick?' and 'My Kind of Christmas'.

It probably wasn't the best time to have seen them as I was due at the doctors for a blood pressure reading and the excitement made it sky high!

I am very proud to have stories alongside those of well respected womag writers Della Galton, Teresa Ashby and Patsy Collins. If you haven't already, do take a look at their blogs.

My (hopefully) Useful Writing Resource Will Soon be on My Blog

The river near my house where I walk Bonnie every day - Lucky me!

Sorry it's been a while since I tantalised you with what will hopefully be a useful writing resource. Click here to see my previous post. I haven't forgotten - we've just been tinkering with it to make it as simple to use as possible.

I will post some instructions with it for those of you who (like me) aren't particularly tech savvy.

In the meantime, I would like to point you in the direction of Julie Phillips' blog - Julie's Quest. This week she set a challenge for writers to write in a different format, style or genre - to maybe take them out of their comfort zone - e.g. If you're a novelist, try writing a poem or if you are a short story writer, try writing an article.

I hadn't planned to take up the challenge but a seed was sown and while walking my step-dog Bonnie yesterday, I created a poem in my head which I then raced back to write down. I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed it and was pleased with the result - so much so, that I've entered it into a competition. Thanks Julie for helping me to think outside my box!

How about having a go yourselves.

Answers to Redundant Words Quiz

I took this photograph of Brighton Pier from the Brighton Wheel

As promised here are the answers to the Redundant Words Quiz. Click here if you want to have a go.

Well done to Jan for being the closest (you only missed one) - sorry no prizes!

 

 

 

Memo to Teachers about Forthcoming Theatre Trip

 

It is essential that we plan ahead. The school party will leave for the station at 11.45 a.m. in the morning not 12.45. This was an unexpected mistake.

 

Although the theatre will be filled to capacity - as our visit comes at a time when pupils from language schools visit London - the theatre manager has said that as we are invited guests, they will add an additional row of chairs for our students. This is an unexpected surprise.

 

We have made a definite decision to travel by train but at the present time, we are not sure how we will make our way from the station to the theatre, but we are in close proximity to the bus stop and so might make use of the local bus service. We will be merging together our two groups before continuing our journey.

 

During the course of the interval, as an added bonus, the theatre has promised to provide refreshments and each child will be given a free gift of a programme at the end of the performance. When the play has completely finished we shall be leaving from the King Street entrance (in case any parents wish to meet their children). It is absolutely essential that parents let the school know if this is to be the case. Looking at the past history of these visits, we expect them to be few in number.

 

If the play runs late we shall have a difficult dilemma as the last train back is at 11.45pm. The end result might be that we will miss this train but as the train has been estimated to be roughly ten pounds cheaper than hiring a coach, the final outcome; if we changed our mode of travel would be an increase in parents’ contribution to the cost of the trip. Pupils might possibly be back at school earlier than suggested but we will postpone until later telling parents this information.

 

The theatre trip will be repeated again next year if it is successful and it still remains a possibility that this could become an annual trip.

           

Introducing Bobby

Those of you who have been following my blog will have met my step dog Bonnie. This is her step brother Bobby. I thought it rather fitting that he should choose the bookcase to perch on while I was writing. Bobs is nearly thirteen and his usual favoured spot to sit is between me and the laptop, while I am trying to type.There really isn't enough lap space for both!

When my husband and I got married two years ago (click here for our salsa wedding dance) I was worried how dog and cat would get on. I needn't have worried as you can see. I think this is the big Ahhhh moment!

Oh, and if anyone else wants to have a guess at the number of redundant words in the text from last post, you still have time. You don't have to email (though you can if you like) - just post your answer in the comments. At the moment, Claire, you are the closest. I will post answers soon.

How Many Redundant Words Can You Find?

When you are writing, it is easy to add in 'redundant' words to your story.

I wrote the text below, to help a friend's daughter who is studying for the Literacy Skills Test (which she has to pass to become a teacher) and I thought that this is something that some writers might find useful.

How many 'redundant' words or phrases can you find? I will post the answer, with the redundant words highlighted, in a later post.

Memo to Teachers about Forthcoming Theatre Trip

 

It is essential that we plan ahead. The school party will leave for the station at 11.45 a.m. in the morning not 12.45. This was an unexpected mistake.

 

Although the theatre will be filled to capacity - as our visit comes at a time when pupils from language schools visit London - the theatre manager has said that as we are specially invited guests, they will add an additional row of chairs for our students. This is an unexpected surprise.

 

We have made a definite decision to travel by train but at the present time, we are not sure how we will make our way from the station to the theatre, but we are in close proximity to the bus stop and so might make use of the local bus service. We will be merging together our two groups before continuing our journey.

 

During the course of the interval, as an added bonus, the theatre has promised to provide refreshments and each child will be given a free gift of a programme at the end of the performance. When the play has completely finished we shall be leaving from the King Street entrance (in case any parents wish to meet their children). It is absolutely essential that parents let the school know if this is to be the case. Looking at the past history of these visits, we expect them to be few in number.

 

If the play runs late, we shall have a difficult dilemma as the last train back is at 11.45pm. The end result might be that we will miss this train but as the train has been estimated to be roughly ten pounds cheaper than hiring a coach, the final outcome, if we changed our mode of travel, would be an increase in parents’ contribution to the cost of the trip. Pupils might possibly be back at school earlier than suggested but we will postpone until later telling parents this.

 

The theatre trip will be repeated again next year if it is successful. It still remains a possibility that this could become an annual trip.

What is My Husband Creating for You?

My husband likes to fix things - computers that have broken, cupboard doors that don't close properly, the arm of my reading glasses when it gets too loose.

So it came as no surprise that when I told him I had come across a problem with my writing, and couldn't find a suitable solution on the Internet, he said that he would create what I was looking for.

We have a prototype and I am so thrilled with it that I want to share it with everyone...but you'll have to wait until it is finished. I will post it very soon.

Can anyone guess what he had made for me?

A Doggie Dilemma

Readers of my blog will know that this is Bonnie my step-dog. She joined my family two years ago, when I got married, and she is step-sister to my cat Bobby (yes the story has been written and submitted!)

As you can see from the photo, Bonnie is a lab/collie cross and is the gentlest most loving dog...with people!

Unfortunately, she has an aversion to a lot of other dogs (especially those bigger than her or ones that run up to her) and so a walk will involve me scouting the horizon looking for other dog walkers and quickly putting her on a lead before the inevitable meeting.

I am afraid that I am now going to have a rant on my blog (an unusual occurrence). I can only do so much: walk at a time of day when we are less likely to meet other dogs, put her on a lead as a visual clue to other dog owners before we reach them, take her off the path away from said other owners and call out, 'Sorry my dog is nervous of other dogs.'

My question is this: Which part of these actions does the owner of the dogs who have been allowed to run at her despite these cues (visual and verbal) not understand?

I know a lot of you who read my blog are dog walkers/owners. Your comments would be appreciated.