Tag Archive | prison writing

Close of Play

Aug4

“I began to shake uncontrollably as we headed for Sophie ‘s car.”

I first wrote this story as an entry to a competition in a writing magazine. The brief was to write a story in just 250 words which included someone pulling out a gun. Given that I very rarely write anything this short, it was quite a challenge, but I think I’m happy with the result.

The key to stories as short as this is to tell half the story with what you don’t say. What came before, what came after, what information was withheld in between. It all contributes to the overall story and is as important as what is actually said. As always, comments are most welcome. You can read my full story here.

The Jump

Jul6

“The chute should have shot out immediately, but nothing.”

The creative writing tutor here at Wakefield went through a period of setting us a check list of things to write about a while back. Each story had to include all five things on the list and the list would change week on week. The only thing that was on the list each week was expert knowledge which actually isn’t true. You can see that in a few of my stories now. It’s in The Forcefield. It’s in Dumb Luck. And it’s in The Jump too.

With this story I really wanted it to be a simple stream of consciousness, told in real time. I wanted to see if that would draw the reader in and add a sense of emergency.

Why not have a read of it in my Prose section and let me know what you think?

Dumb Luck

Jun6

“This guy’s like the Angel of Death. He’s big time. The End.”

I wrote Dumb Luck as a sort of modern retelling of an old religious story I heard about a man who sees the Angel of Death in Jerusalem and fears he is going to die so he flees all the way to Damascus in an attempt to cheat death. The only problem is, death doesn’t just work by chance. Does he?

You can read my story in my Prose section.

Venice

May11

art 001A lot of the drawings, paintings, and prints that I do tend to be of places I wish I could go to. I did this sketch a while back and only recently found it again. The lines of the background are way too thick, but I love the composition of it so I thought I’d stick it up anyway. At some point I may well do another version in a different style to see how that comes out.

The Forcefield

May4

“The wrench collided with the weightless sandwich.”

I rarely try to write comedy. I think it is the most pressured kind of writing to attempt. It can be very easy to fail at it, and when you do fail, it is very obvious that you have. In fact, The Forcefield is the first piece of writing I have ever put out for public consumption which has a deliberate comedic element.

Check it out in my Prose section and let me know how far from the mark you think it falls!

The Fire and the Sea

Apr4

“Nothing mattered more to him than the woman’s happiness, and he would gladly embrace any pain or sorrow if he could save her from the same.”

The Fire and the Sea has actually been on this site since I first set up. It is not a new story. But what I never expected was for the person I wrote it about to find it and, on this very day last year, to write her own second part to it and attach that as a comment (yes, it is a true story – albeit one that is told through symbolism). I was over the moon that she had found me, and that she made contact in this way, and I soon wrote a third part as a comment myself.

No more was added, although much happened in the lives of the woman with eyes of fire and the man from the sea, and today seems like the perfect day to post part four as another comment, updating the story and sending my own song out upon the wind.

Whether or not this is the end of the story is not my decision. I can only hope that there is more yet to come.

You can read all four parts of The Fire and the Sea in my Prose Section.