I was planning to write a funny short story today, but woke to hear the news and didn’t feel in the mood for humour. So wrote a short piece about building a wall instead.
Ironically, one of the short stories I was planning to write this month for NaNoWriMo was a dystopian fantasy. It had the following plot: Trump loses the election in the USA, comes to the UK, becomes leader of UKIP, and wins the 2020 election over here. Continue reading “A black day”
I was planning to write a light comedy piece today, similar in plot and style to a short story I wrote a few years ago, but which I intended to rewrite using a better structure.
But…
While I was eating breakfast, a different story came to me. This one was a dark medical drama, with just a tinge of humour.
Should I stick to my original plan? Or go for the story that was now almost writing itself? Continue reading “Time for some black humour”
Today I wanted to explore the early life of a character I’d met in my historical novel, The Reluctant Scribe.
She is a doctor’s daughter, and her chosen name is Lin Min, which means intelligent (or clever) and from the woods. A fitting name, her father agrees. But Lin Min has just turned 16 and life is about to become complicated… Continue reading “It’s a shame she was born a girl…”
Day 6 of NaNoWriMo and I spent the weekend away, walking and travelling, which left little time for writing.
One thing I wanted to do was write a short story – a very short story – of only 750 words. But what would the story be about? Continue reading “Is 750 words enough?”
I started off writing a short story, for day 5 of NaNoWriMo #30days30shorts, and it just blossomed into something beyond my control.
2,000 words down, and I hadn’t even got to the crux of the story I had originally planned.
Actually, my main protagonist was based on a minor character in my Tang dynasty historical novel. Now I’m beginning to wonder if she can be contained in a short story or whether I need something larger… like a novella. Continue reading “Birth of a novella?”
Ruth Livingstone 