Writing prompt – gulls

Gulls over Clevedon Pier_Photo by Judy Darley

This spring has been so unsettled – some days are calm and sunny, while others storm from dawn to dusk and beyond. While smaller birds like sparrows take shelter in coastal bushes, these gulls are riding the rioting wind and look like they’re loving every moment.

Add in a human with a bag full of birdseed, and the mayhem increases.

Can you imagine yourself as a gull, a sparrow, the person with food, or a bystander? Why not use this cast to create tumultuous tale?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

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Join Writers & Artists’ ‘Writing Your Children’s Book’ course

Climbing by Judy Darley

Do you have a passion for writing for children? The folks at Writers & Artists are hosting an online Writing Your Children’s Book course, taking place from 8th May 2024 6:30pm to 12th June 2024, with sessions lasting from 6.30pm to 8pm

The course costs £350, and will be taught by Lesley Parr, the author of three novels for children. Her debut, The Valley of Lost Secrets, was published in 2021 and was both a Waterstones Book of the Month and longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. It won the Tir na n-Og Award, the King’s School Chester Book Award and the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award, as well as being shortlisted for many others.

Where the River Takes Us is described by Waterstones as “an engrossing, character-driven tale of urban legends and personal discovery set during the era of the three-day week of 1974.”

They say: “The stories we read when we are young shape us. This May, join us for a six-week online course (including a reading week) to help develop your craft and work towards the publication of your children’s book.”

The course will explore creating memorable characters, world-building and structure, as well as offering insights into the children’s book market and how to improve your chances of getting your work published.

The course will suit children’s fiction, middle-grade and YA authors* at all stages of their writing journey, whether you have an initial idea and want to know where to start, or have a full draft and need help with revising and making it the best it can possibly be.

Sessions will run online via video conferencing software, with homework assignment deadlines for the following week.

All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the latest edition of the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook as well as Lesley’s latest book.

Schedule

Week One: The Children’s Book World

Wednesday 8th May

  • What it is and how your writing fits in
  • Age ranges
  • Word counts and content
  • Themes, trends and genres

Week Two: Getting Started and Keeping Going

Wednesday 15th May

  • To plan or not to plan
  • Stimulating ideas
  • Ways to get unstuck
  • Building confidence
  • Finding a community of writers

Week Three: Character Development

Wednesday 22nd May

  • Creating memorable and believable characters
  • Viewpoints
  • Authorial and character voice
  • Dialogue
  • Character motivation

Week Four: Reading Week

Wednesday 29th May

This will not be a teaching week. Instead, students will have an opportunity to read a short children’s book set by Lesley, and encouraged to work on their writing, prompted by this.

Week Five: The Story

Wednesday 5th June

  • The messy first draft
  • Plot and structure
  • Settings/ worldbuilding
  • Pace

Week Six: Shaping up for Publication

Wednesday 12th June

  • Editing
  • Query package
  • Improving your chances
  • Synopsis

Book your spot here: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/events-and-courses/writing-your-childrens-book-2024

Got an event, challenge, competition, opportunity or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – afoot

Tree foot. Photo by Judy Darley

Trees are magnificent natural sculptors. My sister recently shared a photo of a trunk with one glorious moss-covered ear. I’ll take that ear and raise it with this rooted foot contemplating a Shakespeare-esque or Tolkien-worthy march through the woods in North Somerset. Or perhaps I’ve accidentally taken a photo of Roald Dahl’s BFG without his slippers on, and he really needs to trim his toenails.

Whatever the truth, something’s afoot…

Can you let your imagination run free and turn this into a magical tale?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Guernsey Literary Festival 2024

Guernsey Literary FestivalFancy flitting over to the Channel islands for a long weekend? The Guernsey Literary Festival, which takes place from 23rd April until 5th May 2024, offers the perfect excuse for a retreat. There’ll be more than creative talks, workshops, music, food, family story sessions and more.

The line-up includes an array of expert speakers and writers, including best-selling novelists Louis de Bernières and John Boyne, celebrated chef Michel Roux and journalist Bryony Gordon, media personalities Louise Minchin and Sarah Beeny, plus sports stars and commentators Mike Brearley and Pat Nevin.

Each will talk about their recent books during the Festival, among a host of writers and speakers, mostly from the UK and Channel Islands, taking part in the 2024 Festival, which will be based at a number of local venues including St James, Les Cotils, the Guille Allès Library, The Old Government House Hotel and St Pierre Park Hotel.

On 5th May, Anna Mazzola will teach: Bringing the Past to Life – How to Write Historical Fiction and Paul Muldoon leads the workshop: How To Let the Poem Write Itself.

There will also be a Winnie the Pooh Tea Party.

Festival Director Claire Allen says “This year’s programme includes some of the most inspirational and creative thinkers from the worlds of literature, poetry, business, politics, stage and screen, food and drink, sport and history, amongst many others.”

Event tickets are bookable at www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com where you can also find the growing diary of events.

Writing prompt – bubbles

Bubbles_Photo by Judy Darley

At a nearby sculpture woodland called Ty Sculpture Trail, one of the highlights is a natural phenomenon rather than human-made artwork. At the Bubbling Pond, silvery bubbles rise from the depths to cast circular ripples. It’s a gloriously tranquil setting.

The trail makers claim no one knows what causes the bubbles, and suggest it could be a dragon snoozing in an underwater cave.

What myth or bubble-blowing science could you attribute the bubbles to? Can you create a character who shares this idea as a tale within a tale, and give them a someone to tell it to? What might the consequences be?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Enter the Bath Short Story Award 2024

Roman Baths pigeons by Judy DarleyThe annual Bath Short Story Award is open for entries from aspiring and established writers worldwide.

The competition closes to entries on Monday, 15th April at midnight BST. You’re invited to submit stories up to a maximum of 2,200 words on any theme or subject.

The year’s judge is award-winning novelist and short story champion, Sophie Haydock. Read an interview with her.

Each submission costs £9.

The Bath Short Story Award prizes

First prize: £1200
Second prize £300
Third prize £100
Acorn Award for an unpublished witer £100
Local writer prize £50 in book vouchers donated by Mr B’s Emporium of Books, Bath.

Final Results will be out by July/August 2024.

Find full details of how to enter here. Good luck!

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – private

Private gate_Coastal Path. Photo by Judy Darley

On the UK’s coastal path between Clevedon and Portishead, North Somerset, there are lovely woodlands, but not all of these are open to everyone. This one is privately owned, yet I’ve never seen anyone enjoying this area.

I found myself feeling annoyed they were keeping it to themselves – surely trees and greenery are for all of us? But then thought about how I would feel if that rule applied to my own tiny garden. Imagine looking out of your bedroom window to see a family picnicking on your lawn below. The smaller the space, the weirder and more intense that would be.

How could you persuade them to leave? Something about this is so absurd it hovers between comedy and horror.

Can you turn this into a story or other creative work?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

A poem a day…

NaPoWriMo urges you to write a poem a day for the month of April. Any length, any form, any topic, as long as you end up with something vaguely resembling a poem.

Seashell interiorFounded by Maureen Thorson, National/Global Poetry Writing Month (Na/GloPoWriMo) is now more than 20 years old!

The team will offer daily prompts to help your writing along, and urge you to mix-and-match poetry prompts.

They say: “How does it work? Simple — just write a poem every day from April 1 to April 30. If you’ll be posting your efforts to a blog or other internet space this year, you can submit the link using our “Submit Your Site” form, and your website will show up in our “Participants’ Sites” list. And if you’re not planning to post your work online? No worries! Na/GloPoWriMo doesn’t require that at all. All you have to day is write a poem a day for April.”

You can also find prompts by Robert Lee Brewer at his April Poem-a-Day challenge. Alternatively, take a look at my weekly writing prompts, published every Wednesday – could any of them sow the seeds of a poem?

In January 2021 I made a choice to read at least one poem a day, and I’ve kept that up. I have a huge admiration for the mastery poets have over words, and some of the most beautifully written novels I’ve read have been by poets. It’s something to do with the linguistic agility and originality required to take a commonplace sentence or sentiment and imbue it with a rhythm that makes it really shine in the reader’s mind long after they’ve read it.

Whether you’re a poet yourself, or simply tempted by the form, Na/GloPoWriMo seems like an opportunity to hone your writing muscles. My aim, as always, is to discover how to take my flash fiction writing and elevate the brevity of that skill to a new, glittering level that more efficiently and resonantly expresses what I’m trying to say.

Think of it as an intensive month-long poetry masterclass, inspired by some of the best poets in the business. If nothing else, you’ll end up with 30 first-draft poems!

Find out more at www.napowrimo.net.

Got an event, challenge, competition, opportunity or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) ICloud (dot) com.

Writing prompt – tide

High tide swallows a Clevedon beach by Judy Darley

The small coastal town where I live sits on the edge of one of Earth’s greatest tidal ranges. It re-sculpts views and terrains, providing the perfect habitat for wading birds one day and fish the next.

Last week, I strolled towards the path to a rocky beach and discovered it had been swallowed by the sea… Yet I know it will return in the next few days and shrug off its driftwood and seaweed as though it was never hidden.

Can you write a story inspired by this variance? How do these dramatic changes impact your characters?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Published stories

View between two trees showing other trees
I relish writing and editing short stories and flash fiction, and have a self-imposed rule of submitting every month. If you write, I highly recommend this trick. It ensures that for every rejection, there are still a handful of tales out in the world that may yet be published, plus a gentle flurry of successes to bolster your writing mojo!

Here are some of my recent and upcoming publications.

Forthcoming publications

Reasons to Rescue Strangers – National Flash Fiction Day Anthology 2024.

Why We Dance on the Pier – Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine

February 2024

Blue-naped Parrots See More Than They SayNew Flash Fiction Review Issue 32 Family Life.

January 2024

A Bright Day – winner of the New Writers UK Winter Story competition.

October 2023

Mycorrhiza – Flash Frontier GARDEN / MĀRA issue

A Still, Golden Light – The Simple Things Magazine issue 136

What Was Lost & How Insects Signal Their Love – Flash Boulevard

June 2023

Windowledge Archives – National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood UK 2023

The Long Way Home – National Flash Fiction Day NZ Micro Madness

April 2023

This is Not a Story About Chickens – The Hooghly Review issue 1

February 2023

How Many is 80? Paragraph Planet (scroll to Feb 23rd)

January 2023

Life Hacks – 12 Fragile Things Not to Use as a Doorstop – Wensum Literary Magazine issue 1/Winter 2023

December 2022

Natural Miracles – Flash Frontier Wonder issue

October 2022

The Art of Pivot and Flit – Dually Noted, Brink Literacy Project

September 2022

The Bee Man’s Secret – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Five

August 2022

The Green-Gold of Wet Kelp – Fairlight Books

June 2022

The egret and I don’t belong here – The Phare Literary Magazine Summer 2022 issue

Tricks to uproot a guest who has outstayed their welcome – Tiny Molecules issue 13

After Dad Goes into Care – National Flash Fiction Day FlashFlood 2022

Bees Breathe Without Lungs – Honeyguide Magazine

How to Hook a Heart – And We Live Happily Ever After, National Flash Fiction Day anthology 2022

The Tempest Inside – Micro Madness

April 2022

Milk Tooth – Wyldblood Press

March 2022

Awkward Liaisons – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Four

Falling in a Forest Mslexia magazine issue 93

Oxblood – Flash Frontier

Fishing for Green and Blue – Retreat West 10th Birthday Anthology

December 2021

Reasons Your Kefir Might Sour – Litro Magazine Flash Friday

The Only Language He knows Now is Touch – Blink-Ink, Moonlight #46

The Finch in My Sister’s Hair – The Birdseed

The Sea Lives in Her Mum’s Head – Ellipsis Zine

November 2021

The Salt Sting of Learning When To Say No – Flash Frontier

September 2021

My Choice – Six Sentence Stories

Three Shades of Summer – Flash Fiction Magazine

Storm Beckoner – Bandit Fiction

June 2021

Leaf After Leaf – National Flash Fiction Day Write-In

The Hare I Miss – Thimble Literary Magazine

What’s That? – Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis

May 2021

Reaching (collaborate work – I wrote the first stanza) – 100 Words of Solitude

April 2021

Stretching Out – Hencroft

The Sideways House – Twin Pies Volume IV

March 2021

Unstill Life With Plums – The Pomegranate