Tag: short story writing

short story writing, writing9 Comments

Car boot giveaway – genuine articles, no tat, honest madam!

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I’m having a clear-out. Like my wardrobe, my short stories’ cupboard is stuffed with last season’s pieces which don’t match or have odd bits dangling off the hems. I’ll be starting my MA in October and it seems likely that the process begun with the Open University courses in 2009 and 2010 will re-frame my writing, how I think of it, and how I want it to appear. Not that I’m cringing about the stories that are already out in the wild (and still getting hits, thank you very much, opportunist passers-by!). I’m beyond embarrassment, having worked in the NHS for over 40 years … Continue reading Car boot giveaway – genuine articles, no tat, honest madam!

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short story writing1 Comment

‘Fete Accomplice’

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Some stories are just too British to compete well in the predominately US market and so this one is out as an Indie. ‘Stop it right now, you dizzy tart!’ Marissa Nalletamby is giving herself a telling-off in front of the mirror. ‘He’s married, you’re married, and you barely know him.’ She pokes at her hair with the end of a comb, ‘And did I mention, you barely know him?’ read on?   Continue reading ‘Fete Accomplice’

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authors, Open University, short story writing4 Comments

Gloves are off, now it’s serious..

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

This time last year, I signed up for a twelve week Open University course on writing fiction and, hey ho, I’ve done it again. Thirty two weeks this time, creative writing, WITH POETRY – am I mad?! Sweepy Jean, your Gil Scott-Heron entry may have come in the nick of time – that kind of poetry I can relate to. But what’s this about biography and autobiography? Will I have to follow Fabio Cappello around while he negotiates his exit from England management? Or Rooney? Please, not Rooney, I don’t speak Scouse!  Beckham though.. I’ve been faffing about considering this … Continue reading Gloves are off, now it’s serious..

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authors, short story writing, writing6 Comments

If not the blog then, where?

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I’ve seen this debate elsewhere, publish on your blog so you have a ‘presence’ or keep your work to yourself so that it remains saleable. So far, I’ve just put up early pieces; exercises, bits and bobs that might entertain but that wouldn’t make it into a slush pile, never mind a magazine. Last week though, on leave and with only myself to entertain, I wrote what I think is one of my best short stories EVER (nah – doesn’t take much!) and, it being under 500 words, I was about to sling it up here for my many thousands … Continue reading If not the blog then, where?

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authors, publish fiction, sci fi, short story writing21 Comments

Hugo Nominee – are we suckered by techno-twaddle?

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

I like my sci-fi, really I do, and having been inducted at the age of eight into this genre, I am more than familiar with the essentials of pseudo-scientific terminology. Heck, I write it myself and I appreciate both the value and the pitfalls of inventing tech-speak to describe something that isn’t yet in existence. For me, the best tech-speak conveys a sense of familiarity so that, on reading it, I have a feeling I know what this is even though that has to be impossible. The worst offers a stream of multi-hyphenated guff and tells me this is ‘normal’, … Continue reading Hugo Nominee – are we suckered by techno-twaddle?

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publish fiction, short story writingLeave a comment

Double or dilute?

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Chances, that is. Last week, after mercilessly punching out redundancy and pruning my tiny story down to the even tinier requisite of 500 words, I submitted the final product to an online competition. My first. Virgin territory. Exhausted, I crawled away to bandage psychic wounds (all those abandoned and unwanted words, left unloved by the literary roadside) and to sleep off the emotional ravages of exposing my soul to public judging. Well ok, bit of dramatic licence there but you know where I’m coming from, right? Anyway, two days later and an acknowledgment appears. Yes, they received it, yes, the … Continue reading Double or dilute?

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