Cheltenham Stories

This coming Sunday we are going to try something different. I’d like you to write a short story or scene using two different types of narration: choose from First Person, Third Person or Omniscient. Keep the total length down to about 800 words.

If you’d like a prompt to get you going, you can try this, which I found on the internet: “Hearing her daughter laugh was a rarity these days. She smiled, savouring the moment.”

If the terms are unfamiliar to you, there is a good Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narration

Our theme for this week will be A Love Story. I’m looking for stories up to 750 words with a beginning, middle and end. Give it a try.

The task for this week, should you choose to have a go at it, is to write a piece of thriller narrative, in the style of a favourite thriller author. Among those who have been suggested are Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ian Fleming, John Le Carré, and just about anybody else with a few stylistic tics you can have a go at imitating. Aim for about 750 words, please.

Let’s think about imagery this coming Sunday. By that I mean metaphors, similes, analogies and so on. Try and bring along a story (no more than about 750 words) with one or more images at its heart. Look forward to seeing you.

Meanwhile, Rod has sent me a link to the Hour of Writes competition that he mentioned. It is hourofwrites.com/index. It is a weekly, peer-reviewed competition that looks like fun.

Normal meeting this Sunday, with a prompt 10.30 start. There may be a few new arrivals.

We still have time to think again about the Dark Tales competition, for which the deadline is August 14th. Over the horizon, some people are already thinking about the next Stroud Short Stories competition, which doesn’t open until August 18th. Then there is The People’s Friend. I know you think I have taken leave of my senses, but they are big buyers of fiction and I am determined that we should all start earning money from our writing.

Here’s a pdf of the People’s Friend guidelines for your contemplation.

There really isn’t a lot of time to enter Curtis Brown’s competition, but it is worth doing. I sent mine off this morning. Here are the details.

Fiction of any length is of interest to this group – novel, novella, short story, flash fiction, etc. Also of interest are – poems, plays, scripts, etc.

A good morning at the Sober Parrot in Cheltenham today. There were nine of us in total, including two new people, and discussion ranged widely through stories, new projects and how to pitch.

Here’s a link to the page I mentioned about how to write a synopsis. It’s very helpful: http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/

Welcome to Cheltenham Stories. We are a group of writers who meet to share our stories and work on them together. We are always happy for people to come along and join in what we do, whether by chipping in or just by listening and giving their thoughts. We meet at the Sober Parrot, Cheltenham’s alcohol-free entertainment bar, on Sunday mornings from about 10.15 to 12.30. The Sober Parrot is at 7 St James Square, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3PR.

If you would like to come along, email john@cheltenhamstories.com or telephone 077 88 515387.