A Distraction at the Bus Stop

It’s been ages since I did a journal post on either DW or LJ but I'm going to try and make the effort to post more regularly.

So, it was my birthday on the 6th, and I received some lovely fics from friends:

Three Little Maids by smallhobbit

A Year in a Life by mafief

First Birthday (An Inky Quill 221B) by stonepicnicking_okapi


And in July I took part in Flash Fiction Month on DA. I hadn’t really written for months beforehand, and I was starting to think perhaps that was it. My enthusiasm and the ability to come up with ideas seemed to have gone completely. But I’d also been watching a few writing events going past on DW that I usually took part in, and feeling a bit of a pang that I wasn’t involved. And FFM had been such an important event for me… In the end I decided to have a go and see what happened, without putting any terribly high expectations on myself.

You will be pleased/happy/horrified to know that the puns still live! I found I was able to come up with ideas for the prompts and challenges when I really set my mind to it. And I found I was still able to entertain others and entertain myself. As always I concentrated on humour but there were a couple of goes at psychological realism as well. I don’t expect anyone to wade through all 31 stories at this point but here’s a selection to give you an idea of what I got up to:

something serious (CW: contains (supernatural) bullying and one very strong swear word)

something humorous with puns

something humorous without puns

I didn’t win a prize but I did get an honourable mention for the month (there were four winners and four honourable mentions). Which I was very happy about because I hadn’t even been expecting that this time. It was just exhilarating to know I could still write and it was lovely to have people admiring my work and, well, admiring me. (I’m sure Small Hobbit will be pleased to know that my partner for the collaborative challenge described me as ‘hyper-competent’...)

But now the month and all the excitement is over, I rather feel I’m back to where I started. And I’m starting to wonder if I need to get out of a rut and stretch myself more as a writer. As a writer of silly comedy I do sometimes feel like a clever child being tolerated by the adults who are doing the real work. A DA friend whose writing I really admire was so enthusiastic about one of my stories 'The Flatmate' (the ‘something serious’ option above), which was by far the one which dealt the most with real human emotions. I think maybe I need to start concentrating more on what goes on inside my characters. It doesn’t mean I have to give up the comedy, just add to it.


The other thing that’s been going on is that I’ve been learning Dutch with Duolingo for the last six months. I’ve just ‘completed’ the course and received my virtual golden owl trophy. But I don’t really see this as the end—it just means I’ve now unlocked all the sections and so have access to them all. I’m planning on spending another six months on the course, earning all the crowns that are awarded for revising each section.

But I shall burble on more about my adventures in Dutch in the next post!

Last month I took part in Flash Fiction Month over on DeviantArt, writing and posting a story of 55 to 1,000 words for each day of July.

Here are links to the last batch of stories, if anyone's interested in taking a look:


Nectar The aggression of butterflies.

Details, Details... A wedding planner puts together a wedding for a mixed undead-living couple.

The Descent It's a long way down...

Painting a Picture The difficulties of being a paintbrush.

Descriptions Putting together a photofit.

Walking a Tightrope A CYOA story. Tightropes, death, local politics and social awkwardness.

Interrobang ! and ? visit their relationship counsellor.

Adding Meaning to Your Life The word SHEEP decides to have a makeover.

Winning is for Losers While playing Snakes and Ladders, Blue has a revelation.

Death at the Party Death finds it difficult to make friends.

Super Market A look at the strange, strange world of Retail. A 369'er: 3 self-contained stories of 69 words each.

Soulmates Do Exist Jonathan splits up with someone he wasn't aware he was in a relationship with.

Magic Dance The Muse of dance has lost her rhythm.

X, Y and Z The letter Y is not happy with its position in life.

All in the Tea Leaves The loose leaf tea attempts to take over the teabags' territory.


Or you can find all my stories grouped together here.


Author's Picks: Nectar and Death at the Party!

I'm currently taking part in Flash Fiction Month over on DeviantArt, writing and posting a story of 55 to 1,000 words each day of July.

Here are links to the first batch if anyone's interested in taking a look:


The Hero's Return Albert Braithwaite ponders on how much reward one man truly deserves.

In Bad Shape A rhombus arrives with interesting news for a line drawn between two points.

Restarting a Conversation A nice lady from the Articulation Association attempts to repair a conversation that has broken down.

The Elements of Attraction A grandmother attempts to play matchmaker after she's gone.

Show Your Working Out Discrimination against fractions in Mathematics.

Flying High A lady journalist plays fast and loose with the facts when reporting on the Wright brothers' first powered flight.

Bound Forms An adjective and a prefix are having marital problems.

Get Your Evil In Order Barry the Evil is being evil again. But sometimes he's his own worst enemy.


Author's pick: Restarting a Conversation!


And just adding it to this post because I was v. proud - my ACD microfic 'On The Shelf' was recently recced by ancientreader on 221b_recs here.

My publisher (^___^) JayHenge Publishing has just announced that their latest anthology of short stories is now available. It's called 'Unearthly Sleuths' and I have a story in there, 'Noir Comedy', under the name Charlotte Frankel. You can see the UK paperback here and the UK Kindle edition here, and the US paperback version here and the US Kindle edition here.

As with the previous anthology I was involved in, I'm so pleased by how well-designed the collection is. I'm rather tickled by the fact that any 'a's in the authors' names are replaced by a little magnifying glass, and each story gets its own image as well. Mine is of a woman in a mask - as my story is a crossover between Commedia dell'arte and Detective Noir. (Someone else's prompt from Flash Fiction Month on DA, but I like to think I did it justice...) And it's a great cover as well. Haven't actually read the collection yet - but there are several authors in there I know and admire. I'm very happy to have been involved, and in fact I'm already planning on submitting stuff for another anthology.


Talking of little magnifying glasses... I'm in my *cough*late-40s*cough* but my near sight is still in pretty good shape for most situations. However, I am noticing the onward march of time - I have to hold my wristwatch a little further away, I can't comfortably thread a needle any more, I need plenty of light to read the small print on the back of a packet. And most pertinently, at work customers sometimes thrust items at me, point to tiny, tiny print on the label and ask, "What does that say?" And I either can't read it at all, or can't read it with confidence.

And so, in the spirit of keeping the ageing process as fun as possible, I have bought... my very own golden pince-nez! It's so cute. The frame is metal and a pale golden colour, with a little loop if I wish to attach a chain, and the lenses are oval. The whole thing is surprisingly small - about the width of a credit card. And I hadn't realised that pince-nez are worn so far down the nose - at the soft bit, rather than on the bridge. This makes it very easy to look over the pince-nez as well as through it, switching from near to far sight. Mine does pince the nez slightly more than I was hoping, but I can't expect a perfect fit from something off the shelf - and I don't need to wear them a lot.

I will go and have a proper eye test eventually though. It has only been 30 years or so... ^^"

So, just a round-up of writing--and reading--things ^^


I had a birthday this month, and I received two lovely fics:

Firstly, Happy Birthday by thesmallhobbit, in which Mouselet and the rest of the gang manage to batter my bouquet and eat part of my cake. (You know, I spent part of my birthday looking up articles about Victorian taxidermy… *gives gang a significant look*)

And secondly, the brilliant and witty The Greek Decanter by okapi1895, in which Sherlock (possibly born a coffeepot, formerly a teapot and now a vase) and John (definitely a teapot) go to visit Mycroft (definitely a coffeepot).

Okapi’s fic is set in my Tea Set AU series. Writing John and Sherlock as teapots was my first major go at a story in the Sherlock fandom--the fics were inspired by this photograph on Tumblr by hisietari. (Essentially I look at people and think: ‘I don’t know what the heck’s going on there.’ Then I look at objects and think: ‘Well, obviously I know what it’s like to be a teapot.’)

I’m just so touched that Okapi chose to write something so personal for me, and so impressed with what she did with the idea--the whole fic is packed with marvellous details.


In July I took part in Flash Fiction Month over on DA. I managed to complete all 31 stories as usual and with regard to the prizes, I was the runner-up for Week 4--which is not to be sniffed at I suppose. I felt this year was a weaker crop of stories overall, though there were many stories I was very happy with. And I’ve discovered I can still write while half-asleep ^^ I’ve also definitely sold one of the stories and I’m probably going to sell another, once I’ve finished a bit of rewriting. (It’s the same tiny publisher I’ve mentioned before.)


I’ve signed up again for heroinebigbang’s Round 4 Redux. If you remember, Round 4 sort of fizzled out and then sprang back into life but I decided to post my fic on my own because I wanted it out of the way. But I want to try and do an official fic for the challenge too. This one will just be a tiny bang--under 5,000 words.


And smallfandombang’s Round 6 is on the way--it’s starting 1st September! For this round, I’m going to try and produce a 50,000 word work. I’ve got 5 months until the rough drafts are due--I think I can do it. I’m thinking of doing a Dear Ladies/Pirates of Penzance crossover. I have no idea about the details, or any kind of plot, yet though.


Finally, I’d like to do a bit of advertising on behalf of a DA friend.

Damon L. Wakes has had a novella accepted by the crowdfunding publisher Unbound. Writers pitch their ideas (in Damon’s case the novella was already written), and then to quote Unbound: If it’s got the makings of a great book, we’ll launch it on our site. If readers like the idea they can pledge and support it for exclusive rewards.

The book is called Ten Little Astronauts and in the author’s own words, it’s ‘an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery novella set on board an interstellar spacecraft’.

If you follow the link, you can see Damon’s pitch video--filmed inside an actual submarine--the synopsis for the book, an excerpt, a little about the author, and the list of pledge amounts and what you will receive in exchange.

To quote the author again:

If you’ve ever organised a project through, supported a project on, or simply heard of Kickstarter, you’ll have some idea how the process works. The main difference with Unbound is that they’ll only take on projects they have some faith in: they already put forward the money to get me on board that submarine with a professional videographer!

If funded, Ten Little Astronauts will have professional editing, proofreading and cover design, with a trade paperback distributed by Penguin Random House no less.


Do please go and have a look. If the idea for the book grabs you and you can spare the cash (heaven knows I agonised over that aspect), consider making a pledge--the lowest amount is £10. You’ll be helping a book to come into being and helping an exceptionally talented young writer along on the next step of his career. I so admire Damon. He’s ambitious in the most positive sense of the word--working so hard to get his stuff out there, while always taking the time to be interested in other people’s writing too.

At the moment I'm taking part in Flash Fiction Month over on DA - writing a story of 55 to 1,000 words each day of July. Here's links to the next batch of stories, if anyone wants to take a look:



Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

The Big Break-Up

Let Sleeping Bags Lie

Shop

Setting The Stage

Dress-Down Wednesday

The Things That Come Out of Your Mouth


Or you can find all my stories grouped together here.


Author's Choice: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes! A tale of firefighter homunculi, hopeless love, humors and humour.

At the moment I'm taking part in Flash Fiction Month over on DA - writing a story of 55 to 1,000 words each day of July.

Here's links to the first batch, if anyone wants to have a look:

Noir Comedy

Dream Job

Blue Fairy

Undercover

Red Herring

The Hearing Aid

Underneath the Stars

Laura's Debut


Author's Pick: Noir Comedy! A humorous crossover between Commedia dell'arte and Detective Noir. (Oh, there was some Googling that day...)

Well, as my sister likes to put it, I have just handed in my homework to the holmestice mods. I’m pretty happy with my fic and I’m looking forward to seeing what my recipient thinks of it. I’m also pretty excited about finding out what my gift fic is going to be like. Posting will begin on 1st June and runs to the 14th.

I’ve also finally completed my heroinebigbang fic. It’s about 26,500 words long. My sister is currently reading it, just for (alleged) pleasure at the moment, though she is doing a bit of informal beta-ing as she goes. So far I have called the vicar’s wife Clarissa instead of Cressida, demonstrated a tendency to drop the pronoun “you” from questions, and teamed a shawl with a chiffon scarf—which is apparently “too much”. (The scarf is being replaced by a hat.) I am determined to get the wretched thing posted sometime in the first half of June, and then I can start thinking about writing something 50,000 words long. (^^”)

And in other writing news… I think I might be in the process of selling my first story. It’s for an anthology being produced by a (self-proclaimed) tiny publisher. It wouldn’t be much money but I’m very pleased—it’s a start. I’ll bang on about it in more detail if/when it actually happens.

To finish, a personal update: my sister is nobly fixing the results of years of water damage at the back of the kitchen sink, so we’re having to do the washing up in the bath. Not actually in the bath—in a plastic washing up bowl. But still—in the bath.

It’s the posting period at smallfandombang at the moment. My Dear Ladies fic Held to Account went up on Sunday, which was also the first time I had seen amoredition’s accompanying art in all its final glory. You can see it here on Tumblr and also here on LJ, if you fancy leaving her a comment! The art features Hilda, Evadne and one of my OCs Duncan—who was quite happy working as a porter at The Queens of the Theatre Club until encountering Hilda and Evadne’s mountain of luggage. (To be fair, it’s mainly Hilda’s.) The story involves the dear ladies going on a quest to investigate a 30 year old crime, and in the background of the artwork you can see the route they take on their travels. I love the overall design of the artwork and I love all the little details. It's wonderful—I'm thrilled with it.

I’m still working on my heroinebigbang fic. I’m up to 21,500 words now. I’m fairly happy with the first half or so—though it still needs a bit more work. The second half is pretty much there but it’s still rather bitty—it needs developing. But I’m not (too) worried. I am on schedule.

For my intoabar fic I've been assigned Dr. Watson for Dame Hilda Bracket to meet. I must admit I was a little disappointed at first. When I decided to sign up I thought that I would just put down ACD Holmes for my fandoms, same as last year. Then I decided to be bold! I decided to nominate more fandoms! And I put down Are You Being Served? and Pirates of Penzance too! And… I got a character from ACD Holmes, same as last year. (Well, at least I didn’t get Irene Adler again.) But I have to say putting Hilda and Watson together is working out very well. I’ve already written a 3,000 word first draft.

I think I’m also going to sign up for holmestice. There’s a week to go for sign-ups, so I’ve got some time to think about it. Must admit I find holmestice a bit intimidating—makes me feel like a very minor player with not much to offer. But there’s always room for even minor players to play.

Today was the final check-in over at smallfandombang. My very first big bang fic stands at just over 16,000 words and is all ready to be posted next month. I'm pretty excited about that but I'm even more excited over the fact my story was claimed by an artist, so it will be getting accompanying fanart. I have to say that artists for this challenge have been extraordinarily generous - we authors far outnumber them and quite a few artists ended up claiming several fics.

I feel like I'm getting to grips with writing at length now. I wanted to keep pushing myself, so in February I signed up for the "whammy" at heroinebigbang. That's a 25,000 word minimum. My fic stands at the moment at approximately 7,000 words and has to be 50% finished on 4th May when the rough drafts are due (but I definitely want to be further along than that) and the final version has to be handed in by 30th May. Nobody I know well is doing the challenge, so I wanted to mention it here to make it "real" and make sure I don't chicken out. But I am confident I'm going to have a reasonably well-written, 25,000 word fic done by the end of May. Isn't it odd how quickly you adjust once you start trying things? Not that long ago, 25,000 words would have just seemed impossible to me - now I can view it as: "Well, I know I can write 1,000 words in a day. So 25,000 words is just doing that 25 times."

For both big bangs, I'm writing in the Dear Ladies fandom. A little bit of trivia that might interest some of the people reading this: Hilda and Evadne often refer in their stage and radio shows to old friends and colleagues, and two of these characters, Dodie Bantock and her husband Courtney, appeared in Dear Ladies. Only in two episodes, but they were main characters within those episodes. And Dodie Bantock is played by Rosalie Williams. Who was..? Anyone? Yes - the Granada Mrs. Hudson! When did I finally realise Dodie Bantock was Mrs. Hudson? Only two months ago. The characters are very different and look very different - but that's ridiculous ^^" I'm so taken aback that my fandoms have been overlapping in this way without me noticing.

Just to finish off - as I mentioned in my last post, I'm now the proud co-mod of holmes_minor and I'm thrilled with how things have been going so far. We've had quite a few people join and some splendid submissions. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the comm develops.