Pancakes, Passion and Performance!

Bloggie friends!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! It's the Year of the Snake!! Apparently the snake  is "associated with wisdom, beauty and intelligence but also pride and anger" (BBC News).  Sounds like me!  LOL!  

Oh you all so know I am only pulling your leg!

Now bloggie friends? How are y'all at reading bedtime stories to the kiddies!?

I remember reading Thomas the Tank Engine to my nephews when they were little. Their verdict? "Don't give up the day job, auntie Old Kitty".

Anyways! Here is a competition for you storytellers out there in honour of the upcoming World Book Day! All you have to do is upload a video of yourself bringing a children's story to life!  Easy! But hurry! Entries end at midnight today, 11 Feb.

Charlie says: I ignore the show off behind me.

And of course tomorrow is Pancake Day too! So get flipping! :-)

And  now as I prepare to wade through my expected deluge of Valentine's cards (ahem!) I shall love you and leave you  and wish you all a great week!  :-)

But before we go off into the sunset - here is a sweet  song to all little creatures looking for a forever home!

Dragons and elves and brollies, oh my!

They say that summer’s ending
In the middle of August they’re selling
Christmas trees in Harrods
When there’s 130 days to go yet!

Yes bloggie friends, this report reckons that the year’s UK summer is now well and truly finished.

Time to bring out the brolly!

As well as to get stuck into lots of writing competitions – thanks to lovely Patsy Collins for the info to this one!

They’re looking for fantasy short stories so y’all should enter!! Think dragons and elves and fairies, oh my! LOL! It’s free, the prize is an iPad and it’s global and in association with a big name publisher!

Charlie says: I fantasise about treats.


Happy Tuesday!

A story a day helps you work, rest and play!

Bloggie friends!! I have been a little barren in the writing of stories department when the lovely fairyhedghog introduced me to this amazing competition held by the Clarity of Night blog!

The criteria is to write a 250 word max story inspired by this pic:



My story is here.

Fairyhedgehog's wonderful story is here.

Please do get inspired and join too!!

I know mine will never win (cos it's rubbish!) but it's my first story in like 6 weeks and what is a story without readers?? Hint, hint! LOL!

Charlie says: I take shelter from the rain.


This week is so going to be a little miserable weather-wise - rain, grey, dull, rain! But I still wear my sandals and make do with very wet feet and oh so lovely pedicured nails! LOL!

The One that Got Away

Kind bloggie friends please bear with me!

This is one of my pieces I sent off for a competition and of course didn't win!! But I liked it so much I thought I'd share this with you. The prize was a book on how to write short stories and you had to write - creatively - why you wanted this book.

********************************************

Help!

How do I write a story
That’s short and full of glory?
It must engage the reader
So they may perhaps consider
How life in all its complexities
May be distilled in such narratives
Without them realising
The difficulties of composing
These perfect little vignettes
I need all the help I can get.

Thank you.

********************************************

Charlie says: While you were typing up that sad excuse for a poem, I beheaded Mr MacDoonagoogle.


Have a tutti-frutti Tuesday everyone!

It's all about perspective

Ok so today I hear one of my stories that I sent off for competition waaaaaaay back in January didn't win.

Ok it didn't even make the shortlist.

But I comfort myself that there were over 2000 entries - over TWO THOUSAND entries!

Now I know maths isn't my strongest point but the way I look at it, I had erm... minus zero chance of getting anywhere with it. LOL!

See, it's all about perspective.



If I don't laugh and take the philosophical route, I'd cry.

So yep, it's all about perspective.



Have a lovely Thursday everyone!

Tarting writing - things I'm learning

Eager to spread my literary wings... ok, make that, desperate for acknowledgement of some sort... and the prize money will always come in handy...

I thought I'd send a few of my pieces of writing to a few competitions.

Ok, make that send one of my pieces of writing to one competition.

In the process I have learned many valuable things:

1. Thinking and doing are never the same thing. I knew I wanted to join the Memoir Competition since last November. I also knew the deadline for the above was today. It didn't occur to me until five minutes ago that I had to actually get moving and complete the form and email them them the story, like NOW.

2. Editing and drafting in five minutes does not work.

3. Read through in less than that while panicking does not work.

4. I do not have a hope in hell.

Another thing I have learned:

In Ireland there is such a thing as a tax-exempt law for artists thanks to this post by EllenB. Of course such a law has already been used to great financial advantage by the richest of them, like U2 and the Ahernes. Of course.

Which brings me to this little anecdote - its truth verified by urban mythical fact:

U2 are playing to a packed stadium. In a moment of retrospection, Bono clicks his fingers. Click, click. "Everytime I click my fingers," he says to his audience - click, click, "A child in Africa dies."

To which some ne'er do well from the crowd yells out, "Well stop bloody doing it then!"