Writing Shorter Tales

So during lockdown I have been working as usual but also thinking about new writing projects. I’ve decided to go back to my roots and start writing shorts again.

Short stories are always creeping up on me when I least expect them and lately I have been excited by the short stories of such writers as John Boyne and Joanne Harris. I have also been exploring YA fiction, which on the whole tends to be shorter narratives.

If I start a new short story I usually have one particular thing that I want to say. For my first story it was about a meeting linked to a snowdrift. Another of my original shorts explored a woman’s memories of past visits to the seaside and her husband that she lost there.

During lockdown I thought a lot about misconceptions and the opinions that people form superficially, without getting more information to inform their judgements. This led me first to write about a family whose garden was in need of weeding. A secret was hidden in the garden which actually held wonderful memories. Yet the father did not see why his son was so protective of a particularly wild section of the yard.

Another story dealt with a fairly unforgiving lady who got her knickers in a twist about a situation which involved a cycling accident. Her thoughts were selfish and narrow minded and she ended up totally misreading what had happened.

Many of my stories have twists and turns. The latest book of short stories is called, ‘Second Glance’ and was written in lockdown as a series of unrelated stories, simply connected by the idea that situations often need looking at a second time in order to be properly understood.

It is always important to take a second glance.

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