An exercise from Ursula Le Guin's Steering the Craft book - write a piece of narrative with no punctuation... People were all around her shouting dancing singing hugging kissing laughing and all she could see was the sky with its low grey clouds that wanted to rain but were being kept off by the blast …
I had the most delightfully strange conversation with the Queen Bee this morning. For those who don’t know, the queen of my sentient bees will occasionally decide to wander my garden, and the woods beyond, in something vaguely approaching humanoid form. Tall and thin, with a pale, pointed face, eyes of pure black, and small …
“You have to, you’re doing your Leaver’s presentation this week.” “Which is why I’m not going. What am I going to tell them? That I’m going to spend my future career pushing a broom around my Mum’s coffee shop?” Janet rolled her eyes, then propped one hip on the desk in front of mine, arms …
Leanne winced as she heard the voice outside her studio, loud enough that probably didn’t need the phone she was speaking into. Geraldine was coming to keep her company while she worked, again. What that actually meant was that Geraldine would harass her with questions and opinions from the moment she opened the door to …
Alex breathed in and centred himself, if Grandma could chop wood, a hale and healthy man in his twenties would have no problem. The axe felt strange in his hands, warm, heavy in a way that spoke more of possibility than actual heft. The wooden handle worn smooth from years of use, the steel head, …
Grandad was a hoarder. He picked up the oddest things at second-hand shops, and charity places, and car boot sales, always saying. “You never know when something like this will come in handy.” Everything was then taken down to the old shed at the back of the garden, where no one but Grandad ever went. …
I got a call from our local locksmith’s assistant, Jeremiah Singh, this morning. Before you ask, his father’s from India, I’m not sure which region, and his mother’s from a long-time local family. They met in town, in a pub, when someone insulted Mr Singh and the now Mrs Singh belted the insulter over the …
Sarah barged through the door, just in time for morning tea, although I don’t think that was intentional. “We have a problem.” “Oh?” You remember how, ages ago, Ben and I were here, and we made a treasure map of the garden?” “Yes. It was quite a good map, although I’m not sure the pond …
I’ve had reports over the past few days of a mysterious, antlered figure in the woods. Normally I’d not pay it much mind. We do have deer about the place. But all the reports say this figure walks on two legs, not four, and vanishes into the green as soon as it’s spotted. It’s a …
Delauney watched Melenique stalk towards the lift, designer suitcase trundling behind her. "Where did you reassign her to?" David looked up from his phone. "Anywhere there's a problem with performance, she's our roving troubleshooter." "I bet she's good at that." Her husband smirked. "Half the time all I need to do is mention her, and …
The DNA of Stories 