The end is nigh! What did I learn from Ether Flash Fortnight?

Well, it's been quite a (flash) fortnight. Frenzied story-writing and rewriting for the Ether Books Flash Fortnight Challenge, blogging, and image creation. All in the midst of life as we know it, full of smelly PE kits, loom bands and sniffles. Add an organisational restructure at work into that, and it's a heady mix. Oh, …

Stories in spaaaaaaaaace!

After my previous diversion to Chester for the Literature Prize, we are now heading out to space! Probably best to blame the satnav - after all, look what it did in Chester... Day 4 of the Ether Flash Fortnight challenge required a story on the theme of home. Excellent! I thought. I have one of …

A night at the movies: Red Carpet Blues

Guess what the theme for Ether Flash Fortnight day 4 was? 'Movies' is a theme I will confess to having trouble with. Firstly, since having kids I very rarely get to watch anything which isn't a) animated, b) U-rated. By the time they've gone to bed and we've eaten, I generally don't have enough energy …

Overcoming writer’s block: A Stitch In Time

It was day 3 of Ether's Flash Fortnight, and the theme was Celebration. I was completely stuck, and I didn't know why. I wanted to write about a wedding, but how, without straying into Four Weddings? Various scenarios chased each other through my head. Either I didn't like them, or I didn't think I could get …

Flash Fortnight Day 2: Playing the Game

Today's 'story behind the story' relates to day 2 of the Ether Flash Fortnight Challenge, themed REVENGE... Some time previously on Flash! Friday the picture prompt had been a chess game, and we had had to include a nemesis. And we couldn't use the word 'chess'. Oh yes, and I wanted to have a go …

In My End Is My Beginning: the story behind the story

I submitted In My End Is My Beginning for Day 1 of Ether Flash Fiction Fortnight, where the theme we had to work to was Beginnings. This story is a rewrite of a very short story I wrote for Flash!Friday, where our photo prompt was a picture of St Kilda, and our required item to include was a …

Roll credits! Ether Flash Fortnight image credits

Here are the credits and attributions for all images I used in the making of promotional images for my flash fiction collection on Ether> I have also included a credit for non-standard fonts. In My End Is My Beginning: the original photo is by photophilde and is called Stormy sky at the beach. I found it via …

Writing all over the place

'Why? Whyyyyyyyy?' I flung my hands up to the sky as I realised that, as usual, I had bitten off more than I could chew. Let us consider the evidence. I had already decided that it would be a great idea to commit to writing an average of 600 words a day on the hot …