A year ago today I started this blog with the simple goal of writing more. Whats particularly surprising is that I have managed to sustain this goal! I’m typically very good at starting things and spectacularly awful at maintaining them, so the fact that I’m still here blogging away one year later is a very pleasant surprise.
To celebrate this occasion I went back through a years worth of posts and picked out a few of my favorites:
March 8th Flash Fiction – This was the first flash fiction where I played with a split narrative, a style I’ve really grown to enjoy. There is something compelling about telling the same story from multiple perspectives, each one adding a new layer to the overall story. It’s much closer to how we all experience our own personal story, just one perspective in the big complex tale we call life.
April 5th Flash Fiction – There’s something about the interactions between Timmy and the old man which still make me smile when I read this story. There’s a lot left unsaid and hints at a much deeper story, but instead we catch a fleeting glimpse into a simple decision. I also love the name Sir Blocksalot!
Behold an artists rendition of Sir Blocksalot
Skinny Pete – This was my very first entry in Flash! Friday and so is a bit of a milestone all in itself. I went from writing stories for a few people reading my blog to writing stories for the hundreds of people following this weekly Flash Fiction competition (now thousands!)
Revealed – Something about that smirk made me think of mischief and I liked the idea of the Queen sticking it to her husband even if it was at the expense of the poor innocent painter!
Ill-tempered – This story was my first win for Flash! Friday and as such will always be a special memory for me. I remember that I was at a friends wedding when the winners were announced and I jumped out of my seat with excitement and surprise when a tweet came through congratulating me during the dinner. Fun times!
Viewpoint – More split narrative fun but this time from the points of view of a man and his dog. I love the contrasting experiences in this one, the man enjoying his leisurely stroll and the poor dog doing her darnedest to keep her master alive.
So those were a few of my favourites from the past 12 months. It was a lot of fun re-reading all my old stories, there were several I had completely forgotten about. I can certainly see the progression from my earlier writing to the more recent tales. I’m looking forward to doing this all over again a year from now. Until then 🙂
