National Short Story Week

"The Wish Dog and Other Stories takes you into the realm of the unknown, the ghostly and the gothic, in a colourful kaleidoscope of half-glimpsed shades" said the blurb; not my usual sort of bedtime reading but, with a story in it by Rona Laycock, my mentor and colleague in Catchword, I thought I'd give it a try in National Short Story Week. And, with some from historical perspectives, some sharply contemporary, a really good read the stories have proved to be.

Published by Honno Press 2014

I've always liked short stories and they fit well into my time-limited lifestyle  - compact tales that slot in to a bus journey or a coffee break, take you into a different world for ten minutes but leave that world embedded in your own for you to think about and enjoy during the rest of your day too. But I certainly haven't found them the easy option to write! To create enjoyable, credible scenarios with rounded, 3D characters within a tight word limit is a challenge; knowing where to start and where to stop, allowing the reader to fill in the backstory, the sequel - skills that take a fledgling writer time and practice to perfect!