Esther Chilton
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You’ll need to get your skates on with this week’s market (closing date a week today – Wednesday 25th February), but when you hear about the prize money, you may very well want to! The BBC National Short Story Award in partnership with Booktrust gives the first place prize winner £15,000, the runner-up £3,000 and…
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Clever people those who swim when they can’t swim:
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Last week, I gave you a picture prompt: Often this gets the creative juices going and it certainly did for Geoff Le Pard. He sent in this simply stunning piece of writing, which I just had to share. Sit back, read and be inspired: Two Become One They stopped the chair to let him look…
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Check, check and re-check! This week’s tip is a reminder for you on the perils of not checking your work. I always leave my stories and articles for a few days before going back over them and I’ve been amazed at the silly mistakes I’ve made. Nod if you’re with me here – they range…
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Well, some of you certainly enjoyed last week’s writing challenge – Keith Channing! Scroll down to read some simply brilliant limericks. This week’s writing challenge will gradually wean Keith off the limericks – it’s for a rhyming poem. Not every line has to rhyme, but they can if you like. It can be as short…
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My market for you this week (especially for Keith Channing!) is a limerick competition. The Writers Bureau/Freelance Market News are holding a competition for the best limerick. £100 goes to the winner, plus a Writers Bureau course of his/her choice. There are also two runner-up prizes of £50 plus a subscription to Freelance Market News.…
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I’d like to see someone try:
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Sometimes the words and ideas for a story just won’t come. But see a photo, or word and suddenly your mind is alive with possibilities. Today, I give you an image of a secret garden as a prompt. Who you add to the garden is up to you. You could write a children’s story and…
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Turning a Negative into a Positive A few years ago, editors used to send rejection letters. Some would be standard and others would be personal and offer some helpful advice about why the submission wasn’t suitable. Nowadays, many editors don’t even seem to have the time to send a standard rejection. So, if you do…
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This week’s challenge is a fun one and it’s one I’ve set before – the beloved limerick! Here’s a reminder of how to write one:Traditional limericks have five lines, where the first, second and fifth lines rhyme, with seven to ten syllables in each line. The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and…
