Taking a deep breath..

.. because, I just submitted my first manuscript for consideration! I've removed 'Surviving the Night' from my blog for now as a revised version of it is actually in the hands of two publishers, so until I hear back from them I have pulled it.

I have also removed one of my haiku which is also under consideration.

Twitterati

"Blood dripped from her body. Her life ebbing away in a scarlet stream. There was no pain. Instead she burned and the fire cleansed her soul."

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Week 6 - Twitterati

Write a piece of fiction using only 140 characters. This challenge is designed to make you think about your words, your letters and your punctuation. Write something that will allow your reader to fill in the blanks.

Remember, this is not 'up to 140 characters' - it is exactly 140 characters!

Rewriting Fairytales...

If I were to write,
The fairy tale of my life,
I'd not be the Princess,
I would just be his wife.

With a family at home,
There is no time for play,
Not to sit in a tower,
Brushing my hair all day.

I'll cook and I'll wash,
And take care of them all,
I won't even mind
That I miss out on the ball.

I'd rather not be there,
There is a flaw in that scene,
Those dainty glass slippers
Are just too hard to clean!

I need no fairy godmother
Nor a pixie or elf,
I won't wait for a Prince,
I'd rather rescue myself!

So while you were dreaming,
Of some fanciful thing.
I lived in real life,
And I married my king!

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Week 3 - Rewriting Fairytales

Choose a fairytale that you like and rewrite it changing any/all of the following elements:

Point of view - For example, rewrite Snow White from the perspective of the Wicked Queen

Genre - For example, how would Cinderella fare in Chick-Lit, or Sleeping Beauty in Psychological Thriller?

Time - For example, can you image how Hansel and Gretel would translate into the 21st century? A couple of ASBO kids eating someone's house..

The point of the exercise is to have fun exploring the different elements. We all know what the fairytale is supposed to be like; let's shake it up a little!

I come from...

I come from a house full of children,
A mismatched group of girls and boys,
Some related by blood, some by circumstance,
A few stay only for a day while others never leave,
but all of them are family.

I come from a house that suddenly got quiet,
With a father who was too sick for all of us,
One by one they all found new homes,
They went to new homes and new parents,
Or grew too big for the nest.

I come from a house where sadness lurks,
Where we miss the ones who are no longer here,
Brothers, sisters, pets and our father.
Gone before we were ready to say goodbye,
Before we were grown.

I come from a house with new children,
A mismatched group of girls and boys,
Where a grandmother gathers them all to her,
And tells them of when their mothers were little,
And the house is happy again.

I Am Born

Chapter 1 : I Am Born.

On May 18^th, 1980, Mount St Helens erupted. One year on there was a different sort of eruption as I burst into the world and turned it on its end. I was the proud owner of “a fine pair of lungs”, according to my Father. I certainly put them to use. If my older sisters are to believed, I cried so much that no-one saw my face until I was 18 months old – just my gaping mouth. I completed our family – the biological part anyway. Imagine the shock when she was proclaimed 5 months pregnant almost 5 years after being declared infertile. A bittersweet gift considering my arrival put an end to the adoption of the son my father had always hoped for. I never got to meet my 'brother', he was taken away a month before my birth to 'make room' for me. Silly really – in our house there was always room for one more.

Falling Apart

Every beat of my heart hurts,
That means it must have broken.
Vomit rises in my throat,
Stomach tangling in knots,
My eyes burn with stinging tears.

When did I become afraid,
Of the man I've always loved?
His rage and hatred chill me,
I don't understand the anger.
I love him, but it burns me.

He loathes my everything.
I just wish I could fix it.
I miss him. His smile and his
embrace. The sound of his laugh.
All that is left is this shell.

Depression consumed his soul,
Left him trapped in the dark.
I can't bear to watch him dying.

I try so hard to be strong,
Faking smiles and hiding tears.
It gets harder every day.
It is inevitable.
I am going to crumble.

Inside I'm already broken.
Piece by piece I fall apart,
Secret pain I cannot share.
Often I am told to leave,
but how can I abandon him?

Brutality

My heart broke that day,
I heard it crack open,
Ripping and splintering,
Broken shards of pain.
I heard it out loud,
A harsh, inhuman howl
Spilling from bruised lips.
The cracked skin stings
Tears washing it with salt.
Love hurts. Love is brutal.


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Way back at the beginning of A215, the lovely Paula K Lewis set up a series of challenges to get us in the mood for the course, I didn't have time to participate, but now as I face a case of writers block, I am giving them a try. Thanks Paula.

Challenge 1 -  Write a poem of 40 lines or less, using 'Brutality' as your theme. You are free to interpret this however you wish.