tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54522512011-07-30T16:09:01.659ZA selection of my work, from excerpts of stories that I've written to sell, to competition entries, to stories that I just wanted to write. I hope you enjoy them.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-4757530182677504992010-09-20T11:46:00.001Z2010-09-20T12:19:48.624Z

(To celebrate the release of "Clash of the Geeks", the Wil Wheaton / John Scalzi fan-fiction chapbook for the Lupus Alliance of America, I thought I'd finally share my entry for the fan-fic competition. I don't know how it went so dark, but as they say, this is the story that needed to be told and who am I to disagree with the story? :-) I'm mostly happy with this, apart from the paragraph about

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-28936453975513435652010-09-16T12:36:00.003Z2010-09-16T13:18:03.724Z

I’ve made it to 5,000 tweets. That in itself is an achievement, given that almost all I say from day to day is “hello” and “going home”. I’m surprised it only took three years and three months! Seeing as how I realised this milestone was coming up, I thought I’d get introspective and see how my life’s changed since I started tweeting. Also, if you’ve started following me recently, I hope this

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-19587055499997864422010-08-16T23:28:00.001Z2010-08-17T14:07:10.312Z

(Back in 2005, I got to attend the Star Wars Marathon, which consisted of all five movies (at the time), in release order, and the premiere of Episode 3. We started with A New Hope at 7.30am and staggered out of the cinema after Revenge of the Sith at around 11.30pm. It was, quite simply, the second best day of my life so far. And if it hadn't been for my wife, I wouldn't have been there.) The

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-48694937026671325762010-01-08T10:58:00.002Z2010-01-08T11:01:45.139Z

(This is a piece of narrative non-fiction developed from "If I Build It...", which I performed at the Winchester Discovery Centre for the November Short Story Slam. Even though I didn't get into the top three, I had such a great time reading my work that I didn't mind at all. I'm looking forward to the next one :-)During the summer, I spent a day helping to build a humungous house out of Lego

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-62997878264438944662009-05-01T08:32:00.002Z2009-05-01T08:40:33.637Z

(Now that "End of the Trail" has been published, I guess I'm free to let you read the whole story. It was published in My Weekly under the title of "Will There Be Ducks?" and I was really happy with the layout. I'm looking forward to my next magazine submission!I feel the story's more touching for me now that (at least for me) BSG has finished. Don't worry, this is absolutely spoiler-free :-) All

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-39313576300046771122009-02-18T15:01:00.002Z2009-02-18T15:11:17.691Z

(OK, so I'm hopeless at routinely writing here :-) I got my copy of Sunken Treasure by Wil Wheaton yesterday and I've been inspired to have a go at narrative non-fiction. Even though I have a story half written for next week's Basingstoke Writers' Circle. Read into that what you will!)I regressed to childhood a couple of Saturdays ago and spent a few hours rummaging through a huge cardboard box

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-51134731052427676682008-08-11T14:45:00.003Z2008-08-11T15:08:10.892Z

(For our holiday in 2007, we went to Florida, taking in the sights, sounds and mouse ears of Orlando. To give ourselves a break, we decided to head down to the Keys and spent a couple of nights staying at the Curry House in Key West. While there, and possibly while under the influence of one too many mohitos, we decided to go on a ghost tour. One of the stories we heard introduced us to Robert

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-19093122029091436632008-08-11T14:27:00.003Z2009-02-18T15:14:14.894Z

(Wow, almost a year since I last posted something here. I am *really* bad at this... To kick off what I hope will be regular postings from now on, here's an excerpt of a 1300 word short story which I've sold to My Weekly magazine. One of their target genres was Sci-Fi and, as they suggested using BSG for inspiration, the idea came pretty quickly. What would it be like, arriving on a new planet,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-71896743561056674542007-08-21T13:15:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:14:24.754Z

(Well, it's been a while, so here's what I've been up to, writing-wise. I've taken a break from the writing class for a term, to concentrate on some competitions and to also try to get going in the magazine short story market. As a result, I've not really had anything to post here. So to make up for that, here's one of the competition entries, which was for the Winchester Writers Conference back

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-53850376587847470962007-03-28T17:16:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:14:47.930Z

(This term, we had a project than ran over several weeks, were we created our characters and detailed our plot. The theme was "dating" and this is my effort. Thanks to everyone who's critiqued it!)Harry glanced at his watch again. Only two minutes until she was due to arrive! He swallowed, his nerves fraught. His hands were sweating, but then again, it felt like every part of him was sweating. He

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-21449501171322957262007-03-28T17:10:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:15:09.440Z

(This story was the result of our last homework assignment. The brief was simple, write a story based on the word "help". After thinking about a lifeboat in a storm and a mountaineer on the side of a glacier, I decided on a different tack. That word reminds me of a song ;-) )"Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know I need someone...""No, no, no, that's not right!"Talia threw

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-76051064980637723472007-02-14T18:50:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:15:29.435Z

(For our next story-based homework, we listened to the start of Tchaikovsky's 1st Movement of Symphony No. 6 and were then asked to write a story based on the music. I got feelings of dark and light, so my mind went quickly to the thought of being trapped underground and the relief of getting back to the sunlight. All I needed was our hero :-) )The dim glow cast by the torch flickered and died,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-71801298412485950772007-01-31T18:32:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:17:56.785Z

(I'm on to the second Creative Writing course now, and here's the first story-oriented homework task. I would have posted the poem we had to do, but it was awful :-) We were shown a picture by Peter Howitt, "Fruit Stall Norwich", and asked to write a story based on it. Here's what I came up with, with apologies to Jamie Oliver, who does a really, really nice Toad in the Hole recipe ;-) )Mike held

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1164203956776283722006-11-22T13:57:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:18:17.277Z

(The next course homework. We were asked to go somewhere we hadn't been before and simply observe, then write about it. I'll post the story first, then tell you where I was :-) )My mug isn't steaming. I glance quickly around the room, noting several columns of steam drifting lazily towards the ceiling. I cup my hand around the mug, feeling the warmth through the smooth china. I suppose if I'd had

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1162387272687934052006-11-01T13:15:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:18:46.057Z

(The first line of this story appeared from nowhere and stuck itself firmly in my mind. Not that I had any idea where it would go, let alone theme or premise, but I had to get it down on paper and let it develop. I thought of the twist around the middle of the second paragraph and thought, given the season, it would be an interesting exercise to see if I could maintain one direction while bearing

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1162225882154984902006-10-30T16:26:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:19:09.728Z

(The second course homework. We were asked to select a button from a selection. I went for a small, non-descript white button, which could have come from anything. I saw a man's shirt and started a description from that. The homework was to develop the character and write a story. I'd always had the feeling that the man getting ready for an interview or other job-related meeting. The investment

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1161168493236316932006-10-18T18:17:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:19:43.781Z

(The first course homework. We spent part of the lesson discussing the classic fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood, exploring the plot and writing a sypnosis. The homework was to rewrite the story in our own style. The resulting story came from a brainstorming session with a workmate while driving home one day. Being such a huge C.S.I. fan, I knew I just had to spin the story from the aftermath,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160729620818481902006-10-11T19:44:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:20:14.450Z

(And now for something I hadn't expected to be doing, a poem. Given that I haven't written a poem since school - which was under duress, of course :-) - I didn't know how this would turn out. In the end, the layout here didn't match the original scribblings at all, so if someone could come up with Cut'n'Paste for pen and paper, it'll help if I need to do more poems in future! Ohh, and the rock I

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160728981015445622006-10-11T12:26:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:20:40.314Z

(... which I can't even think of a title for! Why are they always called "Hard Candy" or "White Noise" or something like that?? Anyway... I'm a huge fan of C.S.I. and PJ Tracy, so I think a crime story is on the horizon somewhere. I played at a trivia game on the C.S.I. web site ages ago and managed to score full marks on about five episodes *before* I saw the note saying you should read the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160669362828807842006-10-04T15:56:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:21:03.370Z

(Is it a requirement for people trying to write to write about trying to write? Anyway, here's my effort. The first line is, of course, from the novel "Paul Clifford", published in 1830 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It reappeared in my mind, firstly through one of the PerplexCity puzzle cards and secondly from reading about Peanuts. It was running around in my head and I thought it would be a good

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160668092077020112006-10-02T15:40:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:21:24.091Z

(The inspiration for this came while I was out walking Blue, our springer spaniel. The sunset was just so colourful, the moon was up and the clouds were in just the right place. Simply beautiful and beautifully simple. I wrote the first paragraph when I got home and already had an image tickling the creative bits of my brain. I saw a man standing on a balcony taking in that natural beauty and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160667349169204342006-09-27T15:29:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:21:52.329Z

(My first piece of writing in the class. My wife and I had just returned from a holiday to Central Europe, touring by coach, so I tapped into the memories of that and the words flowed. I'm not sure why I wanted to end on a humorous note, it was probably that I was still trying to shift those holiday pounds, that had leapt onto my midriff through the delicious buffets, and wanted a bit of revenge!

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452251.post-1160666625979682832006-09-25T15:11:00.002Z2008-08-11T14:22:42.428Z

... how did I get to this point? Well, it all started a few months back when I opened up my copy of PC Zone magazine and a silver pack fell out. Turns out they were giving away a free pack of PerplexCity cards to every reader. I'd read about this game just a few weeks earlier and was intrigued. So, I ripped open the pack, had a look at the cards and thought, "yeah, I can name the planets in the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02186515191051755026noreply@blogger.com0