Beware the Green-Eyed Monster Jealousy

05/22/2012

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A Barrel
I actually did quite a bit of writing this week.

My company had its Family Day, so I took the kids along and made notes for an article for the in-house magazine.

Next day I took my son along to a birthday party at an entertainments centre in a mall. This gave me plenty of time to sit in the cafe downstairs and write up the article longhand.

Later I wrote up an idea for a short story in flash (abridged) form, but alas missed the deadline for posting it by a few minutes.

Yesterday I finished off the article, got its approval, sent it to the editor and got word it'll form the text to a special supplement.

Also yesterday, for some reason a limerick about Othello popped into my head - hence the picture of the barrel, as you'll see if you read below: 

An envious husband, Othello,
was quite an inventive young fellow.
My wife's fooled around,
thought the Moor, so he drowned
the poor girl in a barrel of Jell-O.

That's about it for the week. Time for a more academic exercise - a paper for my PhD.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Manchester City Limerick!

05/14/2012

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Manchester City Win The Premier League
I'm busy doing background reading for my next Canterbury Tale - reading which includes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (a medieval text by an anonymous author which is proving both surprisingly enjoyable and informative) and Shakespeare's Othello (probably the only well-known play by the great Bard that I haven't read).

For this reason, the only original creative writing I've done this week (well, almost!) is a limerick to celebrate Manchester City's remarkable victory over bitter rivals Manchester United:

The title has gone to Man City;
United lost out, what a pity!
The blues played sublime
Won in injury time -
To Sir Alex, boo hoo and tough titty!

Let's hope I don't get a barrage of hate mail from Man. United fans!

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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That One Last Edit Can Avoid Embarrassment

05/08/2012

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Where's that 'scolding' oil?
A week ago I submitted The Haberdasher's Second Tale, my shortest 'Lost' Canterbury Tales, to an anthology.

I've submitted this Tale a few times previously after vigorous editing, and the piece was even short-listed for the Global Short Story Competition one month.

On a whim, I decided to read the Tale aloud to test its humour on my ear. So imagine my surprise when I discovered, towards the end of the piece, that I'd referred to a 'hoard' of gold as a 'horde'.

It just goes to show that editing's never a cut and dried business - moreso when you consider that The Haberdasher's Second Tale had been read by the two other members of my writers' circle (or should that be 'triangle'), and that neither of them had picked up on the typo.

Which brings me to this week's picture, showing the area above the portcullis through which boiling oil used to rain down on the enemy.

Just before Coscom Entertainment published The Monk's Second Tale, aka Robin Hood and Friar Tuck - Zombie killers, I steeled myself, much against my will, for a final edit. Lo and behold, instead of 'scalding oil' being tipped over the zombie horde, Robin ad his chums were letting loose with 'scolding oil'.

"You naughty zombies! You shouldn't be eating Maid Marion's brains. You'll spoil your appetite!"

Well, there you have it. There's just no such thing as a final eddit! Geddit!

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Limerick to Munch's 'The Scream

05/03/2012

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The Scream
I see that 'The Scream' sold for a few bob at auction this week. All of which was incentive for me to write a topical limerick on the sale and post it on Yahoo.

I must admit though, I do actually like this picture.

So without further ado, on another week where not much happened on the writing front, below is the said limerick.

Enjoy!

'The Scream' Limerick

Those millions of dollars do seem
quite substantial for buying 'The Scream';
coz I've got a hunch
that this painting by Munch
is spewed up tutti frutti ice cream.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Limericks - Titanic, Easter, and More...!

04/25/2012

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Easter Bunny
Not a lot's been happening on the writing front this week, so I thought I'd post some of the limericks I've written over the past month or so:

The first was in response to the extortionate price of Easter eggs. The second was inspired by an article about a naturist golf course, and the third was put on the Yahoo comments in reply to an article about gay churchmen. The fourth - and possibly the most contraversial limerick - is about the Titanic; though if anyone does get upset, I'm sure it's because they've been influenced by the film rather than a 100-year-old tragedy.

Chocolate eggs cost a shedload of money,
So I don’t find the end of Lent funny;
When I gain several pounds
Coz the chocolate abounds
I could strangle that darned Easter Bunny.

There once was a well-endowed dude,
Who liked to play golf in the nude
Till a short-sighted dog
Took a shine to his log
And the end of his putter got chewed. 

A jovial priest, Father Ray,
Told his shocked congregation, “I’m gay.”
The churchfolk got snappy,
Then learned ‘gay’ means ‘happy’,
And suddenly ‘gay’ was okay.

Titanic’s proud captain decried
lack of speed as he headed Stateside.
Then the lookout, with zest,
shouted from the crow’s nest,
“There’s an iceberg ahead – pimp my ride!”

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Canon's Yeoman's Second Tale - Done!

04/18/2012

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The Canon's Yeoman
It took a week to deconstruct, rewrite and reconstruct the last third of The Canon's Yeoman's Second Tale (Why don't I just call it The Yeoman's Tale?), but I managed it.

Iambic pentameters tend to give a piece a jovial feel to it, so from the beginning I was at a bit of a disadvantage. That said, the problem was with the rambling, philosophical exposition that came into play in the last third of the Tale.

That's been dealt with now and a suitable twist or two has been added to the story.

The rewrite also gives me the chance to submit to my PhD tutors a flawed piece of work, plus the repaired piece.

Anyhow, all's well that ends well, as my old chum Shakespeare would have said.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Salvaging a Canterbury Tale - Victory from the Jaws of Defeat?

04/11/2012

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Medieval Manuscript
As part of my PhD in Creative Writing, I'm penning (or 'quilling') long narrative poems set in the Middle Ages - similar, I hope, to those written by Chaucer in his famous Canterbury Tales.

So far the writing's gone swimmingly, with several of my 'Lost' Canterbury Tales having been written up successfully from shorter, abridged versions. However, with my latest story, The Canon's Yeoman's Second Tale, I've run into a problem.

The gist of the problem is that I needed some backstory to the tale I had in mind, yet the backstory ended up being over three thousand words. At this point I sat back reflectively and realised that what I had actually written was a separate story, a sequel which could stand independently on its own - a win-win situation, in fact.

The last third of the tale (which is about a medieval manuscript in case you're wondering about the picture) will need a bit of tinkering with, but once I've changed the ending and pruned that last third down a bit, I reckon I'll have a saleable piece of fiction.

My only regret is that the version of this 'Lost' Canterbury Tale that I submitted to a publisher (and which got rejected the next day) lost the plot towards the end and therefore deserved its rejection letter. However, I've learned from the experience and will hopefully be better at predicting potential plotting problems in future.

Anyhow, here are the opening few lines of the Tale for you:

Sir John de Bourne, crusading in the land
Where Christ once trod, lay bleeding in the sand
Amidst a heap of corpses, friends and foes,
Each with his God and food for hungry crows.
“I’ll tarry here awhile,” the noble knight
Thought sadly as he waited for the light
Of Heaven to embrace him in her womb.
“This desert plain,” he rued, “shall be my tomb.”

(Excerpt ends)

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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Prize-Giving Goes off without a Hitch

04/02/2012

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ADNEC
Took the kids (the fan club) with me to Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) for the prize-giving ceremony - I won 5th prize in The National newspaper's short story competition if you didn't know already.

Funnily enough, I was the only male prize winner. The four ladies who also won comprised three Americans and a Lebanese - the later, Kathy Shalhoub, taking away first prize (an I-Pad) for a pretty stunning short story about the end of the world. If I weren't such a strapping macho man, I might well have had a tear in my eye.

Apart from winning a 500 dirham (100 quid) book token, I also got to meet Egyptian writer Sahar El-Mougy who picked the five winning stories from a shortlist of ten. It was interesting to swap information with her about Cairo. I worked there in 1988, had Naguib Mahfouz as a near neighbour and felt like I was describing a place from the history books - a feeling which Ms El-Mougy reinforced by telling me how much Cairo had changed since then.

You can read my story here:

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/the-others-by-paul-a-freeman

I'm already looking forward to next year's short story competition. I just hope I can move up the field a bit.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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'The Others' Wins a Prize

03/27/2012

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Abu Dhabi Book Fair
The extended version of a 350-word flash piece, 'On the Beach' (reinvented as 'The Others' at 1,400 words), has won me a 100 quid book voucher. See the notification below:

"It's our pleasure to inform you that you are the fifth place winner of this year's Short Story Competition, organised by The National and the Abu Dhabi Book Fair! We loved your story The Others and look forward to publishing it online on our website www.thenational.ae, by Monday, April 3.

To collect your prize, you are invited to come by the Abu Dhabi Book Fair on Sunday, April 2, where you will be joined by the other four shortlisted authors and presented with your prize. The event will start at 12:30 so if you can be there a little before, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, head to the press centre where you will be taken care of.

If you don't mind, I will have a reporter get in touch with you soon to ask you a few questions and perhaps get some background information for a story we are preparing about the winners and the outcome of the competition, which will run in the Monday addition of our paper in the Arts&Life section.

As for your story, we will publish it online as is, with very minor edits to match The National's style. If you have any questions, please be in touch.

Again, congratulations on winning and I do hope there's a lot more writing in your future."

All very nice - apart from the bit about being 'taken care of'.

I'll let you know next week how it all went.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!

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'Spooked' Accepted for Publication

03/20/2012

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I've finally managed to place one of my six stories from last year's Slingink Scribbling Slam short story competition.

Spooked, my round five entry has been picked up by Australian magazine Fast Fiction. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Spooked wasn't one of my trio of round winners. In fact, it bombed.

However, I always felt Spooked was a strong story - humorous and with a vivid setting; the action takes place in a Scottish castle. Just goes to show that competition judges and editors (and authors) can have wildly differing opinions about the same piece of work.

That's it for this week. Fingers crossed for more good news next time.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!
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