Calling on you writers!

Ethan on Fiction Workhouse has thrown up some intersting questions for writers to consider. See what you think.

1) As a reader, how long can you stand to be lost (not engrossed--I mean LOST) in a fiction? A paragraph? A page? A chapter? Half a novel? An entire story? Try to think of specific examples of when you got off the bus and why, or when you persevered and why.

2) As a writer, how fearful are you of losing the reader with a difficult passage? Do you have the tolerance to risk your readers being a little (or plenty) disoriented for a paragraph, a page, a chapter, half a novel? An entire story? When do you pull the trigger and opt for clarity, linearity, and/or clear signals as to where you're going and what you mean? Try to think of specific examples in your own work, if possible.

3) Philosophically, what's your tolerance for complexity? If a story lays out a set of implications, but doesn't close with a single, clear resolution, does it drive you up the wall? Or are you a sucker for open-endedness? Any examples stick in your memory for either? Would you say your reading preference in this regard drives your own writing in any way? Any specific examples?

4) What about simply being in over your head? If you can't suss out the meaning of a fiction the first time round, or the second time round, do you think black, black thoughts about the author, or do you dive back in again either for the pleasure or neurosis of finding out more? If it depends, what makes the difference for you? Any specific examples here would be really, really interesting...

5) What about when you've written something, and you have strong feelings about it, but after you've finished a pretty good draft, you still have no idea what it means...do you simply set it free and let everyone else worry about All That Deep Stuff? Do you lose sleep over what you're saying before you loose it on the world? Can you live with a strange beast emerging from your lair, or must you tame it first? Any specific examples?

And a wee bit more

'The Eildon Tree' have taken a second flash fiction piece of mine and will publish in November.

And 'foto8' will publish online three flashes from the crew of Fiction Workhouse: Vanessa Gebbie, Ethan Anderson, and me. We all wrote in response to a black and white photograph and the picture will appear online along with the three pieces of writing. Congrats to all!

Good news September

Some of my flash fiction to appear in 'The Ranfurly Review', 'The Smoking Poet' and 'The Eildon Tree'. And one flash piece goes live on 'The Blood Orange Review' later this week.

And Vanessa finds her family; and Julia finds inspiration and her smile; and though it is chucking down rain, and rain, and rain, still it feels like a good month.

A wee bit magic

Ok, so I didn't win the Kelpie's Prize 2008... a nice woman called Sharon Tregenza did. But Floris Books have e-mailed me to say they would still like to publish my 'Chesspiece Magician' and that should happen in the Autumn next year. I will be read, a book sitting on a bookshelf in shops and libraries, and read - albeit in the previous incarnation of being a children's writer. Now if only my fiction could also break into the adult market.