[Nabeel]

Spoiler alert: I have to admit that there's no obvious question or assertion in this posting. But if anyone wants to take the trouble to read it and then pass on some responses, I'd be grateful.

Well, I've finally done it. New Year's Resolution in January, and then starting to write fiction in May. A Creative Writing group opened two minutes from my house, and I decided that I just couldn't ignore this. It's a small, friendly, and highly appreciative group, and it gives me just enough stimulus to feel I've got to produce something each week.

I have written 7 non-fiction works, so I'm not new to what might be called 'word-craft'.

But I have now written three short stories. They are all very short: between 2,000 and 3,500 words. I have enjoyed writing them. There have been some evenings when I just felt too tired to write non-fiction, and so switched to writing fiction, and the words just flowed.

Another big difference is that I can write fiction with a glass of wine by my PC, but I can't do that with non-fiction.

Crich and several others among you have recommended various structure-enhancing devices. I appreciate the advice, but I find I'm just not thinking along those lines. This idea of a type of spatial representation of narrative just doesn't make sense to me. Instead, I find I'm thinking in terms of several snapshots, or perhaps video clips, in a line. I need to get the right clips, and I need to get them in the right order. The nearest I come to a structure is just sorting them out, scene by scene.

I find I'm reluctant to write dialogue, and this is something that the creative writing tutor has picked me up on. I prefer paraphrase, with a few key exchanges in 'real' dialogue. Is this important?

I'm finding the descriptive element relatively easy. Basically, I don't bother with the 'he was tall man with brown hair and a square jaw' stuff. I find it boring to read, so I don't bother writing it. But more interesting is giving the reader some details of physical location without making it sound like an architectural survey.

I'm consciously experimenting with styles: one story in the first person, one in the present tense.

More-or-less as an exercise, I'm going to try writing a series of short stories round the theme of 'lost'.

I'm sending these out to friends, and I'm lucky enough to have a couple of literature lecturer collegues: I am pestering them for opinions. One problem is that while - so far - everyone has been extremely positive, they make different suggestions about improvements and revisions. I guess I'll just have to think for myself.

I'm still not sure where to go with this. Maybe it's just an interesting hobby. Maybe I'll upload the package onto Smashwords, and wait for something to happen. Maybe I'll really work on these and approach an agent. At the moment I don't know.

But it is fun!

N.