For my Short Stories, go here.
Hi - I'm Ravens. This blog may seem a little unfocused, but then so am I - I'm a writer, photographer, trombonist, grandfather, and promoter of graffiti as an art form and a community change agent. You can subscribe to my posts, over on the right hand panel, via RSS feed or emails, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
I retired a few years ago and quickly overfilled my days - no idea how I found the time to work before. A few years ago I moved downtown to the Parkdale/Hintonburg area, and love it. No house to maintain, walk everywhere, cafes, groceries, beer store, library, even a "local" nearby. Nice area to explore on foot with my camera, or as a base to explore further afield on my bike.
I'm a writer now - new career. I'd written off and on over the years, but in 2010 decided to try the NaNoWriMo writing challenge. Thirty days (November) to write at least 50,000 words - first draft only. I met the challenge, and repeated it in 2011, then 2012, so now I have three drafts in edit mode. And - a publisher interested. I also started writing more short stories last year, inspired by Flash Fiction challenges from sites like Terrible Minds and Flash Fiction Friday. These give a prompt - such as a phrase, openng line, photo, or genre - a limit of usually 800-1200 words, and less than a week to write in. A great way to practice and expand your skills and - if you want - get some feedback. Here's a link to my stories . I've done almost 80 so far, posted mainly to this blog and a few newsletters. Some of them are about some Grimm's Fairy Tale characters, following their lives in between stories, or when contracted out to new tales. I've even published a story online, in the Pittsburg Flash Fiction Gazette, for money! I've joined several writer related groups, including ROW80. This is an online writers group where you set daily objectives, and track and share with others. Peer pressure works! I follow many writer/editor blogs, read about writing, dream about writing - it's my passion! Next steps are to finish up my drafts, do another novel in November, and pull some of my stories together into a collection. And of course - publish!!

