Raven's View

The challenge this week was supposed to be an easy one, opening up all sorts of possibilities. A mysterious statue, just a torso, with hints of AI enhancements.  Who was it, where was it, who might walk by, would they be intrigued or embarrassed? Maybe too many possibilities. I know one of my regulars, as well as myself, had problems. I eventually picked sort of a story, and an issue, then roughed it out. Not a lot of conflict, so I added another character, and - aha!!  A good story, with even more potential. I was just over the limit of 1000 words.

I missed last Wednesday's check-in, what with a dying phone, busy train trip, forgotten medications, and a lost taxi driver.  But I've moved on.

Let's talk about magic. It seems a good time, what with the various religious events going on this time of year, as well as the almost magical explosion of life in Spring. The magic I was thinking of, is the ability of us, as writers, to take the same ideas and observations and words that everyone has access to, and create a story  - Abra-ca-da-bra poof!- that will entertain and move people. Yes, sometimes we fumble a bit, but it usually works quite well, to the amazement of others.

The latest challenge from Flash Fiction Friday was to write about gardening. 

You bought a new house, over the winter. It was a great deal. heavily discounted after months, maybe years on the market. It's an older place, a 'fixer-upper', but has great potential. Supposedly there had been a garden in back, too, buried under all that snow. It's spring now, most of the snow has gone, and you've scraped off most of the old leaves. What will start pushing its way through the warm dirt first?

My story took a bit of a twist, of course. I'm visiting my girlfriend, with wonky wi-fi, but finally managed. It's about 990 words long.

Photo by Louise Vaine

Okay. the temp has actually hit the low teens occasionally, above freezing overnight, and we're getting lots of rin. Not good in soe areas, as the ground is still frozen, but I don't mind. I've been looking at Amazon Marketing Services and Keywords, and choosing which stories I should send out to magazines. And occasionally sitting in the sun at a cafe with coffee and a book. I'm heading to Toronto Wednesday for a week, and I think I will NOT bring a heavy jacket. Look at me, the Risk Taker!