Author: Jude

2021- Thanks for your support

Thanks to everyone who came to the events I organised in 2021. I was just checking through and found I have been pretty busy! To summarise, I ran a regular international weekly generative with feedback, flash fiction group (with breaks) most of the year, a series for flash fiction based on dreams, free weekly sessions on writing Hermit Crab flash fiction stories, a workshop called Flash Fiction Fireworks on November 5th, for the US based Culturama event organised by John Brantingham, a workshop entitled Happy and Hopeful, for the Crow Collective organised by Sage Tyrtle. I also devised and hosted the full programmes for the eight online flash fiction festival days sponsored by Bath Flash Fiction Award and Ad Hoc Fiction.

With the help of co-director, Diane Simmons, I have been organising an in-person flash fiction festival in Bristol for the weekend of 8-10th July. We’ve a fantastic line up, a brilliant caterer. And other details are nearly ready for booking to be open by the end of January.

And think of this tree pictured as a metaphor. If you want to grow some spring leaves on the bare branches of your writing, come to my on-going Tuesday flash fiction group in 2022, it begins again on Tuesday 11th January, from 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm GMT. £15 for a two hour sessions. Pay as you go.

And I’ve organised three more flash fiction festival days in January, February and March. The first is on Saturday 8th January with workshops, talks, two contests with cash and other prizes and readings. Only £30 for the whole day with videos sent afterwards. Free places for those for whom cost is a barrier. Book now at flashfictionfestival.com

Other things I have been involved in are the Bath Flash Fiction Award I founded, the short short fiction press, Ad Hoc Fiction, I direct and the Novella in Flash Award for Bath Flash Fiction. It was a privilege also, to be asked to judge the Mslexia Flash Fiction Prize, this year and have the opportunity to read more great flash fiction.

I’ve also been writing. Lots of rejections but fifteen flash fiction pieces published and a couple forthcoming. Listed here. Plus my first nomination for Best Micro Fictions.

Looking forward to meeting you again in the New Year at one of my 2022 events

Pop Up Flash Session —Solstice Sunset Stories

Join me for a FREE two hour Winter Solstice writing session. Beginning at 4.00 pm GMT on Monday 21st of December, which is sunset where I live in the UK but could be sunrise in other parts of the world. It’s the shortest day — eight hours of light here — so of course the aim is to write very short fiction. I’ll be offering several appropriate prompts to get you writing at least four micros during the session. It will be fun and hopeful and I’ll have the candles burning to welcome you and the return of the light. Email me ASAP for a zoom link. All welcome!

Dreams into Fiction, a workshop for Culturama

Culturama, a weekend arts festival at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California is all online this year. Organiser and professor at the College, John Brantingham, prolific writer of amazing poetry and flashfiction, who was a runner up in the 2019 Bath Novella in Flash Award, with his novella Inland Empire Afternoon and who, with poet, Grant Hier gave a fantastic workshop at our 2018 Flash Fiction Festival, has asked me to run a workshop. I’m very happy to be running another version of my popular Dreams Into Fiction workshops, on Friday November 20th from 9.00 am – 10.30 am PST, which is 4.00 pm – 5.30 pm GMT. All welcome from around the world and it’s FREE. You just need to register on the site. The arts festival actually runs over three weekends in November and many great workshops are on offer.
My workshop will be a fun and interactive and you’ll come away with three drafts based on your dreams and new ideas to write more.
To get you thinking in advance, why not look at this photograph I took from the garden of my house as if it were an image from a dream you had last night. What’s the story?

Autumn Equinox workshop —rescheduled


My internet connection broke last Saturday 19th just before my workshop So it is now rescheduled for this coming Saturday. And you are welcome to join me for this Equinox-themed flash fiction workshop on Zoom.
3.30 pm – 6.00 pm (London Time). Saturday 26th September.
Cost £30 (includes individual written feedback from me on one story created in the workshop, any time afterwards).
Some free places. Suitable for beginner and experienced writers.

The trees are only just beginning to turn but Autumn is in the air. This year, the Equinox is on 22nd September and in my workshop a couple of days before, we’ll:

  • focus on some rituals and superstitions associated with this time of the year;
  • look at the balance between light and dark in stories;
  • write using several different kinds of ‘Equinox ‘prompts to create micros and longer flash fictions;
  • generate ideas for further writing, including novellas-in-flash

There’ll be large group sessions with input from me and writing time and small ‘break out’ groups, where you can meet other flash fiction writers from around the world and discuss what you’ve been writing and get some initial feedback if you want. It will be fun and friendly and you’ll come away with at least three drafts of new stories plus plenty of ideas. Hope to see you there!

After you book, I’ll send you a Zoom link and something to do to prepare for the workshop. Contact me via this email for more details or if you want to apply for a free place.

Contact me ASAP via the email if you would like to come and I will let you know how to pay. There are still a couple of free places for the cash-strapped writer too.

Flash Fiction Tuesdays

Join my international group of flash fiction enthusiasts on Zoom.
Every Tuesday 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm BST. I’m offering the same format as I used to in my face-to-face groups in Bath:

  • Two in-class writing exercises and a chance to get first-draft feedback;
  • group feedback on a few micros submitted in advance by participants;
  • a weekly focus on some angle of flash with examples;
  • And now the added feature of drop-in flash fiction writer guests offering more ideas and insight.

    • First session free for you to try. Thereafter £15 a session. Payable on a weekly basis by bank transfer (contact me) or Paypal here.

    All welcome. Contact me for more details

    Dreams Into Fiction, workshop for National Flash Fiction Day, UK

    Picture by Royston Hunt.
    www.earthnotes.co.uk

    Join my free workshop for National Flash Fiction Day UK on Zoom from 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm, Saturday June 6th. It’s for up to 50 people. Lots of prompts and ideas to turn your dreams into fictions. I’ve run versions of this workshop before at three Flash Fiction Festivals. There will be new ideas and some old ones. But you are sure to produce at least four new drafts from your one dream. All you need is to do is to bring a tiny dream or dream fragment and be prepared to play. There’ll be small groups in between the large groups sessions, for you to share some of your drafts (only if you want) and chat with flashy friends or make new ones.

    The beautiful dream-like photograph here was taken in Arizona last year by photographer Royston Hunt who is selling this picture and many other landscape shots as greeting cards or notelets from his website. Do have a look, they are all amazing pictures. If you haven’t got a dream ready to bring, you can also use this picture in the workshop for inspiration, as if were your dream.
    Contact me on this email by Thursday 4th June if you want to come and I will send you a Zoom link.

    Notebook Writes, May 5th

    It’s the fifth day of my posts colour-co-ordinating outfits to my old note books and offering prompts. This series is going to be happening all month, so there are plenty of ideas to choose from. Do remember that if you write a story inspired by any of the daily prompts and that story is published, at any time, I will send you a free entry to Bath Flash Fiction Award (for another story).

    Today I am holding a notebook I used when I was about eleven years old in the early 1960s. In it, on one page,I have listed the pocket money I would have saved,from October to December and the Christmas presents I was going to buy for my friends. All bubble baths at one shilling and nine pence each.

    Your writing challenge is to write a story about pocket money, losing it, saving it, not having enough for a longed-for item. Or maybe not even childhood memory-based stories. Maybe the money you find in your pocket and how you don’t want to use cash anymore.
    Include word(s) from the list and item(s)from the table. Go for about five hundred words. Time yourself for a fast write. Twenty minutes.

    Notebook Writes. May 4th

    Day 4 of my series of pictures of me colour-cordinating clothes with my stash of old notebooks and throwing in a daily prompt. A good distraction for me. And hopefully, you might feel inclined to write a flash.

    To remind you, I am running this series of prompts all May leading up to a big birthday at the end of the month. There will be occasional extra fun things where you can win prizes. And continuing every day, I am offering a free entry to Bath Flash Fiction Award for a different flash fiction (£1460 prize fund), to anyone who writes a story to the daily prompt and gets it published. Many places are open for submission either now or regularly and I will shortly make a list to go on another page.

    Today, I have a notebook patterned with dragon flies.They don’t sting, but the writing challenge is to write a flashfiction based on a time when you were stung by an insect. Use the memory details and go off piste by choosing a word or words from the list and an item or items on the table. Let me know how you get on

    And for more flashy fun, my new Zoom group taking place on Tuesday mornings 10.30 am to 12.30 pm still has some places. The first meeting tomorrow is free. More prompts, feedback, focus and fun.
    Contact me ASAP if you are interested.

    Notebook Writes. May 3rd

    It’s Day 3 of my Notebook writes series. Because May is my birthday month I am offering daily prompts and colour coordinating with outfits. I found a shiny red notebook in my unfinished notebook stash and it was fun matching it to some of red clothes I’ve had for years with a touch of black thrown in.

    Today is International Dawn Chorus Day and I went out at 5.00 am down the lanes to catch the first songs. Several blackbirds at full warble, always perched on the apex of roofs. Lots of other birds and many songs I didn’t recognise.

    The prompt today is to write a story based on a time when you were up at dawn, maybe recently, maybe a long time ago. Include a word or words from the list and one or more items from the table. I’ve placed ‘The Roster’, by Debra A Daniel, the novella in flash highly commended in the 2019 Bath Flash Fiction Novella in Flash Award, on the table as it has a nice splash of red on the colour. And it is a very good book. You can read more about this in the interview with Debra on the Bath Flash Fiction Award website. And there’s some lovely songs her husband wrote, inspired by the book linked there too.

    Remember that if you write a story inspired by this prompt or any of the others already posted, and get it published at any time, let me know and I will give you a free entry to Bath Flash Fiction Award (for another story).
    As an added bonus for the rest of the day (I am posting this in the afternoon) here’s another challenge. I’ll give a free Ad Hoc Fiction anthology to the person who guesses the number of marbles in the yellow vase ( to the nearest amount).

    I am running my trial Zoom writing class on Tuesday 5th May from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm. If you haven’t yet got Zoom fatigue, do have a go. It is suitable for beginners and experienced writers. During the class I’ll offer more prompts and feedback and we have Alison Woodhouse dropping in to talk about writing a winning drabble (100 word story). Contact me on my email asap.