Hi all,
I was very pleased to receive quite a few stories for my first short story competition last month. Let’s see if we can increase the numbers this month!
Authors can share their short stories (less than 2000 words please) or poetry, and it won’t cost you a penny! The stories or poems can be on any subject, but please keep them reasonably family friendly. At the end of every month I will pick my favourite one and share the link in my newsletter and on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I look forward to reading your efforts. Winners will receive this laurel to add to their story:
Please add a link to your story in the comments section of this blog. Thank you. You have until 28th November to submit your stories. When I have enough winning stories, I will promote them in a free anthology (with the consent of every author involved of course!).
Here’s another short story of mine below, just in time for Hallowe’en. I based it on a strange man who often sat looking at walls and sketching or painting them when I was a child. Perhaps he liked the pattern of the lines of bricks… who knows?
HITTING THE WALL
By Stevie Turner
Copyright Stevie Turner 2017
There he was again. Janet tagged along behind her older sisters and their friend, each one pumped up with a confidence and bravado that can only come from being part of a clique. The shabbily dressed man wearing a frayed black overcoat ignored the girls’ gibes and carried on creating a replica of the wall in front of him.
“Why are you painting stupid bricks?” Eloise peered over the man’s shoulder. “That’s a really boring picture.”
Patsy gave the man a dig in the arm with her elbow, causing the paintbrush he was holding to judder across the canvas. The man seemed surprised, and sighed in frustration. Janet cringed at the hoots of ensuing laughter, and felt a hot wave of shame rush over her.
“That’ll liven it up a bit.” Patsy chortled. “Painting bricks? What a bloody joke!”
Without a word, the man removed the damaged canvas from the paint-spattered easel, and put it underneath his chair. Digging into a voluminous bag by his feet he brought out a large sketching pad and some charcoal and then sat in silence with the pad on his lap, staring at nothing in particular.
“Come on Pat.” Lydia grabbed Patsy’s hand and linked her other arm through Eloise’s. “Let’s get rid of Janet and go to the park.”
“Mum said we’ve got to take her.” Patsy shook her head. “You know she did.”
“I don’t want to go to the park.” Janet piped up. “I’m going to knock for Mary -see you later.”
“Thank God for that.” Eloise rolled her eyes skywards. “I’m so glad I haven’t got a little sister.”
Janet saw the man visibly relax as her sisters and Eloise walked away. He opened his sketchbook, looked at the wall, and began to draw a line of bricks across the page. Janet moved closer, fascinated by the speed and accuracy of the man’s grimy hand as he drew.
“Why bricks?” Janet asked in a thin, nervous voice.
The man shrugged.
“Why not?”
Janet made a face.
“Well, it’s not a proper picture, is it?”
The man looked at Janet and smiled.
“It is to me.”
Every nook and crevice in each brick was being faithfully replicated in front of her eyes. Janet saw the initials JP appear on the last brick in the third row, which she had written in chalk on the wall the previous day. The letters in the sketchbook were slightly forward-sloping, just the same as her own handwriting.
“They’re my initials – Janet Page. I wrote that.” Janet announced, less timidly now.
“So now you’re in my picture.” The man murmured. “And you said it wasn’t any good.”
“I – I didn’t mean it.” Janet blushed. “What are you going to do with it?”
“I’ll take it home and put it on my wall, so it’ll be a wall on a wall, won’t it?”
“That’s superb, I think.” Janet didn’t know if it was superb or not, but she liked to copy her eldest sister’s phrases. She pointed towards the wall. “See that brick with the hole? That’s where I threw my ball at it.”
“These houses are old; the bricks are soft.” The man’s agile fingers deftly re-created a charcoal hole. “I wanted to paint them before the bulldozers move in.”
Janet liked the sound of the word. She kneeled down next to the man.
“What’s a bulldozer?”
“You know.” The man replied with a touch of irritation. “It’s when the machines with the big wrecking ball on the end turn up and raze the houses down to the ground.”
“They’re being knocked down?” Janet looked at the man incredulously and then pointed to where her mother regarded her inquisitively through the gleaming glass of their large front bay window. “But they can’t be! We live in that house next door!”
In alarm, the man dropped his stick of charcoal and looked at her. For the first time he noticed the girl’s white pinafore smock and button boots, the type depicted in photos of Victorian street urchins.
“These houses were condemned ages ago.” The man’s voice was shaky. “They’re empty.”
“You just saw my sisters.” Janet guessed the man was mad. “They live with me. One just knocked your elbow on purpose.”
The man bent forward, picked up his charcoal stick, and began to sketch a little girl standing by the wall wearing button boots and a pinafore smock over a blue cotton dress.
“I didn’t see anybody except you.”
Janet suddenly wanted to be at the park with her sisters. Nothing seemed how it was supposed to be.
“I’ve got to go and tell my mum about the bulldozers.”
“Okay.” The man shook his head in disbelief. “Off you go then.
After he had sketched Janet’s features, the man looked up in surprise. The street was empty. A pigeon fluttered out of the exposed rafters of the girl’s house. Tatty remains of a curtain poked through broken glass in the front bay window. He laughed nervously to himself and vowed to return the next day with another clean canvas. It was amazing what could happen whilst painting old walls; it was as though each brick could tell a story.
THE END
rb147forever said:
Hey! This is the link to my blog, a story of two young souls. https://rb147forever.wordpress.com
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Stevie Turner said:
Sorry but your comment automatically went to my spam box and I’ve only just seen it. I will add it to January’s short story competition as I think everyone’s been too busy to submit anything during December.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for linking up.
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franklparker said:
My entry is here. https://franklparker.com/2017/11/08/sweetie-man/
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Stevie Turner said:
Very topical story! Thanks Frank.
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Pingback: Sweetie Man « Frank Parker's author site
Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for linking up, Frank.
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marianbeaman said:
Here’s my entry, Stevie, thanks to Darlene Foster’s alert. You are both so generous!
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Marian. Pleased to have you on board!
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Haalah said:
Love your little prompt…
My first attempt at a short story. Nothing that’s going to win anything but… Just for the heck of it
https://wp.me/p88gUf-ib
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for taking part!
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Bernadette said:
Stevie, what a delicious prompt. You are off to a great start with this monthly feature.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Bernadette.
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watchingthedaisies said:
A lovely story Stevie. I did not expect the ending. Glad to see you writing again.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Brigid.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Madelyn!
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Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC said:
What a wonderful short-story, Stevie – especially the last part of you final sentence. My mind could vamp in many different directions from this single “prompt” – the essence of what makes an excellent short story to me.
A+ — maybe you will need to award this month’s win to yourself!
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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Stevie Turner said:
Obviously I don’t submit my own stories, but the whole project has got me writing again. Even writing a short story once a month is a good start, because I was making lots of excuses not to write…
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Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC said:
Well your writing lost no luster during that time – this story is WONDERFUL!
xx,
mgh
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Jodie said:
You are such an incredible writer, Stevie!! Such talent!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Jodie. I’m slowly getting back into writing again.
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D. Wallace Peach said:
Wonderful story, Stevie. And what a great idea and source of stories to follow up on and read. 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Thank you! The whole project is doing me good, as it’s making me write again.
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D. Wallace Peach said:
😀 And it looks like you’re getting lots of participation as well. 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes, it’s great!
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grantleishman said:
Great to see Indie Authors giving back. Also enjoyed the story. Good stuff!
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Grant.
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Mitch Lavender said:
Love the idea, Stevie. Here’s my entry.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Mitch!
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Andrew Joyce said:
Good-bye, Miami
https://andrewjoyce.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/good-bye-miami-2/
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Andrew!
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The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Please add a link to your story in the comments section of Stevie’s original blog post 😎
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Chris!
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The Story Reading Ape said:
Welcome, Stevie 👍😃❤️
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Darlene said:
Here is my entry in this month’s short story competition. Thanks for doing this Stevie. https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/2017/11/04/home-fires/
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Stevie Turner said:
I’m enjoying reading all the stories.
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Stevie Turner said:
Lovely story Darlene – thanks for taking part this month.
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Pingback: Home Fires | Darlene Foster's Blog
Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for submitting your story Darlene.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Debby. I look forward to reading your story.
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dgkaye said:
Great story Stevie. And I really hope I’ll get to jump in this month. Just in the midst to get ready to publish later this month. 🙂
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