writing

Alpaca-based Microfiction

My friend Adam shared a weird alpaca tweet on facebook the other day.

“What a nice sheep,” I think as I gaze out at a field. The sheep, facing away, starts to raise its head. I stare in mounting horror as the head keeps rising, rising, neck elongating in some cursed spectacle that roots me to the spot in fear until I realise, oh, it’s an alpaca

Where I Write

Inspired by a post by author Gareth L. Powell, I thought I’d share a photo of my desk. Then, after I’d written most of this, I felt a sense of deja vu.

It turns out I wrote a similar article, over ten years ago – called My Office, appropriately enough. That makes me pretty old.

Beautiful Space Pirates

As you may know, I like to occasionally indulge in pen & paper role play games – see my previous, very silly write-up of All Outta Bubblegum or Chapter One of Prisoners of Corral.

Yesterday, me and some pals played an equally ridiculous game of “Beautiful Space Pirates“, a one shot RPG made by the incredibly talented Grant Howitt.

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress – Robert Heinlein

I’ve never read any Robert Heinlein before. Which is a bit ridiculous, given that he’s known as “The Dean of Science Fiction Writers“, and I’m borderline obsessed by the genre.

This one is a moon colony book, in the vein of Andy Weir’s Artemis (which *spoiler* I absolutely loved). I’m always a sucker for moon colonies, I think probably because it seems so potentially achievable, like it might actually happen in our lifetime, and its not limited by the need for close-to-speed-of-light hacks that further out space fiction needs.

2019, a review.

So, at the beginning of 2019, I set out some ambitious goals for myself. They were aspirations, more than resolutions, but I still found it helpful to write them.

I wrote two posts reflecting on it during the year, after 4 months and after 7, but now we are in 2020. Quite far into 2020, in fact. Let’s see how I did!

Cofiwch Dryweryn!

Here’s a snippet from my upcoming book; “To get out of a Headlock”. The section below is still unedited, and I’m sure the Welsh grammar is deeply lacking, but it should give you the gist…

To be honest, you can understand why they harp on about the language. Before the Rise, you’d have never expected the people of South Wales to choose Welsh as their lingua franca. After all, barely 20% of the population spoke it, and almost none as their first language. However, you can never underestimate the capacity of the British Government to screw things up…

My First Microfiction

This week I heard about microfiction. It’s basically super short fiction. So I thought I would have a go… I have 300 words, and the following prompt:

Jim wakes up in a hotel at gunpoint surrounded by his coworkers. He knows exactly what information they need from him, but he also knows a way to (hopefully) make them turn on the boss and get out. Can this master of deceit sway the crowd?

Hey, I’m Chris.

Category: writing