Is up on the front page.It's a delightful, short read that is sure to invoke memories of childhood holidays, and could well be a contender for the Big Issue page.
Hooray! My first story of the week! Rioja was an invention to write 200 word stories. I am delighted. I have never had a story of the week before. Thank you!
P.S. I recommend others try the short short story format as a) it is addictive and b) it may suit The Big Issue. But more importantly - it is addictive. I promise!
Hi fergal. Having read this piece I don't reckon you live here! It just goes to show how different people have different images of the same place. Although I can't argue with any of the factual aspects of your description, I would not have recognised it as Bognor purely because the beach here doesn't make me feel the way it obviously does you.
There's some very evocative images and language in there. I'd replace some of the "like"s if I was editing it, but that may be due to the a constraint of the word-limit.
Can I be picky without anyone taking offence? It's not really a story, is it? It's a word-picture. Nothing wrong with that of course, but whilst I can see the point of setting a word-limit and trying to construct a story with a beginning etc within that limitation, I can't see the point with a word-picture. You can paint an effective word-picture in twenty words if you can find the right ones, or a dismal one in two thousand if you can't. This is not meant to insult a good piece of writing and I am open to being shot down, it's just my immediate reaction.
Cheers
Cathy
all the shorts in this set are anjoyable reads but my favourite is napkin. There is a theme that runs through of obsessive compulsive behaviour, which works well in the style, economical and precise, and mirrors the desire to write exactly 200 words.
Juliet
I thought this was enchanting. I am sure anyone over the age of 20 (I've been told the younguns don't do British holidays these days) will be captivated by some startlingly evocative images. It is difficult to have a short piece that feels complete and not just an extract or summary but you've got it perfect.
I've been trying my hand at mini-sagas (50 words) but may branch out to the 200-worder which may perhaps become known as the Rioja form.
One little gripe from me- the-zoologist (and my thesis was on osmoregulation in molluscs) is that the way you've described the molluscs as sometimes clinging to the shells' centres implies that they are a seperate entity whereas, in fact, the shell is actually part of the mollusc. I know I'm just being an annoying pedant but I might say something along the lines of , 'the remnants of their mollusc inhabitants sometimes still cling...'
But a very good piece, nice one!
jude
"Cacoethes scribendi"
http://www.judesworld.net
and following on from what CJ says, it is not strictly speaking a story but as I said, it feels complete and whilst it doesn't have a distinct beginning-middle-end story plot, it flows nicely.
jude
"Cacoethes scribendi"
http://www.judesworld.net
Juliet