• About
  • Commissions
  • Competitions
  • Publications
  • Readings
  • Samples
  • Short Story

Garrie Fletcher

~ writing and all that

Garrie Fletcher

Tag Archives: writing

Songs for the Elephant Man

22 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by fletcherski in Short Stories, Short Story, Writers, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Mantle Lane Press, short story, writing

My story, Electricity, will be published shortly as part of this wonderful anthology from Mantle Lane Press.

It’s a excellent title for the collection as all the stories are about or misfits. However, thanks to Matt Berry’s Year of the Rabbit on Channel 4 I can now only ever see the Elephant Man as a camp thespian on the make.

Submerged in the West Midlands

07 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Writers, books, Event, Mantle Lane Press, News, Short Stories, Short Story, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alan Beard, Birmingham, books, fiction, Garrie Fletcher, Lisa Blower, Peter Haynes, readings, short stories, Submerged, West Midlands, Wolverhampton, writing

You have two chances to hear me read from my latest book, Submerged, next week.

First up is City Voices in Wolverhampton. It all starts at 7:30 at The Lighthouse a few minutes walk from the train and bus stations. City Voices is one of the Midlands’ finest spoken word evenings and never fails to delight with its range and quality of work on offer. I will be selling books.

Secondly, will be the official Birmingham launch of Submerged, and it’s going to be a corker, but don’t just take my word for it check out the line-up here.

Paranoid Android

18 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by fletcherski in productivity, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

5 steps, Finishing, Tasks, writing

I read an article the other day on a site called Quartz at Work, yeah, I’d never heard of it either; the post was: Five things to do when you have too many ideas and never finish anything. My paranoid android kicked in – that’s you – and I gave it a read.

The post was reasonably interesting and quoted some research linked to choice and how having too much choice can lead us into making no choices – hey, isn’t greater choice the one thing we all seek according to slavering capitalists everywhere? – well, it appears that too much choice is bad for you.

It’s all shit!

This rang a bell with me. I remember when I was a child, way back in the desolate wastes of the pre-internet age. Days would drag on forever, especially in the school holidays as both of my parents were out at work, and I’d find myself gazing into space daydreaming. I rattle on at my children now about how great it is to be bored, about how a lack of stimulus can lead to exciting ideas and force them into being creative and inventive. Back then, I would spend hours re-reading comics or copying the artwork, writing and drawing my own stories, or, more often than not, just making them up in my head. I look back at that time now and see it as a melting pot of ideas and productivity.

So what went wrong? Choice. We have far too much choice. If you’ve ever sat scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to watch you’ll know exactly what I mean. Choice leads to anxiety – if I watch this, I won’t be able to watch that, and what about these? I can’t watch all of them. Aarrgh! It’s the same with ideas. I should be finishing my novel, but this short story has just popped into my head, and then there’s that other short story I haven’t finished yet, and the comic strip I meant to start, as well as the audio fiction, and… You get the idea.

The five steps! Wow, if I just take these five steps, I’ll become a productive genius. I’ll defeat the paranoid android and bask in the glow of completed projects and adoration. Who knows? Maybe you will, but it can’t hurt to try.

Step One. Create mini-deadlines. Tasks that you have to complete that day. Instead of looking at the enormity of what you have to do – shit, I have to re-write 80000 words from the third person into the first person, and cut out the subplot with the octopus! Focus on the small blocks that make up the whole. This way you cut out the paranoid android that buzzes in your head – shit, there’s so much to do; you’ll never finish it all – and you focus on the smaller, achievable task. Hell, and if you’re a list person, you get to tick it off, cross it out, highlight it in red, whatever floats your boat. Something else you need to be aware of with step one is Parkinson’s Law – “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” I’ve found, that whenever I have less time to do something I get more done. To negate Parkinson’s Law, estimate how long the task will take and then cut your time in half. Scary huh? Give it a try.

Step Four. Develop the habit of finishing. Neil Gaiman talks about this a lot. Make a conscious decision to be a finisher and get stuff done. I have many projects that are outstanding at the moment, and new ones that keep starting up, but I’m working hard to get them done. In the past, I started a lot of things that were never finished. The paranoid android would kick in, and I’d begin to doubt whether they were any good. I wouldn’t say I’m past that yet, but I’m working on it.

Wait a minute. You said five steps, but you’ve only mentioned steps one and four. Why? You’re internet savvy. You’ve seen a smidgen of all the crap that’s out there. I’m an adult. I read the article and thought steps one and four made sense and that the others were just contradictory padding, so I left them out. Feel free to track the piece down and draw your conclusions.  

Keep writing. Keep finishing. 

 

The Tooth And Nothing But

12 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Sketchtember, workshops, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Art, birmingham uk, Drawing, Sketchtember, writing, young writers

Here’s some bloke with a toothy smile.

This is pencil on cartridge paper. I wonder what his name is?

I’ve been focusing on people recently because I want some interesting characters to use with my young writers group this Saturday. We’re going to look at advice columns/blogs. I’ll ask them to choose a character and to come up with a problem they need advice on. When they’ve written the problem, I’ll get them to swap with other members of the group and they can then write replies. I think it should be a good exercise for developing characters and stories.

Gee, Ren.

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Sketchtember, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Art, Drawing, Pencil, Sketchtember, writing

Tonight’s speed sketch is once again in pencil on paper. This is a real quickie as I’m short on time. This is a drawing of a 3D bath toy that a friend brought back from the States in the 90’s.

Hopefully, I’ll have more time tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow I’ll post some writing news regarding publications and readings – after all this is a writing blog.

Libraries are awesome.

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Education, fiction, Sketchtember, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Drawing, fiction, Knowledge, Libraries, Sketchtember, writing

I’m re-blogging this essential piece on The Guardian website from Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell because it’s vitally important. Books give us access to vast amounts of knowledge and the essential world of fiction. Read on to find out why that is so important.

To read the rest of this click on the link here.

23 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by fletcherski in comissions, teaching, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

comission, Human Values Foundation, teaching resources, writing

Have you ever heard of the Human Values Foundation? No, neither had I, but a friend of mine put my name forward to them, and they’ve commissioned me to write four short stories as part of what they do.

1450191533

But what do they do?

This:

“Our vision is that young people among all sections of the community, both in the UK and also overseas, will imbibe and practise human values so as to become responsible, happy, fulfilled members of society and aspire to human excellence.”
Part of all that is providing resources and lessons plans that enable teachers to create work around those values.
The four topics I’ve been given are: Becoming Responsible, Contentment, Hope and Optimism, and Self-Sufficiency.
It’s been interesting writing them, and the results will be on the Human Values Foundation website in the near future.

Writing, damn you!

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Writers, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

working from home, writer's block, writing

writing keyboardI’ve been struggling of late to get stuff onto the page. It’s not as if I don’t have things to do. I have a novel that needs a final tidy up and then sending off. A rough outline of a sci-fi novel that needs finishing, and a whole host of short stories that need finishing and starting. I know what I need to be able to write. I need space, time and routine. I have a room in my house where I can go to write. My office is at the back of the house, above the kitchen, and for the most part, it is quiet and interruption free, ideal for writing, providing it can be kept free. My daughter will occasionally camp out there to complete her homework. In fact, only the other night I spent over an hour with her going through her maths home-work – percentages, damn you!

In my previous job as a teacher, I had a routine. I’d dropped down to working three days a week, and on Thursdays and Fridays I stayed at home and wrote. I also wrote in the evenings and sporadically on the weekends. However, once I’d changed jobs, the routine went out the window. The new job involves shift work, and they’re open to change. I can find myself looking forward to some dedicated writing time, a literary event, or just meeting up with other writers and I’ll have to cancel it. Whenever I don’t write when I should be, I’m gripped by a festering guilt. I’m not writing for fame, fortune or recognition. I’m writing to keep the guilt at bay.

I’ve been here before. I know how to get out of this malaise. What I need is routine; I need purpose, and I need to be consistent. It’s just rather frustrating at times. I know writers that go through this. I know writers that struggle to juggle family, work and writing, and I know writers that do not have the worry of the commitment juggler. The one thing that unites us all, I think, is that awful shiver of guilt when we know we should be writing and we aren’t.

Things have gotten a bit better recently. I’ve completed a short story, well not that short, that’s been rattling around in my head for a while, and I’ve started another. The novel still needs to be tidied and sent out, but I know it’ll be done before Christmas – providing I get that tax return in!

What do you do when you’re struggling to write? What sure-fire tactic, habit etc. do you employ to keep the guilt demons at bay?

All answers gratefully received.

 

The other end of the telescope – a dozen ways to guarantee rejection

24 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by fletcherski in competitions, get published, Publication, Submissions, Writers, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A3, competitions, get published, I'm, submission guidelines, writing

Some great tips for getting rejected from periodicals and competitions. They’ll either make you laugh or blush with shame.

Thanks to Kmelkes for this glimpse from the other end of the telescope.

 

Source: The other end of the telescope – a dozen ways to guarantee rejection

The Write Stuff

21 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, Blogging, creativity, Event, workshops, writing, Writing West Midlands

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Roundhouse, canals, canoeing, creative writing, kyaking, uk, Wildlife, writing, writing workshop

For those of you who are of a creative or aquatic bent, you may be interested to know that I will once again be leading canal based creative writing workshops. Those crazy fools at the Birmingham Literature Festival have asked me to lead dusk till dawn writing sessions as part of this year’s festival.

049A0779

It really was great fun.

 

I don’t have a lot of details yet, but I guess that they will be similar to the ones I ran back in April as part of the pop-up festival. Back then, we started from Birmingham’s historic Roundhouse and explored the canals via canoe and kayak. It was a real eye-opener for me. There are parts of the city you can only explore from the canal. Deserted glassworks, industrial loading bays and the Victorian red brick of disused warehouses stand beside the canal, and their decaying shells now home a multitude of wildlife and their walls canvases for graffiti artists and frustrated lovers.

049A1746

Come and witness my world famous invisible fish wrestling.

 

We will spend at least an hour on the water and then back inside the relative, although not guaranteed, warmth of the Roundhouse I’ll put you through your paces with some short, focused writing exercises that will nudge you towards creating longer pieces of work.

All photos are the property of the very talented Jana Eastwood. You can find more images from previous workshops here at her excellent blog, Escapes and Photography.

049A1670

Birmingham’s Roundhouse.

 

049A1475

One of the many incredible views along the canal.

 

049A1544

049A1498

Wildlife in the heart of the city.

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,375 other subscribers
Follow Garrie Fletcher on WordPress.com

Goodreads

What the hell's he on about...

Anthology Art Arts Birmingham Birmingham Library Birmingham Literature Festival Birmingham Writers Blogging books Comics comissions competitions creativity Culture Drawing Education Event fiction Film get published Inktober Inspirational Leicester Live Music Mantle Lane Press Music New Birmingham Library News Poetry Politics prize money Publication Q & A Reading Review Short Stories Short Story Sketchtember Submissions teaching The Arts Uncategorized Unthology 5 Vinyl work workshops Writers Writers Group writing Writing West Midlands

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Garrie Fletcher
    • Join 143 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Garrie Fletcher
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...