Stopping, starting and short stories.

I have finally stopped tweaking my novel Mesmerised, yes I have settled on a title, and have taken a couple of weeks off of writing. We've had friends to stay and then it was my husband's birthday, so my focus has been elsewhere.

And then, from out of the blue, an idea appeared in my head and the writing begins again. It's not much of an idea to be honest. A character, an opening scenario and vague thoughts about the rest. I have given it a title, Tales of Retribution, and typed the first chapter. A great deal more thinking will have to be done before i can add anymore. In my next blog I'll let you know if I have got any further with my new project.

In the meantime I have joined a group, British and Irish Writing Community, who are there to encourage and offer advice. They are planning to do an online magazine featuring their members' work in the form of short stories.

Now, many authors start with short stories before they tackle a full novel. I have done it the other way around. My first attempt at writing was my novel Ebb and Flow and I have written several more since.

Having never attempted a short story I asked for advice from my new Facebook friends and they gave me a few tips. Jumping straight in I have written Maggie and Mr Marshall and will be sending that off to them. Hopefully it will be featured in their magazine in the future.

My husband's birthday party is at the weekend. Cooking, cleaning and then the inevitable hangover will keep me busy for a few days. See, I'm already making excuses for not progressing with Tales of Retribution.