Twisted Tales and other Stories

After spending nearly a year on less than 4 hours sleep at night, I now have a new lease of life! As I've said before, twin (or single) mattresses pushed together are so much better than a king sized mattress.

Anyway - what this has meant for me is that I am once more feeling creative. I've had a pretty long dry spell on the writing and photography front, but now am raring to go. I just read my last blog on mediocrity, and it really has slapped me upside the head. I forced myself to sit down and write the other night. As part of the Redbubble community, I am in the Twisted Tales writing group, which is for short stories that have to have some kind of twist in them. They have a fortnightly (every two weeks) "Star Twister" challenge with a prompt and a 350 word limit.

Challenging people to keep within these parameters really forces one to chop and winnow all the chaff in the story being written. To flesh out a character, motives, a storyline and a twist in only 350 words really requires some attention to detail. How do you set up your reader to read one way and not see the twist coming? There are always some clues in the best stories.

It feels good to be creative again. My writing mojo is awakening and I am really going to try this year to have some good stuff to show by the end of it. If you would like to see my newest short story (and those of you who are my Facebook friends have seen the link there), here it is. Hope you enjoy Aftermath

Cheers! and thanks for reading.

Opportunity

One of the differences I see between living in the UK and living in the USA is the opportunity that is often grabbed by anyone and everyone here.


I love to write and take photographs and have been encouraged to do so. I think that if I were still living in the UK, I would be shyer about putting myself forward and sharing what I love to do.


People here seem to believe that it's OK to reach for the stars. I'm not talking about fly-by-night "American Idol" syndrome, but that if you work for it, and go for it, then the sky's the limit. I feel that sometimes in the UK (and please forgive me for this, because I love my homeland) one is criticized for trying to be more than they are.


We all have gifts and talents. I believe that God is the Father of all Creation, and if we are made in His image, then we are all creative in so many different ways. What's so wrong with sharing that with each other, and trying to make something of it?


I didn't go into photography to make money, but have found that some people want to buy my photos. I love being creative, and thank Redbubble.com for being such an awesome website where I can do this within a supportive framework. I have found so much inspiration and encouragement here. Oh, and by the way...their printing is of the highest quality.


Please visit http://www.redbubble.com/ and take a look around. I think you will be there for a LONG while. If you want to take a look at what I have done, please visit www.redbubble.com/people/jsheehy 


Thanks for reading, and have a great day!