Gary Jefferies's Blog, page 5

DHAMPIR.

Time slips in minds that drift unfocused. Something The Amanuensis frequently reminds me often from an ice prison far in the future. Long and long has the hibernation of written word escaped logic. Now is now, and the time to explore begins once more. The perspective, Whittaker. A physician of the mind. A man of science, a sceptic of the supernatural, sorcery and ghosts. That was a long time ago now. Everything changed once he assembled the jigsaw arriving in his surgery. Again that was before his now. Age turns and time drifts across the years. Memories fail, re-written if you like, as the minutia blends or distorts. Whitaker stared into the fog. It wrapped the path he walked in a screen. A bubble of reality that, for all his musing, might be the only one in existence. His sphere of vision ran with him in a radius. Eating where he’d just trod and opening before him. He knew the trail well, so he thought, but in the depths of winter the life of summer …

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Short Story Prompt for January “Park.” #BlogBattle.

Monthly writing prompts for writers needing practice, support and a friendly community. Try something new this year BlogBattle has an upper limit of 2000 words. This is maximum and not a target everyone must hit. The minimum word count is 250, so anything between the two is perfectly acceptable. Poetry, by it’s nature can drop under the minimum so no need to worry too much.  It would help grow the community if prompts, story post and individual short stories or poems are shared more on social media. I have heard comments relating to that in terms of some writers not being very active. It is worth mentioning this is an area an aspiring author must get to grips with for publication purposes. Most agents and publishing houses will ask for your social media outlets. Make sure you post your story by the third Friday of each month. Once your story is posted, put a link to it in the comments section of the prompt post. We can then add your story to the Battle Stories …

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Phantasmagoria. A Fantasy fiction short story.

“Elder Mages remain an enigma. A lost civilisation whose relics have become weapons of the Gods.” Jeremiah Delalande Dragon Stone is a long standing WIP. Thus far it’s back story is already over a full novel. Much of it relating to an elf and dwarf overseen by a scribe ensnared inside a conjurers bubble. One day it might start the journey in chronological order…one day… Inspiration came from an image found on Pixabay combined with this months BlogBattle prompt, “FRAGMENT.” This story is an extension of concepts that first appeared here as Dragon Stone; Originalis PHANTASMAGORIA It was once said the Elder Mages held great vision. An unassailable grip on reality, the power to transcend worlds and masters of magical lore. They created the Dragon Stones. These harnessed the great wyverns and bound them to a rider. Thirteen once rode the lands sweeping all aside in their wake.Of these stones only four have been identified as existing. Black, Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald. As with many things, time turns fact to myth, sullies it with folklore …

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Short Story Prompt for March “Fragment.” #BlogBattle.

A monthly short story writing prompt from the BlogBattle community. This time it’s “Fragment.” Don’t think about it, write it and join in.

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Brexit Warrior. A Political Parody Cabinet Meeting.

Brexit Warrior. In an alternative reality the Cabinet intends to at least complete the Agenda set out previously… Last month’s prompt saw half a cabinet meeting of the U.K. government addressing two Agenda points; Covid and Brexit. After much discussion Covid was deferred to a future meeting. Brexit wasn’t covered so in an effort to at least complete this particular moot it appears here in full. At least according to the Watcher of Proceedings who, to be fair, was battling with a time piece rendering full concentration impractical. I do stress this is an alternative reality where things are being mishandled rather professionally. After all, could you make this up? Names used are entirely coincidental, no attempt to conform to their namesakes character traits has been attempted. Cult fiction, band or musical references are nothing to do with me! Other than that inspiration came from this months BlogBattle prompt, “REVOLUTION.” My question for any readers who find this historically intriguing… To run this into April’s camp NaNo as a novella or not?   BREXIT WARRIOR …

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February Short Story Prompt “Revolution.” #BlogBattle.

A monthly writing prompt from the BlogBattle community. This time it’s “Revolution.” Don’t think about it, write it and join in.

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Collective Responsibility

In an alternative reality Cabinet meets to discuss matters of strategy with some urgency. A pandemic and Brexit loom large. I must state from the get go that there is nothing funny about Covid. It’s a serious disease that has brought most nations to stand still, created impasse in health services, caused great distress in families through direct encounter with the disease or through financial stress that would not normally have arisen. That, fellow writers, is before we even touch base on mental health. There are obviously posts upon each of these topics which could fall under mindfulness and positive thinking. That is another day however. What many of you will know, if I’ve dropped in and struck dialogue on your blogs on this topic, is that my disdain of politicos is pretty obvious. No more so than now. So… In an alternative reality where the U.K. government is making a mess of everything, the pandemic is running riot and Brexit has been achieved the Cabinet has convened to discuss the start of the New …

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January Short Story Prompt “Blank.” #BlogBattle.

If you’re a writer, or even if you aren’t, times at present are difficult with the Covid 19 pandemic. We’re here to help support writers during hard times. For the New Year there have been a few changes to the BlogBattle. First we now have a dedicated URL. Second, the word count limit has been increased to 2000 words. This is maximum and not a target everyone must hit. The minimum word count is 250 so anything between the two is perfectly acceptable. Poetry, by its nature can drop under the minimum so no need to go Coleridge on us. That said, it might be an interesting challenge! The submission date has been moved too. This is to see if we can increase time for writers to read and comment on other pieces before hitting the next prompt. The story post will now go live in the third week. These changes will be monitored so if you have any concerns please raise them. It would help grow the community if prompts, story post and individual …

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December Short Story Prompt “Charm.” #BlogBattle.

If you’re a writer, or even if you aren’t, times at present are difficult with the Covid 19 pandemic. We’re here to help support writers during hard times. Let’s face it, any writing is better than no writing. If the WIP is draining the will to drink coffee, step out and try something totally different. Engage with authors and writers and the rewards will speak for themselves. Each month there is a new prompt. Entries are welcome any time up to the end of that month. 1000 words is a maximum, not a target. Any genre, any writing. You can start writing at any time, but make sure you post your story by the 30th of this month. Once you’ve posted your story to your blog, put a link to it in the comments section, and we’ll add your story to the Battle Stories Line-up post which is published at the start of week two. This is updated as new tales come in. Make sure to check back and read some of the stories of …

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November Short Story Prompt “Miniature.” #BlogBattle.

If you’re a writer, or even if you aren’t, times at present are difficult with the Covid 19 pandemic. We’re here to help support writers during hard times. Let’s face it, any writing is better than no writing. If the WIP is draining the will to drink coffee, step out and try something totally different. Engage with authors and writers and the rewards will speak for themselves. Each month there is a new prompt. Entries are welcome any time up to the end of that month. 1000 words is a maximum, not a target. Any genre, any writing. You can start writing at any time, but make sure you post your story by the 30th of this month. Once you’ve posted your story to your blog, put a link to it in the comments section, and we’ll add your story to the Battle Stories Line-up post which is published at the start of week two. This is updated as new tales come in. Make sure to check back and read some of the stories of …

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