Story Starter: Smithy House


What stories could this house tell?

Quite a straightforward Story Starter Image this week. A house whose name reflects its history. Your story might be about that history, or be set within its period of history, or be nothing to do with either specifically but about an old house and the family within, or a smithy,  or a village. Maybe it’s about renaming the house….or – or – or…

You’ll think of something!

Kate Blackadder and I had a smashing day yesterday with the latest story writing workshop here at PF HQ. It was unbelievably satisfying to have it in a beautiful building that I could be proud of. Those who’ve attended previous Dundee workshops at our old Kingsway premises know that the room we used there was well past its best. The giveaway was the stains on the ceiling inspiring map-based stories!

I can’t remember if I ever confessed that minutes before one of our workshops started there, a ceiling tiled crashed down to the floor, sodden by the leaky roof and a night of rain. Fortunately there was another meeting in the room immediately before my booking, and as luck would have it it was the facilities staff. They had it all cleaned up in a jiffy. We had to set up a cordon underneath the dodgy area.

This time it was oh, so nice not to have to apologise….

The ladies yesterday came up with some super story ideas in response to the exercises and prompts, and I’m very hopeful that the resulting stories will be completed and turn up in our mail one day soon.

I did mean to take a photograph, but the day’s pretty full-on and although I remembered twice, I also forgot twice!

Maybe I’ll do better at York next Thursday. I’m looking forward to it. It’s almost sold out; just three spaces left if you’re still swithering.

Last chance for the booking form.

 

 

Shirley Blair

Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.