Story Starter: Snake In The Grass


A snake reaers up in some luscious woodland.

Can you see it? The snake in the grass? It stopped me in my tracks when I was out for a walk last weekend. A closer look – though still from this side of that wooden gate – showed it wasn’t a snake at all, of course, but a tree branch poking up. Still, shows how the eye can be fooled, doesn’t it? Story themes? I think this one offers loads.

We were talking within the fiction team today about sending illustrations out to writers, how beneficial it can be, and how sometimes the story that comes back bears no obvious relation to the original image. And that’s absolutely fine. So like that snake that isn’t really a snake, think laterally, not literally. Neat mantra, isn’t it? We came up with that ourselves!

Keeping it short this week. Definitely. It’ll give me time to read a couple more stories. Over to you….

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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.

Story Starter: Snake In The Grass

A snake reaers up in some luscious woodland.

Can you see it? The snake in the grass? It stopped me in my tracks when I was out for a walk last weekend. A closer look – though still from this side of that wooden gate – showed it wasn’t a snake at all, of course, but a tree branch poking up. Still, shows how the eye can be fooled, doesn’t it? Story themes? I think this one offers loads.

We were talking within the fiction team today about sending illustrations out to writers, how beneficial it can be, and how sometimes the story that comes back bears no obvious relation to the original image. And that’s absolutely fine. So like that snake that isn’t really a snake, think laterally, not literally. Neat mantra, isn’t it? We came up with that ourselves!

Keeping it short this week. Definitely. It’ll give me time to read a couple more stories. Over to you….

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