Story Starter: Sunrise, Or Sunset?

Now, I know if this is a sunrise or a sunset because I remember where I was when I took the photograph, and when. But if you don’t know that, can you tell by looking? There’s a question….

It makes for quite an interesting discussion topic, doesn’t it? Perception, assumption, knowledge….

So that’s the story starter. You can either go all philosophical and question the nature of truth, of fact, of fake news, of perception….or you can write a simple poetic story about a sunrise in winter – or it might be a sunset, of course!

So, do I have any other news? Not really. We’re busy with the usual weekly routine here. October issues on the horizon in production terms.

And it’s hard to believe, given that it’s only August, but next week I’ll be pulling together the stories for the Christmas Special. I’ve got everything I need for that, thanks to general stock and submissions, and a few special commissions. But I’ll still be looking for lots more Christmas stories for our weekly issues in December, please.

For fun I’ve just conducted a quick poll within the fiction team about the most well-worn themes. At No. 1 is loneliness at Christmas for whatever reason (usually widowhood, or the family’s abroad – you know, “first Christmas without….”) and that’s usually combined with not bothering to decorate the house. No. 2 is stressing about Christmas and forgetting its true meaning. And No. 3 is the school nativity. So steer clear of those themes and your story will stand out. We rarely receive stories featuring Christmas abroad, for instance.

I’d love to see more stories that just make us giggle. And we always have room for a luscious romance, of course, full of that delicious will-they, won’t-they tension.

I’ll still appeal for 2000 and 3000 words only for the moment, please.

Actually, I wonder if the sunrise/sunset image will prompt a Christmas story? You can just make out that the ground’s white with frost…

PS Autumn workshops booking form is here.