Yes, the Easter Bunny. It’s a timely reminder that in story writing terms that’s at least what you should be working on now if you want it to be considered in time for Easter 2018. And even then you’ll have to mark your envelope Easter, or it’ll get caught in the story reading queue. Again to put things in context, I’ve just started reading those submissions that arrived in August.
I’m still receiving Christmas stories, which is fine, so long as everyone understands that I’ve completed my selection of the stories for all of our Christmas issues 2017. Any that come in now will be held over till I’m stocking up for next Christmas. And that means they won’t even be read until next autumn. So yes, by all means write them while the bells are jingling in the shops and everywhere is festooned in seasonal splendour, but please then be prepared to be patient.
To put this pic in context for you, it’s a display in a German department store – Cologne, if I remember – in the Steiff department. Steiff are famous for their bears with the button in the ear. Collectible. Valuable. Treasured. Cologne city break. Two couples. Two sisters and their husbands.
All of those little snippets are, I think, story fodder. As is the city of Cologne itself. That magnificent cathedral, the Kolner Dom. Virtually the only building left standing at the end of the war, surrounded by utter devastation. Christmas markets. The Rhine. Rhine cruises. The chocolate museum. Just random thoughts and ideas.
Over to you….
I’m particularly looking for 3000-word stories at the moment.
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.
