The End Of The World!

Like zombies? Want to support an amateur author who is poised to take the world by storm with his interactive online story about the end of the world? Look no further!

A friend of mine is writing said work and needs your help. His story is based upon the trials of a range of characters, beginning on Sunday January 1st 2012 when their lives are changed by a catastrophic event! You can see a timeline of events, read about each character (spoiler: this includes their current status - dead or alive!), and even see their current location.

The story is online in blog format, so you should scroll to the first entry written on December 1 and start from there. Each chapter is broken down into the stories of each individual character. At the end of each chapter, you will be encouraged to cast your vote to save your favourite character, and control where the story leads us...who lives and who dies at the end of this world...you decide!

Dorling's End of the World

Not suitable for children

Waterstones Writing Competition

For those in the UK who don't already know, Waterstones Booksellers are holding a competition for budding writers. The prize is a place on a four and a half day nature writing course with the Arvon Foundation in Shropshire in August, with tutors Niall Griffiths and Anna Pavord. The deadline is the 1st June 2008, see here for details. Good luck!

Inspiration?!

Have you ever felt inspired by something completely random, to do something completely different? Does seeing an old gnarly tree make you want to take up yoga? Or hearing a piece of music make you want to paint a picasso? Or does seeing someone else creating or doing something make you want to try it?

I love to write. Always have. I'm making my way through my second children's novel at the moment (though I haven't finished the first one yet!) and have for some time been planning a collection of short stories. The trouble is, I work offshore on a large smelly noisy ship, and although I get lots of time to read (bad weather, broken equipment etc!), I find that I am rarely inspired to write, or come up with anything creative. I usually only get creative after tramping through some old mossy woodland, or exploring another part of the countryside. Yet for some reason, on a ship in the middle of nowhere, 250 miles from shore, I received a flash of inspiration last night. Now it may have come many sources....the amazing Australian sunset we had yesterday, or the glorious full moon, or the fire alarm waking me up at midnight so I had to run out on deck with my lifejacket while they checked we weren't sinking, or the guy in the next cabin to me waking up screaming at 5am, or maybe it was just the amount of ginger beer I had during my shift yesterday... Regardless of what it was, by mid morning today, I had a list of six short stories, complete with titles, plot outlines and character names! That will keep me busy for a while! So whatever/whoever it was...I thank you...

Here's a glimpse of that sunset!