#13 Autumn Poetry

Autumn in the Pennines By C. Hughes-Cheshire I stand atop the hill of Pildacre: The summit of my home. The sunset creeps in ever earlier While I stand here, cold and alone. The khaki scarf, piled high upon my shoulders, Wraps tight around my neck and chin, And helps me feel safe as the days …

#12 Write about a normal day from the perspective of your pet

The Daily Mission They’re mocking me again. They stand atop the street lamps, under the misguided impression that they rule the streets, feeling so regal. We all know they are nothing but slimy, rotten, bin-dwelling sky rodents. They think they reign supreme but don’t realise that they are the ones making a mess of the …

Review #2 – Living the Dream by Lauren Berry (novel)

Set in London, switching focus between two writers Clementine and Emma, Living the Dream is a book full of sexual mishaps and inevitable disappointments. Emma is a semi-successful blogger stuck in a 9-to-5 in the soul-destroying marketing business. Her life is a culmination of tacky company motos and presentations on things she doesn't believe in and …

Creative Writing Class #3 – The Hairdresser

   I always get one of two reactions from a hairdresser.    The first lot are incredibly excited by all the possibilities with my hair - the kind that has no predetermined direction and lots and lots of hairs to mould and chop into whatever form they want. They love that I have it short …

#11 -“Is that blood?” -“No? ” …

Jenny: Is that blood? Gloria: No? Jenny: That's not the kind of question you should be answering with another question. Gloria: Hmm. I guess not. Jenny: Grandma, you're covered in blood. Why are you guessing at anything right now? Gloria: Aww, it will come out in the wash, I'm sure. Stop fretting, love. You worry too much, …

Review #1 – Small Town Murder (Podcast)

In the past few months, I have devoured several True Crime podcasts on Spotify. I first got into podcasts while working in Sweden. I was feeling a little blue, bit homesick, and looked to The Guilty Feminist for a bit of comic relief. It turned me on to the world of podcasts and brought me into the …

Creative Writing Class #2 – Fill in the blanks.

We were all given an opening sentence: The first time (he/she/they/name/I) heard (song) by (artist/band) (he/she/they/name/I) were (up, by, on etc. + place) (action). And so, here is what I cam up with . . . The first time Sam heard Changes by David Bowie he was up on the hill in Pildacre Fields waiting …

Unprompted #1 – Alexa’s Fresh Start

She grabbed chunks of her hair and cut them violently with the garden shears. She started in the middle, at the widow’s peak, to fully commit to the transition. She chopped and chopped and chopped, unchained by conventions of hairdressing. She cut her thumb, chipped a nail, felt a fleck of hair land on her …

Creative Writing Class #1 – Write about a job you used to have.

I clench my fist. I knock on the door. I hold my breath. I hear the noise. I hear the yelling. "Answer the fucking door!" A woman. Old. Probably a slow mover. Definitely a chain-smoker. I hear the dog bark. I hear it lollop towards me. Barking and bucking and panting. I hear it come …

#10 – You stand accused of killing the Queen. The only person who can vouch for you is her ghost. No one can see her.

I did not kill the Queen, I plea, I did not kill her, can't you see? Her ghost sits there, in that blood red chair, And her finger does not point at me. I wrote this in my translation class as part of an exercise and wanted to share it on here. Short but sweet, …