Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundredth piece in this series. This week’s is a 232-worder by coach, copywriter and novelist Angela Watt. This story will be podcasted in episode 32 (with three other stories / with two other stories and some 6-worders) on Sunday 6th October.
Why Me?
She peered out of the window and saw it was yet another blue sky and sunshine day. She sighed and wondered just how long this spell of fine weather would continue. She yearned for greyness. The sort of heavy, oppressive grey that you could wrap around you.
In the kitchen the oven clock alerted her to the fact that she’d achieved a new all time low. It was mid afternoon. Morning had vanished as she’d succumbed once more to the comfort, silence and, most importantly, the safety of her bed.
Unwashed and bored, she opened the fridge, her eyes searching and reinforcing what she already knew. No food. No-one had miraculously filled the fridge overnight and even if they had, did she really have the appetite? The blank white shelves stared back and fuelled her sense of guilt and unease. At least there was a thin layer of milk in the carton – just enough to make a cup of tea.
She filled the kettle and pushed open the window to release the still and somewhat stagnant air around her. A few words of a Beatle’s song bounced across from Mrs. Jackson’s open apartment window. It must be a Thursday – the scheduled singing lesson. Maria pulled the window shut again. As she poured water onto a teabag, she wondered how long she would feel this bad. Why couldn’t it just be easy?
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I asked Angela what prompted this piece and she said…
When I write, I like to try and put myself in the head of a character and write about how they might be feeling and experiencing the world around them. We all experience things differently and in this case, what for some would be a perfect day because of the blue sky and sunshine is exactly the opposite to what Maria wants. I enjoy writing pieces that enable the reader to step into someone else’s shoes and gain an alternative perspective. My prompts came from Morgen’s online short story writing group.
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Thank you, Angela.
At 48, Angela comes late in life to the joys of creative writing, but has always been an avid reader. She is self-employed with a background in corporate HR and coaching and more recently copywriting work. At some point she’d love to give it all up and earn a vast sum of money writing best-selling novels, although this may be a little way away as her first novel is still in production.
Angela lives in Nantwich, Cheshire with her husband, a very demanding cat and a sulky chicken called Sukie. She set up and contributes to a writing group at her local library which is just about to celebrate its first anniversary.
If you’d like to read more of her work, you can find her under the alibi Girlkatski on www.burrst.com and also through the following links:
- www.secondstepcoaching.co.uk
- http://mybeautifulvoyage.blogspot.com
- http://sharing.coachingandcakes.co.uk
- http://littlewritespace.blogspot.com
If you’d like to connect with her you can find her on Twitter @secondstepcoach or you can email her at angela@secondstepcoaching.co.uk
In her spare time, Angela loves to find a quiet moment to read, drink coffee and eat cake and so you can often find her hanging out at the local coffee shop or at one of the many Vintage and Handmade Fairs she likes to visit.
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If you’d like to submit your 6-word or 500-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here, or up to 2,000 words for critique on my Online Short Story Writing Group (links below).
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I welcome items for critique directly (see Editing & Critique) or for posting on the online writing groups listed below:
Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group
We look forward to reading your comments.
Morgen 'with an E' Bailey 
Such an unusual story, enthralling and leaving me with lots of questions. Thanks so much Angela, good luck with your writing career. Looking forward to reading more. Thanks Morgen.
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Thank you, Jane. I’ve forwarded your comment to Angela.
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Thanks for your comments Jane. I appreciate you taking the time to post them. Wishing you the very best too.
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