Though I crossed one hundred thousand miles

If you are wondering about the cryptic reference to Bowie, a Space Oddity, I have been on something of a space odyssey myself recently. I have been giving myself lots of space to contemplate the meaning of my written work. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Some of my best writing has received few, some times no, readers. What's the point?

Well, the point is that I am a writer, so I write. Kinda nice if someone else reads what I write but, if I never had a single reader for any of my short stories, poems, rambling articles (like this one) or novel(s), I would continue writing. What's more, looking over some of my writing of the past few years, I think the output may be improving.

Perhaps is it my boundless optimism, but I feel sure I have written some quite good stuff recently. I have also been reposting some of my better work from the past couple of years, following the accidental (I am told) suspension of my account with my chosen hosting service, Vocal Media, recently. This major setback has also been a catalyst for refocusing on what matters, and what is good in my writing practice. I will be reposting some of my older work selectively, deleting some, holding on to some for exclusive publication in Kindle and/or paper formats at a later date.

Rambling aside, I thought it would be good to think about some of my better stories and verse, not to mention non-fiction work. I have been writing and publishing non-fiction for 40 years, including 10 as a magazine journalist. I have only been writing any kind of volume of fiction for maybe seven or eight, poetry even fewer. So, what are these better stories, poems and articles?

What are your best stories that you have been writing recently? Care to share? Why not write your own list and please let us know about them. A great approach to self-reflection and please feel free to link them here with a comment if you do.

My best bits

I keep coming back to this one. A poem I wrote a few weeks ago in anticipation of climbing the mountain Yr Wyddfa, (pronounced "Ur Withva") the highest mountain in Wales and second highest in the United Kingdom, known in English as Snowdon.

The Welsh name Yr Wyddfa translates as something like burial mound of the giant. The story goes that King Arthur, confronted by the giant Rhitta Gawr, struck off his head in a single blow. The mountain is the defeated giant's final resting place. Rhitta Gawr was a fearsome warrior, who wore the beards of his defeated foes, sewn into his cloak. A gruesome story, but that is history for you: history, myth and legend. I was quite pleased with the AI rendering to illustrate this poem, which exactly matches the tone I was looking for. Sometimes, using AI does actually work. Often, it takes many attempts to get it right. I feel I am learning something about using generative applications, too.

So, to me, the mountain is not just a tourist attraction, or a hiking route, it is a special place, a holy place. A place that locks in the past of a nation and its peoples. When the Romans invaded the island of Britannia, they displaced many nations (just as when Europeans invaded America and Australia). Those peoples (collectively known as 'ancient Britons') were further displaced by subsequent Anglo-Saxon and Nordic invasions, being pushed further and further West, into Wales and the South West England (Cornwall, Devon). Such people tended to be dark haired and fair skinned. DNA test some years ago, showed that there were still concentrations of people who could be linked to pre-Roman-invasion ethnicity, living in small parts of north Wales and Cornwall. Likely, such a test would also reveal such traits in Brittany, in the north west of France. Certainly, the language binds these three localities, as Welsh, French Breton, and Cornish have many similar words and constructs. There is also a community of several thousand Welsh-speaking people living in a part of Patagonia, Argentina, from a more recent migration.

The three regions or England, Wales and France were also the place of a great deal of maritime commerce for thousands of years before Roman times, with vessels crossing between South Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. I felt this history as I wrote the poem, and tried to infuse my words with a feel of the ancient Welsh texts that talked about the graves of Kings, warriors and heroes, like Arthur and Rhitta Gawr. What do you think?

Having many of the ailments you'd expect of a 66 year old, I was none to sure that I would make the climb to the top but I did, with my daughter's encouragement. I was delighted to do so and have added this photo record of the journey.

Or, if you prefer...

Just discovered this custom button feature, so thought I would add one as a test. Good thing about the button is that it opens a new window, meaning you don't lose the reader to someone else's content before your own story has been read! Either way, the 'haiku' was just a means of getting a bunch of photos in without having to add 600 words of pointless narrative for word count limits! Call it cheating, if you will, I don't make the rules!

Did I mention rambling stories? This looks like it will end up being one. 800 words and only two stories so far. Ah well. Here are some of my other favourites.

Best recent fiction

I wrote "Out of Oblivion" as a complete short story in its own right, but with a cliff-hanger ending that just had to be continued. I wrote it so that it could be continued as a series, perhaps ending up a novel. So far, I have written three chapters, but since stalled over the forth. As a result, I have written a further three pieces in an attempt to get myself back on track, partly by asking readers for their views and ideas. This approach has been productive beyond expectations, so that chapters four and five are now in progress, with chapter six, and beyond, at planning stage. Given the apparent complexities of the storyline, and the many possible outcomes and potential routes to take the dramatic development, I definitely need a plan to get me on track. I have cleared a space on my big whiteboard to do the planning. Progress, so far, is slow but at least it is progress.

Many thanks to all the readers who contributed their thoughts and ideas:

And please look out for Oblivion: Chapter Four

I don't write a great deal of mystery and crime fiction, but would like to do more. This is one reason why I feel my fictional writing is, after so many years, starting to get somewhere. Out of Oblivion is written in the style of a murder mystery but without a murder. The mystery is something altogether different. My next best story is written in a traditional style that almost mocks the classic 2oth century detective drama, complete with Agatha Christie drawing-room characters. I couldn't make the Christie references more obvious if I tried. For example, by naming the main character Annabel Christie, an author of popular detective fiction novels.

The first part was originally an entry to an unreliable witness challenge competition, unsuccessful of course, but led to me continuing the story, adding other 'unreliable witnesses.' This was intended to allow the reader to work out the rights and the wrongs of the matter, for themselves, based on the various witness testimonies. Not just the murder itself, but the antics of a young domestic servant, her lecherous employer, the wife and, of course, the murderer. What do you think? Does the format work?

The above links to part one of the story, with a link to each subsequent part at the end. Or, you might like to read this intriguing introduction and taster...

These stories were also published in a printed pamphlet format with QR coded links to the online chapters and other QR links to other stories. Do you ever print cards, bookmarks, booklets, or other print products to promote your work? I find it quite effective, and am learning what works best through doing this. When I publish my next novel or collection of work, I will use techniques to help drive sales through Amazon and other outlets.

ART AND LIFE

Art is one of my best subjects to write about. Though I have never studied art, seldom read art books, and am by no means an expert, my view is that we need to take art back from the intellectual niche it seems to occupy. You don't need to know anything about art to appreciate a fine painting, sculpture, architectural feature. You just look at it, is all. What could be less academic than that? I sometimes do 'ten minute' talks about individual works of art in the two London Tate galleries where I work as an occasional volunteer. The focus of these talks is no more and no less than what can be seen of the works, themselves, sometimes with snippets of researched background. I use the same approach to my written work. I hope these artwork articles encourage people to try to see more in the works of art they may see, and broaden the range of what they think they might enjoy.

How about this one for starters?

How could a bare bum mean so much? If you look at the bottom (pun not intended) right of my photograph, you will also see a self-portrait by Gwen John, another artist I find intriguing. If you read to the end of the Laura Knight article, you will see a cheeky (in more ways than one) selfie I took at a later visit to the gallery. I don't like my own image so this is a rare example of it being used. Looking at that photo and the headline image above, do you see the resemblance?

It sometimes surprises me how many of my artist friends rarely visit art museums. Where else do they get their inspiration from? Nature? Perhaps, but you still need the encouragement and ideas generation that comes from seeing other artists' work. I could say the same thing about writers. Every picture carries its own story and there is so much literary inspiration to be found by looking up at art. It also lifts the spirits and brings a sense of scale and authenticity to a writer's work. Try it some time.

Here is a short story I wrote about another painting I saw in the National Portrait Gallery in London. A painting of a prize boxer. I would have loved to have known more about his story but, in the absence of much biographical detail, I thought I would make one up. Could you imagine what the subject was like from his portrait? How about looking at other portraits. If you can't get to a gallery, why not look some up online, or flip through some old photos?

If you do write a story based on a portrait or other artwork, do please let us know by linking the story in comments below.

Like many people who use Vocal Media as a hosting service for their stories, I try to enter as many of Vocal's prize challenges as possible. Have I ever won? Nope, but I keep trying, if only in an attempt to improve my writing and range. Many such challenges take me way out of my comfort zone, which is seldom a bad thing. Here are some examples of recent challenge entries I was quite pleased with. Starting with a Bowie-esque trip into space.

The challenge is about creating a poem around the concept of "static" (electricity) so I am not sure if this one quite meets the brief. I wrote it up as I imagined it in any case. The following, for the same challenge, is probably a closer match, though I prefer the Major Tom verse.

Hair drawn forth

The other live challenge entry, at the time of writing, is one I had a lot of fun writing. It is an extraordinarily liberating experience, to consider one's own demise, and what might happen after. This piece makes one such, light hearted, consideration. Look out for the guest appearance at the end.

At 2,000 words I think I am really starting to ramble too much now. Many thanks, if you are still reading. And on a parting note, here are some nostalgic ramblings that end with an unexpected (at least for me) ending.

Thanks again for reading.