Category: Novel

Spring 2017

7/5/2017

Daily Painting - 7th April 2017, by F. E. Clark.

Spring 2017 - my goodness it has almost been a year since my last blog post - it was not my intention to lapse for so long but life as it often does, has gotten a bit away for me.

News Catch up - In 2016 I had a few really lovely things happen:
I won a writing contest in Molotov Cocktail Lit Mag, coming first in their Flash Icon competition - you can read The Solstice Shade here. This story went on to be nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I also had a Best of the Net nomination for a prose poem (untitled) that I wrote for the Folded Word Press - you can read it here.

I adjudicated the Kintyre Writers Circle Flash Fiction contest, and this year will be adjudicating their Essay contest.

In 2016 I began painting lager paintings - which I enjoyed, and I am delighted that quite a few went on to new homes - you can see the paintings here.

I had a 'Sma Buik' published by Poems For All - which contained a painting of mine 'A Tree Stands Dreaming' and my poem 'Find Her Way Home'. I was given a few of these booklets to 'scatter' and I am having fun leaving them for people to find out in the big wide world.

F. E. Clark - Find Her Way Home, 2016

2017

I have begun a new phase of making daily paintings, you can see them here - April 2017, May 2017.

I was given a new camera as a Christmas present, and most days now I walk and take photos - I choose one and post it on my instagram and twitter accounts - but mostly this is something for myself: a walk, time to breathe, to look, seek beauty and inspiration. Here are a few of the photos:

I was very lucky to attend most of the Granite Noir Festival in February this year, and participated in a Doric Noir workshop. I have also taken part in a 2 week Intensive Fast Flash workshop online with Kathy Fish (and intense it was indeed!).

CURRENTLY
I am delighted to have been accepted onto this year's The Writers' Room programme which is being led by Shane Strachan. More on this in later posts.

STATUS REPORT:
HAT STATUS: I actually had to wear my (faux) furry hunter had yesterday - there was an icy wind, despite the beautiful sun.

WRITING STATUS: I have taken up the challenge to complete my first novel by the end of October this year.

SUBMISSIONS STATUS: 3 subs this week so far, 2 rejections, 0 acceptances.

PAINTING STATUS: Daily-ish paintings AHOY!

READING STATUS: The teetering stack of books to read has reached epic proportions.

F. E. Clark, Sunday 7th May, 2017.

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Moniack Mhor - A Week Out of Time

8/6/2015

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Moniack Mhor - Kiltarlity, up by Inverness, up high - watched over by Ben Wyvis: Scotland's Creative Writing Centre, this is where I have been for the past week. I am so grateful for the Moniack Mhor giving me a grant and several other individuals, who helped me both financially and practically to attend the novel writing week there.

Our tutors all generously provided different views of the novel writing process: Jess Richards - author of Snake Ropes and Cooking with Bones; Rachel Seiffert - author of, The Walk Home, The Dark Room, Afterwards and Field Story; and guest speaker Peter Salmon - author of The Coffee Story.

We had workshops in the mornings, tuturials in the afternoons, shared a cooking rota (with recipies, ingredients and hand holding from Mark), heard all the tutors read from the work, as well as all my fellow students. There was space to walk. An urn of hot water in the kitchen, plenty food, coffee and wine.

5am Rainbow from Bedroom No: 6 at Moniack Mhor - Looking out at the Straw Bale Studio (hobbit house) where we read our work to the group on the last evening and where we heard the guest speaker talk.

Thanks to the advice and encouragement of our tutors and the space provided at Moniack Mhor, I have returned home with 2 pieces of writing, which I hope to develop on in the coming year. Also, if not a community, with my fellow students I hope I have made some friends with these travellers on the creative path.

Rememberance - I have also remembered things that work for me - walking, morning pages, space, quiet, time to mull and scribble and look.

Here are just a few of the photos I took during my time at Moniack - click on the individual images to see in more detail and read captions:

I feel very previleged to have had this experience and shall allow it to settle within me and inspire me in the coming months and years. A huge thanks to all involved.

HAT STATUS: Furry hunter hat and jaunty corderoy hat, both travelled with me. The air was fabulous, clean and fresh - still snow on the far hills. I would advise a hat if one wants to walk at Moniack Mhor.

WRITING STATUS: Why is my blog post about my writing retreat full of photos, you might ask - and I would say - this is where I have been and where strands of stories began to develop for me, and those are far too new to share as yet.

Counting down - 13 days, until The Flashdogs Anthology is published (and with it 4 of my short stories) - more on this soon.

PAINTING STATUS: Inspired.

READING STATUS: I would thorougly recommend books from our fabulous tutors: Snake Ropes, Cooking with Bones, The Walk Home, The Dark Room, The Coffee Story..............

WILDCARD STATUS: One week of not accessing the internet (self imposed) has had me taking ill with logging in again. I am told Mercury is in retrograde and will be for 2 more weeks and this is jamming the airwaves, but also suspect time and freedom of this tyrannical beast is good for me.

F. E. Clark, 8th June, 2015.

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Spring 2017

2017

Moniack Mhor - A Week Out of Time

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