Yeah it’s pretty hard telling a story backwards with no letter ‘e’s. Makes keeping the tense and POV a bit challenging. Good fun to see if it was even possible (I had my doubts when Elaine first posted it).

I did do said task. An Adam first 🙂

Ah, two original sin yarns today. Good on you! R.L had another. Congratulations. And any story with Adam in it has to work 😉 PS I now avoid that nasty No.2 non-consonant.

Hey Georgiana, there is something magical about lighthouses and there is everything magical about this piece of writing. I love it. I love the man, his dog, their rhythms and their prospects. There’s no sentimentality in this. It just is, and its fabulous. You should spend more time with these guys. So good.

This is great from the first line. I love this tho “A tall, blonde, slender cliché, everything else about her was Irish.” So good. But then I could have included a handful of other lines from this. Well done

I’ve tried and bailed/failed on a few challenges in previous years (One challenge actually helped me out of a total mindblock) so about time I stuck one. It was kinda hard and then kind of came out like I guess all stories do if you sit there long enough. Thanks for reading.

Thanks Peggy – hope all’s well. Look forward to writing something with lots of e’s next month!

Hey Seyi. Great writing as always. Love the tension build as the cops make their way to the apartment. The glimpes of the ‘old lady’ are great. Sure we’ve had a discussion before about the fine line between intrigue and confusion. I needed a few more guide rails to not have to re-read. Even then, to get the full story had to google and read the…[Read more]

I like this alot. Feels like something you could keep working. I love the idea of strength and power in dishevelment. Well done.

A original rendition of a story that has left bitterness in the mouths of so many. All power to those who think that when “someone forbids me from having something, I want it.” Great stuff. Hope you’re doing well.

Hey Ray. I love this scene. So much in so few words. I love the two characters who we learn so much about. Great stuff. Thx for sharing.

Hi Annette. I love the opening. So simple and vivid. I wanted to stay in the moment with Tim as a child. 300 words is so short, but you’ve done so well to weave in a second element. It took me two reads and some extra back tracking to pull all the threads together. Clearly the early lesson stayed with him. Thanks for sharing

Arrrrrrgggggghhhh – damn that last minute edit. Had done a ‘find’ earlier and my “very clean” version had about 12 e’s in it. These two sneaky guys just lept back in at the 11th hour under cover of darkness and panic. Sorry. Fixed. And thanks for reading so closely!

Hey Seyi – all good here. Sun out today after about 6 weeks of rain and cloud and flooding up the coast a bit. Thanks for the feedback – I did find one super long sentence – sorry. Although I do like the idea that using short sentences buys you the right to use a longer one from time to time. That said, I’m not feeling this piece that much – was a…[Read more]

Yeah I’ve got a bad habit of leaving things hanging…both in life and in my ss’s haha! Take care. A

Hey Lauren, I love this line near the start. “Little towns like Bowlin have short attention spans but long memories” Feel like it could be the opening (even though I quite like the actual opening too – although for a while there I thought he was onstage talking to an audience). The voice is great – really consistent. I love that we dont know much…[Read more]

Hey Cobus, This feels very Kurt Vonnegutt and kept me reading and laughing. There are some great moments (I really like the opening death) but I have to say I did get a little confused as the scenes shifted rapidly and dramatically (might just be my woolly head space). Maybe it needs a little more subtle guidance for the reader (Like when the…[Read more]

Hey Rachel, there is some seriously powerful writing in this. For me the strongest moments are in the opening scene. The child’s recollections of the book, choosing a toy, the mothers busyness. It’s so vivid and foreboding as we know what’s happening even if the narrator speaks with naievity. If you want feedback, just check the commentary of the…[Read more]

He Chris, I really love the opening. Poised to go on stage then the wandering, meandering mind. You captured the building anxiety so well. I did get a little discombobulated as it flicked between placed in the narrators recollections. I also wondered if to get a TED talk the narrator could have had a more successful backstory (but one they still…[Read more]