This story was announced today as Highly Commended in the NZSA Northern Branch Short Story Competition. We had to write on the theme of Loss. The story actually constitutes just one part of a larger work (more to come on that), but was originally based on my experience of miscarriage. I press my hands deeper…
Book Review: Mila and the Bone Man
Mila and the Bone Man by Lauren Roche Book reviewing 101: Review a book when you’ve finished it. I thought I would try something different with Lauren Roche’s Mila and the Bone Man. I’m currently reading it, and I propose this: a short meditation on the journey so far. The thoughts and feelings that have…
Quick Tips #11: Pantsing vs. Plotting: which is better?
A panster tends to write their way into a story, without planning the plot in advance. A plotter does the opposite. They like to plan, then write to that plan. Neither method is better or worse; both have their benefits and pitfalls. Pantsing can open writers up to a wild creativity that advance plotting might…
A Halloween Poem for Writers
The Muse: The CASE for Writer's Block The mists had come, the night was still, the moon was sick and shy, The sun had set but still its blood was dripping on the sky. And at her desk she took her plume and dipped it in her ink, The virgin page was panting in its…
Book Review: The Doctor’s Wife
The Doctor's Wife by Fiona Sussman I sense it when I talk about murder mysteries and psychological thrillers written by New Zealand authors. I call it the Kiwi cultural cringe: the idea that New Zealand commercial (or genre) fiction is inferior. Perhaps it’s something to do with New Zealand’s literary tradition still being in its…
Mother and Child
Sometimes a twist at the end of a story can work, and other times it falls flat. Here's an example in one of my flash fiction stories. Do you think it works? Mother and Child Your cry annihilates a rare dream. Since you came I snatch at sleep like a starving refugee. I pad through…
Much Ado About … what, exactly?
The issue of arts funding and who gets what is not a new debate in Aotearoa New Zealand. Creative New Zealand (CNZ) has regularly come under fire from writers and artists, with literary doyenne Paula Morris even winning a bias complaint against it earlier this year, after it turned down her application on behalf of…
The Girl Behind the Bar
Two weeks ago I got an email telling me my short story, 'The Girl Behind the Bar', was runner-up in the 2021 Radio New Zealand Nine to Noon Short Story Competition. The delay in letting me know was apparently due to COVID lockdowns and resultant recording studio delays, but now all systems were go, and…
Covet
I wrote this story ten years ago. It was runner-up in the Reader's Digest 100-word story competition 2013. It has exactly 100 words. Covet You stand in the corner, silent. Your legs, your arms, your back all curve luxuriously, stealing space. You are taunting me. Teasing me. Come. Closer. Caress. Covet. I circle you, regarding…
Quick Tips #10: What writing advice should I listen to?
I was given an invaluable piece of writing advice some time ago that was infinitely more helpful than any “how-to” article or writing course. Back then, I was at a point where writing was becoming more of a pressure than a pleasure; something to work at rather than simply...enjoy. I believed I had to write every day…
Patricia Bell, Author 