Outdoor Inspiration

The other day I walked a mile or two of the North Worcestershire Way in the sunshine. As I meandered along I came across a cottage set back from the lane and up a unkempt path. It inspired me to write this piece. Maybe I'll use it as the beginning of a story.

Yew Tree Cottage

Janice frowned. Yew tree cottage wasn’t anything like she’d imagined. The yew was small and dwarfed by a large monkey puzzle tree, which was the centre-piece of the front garden. As she walked slowly up the path in trepidation she stared at the dilapidated cottage and wondered if she’d got the right place.

The blue paint had almost completely peeled off the wooden window frames and the once white-washed walls were green with mildew. The garden looked no better. A windowless wooden framed greenhouse surrounded by brambles and stinging nettles. And it looked as though the silver birch in the corner was the only thing holding it up.

She stopped in front of the wooden panelled door and looked for the bell. There was none, nor even a knocker. She banged on the door timidly with the side of her right hand and watched the flecks of blue paint fall onto the stone flags. Taking two steps back she waited. The door opened slowly and she glimpsed a withered old man in the dim light. She heard him croak, ‘Come in my dear, let me put the kettle on.’


(200 words)

Writers' Circle

In the late summer of 2008 I decided to develop my skills as a fictional writer and thought about joining a Writers’ Circle. I Googled for one and found it in Worcester Writers' Circle, which is in Worcester almost where I live.

On the 7th October I went along to my first meeting. It was a small group with ages from 22 to 80, I enjoyed it so I decided to join.

Every December the steering group would set a theme for each meeting and suggest that we write a small piece, but it was not compulsory. Although there was no pressure I decided to write a fictional story for each meeting. As it turned out I was the only one who regularly did that. Occasionally one or two other members also wrote something, usually non-fiction. Others read from the book or a article that they were working on.

I suppose this is the story of my journey.