http://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php?title=Special:NewPages&feed=atom&hideredirs=1&limit=50&offset=&namespace=0&username=&tagfilter=&size-mode=max&size=0Dashipedia - New pages [en-gb]2024-03-29T07:40:32ZFrom DashipediaMediaWiki 1.32.1http://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Caf%C3%A9_DoomCafé Doom2014-06-19T23:03:11Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>'''Café Doom''' is a writing forum specifically devoted to horror and speculative fiction that can be found [http://www.cafedoom.com/forum/index.php? here]. It's run by Ed Dempster and is one of the friendliest places on the net (although I have to say that I haven't been there as much as I should have done lately, because I've kind of drifted away from horror in recent years).<br />
<br />
Every week there's a '''Flash Challenge''', where the previous week's winner sets a prompt word and each entrant has to write a piece of 350 words or less using that prompt. Judging is then done by the entrants. The numbers involved can be tiny, but it's none the less competitive for that. Several of my favourite pieces have come out of this.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Verulam_Writers%27_CircleVerulam Writers' Circle2014-06-19T22:43:15Z<p>Jonathan: Created page with "'''The Verulam Writers' Circle''' is simply the best real-life writers' group in the UK, possibly on the planet. They are based in St Albans and there's much more about them [..."</p>
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<div>'''The Verulam Writers' Circle''' is simply the best real-life writers' group in the UK, possibly on the planet. They are based in St Albans and there's much more about them [http://verulamwriterscircle.org.uk here].<br />
<br />
I was a member on and off for over twenty years, including a disastrous two-year reign as chairman, until I moved away from St Albans. I literally wouldn't have got anywhere as a writer without their support.<br />
<br />
They run a number of annual internal competitions, three of which are for fiction:<br />
<br />
* The Crystal Decanter Competition - this is set and judged by the previous year's winner, and the winner gets to keep a rather splendid crystal decanter for a year.<br />
* The President's Competition - this is set and judged by the Circle's president, Nick Cook.<br />
* The David Gibson Cup - this is set by the previous year's winner and judged by popular vote, with the entries stuck to the walls of the meeting room.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Alex_Keegan%27s_BootcampAlex Keegan's Bootcamp2014-06-19T22:36:11Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>'''Alex Keegan's Bootcamp''' is a tough [http://bootcampkeegan.yuku.com online creative writing group]. I've never been a member but I know some who have, and I know that opinion is strictly divided between those who love the place and those who hate it. There is no middle ground.<br />
<br />
''Bootcamp'' used to run an event, open to outsiders, to raise money for ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_in_need BBC Children in Need]''. This involved writing a new prompt-based piece every hour as often as possible over a forty-eight hour period. This is still one of the most insanely creative writing experiences I've ever been involved in, resulting in several useable stories.<br />
<br />
They also occasionally run a month-long ''Blast'', also open to outsiders, which involves writing a new piece in an hour every day based on prompts.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Write_IdeaThe Write Idea2014-06-19T22:26:20Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>'''The Write Idea''' is a writing forum that can be found [http://www.helenwhittaker.net/phpBB2/ here]. It was started up by Helen Whittaker (as she was then) and is now run by Donna Gagnon-Pugh and Doug Pugh.<br />
<br />
The '''Whittaker Prize''', named in honour of the founder of the site, was a competition run there between 2008 and 2012. The annual contest tool place over a number of weeks in which the contestants were given a series of writing challenges, each to be completed within two weeks. The entries were then marked out of 100 by an independent judge and a rolling total was kept. Separate competitions for fiction and poetry were run in parallel. In 2013 a '''Not the Whittaker''' competition was run along similar lines, with the variation that the scores were chosen by popular vote.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/SlingInkSlingInk2014-06-19T22:19:44Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>'''SlingInk''' was a writing forum that finally closed its doors in 2011. It was a very friendly place, with its own personality but considerable overlap of members with other forums such as ''[[The Write Idea]]''.<br />
<br />
'''Eurofiction''' was an annual contest which took place over twenty weeks in which the contestants were given a series of writing challenge, each to be completed within two weeks. The scores were awarded (by an anonymous judge) in a similar manner to the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision Eurovision song contest]'', with - in 2007 at least - 20 points to the winner, then 19 points each to second and third place, 18 to fourth and fifth and so on down to the dreaded ''nul points'' at the bottom of the table. A rolling total was kept and the winner announced at the end.<br />
<br />
'''SlingInk Short Shorts''' was an annual open competition for stories of 100 words or under.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Canine_MathematicsCanine Mathematics2014-06-19T16:59:48Z<p>Jonathan: /* Notes */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Canine Mathematics''' was written for the second official night of ''[[Children in Need]]'' in November 2007, in response to the prompts ''Dog'' and ''After seventeen pints of lager''. Under its original title of ''Dog Mathematics'', it was chosen by popular vote to be third equal overall out of all the pieces written for ''[[Children in Need]]''.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
Under its new name, '''Canine Mathematics''' was published in Issue 52 of ''[http://www.smokebox.net Smokebox]'' in April 2008, which was also my first ever magazine publication.<br />
<br />
I also included it in ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'''s anthology [http://www.lulu.com/gb/en/shop/jonathan-pinnock-editor/the-archangel-and-the-white-hart/paperback/product-15112636.html The Archangel and the White Hart]. I didn't originally want to include a piece by the editor, but I was overruled.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
Along with [[Advice re Elephants]], this is another popular live piece that I've read many times. The first was at ''Sparks'' in Brighton on November 3rd, 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
These notes are reproduced from a [http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/anatomy-of-a-flash/ blog post] I wrote on the development of this story for ''[http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/ Flash Fiction Chronicles]''.<br />
<br />
So where do stories come from? Good question—glad you asked.<br />
<br />
I’d like to answer that by taking you through the process of developing one particular flash. The reason why I’ve chosen this one is that the process of creation took place over a very short time span (under an hour), so I can be quite precise about what was going on at the time.<br />
<br />
The piece in question, [[Canine Mathematics]], was created as part of a charity event held every year in aid of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_in_need BBC Children in Need] by ''[[Alex Keegan's Bootcamp]]''. I’ve never been a member of ''[[Bootcamp]]'' (it’s not my kind of place), but I joined in with this as a visitor in 2007, basically because it seemed like a good opportunity to hang out with some of the cool kids in the playground. [[Canine Mathematics]] eventually got published in ''[http://www.smokebox.net Smokebox]'' (I wasn’t even aware of EDF back then). As it happens, it was my first-ever piece published on the internet, so I’ve got a lot of affection for it.<br />
<br />
The way the Children in Need event works is that you are sent a series of around 40 prompts every hour, and you then have an hour in which to produce a piece inspired by one or more of them. The event takes place over 30 hours, from Thursday at 6PM through to Friday midnight, with some people (sadly not including me) ploughing on right through Thursday night. There are also a couple of practice nights leading up to this, so by the time Friday evening comes along, I’m getting the idea of how it all works, and I’ve already produced one or two pieces that have worked reasonably well, although there are a whole load of others that have crashed and burned.<br />
So at 20:00 on Friday, having eaten well and drunk a glass or two of Italian red, I scan the incoming e-mail and choose “Dog” and “Seventeen pints of lager” from the prompts offered to me. The thing about the kind of time pressure that events like this put you under is that you don’t have the luxury of planning. So you start writing with whatever the right (creative) side of your brain comes up with. And what it comes up with is that after seventeen pints of lager, you’d be in a pretty bad state. And that a dog would probably treat you with a fair amount of contempt. So here are the first couple of sentences:<br />
<br />
{{quote|The dog stared at me with what seemed to be disgust.<br />
“Look at the state of you,” it said.}}<br />
<br />
And I’m off. From here, the right brain is still making most of the running, and the next thing it comes up with is – literally – what you might come up with when you have drunk seventeen pints of lager (apologies if you’ve just eaten.) But the next question is what can you do that’s interesting with a pool of vomit? Well, for one thing, you can analyse its shape, and this is where my previous life as a student of mathematics unexpectedly comes into play, as it seems entirely sensible for the main character to be a mathematician himself.<br />
<br />
All this time, the left (logical) side of the brain has been struggling to catch up – a bit like riding a tiger. But at this point, it actually manages to seize control and it starts to fill in some of the gaps. Who is the MC? Is he a student? Or is he a professor, perhaps? Why is he out getting drunk? The answers are that he’s a professor of sorts and he’s been out getting drunk because he’s in trouble with his research funding. Then the right brain chips in by suggesting that the dog can help him with this.<br />
<br />
How?<br />
<br />
Easy. The dog’s a mathematician too. And then the right brain pulls out its masterstroke, by remembering some long-forgotten principle of Wittgenstein (and I’m paraphrasing here) that if a lion could speak, we still would not be able to understand him. So the dog can solve the MC’s problem, but can’t communicate his solution to him.<br />
Left brain is uneasy but has no choice but to go along with this, and fills out the narrative a bit with the arrival of a further dog and a cat who discuss the first dog’s findings, making minor corrections, and then bring the main part of the narrative to an end. I am now around 670 words in, and I have about a quarter of an hour to go to bring this to a tidy conclusion. I have no idea how I am going to do this, but I have to keep writing.<br />
Right brain is out of ideas by now, so left brain sketches out a coda to the piece, where the MC is now sitting in his office, reflecting on the encounter. But we’re still looking for a punch line. Finally, right brain has a second wind and remembers the old joke about the man who comes across a dog who tells him all about his exploits in the CIA. He tells the owner what an amazing dog he has, but the owner merely scoffs and tells him not to believe a word the dog says. And an adaptation of that joke steers the story to its final destination.<br />
<br />
All I did before submitting it to ''[http://www.smokebox.net Smokebox]'' was clean up a few bits of slightly mangled writing, and reduce the alcohol consumption from seventeen pints to seven or eight. Even in my student days, that was about my limit, and bad things usually started happening well before then.<br />
<br />
So, the message? Don’t be afraid to let the right brain off the leash. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike—start writing. And if all else fails, bring on a talking animal.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Mr_Nathwani%E2%80%99s_HaikuMr Nathwani’s Haiku2014-06-19T16:43:36Z<p>Jonathan: /* Placings */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Mr Nathwani’s Haiku''' was originally written for the 2007 ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'' ''Crystal Decanter Competition'', judged by Oscar Windsor-Smith. The subject of the competition was ''Freedom'', and it was awarded first place.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''Mr Nathwani’s Haiku''' won third prize at the 2008 ''[http://writersfestival.co.uk Winchester Writers Conference]'' shorter short story competition.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I'm still quite proud of the fact that I fooled Oscar into thinking this piece was by one of the members of the circle who is of Asian origin, even though I'm equally sure she would pick loads of holes in it (I've never dared ask). I'm acutely aware that I've gone for a bit of a cliché in making the central character into a shopkeeper, although I hope I've at least fleshed that out a bit by exploring his East African heritage. I used to work with someone whose parents had indeed gone out to Kenya (I think) to work on the railways there, and the idea of the wife yearning for African skies came from a chap at a client of mine who came out with a story of surprising a cheetah on his morning walk when he was a kid out there. I realised there was a rich background to work with there.<br />
<br />
My original intention was to write a three-part story about different characters' experiences of freedom, but I got so engrossed in Mr Nathwani that I decided to devote the entire story to him. I wrote it very quickly, with the wonderful [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha_Bhosle Asha Bhosle] as my soundtrack, and I ended up giving her a namecheck. When I got to the end, I panicked and wondered if I'd gone off topic, and then I realised that every line of the story was about freedom. From a conventional creative writing perspective, '''Mr Nathwani’s Haiku''' breaks all the rules about showing and telling, but I think it just about gets away with it. It's one of my favourites anyway.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/After_MichelangeloAfter Michelangelo2014-06-19T16:17:36Z<p>Jonathan: /* Performances */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''After Michelangelo''' was originally written for the 2004 ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'' ''David Gibson Cup'' competition, where the prompt was ''David''. Under its original title of ''The Model'', it was the winner by popular vote.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
Under its new title, '''After Michelangelo''' was submitted to ''Necrotic Tissue'', who were keen on it, but felt it needed a bit more work to show the protagonist's motivations. They were absolutely right. With these revisions in place, it was duly accepted and published in Issue 4 of the magazine, in October 2008. This was also my first ever magazine acceptance. Not only that, but I got a free T shirt. You don't get that sort of thing every day.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
A staged version of '''After Michelangelo''' was developed for ''[http://dasher.wix.com/obstacleproductions#!__obstacle Obstacle Productions]'', who included it in two shows: ''A Winter's Chill'' at the New End Theatre in Hampstead in December 2008, and ''What Stirs the Spring'' at The Bookshop Theatre, The Drill Hall and the Old Red Lion in March/April 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I was very sad when ''Necrotic Tissue'' closed, if only because of this wonderfully despairing note that appeared in one of their editorials:<br />
<br />
{{quote|Our guidelines are going through a minor tweak. We have received a large number of necrophilia stories, either because everyone in horror gets them or because in our original guidelines we had put in a line about accepting necrophilia if done tastefully. This might offend some people, but at the time, we thought it was funny. Now, three months and about 40 necrophilia stories later, it's not. We have received so many that ranged in level of detailed graphic description that we were actually trying to come up with criteria for what made an acceptable necrophilia story. I want you to stop and think about that for just a second and try to imagine the conversations. Finally it dawned on us that it would just be better to change our guidelines.}}</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/At_Nana%E2%80%99sAt Nana’s2014-06-19T16:02:26Z<p>Jonathan: /* Placings */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''At Nana's''' was originally written for the 2007 ''Bournemouth Festival Erotic Writing Competition''.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''At Nana's''' was very well behaved and came second in that competition, out of a surprisingly small field of 25. The judge, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzi_Szereto Mitzi Szereto], commented that the "sexual description was very realistic", at which point I decided to retire from erotica on a high note.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
The combination of Bournemouth and erotica was too good for me to pass over, so I leapt at the chance to write something for this one. The winners were invited to "an erotic party and prize giving", at which point my wife said "Do we have to wear a special outfit?" We didn't go, more's the pity.<br />
<br />
The story itself is a bit of a homage to Roald Dahl's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitor_(Roald_Dahl) The Visitor] along with a supernatural twist.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Advice_re_ElephantsAdvice re Elephants2014-06-19T15:42:32Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Advice re Elephants''' was originally written for Round Nine of the 2010 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]'', albeit in the ''poetry'' section. No prompt was used. It was given a score of 86/100 by the judge, Catherine Edmunds, putting it 11th out of 19 entrants. The judge commented that it was somewhat lacking in poetic devices and would work just as well as a prose piece. I took her advice.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
Duly reworked as a short story, '''Advice re Elephants''' was shortlisted for the 2010 ''[http://www.munsterlit.ie/SOF%20Page.html Seán Ó Faoláin Competition]'', judged by [http://www.taniahershman.com Tania Hershman].<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
After a small amount of editing to overcome a minor ambiguity, '''Advice re Elephants''' was published in ''[http://www.metazen.ca Metazen]'' on March 14th, 2011.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
I've read this on many occasions, as it seems to work well as a live piece. The first time was at ''Sparks'' in Brighton on November 2nd, 2011.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This is another of those pieces, like [[Frogs]], where I've taken a metaphor and treated it as if it were a real thing, to see where the logic of that took me. It can be quite a fruitful line of enquiry.<br />
<br />
This is what the original poem looked like, by the way:<br />
<br />
{{quote|<poem>There was no mistaking it. An<br />
elephant had parked itself<br />
in our living space.<br />
To be precise, it was an<br />
African elephant. I knew this<br />
because of the ears.<br />
<br />
I asked her what we were going<br />
to do about it, and the answer<br />
was along the lines of<br />
just get rid of the fucking thing<br />
before it dumps any more shit<br />
on the carpet.<br />
<br />
So I did what any man would do<br />
and Googled. This was the advice that<br />
I was given when I asked for<br />
suggestions as to what to do about<br />
an elephant in the room:<br />
<br />
Take a deep breath and climb<br />
aboard. Speak reassuring words<br />
into its ear and then urge it<br />
to charge<br />
<br />
through the walls onto the plain,<br />
then ride it to the water hole<br />
and lie down and watch the sunset<br />
amid the warthogs and baboons<br />
<br />
and when the sky is dark,<br />
make wild animalistic love<br />
to that woman next to you<br />
(remember her?) and then<br />
fall asleep together<br />
beneath the twinkling stars.<br />
<br />
As we breakfasted next day<br />
in the ruins of our cottage,<br />
I reflected that the advice<br />
you find on the Internet<br />
is often quite surprising.</poem>}}</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/So_What_Are_You_Up_To_These_Days%3FSo What Are You Up To These Days?2014-06-19T14:10:31Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''So What Are You Up To These Days?''' was written specifically for ''[http://sixsentences.blogspot.co.uk Six Sentences]'' as an exercise in seeing what I could do within the limitation imposed by the form.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
Fortunately, they liked it, so '''So What Are You Up To These Days?''' was published on May 23rd, 2008.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This story is based on a real incident in which I met an old friend at a college reunion who was now working on something seriously secret for the US government. I began to wonder (as you do) what would it be like if he was working on something ''really'' dodgy (which - I hasten to add - he obviously wasn't). This is the way my mind works, and you may wish to consider this next time we meet. You're all material, you people out there.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Tribute_ActTribute Act2014-06-19T13:44:23Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Tribute Act''' was originally written for an ''[http://www.onthepremises.com On the Premises]'' mini-contest. I have no record of the particular challenge. All I know is that there were 48 entries and mine was not one of the three selected for a prize.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
I re-vamped '''Tribute Act''' so that it consisted of six sentences, and submitted it to, well, ''[http://sixsentences.blogspot.co.uk Six Sentences]'', where it was published on July 5th, 2008.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
It's always good to engage the sense of smell in a story, although to my shame it's something I often forget about. There's a definite whiff hanging over this one, though.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/OppositesOpposites2014-06-19T13:29:30Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
I originally wrote this story to submit to ''[http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14628 VSS Anthology 01]''.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
However, the anthology weren't interested, so I tightened it up, reducing the word count to 12 so that it would fit the requirements for the ''[http://www.vestalreview.net Vestal Review]'' ''Dirty Dozen'', where it was indeed accepted.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
Here's the original 20-word tweet-length story:<br />
<br />
{{quote|She was beautiful. She was sexy. She was made of anti-matter. We could have had such a blast together.}}<br />
<br />
Which goes to show that there's always some fat you can shave off a story.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Problem_With_PorkThe Problem With Pork2014-06-19T13:22:30Z<p>Jonathan: /* Placings */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
This story was written back in the day when I thought that you basically had to wait until inspiration struck before writing anything. I think this may well be the third story idea that I ever came up with.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
Under its original title of ''Meat'', it was highly commended in the 1993 (yes, really) ''Ian St James Awards''. If I'd realised the significance of this, I would have tried a lot harder to get more stuff published back then. As it was, I was just miffed that it hadn't made the shortlist and I went off in a sulk.<br />
<br />
Still under the title of ''Meat'', but heavily re-edited, it was then - rather pleasingly - longlisted in the 2007 ''[http://www.fishpublishing.com/index.php Fish Short Story Prize]''.<br />
<br />
After another substantial edit and now under its final title, it won a supplementary prize at the 2009 ''Bournemouth Short Story Competition''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This story introduced me to the idea that the theme may be completely different from the subject. Ostensibly, it's a sci-fi story about the results of contamination of the food chain, whereas it's mostly about filial disappointment. I'm not entirely sure whether I'm the father or the son in it; I was probably the son when I wrote it, but I may well have mutated into the father as the years have gone by.<br />
<br />
One thing that I had endless trouble with was the name of the ceremony. I originally went with Barbecue, but the trouble with that was that it was very close to Bar mitzvah, and in the context of a story about eating pork at a coming-of-age ceremony, that seemed more than a little offensive. So I switched first of all to Roast (which has acquired some dodgy baggage of its own lately) and finally to Feast. Which is a bit bland, unfortunately, and loses the thing that Barbecue had of being something we take for granted now. There are always compromises to be made, unfortunately.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Think_TankThink Tank2014-06-19T13:00:53Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Think Tank''' was originally written for ''[http://sixsentences.blogspot.co.uk Six Sentences]'', although they clearly didn't get the joke of it consisting of five identical one-word sentences surrounding one very long sentence, because they ignored the submission.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
After several misfires, a substantially re-written '''Think Tank''' was commended in the 2009 ''[http://www.leafbooks.co.uk Leaf]'' nano-fiction competition.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
As a result of that commendation, '''Think Tank''' was published in the ensuing ''[http://www.leafbooks.co.uk Leaf]'' anthology, ''Ada and more Nano-Fiction''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
Here is the original submission to ''[http://sixsentences.blogspot.co.uk Six Sentences]'':<br />
<br />
{{quote|Water. Water. Water. Christ that’s it that’s the answer to everything i mean my god i’ve cracked it that’s the cure for aids and cancer and bloody hell i’ve just worked out a workable unified field theory too wow this is amazing and hang on i think i’ve also worked out how to fix global warming and what we need to do to solve world food and energy shortages and make everyone live in peace and harmony and gosh i’ve managed to prove the riemann hypothesis as well by the way and all I need to do now is work out how to get the message over maybe if I flap my fins like this so they catch the light perhaps I can do some kind of morse code thing and. Water. Water.}}<br />
<br />
In some ways I almost prefer that one.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, it turns out that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish#Intelligence goldfish actually have a memory-span of around three months], so the central conceit of this story is scientifically inaccurate. Which is a bit of a shame, really, although probably a good thing from the point of view of a goldfish.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/InboxInbox2014-06-19T10:09:47Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
The first version of '''Inbox''' was originally written for the first ''Hint Fiction'' contest in 2009, under the title of ''Portfolio''. It wasn't selected. It was then changed to its final form, but remained unpublished prior to its inclusion in [[Dot Dash]].</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Under_the_StatueUnder the Statue2014-06-19T10:04:26Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Under the Statue''' was originally written for the final round of the 2010 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''below''. As it happened, it failed to make the top 25 that would have been eligible for voting, so that's as far as things got.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Under the Statue''' was published by ''[http://nanoism.net Nanoism]'' on August 20th, 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Upwardly_MobileUpwardly Mobile2014-06-19T10:00:23Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
I'm not entirely sure why I wrote '''Upwardly Mobile''', but I suspect it may well have been after I came up with [[Sidelong]], as they are both chess-related.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Upwardly Mobile''' was published by ''[http://seedpodpublishing.com Seedpod Publishing]'' on June 12th, 2010, the day after [[Sidelong]].</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/%E2%80%9CI_Love_You%E2%80%9D“I Love You”2014-06-19T09:56:53Z<p>Jonathan: Created page with "===Inspiration=== I have no idea why I wrote '''"I Love You"''', or indeed if I actually submitted it anywhere. Anyway, it wasn't published prior to its inclusion in ''Dot D..."</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
I have no idea why I wrote '''"I Love You"''', or indeed if I actually submitted it anywhere. Anyway, it wasn't published prior to its inclusion in ''[[Dot Dash]]''.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Big_TeethBig Teeth2014-06-19T09:51:15Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
I have no idea why I wrote '''Big Teeth'''.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Big Teeth''' was published in ''[http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14628 VSS Anthology Volume 01]'', which came out in May 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Proper_JobProper Job2014-06-19T09:46:07Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Proper Job''' was originally written for ''[http://www.txtlit.co.uk txtlit]'', in response to the theme ''Gold'', in September 2008.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''Proper Job''' was shortlisted by ''[http://www.txtlit.co.uk txtlit]'', with the remark that "here's one that'll make you groan".<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Proper Job''' was published in ''[http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14628 VSS Anthology Volume 01]'', which came out in May 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Making_ConversationMaking Conversation2014-06-19T09:35:36Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publication */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Making Conversation''' was written for 2009 ''[http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.co.uk Tweet the Meat]'' Halloween contest. It wasn't selected.<br />
<br />
===Publication===<br />
'''Making Conversation''' was, however, published by ''[http://trapezemag.wordpress.com trapeze magazine]'' on August 10th, 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Less_Than_DeadlyLess Than Deadly2014-06-19T09:31:50Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
''Less Than Deadly''' was written for ''[http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.co.uk Tweet the Meat]'' in response to the theme of ''Sin''.<br />
<br />
===Publication===<br />
'''Less Than Deadly''' was published by ''[http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.co.uk Tweet the Meat]'' on January 5th, 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/After_the_RaptureAfter the Rapture2014-06-19T09:27:20Z<p>Jonathan: </p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''After the Rapture''' was written for ''[http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.co.uk Tweet the Meat]'' in response to the theme of ''Religion''.<br />
<br />
===Publication===<br />
'''After the Rapture''' was published by ''[http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.co.uk Tweet the Meat]'' on October 3rd, 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
'''After the Rapture''' was my first-ever foray into Twitter fiction.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Fair_TradeFair Trade2014-06-19T09:02:08Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
Unfortunately I have no idea what caused me to write '''Fair Trade'''. Sorry.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Fair Trade''' was published by ''[http://seedpodpublishing.com Seedpod Publishing]'' on December 2nd, 2009.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/MisunderstandingsMisunderstandings2014-06-19T08:53:43Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Misunderstandings''' started life as an untitled ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanka tanka]'', written for a 2007 poetry competition in ''[https://www.writers-online.co.uk Writers News]''. It didn't get anywhere. It was then revamped as a 139-word short story, now with its final title, for the ''[[SlingInk Short Shorts]]'' competition in 2008. It wasn't placed. It was then hacked to 50 words and temporarily re-titled ''The Misunderstood Gift'' for the same year's ''Charnwood Arts MiniWords Competition''. It duly clocked up a third and final failure.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
The 139-word version of ''Misunderstandings'' was then trimmed back to exactly 100 words, and in this form was published by ''[http://tuesdayshorts.blogspot.co.uk Tuesday Shorts]'' in November 2008.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
Here's the original tanka:<br />
<br />
{{quote|<poem>As a token of<br />
his love, he gave her a small<br />
white mouse, called Benji.<br />
<br />
Gratefully, she received the<br />
gift, and fed it to her snake.</poem>}}<br />
<br />
Which pretty much contains the essence of the story.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/FrogsFrogs2014-06-19T08:30:10Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Frogs''' was originally written for ''[[Café Doom Flash Challenge]]'' number 85, in November 2007, in response to the prompt word ''boil''. It came fifth equal out of nine entries, with no votes whatsoever.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Frogs''' was briefly published on Adrian Graham's blog, but was otherwise unpublished prior to its inclusion in ''[[Dot Dash]]''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
'''Frogs''' is a literal interpretation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog "boiling a frog"] metaphor. In the first draft, there was an explicit reference to climate change, but I took this out, because it seemed more than a little obvious.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Anniversary_FeastAnniversary Feast2014-06-19T08:25:02Z<p>Jonathan: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Anniversary Feast''' was originally written for ''[[Café Doom Flash Challenge]]'' number 96, in February 2008, in response to the prompt word ''fifteen''. It was the winner out of four entries, with five votes out of a total of seven.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Anniversary Feast''', edited and expanded from 349 words to 506, was published in the first ''[http://52stitches.blogspot.co.uk Fifty-Two Stitches]'' anthology in 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This story was heavily influenced by the film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Star_(film) Dark Star]'', which is one of a surprisingly small number of sci-fi films that feature normal, regular characters: people who get bored and lazy and do stupid things.<br />
<br />
In case you're wondering what happened to the original prompt, in the first version there were fifteen years still to go before landfall. This seemed a bit too long, so I changed it to ten.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Internal_AffairsInternal Affairs2014-06-19T08:06:32Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Internal Affairs''' was originally written for ''[[Café Doom Flash Challenge]]'' number 126, in August 2008, in response to the prompt word ''latex''. It came fourth equal out of six entries, with no votes whatsoever.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
After reading the story out at the ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'', my chum Dave Weaver suggested a much better punchline, and with this duly in place, '''Internal Affairs''' was published by ''[http://www.gwthomas.org/flashshotindex.htm Flashshot]'' on January 3rd, 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This was the original punchline:<br />
<br />
{{quote|My doctor withdrew his fingers, took off the latex gloves and looked at me.<br />
<br />
“Have you been hanging out with those magicians again?” he said.}}<br />
<br />
and here's the much more succinct final version:<br />
<br />
{{quote|"Thanks doc," I said to him, wincing but grateful. "That's magic!"}}</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Fishermen%E2%80%99s_TalesFishermen’s Tales2014-06-18T14:35:54Z<p>Jonathan: /* Placings */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Fishermen's Tales''' had a somewhat tortuous upbringing. The first version, entitled ''Bait'' and 348 words long, was written for ''[[Café Doom Flash Challenge]]'' number 84, in November 2007, in response to the prompt word ''bait''. It came third equal out of seven entries, with one vote out of eight. The second version, now entitled ''I Caught an Amazing Fish'' and 356 words long, was written for the practice night for ''[[Children in Need]]'' later in November 2007, in response to the prompt ''I caught an amazing fish''. It didn't attract a particularly high score there either.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
A heavily revamped and extended version of the story, now with the title ''Catch of the Day'' and 1133 words long, was Highly Commended in the Summer 2008 [http://www.jbwb.co.uk JBWB Short Story Competition]. It was nominally in response to a picture prompt of some goggles.<br />
<br />
The final version, now with the name '''Fishermen's Tales''' and 1305 words long, won the second prize in the 2008 ''Milton Keynes Speakeasy'' competition.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
With most of my stories, the final draft isn't that much different from the original. Sure, there are always tweaks along the way, but the evolutionary path is simple and easy to trace. However, some of them seem to take a horrendous amount of effort to translate the original idea into a worthwhile story. This is one of them. In many ways the first two versions were just preliminary sketches. The third version is closer to the final one, except that it's in the first person rather than the third, and there isn't much of a background or motivation for the main character.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Magnolia_BedroomThe Magnolia Bedroom2014-06-17T17:55:29Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''The Magnolia Bedroom''' was originally written for Round Nine of the 2009 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was a video of Annie Lennox performing ''A Whiter Shade of Pale''. It was given a score of 85/100 by the judge, Geoff Nelder, putting it in second place out of 17, although he suggested that I should flesh out the MC a bit more.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''The Magnolia Bedroom''' was shortlisted in the September 2009 ''[http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/global-short-story-competition.html Global Short Story Competition]''.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''The Magnolia Bedroom''' was published in the anthology resulting from the ''[[Whittaker Prize]]'' competition, ''The Rhinocerous and his Thoughts''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I'm not sure about whether it would have been a good idea to give more colour to the protagonist, as Bianca herself is so overpowering that it would have risked overloading the mixture. This was one of those "last round" stories that got written at considerable speed with all caution thrown to the wind, and I kind of think it should probably stay that way. Any attempt to bring it back to reality could have easily wrecked it.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Return_to_CairoReturn to Cairo2014-06-17T17:37:08Z<p>Jonathan: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Return to Cairo''' was originally written for Round Five of the 2009 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used, believe it or not, was a video of Jon and Vangelis performing ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Friends_of_Mr_Cairo The Friends of Mr Cairo]''. It was given a score of 81/100 by the judge, Geoff Nelder, putting it in second equal place out of 21. The judge commented that the end was weak, and he’d have liked the aunt at the funeral to reveal that Nan really meant Cairo to be a favourite café she used to visit in her youth on Kyle Row in Middleton. He was spot on there.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
After duly changing the ending along very similar lines to those suggested, '''Return to Cairo''' came 3rd in the 2009 ''City of Derby Writing Competition'', judged by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Maitland Sara Maitland].<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I think the (unnamed) protagonist of this story is my favourite character out of all the ones I've created so far: feisty and foul-mouthed but caring. The film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bye,_Lenin! Good Bye, Lenin!]'' was almost certainly an influence on the central idea of creating an artificial world for the benefit of someone, although in this case, it turns out that it's not a world that Nan's ever known at all. I think I might also have been thinking of the opening sequence of <br />
''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Elliot Billy Elliot]'' where Billy has to track down and care for his errant nan.<br />
<br />
The one thing I'm not sure about is the use of Johnny (actually older than Nigel Farage) Depp as a fantasy figure. I would have liked to have used someone a bit younger, but the trouble is, you can never tell if these kids are ever going to have any staying power.<br />
<br />
Here's the terrible original version of the penultimate couple of paragraphs:<br />
<br />
{{quote|Afterwards, I get chatting to my Great Aunt Mabel, and I ask her about Nan going to Cairo. She laughs.<br />
<br />
“Don’t be daft. She never left the country.” Then she pauses for a moment. “Mind you, she did like to read about Egypt. She loved that Agatha Christie one – what was it? – ‘Death on the Nile’. That sort of thing.”}}<br />
<br />
And this is what they became:<br />
<br />
{{quote|Afterwards, I get chatting to my Great Aunt Mabel, and I ask her about Nan going to Cairo. She laughs.<br />
<br />
“Don’t be daft. She never left England.” Then she pauses for a moment. “Nah, the nearest she ever got was a cup of tea in the Cairo Café in the old arcade. You’re probably too young to remember it, aren’t you? Nice little place. Pictures of the pyramids on the walls. Used to do lovely macaroons.”}}<br />
<br />
I think I know which version I prefer.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Nature%E2%80%99s_BanquetNature’s Banquet2014-06-17T17:19:54Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Nature’s Banquet''' was originally written for Round Three of the 2009 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was a picture of a dog holding the body of a rabbit in its jaws. It was given a score of 58/100 by the judge, Geoff Nelder, putting it in 18th place out of 24. The judge commented that the risky second person perspective made it very difficult for the reader to know the protagonist. He also pointed out that slipping into first person – eg Don’t make me laugh, meant there was authorial intrusion too adding to the confusion.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''Nature’s Banquet''' won 1st prize in ''[http://www.earlyworkspress.co.uk Earlyworks Press]'' 2009 ''Old Magic in a New Age'' competition.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
I read this story at the ''[http://www.awordinyourear.org.uk/story-fridays/ Story Fridays]'' ''Feral'' event on March 7th, 2014 in Bath. It was a lot of fun to perform.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This ended up as an exercise in writing a second person piece, with all the risks that entails. Some people like it, others hate it. But you won't find out unless you try. I did at least change that "Don't make me laugh" to "You're kidding," but I didn't change a lot else before sending it out again. The only thing I'm not happy about is Bonzo the dog. I should have come up with a more neutral name for him.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Farewell_SymphonyFarewell Symphony2014-06-17T17:05:50Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Farewell Symphony''' was originally written for Round One of the 2009 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was a picture of a derelict shack. It was given a score of 77/100 by the judge, Geoff Nelder, putting it in second place out of 30.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
I read a mildly-edited version of '''Farewell Symphony''' at ''Tales of the Decongested'' in London on April 24th, 2009. I think I may have gabbled a bit.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
There was always something that was nagging me about this story, and I finally fixed it just after ''[[Dot Dash]]'' had been accepted for publication. All I needed to do was remove the last sentence:<br />
<br />
{{quote|But it had taken Paavo ten years to work out how to tell us all.}}<br />
<br />
which wasn't adding any value whatsoever.<br />
<br />
As for what kind of thing Paavo had been composing, well, it probably couldn't actually exist. However, I think Rautavaara's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantus_Arcticus Cantus Arcticus]'' is about as close as you're likely to get.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/A_Plague_of_Yellow_Plastic_DucksA Plague of Yellow Plastic Ducks2014-06-17T13:54:45Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''A Plague of Yellow Plastic Ducks''' was originally written for Round Eight of the 2008 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was the phrase ''on Friday, a duck fell from the sky''. It was given a score of 76/100 by the judge, Rachel Green, putting it in ninth equal place out of 15.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''A Plague of Yellow Plastic Ducks''' was published in the Spring 2009 edition of the ''[http://abacotjournal.wordpress.com Abacot Journal]''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This story is most obviously influenced by the tale of the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_Floatees Friendly Floatees]'', which had somehow buried itself in my subconscious without me realising until I Googled it just now. However, another major influence for the story (and indeed its title) is the work of the anthropologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Barley_(anthropologist) Nigel Barley]. His account of taking his pet monkey into a cinema is absolutely priceless, by the way. I suspect that the ending of the book [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi Life of Pi] may also had some bearing on the ending of this story too, if the truth were told.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Last_Words_of_Emanuel_PrettyjohnThe Last Words of Emanuel Prettyjohn2014-06-17T13:37:41Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''The Last Words of Emanuel Prettyjohn''' was originally written for Round Eight of the 2008 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was the phrase ''he was always such a quiet boy''. It was given a score of 77/100 by the judge, Rachel Green, putting it in fifth equal place out of 14.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''The Last Words of Emanuel Prettyjohn''' was commended in the 2009 ''Southport Writers' Circle Annual Open Short Story Competition''.<br />
<br />
===Performances===<br />
A somewhat different version, adapted so that a male and a female actor could read alternate sections, was performed at ''[http://liarsleague.typepad.com Liars' League]'' in London in November 2012.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
The ''[http://liarsleague.typepad.com Liars' League]'' version was subsequently also published in the award-winning ''Arachne Press'' anthology ''[http://arachnepress.com/books/weird-lies/ Weird Lies]''.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
This is possibly one of my oddest stories, although it's interesting that the idea of "being quiet" has recently acquired some currency, thanks to the work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Cain Susan Cain]. The structure of it was influenced by the opening sequence of the film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strictly_Ballroom Strictly Ballroom]'', where a series of talking heads describe something terrible that has happened, each one giving a slightly different perspective on the event. I especially like the contribution of Alex Templeman - which was particularly effective in the performed version.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Piss_and_PatchouliPiss and Patchouli2014-06-17T13:20:10Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Piss and Patchouli''' was originally written for Round Three of the 2008 ''[[Whittaker Prize]]''. The prompt used was the phrase ''orange wellies''. It was given a score of 71/100 by the judge, Rachel Green, putting it in 5th equal place out of 19. The judge liked this but felt it meandered, and she would have liked the MC and the fireman to piece together Astrid's life.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
After a minor edit, '''Piss and Patchouli''' was longlisted for the September 2008 ''Cadenza'' competition.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
After a further minor edit, '''Piss and Patchouli''' was published in Issue 95 of ''[http://www.litro.co.uk Litro]'' in May 2010.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
John Martyn gets a namecheck in this story, but it's actually Richard Thompson's song ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_Blue Beeswing]''' that was the primary influence for the character of Astrid. I liked the idea of the main character having made his choice between a conventional career and life on the edge, yet still vicariously hankering after the latter even though his former lover's life had demonstrated to him the risks. I guess it's about wanting to have it both ways.<br />
<br />
I didn't take Rachel Green's advice, partly through sheer laziness and partly because it would have made it a different story. I think the main character has to work it all out for himself, or at least convince himself that he has.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Breathe_In,_Breathe_OutBreathe In, Breathe Out2014-06-17T12:46:10Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publication */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Breathe In, Breathe Out''' was originally written for Day Four of the ''[[Bootcamp]]'' ''August Blast'' in 2008. The prompt used was "A sea-fog like gun smoke". As things turned out, I bailed out of the ''Blast'' a day later, partly because I was struggling to keep up with the pace, and partly because I realised that [[Alex Keegan]] was the judge for a competition I'd recently submitted an entry for.<br />
<br />
===Publication===<br />
'''Breathe In, Breathe Out''', suitably adapted and then subjected to further editing, was published as part of Jane Smith's ''[http://greylingbay.blogspot.co.uk Greyling Bay]'' project, in January 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
On revisiting this, it's struck me that one of my favourite phrases got lost between my submission and the edit prior to publication:<br />
<br />
{{quote|Sam knows it, even though his head is made of wool and his brain can only knit shapeless three-armed pullovers out of it.}}<br />
<br />
Maybe I'll reuse that somewhere one day.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Hidden_ShallowsHidden Shallows2014-06-17T11:39:18Z<p>Jonathan: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Hidden Shallows''' was originally written for Task Nine of the 2008-9 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story set on or near water". It was the round winner out of a total field of unknown size (probably between 20 and 30).<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Hidden Shallows''' was submitted to ''[http://www.everydayfiction.com Every Day Fiction]'', where it was published on September 1st, 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I'd been itching to write a story called ''Hidden Shallows'' for some time, although I'd no idea what form it might take. I just liked the idea of producing a collection called ''[[Hidden Shallows and Other Stories]]'', largely because it reflected how I felt about the profundity (or rather the lack of it) in my writing. So when this prompt came up, I leapt at it. I liked the idea of turning a cliché on its head and having a couple of hyper-intelligent women fantasising about sex with a dumb bloke. <br />
The funny thing about the story is that I felt it was so slight that no-one would like it at all, but I've always had very positive comments about it - especially from men. Strong, sexy, intelligent women are clearly a good thing.<br />
<br />
Oddly enough, this story was [https://www.wordnik.com/words/treacle cited by ''Wordnik''] as an example of the use of the word treacle. I'm still not sure quite what to make of this.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Mirror,_MirrorMirror, Mirror2014-06-17T11:29:51Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Mirror, Mirror''' was originally written for ''[[Café Doom Flash Challenge]]'' number 128, in September 2008, in response to the prompt word ''mirror''. It came second out of three entries, with two votes out of five. It was then expanded for Task One of the 2008-9 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story entitled 'Mirror Image'". Under its temporary title of - obviously - ''Mirror Image'', it was placed tenth equal out of a total field of unknown size (probably between 20 and 30).<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
After a thorough edit and a reversion to its original title, '''Mirror, Mirror''' was submitted to ''[http://www.everydayfiction.com Every Day Fiction]'', where it was published on February 2nd, 2009.<br />
<br />
===Notes===<br />
I think this is probably my least favourite story in ''[[Dot Dash]]''. It's quite clever, I suppose, but it's just a bit too slick and I'm not even sure whether the protagonist actually deserves the fate she gets given in the end. I probably wouldn't include this story if I were planning ''[[Dot Dash]]'' again, to be honest. But there you go. It's out there now.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Perfect_MomentPerfect Moment2014-06-17T08:44:10Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
<hr />
<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Perfect Moment''' was originally written for the first round of the 2011 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''perfect''.<br />
<br />
===Placings===<br />
'''Perfect Moment''' was selected as one of the top 25 stories in its group.<br />
<br />
===Publications===<br />
'''Perfect Moment''' was published by ''[http://www.onefortyfiction.com One Forty Fiction]'' on February 18th, 2011.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Bad_GrammarBad Grammar2014-06-17T08:42:17Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Bad Grammar''' was originally written for the first round of the 2011 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''perfect''.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''Bad Grammar''' was voted one of the top five stories in its group, and it was also chosen as the audience award winner.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_ExperimentThe Experiment2014-06-17T08:39:55Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''The Experiment''' was originally written for the final round of the 2011 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''surprise''.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''The Experiment''' was selected as one of the top 25 stories in the final round.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/SidelongSidelong2014-06-17T08:37:41Z<p>Jonathan: /* Publications */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Sidelong''' was originally written for the first round of the 2010 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''attack''.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''Sidelong''' was selected as one of the top 25 stories in its group.<br />
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===Publications===<br />
'''Sidelong''' was published by ''[http://seedpodpublishing.com Seedpod Publishing]'' on June 11th, 2010.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/PulsePulse2014-06-17T08:34:40Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Pulse''' was originally written for the first round of the 2010 ''[http://www.nycmidnight.com/competitions/tweet/tweet.htm NYC Midnight "Tweet Me a Story" Competition]'', in response to the prompt word ''attack''.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''Pulse''' was voted one of the top five stories in its group, and it was also chosen as the audience award winner.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Somewhat_Less_Than_Thirty_PiecesSomewhat Less Than Thirty Pieces2014-06-17T08:24:25Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Somewhat Less Than Thirty Pieces''' was originally written for Task Nine of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story about betrayal". It was placed sixth equal out of a total field of 57.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''Somewhat Less Than Thirty Pieces''' was longlisted for the March 2008 ''Cadenza'' competition.<br />
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===Publications===<br />
I subsequently realised there was an opportunity for a gratuitous point-of-view switch in the story, so I inserted that before sending it off to ''[http://therighteyeddeer.weebly.com The Right-Eyed Deer]''. Donna Gagnon-Pugh then made a further editorial suggestion, which resulted in the final paragraph being added. I was very pleased with this, as it brought the story - and, in fact the entire ''[[Dot Dash]]'' collection - to a tidy conclusion.<br />
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===Notes===<br />
This story was originally written in desperation when I was running out of time for something to write for ''Eurofiction''. It is, frankly, more than a little self-indulgent, as it's largely an excuse for a whole slew of metafictional gags at the expense of creative writing. It also has absolutely nothing to do with betrayal, either. I was quite pleased with the interplay between the footnotes and the rest of the story, though, and I do like the way that the ending actually takes the storyline back into the footnotes. As soon as I'd written it, I realised that it would be the perfect story to end a collection on. Which is why it's there, obviously.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Possible_Side_EffectsPossible Side Effects2014-06-17T08:00:19Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Possible Side Effects''' was originally written for Task Eight of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was a picture of pills spilling out of a bottle. It was placed fourth equal out of a total field of 57. The (unnamed) judge remarked that I should be careful if it's the name of a real drug though, cos they'll have me! It's OK, I made Gramapraxyl up. Although I'm kind of tempted to trademark it. I think it sounds quite cool.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
'''Possible Side Effects''' won third prize in the 2009 ''Calderdale Short Story Competition'' out of 430 entries. The competition was judged by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Rogers Jane Rogers] and [http://commapress.co.uk Ra Page]. I was told that it was the only one that was shortlisted by both judges.<br />
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===Notes===<br />
When I saw the prompt, my immediate thought was that there was only one way the story could end. So that's where I started it. For the actual writing process, however, I wrote it in chronological order - getting more and more deranged as I did so - and then reversed it. The tricky bit was finding a way to end the final (i.e. first) section in such a way as to bring it to a tidy conclusion. And then it became clear that all I had to do was have the protagonist in such pain that all he wanted to do was die, and that linked it right back to the beginning (i.e. the end).</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/How_I_Became_a_New_Man_and_What_Good_It_Did_MeHow I Became a New Man and What Good It Did Me2014-06-16T22:15:57Z<p>Jonathan: /* Placings */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''How I Became a New Man and What Good It Did Me''' was originally written for the ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'' ''President's Competition'', where the prompt was to write a story inspired a piece of music. Under its original name of ''Re-Make / Re-Model'' (yes, it ''was'' inspired by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re-Make/Re-Model Roxy Music]), it was, quite reasonably, passed over by Nick Cook, the judge. This was almost certainly because it was a really terrible story, full of shoe-horned Roxy Music references (even if I'm still quite proud of the pseudonym I used, ''Roxie Mucus'').<br />
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It did, however, contain the bare bones of a half-decent idea, which I went on to re-use for Task Seven of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story set in a beauty salon". Under its next title of ''A New Man'', it was placed 20th equal out of a total field of 57.<br />
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===Placings===<br />
After a long series of rejections and continual minor tweaks, I finally changed the title to '''How I Became a New Man and What Good It Did Me''' and was immediately rewarded with a shortlisting in the Spring 2010 ''[http://www.jbwb.co.uk JBWB Short Story Competition]''.<br />
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===Publications===<br />
'''How I Became a New Man and What Good It Did Me''' was translated into German as ''Wie ich ein neuer Mann wurde und was es mir gebracht hat'' in Issue Two of ''[http://wortmosaik.jimdo.com Wortmosaik]'', which came out in June 2012. This is the only story of mine to date that has been translated into another language.<br />
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===Notes===<br />
The most important thing I learnt from this story was the need for a decent title. While ''A New Man'' accurately describes the story - indeed in both senses of the phrase - it doesn't come close to drawing the reader in.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Guitarist%E2%80%99s_InheritanceThe Guitarist’s Inheritance2014-06-16T21:57:57Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''The Guitarist’s Inheritance''' was originally written for Task Six of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story entitled 'The Inheritance'". Under its original title of - not surprisingly - ''The Inheritance'', it was placed 18th equal out of a total field of 57.<br />
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===Publications===<br />
'''The Guitarist’s Inheritance''' was published under its new ever-so-slightly more interesting title in Issue 16 of the online magazine ''[http://apt.aforementionedproductions.com apt]'', in July 2008.<br />
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===Notes===<br />
I try to avoid stories about death, disease and dementia wherever possible, because in some ways they're so bloody easy to write about. The emotion's already programmed in. Unless you're going to go for a completely new angle, you're pretty much wasting your time. So I'm still not sure if I really like this one. But at least it's quite short.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/The_Birdman_of_Farringdon_RoadThe Birdman of Farringdon Road2014-06-16T21:06:18Z<p>Jonathan: /* Inspiration */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''The Birdman of Farringdon Road''' was originally written for Task Three of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story which includes a bucket, a feather and an apple". It was placed 17th equal out of a total field of 57.<br />
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===Publications===<br />
After a minor edit to tone down the language and remove the apple from the story (because it really wasn't adding any value), '''The Birdman of Farringdon Road''' was published in Issue 84 of ''[http://www.litro.co.uk Litro]'' in March 2009. It was also made available in November 2010 as a paid download on the ''[http://www.etherbooks.com Ether app]''.<br />
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===Webcasts===<br />
'''The Birdman of Farringdon Road''' was recorded and made available as a webcast by ''[http://www.shortstoryradio.com Short Story Radio]'' for ''National Short Story Week'' in October 2013. The producer was Ian Skillicorn and the reader was David Wayman.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.jonathanpinnock.com/wiki_dotdash/index.php/Natural_SelectionNatural Selection2014-06-16T20:54:06Z<p>Jonathan: /* Webcasts */</p>
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<div>===Inspiration===<br />
'''Natural Selection''' was originally written for Task One of the 2007-8 ''[[SlingInk Eurofiction Competition]]''. The prompt used was "Write a story called 'The Interview'". Under its original title of - not surprisingly - ''The Interview'', it was placed 13th equal out of a total field of 57.<br />
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===Webcasts===<br />
Under its new (and somewhat more compelling) name, '''Natural Selection''' was recorded and made available as a webcast in September 2009 by ''[http://www.shortstoryradio.com Short Story Radio]''. The producer was Ian Skillicorn and the reader was [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1084394/ Charles Armstrong].<br />
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===Notes===<br />
This story owes more than a little to a much older one of mine called ''The Killer Instinct'', dating back to May 1993, when it was the first ever winner of the ''[[Verulam Writers' Circle]]'' ''Crystal Decanter Competition''. This had a similar theme of an employee being tested to see how far he might go to get the perfect job, except that in this story, the protagonist had been in the job for some times, only to be stymied by an incompetent superior. Under its new name of ''Accidental Death of a Manager'', it was subsequently published, in January 1994, in the long-defunct print magazine ''Freelance Informer''.</div>Jonathan