Poetry Thursday 155 - Twilight Zone

 As I age, I see a difference in the way people look at you and treat you. I'm not talking 'with respect' or 'contempt' it is actually closer to suspicion. They seem to be suspicious that you are going to do or say something that will require support. 

The Twilight Zone

 

Used to be tales of mystery and imagination,

 designed to thrill causing the heart to flutter,

now it’s more about causes for exclusion,

and hazards making steps that stutter.

 

Disturbing bumps in the night,

inexplicable sounds cutting through sleep,

another reason to turn on the light, 

watching the hands of the clock creep.

 

Hardly surprising when you don’t work anymore,

that sleep is no longer a priority,

  need other purposes to dip into the energy store,

while searching for life's clarity.

 

Seems sleeping light encourages dreaming,

strange dreams of people and past,

the brain not just reflecting life and living,

creating new visions on which nothing to hang fast.

 

So having moved from working situation,

to a grey transitional state,

partly evidenced by friend and relation,

we are now in some place to wait.

©David L Atkinson July 2026 

God Bless 

Writing - Themes

If you are serious about writing and intend to produce more than one story, you are allowing yourself to develop ongoing themes running throughout your work. 

 

 

The type of theme you decide upon determines in some degree the flavour of your work. In the Steele novels, one of my important themes was the link to Japan. This was important because it went towards the development of the hero's personality and skills. So the supporting details of the Yakuza and it's history is reiterated in parts across all of the Steele stories. 

The Japan connection is important, but there are other, less important but almost as continuous throughout the books. I have used other strands to establish relationships and to change the direction in which the story is moving. 

Early in Patrick Steele's adventures, I decided that a relationship with the local police could add a little spice to the progress of each adventure. On top of that, a personal relationship worms its way into the fabric of the tale while Steele is between Japanese girlfriends. There are also hints towards police dishonesty that flit around one of the stories. 

A final example is that of the mother figure for the hero. This is important due to Steele's unfortunate upbringing, but that introduces a level of stability in all of the stories. 

The examples given are a brief taste of what stories contain but they demonstrate the way Steele is structured. 

God Bless 

Writing - Special Events

 When we're writing stories, quite often it can be more interesting for our readers to attach the events of a story to a specific date or a series of dates. For example, yesterday was Father’s Day, which could be a key data set off with a particular tale about fathers' relationships etc.

Today, June 22, is a special day because it is Windrush Day, which commemorates the British Caribbean community, as well as World Rainforest Day, which highlights the importance of protecting tropical ecosystems. 

I have just finished a short story based in Moscow on May 9th, which is their Victory Day, and provided targets for assassination!

Somehow I missed this beauty below!

It is also National Chocolate Éclairs Day and National Onion Rings Day.  The mind boggles. However, each of these special days offers a myriad of opportunities to entertain our readers, although at the moment I can’t think of anything to do with onion rings that would make a good story.

It may be that one of these days is particularly relevant for you. Why not make the end of the story as enjoyable for you as it is for your readers? We all deserve some pleasure, even in the production of the work, not just in the number of sales it brings. 

God Bless 

Writing - Reality

 Being a writer can be a doorway to many different freedoms. This includes the freedom to stretch the truth beyond breaking point. Remember films involving cowboys in the wild west who carried guns that had six cartridges, they'd get into a gunfight and fire hundreds of bullets without reloading. 

Coupled with the never ending supply of ammunition was the physical ability to withstand the effects of being shot. If you consider the damage a projectile does to the human body as it passes through, tearing flesh, nerve damage, breaking bones and ripping open blood vessels, we ordinary folk would probably go into shock almost immediately. Having said all that, we know it is only 'make believe' and being totally accurate all of the time would be boring, so a little licence can spice up the abilities of one's characters. 

On the other hand, the use of a factual description closer to the truth can enhance the quality of the supportive narrative. It is also more fun to stretch the readers' imagination and build some 'magic' into the characters in your stories. There is a danger in going too far or not far enough. Naturally, the effect of stretching the truth and its influence on the reader is very subjective. For some, too much fantasy can be a turn off, for others, you can't go far enough. 

In fact, it is up to the writer as always. If you feel that the flow you create can stand some embellishment, then go for it, and if the opposite is true, take it easy. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 141 - Signs

 I had a dream - not like Martin Luther King - that my cat had broken her tail! Also, something to do with tennis. 

 

Concerning Ginny

 

Look after my cat in a caring way,

Until I woke the other day,

Didn’t know whether to cry or laugh,

Her tail was neatly bent in half.

 

Everything is not as it seems,

particularly when it comes to dreams,

the cat has its organ of balance,

and can signal mood in abundance.

 

No worries over Ginny’s abilities,

still servicing her proclivities,

the indications were always there,

reality tops dreams everywhere.

©David L Atkinson April 2026

 

Game Set and Match

 Some with eyes squeezed shut just follow,

 some will turn to the right,

 some will turn to the left,

 some will see all set out before them,

 all are observing the same target.

©David L Atkinson April 2026

God Bless 

Writing - Emotional Range

 So we've written about the details in stories, we've included information about any details that might have changed to make it interesting, and now we've got to try to make it more interesting for the reader. There are many ways of doing this, but for today just want to consider emotions that you may well include to engage the reader. 

Certain emotions are easier to write about than others, for example, anger, which people can apply their imagination to, still quite readily. With those two emotions, one could imagine a fast pace, plenty of action, lots of descriptive opportunities, and draw on personal experience. Those emotions that are not quite as easy to deal with, or what may be described as softer emotions, or darker emotions. For example, sadness, the pain of loss, and failure are intensely personal, and as everyone knows, people react differently in these situations; they have a longer time scale and quite often involve a process that the human body needs to go through to assimilate such emotions.

 

I want to simplify things and just consider happiness and fun, annoyance, sadness, and frustration.

 

In the first case of happiness, it being Easter weekend, one can imagine any situation where people are visiting friends and relatives and delivering presents, Easter eggs obviously, undescribed phone games, welcoming attitudes, delightful surprises, imagining lots of smiles and perhaps quite a lot of noise and laughter. Where the story goes from there is obviously up to you, the writer, and you're free to make that decision

 

On the other hand, the sadness of a frustrating story may be something totally different, and if you can imagine how people would react to the Iran war or the mention of Donald Trump, the loss of a loved one, all of those scenarios trigger a different range of emotions. You may well have anger, you may well have sadness, you may have frustration, a deep sense of loss, a very much darker place to be.

 

Whatever the story type you choose, this is when you can draw on your own experience. That is not to say that if you have never experienced personal loss, you should avoid the subject. However, you may well have to do some basically search to fully understand all aspects of that particular scenario. It depends upon the audience you are aiming for as to which of these emotional roller coasters you decide to work with.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure of the ground you are choosing and consider all aspects of human reactions, from physical to psychological, before you embark on this journey. 

God Bless 

Writing - Framework

 The Department of Education has produced a framework for writing in primary schools. It is a prodigious document. I feel for those who have to work with it. There are some interesting paragraphs useful for us all. 

The above chart is intended for children, but it is really suitable for anyone who strives to write. However, one aspect of difficulty adult writers struggle with is chiefly themselves. 

We procrastinate instead of getting on with the job. This aspect of being a writer can be broken down into a few stages. 

There is perfectionism. Nothing we write is good enough, which leads to revising. Procrastination can lead to hours of more research. Editing is a personal stumbling block, but is essential before presenting your work to anyone. The creative mind can also be its own brake on progress. Worrying about having one's ideas stolen may seem far-fetched, but 'far-fetched' is what we're good at. 

A framework may help you stick to the process. 

The DfE framework is published to help teachers enable access to the process of writing, as it helps in many other areas of the curriculum. The intention is well-meant, and we can all benefit from taking a look at how the writing process is broken down, irrespective of how far we are down the creative path. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 118 - Being poetic

 In some ways, writing poetry is speaking in a different language about the things we are experiencing in the world, and we feel that ordinary language does not comment on those experiences effectively enough. It's not an exclusive club; anyone can join. 

The Poet  

 

I have rarely met the poet myself,  

he hides in a place on a bookshelf,  

quite familiar with techniques and forms,  

not lacking experience in what performs.  

 

From the Land of the Prince Bishops’,  

unfashionably beautiful countryside backup, 

plethora of inspiration to generate words,  

as plentiful as a murmuration of birds.  

 

A darker view spawns negative feelings,  

associated with human dealings,  

generating a hackier mood,  

the poet may tend to brood.  

 

A walk on the sand or plodgin’ in the sea,  

massages the senses to set the poet free,  

from any darkening influences,  

and bugger the consequences.  

 

But it’s the people that really count,  

we need to deal in some amount,  

to engage our range of emotions,  

and translate their interactions.  

 

The poet finds equations can be prickly,  

leaving the psyche rather sickly,  

researching types of avoidance behaviour,  

providing alternatives as our saviour.  

 

The natural world provides some sanctuary,  

in its wealth of colour and variety,  

with the uncluttered nature of species,  

and their obvious biological abilities.  

 

Looking for dolphins from the pier,  

smartly dressed with their superior sneer,  

as if aware of human failings,  

yet prepared to indulge in occasional savings.  

  

Eating winkles with a pin from a hut on the front,  

dodging noisy herring gulls on the hunt,  

for scraps falling from our table,  

fish ‘n chips the inappropriate staple.  

 

Loving the ebb and flow of sound,  

marvelling at power as waves pound,  

sighs of relief from sand and pebbles,  

as sea recedes gathering for future battles.  

 

But the poet still needs to deal,  

to interact with some level of feel,  

without contracting sense of self,  

to the size of a wizened Christmas elf.  

©David L Atkinson November 2024  

God Bless