My Great Love

Today's guest post comes from poet, comedian and writer: Colin Davies

The room was still dark, even though the early morning sun was doing its best to change this through every available gap in the curtains. Waking up in a hotel room is, unless you have lived there for many months or years, always disorientating. This is either because you are not used to stopping in these tiny space, designed to give shelter to the traveller, or you travel about so much, and sleep in so many different places, that the similarities these rooms have can leave you not knowing in which town or city you have just woken.

As Colin allowed his eyes to get used to the dim light, and clear the blurriness of slumber, he first went to the bathroom, some eight paces away from his bed. Here he allowed last night’s pint of Old Speckled Hen to find a new home in the hotel’s drainage system. Upon his return to the sleeping area Colin moved quietly across to the desk in the corner of the room.

The desk was closer to his bed than the bathroom. 

He didn’t want to wake his partner or their son. This time in the morning had recently become his time. A time he spent with one of his greatest loves: writing.

He opened up his Toshiba Satellite 100 Click and started a new document on Google Docs. Another passion of Colin’s had become a recent obsession: short stories. He had an idea to write a collection of Science Fiction tales. Sorting the book out was a little way off yet as there were twelve to write. However, before travelling to York and staying in this hotel room, Colin had just finished the title piece. He sent it to his editor, a rather handsome chap called Ashley, renowned for his love of strange old poetry and adult entertainment. Sometimes these two worlds would combine with rather interesting results.

Ashley liked the story and this made Colin feel very happy. However good a writer one knows they are, an accolade from someone you respect lifts you.

On this morning in York, Colin decided that his early hour discipline should be spent writing a blog for Ashley to help promote his new book How to Write Short Stories and Get Them Published.

Colin has a tremendous love for short form storytelling. Through comic books, radio plays and films, they are all condensed tales. As examples of the written word they allow for strong ideas to be played out in an easily digestible format. Many serious writers turn their hands to the short format. It might be to test a character or an idea. It might be to give a favourite character another adventure that is less complex as in one of the long adventure of the novel.

Closing in on 500 words Colin decided it was time to stop. Though he meant only this blog post. Not to stop writing short stories. That would never happen.

You can read more of Colin's work on his blog - https://www.theworldofcolin.com/