It's A Funny Old Game

It's a funny game this writing lark isn't it? At Trowell Writers we held our annual prize giving day on Sunday and it was the best turnout we'd had for a few years.

Since I've been extremely busy this year with magazine submissions and various competitions I only put one entry into the short story section this time. I thought the plot was a good idea at the time but when I read it back to myself it didn't flow as well as I'd hoped. It was a story based on the Three Wise Men but you weren't supposed to work that out until the end. I had done some research and used ancient names for the characters and also for the various places they travelled through. In other words I was trying to be a smart-arse. The completed work seemed a bit laboured but with the deadline approaching I sent it in anyway not believing it would get in the top three.

You've guessed haven't you? I wouldn't be telling you this otherwise and the picture is a bit of a giveaway. It won. Not only that, I was given the award for the best overall piece across the various categories. The judges said that they liked to see someone stretching the vocabulary but cautioned me not to overdo it.

This is me doing my impression of Nobby Stiles. You have to know about 1960s footballers to get that one.