Category Archives: University

Due Date. A poem.

The bell rings (or tolls, or so it goes) and I’m under fire again rushing into no man’s land without a weapon or a plan. A last minute dash, as if it were all she wrote (and perhaps it is and was). A lucid trance to carry me through torrential rain and home. And then,Continue reading “Due Date. A poem.”

Writer Interrupted: Young Classics

An excerpt from a response I did for a Uni YA writing course some time ago: Do you have your own private classics? Name one. Why do you call it a classic? What do you think makes a children’s or adolescents’ classic? Witches, Ghosts and Goblins, by Ruthanna Long, is an absolutely awesome picture book aboutContinue reading “Writer Interrupted: Young Classics”

Divides. A flash fiction.

This is a short fiction I wrote for a Uni subject I completed a while back. Enjoy! Cheers Steve 🙂  Divides. By Stephen Thompson. My mother is dusting. The feather duster she uses swishes lightly over the mementoes and photo frames on the shelf, cautiously tracing a path through our family history like a shipContinue reading “Divides. A flash fiction.”

An Exercise in Poetic Styles

Here’s a response I did for Uni. You might like to try the exercise out yourself. Cheers Steve 😊 Write a haiku (formal style) on the theme of water and then write a free verse piece (of no more than 10 lines) on the theme of water. Which style worked best for you? What stumblingContinue reading “An Exercise in Poetic Styles”

Everyday Rhythm and Poetry

Here’s an exercise I did for Uni, a fair while ago. Use the question for a writer’s prompt, if you like. Do some exercise, listen to some music, or even listen to the clock tick. Find an everyday rhythm and write a poem of no more than 7 lines in response to the theme ‘Women’.Continue reading “Everyday Rhythm and Poetry”

Preludes. A Poem by the Master.

Preludes By T. S. Eliot I The winter evening settles down With smell of steaks in passageways. Six o’clock. The burnt-out ends of smoky days. And now a gusty shower wraps The grimy scraps Of withered leaves about your feet And newspapers from vacant lots; The showers beat On broken blinds and chimney-pots, And atContinue reading “Preludes. A Poem by the Master.”

Chuck. A character study.

I created Chuck for one of my short stories, written for uni. Following is a character study I wrote for him. If you’re not familiar with a character study, it’s used to develop a character’s background and personality traits. From these elements the character’s mannerisms and dialogue come to life. Some character studies are complex,Continue reading “Chuck. A character study.”

What do you want to write?

What are the issues that you especially want to talk about / celebrate / examine in your stories? There are a lot of stories in the world. There are many more hovering in the random threads and wings of my head. They long to burst forth from their cocoons, bright and beautiful butterflies ready toContinue reading “What do you want to write?”

Place and Setting. A writing perspective.

Yet another of my long-overdue university out-takes. Following is an answer to a question about establishing place and setting for stories, that I wrote several months ago for one of my writing subjects. I moved back to my parents’ house after being away for many (Read: MANY) years and I’m now living in the roomContinue reading “Place and Setting. A writing perspective.”

The Wait. A short tale.

She waited as he wasted away. She watched and pined. He watched as well; sometimes TV, sometimes her. She fed him hand-to-mouth. Eventually he refused to eat. As he grew thinner, the drip in his arm pulsed like a marathon runner, sucking exhausted breaths as it neared the finish line. He smiled painfully. She did,Continue reading “The Wait. A short tale.”

Poetry Drought!

I started a new uni subject today, on writing poetry. Because I have to write a lot of poems for this subject it’s gonna mean a bit of a drought for my blog (normally I post a poem a day). So I’m going to publish a few of my older poems to keep readers goingContinue reading “Poetry Drought!”

Copyright Means Rent.

This was a submission for a uni course I recently finished, answering a question about Australian copyright law.  I included Alpha Girl and Beta Max because copyright law is pretty dry, and I don’t actually say that much about it here. When I undertake university courses I see questions like this all the time, and thinkContinue reading “Copyright Means Rent.”

The Sale. Part 1. A short series.

I’ve just started a new uni subject, and one of the threads on the discussion boards is about re-writing clichés. This is my first post from that thread (it’s not part of the marking process so I can post it here now, otherwise I would have to wait until the course was over). I’m goingContinue reading “The Sale. Part 1. A short series.”

Digital Destiny and the Crux of Divergence.

This is a short uni piece I wrote some months ago. It was the second appearance of Alpha Girl, Beta Max and Me in my writing, and the feedback from those uni posts was what lead me to becoming a blogger. I’ve removed the uni academic references from this version.   (“So, what are youContinue reading “Digital Destiny and the Crux of Divergence.”

Borrower.

This is a uni piece I wrote a few months back. It was actually the first appearance of Alpha Girl, Beta Max and Me. I’ve removed the academic references and included one of my discussion thread responses from that week. NOTE: This was back when I used social media. Nowadays I only use it toContinue reading “Borrower.”

Letter to a Facebook Friend

This is a uni piece I wrote some time ago. It was meant to be a letter to a friend about something I was very serious or concerned about, using real referenced materials. I went with satire and irony.

Rush Lozenge, Spaaaaaaaaaaaace Ranger…Ranger…ranger…ranger…

Here’s some dialogue I wrote for Uni. It’s not meant to be serious, and wasn’t included in any of my assignments, so it’s okay for me to include it here. Enjoy! Or not.