FRANK has continued to present his well honed case to agents and potential publishers throughout the month of October but the huge and interesting changes he makes in his fictional life, in the novel, ‘To Be Frank’, have not yet been taken on board. Frank is however not a quitter and in the autumn of his life (he is 62 in the book) he will keep on trying to get recognition. He is aware that many members of the book community are busy catching up post pandemic as well as possibly being involved with the Frankfurt Book Fair so it’s lucky he is a patient character.
Meanwhile as Frank’s creator I’ve been occupying the writer in me by writing short stories and shorter pieces of flash fiction. Suddenly it’s November and notices about NaNoWriMo are appearing across social media platforms. Having completed NaNoWriMo successfully on two past occasions, I chose not to do it again this year and instead I’ve joined FlashNano 2021 which is run by http://www.nancystohlman.com . Here one is sent a daily prompt for the 30 days of November. You can write as little or as much as you wish each day but must write something every day. There is no obligation to post the flashes so it feels more fun and less pressurised than the challenge of the full NaNoWriMo.
I’ve done the first 5 days and am enjoying writing about topics far removed from my usual themes and I guess that’s the idea. Hopefully by the end of the month I’ll have 30 short stories to tidy up and use in the future. Maybe at least one of them might make it’s way into a future novel.
philippahawleywriter 