On April the 8th I took a day off from everything. I relaxed and reflected on where I am and where I’ve come from. I do it every year on this date, and I’m starting to feel like it should be a public holiday. After that, my day job picked up and stole quite a bit of my valuable time.

So I shut my eyes, took a little break, then all of a sudden it is the 18th April. Where did the time go? Does that ever happen to you?

Well, it’s now been around 13 weeks since I started Disturbed Literature, 13 weeks I started spouting my nonsense into the blogosphere. It’s about time I gave my loyal followers an update.

Disturbed Literature updates:

Pages have now been added for convenience. You can now access all my stories and poems from the tabs at the top of the page.

Friday Thoughts will now be Monday Thoughts. I originally appreciated the alliteration of the former, however with my day job sapping more and more of my time, Monday Thoughts are just more practical.

Reflections will still be updated weekly, where I comment on influences and my own work.

I’ve nearly uploaded my whole archive of creative pieces to Disturbed Literature. There are still a few floating about, which I will add in the coming weeks. There are also several pieces active in various competitions. Once the long-lists are published, I’ll have some more content to add.

I hinted back in my Welcome blog post that I may have some Spoken Word pieces coming up. This is still on the cards, however it would appear that I need to upgrade my WordPress account. I’ll keep you informed of any changes.

So what else have I been up to?

#BlogBattlers:

Ever heard of #BlogBattlers? I hadn’t until a few weeks ago. Now I can’t get enough. Weekly genre and theme writing challenges that will push your imagination to the limit. All entries are linked to the Blog Battlers site and subject to a public vote. I haven’t played for a week or so, but I will be getting back to that. Why don’t you join in and give it a go? There’s a great community with feedback for all entries.

Channillo:

I started a Channillo series a couple of years ago, with a handful of loyal followers. Channillo is a serial literature website with a (very cheap) subscription fee. The best part of Channillo is that the majority of the fee goes to the writers themselves, so it’s encouraging and engaging for both writer and reader. Have a look: Channillo, subscribe if you like the look of my series The Heroes of New Rec. I took a hiatus from Channillo, but I have a queue of issues ready to be published.

Angry Hourglass:

This is another little hobby now. Every Saturday a photo prompt is provided. Entrants then have until Sunday evening to produce a 360-word story relating to the prompt. Again, a strong community with plenty of feedback. Why don’t you join us? Angry Hourglass

Voices:

I’m cracking on with my novel, one of those projects I’ve always had going on. It’s changed so many times since the original idea, I completed the first draft then scrapped it, then started a rewrite. Once it’s complete I’ll let you know, be great if you could read it for me.

The Writer’s Games:

This is something I’m really excited for. Another weekend prompt challenge, the Olympics of creative writing. You never know what you’ll be tasked with, whether it’s writing a screenplay, poem or short story. There are numerous challenges throughout the month of May, with several judges giving scores for each piece. The final scores are added up, and selected entries are added to the anthology. If you want to join us, make sure you register to ensure you can participate!