airyfairy's blog

Thank you once again for all the lovely contributions to the site. It's been a really tough Pick this week! Story of the Week goes to the latest chapter of Jane Hyphen's brilliant 'Parcel for You'. This thoughtful and super-imaginative series (which I hope one day we'll see in book form) just gets better and better. This time, the wonderful characters are planning a trip to a festival. If you haven't read the previous chapters, you really don't...

Posted by airyfairy. As always, many thanks to everyone for the wonderful contributions this week. Story of the Week goes to 'Anyone At All' by Sean McNulty. This surreal, funny, bonkers but totally enchanting tale of a place where ink flows through the landscape and you can get 'a billion copies of your appalling opus, bound in fine leather and translated into 7,247 languages' will bring a rueful smile to any writer's lips: Anyone At All |...

Firstly some rather sombre news. Yesterday we had to cancel the account of someone who continued to post AI assisted writing despite numerous warnings. We rarely ban users and it’s always a sad moment for us so if you’re thinking of trying AI please remember that this is an AI free site and it will result in you losing your account. We do check things very carefully and all the editors are consulted before such a decision is made. On a brighter...

As always, some amazing writing on the site this week, and it's been a hard but very pleasurable task choosing the Picks. Story of the Week is from the wonderful celticman. Characters so vivid you can (quite often) smell them, and dialogue most of us would kill to be able to write. 'Sean Happens 3' is another slice of Glasgow life, and if you haven't read any of celtic's stuff before, this is a great place to start: Sean Happens 3 | ABCtales...

If you haven't been following Turlough's wonderful account of his travels through Iran, you have been missing something really special. This series has been vivid, funny, thoughtful and, quite simply, a wonderful read. The final part, 'Cherries and Dahlia Petals, is our Story of the Week: Cherries and Dahlia Petals | ABCtales Poem of the Week was really tricky. There's been some beautiful and hopeful pieces about the coming of spring, and some...

The festive season is nearly over, which will be a matter of regret for some and considerable relief for others! I've always enjoyed what I gather we now call Twixmas - the decorations are still up but the pressure is over. And as ever, ABC writers have considerably enhanced my week. Story of the Week is Simon Barget's complex, entertaining and thought-provoking 'Lenny'. I can't go better than one commenter who described it as 'remarkable...

As always, some wonderful writing on the site this week, a very welcome antidote to the winter weather. Story of the Week is Simon Barget's 'Us and Them'. There's a lot of snappy answers being offered to things going on in the world at the moment, but this piece offers thoughts on the heartbreaking complexity, nuances and stumbling humanity of it all. The deep sadness of the final paragraph stayed with me for a long time. Thanks to Simon for...

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and Storm Whatever-It-Is-This-Week rages outside, it's great to have some wonderful stories and poems to read, and ABC never disappoints. Story of the Week is another of celticman's brilliant slices of life, with vivd characters and an acutely observed setting. You'll be standing in this kitchen and smelling those chips: Love Story 12 | ABCtales Poem of the Week is Di Hard's howl of anger and...

After much enjoyable reading the Picks for this week come from two ABC stalwarts who have both been at their very best. Story of the Week is celticman's 'Love Story 2'. It has all the hallmarks of a celticman story - brilliant characterisation, sharp humour and the ability to rip your heart out. As you may have guessed, there is first part, and I would strongly urge you to read that too, if you haven't yet, although the second part can be read...

Hope everybody has had a good week! Story of the Week is another funny, charming and insightful tale from Hudson Moon. We all get The Bothers, and Hudson offers a solution which is guaranteed to work. Until it doesn't. A delightful read for your weekend: The Bothers | ABCtales Poem of the Week is Dynamaso's 'Scratched'. It's beautifully written, slightly unnerving, and will stay with you long after reading: Scratched | ABCtales This week's...