Improbable Press Blog

Plant pots crowded every flat surface and hung from the ceiling in stalactites of dusty macramé. Most of the plants had died long ago and crumbled to dust, though a courageous mint sitting by the kitchen sink had managed to send a runner down the drain and had since taken over half the counter. It smelled fantastic, which really wasn’t what John had been expecting. ‘One of everything,’ Sherlock observed, while he peered into the old Formica kitchen cabinets. The unexpected sound of his voice across the stillness of the room made John jump, but he managed to push down...

By Atlin Merrick "…you're never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there's always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don't speak it out one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside." Audre Lorde's famous essay The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action includes this quote from her daughter Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins, and I love it. Those words are direct, she said what she said damn it, and those...

Unlike many entries I've not got a lot to say. Bit tired. Bit more tired. Also a dash of distracted, watching with peripheral vision as my flatmate plays Animal Crossing. I've no desire to take part, but it is fun to watch.I mention that only because I was this close to making today's prompt have a connection to the game. Lots of folks haven't played it, so instead I've imitated the purple of the flowers growing on my friend's island, and the terra cotta echoes the pathways she has everywhere.And I mention that in case you are inspired by thoughts...

By Stephen Johnson Manuscript Wrestling 101 should be mandatory at workshops for all new writers. I don’t think it was part of my vocational writing degree many years ago. If it was, I must have slept through that lecture. It would have been handy to understand the elements of MW101 before tackling my first crime novel Tugga’s Mob. Manuscripts are slippery customers. Their life force is born from the first words, with every page they become stronger and bolder. As a novice the manuscript often had me on the mat. The storyteller would be in a chokehold but refusing to...

So here's the thing: when I tackled last week's prompt I thought I was going to write about something grown up. Last week's prompt included the words recovery and round and experience and so I thought I was going to Write Important.Instead a four-year-old started talking and I felt like I was taking dictation as she kicked at the grass with her feet, pondering in all seriousness what colours taste like.It was wonderful, to feel my creativity veer, and it is my prime wish for you with these writing prompts. May they take you somewhere you're surprised — and happy...