Saturday 31 January 2009

Worth watching

Peter Blair and Ashley Chantler from the English Faculty of the University of Chester emailed me recently to tell me about their new venture Flash- The International Short Story Magazine and asking for a piece for it- 360 words (including title). I love commissions but don't always want commissions- specially now when the current novel has been dragged to a plateau of 60,000 words and there's at least another 20,000 waiting to be added- then another maybe 30,ooo to take out and a new 24,872 at a rough guess to go in its place - and all before October.
But I knew straightaway I was going to do this.
For a start Chester Uni is a Good Thing. I like it. It has above averagely attractive students who are usually cavorting in the Cheyney Road, Fountains Roundabout area of town and remind me how much I enjoyed my student days and how lucky I am not to have a proper job. And when you go there to do a reading those same students stare with beautiful uncynical eyes and write a few things down. Really comforting, that, on a bad day. But mainly it's this whole small literary magazine thing that does the damage. They really are Good Things. Years ago I heard a short story 'We All Begin in Little Magazines' on Radio 4. Can't remember by whom- can't be bothered to Google it- but the title says it all. Getting published never gets any easier- nor should it. But you've got to at least give people a point of entry- if they're rubbish then editors like Peter and Ashley will give them a strong hint. If they've any hope, they'll get a bit of yeah, well not too shabby from someone who isn't a blood relative. That's what you need.
I thought I could be a poet only after the late, great Alan Ross - who NEVER published a single piece of mine- wrote: 'You might be worth watching.' Same sort of thing happened with the short stories just a different editor.
You can check out Flash at www.chester.ac.uk/flash.magazine/. You can find out if you might be not too shabby by submitting. In April you can even read my 'An Alternative History of Rhyl' there - unless you really ARE from Rhyl in which case don't look. It'll only upset you.