Monkeys and Nuns

In the week I have been absent from work, on holiday, I have done next to nothing.  That’s not a bad thing, after all it is supposed to be a time to relax, forget about work and just do the things you enjoy: and there’s nothing I enjoy more than taking part in my writing group, even if its only once every two weeks.  Last night was that evening. Throughout the two hours or so we like to discuss writing in all of its many forms be it poetry or prose.  We all have our own styles and favoured genre.  Aside from the talking we also present a piece of work we have completed over the course of the intervening two weeks.  We are asked to produce a short story or poem as set by the leader of the group (I would have put ‘pack’ in there but we aren’t a biker gang from the 1950’s…not this week anyway) and at each meeting we read them out and then give each other feedback. It was my turn to kick things off and unfortunately received quite a lot of criticism. I think the main problem with the story I wrote was that there wasn’t enough character definition and nothing to relate to.  I sometimes struggle with that aspect of writing but the feedback was constructive and that can only help me in the long run.  To be fair I completed it at the last minute and only edited it a few hours before the meeting. That’ll teach me to go to the wire with these things.  Thankfully our next exercise is to write a five hundred word review of something, a film, a book, a play, anything really.  I will take my time with this one and hopefully get a better reaction at the next meeting.

Ideas don’t come to me all that easily and the one I had today is no exception.  It involves a Monk and a Nun. I’m not entirely sure where the idea came from but I am thinking of exploring it and see where it leads me.    I have thought of something similar to the Father Dowling Mysteries but much more violent. Imagine the scene: He was a Monk with a past, a none too pleasant one at that, an ex cop sent to a Monastery for his wayward approach to policing.  She also has a history, but hers was of a different kind altogether. They both took a vow of silence, but are allowed to communicate away from their Monastery and Nunnery respectively. It may all sound a bit familiar but doesn’t everything these days.  I have decided to give it the name Monkey & the Nun. What can I say; it’s been a bad day for ideas.