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Ghost Story Competition - Writing the Supernatural

 I'm not the Crowvus writer who publishes horror. I've appreciated the brilliant books by Judith Crow, but I know it's not something I can write. The supernatural is different. People will - quite rightly - tell you that horror can encompass the supernatural, but the supernatural is not only confined to that genre. The supernatural, by definition, have their roots in the natural. In the case of ghosts, they were once alive, now having transcended from the natural (i.e. worldly) existence, into the supernatural on an unknown plain. The best ghost stories (my opinion only!) are the ones which unite the natural and the supernatural, looking at the shadows and imprints left on the natural world by those now occupying the supernatural one. In essence, when I read through the submissions for the Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story Competition , I'm looking for the human aspect of the story. I love the idea of ghosts trapped in time, I love the idea of ghosts trying to commune with ...
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#HistFicThursdays - Poetry - The Tenterchilt Saga

 What do you say when people ask you if you like poetry? It's one of those questions where a single word answer just does not work for most people. Like all artforms - writing included - poetry is hugely subjective. But, when you do find a poem you love, it can be one of the most inspiring things of all.

Blake's original plate for The Little Black Boy

My family saga draws constantly from poetry. I love the poetry of the Romantics - Byron in particular - and their poetry weaves in and out of the books, right down to the titles: Day's Dying Glory (from Byron's Lachin y Gair); and Beneath Black Clouds and White (from Blake's The Little Black Boy). I'm someone whose writing style is rather sumptuous (or should that be: overindulgent?!), and these flowery poems of depth and flow serve to add to my inspiration and also find a common ground between me and my characters, for whom they are contemporaneous.

The way we interact with words can say a great deal about about us. Where nonfiction writers use words to inform, and prose writers use words to project, poets paint with words. I like to believe there is a poem for everyone out there, and similarly one for every character - all beautifully different. So, spill the beans, what is the most inspirational poem you've ever read?

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