No creative effort is ever wasted. I know that sounds like a grand philosophy but I think it’s true. When you write, draw or simply play, you stumble over new ideas and ways of doing things.

Of course, not everything is a success. I’ve screwed up drawings in frustration, and even deleted the odd short story from my computer. Even if you don’t destroy your creative “failures”, many will never find their way out into the world.

Most of my fiction remains unpublished. Most of my drawings and paintings are in a drawer. That’s no bad thing. Sometimes the idea or the execution – or both – don’t work. But it’s all part of the creative journey, and you never know when some forgotten project might become useful.

When I started this monthly newsletter, I promised exclusive stories for subscribers. While using the word exclusive makes me cringe, this month I deliver on that promise in a small way with some “flash fiction” (a very short story).

And it’s a good example of creative recycling. I wrote the story in 2018, pitched it to a couple of writing competitions and got nowhere. Never mind. Another story chucked in the folder I call “slush pile” (sub-divided into “shallow grave” and “deep vault”).

But it turned out to be an important piece of writing for me. It provided the basis for my new character in Dice Company – a much bigger project than any story I’ve written. So, I hope you enjoy the very first words written about Dice Company’s newest player-character: Seeksorrow.

Comfort Fiction

This month’s Comfort Fiction comes from a children’s book – Fly by Night, by Frances Hardinge. The young heroine, Mosca Mye, says something that can be applied to any creative endeavour (and life in general) – reminding us that the journey is always more important than the destination:

“I don’t want a happy ending, I want more story.”

Dicing with Death

We usually record Dice Company once my kids are in bed. That has worked – sort of – up until now (although that’s the reason I don’t feature in the opening of chapter one).

But bedtime naturally gets later as the kids grow up, and it’s no longer possible even to hope they’ll all be asleep in time. So we’ve switched things around and now we start a full hour earlier than we used to (with thanks to my lovely wife for dealing with bedtime on Tuesdays).

What’s the point of this information, you ask? Well, recording earlier has been surprisingly brilliant. The Dice Company crew have found ourselves more energetic and enthusiastic – and we hope that will show in the next few chapters that will be released.

It might also help that it’s summer and the weather has been lovely, but it’s a useful reminder that creative stuff is best done when your brain and body are fresh for the task.

Note: The short story mentioned above is available to email subscribers. To get all future stories and updates, subscribe here: https://alexmorrison.co.uk/newsletter/