BarryHutchison

Today I finished up a short story for possible inclusion in an anthology, due to be published in 2010.  Its called BOABY AND WINSTON AND ME, and is set in an unnamed town somewhere in the Scottish Central Belt.

For the very first time in my life, I have written something – albeit only 3,500 words – which is completely and wholly grounded in reality.  There are no monsters, no aliens, and nary a thumb fairy in sight.  None of the characters develop superpowers, meet Elvis, or turn into monkeys.

Nor are any of them crime-fighting lobsters, retired shape-shifters, or genetically engineered demon hunters.  Each and every one of them is also completely visible to the human eye.

At no point in the story does anyone explode unexpectedly, face Her Majesty The Queen in hand to hand combat, or hide in a goblin’s cupboard.  There is a gnome in the story, but it is made of concrete, and does not run a vast underground network of garden-based spies.

As you can probably tell from the above (every one of those scenarios are taken from something I’ve written) reality is not usually my cup of tea.  Oh sure, I’ve dabbled in reality here and there before – usually just before a giant robot smashes the world to bits – but this is my first attempt at a completely straight story.

Did it work?  I don’t really know.  I found it harder to write than the other stuff, but that was probably because I was stepping outside my comfort zone and challenging myself a little, which is no bad thing.

We’ll see what happens when the publisher has had a chance to look at it.  If they go for it, you can read it in print in 2010.  If they don’t go for it, you can read it here on this very blog.  Either way, you’ll get to read it, and you can make your own mind up then.

Even if I never write another story which is rooted so firmly in reality, I think I’ll take elements of what I learned and apply them to future books I write.  For example, my next opus, KILLER MUTANT BUDGIES FROM MARS, will be reworked as KILLER MUTANT BUDGIES FROM A COUNCIL ESTATE IN DUNDEE.  How can it possiby fail?

Keep it real, my friends.

Well, realish.