Naptime Natter

Short stories for mums – We aim to please

Short stories for mums – We aim to please

What’s this? Am I really posting a short story on my blog, over a year after I last wrote a piece of fiction. Why, yes I am!

Hi lovely readers, you may have noticed that I have not been very active on the blog other the last 12 months. I have been busy raising three tiny humans and then coronavirus and lockdown happened and I haven’t really been in the best head space for writing. I have missed it though. I have been doing a bit of old school pen and paper journal writing but I have found it hard to craft blog posts lately.

To try and get into the swing of things and to encourage myself to start writing more regularly, I have decided to start posting regular pieces of fiction here on my blog again . Previously these stories focused on mums and mental health, (you can find those short stories here) I might still write about those kinds of issues but I also want to explore writing about topics other than motherhood too.

So, my first short story to relaunch my fiction series is called We aim to please.

Here’s a quick synopsis – 

Emily is a people pleaser. She always has been and worries she always will be. 

One day at work, Emily decides enough is enough and vows she is going to stand up to her boss and finally speak her mind. 

Will Emily be able to break the habit of a lifetime? Or will her opinions and views remain trapped on the inside. 

I hope you enjoy We aim to please. I am (obviously)  not a professional writer and have only ever dabbled in fiction writing so I would really appreciate your honest feedback. 

Happy reading! View Post

Short stories for mums – The Used Car

Short stories for mums – The Used Car

*trigger warning*

It is time for another short story mamas, have you got a cuppa ready? The prompt for this week was to write about a used car. I have to confess, I had no clue what I was going to write about when I saw the prompt, how can I write a story around a used car? I have been batting ideas about in my mind all week and finally decided yesterday I was going to loosely use the ‘used car’ prompt and write about an important issue that is very close to my heart – maternal mental health. This isn’t an easy read, if you are in a negative state of mind I will suggest not reading it until you are feeling better. If you missed previous short stories here on the blog you can find them all by clicking here. For now, here is The Used Car, I have written it in a sort of rhyme, not to make light of the serious subject matter but that’s just what naturally happened as I started typing. View Post

Short stories for mums – The other side of the window

Short stories for mums – The other side of the window

It’s time for another Sunday night short story. If you missed my post last Sunday, I am trying to hone in my fiction writing skills and improve my writing by publishing a short story here on my blog every Sunday. Thank you everyone who read last weeks post, I really appreciate all your feedback and all your positive comments made me so happy. This weeks writing prompt was to write about what you see out of your window. I used the prompt but put a spin on it, this story is all about new Mum Clemmie and what she sees and feels when she looks out of her bedroom window. I hope you enjoy and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. View Post

Short stories for mums – The Hotel Room

Short stories for mums – The Hotel Room

I haven’t really set any new years resolutions but one thing I want to do more of is write. That goes for writing posts for this blog more regularly, pitching pieces to other websites and publications and to try and do a bit more than just dabble in fiction writing. I first started writing fiction back in 2017 when I attempted NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I got about four chapters into a twisty turny thriller and just completely confused myself and got overwhelmed by the thought of actually making it to the end so I gave up. I tried my hand at novel writing again last year, this time the story was about a mum so easier to write but I was still struggling with the belief that I could write a whole book, so I gave up around the sixth chapter. I don’t want to give up though, I really want to give writing fiction a good try as getting a book published one day is the dream (you know, the BIG dream I’ve had ever since I can remember). So, I have been thinking about it and I have decided to start publishing fiction on my blog once a week on a Sunday. I am using a writing prompt book to help me, each day of the year has a different topic for you to write about. As Naptime Natter is an honest blog about motherhood, I am going to try my best to link each prompt to a theme that will fit organically here on my blog – expect lots of protagonists who are mums! I’m not going to think too much about it all though, I’m just going to write and see what happens and keep my fingers crossed I get no horrible comments (constructive criticism is, of course, welcome). Without wasting anymore time and with nervous butterflies in my stomach, let me introduce you to the first piece of fiction to ever be published on Naptime Natter – The Hotel Room. Happy reading. View Post

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