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Matt Kendrick

@mattkendrick.bsky.social

4.4K followers 1.3K following 4.2K posts

Writer | editor | teacher | joyful Ninja Turtle | chronically ill Words: Craft Literary, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfiction, Wigleaf Top 50 Website: https://www.mattkendrick.co.uk/ Craft newsletter: https://prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/

www.mattkendrick.co.uk

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · Sep 7

Really looking forward to my "Story Shapes" workshop in October where I'm going to get writers writing Cinderella narratives against the clock and crafting stories across different sized bits of paper.

7th Oct 7pm BST or 11th Oct 9am BST.

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-worksho...

Write Beyond the Lightbulb. Story Shapes. Pyramids, Fishes, Spirals and Trees. Online workshop on creating story structure and emotional build.

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

I thought so. A punctuation mark I use every other sentence 😬

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

😬 All my writing is peppered with impostrophes. I maybe use this more than em dashes, snark marks and percontation points!

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

You really are!!

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

I keep seeing this meme (is that the right word?) everywhere, so I made one for my workshop on story shapes which is coming up tomorrow or Saturday - a couple of spots left in both sessions: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-worksho...

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

Hurrah for the difficult thing! And glad you enjoyed the newsletter. Part 2 is (I think) scheduled for a week on Sunday. I'm not quite sure when I picked. If you're subscribed it will land in your inbox whenever it lands, but I always post here as well so hopefully you won't miss it.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

This is where my afternoon has descended to. I blame it on
@sugarpigblog.bsky.social. Introducing the IMPOSTROPHE, a punctuation mark for all the writers out there who need a way of representing their impostor syndrome on the page...

A comma with two "perspiration" marks and a question mark sparking out from the dot

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

Yes, Stella Yin is so clever. We read it as part of the NIFTY book club a couple of years ago and it was such an interesting book to discuss. I've been lucky enough to read an advance copy of this and it's a stunner - you're in for a treat.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

It's really good. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy having read a previous draft a couple of years ago and it's stunning from beginning to end.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

I feel like it sums up your always-brilliant feedback, Myna. You are particularly good at giving mirrors which I feel lots of people (including me sometimes) skip out.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

Hope the thing you don't want to do / didn't want to do isn't / wasn't as bad as it first appeared - doesn't sound like fun!

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

My #WritingCraftArticle for September is all about feedback and editing skills. It got quite lengthy so I had to split it into two. This is part one, focusing on my four feedback Es, writer intention, and stars, wishes & mirrors:

🏝️⭐🧞🪞

prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...

No Writer is an Island - Part 1

As an editor I have the privilege of working with writers at all stages of their writing journeys.

prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2d

Glad it's useful. Isn't that picture of an island lovely? Why isn't there a billionaire in our ranks who can buy said island and turn it into a paradise retreat where all the writers can go and start up some sort of collaborative community?

Reposted by Matt Kendrick

The Welkin Writing Prize @welkinprize.bsky.social · 5d

This is happening next week on Tuesday (7pm BST) or Saturday (9am BST) - still time to join 👇

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · Sep 7

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

This sounds lovely - thank you. I have an endless fascination with birds. Love watching the birds in my garden. Today we have a banditry of blue tits.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

😂

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

I feel like if we didn't laugh, we'd cry, and laughing is much more preferable! I like your description of them as "roving" symptoms - like a safari!! This is my everyday so I'm used to it. What do they say - a change is as good as a cure?

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

Continuing my theme of doing pseudo work rather than actual work 😬 I've updated my big list of "best of" lists - all the links for Best Small Fictions, Best Microfiction and the Wigleaf Top 50 from 2020-2025:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/resources

Resources | MattKendrick.co.uk

Free resources from Matt Kendrick.

www.mattkendrick.co.uk

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

😂 I remember watching that episode of Friends when it first aired and laughing so much at Joey wearing everything Chandler owned 😂

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

Love this article from @kathyfish.bsky.social Aligns with so many of my own thoughts on flash as its own unique form

Kathy Fish @kathyfish.bsky.social · 9d

A flash is not a cupcake...https://open.substack.com/pub/artofflashfiction/p/from-the-archives-flash-fiction-as-49d?r=4e5y2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

From the archives: Flash Fiction as Its Own Unique Form

A little artist.

open.substack.com

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you, Megan. The arm seems to have sorted itself out a little today. Instead, I am now suffering with ice cube effect. Wearing seven jumpers 😂

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks for sharing, Jo. Your workshop sounds amazing. I'm unfortunately busy that weekend, otherwise I'd have loved to take part.

Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks, Elizabeth. It's unusual my body mounts any sort of immune response, so I'm taking the positives 😀 but also hoping it doesn't go on too long and that at some stage I regain some use of my left arm 😬

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 6d

Had Covid jab yesterday. Today I'm death 💀 Apparently, my body neither wants to lie down, sit or stand 😂 So I'm trying to distract myself with pseudo work. Just updated my list of (mostly free) resources: prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/everything... (wow this got long)

What should I do next?

Everything Everywhere All In One Place

I’ve been writing these craft articles for quite a while now.

prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 8d

"My friend loves deer and wants a tattoo of one on her shoulder. / We are talking about deer and we are also talking about my ex."

The weaving together of elements in this extraordinary piece from @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social, so much buried beneath the surface, deserves multiple reads

Roi Fainéant Press @rfpress.bsky.social · 14d

Sometimes a deer is just a deer. Sometimes it's a stand-in for an ex. Or for yourself. I guess it depends on the deer. Check out "Deer in the Headlights", a moving work of autofiction by Allison Field Bell @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social in our next edition. Sunday!

My friend has written a poem about a pair of deer—one with antlers, the other without. In the poem, they are in a cemetery filled with green grass and large trees.

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Matt Kendrick @mattkendrick.bsky.social · 8d

"You type; this is a story about anxiety. A story about the time the wind screamed until the sky grew orange and the clouds choked on ash"

Wow - this is a stunner from @karenc.bsky.social; the way this shifts and builds with every line. 🙌

Karen Crawford @karenc.bsky.social · 10d

Grateful to have another piece the always wonderful @rfpress.bsky.social amongst such talented company! Thank you @melissacuisine.bsky.social for having me! Shout out to @megpokrass.bsky.social in whose anxiety workshop it was born! 💙
www.roifaineantpress.com/post/this-is...

"This Is Not A Story" by Karen Crawford

You stare at the blank page, the cursor cursing. You type; this is a story about anxiety. A story about the time the wind screamed until the sky grew orange and the clouds choked on ash and where do y...

www.roifaineantpress.com

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