Hello again Marianna - I sure would love to read a new story by you! Hopefully you will write a “scary” story in time for Halloween! Do you celebrate Halloween in your part of the world? I’m always interested in how celebrations differ from country to country.
1 Like
Oh, I am glad to hear from you again, Christer ( @Christer ). We miss you a lot. Belated happy birthday! Enjoy and take good care of yourself.
Hi Julie, lovely to hear from you. Halloween is not as big here as other countries. We, ourselves do not celebrate it, but there are some people who do. I started writing a thriller for our writers club, but didn’t finish it in time. It sparked more ideas so I might attempt another one and submit it here 
Thank you for your kind message.
I haven’t read many stories the past few weeks. Have you written a scary story? I am missing your stories too! I must really make time to read more this coming week.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Marianna
Thank you so much, Julie, for keeping in touch. It’s great to hear from you! You are right that I have practically disappeared from this planet, as I am hiding away outside a remote Colombian village, hardly seeing anybody.
Writing is one of the few activities I still have and when it comes to my biography it’s done in Swedish. The reason is that I started out thinking that I wanted to give my grandchildren (and even their children) a chance to know who their grandfather was. (I would have found it fascinating to read something that my grandfather or great grandfather had written about their lives.)
Although I want to give this my full time, I miss the monthly Voice.club challenges, including reading your contributions which always were very well written and interesting.
Thanks for encouraging me to drop in occasionally with stories, Julie. I’ll keep it in mind and check in every now and then to see what themes are coming up.
Speaking of which: a few months ago, I ran into the Portuguese word “saudade” several times and loved the nostalgia around it, probably because I have left so much behind. Not that I’m sure that I could write something interesting about it, but I was thinking that if I were to contribute with an idea for a writing theme, this would be it.
Best of luck to you too!
It’s great to hear from you, Lotchie! Thank you! I hope that you are doing well and miss your friendly comments to our stories. Because of them, I have started to associate the Philippines with a warm and generous nature such as yours.
1 Like
Hi Marianna!
Oh yes, please write a thriller! It seems like you are full of ideas - how exciting. I hope you send one in for the Halloween contest - that would be such fun.
I did write a scary story. It is entitled “Blue Moon”. I’d love to know what you think of it. All the shortlisted stories are published on YouTube now. If you go to the Voice Club contest page, scroll down until you see the Contest Shortlist section. Click on the button to take you to the YouTube playlist for the contest. There are some great stories there!!
1 Like
I always look forward to reading your great story, Christer. I’d do wish you would write and drop some of your story soon here.
As for the wonderful Portuguese word “saudade”, Christer, once again you and I are on the same wave length. Years ago my music group ran an international composition contest and someone entered a piece entitled “Saudade”, along with his interpretation of the word which has no real equivalent in English. According to the composer, saudade is more than just a longing for that which is lost, but is a longing for that which never was or never could be. At the time of that contest, I did a lot of research on the word and found it rich in connotations. I wonder if it is a bit elusive for a writing prompt? What do you think? Maybe the SoftArt Team would give us a “Home Free” card or “Wild Card” prompt where we could write about whatever we wanted … that would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Thanks for responding to my message, Julie. I’m glad our thought patterns and interests seem to connect or overlap in several areas.
I agree with you that the word “saudade” would be difficult to use as a writing theme, since it doesn’t have a distinct translation in English (or in any other language that I know of). Part of the charm with the word is that it is elusive, but it could cause practical problem in this context.
I feel hesitant to ask Voice.club to change their policy with writing themes. Instead, I would suggest another word, which might include the sense of saudade for those who feel inclined to write about that kind of mental state.
How about “Missing” as a theme”? That word could give ideas for writing in all kinds of direction, including a nostalgia for things, persons, experiences that are lost. Maybe one also can miss what one never had, just like “saudade” implies.
What do you think?
Hi Julie,
Sorry, I somehow overlooked your message! I hope I can still access your horror story? It is so nice to be back and to hear everyone’s stories. I look forward to hearing more of yours!