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SS story inspired by an object

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 17:16:01 GMT

by Alison Evans.

Solitaired

Flick flick flick turn – she crouches, kneeling towards the cards laid out before her on the beige carpet. Behind her the fire roars, heat, left a half drunk mug of tea, right ashtray stub ends, grey. Flick flick flick turn. Ace up.

The sound of the school bus, head cocks to one side a slight movement, hope, relief. Crunching gravel. Door opening.

Hiya a cheery voice calls – wheres Dad?

Out at a meeting

The girl drops her heavy bag to the side of the chair she plops into – relief of burden.

How was school?

Yeah we are doing King Lear I don’t get it

No I cant say I know what that is about, Flick flick flick turn queen of hearts – not out

I had to read Cordelia – the cat stretched

You better get changed

Im hungry

8 of clubs out

Ah shephards pie – sound of expectation.

Later the girl changes, jeans and T shirt – uniform folded. Equilateral upper arms, mottled yellow peeking from under the cotton. Outside autumn yellow, kicking leaves, leash straining.

The house so pretty, roses framing long ago architechture.

Flick flick flick turn – I cant seem to win this one, fire roars. Gathers and shuffles.

Papers here mum – “oh great” reply “let’s see what’s going on:”

(giggles, laughter, )

A mop and bucket have been stolen from a doorstep, sweet peas named towns flower of choice. IRA bomb scare. – I found that King Lear is playing in Manchester can we go – yes of course – I don’t know that one – what’s it about?

Engine gravel

Hurried tidy – door loudly opens, fog

Flick flick flick turn – King of spades out

Re: PING critique

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:58:15 GMT

by Paul Wright.

Some good insights. Especially the idea of what it is that readers actively look for or antcipate in reading.

Can you square your sense that the story is 'about' 'fading into' with the idea of entrapment?
Can there both be 'pace' and 'no time passing'?

PING critique

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:49:33 GMT

by Alison Evans.

Ping

Relies on the importance of words rather than sentances using repetitive words – this could exentuate the overwhelming “white”. Beckett uses exact measurements – not gues work, this inceases the feeling of clinical accuracy and that everything is real and exact.

Limited word use and what is left out such as – and – the increases the importance of the words and the feelings this invokes so white is not only repeated over 50 times( I lost Count) it is 50 times more magnified in feeling, visual context to the reader. White evokes light and good and spiritual however Becket seems to be evoking a sense of being consumed or fading into white. Use of blue is sharp contrast “hardly” and given to the eyes of the human at the beginning that turn “black presumably in death at the end

The human body described by Beckett in such minamlist language is opposite to the complexity we are used to reading, challenging the usual – feet sewn together – doll like, maybe but certainly lacking movement physically, again another reference to the lack of action in the story and the sense of entrapment or prison. Murmuring voices give us a sense of others but so far that they have no impact on what is happening in the story other than a sense of others

Becket again uses a clever use of opposite to create the action without the words- there is a sense that there is a journey that something is happening and that the word Ping is dragging with a sense inevitability along with it, the word entices us forward as well as acting as a full stop or punctuation. The repetition hightens the sense of the overwhelming white and the lack of control – not action- no time passing- means that the monotony of the journey is the action- repetitive but changing, subtle but overwhelming – use of powerful opposition creates inevitability.

Beckett chooses not to use punctuation he relies on the words to do this, towards an end and Beckett uses the word “Ping” to create a sense of pace or rhthymn which could be poetic, the reader becomes almost hypnotised by the expectation of the word – becomes actively looking for the next Ping and so continues the journey to find out in the end it is “over” and the Ping has stopped and there is no expectation left for the reader.