Limited commissions each season
250 words about someone.
Write down whatever you have about one person — your mother, a grandfather, a house, a business, one afternoon you have never been able to forget. It does not need to be organised, or complete, or good.
Because each piece of work requires careful attention, I take only a limited number of these each season. I will shape what you send into a finished passage and return it in writing. No fee, no obligation, and an honest answer about what your material could become.
Before you start
Three things that make this easier.
Do not start with the big thing. “Tell me about the war” closes the door. Write about an ordinary day instead — what was in the kitchen, who walked them to school, what the street sounded like at night. The Tuesday almost always carries the rest inside it.
Write “we do not know” where you do not know. I will never invent a fact to smooth a gap, and neither should you. The gaps are part of the history.
Do not tidy it. Half-memories, contradictions, the thing your aunt insists on that nobody else remembers — send it. Contradiction is data, and often the most interesting thing in the file.
Send it
Everything you send stays private. It is never published, quoted or shared without your written permission. If you would rather email it, write to markpaull56@gmail.com instead.
Your 250 words have arrived.
They are here on my side now. I read every one myself, and you should expect a reply within a week — either the finished passage, or an honest note if the material needs something different first.
Your reference, if you ever need it:
If you would like to shape how it is written before I begin, the Story Mixer takes about two minutes. It is entirely optional.
Afterwards
What happens after you send it.
I read every submission myself. You should expect a reply within a week with the finished passage, or an honest note if the material needs something different first. Nothing automatic, and no follow-up sequence.
What happens if you want more than a passage.
Nothing automatic, and no follow-up sequence. If what you sent turns out to be the start of something larger, I will say so, and you can decide.
The next step
Now tell me how you want the story to feel.
Your 250 words tell me who and what matters. The Story Mixer tells me the balance you want — emotional depth, humour, intimacy, historical context, voice, difficult subjects and legacy. After a confirmed submission, you can choose to open the Mixer. There is no automatic redirect.