Dedicated to the older writer
Welcome to WriteTime
If you’re over 60 and you’d like to do more with your writing, this is the place for you.
We publish new short stories by older writers from across the world and we run regular writing competitions.
Winning stories are published here on our website. For the top three stories plus Highly Commended listings see our Winners page which also has details of our free feedback offer.
The best short stories are selected for our showcase Anthology. Buy the WriteTime THREE book here.
If you’ve got some good stories to tell:
Now is the time.
Here is the place.
Get writing!
Encouraging writers over 60 to be their best
Latest Winner
The Language of Love
By Dianne Bown-Wilson
After Mrs McGillivray heard someone whisper that her son’s death was “hardly unexpected”, she left the gaggle of bystanders at the roadside and made her way home. Under the glare of streetlights, the pulsing beams of the emergency vehicles flickered in puddles. It was scarcely 6pm on a brisk November Tuesday, yet as dark as the dead of night.
“Maria,” she heard someone call after her, “are ye going to be alright?”
Runners Up
By Jenny Bardwell
Terry grabs the handrail to haul himself up to the top deck. He checks out the passengers. Three Japanese women want to see the Castle and Cathedral. An American with a blue baseball hat rammed over his head is thrilled to think of sites stretching back to ancient Rome. His wife can’t wait to see The Rows with their medieval steps and mock Elizabethan facades.
Ruby is the only one who does not look up and smile as Terry snaps into jovial mode.
By Anne Thomson
I have been here all night. Rocking, straight-backed, legs uncrossed. The rhythm of the old chair creaking backwards and forwards soothes and helps to steady my racing heart. I have pulled the chair over to the large square window so that I can sit and watch the sea reveal itself as the dark gently dissolves into dawn.
In the soft lamplight, my hands are pale, lightly trembling on the chair’s oak arms.
If you’re working on a new short story, or dusting off an old one, some of these pointers might help.
Get the plot right
How will it end?
Make sure your characters are authentic
You need to know them inside out, how they think and how they speak.