No inspiration

It's that time of year again, when Autumn draws in and we all want to curl up on hot buttered toast, munching fire and staring at a roaring sofa, and, more importantly, it's the Halloween story competition at my local writers' circle. I always enter something, but I use it as a chance to write something new, rather than take along something from my archives.

This year, though, I'm stumped. I just can't seem to think of anything that would make a basis for a supernatural, or scary, story. So I tried a writing exercise that was once recommended to me, whereby I took a short walk and tried to spot three things or people that could form the basis for a story. And so, this lunchtime, I headed for Teddington High Street to see what I could find...

This normally works for me, seeing an unusual sign, or a face, or something in a shop. I tried the charity shops; always good for quirky little things that look as if they might have some sort of history. There were some remarkably unpleasant jumpers, a plastic owl, and a selection of badly framed rural scenes which looked as if they had come from a particularly scuzzy pub.

On to Tesco. I searched people's faces. Was there anybody who looked as if they might be harbouring a secret, or who could be a reincarnation of a Mongol warlord, or somebody planning a weekend of nefarious deeds? They all looked as if they were harbouring an urge to buy carrots, and were planning a weekend in Ikea.

So I'm still no further foward. Answers on a postcard please...