What are Ozlandish Writings?

From July 2010 to December 2014 we ran OZLAND PICTURE STORIES as described below. Sadly though the number of writers reduced over the years and we decided to call it a day. We leave these as a record of the good times we had.

Are "You" ready to challenge your writing skills? Then participate in our OZLAND Picture Stories writing series at The Ozland Art Gallery.

Each month a new picture will be picked, from our OZLAND Artist of the Month collection, with different themes. Your goal is to write a 500-1000 word... poem... essay... or story about the picture picked. This is a chance for you to challenge your writing skills each month. Story can be written in ANY genre... sci fi... romance... ghost... fantasy... fiction... non-fiction... biography... mystery... historical... whatever your writing genre... feel free to experiment. Send your writing inworld to Sven Pertelson as a notecard to have it included on the web site. We meet at the The Ozland Art Gallery each Wednesday at Noon and 6pm SLT to read the latest submissions on voice. More Information


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

3 Naani poems from Telugu India by Lillian Morpork

3 Naani poems from Telugu India - written4 lines, 15 to 20 syllables, subject human nature, emotions, observations
preferably not in first person

"Shattered" by Teri Meridian

"Shattered" by Teri Meridian

She looked down at the shards of pottery on the ground at her feet. The small earthenware bowl had just slid off her tray by accident when it had tipped as she reached to open the scullery door. She could see how each broken part would have joined to the others, though little fragments had chipped off and the joins would never be perfect. Once its integrity had been shattered by the collision with the floor, the bowl had ceased to have a meaningful existence. It was simply a handful of clay fragments waiting to be swept up and discarded in the dust bin. It may once have been a treasured family heirloom, but now it was simply rubbish to be disposed of. How quickly and easily changes can come about from a single, brief, moment in time. It had taken less than the blink of an eye for the bowl to shatter and be destroyed.

"A Truth Revealed" by Llola Lane

"A Truth Revealed" by Llola Lane

Edwina looked at the men standing in line. What WAS she doing here? She was no match for their strength, but she did have other attributes to offer a ship of this size. She was an expert at map reading and graduated top of her class at the naval academy. She knew this ship well, every nook and cranny. It was old, but Edwina knew it had one more trip left in her. Her previous captain and been a pig, and she and the others had cheered when he was killed.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Creativity - by Lillian Morpork

Mommy was out doing something for her work. She mostly worked at home, but sometimes she had to go out. When she did, four year old Reggie and Ruthie were left in the care of Stella, their nanny. And there was always Mrs. Baker, the cook/housekeeper, too. Only, today, after Mommy left, Mrs. Baker went shopping and Stella got sick, really sick. She upchucked all over the ground near the back steps. Before she went to lie down, she made Reggie and Ruthie promise that they would stay in the yard, be quiet, and not get into trouble. She looked so awful, they really felt sorry for her. They gave their solemn promise, and she went inside and up to her bed.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Fragile - Part 2 - by Raphaela Palmer

Ymara moaned in pain as she began to regain consciousness, and she stared in wonder at her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the sunlight filtering through the trees. As her eyes took in more of her surroundings, she noticed that she was lying on her back, in a small clearing of what appeared to be a large wooded area. The second thing she noticed was the badly ripped canopy of her balloon, tangled around the trunk of a nearby tree. As Ymara lifted her head in an attempt to get a better view of her surroundings, she felt dizzy and sick; pain coursed through her body and she cried out in horror as she saw she was trapped under the basket of her balloon. “Help me, please someone..HELP ME“ As Ymara cried out for help and struggled desperately to free herself, she though she heard the sound of running feet and a voice answering. Just then her exhausted mind gave up the struggle and she lost consciousness again.

"A World of a Secret" by Llola Lane

"A World of a Secret" by Llola Lane

"Dear Paco,
If you are reading this letter then I must be dead. I am entrusting you with the most valuable thing I own. It is worth more than all the money in the world. You asked me once a long time ago if "we would survive?" This could very well be the answer to our survival on this planet."

Saturday, September 15, 2012

The Tale of Tommy the Ant - Lillian Morpork

The ants were all busy searching the ground,
Gathering food for the nest.
Young Tommy, the scamp, had wandered away,
He was really quite far from the rest.

Friday, September 14, 2012

"Success" by Jayme and Teri

"Success" by Jayme and Teri

She walked across the stage as she had many times in the past, exuding confidence, professionalism, and poise. When she reached the podium, she took a moment to savour her success. Not many women had the opportunity to give a Nobel acceptance lecture. She had no notes and didn’t need them after explaining her research so many times in the past. She began as she had planned, with an abstract visual image of blue and tan. “If it was necessary to sum up my life in a single image, this would be it. False colour photography through an electron microscope of protein isolates in a saline solution. I have spent my life unravelling the complexities of protein structure and their associated receptors. This slide depicts the receptor clusters for Epinephrine, as viewed under ultraviolet light.” The scientific jargon flowed easily and naturally for her as it always did – a practiced lie that she could tell in her sleep.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

"Fragile" by Raphaela Palmer - PART 1

"Fragile" by Raphaela Palmer - PART 1

Around about the seventh hour, the rain came down and the wind grew wilder. If an onlooker had had good enough eyesight to see that far up into the sky they would have seen a balloon bobbing about erratically against the rapidly darkening sky. If they had been able to see still higher they might have caught sight of a terrified figure crouched in the bottom of the basket.

"A World of Adventure Awaits" by Llola Lane

"A World of Adventure Awaits" by Llola Lane

Paco remembered that day like it was yesterday. Little did Master Vogel know that he would light a fire under Paco that would never go out. That day in the classroom as Paco sat listening to Master Vogel tell his story of a world before the great shift, and of the new world with all it's wonders, Paco dreamt of seeing it all. The idea of going on a ship danced in his thoughts. He had explored every nook and cranny of the little island he lived on and he wanted to see more of the world.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"Obsession" by Jayme and Teri

"Obsession" by Jayme and Teri

I hate it. I despise it. It is my bane, my nemesis, an enemy to be defeated. Every week, when I am forced to visit this chamber of horrors, it stares down upon me, taunting me in its glib way. As I recline on the cold sterile medical bed, it floats above me on the opposite wall, daring me to understand its meaning. As, 3 times each week, they insert the dialysis tubes in my arm, it laughs at my failed attempts to decipher its hidden message. I hate it.

New Earth part 2 - Lillian Morpork

New Earth part 2 - Lillian Morpork

The crews in the four scout ships sat watching, hour after hour, as the debris field rose from the planet, expanding, slowing, until it had almost reached the orbit of the moon. Behind the debris, they could still see the blue and white of the planet.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

"Cornflakes" by Jayme and Teri

"Cornflakes" by Jayme and Teri

“Bobby, eat your breakfast or you’ll be late for school.”

He looked down in the bowl of cereal, listlessly stirring the soggy flakes with his spoon and pushing them beneath the surface of the milk. Every morning it was the same thing – a bowl of Cornflakes in a half a cup of milk.

"A Fragile Earth" by Llola Lane

"A Fragile Earth" by Llola Lane

"A millennia ago our world looked very different," said the teacher to her students. "That was before the great earth shift. You can see how Efrika did not changed much, in the middle of the map. It was the only land that wasn't affected. Efrika used to be hot, dry and flat and not much would grow there. It is now a place where plants grow in abundance and vast mountains can be seen in all directions"

New Earth by Lillian Morpork

“That just plain makes me homesick!” Cindy Clarke sighed, staring out the port at the planet below them.

“Yeah,” Ivan Dostenko agreed. “Of all the planets I’ve seen, this is the most like old Mother Earth.”
The rest of the crew in the scout ship agreed as they stared at the beautiful blue and white ball floating in the darkness of space. They had been exploring planets for five years now, and of the twenty they had visited, none were such a close twin to Earth.

Fragile Beauty - by Sven Pertelson

I specialise in the repair, reconstruction and conservation of art work and documents, so it is not unusual for me to get calls from the local university for help. This call however had me puzzled as they were quite secretive about the nature of the object they wanted me to work on and would only say that it was very small and fragile and would need me to use a microscope.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Fragile - by Lizzie Gudkov

The painting had been moved, he knew it.
“How do you know?” the police officer asked.