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


Monday, December 31, 2012

Your Inspiration for December 2012


Your inspiration for December 2012 - you may want to look back at Arwin's first adventures from December 2011

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Unexpected by Gabrielle Wind

Unexpected by Gabrielle Wind

As I continue inside the building I notice a small girl and I ran to her making sure she was okay. I didn’t see any scratches on her the only thing I could find wrong with her was her red eyes.

The Astonishing, Awsome Adventures of Arwin - part4 - Lillian Morpork

They travel on, and after a while, Arwin noticed that there were more kelp beds appearing. She investigated some that were right next to the road, and saw many different sea snails and barnacles living in them.

Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 4 by Llola Lane

Arwin stepped back in the room and sipped the last of her hot chocolate. She put the cup down on the dressing table and lay in her bed staring at Suzie til she fell fast asleep, exhausted from the day.

Santa Bus 2 - part 4 - by Sven Pertelson

The weed choked yellow brick road wound between trees overgrowing the edges and Arwin and PM had to duck under them as they climbed the hill. As they neared the top the trees grew more sparsely and by the time they reached the summit the woods gave way to open grassland. In the valley below they could see a dilapidated village of small round houses with peeling paint and threadbare thatched roofs. Small threads of smoke came from a few chimneys and they could see the final spiral of the yellow brick road in the central square of the village.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Training 2 by Gabrielle Wind

Training 2 by Gabrielle Wind

"You know I not normal as most humans are." I said running in front of her. I held her by the shoulders and stare right into her eyes, and gave her a smile. "I tend to have a split personality so to say you know. Before I knew what going to happen I woke up.

The Astonishing, Awesome, Adventures of Arwin – part 3 – Lillian Morpork

Arwin, Solly and Leo went on down the yellow brick road, chatting, getting to know each other. Arwin felt really happy for some strange reason, and occasionally she did a little dance, or broke into song. Leo had just told them of a funny episode when he was young and foolish, and they were all laughing, when a large, dark shadow passed over their heads, and they heard a very nasty chuckle.

Santa Bus 2 - Part 3 - by Sven Pertelson

The Santa Bus slithered over the icy lake. The sun had set and the first stars were just visible. Arwin reached for the headlight switch. “Hands off the switch!”, squawked the GPS, “We don't want to be seen, do we?”. Arwin drew back her hand reluctantly. It was bad enough driving a bus on lake ice, but doing it by starlight seemed sheer madness. However, thinking back to her adventure last year, the GPS had never let her down before. Perhaps she could trust it, for now.

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 3" by Llola Lane

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 3" by Llola Lane

The stack of presents seemed to never grow smaller. There sure where a lot of good little Munchkins in OZ with some very strange names too.... Blopp... Grisp... Vlek... Quont... and the names got stranger as the pile grew smaller... Finally! The unloading took longer than Arwin thought it would, and there was no time to talk to the Mayor before a flood of little Munchkin children filled the room. Just WHAT had Santa gotten her into? Now... SHE... was Santa passing out presents... and somehow she knew this adventure was just beginning.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Astonishing, Awesome, Adventures of Arwin – part 2 – Lillian Morpork

The bus moved on, and Arwin wondered just how it was moving. It couldn’t be the wheels turning, could it? Didn’t they have to be touching something solid to turn? As she pondered, she turned and looked out the open side window – where still, no water was coming in. That puzzled her, too. Was it magic? Tentatively, she moved one finger until it was almost to the window, then pulled it back hastily. ‘If I poke my finger out the window, maybe I’ll break whatever is keeping the water out,” she thought.

"Training" PART 1 by Gabrielle Wind

"Training" PART 1 by Gabrielle Wind

I awoke to looking around and finding myself in small quarters. I get up and dust myself off looking around I found a window to my amazement we were underwater. I continue to look around and figure out what happened. I walked down the hall until I ran into one of the people who that captured.

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 2" by Llola Lane

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 2" by Llola Lane

A yawn broke into Arwin's story; Suzie could hardly keep her eyes open. She would have to finish the story another night. It had been a long day for the two of them. She didn't realize it but she was sleepy too. She kissed Suzie on the cheek and laid her head down on the pillow next to hers. Before she knew it... she was fast asleep too.

Santa Bus 2 - Part 2 - by Sven Pertelson

Arwin booted up the bus's GPS system and was greeted by the familiar voice of Pepper Minstix, one of Santa's helpers she had met last year. Not only did the GPS have Peppers voice but also her impish, or should that be elvish or even devilish, sense of humour.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Santa Bus 2 -Part 1– by Sven Pertelson

“It is all the fault of that dratted Dorothy,” the Munchkin muttered. …

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 1" by Llola Lane

"Arwin's Christmas Adventure ANOTHER YEAR PART 1" by Llola Lane

Arwin's Christmas Adventure - Last year synopsis...

Arwin is given the task of driving the children at the North Orphanage to Macy's in Downtown Winnipeg to visit Santa via the SANTA SPECIAL BUS... she finds that driving the 'Santa Special' was more of an adventure than she had expected... Hating Christmas, the music, the decorations, and all the holiday festivities... the dispacher MAKES her wear a special elf suit that jingles when she walks and all the other bus drivers make fun of her in the outfit. She is taken to a special part of the garage where the Santa Special is waiting... all shiny and clean. She finds out that it is a "magical" bus. The exhaust smells of peppermint... all the radio stations on the bus are Christmas... and her hot chocolate is "just right"... just to name a few. Things happen on her way to the orphanage that leads her to believe she is not on a usual bus trip.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Arwin’s Magical Bus Tour by: kizmit Kamachi

For years Arwin had been driving the same bus route conveying passengers to their destinations. To make her day a little more exciting, sometimes she would secretly speculate about their lives. Which of them were happy and in love, and which were down on their luck and desperate. She preferred to think that all of them would come through to brighter skies in the end. Sometimes it was easier to pinpoint which of her passengers seemed more in need than others, and this time of year was always the easiest; Christmas time. It’s no secret that the holidays brought about some depression, whether it’s due to loss or not being able to provide for their families. She would envision something wondrous for each of the ones who seemed the most down and hope that maybe someone somewhere would see the need in them and provide it.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Astonishing, Awesome, Amazing Adventure of Arwin - part 1 - by Lillian Morpork

The Christmas season was here again, and Arwin was ecstatic. Once again, she had been chosen to drive the Santa Special. She did a ‘happy dance’ as she crossed the terminal floor to the gaily painted bus. At least this year, she wouldn’t have a bus crammed with food and clothing as well as gifts. Nor would she have to worry about a bunch of Guides, Scouts, Cubs and Brownies. This trip would be the normal one, taking passengers around the route in Winnipeg. And she didn’t have to wear a stupid Elf costume. Grinning, she opened the bus door and climbed in.