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Dear Reader
Where do you write? Are you one of those ‘clear desk, clear mind’ types
YOUR MONTHLY Star
MOTIVATION
25 COMPS
TO ENTER
Power
How Taylor Jenkins-Reid
who needs everything just so before putting pen to paper, or are you
happy to be surrounded by inspiring clutter that looks like utter chaos to
£4.25
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GET PUBLISHED
8 EXERCISES
TO TRY
everyone else (mentioning no WM editors in particular)? Whatever your
‘system’, there’s a lot to be said for carving out a special space for your
Published by
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A WELCOME FROM
will, if unchecked, prevent you writing in future. Above all, having a
THE EDITOR
Publisher: Collette Lloyd separate physical space for writing allows you to occupy a separate head
Email:
collette.lloyd@warnersgroup.co.uk
space too. You can literally ‘go to work’ – even if that means up the stairs
or to the foot of the garden – an important psychological tool that can
Editor: Jonathan Telfer
Email: jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
help you knuckle down to it when you get there and shut off at the end of
a productive day. And that’s what matters: get your physical space into a
Assistant editor: Tina Jackson
shape that you find conducive to writing and your writing, and wider life, Jonathan Telfer
Email: tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
will benefit. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d better tidy my desk. Editor
Senior designer: Nathan Ward
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16 26
WRITERS’ NEWS
76 Your essential monthly roundup ASK THE EXPERTS
of competitions, paying markets,
opportunities to get into print and 10 Writers’ voice: Clarifying copyright
publishing industry news Be clear about what copyright is and how assigning it could affect you
with advice from the Society of Authors
30 29
38 Under the microscope 64 Away from your desk
James McCreet puts the beginning of a reader’s novel under his Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit
forensic gaze
98 Notes from the margin: The disgruntled diva
42 Fiction focus: The end is nigh Lorraine Mace is getting hacked off with someone else getting the
Get past the hump and finish your novel with sound advice from credit for her words
Margaret James
68 The business of writing: Writing tandem 28 Free range writing: Write well
If two heads are better than one, Simon Whaley finds out if two Explore the therapeutic properties of writing in these exercises
writers are better than one
31 & 51 WIN! Cash prizes and publication in our latest
creative writing competitions
WRITING LIFE
32 & 52 Short story winners
14 Inspiration: Knitting ideas Read the winning entries in our latest short story competitions
Stuck for content ideas? Fear not – the solution is at your
fingertips 44 Writers’ circles: Building blocks
Fine-tune the words and sentences you use in this writing group exercise
22 Writing life: Screen print
How often are writers accurately portrayed on screen? We pick
some that are close to reality REGULARS
6 Miscellany
29 Writing life: Time to make time 8 Letters
You say you haven’t got enough time to write? We look at ways of 40 Helpline
freeing up writing time Your writing problems solved
72 Editorial calendar
34 Writing life: The A to Z of a writing shed 81 Going to market
For many of us, a writing shed is a pipe dream. One writer made 87 Novel ideas
hers a reality, and offers practical advice 91 Travel writing know-how
THE WORLD OF
WRITING
Ingenious demises, character motivations and endings in sight are all part of this
month’s world of writing, as Derek Hudson discovers
menu
Get words on paper. Don’t
worry about connections,
character or plot. Work for an
hour. Promise yourself an hour.
Do nothing else but move your
Actor Neil Dudgeon of ITV’s twenty-year-old series Midsomer Murders, fingers. Make coarse shapes.
was asked whether there are enough residents left for the next two Follow any emotion that pops
decades when interviewed in the Q&A feature of the Yorkshire Post’s Style up but never impose emotion,
supplement. never fake it, and don’t make
He pointed out that Midsomer was a county and not a village. ‘In up your mind or your heart
twenty years there’s been about 350 murders so that’s about 17 murders ahead of time.
a year over a large area. I mean that’s nothing. More people are dying in ‘Understand you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why
farming accidents than being murdered in Midsomer.’ you’re here. Rough it out. Anything goes. You can decide later
He was asked: What kind of deaths could be expected? what any piece of text looks like, what it might mean. Don’t stop.
‘Well, part of the joy of the show is the many brilliant ways the writers Don’t question. Don’t quit. Don’t stop to read what you wrote.
come up with killing people in Midsomer. There’s a boiled monk and Move your fingers. Your mind will have no other option but to
a wedding where the bride, played by Kelly Brook, disappears at some keep up. Remember that writer’s block is merely the cold marble
point during the wedding… She dies in a rather interesting way.’ waiting for the chisel to heat up.’
MOTIVATION
– a vital part of story telling
Scottish author William Boyd (A rewind to the beginning and plot any
AND FINALLY:
Good Man in Africa etc) once told the number of various routes that will allow Advice from William
Guardian that would-be writers might you to arrive at that desired ending – Faulkner, Nobel Prize
know how to start a story, but neglected with its attendant catharsis, of course. Laureate (1897-1962):
the importance of endings. If you start writing (however striking
‘My default response to all “great” your original idea) with no sense of how
ideas in the writing business is to do your story will end, then life becomes ‘Read, read, read
with the ending. A good ending can progressively harder. Flailing around. everything – trash,
redeem a mediocre idea. A bad ending Writer’s block. Draft after draft. This is classics, good and bad, and
can sink a really good idea. As soon how novels get abandoned; film scripts see how they do it. Just like
as you know how your narrative ends bottom-drawered. The thing to do is to
a carpenter who works as an
– in whatever medium, then a huge stop and envisage your final pages, your
percentage of the problematic issues that final scene. Take your time. What note
apprentice and studies the master.
arise in the writing will be solved. do you want to strike? What surprise do Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write.
‘If you have a clear sense of how your you want to spring? What denouement If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s
story will end then you can, as it were, will justify this journey.’ not, throw it out the window.’
Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing
Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds Magazine. Letters may be edited.)
LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your When referring to previous articles/letters, please state
name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all month of publication and page number.
STAR LETTER
A voyage of discovery
A breed apart I have read that it is a good idea to add a personal touch to
The Miscellany article Every writer an agent application such as ‘I have chosen you because I
needs a cat… (WM, April) made me particularly like such-and-such book you represent’.
smile: ‘…once alone with the cat in I have recently embarked on the journey through my
the room where you work… the cat researched (so far) agent list. On the downside, I have received
will invariably get up on your desk and two rejections (though kindly worded, which was nice) and a
settle under the desk lamp…’ Not in no-reply. However, there is a very good upside: As I pick out and
my house, they don’t! I have Siamese. read a book from each agent’s client list, I am discovering books
Once alone with these attention and authors that I might otherwise not have encountered or
seeking missiles, expect chaos, might have overlooked.
interference and concentration- It may take me longer per agent to apply, but new favourites
shattering activities. make it worth the delay. I keep those ones, to re-read if I ever get
I work with four felines and as soon as the laptop appears, the chance, and give others to my local library.
it is of great interest and to be inspected, sniffed, rubbed against Still, I do hope I find a willing agent before I have to buy
and of course walked on. I don’t know about monkeys producing myself another set of book-shelves!
Shakespeare, but my lot regularly come up with immortal lines like HANNAH FAOILEAN
nnnnnnnnnnnnjsxhcdivckjvfklvcocvokfr. Edinburgh
If the PC is holding my attention, hooking a picture off the
wall, or swiping things off the mantelpiece restores the balance, I had a chuckle at
transferring the human’s focus back to the feline. Jonathan Telfer’s invitation to visit the
And there’s the flying leap, a speciality at which the youngest WM Stand at the London Book Fair (WM, April).
excels . She is able to fly past my face at high speed, just at eye level, His instruction was ‘Come along and find us in the
like a Typhoon jet on manoeuvres. Writers’ Block, next to Author HQ.’ This is usually
Of course it’s not all exuberance. Sometimes they do settle... on somewhere that I rely on WM helping me avoid!
the back of the chair where they restyle my hair with their Velcro HARRY SEAR
tongues. Not only does my head smell of cat food, I invariably
forget and answer the front door with hair looking like a Wookie in
a wind tunnel.
Despite this though, there is one part of the article I truly agree Coming out of her shell
with: ‘The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable’.
MADELEINE PURSLOW I really enjoy reading your magazine. Each month I visit my local
Sutton Coldfield newsagent hoping that they still have a copy in-stock for me. I like
reading them from the comfort of my bed with a tea in one hand and
my notebook in the other. In the April issue, ‘Learn to Love Networking’
(pg.10) from the Society of Authors. I found myself feeling sympathetic
towards those writers reading that article. It’s a challenging process putting
The star letter each month earns a copy yourself out there as a writer or just as a person. It is a daunting process
of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2019, meeting new people at a networking event. Especially, if you’re a shy
courtesy of Bloomsbury, person like myself who would rather prefer the safety of their own house.
However, this article has enabled me to give myself a boost of confidence,
www.writersandartists.co.uk which I will be needing soon when I attend a YA course in London.
LAURA JEFFREYS
St Albans, Hertfordshire
People power
I
A couple of years ago, I completed an MA in Creative Writing with a distinction. I
skipped out of the University feeling free to take on the big wide world of writing.
am
Having had some success with getting my work published in anthologies, and the start
a writer
of a novel under my belt, I couldn’t imagine anything getting in my way.
I was wrong. The daily grind of being a full time English teacher soon began to Your star letter by M Derriman (WM, April) gave me a
eat away at the time I had once spent writing. Before I knew it, my ambition and lift, as I too struggle as a writer with dyslexia. I have two
confidence had dissipated into nothing. I lost touch with most of the group, seeing only self-published books and traditionally published short
their growing successes on my Facebook page. Embarrassment and a growing sense of stories. People with dyslexia suffer. I mean suffer – mainly
failure pushed me further away from that lifestyle and further into myself. the indignity of being told just how many errors they made
Luckily, a writer’s day at the university has resurrected my passion for writing. After by their children, grandchildren or spouse. Or, receiving a
fighting through my fears about seeing the class again, I tentatively booked onto some of reply email from someone who’d said that the one I’d sent
the workshops and arrived on the day clutching my empty notebook. them didn’t make sense.
By the end of the day, it felt like I had never been away and my belief in both myself Sometimes it’s typos usually missing letters. I miss the
and the writing process had been reborn. Writing can be a lonely pursuit and this proved r from her, the s from this, and no matter how hard or
to me the power of people was a critical part of creative writing. how long I stare at definitely and defiantly, they both look
LUCY BRIGHTON identical. I do everything to mitigate my problem. I check
Barnsley, South Yorkshire and recheck it on the screen, it looks perfect. I print it off
and read it only to discover missing words that I’ve sworn
I could see a moment ago. Anything important, I send to a
Loving a late start friend, first having read it out loud and confident that this
time it will be perfect. It’s returned with added words and
I want to assure Louise Mayne (WM, April 2019, Talk it Over) that far from not having time on that annoying squiggly red line.
her side at the age of 60+, she couldn’t choose a better time to begin a writing career. In my mid- But today I felt heartened as I read on WM p83, the
60s, I retired from a full-time job and began writing in earnest. I now have two published novels wonderful Hilary Mantel quote, ‘Nobody seemed to
to my name and, at the age of 70, am hard at work on a third. understand hat.’ It made me smile.
There are several advantages to this later start. Apart from being able to focus exclusively on SUE MACKENDER
my writing, I don’t have to worry about making a living from it; on top of my pension, the extra Horsell, Surrey
income is just a bonus. Physically, I may have slowed down a bit, but my mind is as active as ever
and I now have a creative focus for my retirement with years of experience to draw on.
So please don’t worry about starting later in life. Think of it as something to look forward to. I
MIKE SLACK
am
Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex
a writer
Dr
your April issue started, moving my little writer heart in
ways I wasn’t expecting.
I’ve always wanted to believe that I am a writer too,
although I rarely have the courage to say it, even to myself.
My little three-year-old self knew it, though; she started to
Even though I haven’t had great success as mimic those quick, elegant hand movements she saw adults
a writer yet, I still have ambitions to be famous. do long before she could form her first letters.
In April’s Writing Magazine I spotted an article about the My ten-year-old self knew it as well. She decided to write
relationship between day dreaming and creativity, immediately linking her first novel, desperate to be Jo March from Little Women,
my own pen-pushing activities to my imagination. It doesn’t run wild, it flies without caring whether the plot was well structured, or her
off to the brightest galaxies in my head. My page isn’t a blank barrier, it’s a mirror words conveyed the right mood, or if anyone would want
that reflects the kind of writer I am. As a poet, the joy of gazing into a more exotic to read it. It never occurred to her that it might not be good
world beyond the rain-polished window. Adrian Magson’s article has encouraged enough, that she should stop because there was no point in
me to leave behind the ruffled rejection letters and travel to that dreamland of finishing something that poor.
wide-eyed poets and sharp-fingered scriptwriters once more. I don’t have any good excuse for having let those little
P TURBERVILLE, Ashover, Derbyshire girls down other than fear; fear of not being good enough,
of being too late to be. Of discovering that, for years, I
managed to convince myself that I was good at something
I am not.
I wish I could say that the fear is gone, that I will finish
my unfinished works and will enter competitions regardless
my doubts. However, today I said aloud that I am a writer.
And I meant it.
MARIBEL VICHO MERCADO
London
W
atch over your – now and in the future. Although some Selling on
copyright! Copyright large publishers have international rights If you assign copyright the publisher can
allows you to monetise selling departments well able to exploit your make a further assignment to anyone else
and control your creative work, others do not. In any case you may even if by doing so it is breaking a term in
work. It is the right to be able to obtain more money by holding the original assignment. Although you will
exploit and to prevent others from exploiting on to some rights and selling them yourself. be entitled to sue for damages for breach
creative work throughout the world in any Consider only granting rights in certain of contract, the sub-assignment will still
medium for the author’s life plus 70 years. territories (say UK) or keeping certain rights be valid unless the purchaser had actual
(such as translation or audio). Always try to notice of the prohibition on assignment.
How do I get copyright? grant rights for a limited time – no longer An assignment therefore puts at risk your
Work must be recorded in permanent form to than the licensee needs to properly exploit control over the ownership of your work,
attract copyright protection. However, once them. If someone presses you to grant rights which could be sold to someone of whom
recorded, copyright arises automatically: there which you are uncertain they can exploit you strongly disapproved or who you felt
is no need to register your copyright or even properly, then consider granting a licence would not exploit the work fully. Licences
mark it with the © symbol (although that is a of those rights on condition that they will on the contrary are generally personal and
good idea to warn others you own the rights). revert to you automatically if they have not non-assignable
The first owner of copyright is the author been exploited within a certain time (say 12
(unless created in the course of employment months). Even if, when you sell the work, you Insolvency
when it is the employer). The author must be feel that you will never wish to use it again If you assign your copyright and the new
human; a case in 1927 established that if a you may feel unhappy if it is never exploited owner goes out of business your only
ghost dictates work to a medium the medium at all. Or your heirs may wish to use it. remedy is as a debtor for any unpaid
owns the copyright, not the spirit! Copyright royalties. The liquidator would be entitled
does not exist in ideas but in the form in Enforcement to sell your copyright without any
which ideas are expressed: suggesting a plot If you assign copyright, you have no right to obligation on the purchaser to pay you.
does not make you an author; a ghost writer sue for any infringement. If the assignee feels If you had granted a licence, it would
will own the copyright, not the person who unthreatened by an infringement, or that it automatically terminate on the liquidation
told their story. would be too expensive to sue, you may have of the publisher, and the liquidator would
Think carefully before assigning your to stand by and watch your work being freely not be entitled to reprint or sub license
copyright instead of just giving a licence, copied with no remedy and no claim for the work (even on paying your share of
limited in time, scope and territory for the payment. the royalties) unless you consent. A licence
use of your work. Here’s why: can also prevent your work from becoming
Alterations ownerless or ‘orphan’.
Payment If you assign copyright the new owner can Do remember to consult the SoA before
An assignment of copyright is not contingent make additions, corrections or changes without parting with copyright. You will see that
on the agreed fee being paid. If the assignee infringing copyright. If you give a licence, it usually makes sense to hold onto your
fails to pay, your only remedy will be to sue alterations would be an infringement of copyright and to grant a licence instead.
for the money but you will not be able to copyright. Although you may retain the moral It should not prevent the publisher from
regain your copyright. If you grant a licence right to object to derogatory treatment, there properly exploiting your work, but means
then failure to pay will normally be a breach are plenty of changes that a copyright owner that if things do go wrong (however
for which you would be entitled to terminate is entitled to make without reference to you; unlikely that seems at the outset) you can
the licence and have your rights revert. for example, changes of the names of all the ensure that you have some protection.
characters. In law, you would only have redress Copyright, is rather like your soul. It may
Exploitation if the changes were prejudicial to your honour be tempting, like Faust, to sell it in return
When anyone wants to use your work you or reputation; the fact that they offended for some illusory short-term gain – but
should only let them have the rights they your aesthetic sensibility would not be strong when the going gets tough you may realise
have the intention and capacity to exploit enough grounds on which to complain. its true value.
“”
Having a word limit like 550
really does sharpen the mind up;
working class writers are – at the
top of the bestseller lists
B
efore everyone became utterly focussed on the London Book
there are certain things I want to Fair, which as I write is just about to happen and which I will
say in a small space and when I report on next time, the big conversation in publishing has
rewrite this column the rewriting is been about class.
always cutting and cutting whilst There have been a number of people commenting on the lack of
working class authors but the most high profile was author Kit de
keeping the shape and the rhythm Waal’s Radio 4 programme, Where are all the working class writers?
of the piece intact… keeping an It started with her talking about walking into her local Waterstones
eye on your word count is vital. and asking herself that question.
© Adrian Mealing At which point I confess I groaned a little – because it’s a bit like
IAN McMILLAN walking into Waitrose and wondering where all the working class
people are. As Ian Rankin rather acidly observed on Twitter ‘we’ve
been hiding at the top of the bestseller lists for years’.
Because, Ian Rankin, Martina Cole, Val McDermid or going back
T
he ‘bard of Barnsley’, Ian McMillan, was writing a bit Josephine Cox and Catherine Cookson – and these are just the
about his weekly column in the Yorkshire Post ones that sprang instantly to mind – are massively successful and loved.
Magazine. Writing to a specified word count is To suggest that these authors are somehow invisible is a strangely
a very good discipline. Perhaps it’s more a journalistic disrespectful thing to do. As well of course as being just plain wrong.
than a creative writing skill, but almost all writing It’s a subject I feel strongly about because I represent a very
competitions, fiction or non-fiction, set a stipulated successful author of sagas – novels of working-class life grounded
maximum word count. It’s sensible to stick strictly to the strongly in her own experience. Saga is of all the genres the least
limit specified. Even a couple of words above that limit fashionable, the one that publishers take most for granted and the
can give the judge(s) an easy reason to reject an entry. least pride in.
At the writing group I belong to, every month we But these above all are the books on the supermarket shelves
all write a piece of prose or poetry on the same theme. which most explicitly are by and for and about the working class –
Then at our monthly meeting we hand round copies in particular working class women. It is one of the most successful
of the piece we have written, read it out and receive genres in fiction and yet that fact is never celebrated and I find it
feedback. This works pretty well, and I’m always extraordinary that there have been hardly any voices raised in defence,
astonished to see the many different ways in which let alone praise, of it. It is working class through and through and is
people can interpret and write about the same theme. read by millions, but it is not sufficiently literary to be noticed.
We have an upper limit – 500 words of prose or That invisibility is amplified when one remembers that sagas are
40 lines of poetry. For those who write poetry, the written and read (mostly) by women over the age of fifty – ie, at the
maximum 40 lines is not a problem. But when it comes age when women say they become invisible.
to prose, one or two of our members do not find it easy An almost more concerning thing from my point of view is not
to keep to the stipulated maximum. just that no-one in publishing uttered so much as a peep in defence
If you have difficulty reducing the word count of not only of astonishingly profitable sagas (which account for fifty
a piece of writing, it’s worth bearing in mind one of percent of the profits of one of London’s major commercial fiction
George Orwell’s famous writing rules: If it is possible to lists) or even more ostensibly literary figures like McDermid and
cut a word out, always cut it out. If you reread what you Rankin who have also earned their publishers millions of pounds
have written, I’ll guarantee that you’ll find at least one and surely also deserved standing up for, but that this is an instant
or two words that you don’t really need. Look especially where publishing might justifiably feel proud of its record – or at
carefully at adjectives and adverbs. Sometimes, of course, the very least feel it was being unjustly accused. Certainly it is a
they add essential detail or colour, but sometimes they point of view which rather maligns an older generation of publishers
provide unnecessary elaboration that just gets in the way who launched and helped build these astonishingly successful
of clear expression. That’s when you need to reach for writing careers.
the delete key. You may be surprised to see how many But then that is a curious feature of the whole diversity and
words you can cut out without changing the sense of inclusivity debate which is so central to the current conversation in
what you have written. And, nine times out of ten, what publishing. Every possible intersection of gender and racial identity
you’re left with is a better, stronger piece. is invited to the party, but older people? Not so much.
Definite
article Want to get into magazine writing?
Kerrie Flanagan lists the top ten things
you need to know to make a success of
article writing
T
here are thousands events and read books on the topic. for it. A list of international magazines
of print and digital One book I recommend, but I am and submission information can be
magazines, and they completely biased (since it is my book) found on websites like Funds for Writers
all have one thing is the Writer’s Digest Guide to Magazine (https://fundsforwriters.com), Media
in common – they Article Writing. Also, read magazines – Bistro (www.mediabistro.com), and
need writers. And the lots of them. This will give you a better New Pages. For print resources, market
fact that these publications continue to understanding of the types of articles information can be found in the Writers’
put out new issues, quarterly, monthly, and writing that goes into them. News pages of this magazine and in
and some weekly, means they need a Writers Market (www.writersmarket.
continuous stream of quality content. 3 Get ideas com). Study the guidelines so you
This is good news! With the popularity Finding a good idea is the cornerstone understand exactly what the publication
of magazines, more content is going to for any article. Lucky for you, ideas are wants. Pay attention to the focus of the
be needed from those who understand everywhere, once you start looking at the magazine, topics covered, lead time,
the industry. Editors look for writers world through the eyes of a magazine rights and payment.
who know how to write an effective writer. The first place to look is at your
query, who take the time to research their own life and experiences. 5 Study magazines
publication, who can expand on a good • Think about your hobbies Editors want to work with writers who
idea, who are capable of writing a great • Organisations and causes you understand their magazine and their
piece, and who respect word count and involved with readers. It is important to take the time
deadlines. Magazines are also a great way • Places you have travelled to study the publications you intend
to build your platform and gain more • Your current or past occupations to query. Pay attention to the style and
writing experience, all while getting paid. • Sports or instruments you play or tone of the articles. Are they written
By following the ten tips in this article, have played in first person or third? Is the tone
you will be ahead of the game and more • Skills you have (dancing, cooking, conversational or more academic? How
prepared to delve into the world of woodworking…) often are experts quoted? Then make sure
magazine writing. • Challenges you continually struggle you understand the readership. Many
with (time management, diet, magazine websites will feature a media kit
1 Know the process organisation…) (which is usually under a menu item for
The process of writing for magazines is You can also look in newspapers, advertisers). This will explain the reader
a little different to what you may think. television, magazines, and the internet. demographics and other important info
Rather than write the article first, you Once you find an idea, think about a about the publication.
start with your idea, do some initial unique angle or slant. Opposites are a
research to give you a base knowledge fun approach. Take the idea and create 6 Make a plan
of the topic, write a query letter (a brief a slant that is the opposite of the norm. It’s good to create a plan with the ideas
sales pitch), and pitch to the appropriate For instance, how to lose weight without you came up with. There are a couple of
magazine. Once you get the commission dieting. You can also break down big ways to approach this. One is to take an
and agree the fee, then you complete ideas into smaller chunks. An article on idea and slant it for different magazines.
the article. The one exception to this is Ireland would be a huge undertaking, but Usually this a broad topic like parenting
personal essays where you write a cover one highlighting Waterford, the oldest toddlers, or Cairngorms National Park
letter and send the completed essay. city in Ireland and home to Waterford or beer. Then take the topic and break it
Crystal, would be more manageable. down into a variety of ideas for different
2 Learn the craft types of magazines such as women’s,
As with any writing, you need to take 4 Find markets travel, lifestyle, parenting and create your
the time to learn about magazine Once you have your idea, search for queries from there. Although the overall
writing. Take classes, go to writing publications that would be a good fit topic may be the same, each idea will
be different enough that you can send forward to talking with you more about • Type (Is it a query or the full article)
your pitches out around the same time. this idea. • Publication
Another tactic is to find a magazine you • Closing. End with your name and be • Name of editor you sent it to
want to write for and study it. Then sure to include your contact information. • Email or physical address
create different ideas specifically geared • Date sent out
toward that publication. For instance, 8 Write the article • Response – was it a yes, no or a note
if you want to have an article in Ideal After all your hard work, the editor from the editor
Home, read past issues to see the types replies and says he wants to buy the • Follow up (if you don’t hear from the
of stories they cover and what has been article from you. There should be a editor within a few weeks, send a quick
written about recently. Then make a list contract to sign with all the details about follow up and track the date you send it)
of potential ideas you can write for them. word count, deadline and payment • Deadline of article if you get a yes
included. Once that is signed it is time to • Payment amount if you get a yes
7 Write an effective go to work and write the article. Keep in • As you complete assignments and your
query letter mind everything you learned when you articles get published, ask the editor if you
A query letter is a one-page (max) studied the magazine regarding style and can get pdfs of the finished piece for your
sales pitch to the editor of a magazine. tone. If you are unsure how to get started, files. Create a folder on your computer to
It explains to the editor the direction you might find it helpful to create an save these so you have them to highlight
you plan to take with the article, outline first. Look at the information you on your website. You can also use them as
it showcases your writing style and currently have and what you included in writing samples to send to future editors
explains why you are the perfect person your query. Pick out the key points and you query.
to write it. The basic components of a use those as your main headings. Then
query are as follows: create subheadings under those to fill in 10 Set future goals
• Salutation. Direct your query to a the details. Take note of places where you Having a plan can help you be more
specific editor when possible. need to do more research and/or need to productive and goal setting is a great
• Good hook. Editors are busy people. schedule an interview with someone. way to achieve this. Goals give us a
They don’t spend their days only reading Keep in mind the elements of direction and allow us to be more
queries, so when they do, you want to strong writing: focused. Think about what you want
catch their attention right away with an • Create a good flow with your sentences to accomplish. Be realistic and take
intriguing hook to make them want to and the order of the information. into account how much time you
read more. • Be clear and succinct with your writing. have to devote to magazine writing,
• Contents. Following the hook, go • Vary the sentence structure. other obligations in your life and your
into more detail about the topic and the • Use strong verbs. experience level. If you are just starting
main points you plan to cover, in two to • Be specific. out, a goal of writing and publishing
five sentences. This shows the editor you • Check your facts. twenty articles over the next six months
have a solid understanding and direction When you have your rough draft would be difficult to accomplish.
for the piece. finished, go back to make any edits. Stay You want to create goals that you can
• Specifics. Share the estimated within your assigned word count. Editors realistically attain.
word count, a specific department in have limited space for each article, so it’s Write down one or two detailed big
the magazine where the piece fits (if important you respect that and stick to it. goals like, ‘I will get six commissions that
applicable), experts you plan to interview File your copy by the deadline pay at least £75 over the next six months.’
and any other pertinent information. given. This will give you a better Break these big goals into smaller
• Purpose. Include what the reader chance of getting future commissions monthly goals. For instance, ‘I will send
will get from the article. Will they with this publication. out eight queries each month.’ Then
be educated, inspired, informed or write down the specific action steps you
entertained? This can be woven in 9 Stay organised are going to take each week that will help
with the specifics. For example, I am Once you begin submitting queries you accomplish your goals. One week it
proposing a 1,200 word article that will and getting commissioned, having an might be, ‘I will spend two hours creating
inform your readers about the world-class organisation system in place to track a list of ideas and two hours researching
vineyards in Tuscany so they can embark everything is important. The kind of potential markets.’ The next week
on their own wine adventure. system you create should be based on could be, ‘I will spend three hours
• Qualifications. This is the place what works for you. It can be as simple writing four queries.’
to highlight why you are the perfect as writing it all down in a notebook or
person to write this piece. If you have creating something on your computer. Writing for magazines allows
any published articles or other relevant I use an Excel spreadsheet to track you to explore new topics,
writing credits, mention those here. If my submissions, a whiteboard where meet new people and expand
you don’t, that’s okay, share any related I write down my assignments and your writing skills. When you
experiences that show you have a strong deadlines and a notebook to hold understand the process, take the
understanding of the topic. invoices I send out. time to study the magazines and
• Call to action. Wrap up with a With submissions, the information you learn to write effective queries,
sentence that encourages the editor to want to track is: you will achieve success and see your
reach out to you. For example: I look • Article title name in print.
ideas
Stuck for content ideas? Fear not, with advice from author
Rachel Brimble, the solution is at your fingertips
I
n today’s manic and busy world interest and, more importantly, vitally All of these are content ideas in
of social media obsession, useful advice and wisdom that readers themselves, but what if we break them
there is an innate hunger would love to know. down into smaller topics?
for immediate information, Once you’ve identified a few • Romance writing industry:
answers and entertainment. As subjects that tend to pop up in associations/conferences/romance
writers, how do we ensure we have an everyday conversation almost without tropes/bestsellers/book-to-film
endless stream of content ideas? Not you having to think about it, you’ve adaptations
just for social media platforms, but for found your springboard. The basic • Writing process: finding ideas/heroes
blogs, magazine articles and features. foundation topics which you can break and heroines/settings/characterisation/
This was something I’d always down and write about for various plotting/marketing
struggled with… until recently. Then websites, magazines and social media. Already we have many topics that
I discovered a sure-fire way that Editors aren’t looking for an article could be used as a blog post, a social
guarantees I never run out of engaging, that covers a subject in such a broad media post, an article, video, podcast
useful subjects to share across all media way it is little use (keyword!) to or part of a monthly newsletter.
avenues… and it is so simple. anyone. They want specific content But what if we break these smaller
Each of us has subjects we talk that will excite, appeal and encourage. topics down again?
about all the time. They want readers to come back. To • Finding ideas: historical places of
In fact, we might talk about them further their knowledge and learn. interest/occupations/news stories/
so openly and easily that we don’t You need only two or three documentaries/your life
even realise we possess a specialist specialist subjects and you’ll have • Romance tropes: hidden pregnancy/
subject. Maybe you work with endless writing ideas at your reunion stories/enemies to lovers/
animals, jewellery, mechanics, beauty fingertips. marriage of convenience
products, farming… these are your My process is simple – as I’m All of these subjects (even at their
‘business’ areas of expertise. But what a romance novelist, let’s take smallest) can be used for content over
about your personal life? Hobbies? romance writing. many, many platforms. For each one,
Interests? Passions? Maybe you’re a a great starting point is to write the
stay at home parent, an avid painter, First, I need to identify post thinking about the how/why/
a cyclist, a dog owner… my big topics: who/what/where – this will provide
Stepping back and taking a moment • Romance writing industry plenty of fodder your reader can
to list everything that touches your • Historical periods consider as well as entertaining and
life throughout the week, month and • Writing process educating them at the same time.
year, will provide you with subjects of • Planning/time management The reason you are writing a post
or article is because you want to give Make your work easy to not yourself. You want them to hear
value to your reader. As you write, find and follow your enthusiasm, love how it bettered
provide information that has the In the highly competitive world of your enjoyment of life or gave you
potential to improve or enhance their Google searches and social media another step forward in your chosen
lives. Show it is a need to help that followers, it’s important to do all you career. You’re being open, showing
led you to write about this specific can to ensure your piece stands out. integrity and generosity in sharing
subject. You want to show how you For an article, you need to show an your experiences and inspiring others.
learned/achieved these things that editor your information is something Another way to encourage
bolstered your life and that the reader a reader needs and wants to know. followers on your social media
can learn them, too. That the knowledge you wish to accounts and articles is to show a
This concept applies as much to share helped you in a specific way little of you. Who are you behind
fiction genres as it does to non-fiction. and it will others, too. the words? What makes you happy?
In fact, it almost always applies to For social media, your newsletter What excites you? Letting a reader
pastimes, passions and dreams, too. or blog, considering Google searches get to know you as a person builds
For example, my next passion to as you write is imperative – think interest, engagement and, hopefully,
writing is knitting – so let’s consider carefully about your title and content. a reader who will actively seek out
how I could use this process of Use keywords that will lead your your work.
content creation to approach knitting ideal reader to you if they were to do Find the courage to allow a peek
magazines, blogs etc. a random search. into your life and how your success
Let me take an example of a and knowledge reflects in your
different kind of industry to illustrate day-to-day life. Maybe add some
Big topics what I mean – book writing and personal photos every now and
• Different types of stitches knitting are product based, but then, or a short live Facebook or
• Easy/intermediate/expert patterns what if your knowledge, passion and Instagram video. These scenarios
• Seasonal expertise lies in the service sector? can be ultra-intimidating to a writer
• Charity knitting Maybe you have experience in used to spending hours alone with
accountancy, were a solicitor or an their laptop but, in today’s world,
Smaller topics estate agent. Let’s use an example of they are vital to promoting you and
• Stitches: how to knit/purl/cable stitch someone who is a business coach and your work.
• Charity knitting: discuss the runs an online consultancy business. I am saying this from my own
hospitals/animal charities/children’s This is an area that floods social experience – vulnerability does not
charities constantly appealing for media accounts, especially Instagram. sit well with me and I’m pretty sure
blankets/toys/cardigans/jumpers Why? Because people love the it doesn’t for most people. Share only
idea of financial freedom and as much as you are comfortable with
Smallest topics entrepreneurship where they are free and you know will help and add
• Easy/intermediate/expert: how to to make their own decisions as and value for your reader. People often
know when you’re ready for the next when they like. remember real-life footage more than
level/where training videos etc can be What would be a few key words they do someone just telling them
found/what helped me that could make this kind of service about a subject.
• Seasonal: the most popular stand out? First, let’s imagine what It makes absolute sense for your
knitting projects during the someone looking to set up their own ideal reader to feel every ounce of
summer/autumn/winter/spring or business might type into Google. your excitement, right?
a fun picture diary of me knitting • How do I start a Writing in an upbeat,
through the year and where! SERVICE-BASED business? straightforward and entertaining
• Or how about a book commission • How do I MARKET my way on a specific aspect of a
on an historical figure or place? A consultancy business? broad subject is a fail-safe way
huge project that would require • Which is the MOST EFFECTIVE to ensure you have topics of
structure and be useful to someone SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM for interest and usefulness that
who might be using the book as a my business? readers will find enjoyable
reference source. You could start your • Where can I find a course on and of all-important value.
helpful article with section headings TIME MANAGEMENT? This is what, as writers,
for their book and what to include. These search examples will lead we are aiming to deliver
Suggest the reader could go on to you to immediately recognising the with everything we write,
break those sections into chapters and key words that need to be prevalent whether that be novels,
then paragraphs. within your post… they should articles, non-fiction
The key? Be specific. Provide useful always inspire more content ideas reference books, blog posts
tips/knowledge. Encourage the reader that can broken down and broken or social media.
that the challenge or subject they wish down again. So, go forth and help your
to be involved with, conquer or master It’s important to include content readers, you never need run out
is achievable and you’re here to help. that is specific and useful – you have of content ideas ever again…
written this piece to help the reader, happy writing!
Y
ou may not have yet a showstopping introduction to her person, but she clearly understands
heard of Daisy Jones though: a wholly immersive fiction, its personalities, weaving together the
and The Six, but with told as oral history, through first-person tangled strands of a story of the star-
a publishers’ lead title, interviews with everyone who was crossed song-writing partnership of
celebrity endorsements there, about the tangled relationships Daisy and lead singer Billy – a man
and an Amazon Prime TV series in behind the Stevie Nicks-like figure of with his own demons whose earth-
the pipeline, chances are that by the Daisy and the rise to fame of a band of mother wife Camila is his creative
end of the year you’ll want to track country rock superstars. muse until flawed, charismatic Daisy
down Daisy’s music and play it, even ‘It’s a book I never thought I would begins to exert her influence.
though the fabulous 1970s songbird write,’ says Taylor down the phone from ‘I’ve always been drawn to singers
has never existed. the West Coast. ‘I didn’t even know if who write about each other,’ says
Daisy’s creator, Taylor Jenkins I had permission to write it! I’m not a Taylor. ‘Stevie Nicks and Lindsey
Reid will be more familiar to US rock person, not really, but I’ve always Buckingham were writing songs,
readers than UK ones; Daisy Jones loved Fleetwood Mac, though I’m more and writing them about each other.
and The Six is the first of her six a Beyoncé, Cardi B type of person.’ I’ve always been fascinated by that.
novels to be published in the UK. It’s Taylor may not be a 70s rock So that was the beginning of it.
rock, so how much do I make this a story wanted to do. I wrote another one.’ happened, and by the end, in theory
about women? So I started looking at the To do so, she gave herself a tight I had. A lot of the work of the second
female artists who made a name then– window. ‘I asked my husband if I draft is making the beginning work.’
and I focused my attention on what it could take two months off work and She found using multiple voices
was like to be a woman in that period. he could pay the bills, and he said in Daisy Jones simplified her process
Daisy and Camila and Simone and Karen yes. I wrote what was my debut novel rather than complicating it. ‘I really
[the four women characters in Daisy in those two months. Two drafts. like jumping from one storyline to
Jones] are all very different ways of being I got up, wrote, and got this thing another – I can use the intercutting
a woman at that time.’ done in thirty days. I didn’t want to of narrative to help with pacing.
Although Daisy Jones isn’t a take advantage of this person paying Later, I can go through it and move
conventional romance, love is a central my bills. I was at the library every things. If Daisy is talking for two
theme in each book Taylor writes. day, noon to 7.30. And one day I fell pages I can intercut with something
‘I’ve always been drawn to love stories, short of my wordcount, and stayed til else. Once you get to the end of a
from the day I was born,’ she says. ‘I’ve I’d finished it. If I could go back, I’d book you can see. But it was choppy
always been drawn to love. But love say, take more time.’ when I was writing it. Creating so
can be portrayed as a very saccharine, Her way of working begins by many characters and having them
easy thing, and it’s not. Love is a very imagining a scenario. ‘I start with a speak directly was fun.’
complex thing that I love writing time and place, and an atmosphere Taylor’s advice to writers is to
about as it pertains to real life. Love I want to be in. For Daisy that was follow their heart in terms of subject
stories that are messy, that don’t have singers and the Sunset Strip. And matter, and write the book they
easy answers. This is the first book I’ve I think what my premise is and a want to read. ‘I’d say, don’t make
written that isn’t a full romance.’ general arc for the story. And that’s it. the mistake of waiting for someone
Taylor did not always know that she I do my research – books, podcasts, to give you permission. If you want
wanted to be a writer. ‘I worked as a watch a lot of TV, and understand to do it, do it. Plenty of great books
casting assistant in LA and I sort of the stories that have been told in this start out as bad first drafts. You can
had this feeling that I liked the job, but space. And then I start writing. I aim always edit a bad book. Just go and
it wasn’t it,’ she remembers. ‘As a fun to do a first draft in about six weeks. do it and don’t wait for someone
thing, I started writing anecdotal stories I just keep going and hope that the else to tell you what to do. I started
about my life, trying to make it funny, story comes to me and the characters writing for an imaginary version of
and I’d send it to my friends. I was start to make sense over time.’ myself, and I still do that. If there’s
getting really good feedback, and people She doesn’t expect the first draft a book that you need, you write it
said, you should be a writer. I think I to be anything other than that – a yourself. The setting for Daisy and
needed someone to tell me that I could.’ first draft. ‘In general my first draft Evelyn, a 60s movie star and a 70s
What she was writing was based in is not good,’ she admits. ‘I have no rock goddess, that’s exciting. But
real life, not fiction. ‘I thought, I should idea what is going to happen to a the character studies are for women
write fiction – I’m going to run out of character and that creates a mental like me who need to see themselves
things that happen to me. So I write a exhaustion of imagining it. The reflected in a book. To say, it’s okay
short story, and it ended up being 50,000 second draft is where it takes shape – to love anyone you want, to choose
words, and I sent it to a friend who me going through and going, now I yourself sometimes. When I see
sent it to a friend, and I got an agent. know what my book’s about. When I myself reflected in a book, it makes
That story didn’t sell, but I knew what I was writing it, I was finding out what me feel better.’
published
NICKI THORNTON
The debut author tells Dolores Gordon Smith how her
novel, The Last Chance Hotel, won the Times/Chicken House
Children’s Fiction Competition in 2016.
‘I think the thing that most appealed to your book to different countries, getting it
me about entering the Times/Chicken House reviewed and finding you a readership.
Children’s Fiction Competition was that I knew ‘To get your story published all you really
‘I
t’s pretty unusual these days for someone would read my story. I knew writing a need is a publisher willing to take a chance
publishers to accept unsolicited fantasy murder-mystery for children was going to and I think it’s no surprise that Chicken
manuscripts rather than expecting all be a challenge. But the competition was a chance House has this amazing reputation for
authors to come via an agent. just to finally have a stab at writing it all down understanding debut authors.
‘Getting an agent is a very daunting task – and getting it out of my head. ‘This year has seen three titles published that
for a start, there are so many and each one has ‘Chicken House opens its doors to submissions have found their way on to Chicken House’s list
different tastes and requirements. Where do once a year via the competition and to enter, through the competition as they look beyond the
you even begin? you just send them the whole manuscript, plus a winner for books they want to publish.
‘I just looked at that and thought, well, this synopsis and covering letter. ‘It’s a refreshingly different way of recruiting
is definitely never going to happen. ‘The prize is that every year, they choose a new authors, and the fact that the competition
‘I just liked writing, really. That seemed to be winner and the winning book is published. has now entered its tenth year marks out Chicken
the fun part. There was always a story lurking I never expected that my own journey to House as not just a publisher that understands
somewhere at the back of my mind. publication would come via winning a Golden unpublished authors, but who dares to do things
‘I had one story that I wished would go Ticket, but that’s exactly what it felt like when I just a little differently.
away as I knew it was going to be difficult won the prize in 2016. ‘If you’ve got a story that wants to be written,
to write – but story ideas do have a habit of ‘It’s been a most amazing journey. I was write it down. And then send it in.
drifting to the front of your brain every time assigned a wonderful (and patient) editor ‘I would really urge anyone to enter. The first
you are washing up or driving the cat to the who managed to make sense of my story and prize is a publishing deal with Chicken House
vet. Mine involved a Roald Dahl-type of tease out of it something that was worthy of with a £10,000 advance. But the best part of the
downtrodden hero, Seth, who was going to be being published. prize is working with one of the best publishing
saved by magic. But first he was going to be ‘And not just that, you have a whole team teams anywhere. There is no doubt in my mind,
accused of murder. behind you, designing a brilliant jacket, selling magic truly does happen.’
20 MAY 2019
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Ask a Literary Consultant
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After the London Book Fair, Helen Corner Bryant responds to queries
about what agents are looking for right now
R
ather than answer one question this month, I’d like to there has to be a deep reader connection. Ideally, agents are after a story
address a summary of queries from authors about agents that can be pitched in a couple of seconds, and one that gets publishers
that we gathered over the course of this year’s London running to promote it at their acquisitions meeting.
Book Fair.
We had a productive time at LBF, largely spent meeting Who agents look for
agents and authors. To all those who came by our stall, it was lovely to What agents won’t necessarily let on is who their ideal author might be.
see you in person and have a chat! We shared a stall in Writer’s Block While every agent is different – and some will care more about certain
with our Professional Writing Academy partners (who run our online qualities than others – all of them will want a professional, workable
Edit Your Novel and Find an Agent course), and our stall happened to relationship. Think of it as a business marriage, where trust is key. An
be next to Writing Magazine! I also gave a talk in Author HQ about agent needs to know that you can deliver and that you’ll be presentable
how to edit your novel, followed by a Q&A, as part of LBF’s Insights to publishers. Any whiff of ‘loose cannon’ behaviour tends to put their
Programme. We live-tweeted the event, so answers to specific questions offers-for-representation brakes on. We heard several authors say that
from the Q&A can be found @CornerstonesLit on the #EditYourNovel. they had emailed agents in advance for meetings and, having not heard
Whilst at the fair, one burning question kept cropping up: what and back, had found a way in to the agents’ floor. This displays tenacity on
who are agents looking for? During our agent meetings, we noted which one level but ultimately it’s a big no-no. For the vast majority of agents,
manuscripts appealed to agents most, and also what kind of author LBF is an opportunity to schedule in advance meetings with publishers
agents are looking to work with, picking up lots of snippets and insights to sell-in their existing clients. It’s not a time to meet prospective
along the way. authors. It’s also worth noting that if you’re querying agents around
LBF, one of two things may happen to your submission: it may become
What agents look for buried in the slush pile and require a gentle nudge post-LBF, or it may
Leaving the Brexit-shaped elephant in the room to one side, we saw be snapped up as a wild card entry – though uncommon, some agents
strong demand for the following genres in non-fiction: narrative non- are known to do this.
fiction; true crime; feminist non-fiction, transformational memoirs; Regarding industry etiquette, we had one meeting with an agent
children’s non-fiction. For fiction, agents were particularly eager to who told us they had been discussing a prospective author with another
see original stories both from and for under-represented communities agent. Both of them realised that the author had been pitting them
written in an authentic voice (this was the heatseeker at the fair). They against each other, creating a false fervour, and a feeling of mistrust had
also expressed interest in: crime; upmarket women’s and ‘uplit’; and crept in. We always urge authors to be as transparent as possible when
funny middle-grade stories (perennially popular and hard to come by). submitting to agents, ie if you get a manuscript call in from one agent,
Side note: do let us know if you’re writing in these genres – agents keep it’s imperative to let the others know in case it changes anything for
us informed of what they’re looking for and when something comes in them. But stick to the facts! Be wary of your rights too: if you receive an
that fits the bill we race to connect the dots. Most exciting of all for us offer for representation, don’t feel pressured to accept immediately – the
at Cornerstones, we were pleased to hear that debut novels continue to author/agent fit has to feel right and it’s good to be able to weigh your
whip up a storm in the publishing world. options. In that situation, you should thank the agent and ask if you can
In essence, agents want: a unique, authentic voice; a well-written novel have a week or so to let the other agents know.
that brings a fresh insight to the market; a pacy, page-turning, tension- In summary, agents are looking for a personable, business relationship
filled, emotionally gripping story. Most of all, characters that they fall in with you and a fantastic book to pitch to publishers. Then, they’re
love with and root for; your protagonist doesn’t have to be likeable but looking for book two, three, four and fifty-plus.
PRINT copy, not that often, but Michael Renouf picks some
that are closer to reality.
Finding Forrester
(2000)
Directed by Gus Van Sant,
Finding Forrester is the story Philomena (2013)
of reclusive writer William Philomena is a moving and disturbing film,
Forrester (Sean Connery) exposing the forced adoption scandal of children being sold by the Roman Catholic
and his chance meeting Church in Ireland to wealthy American’s in the 1950s, based on Martin Sixsmith’s 2009
with sixteen-year-old Jamal Wallace (Rob book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) falls pregnant out
Brown) that shapes both of their futures. of wedlock and like thousands of other young girls of the era, who for all intents and
Jamal has two talents, one for basketball and purposes are kept as slave labour by the church, is allowed to see her young son for only
the other for writing but hides his academic an hour a day. One day he is taken from the monastery to his new life in America and
abilities from friends, until his test scores poor Philomena does not even get the chance to say goodbye.
prompt a prestigious school to offer him a She bottles up the secret for decades until she tells her daughter, who manages to
scholarship. Meanwhile, he is mentored by involve author and ex-BBC journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan).
the grumpily charismatic Scot, who has only Sixsmith is initially reluctant to cover a human interest story but relents after losing
had one book published, the Pulitzer Prize his job. With his journalistic contacts and Philomena’s fortitude, the search for young
winning Avalon Landing. The film speculates Anthony starts in earnest. She is driven by a mother’s love. He just needs a story, the
on what the author was really trying to tell us sadder the better, but over time Martin comes to understand Philomena’s need is
and why he only had one book published but greater than his.
most constructively throughout, Jamal, and Director Stephen Frears does an excellent job as so the two leads in a film that
the audience, are treated to choice lessons on not only was nominated for four Oscars but shed light on this disgraceful episode of
how to write from Forrester, said to be based history. Some reporters are rightly criticised for the way they approach their work, but
on JD Salinger. this film shows exactly why we need journalists who will knock at the door nobody
A warm, moving and inspiring movie. wants to answer.
S
ome manuscripts don’t Listening to other work out what they did? Is it a matter
work, no matter how people’s opinions of learning more about craft – reading
much time and energy It’s time to get professional feedback, or a book or attending a course?
you invest. Shelving a big at least critique from other writers. When Perhaps you know where you’ve
project like a novel can be you receive it, be honest with yourself. gone wrong and how you can put it
painful, remarkably like leaving a bad How much do you agree with the right. But do you have the energy,
relationship. The good news for those criticisms? Are they easy or difficult to put time and resources?
who feel like they’ve been here before right? How much are you prepared to go Maybe, now is the time to make
with an ex-partner: that experience could through to make this novel work? a break.
well help you now. Separate your feelings about your
manuscript from yourself as a writer. In Taking a break from each other
Denial This is not a book about Charles Darwin, If you can’t bear to say goodbye
You’ve put everything into this novel: Emma Darwin writes about her failure to properly yet, perhaps you should take
you care about even the villains; you’ve publish a third novel based on her famous a break from each other – agree you
reworked the prose of those first few ancestors. Emma is an award-winning can see other stories, experiment with
chapters over and over; read every author, a creative writing PhD and a other genres and have a little fun – a
pertinent piece of advice and attended sought-after teacher and book doctor. No change from all this angst.
workshops; crafted your synopsis to fit on one was questioning her ability to write, During this time, read as much as
exactly one page, but the rejections are or the stories she had to tell – Charles possible. Other people’s characters don’t
piling up. Friends and family say you’re Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood and Ralph
wasting your time. Vaughn Williams hang on her family
You tell them Audrey Niffenegger’s tree. A big-name agent had suggested the
The Time Traveller’s Wife was rejected idea and gave her notes throughout the
Lethal and near-lethal
thirty times before an agent picked process. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t work.
problems with a novel
it up. That was successful enough to Grammar, individual sentences, and • It doesn’t fit the market. You were original when
spawn a Hollywood film. We love point-of-view can be changed, saggy you first thought of teenage vampires, but now the
each other, you say. It’s just a matter middles can be tightened, word count market’s flooded.
of working through our problems. cut or expanded, and clichés scrapped for • The stakes aren’t high enough. Perhaps you
Possibly. Possibly not. If a something more original. However, some couldn’t bear to subject your characters to the kind
novelist has sent chapters to a problems are almost impossible to fix. of disaster the plot needed.
dozen agents and no one’s asked Can you find out how to mend • The plot doesn’t go anywhere.
for the full manuscript, there’s yours? Is there an author who has • Everything is too complicated. (There are multiple
probably something wrong with the succeeded where so far you’ve failed? viewpoints, a cast the size of Les Miserables and a
submission. Or done something similar? Can you fantasy setting. )
need you to understand their backstory, completely disappears. Agents and happened? you ask.
choreograph their moves or work out publishers have online access too. Now is the time to embrace the
accurate descriptions. Immersing yourself ideals of National Novel Writing
in their fictional world, when you have The old worn dressing gown Month – ‘quantity over quality’.
your own to sort out, may sound like Some people are naturally attracted Every year in November, thousands
procrastination, but it’s one of the best to the new and shiny. They’ve already sign up to their challenge to write
things you can do for your writing, moved on, perhaps before their old 50,000 words in a month. Those who
wherever you are with a manuscript. novel was ready. keep it going for more than a week,
Gobble down a good plot or close-read Some of us are just loyal and find it often find their ‘inner editor’ switches
excellent prose. Perhaps solutions will difficult. The old one is familiar. You’re off, freeing their creativity. But you can
present themselves for your own novel. used to its little faults. It rarely surprises achieve the same thing any time of year
Force yourself to get out and see you, but in an uncertain world that by setting your own high word count
people as well as other projects. You can be a good thing. Like that old and deadline. (National Novel Writing
need to experience life to write about it. worn dressing gown, you can’t imagine Month have year-round goal trackers on
Successful authors will tell you how many replacing it. their website Nanowrimo.org.) Draft
ideas they get away from their desk. When you’re trying to move on, so quickly you don’t have time to cringe
Time apart may be exactly what you remember you have the power in this over those clichés and run-on sentences,
need to put your problems in perspective. relationship. Your old manuscript is care about your badly developed
Perhaps you’ll see what your novel needs stuck on your hard drive or stuffed in characters or worry how you’ll sell it.
to make it work. But perhaps you’ll your bottom drawer. You can go in It’s the equivalent of plunging into a
decide it’s time to move on. search of another story, but it’s unlikely new relationship to stop you thinking
to find another writer. If you change about the last.
The final decision your mind and decide to return to it, it
The decision will look like different will still be there, waiting. Taking the lessons from one
things for different writers. There may be Eventually, after a few single dates – novel to the next
crying (wailing), rom-com watching, and that graphic novel about superheroes We learn from failure, probably more
snapping at those around you. Having fighting to save the high street, than we do from success. You may not
judged Hemingway and Fitzgerald steampunk crime flash fiction and a realise how much until long afterwards.
for their dissolute lifestyles, you may long-form essay about dishwashers – Karen Thompson Walker persevered
suddenly feel an urge to drink yourself you’ll come across an idea you could for several years on a novel. ‘It kept
into a coma. (Don’t!) spend some time with. coming off as more funny than dark,
You may not expect family and friends The new novel might look good more ridiculous than bleak—and I
to understand your devastation, but it’s on paper (especially to friends fed wanted it bleak,’ she told themillions.
easy to dismiss it yourself. After all, it was up of hearing about the old one) but com. ‘It was liberating to give up on
your own decision to ditch your WIP. ‘It’s you don’t know its quirks yet. It has that story so that I could focus on
only a novel,’ you tell yourself. ‘It’s my different interests that you’ll have to others, and it helped me realise that
own fault. I should have been loading the research. Worse, it assumes you can throwing out a piece of writing can
washing machine/ putting more hours at do anything and when it realises it’s sometimes count as progress. It feels
work.’ ‘I shouldn’t have wasted so much wrong, doesn’t know how to navigate like backtracking, but it can ultimately
time before I asked for critique.’ your weaknesses. be the way forward.’ She went on to
Be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to But your bruised heart starts to feel write the New York Times bestseller Age
grieve. You’ve invested months, maybe flattered. You don’t deserve its trust – it of Miracles.
years on this project. And remember, clearly doesn’t know how you messed One winter, Margaret Atwood
this experience does not mean you can’t up with the last one. So you keep up and her husband rented a cottage
write. The best authors sometimes have the façade, flirt as much as you dare in Norfolk. ‘We’d gone there to
to shelve work. and ask it to tell you more about itself. write and watch birds,’ she told the
Look out for signs of poor mental You begin to have fun, if only Guardian. But her novel’s plot ‘involved
health and consult your doctor if because there’s less to lose. You see various time layers and improbable
necessary. its strengths – perhaps a clear story, interweavings of badly realised
This is where writing mates come with proper conflict this time, or a characters… in a part of Mesoamerica I
into their own (if they haven’t particularly unique voice. Of course, it’s knew little about.’
before). Promise them you’ll be there on its best behaviour at the moment, Giving up, she read her way
in their next low and let everything trying to impress you, but you have a through the stack of historical novels
out. Even better, find somebody as good feeling about the two of you. in the cottage. ‘Perhaps it was those
fed up with writing/the publication six months of futile striving tangled
process as you. Whinge to each other Committing yourself (to paper) novelistic timelines, rotten Tudors,
this week and urge each other on to First drafts are supposed to be messy, and chilblains that caused me to break
new things next. but you can’t help comparing it with through some invisible wall, because
But be careful using the internet the manuscript you worked on for right after that I grasped the nettle I
in this state: nothing you say, even years. I used to be able to write sentences had been avoiding, and began to write
in the heat of the moment, ever and think of original descriptions. What’s The Handmaid’s Tale.’
H
e’s written thirteen the New Review; he later became Britain I’m sometimes regarded as The Sense
of an Ending
novels, several a television critic for the New a suspiciously Europeanised writer,
collections of short Statesman and then for The Observer. who has this rather dubious French
stories and essays, The Oxford English Dictionary is influence,’ he has said. Curiously
lots of journalism among his favourite reading – along enough, most French readers regard
plus, in his early days, four crime with Shakespeare, the Michelin him as a very English writer.
novels under the pseudonym Dan Guide to France, Flaubert’s letters Flaubert’s Parrot has the three-
LISTEN
Kavanagh. Three of his earlier and Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. part structure Barnes likes and often TAP
novels (Flaubert’s Parrot, England, Around 1974 he entered a ghost uses. The first part is optimistic, HERE
England and Arthur and George) were story competition organised by chronicling successes; the second, To hear
an extract
shortlisted for the Booker before he The Times. The winners had to negative – citing losses and failures; from
won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 agree to offer their first work of and the third consisting of quotations The Sense
of an Ending
for The Sense of an Ending. The head fiction to the publishers Jonathan from Flaubert’s journal. Geoffrey
judge said it was ‘exquisitely written, Cape, and five years later he sent Braithwaite, a retired Flaubert-
subtly plotted and reveals new depths in his novel. Cape insisted on a obsessed English doctor, visits France
with each readin … We thought it lot of changes, but in 1980 they and the locations associated with
was a book that spoke to humankind published the book, Metroland. Flaubert. He visits two museums
in the 21st century.’ I’ll have to focus It’s a semi-autobiographical tale claiming to display the stuffed parrot
on just a handful of his books. about growing up in the suburbs of which sat for a time on Flaubert’s
London (based on Barnes’s early years writing desk. He spends a lot of time
How he began in Northwood) and life as a post- trying to identify the authentic parrot,
Born in Leicester, he moved with graduate student in Paris. The novel but ultimately learns that it could be
his family to Northwood, Middlesex was praised by critics and won the any one of fifty that had been in the
in 1956. As a child he was a 1981 Somerset Maugham Award. collection of the municipal museum.
diligent reader, his imagination There is no traditional plot arc to the
stirred by comics and the books he Flaubert and France book; it’s a mixture of biographical
found in the public library: Enid Barnes’s third novel, Flaubert’s Parrot research, literary criticism and
Blyton, William, Biggles and lots of (1984), established philosophical thoughts about
‘imperial nostalgia and war glory’. his reputation. A the relationship between TAP
He became a passionate reader in love of France and writers and their works. HERE
To purchase
his teens. With parents who were French literature, Braithwaite’s reflections on Flaubert’s
both teachers, there were plenty of especially the novels the writer’s life and works Parrot
books in the house, but he thought of Flaubert, has mirror his attempt to find
of writing as something that other informed his work, Flaubert’s parrot. Just as
people did. Educated at the City and he is one of the there is no true parrot, so
of London School, he then studied best-loved English there is no ‘true’ Flaubert.
Modern Languages at Magdalen writers in France, Barnes’s love of France can
College, Oxford. He worked for where he has won also be seen in Cross Channel LISTEN
three years as a lexicographer for the several literary (1996), ten short stories TAP
Oxford English Dictionary before prizes and, in that touch on sex, literature, HERE
To hear
becoming a reviewer and literary 2017, the Légion wars, wine, religion, love an extract
editor for the New Statesman and d’honneur. ‘In and even Eurostar. They from
Flaubert’s
Parrot
M
ental Health Awareness physical wellbeing. Did you know
week is coming up in Stories always start with a problem that writing has been shown to
May. From children in and arrive at a solution. If your speed recovery after an operation,
school to princes of the protagonist is perfectly happy and for example? There’s loads of
realm, people are far nothing bad happens, there is no information available online. Make
more willing to talk about their own challenge and no story. more notes!
struggles nowadays, so we are more So, in this story, someone has Write an article for fifteen minutes,
aware than we used to be of the huge a problem. Who? What is their based on any or all of your notes.
problem we have across society with problem? For example, he or she Note: If you are interested in writing
mental health issues such as stress, might be worried about their health; for therapy or self-development, check
loneliness and depression. they might have fallen out with out the international organisation,
At the same time, we’re beginning a family member; they might be Lapidus: Words For Wellbeing.
to see robust research findings that feeling lonely…
confirm the incredible benefits of any How might they try to solve the Poetry
kind of creative practice. As little as problem? Jot down some ideas. She Write a list of emotions – joy,
twenty minutes of writing a day, on plucks up the courage to go to the enthusiasm, jealousy, anger… When
any subject, has been shown not just doctor; he picks up the phone; she you’ve got ten, choose one, and
to improve people’s mental wellbeing offers to walk her elderly neighbour’s underline it.
but even their physical health as well. dog… Choose one of the things they With this emotion in mind, think
Writing is a ‘flow’ activity – it might try, and take twenty minutes to of an animal. Go with the first idea
absorbs all your attention and makes write the scene. that pops into your head.
you lose track of time. So this month, Whether they succeed or fail, either Now, forget about the emotion –
as you free-range across the different way, they will have moved things on. put it completely out of your mind
genres, notice how writing lifts you In a story, as in life, effort and action and write some notes about the
away from the cares of the day. always brings, at the very least, the animal, how it looks, sounds, smells
You know the rule: stick to the timings! benefit of experience. and moves. If it isn’t an animal you
Note: If you give one of your own know a lot about, get in the zone
Memoir problems to your protagonist, writing with a spot of research. Find some
A diary can feel like a dear and trusted their story can be a great way of images – notice the body language,
friend, and many people turn to diary- exploring your options. imagine how it would feel to be
writing at times of particular stress and inside that body.
difficulty. Anne Frank actually gave Non-fiction Write a poem about the animal.
her diary a name and started each day, Why might creative writing bring Start by focusing on simply describing
‘Dear Kitty…’ relief from social, psychological it and then, if you want to, round
Write a diary entry beginning and emotional problems? Jot down it off with some kind of personal
‘Dear Diary.’ Tell your diary – real or some ideas. For example, it means response at the end. What do you
imagined – about your day today or taking time out for yourself, it’s a think or feel about the animal?
yesterday, or any recent experience you chance to explore your thoughts and You can choose to keep it free or
have had, or anything that is currently emotions, it’s a skill you can enjoy choose a regular pattern of rhythm
making you feel happy or unhappy. developing… and rhyme, depending upon which
Take twenty minutes. Finish by In what ways do you feel writing way feels right for your subject. Take
signing off and saying thank you to boosts your own health and twenty minutes.
your diary for being there. wellbeing? Can you think of specific Note: Try this when you feel sad,
Note: Writing helps relieve examples? More notes. bored or anxious. Finding an image
loneliness, because it provides a sense of Finally, surprise yourself by doing for how you feel is a way of creating
connection, even when the only person a bit of research into the benefits distance and looking at it from
you are connecting with is yourself. of writing for both emotional and outside.
L
ack of time: the writer’s commuting – will take up a big part sleeping? Could you sacrifice time in
constant complaint. If only of each 24 hours. Other categories bed by getting up earlier or retiring
we all had ‘more time’ we might be: watching TV, caring for later? It wouldn’t suit everyone, but
could do those things we’ve others, household chores, eating, Anthony Trollope used to get up
promised ourselves: write reading, washing/dressing, exercising, at 5.30am and write for two hours
that novel, start that blog, self- socialising, browsing the web. before going to his job at the post
publish the memoir the world’s been Tot up the totals at the end of each office. Ernest Hemingway wrote as
waiting for. week. The results might surprise you. soon after first light as possible, when
It’s easy to think that successful Many of us claim not to watch ‘There is no-one to disturb you and it
writers must somehow have it much TV but the average Briton is cool or cold and you come to your
easier than the rest of us: that they watches an astonishing 24 hours a work and warm as you write.’
have grants or trust funds, so don’t week and you may find you watch When you log your hours, you
need to work, or that they’re not more than you thought. Could may identify other ‘time wasters’ in
burdened with household chores or you cut down? In these days of your week. That book club you no
childcare issues. But, at the start of on-demand TV, such as Netflix and longer enjoy, Friday nights in the
their careers at least, most published BBC iPlayer, it’s easier than ever to pub that you often regret and what
writers do have to juggle ‘real life’ spend hours in front of the goggle about all that time spent playing
with their writing. box. It’s been proved that binge- computer games or surfing the web?
Clare Fisher’s first novel All The watching has a detrimental effect on But it relaxes me! I hear you cry.
Good Things (published in 2017) sleep patterns, so, as well as the time Yes, me too. But reading a book
was written while she worked full- you’re wasting on TV, you might be is one of the most relaxing things
time (mostly during her commute too tired the next day to concentrate you can do and perhaps we should
‘on the sweaty little train from Leeds on your writing. do that instead? And there’s an
to Halifax’). Rachel Joyce wrote her How much time do you spend on added benefit of staying off the
bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of household chores? internet: if you ever find it hard
Harold Fry, firstly as a play, between Early in her career, when JK to concentrate, it may be because
visits to her dying father. The first Rowling was asked how she juggled you’re suffering from ‘information
draft of Joanna Cannon’s The Trouble childcare with writing, she quipped, overload’. Exposure to blue light
With Goats and Sheep was written ‘I didn’t do housework for four from phones, laptops and even
in snatched breaks from her job as a years!’ Kath McGurl, in her time e-readers, just before bed, has also
psychiatrist, sitting in her car. management book for writers, Give been proven to be detrimental to a
There really is no trick or secret: we Up Ironing suggests you do exactly good night’s sleep.
all have 24 hours a day and 168 hours that: neglect or delegate chores. We all have busy lives and this isn’t
a week. Time doesn’t magically appear You may find that vacuuming a rally to resign from your job, stop
from nowhere. If you want to write, relaxes you, or that, whilst walking the dog or neglect your
you’ll almost certainly have to sacrifice ironing, you get ideas for elderly mother (some things in
something else in order to do it. writing, in which case, fine. life are non-negotiable, after all)
A good first step is to identify how But if you religiously wash but if you often say ‘I don’t have
you spend your 168 hours. Keep your car every Sunday time to write’ or dream of that
a record of your whole week – or morning, simply out of ‘one day’, when you will, perhaps
better still, two weeks – by logging habit, ask yourself, would the it’s worth looking closely at how
how you spend each half hour. This world end if you spent that you spend your precious time and
isn’t as laborious as it might sound: hour or so writing instead? decide what you’re prepared to give
sleep – and possibly, work and And how long do you spend up, in order to write.
Upstage ,
downpage
Keep control of the balance
of your story by taking Adrian In looking over the story, you
Magson’s advice on not letting might find that the ‘introduction’
secondary characters take over phase is far heavier and wordy than
the others, to the extent that you’ll
hear a voice (which, at this stage
I
t’s not unknown for me to worlds different to the ones inhabited should be inside your own head),
reach a point in a story when by the reader, with characters they will saying, ‘For Heaven’s sake, enough
I experience a familiar chill of never have encountered. (And with chit-chat, cut to the chase!’
self-doubt drifting around my some of the books I’ve written and read And here I’ll urge, among all the
neck like a winter’s mist. It over the years, hopefully never will!) other voices you might hear, this is one
might be about a particular passage, You might have heard authors worth listening to. Not the ones about
a chapter or even an important admitting how certain characters owl people taking over the world, or
scene. Have I made the characters suddenly take over, until they find the one telling you to eat more cake or
real enough? Do they have credibility them dominating the page. It happens run around naked in the snow – they’re
enough to jump off the page or are quite a lot, so don’t call for the people just distractions. This voice could be
they paper-thin and unconvincing? Is in the white coats just yet; it’s creativity the difference between success or failure
there sufficient depth to the storyline? working as it should, but dragging the But how do you begin to spot these
Is such-and-such a scene necessary and writer along rather than the other way imbalances? After all, it’s a book of
does it carry weight? round. It’s merely the brain rushing potentially 90,000 words, give or take
Occasionally, there might be ahead with ideas and scenes, because a bigger or smaller number, and that’s a
concern about the overall balance of that’s the licence you’ve given it. And lot of re-reading.
the story. Is there too much emphasis if you’re enjoying the ride, it will be far A quick way to check the balance
on one particular character at the easier than if you’re having to push the (coupled with re-reading) is to use
expense of another? (This question is story along with your nose and finding the Navigation Pane or Document
more important if writing a series with it an uphill struggle. Map (Control + F on your keyboard).
a key ‘player’. Readers who follow the But what if, in scanning over This shows the various sections of
series because of the ‘headliner’ will what you’ve created thus far, you your document, with click-on access,
expect them to take the lion’s share, find a particular character appears including a word-search facility.
not be side-lined.) to be taking over against your best When you use Headings, as in
Other questions might be, have I intentions? You may have decided chapter numbers or names, this pane
dwelt too much on one scene, simply initially that character A is the main displays them. But it can also show
because it was easy to write? Is there
too much of a gap between appearances
of one or more of the leading
person, the front-runner, the story
lead; yet suddenly character B is
hogging the limelight.
Top tips other additions, such as people, places
and scenes.
I use chapter numbers with
characters, good or bad? If so, how do I Equally, you may find on reviewing • Decide early on (temporary) headings of usually two or
correct this? what you’ve done that a particular who is to dominate three words or initials to remind me of
The good news is, there is a remedy. portion of the overall story seems to the content; of who appears where and
your story. It might
All you have to do is take a step back. have occupied a larger wedge of the when. Thus, I might click on 12 (the
change, but that’s
Every story should have a natural book than you had planned. This could chapter number) and see ‘John meets
your decision, too. C’, or 20 – ‘Amanda travels to Paris’
flow, geared to keep the reader be because a combination of scenes,
engrossed. As the author, this is within dialogue, interactions or descriptive • Just because a minor or 33 – ‘Surprise visit from Michelle.’
your control. For the characters, you narrative have centred on one part of character or scene This is a far easier way of keeping track
will probably have established who the story to the detriment of the others. is fun to write, don’t of characters and events than trying
they are and where they fit by the time I think of a story consisting of three let them overstay to remember them, and of spotting
you begin writing. He or she is the parts. A bit like the old scenario of their welcome to the inconsistencies. If there seems to be
central figure, good or bad (but never ‘girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girls wins detriment of others. a preponderance of chapters with a
indifferent), and others bounce off or boy back’ (Permutations, of course, • If a particular section particular character or setting, this is
interact with that person in whatever variable according to choice). Whether seems to dominate where I can dive in and see why and,
way you choose. And this is the fun a rom-com, a thriller, a historical or if necessary, correct it. Also, if I find
the storyline, look
part of writing: you get to decide any other, we could call it the ‘meeting’ a chapter out of place, as sometimes
at where you can
how important each figure is in your or introduction phase, the ‘chase’ happens, I can simply click on it in the
created landscape. or subsequent action phase, and the reasonably cut it Navigation Pane and ‘drag’ it into its
It’s what we do as writers. We build ‘denouement’ or resolution phase. back. correct position
£250
TO BE
WON
CREATIVE
NON-FICTION
COMPETITION
Bring all your storytelling skills
to bear on a true story for our
creative non-fiction. Maybe a
memoir, maybe an exposé or
portrait, but that doesn’t mean it
needs to be dry or technical.
The winner will receive £200 and
SEE P95
publication in Writing Magazine, FOR ENTRY
with £50 and publication online DETAILS, FULL
for the runner-up. The length RULES AND
should be 1,500-1,700 words. ENTRY FORMS
The closing date is 15 June.
£250
TO BE STILL TIME TO ENTER
W O N
With its closing date of 15 May, there’s still time to enter last
month’s open competition, for stories mashing up genres.
Prizes and word count are as above. See p95 for entry details.
1st
SHORplace
T S TO RY
TWIST STORY
COMPETITION
£200
Tom
by Nina Hollier
T
om can be very sweet Apart from writing, Nina Hollier likes crochet,
sometimes. He makes spreadsheets, coffee and giraffes. She started
me laugh. He knows going to a writing class for the opportunity to
what to say when I’m write something more imaginative than work
emails. This is her first time placing in a writing
feeling sad. We have two
competition, though she did once win a candle in
bright, chatty little girls. This is exactly
a raffle. She works for BT and lives in Hampshire.
how life was supposed to turn out.
I think they will all have to go.
I see my counsellor on Wednesdays.
I came to Heather because of the hands and they’re bony. I seem to ‘That sounds like a great idea.’
creeping discomfort I feel about life have lost weight without noticing. ‘You wouldn’t mind?’
at home. I’ve told her all about me ‘Sometimes Tom cooks, sometimes I do.’ ‘Of course not, you don’t mind
and Tom and the girls. She says that ‘Emma, you need to do all the when I go out with my friends, do
it would be good for me to find cooking, okay? I want you to take charge, you? I think it would be good for you
something that is just for me, for you deserve to take care of yourself.’ to do something that’s just for you.’
fun, something other than work. I’m I have to do everything it seems. I At the weekend, we wander into
not sure how I feel about leaving the work all day, Tom doesn’t. Not that town and around the park. On the
house by myself, but I do start to taking care of the children is easy, of way home, we pass the village hall and
think about what I might do. I look course it’s not, but I don’t see why I Tom stops to read the notice board.
at the local adult education centre and have to do all of the cooking. I don’t ‘Look at this, Ems!’
ponder learning a language, I fantasise always like Heather. Sometimes I I look at where he’s pointing. ‘Stitch
about a new life in France or Japan. think I might stop going to see her. and bitch?’ I laugh and shake my head
Last Wednesday, Heather asked me if At home that evening, I make pasta but read the rest. ‘Whether you’re a
I felt I was practising enough self-care. with pesto and broccoli. The girls knitter or a knotter, a beginner or an
I’m never sure what that means. I don’t like broccoli, we tell them the florets expert, come and join our friendly
wear make-up or use an anti-ageing are little trees. Grace declares it her group. All welcome.’
moisturiser or do yoga, but I shower favourite dinner ever. Lily climbs into Tom wraps his arms around me.
enough. I don’t hurt myself anymore. my lap and kisses me before I manage ‘ALL welcome,’ he says.
‘Self-care isn’t the same thing as to wipe her face. I laugh and cuddle ‘‘All’ could even include me,’ I say
the absence of self harm,’ she tells her and wipe pesto from my cheek. quietly. My eyes fill with tears, but I
me. ‘What about diet, are you eating When the girls are in bed I tell Tom can’t quite explain why.
enough, do you eat healthy food?’ that I’m thinking about taking an evening On Wednesday, I show Heather
‘Yes,’ I say, but I’m looking at my class, and ask him what he thinks. a photo of the notice on my phone.
‘This looks great,’ she says. ‘How do has a brother called Phoenix. Julia has The next week, I start crying
you feel about it?’ a brand new granddaughter. Emily before Heather can even ask how I
‘Nervous,’ I tell her. ‘My stomach is was a child actor but now she’s an am. ‘Julia asked me if I’m married
churning. I don’t know if I can walk actuary. Sometimes I share things and I said “no”.’
in to a room, by myself, where I won’t about myself too. ‘How did that feel?’
know anybody.’ Tom is being distant. He used to ‘Horrible. Strange.’ I wipe my eyes.
‘I know you can.’ tell me during the day what he and ‘When I got home they’d all gone. I
Her confidence bolsters me a bit, the girls were getting up to, but he’s feel really alone.’
and that was the moment I decided stopped doing that. He goes out with ‘You’re not alone. I’m here for you.’
that I would go. ‘What if they don’t his friends a lot more than he used to. Sometimes Heather says exactly
like me?’ Never on a Thursday though; he stays what I need to hear.
‘What if they do?’ at home on Thursdays so I can go to As the months pass I start to feel
Sometimes I wish Heather would my stitching group. He knows how more confident, more secure in my
answer my questions without asking important it is to me. new friendships. I have a few of the
one of her own. One Tuesday we argue, a stupid stitching group over to dinner. I
The next night, I kiss my sleeping argument about washing up. I wish start going to a badminton club on
children and stand watching them he would do it now that I do all the Mondays. I get a new job and walk in
from the doorway. Tom comes up cooking. I’ve put some weight back on on my first day feeling excited rather
behind me and puts his hands on my and it’s good, my skin isn’t so dry, my than terrified. I’m happier than I’ve
shoulders. ‘We’ll be fine,’ he tells me. ribs only show when I breathe right been in a long time.
‘Go. It’ll be good.’ in. Washing up is piling in the kitchen In May, I tell Heather ‘I’m going on
‘What if no one likes me?’ and I’m standing staring at it, feeling a date at the weekend.’ It feels strange
‘They will,’ he says. ‘We love you.’ overwhelmed. He isn’t here. Again. to be saying that.
Outside the village hall, I’m staring ‘You look sad, Mummy.’ I wheel ‘Oh? How do you feel about it?’
at the door and trying to convince around. I thought Grace was in the ‘Excited, mostly.’ I pause to think.
myself to go inside. A whirlwind of living room playing with her sister, ‘I am nervous, but it’s more like
a woman comes around the corner. but she’s here, watching me. butterflies, not great flapping dragons.’
‘Hiya! Are you here for the stitching ‘I’m fine, darling.’ I smile, trying to Heather laughs, and I do too. ‘Who
group? What’s your name?’ She has a look reassuring. is the date with?’
nose ring and is wearing dungarees. ‘I don’t think you are fine. I think ‘Phoenix, Shine’s brother. I met him
I wish I had thought to change after you look sad.’ Her little face is the other week when a group of us
work, I’m wearing a suit and feel like determined. ‘You’re sad because you went to that pub quiz. He asked Shine
I’m getting this wrong already. want to invite your new friends over for my number.’ I look at the floor
‘Yes, hello, I’m Emma.’ for dinner, like they invited you. You for a moment, embarrassed by how
‘I’m Shy.’ can’t, though, because there’s washing schoolgirlish I sound. ‘Shine promised
‘Me too, I’m feeling really up all over the kitchen.’ me that his name is the weirdest thing
nervous actually.’ She vanishes before I can respond about him, and I thought he was really
She bursts out laughing. ‘No, no, and I wonder how someone so small nice, so we’re going out on Saturday.’
I’m Shine, it’s my name.’ can explain how I feel so much better ‘That’s really good to hear.’
I put my hands on my face, feeling than I can. I wash two sinks worth of ‘Thank you.’ I mean it. I know my
horrified. ‘I am so sorry, I misheard, I dishes before I go to bed, plunging life would still be the same as it was if
didn’t mean—’ my bare hands into water so hot I can it weren’t for Heather, and I like this
‘Don’t worry, it’s fine! No one’s scarcely stand it. I crack a glass and new life a lot more.
ever met a Shine before. Come have to throw it away. The session comes to an end and
on, come and sit with me, I was I tell Heather all about the I get up to leave. As I reach the
nervous the first time too. It’s a argument, what Grace said, and the door, I pause and turn back towards
lovely group, really.’ broken glass. Heather. I just need to make sure
Shine is right, it is a lovely group. ‘So, the cracks are starting to show of one thing before I go. ‘Phoenix
After a few weeks I realise that I really in all senses?’ is real, you know. He’s not another
look forward to Thursday evenings. ‘Yes,’ I sigh, ‘but at least the kitchen Tom, he’s not imaginary.’
I’m growing to like the people here is clean. I cleaned it all myself.’ Heather smiles, widely. ‘I know.’
and I learn little bits about their lives ‘You deserve to live in a nice I leave her office with a spring in
as well as their craft projects. Shine environment. That’s self-care too.’ my step.
Runner-up in the Twist Story Competition was Helen Shine, Dublin, whose story is published on www.writers-online.
co.uk Also shortlisted were: Christine Bryant, Crawley, West Sussex; Jenni Clarke, Le Vaudioux, France; Stephen
Fitzsimmons, Castle Donington, Derbyshire; Alan Grant, Plymouth, Devon; Jean Grey, Morecambe, Lancashire;
Tracy Mackenzie, Torrance, Glasgow.
D D
o you dream of having your also for begin. My third B is ‘bamboozled’, is for delivery. Consider how the shed
own space, simply yours, to because you’re likely to get bamboozled by sales will be delivered and assembled. This
write in, to ponder, to stare talk. ‘This wood is special because it’s from should be one of the first questions you ask as
into space? It had always been Estonia, or it’s dipped, or it’s treated with whizzo- it affects which supplier you choose. D is also
my dream to have a cabin at whatsit’ – all examples of the sales patter we for double glazing – you need it – and for
the bottom of the garden – now affectionately experienced, different at each showroom. I found doppelgänger: you’ll see sheds that look the
called the Writing Shed. It took me eight it insightful to take the claims from one to the same at different suppliers, with different names
months from first viewing sheds in person to next. Salesperson one said the wood definitely at different prices, so shop around.
having one installed. The one big thing I wish needed to be dipped, at an extra cost, so I asked
I’d done years ago was to find out what it took
– I was so convinced it was impossible that I
salesperson two whether I should pay for dipping.
E is for electricity. Make friends with an
electrician with a good Checkatrade
didn’t dare. In fact, there are several things I
wish I’d known before I started, so I give you:
The A to Z of a Writing Shed.
C is for clear the area. The space where
the cabin will go needs to be flat and
cleared of all but dirt. You’d be surprised how
reputation. Invite them round to do a small job
for you to try them out and ask for a quotation.
Ours ran a cable along our fence and put in a
long this takes to organise, but it has to be circuit breaker, plus sockets and lights, which
BEST STRATEGY FOR FINDING A SUPPLIER: G is for your local garden centre. It’s
probably the best place to start your
research. G is also for ‘go and visit’. Don’t
• Find three or four garden centres in your area and check if they do garden buildings.
rely on what you see online.
• Phone and ask if they deliver. Ask if they have particular access requirements.
• Visit several at weekends and compare.
• Find similar cabins online (at Dunster House for example)
– the buildings are often comparable but given different names
H is for hidden costs. Consider every aspect
of the cabin, inside and out. It all has a
monetary cost and a time cost. You’ll be offered
• Smart search terms to use: extras at the show room, many of which are
- ‘Garden buildings’ or ‘log cabins’ + your area unnecessary – see the water butt below!
- ‘Home office’ or ‘garden office’. This tended to generate more expensive results.
- ‘Garden buildings’ plus ‘installation service’ or ‘delivery’ will allow you to compare delivery and
installation services, to get an idea of what to expect before you visit a local centre. I is for insulation. This will be an additional
cost, but get as much as possible, in the floor
and roof. They’ll offer it with things that are
VANESSA
SAVAGE
The debut thriller writer
LISTEN TAP HERE
To hear an extract
TAP HERE
To purchase The
Woman in the Dark
from The Woman in the Dark
shares her top five reads with
Judith Spelman
V
anessa Savage’s debut novel is a psychological
thriller that grips the reader from the start. She
SAVE THE CAT!
has twice been awarded a writer’s bursary by Blake Snyder
Literature Wales, most recently for her book My agent recommended this book
The Woman in the Dark. Sphere won an auction for this when I was working on The Woman
debut novel in a six-figure deal for two books. You get an in the Dark. Originally written for
idea about this book when you learn it was first called The screenwriters, it’s a great book for
Murder House. helping with structure and the Beat
In 2016 she won the Myriad Editions First Crimes Sheet is invaluable – particularly if,
Competition and was highly commended for her like me, you’re not a total planner
entries in the Yeovil International Fiction Prize, the when it comes to writing. It helped
Harry Bowling Prize and the Caledonian Fiction Prize. so much in taking my woolly first
Vanessa lives by the sea in South Wales and is also a draft and turning it into a tight
graphic designer and illustrator. read with building tension.
ON WRITING: THE
A MEMOIR OF HANDMAID’S
THE CRAFT TALE
Stephen King Margaret
Atwood
Part memoir, part advice, this is
my favourite book on the craft of This is the second of
writing – and a wonderful insight my favourite books to
into the life of one of my favourite re-read. I bought this
authors. He gives plenty of advice in 1989, still have my
including the importance, in his original copy and re-read
mind, of finishing your first draft it at least once a year.
in three months. He likes to write First published in 1985,
ten pages a day. Over a three- The Handmaid’s Tale is
month span, that can be 180,000 a frightening dystopian
words. ‘The first draft of a book view of an America
— even a long one — should take where women no longer
no more than three months, the have power over their
length of a season,’ he says. own lives or bodies.
‘T
he Walker family and their situation were in my writing time I get and don’t procrastinate too much! These
head for a while before I started writing The Woman days, I mostly write while the children are at school and the
in the Dark. I’d write the odd scene here and there house is quiet, so between nine in the morning and three in
in my notebook, come up with snippets of dialogue the afternoon is dedicated writing time – I save emails and
that I’d mutter to the dog as we walked on the beach. But it admin and social media until later.
wasn’t until I moved my characters into the Murder House ‘Those who want to write a book should not see it as some
that the book came alive – more than just a setting, the house huge thing you have to have lots of free time for. It’s something
became a character as much as the living, breathing ones and that can be built up slowly, a hundred words at a time. Buy a
a catalyst for everything that happens in the story. And like notebook, write a few sentences or a scene whenever you get
many characters, what this beautiful seafront Victorian house five minutes. It’s amazing how those few words add up and you
presents to the outside world is vastly different to the reality may find when you do retire or the children do leave home,
once you step inside. you already have enough words mounted up for a first draft.
‘I have to know how the book starts and how it ends. The ‘Don’t let rejection get you down – every writer, however
in-between can be vague when I begin writing. I can’t plan successful, experiences it. Don’t let it stop you doing what you
too much because I need to write my way into the characters’ love. It’s difficult not to take it personally, but an agent or
minds and until I start writing them, I don’t know what they’re editor has to love your book as much as you do in order to do
going to do. I do end up with an awful lot of words and scenes their best with it. Being rejected doesn’t mean there’s anything
that don’t get used, but I don’t believe any of them are wasted wrong with your writing or your book – just that you haven’t
if they help me get to know the characters and their story. yet found the right champion.
‘The book is mostly told in the first person from Sarah’s point ‘Another thing I’ve learned; there’s an awful lot of waiting
of view, so I’m writing as Sarah but in the planning stages, I involved when writing a novel. You have to wait and let the book
try to get into the heads of all the characters. I often, before rest between drafts (that’s another thing Stephen King advises),
beginning the first draft, experiment with a few scenes from wait for responses from agents and editors, and wait for edits
different characters’ viewpoints and this helps me get to know the to come back when you do sign with an agent or publisher. I
characters and ensures I’m writing from the perfect viewpoint. filled my waiting time writing short fiction, entering short story
‘In very early drafts, I also had chapters written from Joe and flash fiction competitions, sending stories to magazines.
and Mia’s viewpoints, but the book was getting too big and Not only is writing short fiction an excellent way to refine your
meandering. I had to make the difficult decision to cut those editing skills (reducing a thousand words to five hundred really
chapters and rewrite the action from Sarah’s viewpoint. I never helps you learn what is essential to a story and what can be cut)
mind cutting chapters. They still exist and who knows? Maybe but any long or shortlisting is a major confidence boost. One of
I can publish them one day as extras for readers on my website! my first successes was winning a Writing Magazine short story
‘I am a fairly disciplined writer. When I started writing, my competition. Remember, agents and editors actively seek out
children were very young and I was working, writing in any winners and shortlisted writers in novel competitions and any
spare moment I had, so I’ve learned to take advantage of any success is wonderful for a writer’s CV.’
Email your queries to Diana (please include hometown details) at: diana@dianacambridge.
co.uk or send them to: Helpline, Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th
Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. She will answer as many letters as she can on the
page, but regrets that she cannot enter into individual correspondence. Publication of answers
may take several months. Helpline cannot personally answer queries such as where to offer
work, or comment on manuscripts, which you are asked not to send.
A My answer is, no. I think the editor will still be in the same
position – not sure where or when she can use it, but thinking
it good enough to hang on to. Editors do dislike being ‘pestered’.
You need to slant your resume to whatever opening you are applying for,
not have one all-purpose CV. Local newspapers sometimes have the odd,
mostly junior, vacancy: nationals hardly ever.
I agree it’s frustrating but keep sending out other work. If you rely If you have good admin and budgeting skills, you might pick up a job
on just one piece of work out for submission, you really will become as a practice administrator in a GP surgery, or an administrator in an arts
cross and anxious as each day goes by without a result. environment. It’s certainly not easy. Be open to a new type of job rather
Put that energy into writing more pieces and sending out more than try and mirror the one you had. Get on job sites – not just those for
submissions. journalists but general sites.
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The e n d is n i gh
Get past the hump and finish your novel by following Margaret’s James’s sound advice
I
t’s easy to start a story. author is thinking about finishing eighty days? Do Jim Hawkins and
Okay, it’s not that easy. story is satisfaction. Long John Silver actually find any
But the fact that plenty treasure on the island?
of people start writing How does a novelist offer
novels, only to abandon readers this all-important What should your own
them after the first few chapters, satisfaction? pressing question (or
suggests it can be much more of a Unless the author is writing some questions) be?
challenge to finish one. kind of experimental fiction, it’s Perhaps the writers of genre fiction
When we start reading a new usually by answering the most have an easier ride here because
novel, I guess it’s somewhat akin to pressing question (or questions) asked they know a crime novel must
meeting up for a first date, but it’s at the start of the novel, or even in reveal the identity of the criminal
usually with a whole crowd of new its title. Do Fogg and Passepartout and that a romantic novel must
people, rather than just the one. We’ve manage to go round the world in tell readers if the lovers find their
been attracted by what we’ve already happy-ever-after, or fail to find it.
seen and heard about the book. We But novelists don’t always need
might have read a few pages in a to give definitive, once-and-for-
bookshop or online. We go on this all answers to these important
literary date in a spirit of optimism, questions. The overarching question
hoping we’ll enjoy ourselves: that the in the first five novels in the Harry
date will be a big success. Potter series is: will Voldemort kill
At the end of the date, we’ll want Harry? The answer of course, is
to feel it’s been a positive experience always: no, not this time.
all round. Or that we haven’t been When you’re writing a novel in
wasting our time, anyway. We’ll any genre it’s sometimes possible to
want to feel satisfied, and I feel the pave the way for a sequel or even
key word to remember when an sequels. You might or might not
‘W
The big challenge for many As you are writing your first hat do I wish I’d always
novelists is to deliver an ending draft, are you slipping enough known? It’s a great
that’s not only surprising but information into the narrative and question, and hard to
likely. Real life is often stranger giving your readers a chance to pick just one thing, but I
than fiction, so it’s almost never a guess the ending of the story? You’ll wish I’d understood more
defence of an unsatisfactory ending hope readers will guess wrong, of about the commercial side of publishing.
for a novelist to say: but this really course, but it’s kind of cheating to ‘When I began to write seriously I did lots of
happened, even though it was give them no clues at all. research, but it was all about the creative process.
unlikely. Most fiction demands Wall charts, different coloured I didn’t understand how to give my work the best
that whatever happens is likely Post-It notes stuck in sequence on possible chance by pitching it in the right way. Also,
to happen, but preferably in an a noticeboard, old-fashioned index if an author is writing commercial fiction, I didn’t
unexpected way. cards – all these can be motivational realise how important it is for a book to sit neatly
What if your novel is character- and help us to get to the end of in a genre that’s popular now, or in one seen as
driven and doesn’t actually feature even a predominantly character- up-and-coming.
much in the way of a story? driven story. Did these people ‘The first book I submitted to a commercial
You’ll need to offer your readers get what they wanted and if not, publisher was romantic suspense. Did I ever see
satisfaction by putting your why not? Did they end up in the new novels like that in Waterstones? No. But, when
characters in interesting situations physical and emotional places they I was growing up, I’d enjoyed reading the work of
and showing how they respond to needed and/or deserved to be? authors like Mary Stewart, and that was the sort of
Your readers will want to know. story I wanted to write.
‘I approached an agent and she told me she loved
NOW Try this my work. It was right up her street. When I read
that first sentence of her email, I was so excited.
But she went on to explain that publishers weren’t
What’s the big question in the story of your own life? There must be currently buying romantic suspense. It was a no –
one. Questions people sometimes ask themselves include: Why did on commercial grounds. I was terribly disappointed.
my marriage fail? Why have my children cut me out of their lives? I failed to realise that I could have subtly tweaked
Why did my parents seem to dislike me? the plot, then presented it as a psychological thriller.
Or, if those three big questions are much too personal, what about: ‘My published books still contain the elements
whose was that gold ring I found in my late mother’s jewellery box, I love: mystery, suspense and relationships. If
inscribed with the initials of nobody in my family? Where have I seen you can adjust your work so that it fits, whilst
the man who has just moved into the house opposite before? When I remaining true to your goals, then you might
decided not to take that new job, was it a mistake? be in business. But also – and this is important
Real life doesn’t always offer us satisfying or indeed any answers, – what’s commercially viable varies according
but fiction always should. So a question in your own life story could to the type of publisher you or your agent
be a great starting point for a novel and might even suggest some approach. It’s worth doing your research before
answers, too. deciding what action to take.’
www.writers-online.co.uk
www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST
MAY 2017
2018
2019 43
WRITERS’ CIRCLES
NG
LD IK S
UI
B O C
BL
Fine-tune the words and sentences you use in this writing group exercise from Julie Phillips
I
n the beginning there is a first word, makes the picture we are painting in the up their vocabulary. This is then evened
followed by another and another. eye of the reader that more specific. The out as they progress through school into
It’s like going for a walk. You put reader has gone from not knowing what secondary education and beyond where
one foot in front of the other so kind of ball it was to knowing exactly. their writing is encouraged to be less
that many steps lead you to your Ask the group to read theirs out. Were adverb and adjective-heavy.
destination. Writers often forget that even all the sentences improved by the simple In the spirit of primary education,
the most prolific and successful of writers addition of an adjective? pick a couple of verbs, walk and throw
today had to take that first tentative Where does your group stand on the for example, and ask the group to come
step and write that first word on a blank use of adverbs? Some published writing up with as many alternative verbs as
screen or on a blank piece of paper. seems peppered with them, yet other they can. For example, for the verb
Sometimes it can seem daunting to face authors use them sparingly. Have the walk they might suggest stalk, stomp,
that blank screen and get disheartened group expand on what they have already dawdle, stride, scamper, skip or trudge.
when the words are refusing to flow as written and write a more complex Each alternative verb will convey a
fast and efficiently as we would like. sentence now, with both adjectives slightly different method or way of
Even when we do start writing and and adverbs included. Ask the group walking or throwing. When someone
have got into some kind of flow with to read them out whilst the audience stomps towards you, you might be a
basic sentences, we then have to think makes notes on whether they think the little more perturbed as they obviously
about how we can make those sentences new sentence has improved or not. For mean business and may be a little cross.
better. We have to move on from the example, the sentence might now read Words can be both the writers’ best
first draft if we want to make it into Teddy threw his big, red ball angrily at the friend and enemy at times. The examples
publication. This workshop pulls apart new bay window. used are only simple, but hopefully the
each sentence into its specific parts and In this more detailed sentence, we workshop will encourage your group to
identifies that the way we construct now know not only the colour and size really think about the words that make
our sentence conveys meaning, clarity of the ball but the state of mind Teddy up their sentences and the tools they have
and intent. Every short story, novel, is in when he threw it and the intended at their disposal to help them improve.
poem or article, just as any building or destination of the ball. We have an If we have more complex sentences
bridge, needs to have strong foundations. emotion in there which helps the reader interspersed between shorter, simple
This workshop looks at ways we can to connect with Teddy and resonate sentences, the rhythm of our writing
strengthen our words, sentences and with him. We’ve all been angry and becomes more fluid, more interesting
paragraphs to improve our writing. know what it feels like. It also makes and easier to read for the reader. We
To begin with, ask your group to write the reader begin to ask questions learn the specifics of our characters and
down a short simple sentence – one with which means they will want to read our settings, not just skim the surface,
a subject, verb and object. For example, on. Who is Teddy and why is he making us invest our emotions and
Teddy threw the ball. It’s a sentence but it angry? make time to read on.
doesn’t really engage the reader. Next ask Of course, it is possible to have Build up a word wall of alternative
the group to read out their sentences. too many adjectives and adverbs in adjectives and verbs that the group can
After that, ask the group to add an a sentence. The way some children add to and access on the group website
adjective or two to the sentence. For are taught literacy in primary schools if you have one. They will never be
example – Teddy threw the big, red ball. today makes them go overboard on stuck for a good word to enhance their
Here we have more detail included, which the adverbs and adjectives, just to build sentences again.
CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP
If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event
to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
SH A RE
SUBSCRIBER
SPOTLIGHT
O Y Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and
Y
R
U R STO would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
PLUS
When you’re sending in submissions to appear on those pages, feel free to
send us any additional content you have available. Whether it’s an interview
video, book trailer, podcast, audio extract or anything else,
we’ll give you as much exposure as we can through our digital edition and
website. As ever, send your details to tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
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TO BE
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WITHOUT
COMPETITION
Without what? That’s for you to decide.
Maybe it’s an emotional or spiritual loss,
maybe it’s a literal deprivation, maybe
it’s a deficit in your character. Whatever
you choose, you’ll need to convey
a strong sense of something being
missing, and coping, or not, without it.
Your entry should be 1,500-1,700 words.
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Andrew French was born in an urban jungle but now lives in sight
of the ocean as long as he remembers to clean his contact lenses.
He’s currently working on two manuscripts and some short stories.
Made the shortlist for Strands Publishers Water anthology and
shortlisted for Eyelands 7th International Short Story Contest. He
has been a runner-up twice in WM’s competitions. When not writing
or reading he’s riding a bike, running around the UK attending gigs
yesha knew the exact moment or tweeting like a bird at @andrewfrench100.
A
her problems began; it was the
day her father died. One week
later the first unpaid bills arrived. heard on the radio, not realising the handed over the book. She didn’t get
Five days later, one day after the song was about a woman who dies the reference at first but every time she
funeral, they were evicted. Fifteen days from a broken heart and enjoying the met someone with the same name in
since she became half an orphan – that’s melody for its catchiness. The men of the ensuing years it always put a smile
what the kids at school called her – she sat the village ignored her or scowled at on her face.
in a bus heading north. the noise she made. ‘You’re clever enough to do anything
‘At least we will have our own place ‘You’ll scare the fish away.’ They you want, Ayesha,’ her mother had
in the village.’ Her mother seemed shouted at her through wind ravaged said on her thirteenth birthday. She
excited by the prospect but Ayesha faces and yellowed skin; but not the ran back to her bedroom and opened
hated the idea. She never understood isolated man. He was always quiet, the gift from her mother – some kid’s
why they were moved so far away. The eyes sunk into the rough beard book she had already grown out of.
reality was even worse: a cramped house covering most of his face; facial hair so Ayesha put it to one side and reached
swimming in damp, with an aroma overgrown it could have housed some down amongst the dust and the bits
of fish which couldn’t be removed no of the seagulls seeking refuge from the of sand always invading the house,
matter how many times it was cleaned. changing climate. peered into the darkness under the
‘This will be our new community.’ As Ayesha pirouetted on her heels to bed and stretched her hand into the
That was what her mother wanted, turn back home, she noticed the large pile she called Joe’s Treasure, coming
what she hoped for. So Ayesha explored bag near his legs where a pile of dusty- away with his latest present: To Kill A
the environment with zero enthusiasm. looking books were squashed together. Mockingbird.
The first thing she saw was the long, She was hooked then. Reading was the It was the only book of his she still
grey winding finger of the jetty and the greatest love of her life, every book she owned, all the others lost to hotel
men battling against the elements and remembered containing a memory of rooms, guest houses, libraries, cafes,
the creatures beneath the waves. her father. restaurants and anywhere else she
Ayesha was fascinated by the Within a week they would be on would leave them over the years in the
fishermen. There was always a small first-name terms and Ayesha would hope somebody would discover the
group, maybe seven or eight, but one read the first book he gave her, a faded same enlightenment and pleasure from
remained apart from the rest, lurking at copy of Moby Dick. Some people may them she had.
the end of the jetty in his own isolation. have thought it too difficult for a ‘Where do you come from?’ It was
That first day she ran past them all twelve-year-old to read but he didn’t. the first thing he said to Ayesha. She
in a playful mood, singing some tune ‘Call me, Joe,’ he said to her as he was shy and ran from him and back to
that cramped, cold house her mother and gave it to Ayesha. mother’s illness made any recollections
had inflicted upon them. The next time ‘Release it back into the sea, child; of her past near impossible.
she saw him she answered his question. give it the gift of life others want to ‘Your name is Arabic and means
‘Kent,’ she said with all the deny it.’ “She who lives”. Make sure you do.
confidence she could muster. His laugh Ayesha stood, struggling to hold Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’
was raucous and infectious and she on to the fish, amazed and scared by He chuckled, like one of those plastic
imagined him as Father Christmas on its alien feel against her skin, before laughing policemen she had seen in a
vacation, but still handing out presents. throwing it back into the dark blue faded seaside funfair.
His beard appeared to be even larger waters. She felt exhilarated by life; by Her last meeting with him, she
the closer she got to it but no amount her life. found the courage to tell him off for
of facial camouflage could hide the Joe handed her a tired looking his incessant chain smoking.
enormous smile across his face. dirty cloth. ‘You’ll understand one day,’ he said,
He held the rod out to her. ‘Would ‘Here, dry your hands with this; and before blowing smoke into her face
you like to fish?’ then get yourself home before people when she least expected it. She peered
‘How did you know?’ Anticipation come looking for you.’ through the haze, looking for the latest
rippled through Ayesha. She wanted She took the cloth and did as he present he had for her. Its bulk stuck out
to, wanted to see the fish in the water, said, still able to smell the sea and of the bag where he kept his food and
but also hating the thought of killing the fish against her trembling fingers, his bait. On more than one occasion she
something. before turning to run home. had taken a book home to find worms
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I always ‘What’s your name, child?’ he said to wriggling between the pages. Ayesha
throw them back. It’s one reason her departing back. rushed to grab it before saying hello.
this lot don’t like me.’ It didn’t seem ‘Ayesha,’ she said with joy in her heart. ‘Cheeky girl!’ he said as she seized
possible to Ayesha but his grin grew ‘I’ll be here tomorrow, Ayesha.’ the book. The tome was heavy and old
even wider, to the point she imagined She sprinted past the grumpy, grey but she was intrigued by the title:
it would slide off his face and join the fishermen who were like statues to She: A History of Adventure.
descending sun on the horizon. her. She tiptoed into the house like ‘What’s it about, Joe?’
It scared her to hold on to the fishing a mouse, not wanting to wake her ‘Read it and find out.’
rod, her eyes drifting towards the bag mother who would have had a hard She was too young to realise it at
holding Joe’s fishing paraphernalia day at work, sneaking into the tiny first but, as she got older and she
and sandwiches, before settling on the bedroom which now was like a castle reread it numerous times, its Victorian
tower of books threatening to tumble to her. Ayesha put her headphones on themes of imperialism, race and female
over and sink into the sea. to listen to some Bob Marley, and, for authority made her view the book as
‘That’s another reason they don’t like the first time in an age, didn’t hate her more than the thrilling adventure she
me; I read while they don’t bother.’ father for dying. initially perceived it to be.
Ayesha grabbed the fishing rod. The next day was her second meeting She wondered for years why Joe
‘Didn’t your parents tell you not with the old man and his beard. had given her that book, what was it
to talk to strangers?’ He sounded like ‘Ayesha is an unusual name,’ Joe said. he wanted her to learn from between
one teacher from her old school, but ‘Do you know what it means?’ She its pages. Then she read a modern
without the indifference in his voice. shook her head. feminist interpretation of She as the
‘My father did, but he’s dead now.’ ‘Did your parents tell you anything ‘crusading new woman’ and Ayesha
Joe said nothing. He helped her about your heritage, your culture?’ knew what Joe wanted to tell her.
steady the line as they stared out to sea Already, he felt like a teacher who she ‘She, who must be obeyed,’ was
in silence, discovering a bond in the wanted to learn from, a school she EXPERT the last thing Ayesha remembered
emptiness which could never be found never wanted to miss. analysis him saying to her. Joe died the
with words. ‘They never liked to talk following week, still clinging to the
Read the judge’s fishing rod when they found him.
It only took two minutes until they about where they came from, the
held the fishing rod together, lifting it up struggle to get here.’ It was only analysis at: Ten years after leaving home,
as the fish struggled on the line, bringing when she was an adult that Ayesha http://writ.rs/ Ayesha opened a combined coffee
it closer so Ayesha saw the scales on the realised her parents weren’t hiding wmmay19 shop and book emporium. She
creature glistening in the faded light, anything from her; they wanted to wait called it A Book of Joe.
smelt the aroma of the sea and breathed until she was older before explaining Every weekend she went fishing.
in that unknown life existing beneath the the family history. Then her father And she always threw the catch back
waves. Joe freed the fish from its bondage died, and it wasn’t long after that her into the water.
Runner-up in the mid-story sentence competition was Terry Baldock, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, whose story is published
on www.writers-online.co.uk. Also shortlisted were: Dominic Bell, Hull; Sam Burt, London E7; Ros Collins, Felixstowe,
Suffolk; Esme Ford, Ruardean, Gloucestershire; John Holyoak, Chadwell St Mary, Essex; Jennifer Moore, Ivybridge,
Devon; Shirley Muir, Dirleton, East Lothian; Lucy Nankivell, Ferndown, Dorset; Annie Percik, Enfield, Middlesex;
Brooke Winters, Chatham, Kent.
T
the ‘New School Year ‘, is a long handled rake he seasons of the year chance of success if its writer had
that drags me from my bed. lend themselves to been able to extend the revision
descriptive poetry. process by another week or two. A
Summer dresses give way to winter wool. I don Who could view their few of the poems seemed to contain
brand new uniform, the blazon of moving up a class. countryside when all the right material, but not in the
Striped cuffs are firm at the wrist, gymslip hem month turns to month without right order. Some needed tweaks
modestly below the knee – for the moment. finding something remarkable as to the punctuation and grammar.
Relishing the crisp packet crunch of scuffling time passes? These sights are loved by Two poems started beautifully in
through leaf litter in shoes that reek of ‘Kiwi’, poets; and when they are augmented set forms, and then something went
I ‘creep unwillingly to school’. by personal recollections, original wrong with the metre or rhyme
observations, powerful images and scheme. A few lovely pieces had over-
Pungent with brown paper virtue, new fascinating reflections, poetry spills written introductions or conclusions.
exercise books boast on my desk. I fill from the pen. The best advice is to start working
their opening pages in neat handwriting One of the treasures of seasonal on an entry as soon as a competition
barely recognisable as my own. poetry is Keats’ ode that begins Season is launched, with the pre-writing and
of mists and mellow fruitfulness… and first draft accomplished as early as
Hibernation is out of the question these elements inspired many of the possible. Then the essential period of
in this ‘try harder’ term. New Year resolutions Writing Magazine poets who rose to resting and revision can be achieved.
promise to hand homework in on time, the challenge to write an autumn The winning poem parallels
put more effort into subjects I hate, poem. It came as no surprise that aspects of the natural world with that
bring something for October’s nature table. the subject proved popular, with a familiar phenomenon, the start of
high number of entries and some the new school year. Rites of Passage
Where summer has turned out its pockets, top quality writing being submitted, by Corinne Lawrence of Bramhall,
I scour the earth for treasures, display my hoard demanding ruthless pruning of a very Cheshire, begins with the metaphor
with blackberry-inked fingers: weather-forecasting long ‘shortlist’. that the first day back at school is a
pine cones, non-competition conkers, and, this year, It’s difficult to avoid some of the long handled rake / that drags me from
obeying strict instructions not to touch, most familiar autumn images. Few my bed, a picture that ties in with the
an enormous toadstool, dangerously red. poems resisted the temptation to reference to a hibernating hedgehog.
describe falling leaves, or drifting As we move to a description of
My favourite, though, is the collage of mottled leaves – smoke, autumn as a metaphor for the new winter uniform, the sound
rusted, blistered, parchment faded – an offering the later part of life, or skeins of image of scuffling through leaf litter is
I value far above the Harvest Festival shoebox geese. This was not a problem as compared to a crisp packet crunch – an
I’ve packed with tins of beans. long as the writers found something ideal reference for most children. Both
fresh to say, or an exciting way of scent imagery and a sense of period
Squirrelling little acorns of learning deep delivering the information. There is are encapsulated in shoes that reek of
in the long grasses of memory, I pray I’ll remember little satisfaction in re-hashing tired ‘Kiwi’ before a quotation from As You
where to find them when famine strikes messages, but a great deal in giving a Like It signposts the lessons to come.
during exams in late November. new spin to them. At the heart of the poem, we are
Every competition has a deadline, reminded that Hibernation is out
Always a fearsome hush of a week, the only sound of course, and poets appreciate of the question and that the school’s
is the swish and sigh of turning pages, as Winter kicks the importance of observing it. It’s world is embarking on a new year,
Autumn into touch. frustrating, then, to note how a with all that involves. This little
poem could have been given a better reminder brings us back to the
autumn with its mention of October’s its four feet, each consisting of an
nature table. The treasures exhibited unrhymed followed by a rhymed 2ND PLACE
reveal elements of autumn, with syllable, in all the lines. Toffee-apple Lips
blackberries, pine cones, conkers, The autumn images are interwoven by Susan Brownless
fungi, leaves and harvest festival. with ideas of time passing and the
This is an excellent example of how family moving through the changes
to place such features in the reader’s of maturity. The voice of the poem is I rake the leaves that fall with time
mind with more subtlety than a resonant while the language is direct Recalling how things used to be,
simple list could offer. and clear. There is a delicious economy As hedgerows fill with next year’s wine
The introduction of the squirrel of expression. The toffee-apple lips We’ll drink when you return to me.
– another autumn symbol – in the imply sweetness and childhood while
form of a verb is particularly pleasing, introducing images of sight, taste Recalling how things used to be
and the animal’s habit of hiding and texture. The hedgerows fill with Where toffee-apple lips once smiled,
treats is introduced with reference to next year’s wine not only suggests an We’ll drink when you return to me
the coming school exams. abundance of berries but shows the No more that young and burnished child.
This penultimate stanza uses a purpose to which they will be put.
good device to reinforce its message. One challenge inherent in forms Where toffee-apple lips once smiled,
The poem is written in free verse, that include repetition is to move the Now, summer’s golden sweepings crisp.
with delicate application of slant poem on between repeats, retaining No more, that young and burnished child,
rhymes to mould the wording into the forward motion through the As bonfires burn to twirling wisps.
the feel of a poem, as in the line content and thought processes of the
endings question / resolutions, hate / poem. Achieving this without altering Now, summer’s golden sweepings crisp.
table, hoard / red and leaves / beans. the wording is a major coup for the While settling sun through evergreens,
Now we find a strong full rhyme poet. It can be very helpful, though, As bonfires burn to twirling wisps,
in remember / November, and these to vary the punctuation, so that the Casts shadows long and draws false dreams.
words both suggest a general swotting grammar of the lines shifts without
technique of using rhyme to recall changing the wording. While settling sun through evergreens,
facts, and quote the specific example Susan Brownless has used this With jewel-like hues on velvet days,
known to every schoolchild by technique effectively, and could, Casts shadows long and draws false dreams
referencing Remember, remember the perhaps, take it even further, for And autumn brings a change of ways.
fifth of November. example by removing the comma
The end of the poem provides after Now in the tenth line, but With jewel-like hues on velvet days,
another surprise. A clichéd expression leaving it in the thirteenth to create a As hedgerows fill with next year’s wine,
closes the piece – as after the swish pause at its recurrence, or by adding a And autumn brings a change of ways,
and sigh of the examinations, we are comma after settling in line fourteen, I rake the leaves that fall with time.
told that Winter kicks / Autumn into to use the word as a verb rather than
touch. But this is no lazy application an adjective. These are tiny issues.
of a cliché. The dictionary definition The poem works – but it’s always
of the phrase is that the outcome is worth considering how such tweaks
inevitable, and it would be futile to can affect the reading of a piece.
try to change it. But the word kick One test of a poem’s quality of
returns us to the earlier mention of content and form is to note how
kicking leaves about, and so links well it is remembered an hour, an
back to a strong image. afternoon, a day after first reading
Rich, memorable imagery is a key it. The most exciting work is
feature of this poem, and also an remembered for a lifetime. When
important element of Toffee-apple the poem’s theme is familiar, it’s
Lips, the second prizewinner by the ‘value added’ that makes it
Susan Brownless of Cramlington, memorable. These winning poems
Northumberland. This pantoum give what it requires, and prove the
uses the form’s pattern of every worth of finding a route into the
line being repeated, rhymed, and theme that’s original and exhilarating,
the iambic tetrameter option with and then following it with style.
A poetic
tra ns f orm at i o n
Alison Chisholm explores a poem that sparked the creation of a series of novels
W
hen is a poem not a visited in February 2013 during a this, even though it triggered such an
poem? For Jennifer blizzard and returned six months later exciting chain of acceptances.
Wilson, of Whitley in a heatwave. It was the August visit The poem was written in just about
Bay, North Tyneside, that prompted the lightbulb moment. the most difficult form to handle,
the answer is… There was mileage in the account, but the rhyming couplet. As the form is
when it’s a novel. A few years ago, far more as a story than a poem. frequently used for comic material, the
she wrote a ghost poem intending The conversion into another genre reader comes to the poem expecting
to enter it for a Writing Magazine began with a series of notes, and a humorous subject matter. While
competition. The idea that fuelled consideration of the other ghosts the premise of the ghosts’ meeting
it was the what if? scenario so who just might have been around. certainly has the potential for a witty
valuable to writers. What if the The final spur was the approach treatment, this poem is written in a
ghosts of Richard III and Anne of National Novel Writing Month more serious vein. It might be better,
Boleyn were to meet? (NaNoWriMo) in November, when then, to change the form to one that
From that idea, it was a short Jennifer Wilson managed to produce lends itself to a more serious reading.
leap to producing this poem. a first draft of 50,000 words during Free verse might be ideal, or
the month. She admits it was a quiet perhaps, if Jennifer Wilson is happier
month at work, so the laptop could working in rhyme and metre, the
They linger in shadows, avoiding the light;
the unmerry monarchs, walking at night. take a fair pounding. sonnet would be a good pattern to
Richard and Anne, stand united in fate, After this burst of creativity, the try, with its scope for a turn within
destroyed by Tudors, Henrys Seven and Eight. book was put aside during 2014, apart the poem, where it shifts the angle
So now, at the Tower, and wandering still, from a few tweaks. But then fate took slightly or takes a different approach.
they search for the souls that did them so ill. a hand, and in the public ballot the It could be an Italian sonnet, where
The murderous uncle? The seductress queen? author won a place at Compline, part the turn comes just after the half
Wondering, hoping, for what might have been. of the reburial services of Richard III. way point and so suggests a balance
She describes how this ‘kickstarted between the two sections, or an
things again, in March 2015. Sitting English (Elizabethan) sonnet with its
The poet comments that: ‘I had in Leicester Cathedral, I knew I had twelve lines before the turn, creating
been trying to find a “way in” to get something done with it. By a punchline in the final couplet.
to write about Richard III for April, I had reworked sections and As the ghost theme suggests the
years, but never managed to submitted it, and the novel was haunting quality of repetition, it
find a believable approach… I accepted by Crooked Cat Books in might be interesting to try the idea as
can’t even remember whether I June 2015’. a villanelle, where the first and third
actually entered it or not, but I The untitled poem became the lines of the poem repeat themselves at
recognised that it was truly awful’. published novel Kindred Spirits: the end of alternate stanzas and then
That’s too harsh an assessment Tower of London in October 2015. If appear together to close the poem,
– something we’ll return to – but this wasn’t exciting enough, Kindred or a rondeau, where the opening
clearly the poem had failed to please Spirits: Royal Mile followed in June word or phrase recurs as a refrain.
its author. She had even forgotten the 2017, and Kindred Spirits: Westminster Or maybe it would be challenging
original title. Abbey in June 2018. Kindred Spirits: to move to the minimalist end of
With the combination of historical York was released a little ahead of the scale and write a triolet, with
fact and speculation, the Tower of schedule in November 2018. just eight lines, the first of which is
London had become the ideal location The speed with which these repeated twice, the second once.
for the spectral characters’ meeting. four books have been written and This suggestion implies a lot of
It also proved to be the ideal location published is terrific; but what of work; but it is valuable work. The
for inspiring the leap that changed the poem that put everything into practice of changing a poem from one
poem into story. Jennifer Wilson motion? Its writer was dismissive of form to another, whether done with a
Poetry
in practice
view to publication or simply as an exercise,
is a brilliant workout for poetry technique.
Rhyming couplets are notoriously
unforgiving of hiccups in the rhyme or
metre, so it might be useful to consider
a small adjustment to the fourth line of
the poem, where the wording sits a little
uncomfortably in the rhythm of the piece. Get young children started on poetry with
Something like destroyed by the Henrys, Doris Corti’s advice
both Seven and Eight would fit better
rhythmically, the specific characters are still Have you ever tried to occupy children, maybe on school holidays, or on
cited, and the Tudors seems redundant. a rainy day? What about getting them to write poems?
Although the poem has been divided – First of all get them to read some poems to you. If they are very young
appropriately – into phrases and sentences, maybe you could read to them. Children want poems that relate to their
the mid-line commas seem a little over-used. worlds like family, pets, school, games, food, friends. They like a good
It might be helpful to drop the one in the story, strong rhymes and repetition.
opening line, but maybe substitute a comma Capture their interest with some humorous lines. For instance, in
for the semicolon at the end of the line. his book Poem in the Making the poet Ted Hughes speaks about an
The third line doesn’t need the comma after imaginary brother, Bert, and begins his poem in a conversational way.
Anne, nor the final line after hoping.
As the poem provided the springboard Pets are the Hobby of my brother Bert.
from which the first of those four novels He tried to go to school with a Mouse in his shirt.
resulted, it may seem nitpicking to question
these points at this stage. But perhaps Those lines will intrigue
there is more to come. Any of the material children of various ages.
researched and compiled for the novels If you are with children of
could be recycled to fuel a collection of different ages try using the box
poems with a ghostly or historical theme idea. This is when you put a
(or both). By developing and refining the box on display – perhaps an empty
collection, the poet could end up with a shoe box? Give them the first line
fascinating set of work. ‘In this box I put’. The younger
It would be a courtesy to approach the children can call out what they might
indie publishers of the novels to see how put in the box and the older ones can write down
they would react to a poetry collection of their idea. Tell all the children they can put pretend things in the box;
this type, and whether or not they might in other words they can imagine different objects. They might built up
also publish the poetry; and of course such their thoughts with you or the older ones writing the words down on a
a collection would not detract from the large piece of paper. There might be a practical idea given for the first
published books, but rather would add a line followed by a ‘pretend’ object or imaginative one. The lines begin to
new dimension for the reader. Whether build as in:
produced commercially or self-published,
it would be an amazing project in which to In this box I put my pen
be involved. and a rainbow and a star
One piece of advice given to writers is then my sock and shoe
that nothing should ever be thrown away. and some chocolate all for YOU!
By holding on to her poem, even though it
wasn’t destined to be a competition winner, You could encourage children able to write to continue with more
Jennifer Wilson provided herself with the lines and all work together on the end of the poem.
resource from which, ultimately, If there is a pet in the house, say what it is as the opening of a poem:
four books have resulted… ‘My cat is ---
and that may not be the I have put dashes where they can put a colour. Either write the colour
end of the story. Watch or call it out for you to write.
this space. Continue with them working to describe the cat. They can be
imaginative and talk about a cat as though it is a tiger, or a dog as if it is
a lion. Help them make words rhyme: my cat hunts at night/sometimes it
If you would like has a fight/it comes home in daylight.
your poem to be
considered for
Poetry Workshop, Exercises
send it by email
to: jtelfer@ • Write a funny rhyming poem for children about the weather.
writersnews.co.uk • Imagine writing a poem with a child (any age) about going shopping.
www.writers-online.co.uk DECEMBER
MAY 2018
2019 57
P O E T RY P R I M E R
Perfect your
Poetry from A Z
poetry with
a WM Creative
Writing course.
See http://writ.rs/
to
cwcourses
Traditional WELSH POETRY relies on the final line. The first line ends on a element that lifts it above the ordinary,
cynghanedd (meaning harmony), the stressed syllable, the second usually on an placing it on a higher plane than most of
interweaving of alliteration or full or unstressed. Any number of these can be our poems. It may arise from the brilliant
slant rhymes. There are 24 separate forms used as stanzas. initial idea, a staggeringly original look at
divided into three types – the awdl (12), Drinking deep, he drained a subject, stunning crafting, or leaps of
cywydd (4), and englyn (8). The long the cup. the imagination. A poem demonstrating
tradition of poetry gives scope for much Foot steadied in the stirrup, this is to be nurtured and treasured. Poets
study, but we’ll look at just one example he urged his galloping steed will usually preserve its unpublished
in each style. to find new speed, liven up. status until it has had the opportunity to
In the ode or awdl style, the rhupunt prove itself in a competition, rather than
is written in stanzas of three, four racing to see it in print.
or five lines of four syllables each. EXERCISE:
The poem is metrical, with opening Experiment with these Welsh forms, YEAR poems use the progression of the
lines rhyming in each stanza, and the and if they fascinate you, extend your months or seasons to discover the year.
last lines of all the stanzas rhyming knowledge by exploring the other 21 They may focus on a special interest,
together. The four line stanza pattern, such as a school year, gardener’s year or
then, would rhyme: a a a b c c c b d astrological year. They may be written in
d d b for any number of stanzas. A WORKSHOP group is a gathering any style and form, and be of any length.
of poets sharing their work. This may Sometimes they rename the times to suit
Beneath the trees involve writing on the spot to complete the subject, so an astrological year poem
a subtle breeze exercises set by someone in the group, could be written as Pisces, Aries, Taurus
and humming bees a detailed study of poems written by rather than March, April, May.
make summer sounds. members of the group, reading published
poems, a series of poetry games, or a EXERCISE
The morning haze combination of these. Write a year poem appropriate to your
is lifting, day’s The best workshops provide a creative job or special interest.
in sunlight’s gaze, environment where poetry can flourish,
and peace abounds. and offer constructive criticism through
in-depth discussion, to help each poet Writing YOUNG ADULT poetry
Remember this revise and refine work in order to involves putting yourself into the mindset
when life’s amiss – produce top quality writing. of target readers, producing poems
for summer’s kiss that will speak to them about their
revives – astounds. WRENCHED RHYME, often used for concerns, joys, hang-ups and anxieties. It’s
comic effect, strains the pronunciation important to keep in touch with the way
The cywydd deuair hirion is the most of the language in order to create the people in this age range talk, write, game
popular form of this category, and is required sound. A delicious example is in and blog for your writing to be authentic.
written in seven syllable lines forming any Hilaire Belloc’s cautionary tale of Matilda,
number of rhyming couplets. One line Who Told Lies and was Burned to Death. ZEUGMA occurs when a single word
should be stressed on the final syllable, One couplet reads: is applied to two separate parts of a
the other unstressed. It happened that a few sentence, but has a different significance
He heard a wailing, screaming, Weeks later in each case. Often one is a literal
knew he’d not escaped the thing. Her Aunt was off to the Theatre meaning, the other a figure of speech,
The cold air fizzed, electric: and wrenched pronunciation is used to as in the road was paved with stones and
blood froze in veins, he felt sick. give thee-AY-ter rather than the natural good intentions. There may be additional
The englyn cyrch has four lines of pronunciation thEER-ter. applications, such as she changed her dress,
seven syllables, rhyming a a b b/a, with her mind, and the way the world would
the b rhyme placed in the middle of The X-FACTOR of a poem is that look at poetry in the future.
O
h my goodness, Kathie. I to know how to help you embrace list of the obvious stuff. Look out, for
wonder if I am the only one this process, as I do. All I can do is to example, for repeated words and dull
squeaking in astonishment. suggest that you view your manuscripts superfluous detail (too many coffee
Five books! And not one of as you do your wonderful paintings. breaks or shopping trips that don’t
them edited. Do you think we could I am so pleased that you have agreed I actually move the plot forward) or any
swap places? can include your website address – www. overuse of adjectives and adverbs and
I am the complete opposite of you. klm-artist.co.uk – here, as I’m sure other weakeners like ‘rather’ and ‘quite’. Make
I feel totally daunted at the thought of readers will enjoy it as much as I did. sure names and ages are consistent
beginning a new book, however many I think your pictures are terrific – you throughout and that if it is winter, your
I write. I am currently facing the blank must get a rush of pride and pleasure heroine grabs a coat. Check for places
screen that will become tome number every time you look at them. Can you where you’ve stated the bleedin’ obvious,
ten and I have not only tidied my own try viewing your first-draft manuscripts ie ‘he yelled loudly’, or ‘she sprinted
airing cupboard shelf several times in the way you would a work of art? rapidly’, and keep an eye open for the
rather than get started, but have even You wouldn’t put one of them up, sort of spelling errors and grammatical
resorted to voluntarily re-marshalling online, unfinished, would you? Can you glitches that the spell check won’t pick
the clothes of my adult son – and that pinpoint what it is that drives you to up – eg, the misuse of ‘it’s’ instead of
is not a task for the fainthearted, I can complete a painting to perfection but ‘its’, ‘there’ instead of ‘their’ and so on.
assure you. makes you shy away from doing the Pay attention to attributions – who is
In contrast, I love editing. It is a same for your writing? speaking, when – as well as paragraphing
wonderful feeling to reach the point I wonder if it is a matter of and sentences that go on for half a page.
when the story is ‘safe’ and the book confidence – you know you can paint, Ensure your timeline works.
‘finished’ and one can relax and start but perhaps you fear that the finished Ask yourself whether each chapter has
the tweaking process. For me, the first manuscript will not be ‘good enough’? a gripping beginning and a tantalising
draft feels like trudging uphill. Editing I would urge you to try to do your very end. Whether your reader has a real
is like skipping down it again. It is what best by ‘at least one’ as you put it – reason to keep turning the page. It is all
my friend, the experienced novelist Judy because I think it would give you huge about making every word count. Less is
Astley, refers to as, ‘the fun bit’. joy and satisfaction if you could. more. Get your deleting finger ready.
Having said that, I do tend to rewrite You asked about books to help you, Alternatively, give me a call and I’ll try
as I go, in that I am always rewording, and I would certainly recommend Edit to edit it for you. Could you knock me
cutting, pasting and fiddling with If you is a Four Letter Word (Compass Books) out a first draft in the meantime?
the prose, as each chapter unfolds. have a question by Glynis Scrivens – and not just Seriously, I hope you will have a go
So by the time I get to the because I am quoted in it! Glynis soon. It is astonishing what a huge
you would like Jane to
editing proper, the manuscript has included advice from a range of difference even a light edit can make and
is fairly as I want it already. I consider, email jane@ published writers who provide tips how writing can shine when you begin
see the next stage as the getting- janewenham-jones. and guidance on the various stages of to polish. I am convinced it will give
ready-for-publication. When you com the editing process. Maybe if you read you satisfaction once you get under way.
check it holds together, tighten, how others do it, it will inspire you to And I wish you the best of luck.
Make your story move along by putting obstacles in your characters’ way, with advice from Helen M Walters
I
n this month’s story the them from the branches of a medlar Matilda on the other, to solve their
characters start out with a tree, does, is that the door to the fruit respective problems power the plot.
problem, and in trying to garden is actually locked. On first spotting Matilda, the
solve that problem they end Notice that Matilda has a problem Stossens think she may be the
up with a whole lot more as well. She and her cousin Claude are answer to their problem. Surely she
problems. The Boar-Pig by Saki is a having a competition to see who can can help to get the pig out of their
little gem of a story and we’re going collect the most money for charity. way? But Matilda has no intention
to find out why. As always, you will As Matilda has been banned from the of being helpful.
benefit most if you read the story for garden party for bad behaviour, Claude Firstly, she insists on speaking to
yourself: https://writ.rs/boarpig will have free rein and will almost them in French. Notice how Saki
In the first paragraph, we meet our certainly win. Matilda therefore decides has included a few sentences of
first two characters – Mrs Philidore to use the Stossens’ problem to her own French dialogue in the story. Using
Stossen and her daughter. They are advantage. Having observed that they dialogue in a foreign language in
contemplating how to get access to cannot get into the garden in the way your stories can be a good way of
Mrs Cuvering’s illustrious garden they had intended, and will have to adding interest and authenticity,
party. There’s just one problem. They come back through the paddock, she but has the drawback of possibly
haven’t been invited. releases the family’s boar pig into the alienating readers who cannot speak
So, what to do? Well, Mrs Stossen paddock to head them off. the language. I’m inclined to think
has a plan. They’ll access the garden The Stossens still have their original that you can probably get away with
via a grass paddock and fruit garden problem. They still need to get into a small amount as long as the reader
at the back rather than presenting the garden party. But in trying to can get a reasonable idea of what the
themselves at the front of the house in solve that problem they have created dialogue means from the context,
the normal way. a new problem for themselves. They even if they know little or none of
Unknown to them, they are about are now being held hostage by a the language in question. I haven’t
to encounter their first problem. What thirteen-year-old girl and a pig. Note done any French since secondary
they don’t know, but thirteen-year-old how the attempts of Mrs Stossen and school, but I still felt reasonably sure
Matilda Cuvering, who is observing her daughter on the one hand, and of what was going on in this passage.
Of course, these days readers can manage to make the object of their problem-solving process.
check easily online if they are unsure affections notice them. If it is a crime Ultimately, having thought about
of something like this. Nevertheless, story, they might need to solve the and discussed the problem, your
I would avoid long and complicated problem of who had both motive READ THE character will be poised to take
passages in another language as it is and opportunity to kill the some action.
potentially wearing for the reader. murder victim. If it is a science
STORY AT: Your lovelorn romance character
Having tormented her captives by fiction story your character’s https://writ.rs/ might decide to have a makeover,
speaking to them in French, Matilda problem might be finding a way boarpig or make sure she bumps into her
moves on to the next part of her to reach a sparkly new planet before beloved at the supermarket where
strategy. When Mrs Stossen suggests the earth gets blown up. they always do their shopping. Your
that they might be able to get Matilda Then, depending on who your detective at some point is going to need
a nice present in exchange for being character is, they will have different to go and look at the crime scene, or
rescued from the pig, Matilda seizes approaches to solving a problem. chase the criminal as they attempt to
on the opportunity to solve her These approaches can be grouped as make their getaway. Your space traveller
own problem, declaring it the most contemplation, consultation and action. is going to have to fire up the spaceship
practical suggestion yet. Let’s look at contemplation first. and set off on their journey.
Matilda then proceeds to blackmail The answer to the character’s problem All these things are going to
her captives out of the maximum may be in their own mind and all contribute to your character solving
amount of money possible, thus that they have to do is bring it out. their problem. The balance of
solving her problem of not being able How are they going to do that? Well, approaches will be different depending
to match Claude’s fundraising abilities. if they are a managerial-type character on whether it is an intellectual
The Stossens immediate problem of such as a business magnate or a space problem or a practical problem.
being held captive by a pig is solved. entrepreneur, they might try some But, like Mrs Stossen and her
Sadly their original problem of gaining blue-sky thinking. This could be daughter, as they try to solve their
access to the garden party is not. quite good fun to write. Let your initial problem other problems will
This story illustrates neatly how character’s thoughts roam across all be put in their way. Your detective’s
giving your characters problems can the possibilities and come up with suspects and even witnesses may
drive your plot forward. Notice how some genuinely original problem be lying to them and sending them
the problem a character needs to solving strategies. off on a wild goose chase. Someone
solve can change throughout the story Or maybe they are more of a might let the air out of their tyres
and indeed they may end up being superstitious thinker. Maybe they as they are about to give chase.
immensely relieved to have solved a believe what their horoscope told them Their main suspect may do or say
problem that they couldn’t even have this morning, and they’re prepared to something that proves they are
foreseen at the beginning of the story. let that guide them. Or perhaps they’ll unarguably innocent. Your main
be influenced by what they dreamt character may feel like they’re right
Problem solving about last night, or what a fortune back at square one.
Giving your characters a problem to teller told them five years ago. And so on and so on until finally
solve can be a great way of making If your character can’t solve their they come to a resolution of their
sure your story has momentum. The problem using the resources of their story. This will often also be the
bigger the problem, the higher the own mind, the next stage they might resolution of their problem, but
stakes. The problem drives the story try is consulting others. not always. Some stories have
because it gives the character an aim A character in a romance story inconclusive endings.
and something to achieve. who is suffering from unrequited love If you like to plan your stories
It is up to you how difficult you might consult their best friend on the ahead, making a list of the problems
make it for your character to solve subject of how to attract their heart’s your character needs to solve, and the
their problem. Are you going to desire. Or they might talk to an older steps that need to be taken to address
let other characters help them? Or, and wiser family member. After all a those problems, can be a good way of
like Matilda, are they more likely to problem shared is a problem halved, working out a structure for your story.
hinder? And are you going to throw and talking it over might be an Look at your character’s starting
even more obstacles in their way so important step towards solving it. point. Then look at what you want
that each time they think they’ve Your character in a crime story their end point to be. Plot out the
cracked it, something else happens to will have a very different set of steps needed to get them from one to
make it harder? The longer your story people to consult in order to solve the other, bearing in mind that longer
is, the more likely it is to need to have their problem. The people they’re and more complex stories will require
further obstacles and problems for going to want to talk to are witnesses more steps.
your character to tackle. to the crime, suspects, and other Whether you plan your story ahead
The type of problem you give your professionals such as pathologists and or not, give your character a problem
character will depend on the genre you ballistics experts. They are looking to solve – the more fiendish the better
are writing. If your story is a romance, for the missing piece of knowledge – and you’ll carry your reader along
your main character’s problem might that someone else can give them, with you as they try to solve it as
be to work out how they can possibly which will help them complete their well.
f your dream is to become a Emperor of Doom. prevent something and what thwarts
62 MAY 2019
WRITING FOR CHILDREN
Back soon!
Protect and Survive:
Britain’s Cold War Revealed
What was it like to live in Britain during
the Cold War? Find out and see original Newcastle Noir
documents including civil defence posters The crime writing festival take
and spy confessions at the new exhibition place at Newcastle Central
at the National Archives between 9 April Library from 3 to 5 May,
and 9 November. featuring an appearance by WM
Website: nationalarchives.gov.uk/coldwar subscriber and crime star AA
Dhand and writing workshops
from Crime Fiction Coach and
Cheshire Cat Books.
Website: https://
newcastlenoir.co.uk/
Minehead
Literary Festival
Leading author Tessa
Hadley tops the bill at The Abergavenny
this intimate one-day
Writing Festival
festival exploring place
in writing on 27 April. Family Tree Live Back for a fourth year with
a packed programme of talks,
Website: www. Discover all about researching
Russell G Sneddon/Writer Pictures
Crime &
Thrillers Weekend Thinking 3D:
Ian Rankin heads the bill in
a weekend of talks, writing From Leonardo
workshops and more in the
historic Highland town of
to the Present
Cromarty from 3 A new exhibition at the
to 5 May. Bodleian Libraries, on until
February 2020, looks at the
Website: www. way artists and scientists
cromartyartstrust. have learned to convey three-
org.uk/crime-and- dimensional objects the page.
thrillers.asp Website: https://writ.rs/
thinking3D
If you
have a query
for Lisa, please send it
by email to enquiries
@
lisacutts.co.uk
Q Iarrive
f a body part had been found at a crime scene would the police
in force to search for the rest of the body or would they A Itfound,
would most likely be the county’s force where the first body was
and therefore launched the first murder investigation.
take just the body part away for investigation or both? Also, would If say, a body was found in Kent, they’d investigate the first murder, If a
the witnesses be kept in the police loop about the proceedings? second body in Sussex was thought to be linked to the first one, Kent would
keep ownership, probably send officers to carry out enquiries in conjunction
w h e t h e r
N o t s u re d y f o r
rk i s re a
your s or publishers?
w o
agent
Get your work critiqued from only £100! Find out more at:
http://writ.rs/critique OR CALL 01778 392492
www.writers-online.co.uk MAY 2019 65
Go your
own way
Continuing from last month, Alex Davis shares insider
advice on going freelance in literature
L
ast month, we started don’t tend to put enough aside of have some work that is put through
to explore some of the their earnings to cover themselves payroll traditionally, this is a separate
challenges – and indeed the when it comes time to pay up at the section of your tax return – you may
opportunities – that could end of January, and as such end up have some work that is employed
come with starting life as a signing up to all sorts of different and some that is self-employed, so
ffreelancer.
reelancer. Hopefully from that you deals and arrangements – assuming being clear on the distinction here is
were able to take away the kind of that such a thing can be put important.
uncertainty it comes with, and the together, of course, and that there
type of organised, self-motivated aren’t more serious implications to Keep on finding new
and dedicated individual it requires. not being able to pay your tax bill. partners –and diversifying
Getting yourself rolling is one of the Make sure at least 25% to 33% of When you are freelancing,
main difficulties that any freelancer your income gets put to one side for sometimes you can get into a sort of
can face, but that’s not to say that the end of the financial year. comfort zone, doing the same sort
you should allow for any kind of The other piece of advice that of work for the same partners on a
complacency to set in later on. The I was offered there – and one I’ve regular basis. But, where it comes to
aim to keep earning money to ensure stuck to ever since – is to get your freelancing, there’s never anything
that the bills are paid – and, indeed, tax return in early. Yes, you might that you can ensure is completely
that you can have enough for a few have until the end of January to safe. There’s always a chance – albeit
of life’s luxuries – is a very real one, file your return, but that funnily a slim one – that the company or
and even one bad month out of the enough coincides with the deadline person you depend on for half (or
year can have serious consequences to actually pay the tax! That can have more) of your income every month
for the financial health of anyone some nasty consequences if your tax suddenly goes AWOL, or goes bust,
working for themselves. So, having bill is more than you expected for or makes a decision to stop hiring
discussed some of the key factors in some reason. What I’ve always done you. As I was keen to emphasise last
getting started, here’s some advice is completed my return at the first month, freelancing can be pretty
on how to keep yourself going as a available opportunity, in April, when uncertain, so I’d suggest it always
freelancer! the previous financial year comes to pays never to rest on your laurels and
a close. That way – even if there is rely too fully on one organisation.
Keep on top of tax affairs something horrible lurking in my Hopefully – with all being well
When I first started as a freelancer, tax calculation – I have plenty of – they will just continue to keep
I went to a training day at the local time to try and rustle up the extra rolling and you can keep the money
HMRC office for them to inform us cash needed, rather than having to rolling in too.
about the tax implications of being get into things like payday loans or I would suggest that once you have
self-employed. One of the key things selling my kidneys. a firm reputation for a particular
to come out was that many people Also remember that if you do kind of work – whatever that might
be – it’s worth scouting around for can/want to work and say yes or no
some other clients in that field who accordingly. Keep powering along
might be able to send work your A final note, and something On a personal note, writing this
way. Getting skills and experience that I’ve heard from freelancers – article was especially interesting for
onto your CV can go a long way, including myself – is that you need me, because it made me think a
and even if work from one client isn’t to build in adequate holiday time for great deal about why I went freelance
staggeringly regular, anything can be yourself. If you were in traditional myself and what it’s been like over
a help. Sometimes it’s handy to have employment, you’d be absolutely the near-decade I’ve been living this
small and less regular jobs to fit in sure to take off whatever holiday lifestyle. I can’t deny there are times
around what you see as the ‘main’ time you had and make the most that I think there must be an easier,
type of work or the ‘main’ clients. of it – but now you’re in charge, so steady, less punishing way to make
By reaching out and developing new you need to set this time aside and a living – although as I’ve already
working partnerships, you are not – not take any work on that’s going to said maybe some aspects of my own
if you’ll forgive the cliché – putting have an impact on these holidays. It’s approach are not ideal. It’s not easy
all your eggs in one basket. important not to give in to what I to start, and equally it’s not easy to
It’s also worth considering if call ‘freelancer’s guilt’ – another one continue, but then again not much
there are other ways in which you of those bad habits that I personally that was ever any good was easy. For
might be able to apply your skills, suffer horribly with – and feel as all the stress and sleepless nights,
knowledge and experience besides though you have to be working all when I think back to all the talented
what you had initially intended. One the time, or that you’re somehow authors I’ve had the chance to work
of the things I’ve always loved about wasting time when you’re not with, the events that I’ve been able to
freelancing is that you never know working. Just like any other line of put on, the books I’ve had a hand in
exactly where it’s going to take you. work, the more you can distinguish helping to publication and the sheer
That can genuinely be half the fun between work time and relaxation variety of exciting opportunities that
of the journey. Sometimes it’s just a time, the better – and trust me have come my way, I can’t say that I
matter of being open to ideas and that when you work at home, this regret it at all. To me it’s always felt
suggestions that come along; other distinction can be a challenge. just right. But then again maybe I’m
times it can be about actively seeking just a workaholic and that’s why it
to expand your working portfolio – if What really pays? suits so well.
you feel comfortable doing so, and As well as a question of just how So there’s my rough guide to
that you have time. Which brings us much you can – and indeed should – freelancing, based on years of
to our next point. work, there is also the consideration experience in the field of writing. I’ve
of what you are earning while you tried to present both the good and
The importance of time are working. It’s important for any the bad, but in closing I would have
management freelancer to have some idea of their to say – think about it very carefully
In the interest of being completely own value, but there might be some before you make the leap. It’s not
honest, this is the bit of freelance projects that come along that pay a always a simple thing to make work,
work I am really bad at – but bit less. Do you feel it’s wise to do and if it doesn’t, it’s not always a
hopefully you can do better than me them or not – is it sufficient reward simple matter to jump back into the
in this regard. There can often be for your time? This is not always an world of employment that you left
a temptation as a freelancer to just easy question, as things like what else behind. But if you are determined to
say ‘yes’ to everything – in a way you have on and the financial needs make the leap, then I hope this advice
that is natural, as more work means of the time can have an impact. If over the last couple of articles has
less uncertainty and potentially even it’s quiet on the whole, it might be been of help – and good luck!
more opportunities. You might even worth doing something that pays a
feel that there’s a perceived risk that bit less to fill the gap, or if you are
you’ll fall out of favour if you say ‘no’ saving up for that holiday or big
to numerous bits of work, although purchase then maybe the extra cash
this is more likely imagined than can be really useful. But when it is
it is real. However it’s important busy it can be a matter of zooming Disclaimer:
to ensure that you actually have in on what pays better and putting
ent into freelance
adequate time to do the work, and what pays less on the backburner Stepping out of regular employm
ies considerable
to do it well without rushing it. All – most people are in freelancing work is not for ever yone, and carr
inte nde d as guidance and
too often during busy spells you because they love what they do, but financial risk! This article is
ing at the poss ibility of becoming
can find yourself giving up evenings that also has to be couched with a advice for people look
own personal and
and weekends, meaning that you’re bit of a ‘cutthroat’ attitude at times. self-employed. Please consider your
befo re taking this step,
getting worn out and likely being Over time you’ll get a feeling and financial circumstances carefully
nt care er deci sion. Neither the
less productive in the working time a sense of what’s right for you, and as you would any significa
azine accept any resp onsibility for
you do have. So be sure to identify what times of the year tend to work author or Writing Mag
lanc e.
the time you have, plan ahead in out busier and what are the slower the effects of any readers going free
terms of what days and hours you months and seasons for you.
S
ome things work better in wrote most of the chapters about be published in August 2019,’ Chris
partnership: strawberries Sarah, our female protagonist, and I confirms, ‘and we followed the same
and cream, fish and chips, wrote predominantly from the point template as before – dividing writing
French and Saunders. of view of the male protagonist, Will tasks and re-writing each other’s work.
But when it comes to Raven. But we rewrote each other’s We’re still speaking to each other.’
the business of writing books, can a contributions to maintain a consistent
writing partnership work? Is it possible voice and tone. Marisa, unsurprisingly, Two authors, two voices
to share what is, for many of us, such tackled the medical scenes and, in While Ambrose Parry writes as one,
a deeply personal experience? The fact an unusual departure for me, I was some books work better having two
that co-authored books exist suggests responsible for the more disgusting distinct voices.
that for some writers this is a business elements in the book.’ In October 2015, Peter Jones and
decision that works. Even though they’d planned this Della Galton published their non-
‘On the whole, the process was division of labour, they still needed to fiction book How To Eat Loads and
surprisingly harmonious,’ Chris be flexible. Stay Slim.
Brookmyre explains. As one half of ‘We discussed the outline of the ‘Pretty early on Della and I
Ambrose Parry, and co-writer of the novel in detail,’ Chris explains, ‘and realised that we were coming at the
highly successful The Way of All Flesh then divided up the writing tasks but thorny subject of weight loss from
crime novel, Chris already knew who wrote what was not hard and two very different places,’ Peter
his anaesthetist co-author, Marisa fast. There was a considerable amount explains. ‘Often times we found
Haetzman, extremely well: he’d of overlap. Neither of us owned a ourselves disagreeing with each
married her. character and we usually agreed about other! But ironically that ended up
‘When we thought about it how a character would behave in any making the writing process easier.
afterwards,’ he continues, ‘we realised given situation.’ Rather than write from one, united
that this was probably because we each There were also aspects of the “voice of wisdom”, Della wrote
brought a unique set of skills to the partnership that Chris, as the her chapters... and I wrote mine!
task. I was an experienced writer and experienced novelist of the two, And personally I think that worked
Marisa brought historical knowledge enjoyed. ‘The fact that we know each really well. So much so that when it
and an anaesthetist’s desire for other so well was extremely helpful. came to recording the audio book,
meticulous planning.’ It took a level of pressure off me to
not have to come up with a new
Practical partnership story – and indeed a new world – as I
Having written novels previously would normally do when embarking
under his own name, Chris knew upon a new novel. Instead, Marisa had
working in a partnership would mean constructed the literary environment
a different way of working. ‘What I and I was therefore able to have some
would normally do instinctively when fun exploring it.’
it comes to constructing a story had Of course, the test of whether a
to be made explicit. Ideas had to be writing partnership worked is whether
clarified so that they made sense to both writers would do it all again.
both of us. In practical terms Marisa ‘The second book in the series will
For just £50, you could help your book on its way to the
bestsellers list!
Research without
Tarja Moles explains how to research online without worrying about privacy issues
W
e tend to view Google Email logged out of your YouTube/Gmail accounts
as a search engine and You may or may not use email for your research, and, additionally, use a Virtual Private Network
tech giant, but it is, in but if you have a Gmail account, the implications (VPN). It’s a tool that can be used to protect
actual fact, an advertising go beyond your email use. While gathering your privacy and increase your online security.
company that has the data from your emails, attachments and contact Using a VPN will make it difficult for YouTube
world’s best technology to advertise anything and details, Google will also collect the data about (and others) to track your activities. (Find out
everything – after all, it knows us very intimately. your internet use if you remain logged into more at https://writ.rs/vpn2019.)
And why wouldn’t it? We ask its search engine Gmail and use the internet at the same time.
questions we would be too embarrassed to ask To switch to an email provider that respects Translation
anyone else. And we use its products and services, your privacy usually means paying a fee (the When you’re doing research, you may come
and consent to it collecting and sharing our data. ‘free’ email providers get their payment from across a passage in another language that you
If you’re worried about your privacy, but elsewhere, such as advertising). There are several want to understand. Google Translate is a handy
want to continue using the internet for research options available, such as ProtonMail (https:// tool for that. To use a private translation tool
purposes (and otherwise), there are ways in which protonmail.com): it’s user-friendly and its instead, try DeepL (www.deepl.com/translator)
you can minimise the intrusion. Here are some interface is similar to that of Gmail. It also and/or Linguee (www.linguee.com). The former
steps you can take: offers a free version, but only gives you 500MB is better for blocks of text while the latter is more
of storage space. To find more secure email useful for translating single phrases or words.
Operating systems providers, go to https://writ.rs/secureemail. Please note that, as with Google Translate, these
If you’re using Chromebook and Chrome OS, tools are not entirely accurate and some languages
change to another operating system. Microsoft Document editing suite work better than others.
Windows and Mac OS are the most popular Although Google Docs isn’t as popular as
ones, but they also collect user data. Linux (www. Microsoft Office, both have privacy issues. Issues
linux.org), a free open-source operating system, LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.org) is a Google is pervasive. Leaving Facebook is
and its Ubuntu version in particular, are generally commonly-used alternative. It’s a free open- fairly straightforward technically (although it
considered the best option. This said, please DO source office suite and has a lot to offer, even if may be challenging psychologically). Google
NOT start changing your operating system if you’re not concerned about privacy but merely is trickier: there are so many products and
you don’t know what you’re doing! This is a job want a convenient word-processing program. services to quit, and not all alternatives are
that requires expert advice. free or that user-friendly.
Cloud storage Furthermore, even if you do manage to make
Browsers Storing your research findings and your writing the switch, sooner or later your search results will
Chrome is Google’s web browser and Opera in the cloud as a back-up is a good idea. If you’ve take you to a webpage that has Google Ads and/
and Vivaldi are based on it. These are therefore been using Google Drive, there are other more or Analytics. Or your friends’ Gmail accounts
the browsers to avoid if you’re concerned about private services available. Dropbox is considered will collect your data from the emails that you
your privacy. Although there are numerous a good choice, but it’s not actually as private as send them.
other browsers available, Firefox (www. it’s portrayed to be (read more at https://writ.rs/ So, quitting the Googleverse completely may
mozilla.org/firefox) is often recommended dropboxsecurity). not be possible, but it is possible to reduce the
as the go-to alternative. This is because it was As with email provider alternatives, many amount of personal data that you allow it to
created by a non-profit organisation that aims secure cloud storage providers charge a fee. collect and share.
to protect user privacy. However, there are some companies, such as Sync
(www.sync.com), that give you limited space for Further resources
Search engines free. If you need to store a lot of material, it may • About Google: https://
Google is currently the best search engine be cheaper to use an external hard drive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
available, which makes the switch to something Google
else tricky. However, privacy-focused and ad-free Videos • Restore Privacy’s list of
alternatives are improving. For instance, using YouTube is linked to Google and used for data Google alternatives: https://
the combination of DuckDuckGo (https:// collection: all the videos you watch and any writ.rs/googlealternatives
duckduckgo.com) and Startpage (www. comments you write will be linked to your user • Localization Lab’s list of
startpage.com) should work well. The latter, in profile. Although there are other video platforms open source or privacy-tech
fact, pays Google to use its search results, but (eg Vimeo, https://vimeo.com), you can’t, projects: www.localizationlab.
removes all the trackers and logs before showing obviously, watch the same content there. org/projects
the results to the users. To watch YouTube videos privately, stay
Pics: Wes Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0, Bob Bekian; Harvard Mk1, CC BY-SA 3.0 Daderot; Keith Carradine, CC BY-SA 2.5 Frank C. Müller; Rosanna Arquette, CC BY-SA 3.0 Frantogian; Ed Norton, CC-BY 2.0 Steve Jurvetson; Christian Slater, CC BY 2.0 Daniel Benavides; Phil Lynott, CC BY 3.0 Helge
1 August 7 August
Anne Frank made the IBM’s Automatic Sequence Controlled
final entry in her diary Calculator, also known as Harvard Mark
75 years ago, three 1, was officially presented to Harvard
days before she was University 75 years ago.
taken by the Gestapo
and subsequently sent
to Auschwitz.
3 August
The 1944 Education Act was passed,
ensuring free education for every
child in the UK, dividing schools into
primary and secondary, and providing
free school milk and meals.
Overas; Richard Gere, CC BY-SA 2.0 Nancy Pelosi’s House office; Ian McDiarmid, CC BY-SA 3.0 Xanathon; Magic Johnson, CC BY-SA 2.0 Rafael Amado Deras, electronic tag, CC BY-SA 3.0, Jérémy Günther-Heinz Jähnick.
15 August
14 August The Woodstock music
Electronic monitoring festival, a definitive
(tagging) was trialled for gathering of the hippie
the first time in the UK in movement, took place
Nottingham 30 years ago 50 years ago
Celebrity celebrations
1 August: Moby Dick author Herman Melville was born 200 years ago
2: Horror film director Wes Craven was born 80 years ago
(died in 2015)
8: Actor Keith Carradine was born 70 years ago
9: PL Travers, author and creator of the enduringly popular
Mary Poppins, was born 120 years ago.
10: Actor Rosanna Arquette will be 60
11: Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid will be 75
13: Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, known as ‘the master of 16 August
suspense’, was born 120 years ago. He died in April 1980 18 peaceful protesters campaigning for
14: Retired US champion basketball player Magic Johnson was parliamentary reform were killed, and nearly
born 60 years ago 700 wounded, by volunteer soldiers during the
18: Actors Edward Norton and Christian Slater were both born Peterloo Massacre in Manchester 200 years ago.
50 years ago
20: Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott was born 70 years ago.
He died in 1986.
24: Argentinian magic realist writer Jorge Luis Borges was born
120 years ago
Looking ahead
31: Actor Richard Gere was born 70 years ago In 2022, it will be
the 50th anniversary
of the first UK
Gay Pride Rally,
which took place in
London on 1 July
1972 with around
2,000 people.
Tell it YO U R wa y
n w ri te w it h our exclu sive course,
the stories o n ly y o u c a
Write
Y o u r L if e E x p er ien c e s
Make the Most of
Be guided through your personal memories and how to use
them to generate ideas for your own books, articles or stories.
Learn which bits to highlight and which to leave out.
LUKE TURNER
The author talks to Margaret James about exploring forests and sexuality in his acclaimed memoir
I
don’t often get the opportunity at Caught by the River were pivotal in
to profile the authors of Out of the Woods happening, because
memoirs, so I was delighted they were an incredible resource of
to talk to young British writer enthusiasm and encouragement.
Luke Turner about Out of ‘Gradually, the book ended up
the Woods, his candid and engaging becoming more of a memoir, and
account of his fascination with one of more about sexuality, than a history
the UK’s most ancient forests. book about a forest. My agent Natalie
What first prompted Luke to write sorted out the deal with Jenny at
Out of the Woods? Weidenfeld & Nicolson. All in all,
‘It wasn’t so much a prompt as an “I know very few men who are from idea to publication, it’s been five
impulse that emerged over a period of engaging with the difficulties and very long years.’
time,’ he says. ‘I’ve loved the Epping Luke writes beautifully about
Forest landscape since I was a child. complexities of masculinity. I am Epping Forest, a place I would now
When I moved close to the woodland hoping this will change.” love to visit myself. Do woodlands in
in the early 2010s, I started visiting it other parts of the UK or the world
a lot more. I read as much as I could inspire and comfort him?
about it and soon realised nothing thought I’d written a book that was just ‘I’m not sure if any woodlands
new had been written for years. about forests,’ he says. ‘But reading it comfort me,’ he says. ‘Forests are
‘Originally, Out of the Woods was aloud made me realise it’s mostly about such strange and powerful places that
intended to be a straightforward social sexuality, explored via woodland. my relationship with them is always
history of the forest. But I was writing ‘I’d been thinking of writing a TAP incredibly complex, and veers from
HERE
it at a time when my life was falling history book about the forest for quite To purchase
exultant joy to abject terror.
apart, and soon mere social history a while, but I never thought it would ‘I spent some time writing in a
no longer seemed enough to make come to anything. I mentioned it to a steep valley in Cornwall. It was the
a book. I had neglected to deal with few people, and one of them put me site of a former tin and silver mine
difficult parts of my life, but I found in touch with Natalie Galustian at the and has become very special to me.
that entering the landscape – both in DHH Agency. We met up, I thought Once the scene of intense industry –
present-day reality and in the strange Natalie was brilliant, and we went there are still unguarded mineshafts
histories I was uncovering in archives – on from there. Then, as my initial LISTEN – it is now a mixed oak-and-beech
made me realise that here I might start proposal was going out to publishers, TAP woodland. While writing my book I
to understand our human relationship another book about Epping Forest was HERE stayed in a shed, and the solitude not
with all forests.’ announced, and I was sent back to To hear only allowed me to disappear inside
an extract
Unusually for a writer, Luke read square one. from myself and get back to some very
the audio version of Out of the Woods ‘But this turned out to be a blessing Out of the difficult times, but also cured me of
Woods
himself. ‘Until I read the audiobook, I in disguise. My original version, which many of my fears of the woodland in
Helen Oyeyemi
Laura Potts
Caoilinn Hughes
Chris Newlove Horton
Issue 36 Spring 2019
A NOVEL IN WAITING
Fitzcarraldo Editions will be accepting entries for the 2019 Fitzcarraldo Editions
Novel Prize from 15 April. The winner will receive a £3,000 advance against
publication by Fitzcarraldo Editions in its fiction list.
The competition is for innovative, imaginative novels which explore and
expand the possibilities of the form.
To enter, send an original, unpublished novel manuscript at least 30,000
words long. Format the manuscript in double spacing and 12pt font. Include a
cover letter with a biographical note, full contact details and an outline of the
novel. Submissions may be made by post or by email.
Unpublished and previously published writers from Great Britain and For the last decade, the Longreads website has
Ireland are welcome to submit. showcased long-form non-fiction stories: essays and
There is no entry fee. journalism about the topical social and cultural issues
The closing date is 15 July. of the time. The stories on Longreads are in-depth
Details: Fitzcarraldo Editions, A104, 8-12 Creekside, London SE8 writing and include investigative pieces, profiles,
3DX; email: novelprize@fitzcarralsoeditions.com; website: https:// interviews, personal essays and memoir, book reviews.
fitzcarraldoeditions.com/prizes/novel-prize Longreads accepts submissions of original work in
various categories.
• Personal essays: This slot is for essays, 2,500-
Time to write 10,000 words, that illustrate a relatable human
experience that readers will identify with. Send
The theme for this year’s HG Wells Short Story Competition is ‘time’. completed essays by email, including a single-
The annual competition invites entries of short stories between 1,500 and 5,000 paragraph synopsis and a brief author biog to
words on the theme. There are two categories. The Margaret and Reg Turnhill essays@longreads.com. The payment for accepted
Competition for young writers of 21 and under has a prize of £1,000, and the over essays is $500.
21s category has a prize of £250. • Reported, researched and critical essays: Ideas-
Enter original, unpublished short stories as pdf or txt files in 12pt Verdana, based essays around 2,000-3,000 words, often
with numbered pages and 1.5 spacing. The writer’s name must not appear on the looking at newsworthy topics from a personal or
manuscript. All entries must be submitted through the online submission system. historic angle. The base rate is $500 for an accepted
Entry is free for under 21s, and £10 per entry in the adult category. Pay fees essay. Send proposals to Krista Stevens (krista@
by PayPal or credit/debit card. longreads.com) or Cheri Lucas-Rowlands (cheri@
The closing date is 8 July. longreads.com).
Website: https://hgwellscompetition.com • Long-form journalism (features and investigative
projects): Long-form, heavily researched pieces by
professional journalists. The base rate starts at $1,500
FIRST NOVEL, BIG PRIZE for commissioned pieces. Send pitches to Mike Dang
(mike@longreads.com) or Krista Stevens.
The First Novel Prize 2019 is inviting entries. • Book-related content: Longreads publishes
The competition, which has a first prize of £1,000, is for original, novel in-depth book reviews of new and forthcoming
manuscripts over 50,000 words. There is a second prize of £250 and a third books (2,000-5,000 words, $500), book-related
prize of £100. The competition is judged by a literary agent and an adult fiction personal essays and literary criticism (2,000-5,000
commissioning editor. words, $500) and author interviews (2,000-5,000
Novels may be in any genre for adult readers, and must be unpublished or self- words, $500). Send pitches to Dana Snitzky (dana@
published. Only fiction for adults will be considered. longreads.com).
Submit the complete novel manuscript with a synopsis and contact details in a • Blog posts, reading lists and short interviews:
single document. Manuscripts should be double spaced on single sides of A4, with Longreads also publishes shorter content (800-1,000
numbered pages and the author name and novel title on each page. Enter via the words) that’s linked to longer pieces on the site.
online submission system. Payment starts at $250. Contact Krista Stevens or
There is an entry fee of £25 per manuscript, payable by PayPal. Ceri Lucas-Rowlands.
The closing date is 31 May. Website: https://longreads.com/
Website: www.firstnovel.co.uk
Vocabulary
Honno is proud of being the longest-standing independent women’s press in the UK.
Honno was founded in the early 1980s by a group of women who got together to address a lack
matters
A good grasp of language
of focus on women’s writing in Wales – in Welsh and English – but particularly to bring back to
wider attention a lot of well-respected Welsh women’s writing in English that had fallen out of print. is vital for writers, says
‘After a successful crowdfunding campaign Honno was set up as a women’s co-operative,’ said Patrick Forsyth
editor Caroline Oakley. ‘After a few years of publishing with Arts Council grants on a book
by book basis – some award-winning – Honno was granted revenue funding from the newly I have seen a statistic that just 1,000
established Welsh Books Council. At present, and so far as we know, Honno Press is the longest words make up 90% of all writing in
standing independent women’s press in the UK and we hope to remain so! We hope to remain English. Probably right, but writers
an open-minded feminist press providing opportunities for women to publish their writing and surely need a few more that this –
find work in the publishing industry. We also hope to continue to talent spot future writers, certainly if they are to inspire editors
mentoring them to mainstream publishing success and to publish interesting books from Welsh to accept their work.
women writers of the past.’ Most of us revel in words and
Honno publishes a mix of adult fiction and non-fiction across differing genres from crime I am regularly ashamed of my
and thrillers to historical fiction, sagas to romance, general women’s fiction and literary fiction, own ignorance. Until recently I
as well as a classics list. ‘We haven’t to date done much science fiction, fantasy or horror but didn’t know the words tittle or
never say never, as we published Debbie Moon’s Falling before she went on to write award gambrinous*, and was surprised
winning SF drama for television,’ said Caroline. at the Christmas quiz of a large
Honno publishes a minimum of seven new titles per annum, at least one of which will be writing group to discover that very
an English language classic reprint from a Welsh woman writer of the past. In alternate years few knew the meaning of what
Honno also publishes a Welsh language classic from a woman writer. is, without a doubt, my favourite
‘I like to read something which is going to grab my attention from the very first page, either through word: abibliophobia. Bibliophobia,
a clever plot hook or a terrifically engaging narrative voice or intriguing character,’ said Caroline. ‘I an irrational fear of books, is better
also enjoy really well evoked worlds and settings. The titles which have been successful for Honno in known, abibliophobia is a fear of
the recent past have been a memoir of walking Wales after a diagnosis of serious illness, One Woman being in a position of having nothing
Walks Wales; a novel written from the point of view of a neglected five-year-old boy, Not Thomas, and to read and it makes me shudder just
a crime/mystery set between the 1940s and the present day – A Time for Silence. We also published a to think about that.
recent Wales Book of the Year Fiction Category winner, Light Switches are My Kryptonite.’ I am not suggesting that work
To meet Honno’s publication criteria submissions must be from women either born or living replete with obscure words stand a
in Wales and writing material of interest to women of Wales ‘which obviously covers a wide better chance of being published,
area! We’re happy to consider across all genres of adult fiction and non-fiction, but we don’t but I believe that a wide vocabulary
currently accept single author collections of short stories, poetry or children’s fiction.’ can make work more appealing.
Caroline is happy to hear from suitable new writers of any age – Honno has published debut Taking an interest in words is to be
authors from 28 to 83. Submit by post or email, sending the first fifty pages of a manuscript and commended; luckily most writers
a synopsis of the balance. find it fun too. There is a host of
Honno publishes in various paperback formats and ebook and pays an advance and royalties. books published about language,
Details: Editor, Honno Press, Unit 14, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, SY23 from the serious, and seriously useful,
3GL; email: editor@honno.co.uk; website: www.honno.co.uk such as Bill Bryson’s Troublesome
Words, to others with a less serious
intent. Maybe it is useful to read
Wrekin good stories for Doris such books, maybe one should do so
on a regular basis – put these titles
Wrekin Writers are inviting entries for the 2019 Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition. on your present list.
The competition, which has a £200 first prize, is for short stories on any theme up to 1,200 Maybe it is worth checking that
words. There is a second prize of £100 and a third prize of £50. things like as query letters have a
All entries must be original and unpublished. Send entries by post or email. Type entries on vocabulary range that extends beyond
numbered single sides of A4 with the story title on each page. Single-spaced entries are acceptable. the basic 1,000 words.
Your name must not appear on the manuscript. Email entries should be doc, docx or rtf attachments.
There is an entry fee of £5 per story, payable by cheques made out to Wrekin Writers Group or *Respectively: the dots above the letter
PayPal to wrekinwritersgroup@gmail.com i and the state of being full of beer.
The closing date is 12 July.
Details: The Competition Secretary, 29 Christine Avenue, Wellington, Telford TF1 2DX;
email: dorisgooderson@gmail.com; website: https://wrekinwriters.wordpress.com/
The well-established Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology series always needs
‘inspirational, true stories about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences’.
thing...
All stories, under 1,200 words, must be personal and true, leaving readers
feeling ‘better about life in general’.
There are currently four anthologies needing work, as well as a long list of ‘The thing that I like about
possible topics which will soon need submissions, with guidelines, on the website: novels is that they are a more
www.chickensoup.com forgiving form. You can make
• Stories about Forgiveness closes on 30 May, for stories about the benefits of missteps. It’s harder to write a
forgiveness and moving on. really good short story - I’m
• Stories about Miracles closes on 30 June, for stories of any (or without) faith more aware of the flaws in my
about amazing recoveries, coincidences or good luck. short stories. There’s pleasure
• The Golden Years or Second Wind closes on 30 June, for poems and stories in being able to spend that
about life after sixty. much time with people and ideas
• Think Positive, Live in novels, but if you write a short
Happy closes on 30 June, story, the magical period of an idea to the excitement
for stories on the power of of composition and the first draft is short, but deeply
one’s outlook to improve pleasurable in a way novels are not.’
health and wellbeing. Elizabeth McCracken, interviewed by Anita Sethi
Response time is for The Guardian
reasonable to slow. Payment
is $200 for First Rights. ‘I don’t really have a normal
Website: www. working day. A lot of days,
chickensoup.com I do no writing at all - I’m
too busy “being” a writer,
Win in Winchester which means doing
interviews, turning down
The Winchester Poetry Prize, which this year will be (or accepting) requests to
judged by Helen Mort, is inviting entries. attend festivals, etc, dealing
There is a first prize of £1,000, a second prize of with mail and emails (I have
£500 and a third prize of £250. There will also be a no assistant or secretary). When
special prize for the best poem written by a Hampshire I’m working on a book, I tend to
poet. Winners and shortlisted poets will be published work five-day weeks, writing late into the night. But
in a competition anthology and invited to read at an if the day isn’t going well, I will walk away and do
event at the Winchester Poetry Festival in October. something else, rather than force myself to grind out
The competition is for original, unpublished poems the words and scenes.’
up to forty lines. Enter by post or by email. Your Ian Rankin
name must not appear on the manuscript. If entering
by post, include an entry form or a separate sheet of ‘Look for the clutter in
paper with full contact details and poem titles, and include two copies of each your writing and prune
poem. Email entrants, attach the poems as doc, docx, odf or rtf files and include it ruthlessly. Be grateful
full contact details in the body of the submission email as well as the PayPal for everything you can
transaction number for the entry fee. throw away. Re-examine
The entry fee is £5 for one poem and £4 per poem thereafter. each sentence you put
The closing date is 31 July. on paper. Is every word
Details: Winchester Poetry Festival, c/o Faculty of Arts, University of doing new work? Can any
Winchester, Sparkford Road, Winchester SO22 4NR; email: entries@ thought be expressed with
winchesterpoetryfestival.org; website: www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org more economy? Is anything
pompous or pretentious or
faddish? Are you hanging on to something useless just
A clutch of poetry because you think it’s beautiful? Simplify, simplify.’
William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic
The Grey Hen Press Poetry Competition 2019 is open for entries. Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Grey Hen Press is a small independent press dedicated to publishing poetry
by older women writers. Its annual competition is for poems by women over ‘Write freely and as rapidly as possible
sixty. There are prizes of £100, £50 and £25. and throw the whole thing on
To enter, send original, unpublished poems up to forty lines. Type entries on paper. Never correct or rewrite
single sides of A4. Your name must not appear on the manuscript. Include a until the whole thing is down.
completed entry form, and two copies of each poem. Only postal entries will be Rewrite in process is usually
accepted. found to be an excuse for not
There is an entry fee of £3 per poem, or £10 for three, payable by cheques going on. It also interferes with
made out to Grey Hen Press. flow and rhythm which can only
The closing date is 30 April. come from a kind of unconscious
Details: Competition 2019, Grey Hen Press, PO Box 269, Kendal, association with the material…’
Cumbria LA9 9FE; website: www.greyhenpress.com John Steinbeck
www.writers-online.co.uk FEBRUARY 2018 83
WRITERS’ NEWS
INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of Specialist motoring magazines currently accepting
contributions. We strongly recommend that you read back issues, familiarise yourself with
their guidelines before submitting and check websites for submission details.
Letters to the
fortnightly Private
Eye are welcomed.
A platform for Asian writing
Email strobes@ Describing itself as ‘a platform for new and fiction, 750 words for reviews of full length
private-eye.
co.uk. £10 is paid
emerging writers of British and South Asian novels and non-fiction books and 500 words
for accepted origins… to share ideas and experiences’, The for reviews of novella, self published and poetry
Commentatorballs; Asian Writer aims to be at the forefront of collection titles. Send no more than six poems
email: balls@private- debate and invites submissions of features, at a time and if submitting for online content,
eye.co.uk book reviews, essays, fiction, poetry, blog videos should be a maximum ten minutes.
posts, videos and podcasts. If you would like to write a podcast, of a
English PEN marked The magazine will consider 200-word maximum sixty minutes, send a query first.
the milestone of suggestions for features you might not want No payment is made to contributors; the
supporting 250 to write yourself, or help is available to put magazine is distributed free.
titles through its
your ideas onto paper and polish your thoughts. Submit your work in the body of an email: editor@
Writers in Translation
programme, which
Maximum word counts for content is: 800 words for first theasianwriter.co.uk
was launched in 2006. person/think piece blogs, 1,500 words for essays, 3,500 for Website: http://theasianwriter.co.uk/write/
UK FICTION MARKET
Words wanted There is a bright blue moon in the sky and magic
about—dangerous magic. Henry knows that the
wood is full of strange creatures, including trolls. At
first, no one believes him but then creatures begin
appearing: trolls, garingay and the awesome yo
yitsoo. The yo yitsoo want to steal Lucy, Henry’s
sister, because she knows magic …
Novel
magic, fancy, and just a little bit of soul.'
Kirkus Reviews
MIRANDA TWIST
‘Everything with Words started publishing in 2017. We started
with children’s books and YA but now we want to publish general
fiction, and we’ll be publishing it from 2020,’ said publisher
Mikka Haugaard.
£7.99 MIRANDA TWIST
Ideas
Everything With Words hopes to publish between five and ten
titles each year. ‘The future is an obscure place, but hopefully
we’ll go from strength to strength,’ said Mikka.
All Everything With Words titles will be original fiction. ‘We Enough’s
enough
are interested in literary fiction, both for children and adults,’ said
Mikka. ‘We are on the look out for strong original voices. I love
books with lots of dialogue, a touch of irony. Experimental voices
are welcome, but no science fiction please – we don’t get it!’
Mikka is always on the lookout for fresh, original voices.
‘A good book for Everything With Words is one that’s got
something that takes the reader by surprise either in its plot or
Life can get in the way but
use of language.’ words will find a way out,
To submit, send three chapters or the first 3,000 words roughly, says Lynne Hackles
a quick summary and a few words about yourself. Submissions of
children’s fiction should be at least 25,000 words for children aged
ten and under, and a minimum of 40,000 words for older readers. ‘Stop the world, I want to get off and
Everything With Words pays royalties and publishes in write,’ I shouted in my most dramatic voice.
paperback. The world didn’t hear me and no-one else
Details: email: info@everythingwithwords.com; did either. There was a whole list of things
website www.everythingwithwords.com needing to be done and my writing was put
aside. Again.
Life cannot stop and allow us large gaps
Battered Moons closes in June in order for us to fill them with wondrous
words. We get sick, our family need us,
problems arise, things need to be done but,
The Battered Moons Poetry Competition is open for entries. for many of us, the need to put words on
The competition, which is part of Swindon Poetry Festival, has paper or screen is strong and if we don’t do
a first prize of £700, a second prize of £200 and a third prize of just that we get irritable.
£100. Four commended poets will each get £25. This year’s judges This morning there’s a lot going on.
are Karen McCarthy Woolf, pictured, and Cristina Navazo-Eguía My daughter is working in her office
Newton. Winners will be invited to read their poems at an awards downstairs, my husband is fitting skirting
event at the Poetry Swindon Festival on 6 October. Wining and boards in the hall and I’ve retreated upstairs
commended poems will be published in a pamphlet. to my own space. Furthermore, I’ve closed
To enter, send original, unpublished poems up to forty lines. All poems must have the door but not before hanging my special
a title. The poet’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Enter by email, including bag on the handle. The bag announces
details of the payment reference number, contact details and poem titles, and attaching in large letters, ‘Go away. I’m writing’.
each poem as a separate file. Sometimes, for your own sanity, you have
The entry fee is £5 for the first poem and £4 for any subsequent entries, payable via PayPal. to be selfish. Not that I’d call it that. I am
The closing date is 30 June. actually saving my sanity and once I’ve
Details: email: batteredmoonsentries@gmail.com; website: www.batteredmoons.com written I’ll undoubtedly be nicer to those
around me.
I have copied out a message from Mike
Flash arts Dooley (tut.com) to remind me that
there is always a way to write. He says,
The Edinburgh International Flash Fiction Award is inviting entries. ‘No matter how scared or tired or ill you
The competition, which is run by The Scottish Arts Club, is for are. No matter how lost or confused or
short stories on any topic up to 250 words. desperate you become. No matter how
There is a prize of £500 for the best flash fiction and three shortlisted finalists will be lonely, depressed or cranky you feel… if you
invited to the Scottish Arts Club Short Story Awards dinner in Edinburgh on 5 October. just do what you can, with what you have,
The chief judge is Sandra Ireland. from right where you are, it will always be
Enter original, unpublished flash fiction up to 250 words (not including the title). Send enough.’
stories as doc or docx files. The writer’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Enter All you need to do is define what is
stories through the online submission system, paying the entry fee of £5 per story as part enough. For me it’s one thing a day.
of the submission process. And then, if it feels good, I do more but
The closing date is 30 April. whatever happens that one writing job has
Website: www.storyawards.org/aboutflashfiction to be done. And here it is.
www.writers-online.co.uk DECEMBER
MARCH 2018
2019 87
87
WRITERS’ NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE by PDR
Lindsay-Salmon
IN
GLOBAL BOOK MARKET
TR
G
Open door at Aussie Pan Macmillan
Gary Dalkin
W
N
K
The Australian division of Big Five publisher Pan Macmillan accepts unagented
submissions on what it calls Manuscript Monday. Submissions can come from
O W-H O
anywhere in the world as long as they are received on the first Monday of the
month between 10am and 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time via the form
at: www.panmacmillan.com.au/manuscript-monday/ where you can also read
the full guidelines.
The editorial team are looking for commercial fiction in the following genres:
Keep an
women’s fiction, romance, thriller, crime, historical, humour, paranormal,
fantasy. They also want literary fiction, including short stories, as well as non-
fiction – think along the lines of history, memoir, mind/body/spirit, travel,
eye out
health, diet and or biography (biographies about Australians are most likely to
succeed). No scripts, plays, poetry or academic books. Look out for things that could enliven
Using the form, upload the first 100 pages of your manuscript (fifty for a
children’s book), double spaced, and a synopsis no longer than 300 words, as your travel writing, advises
separate doc or pdf documents, ensuring they are clearly labelled with the title Patrick Forsyth
of your manuscript. Multiple submissions are acceptable, but not from the same
series. Any submissions received outside of the submission times will not be
read. Response time is up to three months. ast month in this column I digressed. To
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
At home on the road
Tina Jackson
and is unique in that it is written almost ‘All of our travel is written by genuine PLUS
Weekend fun in Snowdonia
entirely by motorhomers. MMM is written motorhomers so we are looking for well- Perfect sites for family holidays
WIN
Guide to UK ferries LITHIUM BATTERY
by motorhomers for motorhomers. It is a written, inspiring travel features that are SYSTEM WORTH
£1,299
genuine, honest and trustworthy title that is genuine and interesting,’ said Daniel. ‘A
there for motorhome owners and buyers.’ new angle about an often-visited area is TECHNICAL
MMM covers everything associated with always a plus. We want weekend features Habitation service checklist
Co-ordinates made easy
the lifestyle – from buying a motorhome right through to adventures over three or
(new and used), to maintaining and six months. Themes are always good – so GREAT DEALS
Where to save over £10k
improving one, to travelling in one following a river from source to sea or taking on new motorhomes
throughout the UK and the rest of the a look at the churches in an area or even the
world. A significant proportion of the best canal walks will always work better than £4.75
APRIL 2019
>
04
content is travel. simply a standard travel feature to Brittany.’ TESTED
9 770141 926200
Luxury rear lounge Carthago A-class
‘It’s all about enjoying a motorhome,’ Daniel and his team are always on the Marquis’ twin single bed low-profile
Compact drop-down bed from Benimar
said Daniel. ‘The vast majority of MMM’s lookout for new writers. ‘If you have an ADVICE Easy motorhome blind repair • Buy the right leisure battery
readers (over 95%) own a motorhome so, idea do get in touch,’ he said. ‘A lot of our
while we have some buying advice and tips features are not commissioned but I have a understanding payloads or how to tow with
on getting the best motorhome, the focus fantastic travel editor who manages all those a motorhome. These run across anything
is on how to enjoy and maintain one. As submissions and advises contributors on from a single page to eight pages.
a result we run seven and sometimes eight style, content, etc. We do commission some Daniel is the person to approach about
travel features in each issue and have features features, such as technical advice, some of technical and advice features. ‘I am looking
on campsites and reader reviews of sites the single-page columns and specialist areas for well-researched, relevant features,’ he
they’ve stayed at. Then we have a huge and such as the classic motorhome section.’ said. ‘I have lots of approaches, especially for
very popular section on technical advice with A good MMM feature is all about genuine blogs for our website and the vast majority
a Q&A section where we answer readers’ knowledge and experience of motorhoming. don’t get further than a scanned read by me
technical problems. We also have a two-page ‘As mentioned, we focus on reader content,’ and then straight to trash. Look at MMM,
spread on classic motorhomes, news pages said Daniel. ‘We are not looking for understand what we do and then, if you
on new models, dealer appointments, etc. professional travel writers (unless they own a have a relevant feature idea, come to me
Finally, we have a few one-page features motorhome) unless it’s for technical features, but do not send me generic ideas or badly
written by readers and columnists on but rather quality semi-professionals or researched ideas. For example, I am currently
observations about life in a motorhome.’ amateurs who have a motorhome story to tell. looking for a feature that will cover the
Readers are typically retired, married We never accept travel articles from travel impact of Brexit if we leave with no deal
empty nesters with a passion for exploring writers unless they own their own motorhome for motorhomers going into Europe this
and have financed every aspect of a tour. We summer. But I want specific advice – what
do not run articles written from paid-for trips will the impact be on driving UK-registered
or where a writer has attempted to get free vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on European roads,
ferry travel or has been loaned a motorhome what will replace the European Whole
from a manufacturer. It’s all genuine content.’ Vehicle Type Approval system after Brexit,
MMM travel features generally run what will happen if you take your pet with
across eight pages and are around 2,300 you, will the UK MoT system be recognised,
words. ‘As for the style, it is written as a what about breakdown and recovery cover
story not a day-by-day diary. We have some bought in Europe, what about the EU
great semi-professional travel writers and Health Card and or getting medication or a
our excellent travel editor will guide any pension payment while you’re out of the UK
potential contributor on what we need. for six months?
All these features have comprehensive facts MMM pays a per-page rate between
content – so we print all costs, all details £80 and £100 for contributors but for
of the campsites they have stayed at, the commissioned features Daniel negotiates a
details of alternative campsites, details of rate (up to £400) in advance. To earn the
their motorhome, even a detailed map. As top rate, submissions will include good
for the technical section, these are aimed quality high-res images.
at reasonably knowledgeable DIYers (many Contact Daniel or travel editor Helen
of our readers are retired engineers) so we Werin with ideas by email.
provided step-by-step guides to simple Details: mmm@warnersgroup.co.uk or
maintenance jobs, as well as more detailed mmmtravel@warnersgroup.co.uk; website:
technical advice features on aspects such as https://writ.rs/writeforMMM
To enter:
• Genre mash-up short story competition
• Creative non-fiction competition (see p31)
(see p31)
For short stories combining or defying
For fiction, up to 750 words, any
genre conventions, 1,500-1,700 words;
style or genre; entry fee £6, £4 for
entry fee £6, £4 for subscribers; closing
subscribers; closing date, 15 June.
date, 15 May.
Ref Code: May19/Createnf
Ref Code: Apr19/Genre
4 Competition Judging VALID FROM........................EXPIRY DATE ..................... VALID FROM........................EXPIRY DATE .....................
Competition judges will be appointed by Writing Magazine and the
judges’ decision will be final with no correspondence being entered into. ISSUE NUMBER ................................................................. ISSUE NUMBER .................................................................
JACQUELINE
WINSPEAR
The bestselling mystery author lives in California
but her mind is in wartime London,
she tells Lynne Hackles
J
acqueline Winspear is author the number, I write for four hours in with since my first Maisie Dobbs
of The American Agent. ‘It’s the the morning, then have a bite to eat novel. The book was written whilst
fifteenth, and latest, of my series before leaving for the stables where I recovering from a riding accident in
novels featuring psychologist train in the equestrian sport of dressage which my right arm and shoulder
and investigator, Maisie Dobbs,’ four or five days each week. were broken to the extent that I
she says. ‘I’ve also written a non-fiction ‘The journey to and from the needed major surgery. I could only
book based on the series, What Would stables takes me across the wonderful type with my left hand, and I can’t
Maisie Do? and a stand-alone novel set landscape of West Marin County, write very well with that hand, so
in WWI, The Care and Management of about 25 miles north-west of San when it came to “planning” my novel
Lies, which was a finalist for the Dayton Francisco, which is where I’ve lived I used large poster Post-It notes and
Literary Peace Prize. for the past 26 years. The drive home with a large marker pen used them
The American Agent opens in gives me more time to think about to keep track of my story in very big
London in September 1940, during my story and how it’s shaping up. letters. I noted story landing points
the early days of the Blitz. Maisie up to the denouement. Those landing
Dobbs and her friend, Priscilla, “I’m so immersed in my story that points were the main events that had
are volunteers with the London my evening reading is bound up to happen to complete the narrative.
Ambulance Auxiliary, and during I also listed the characters’ names and
a bombing raid are joined by an
with my background research a list of “things I need to know” –
American war correspondent, or allied to the time period. I which amounts to additional research
Catherine Saxon who, within hours of wouldn’t say I’m organised. that had to be done. I’ve more or less
broadcasting her story to America, is kept to that system ever since.
found murdered.’
Disciplined is a better word.” ‘Over the years I’ve gathered a huge
This series is very popular and the Once home I have a cup of tea with amount of material on aspects of the
novels always get into the top 10 in toast and Marmite (some habits era I write about, to the extent that I
the New York Times. never change) and go back to work have given presentations on the subject
Jacqueline likes structure, saying it – but late afternoon is admin time matter – from the role of women and
is akin to having a map. ‘If you veer when I respond to emails, follow up their position in society before and after
off onto a path that interests you, you on research questions or if I’m also the Great War, to food in wartime, media
know where to come back to,’ she says. working on an article (I sometimes and communication between the wars,
‘My day starts with my cup of tea write features at the same time as journalism in the Second World War – I
anytime around 6.30am-7am then working on a book), I might conduct go where my curiosity and my heart takes
the dog and I go for a walk – and as some interviews. Around 5.30pm, me and my stories emerge from there.’
I walk I think about whatever I’m my working day sort of ends – I say
working on. When I get home, I take “sort of ” because when working on Website: www.jacquelinewinspear.com
my breakfast to my office, a large a book I’m so immersed in my story
room at the top of the house and start
writing. I work until around 12.30,
that my evening reading is bound up
with my background research or allied
My Writing Place
‘I work in a large room at the top of the house. Windows
then it’s time for a break. to the time period. I wouldn’t say I’m
look out to the garden and the hills beyond at the back,
‘In Stephen King’s book, On Writing, organised. Disciplined is a better word
and out to the street at the front where maples grow, their
he stated that the first draft of a novel to describe me. branches filled with red and gold leaves. When I look out it’s
can be completed in three months if ‘The story’s in my head long like being in a tree house. I sometimes close the plantation
you write 1,200 words each day. When before I begin to write. I don’t do blinds because I don’t want to be disturbed by California
I read this it gave me a benchmark, any massive amount of planning today when my mind and heart need to be in London in
though some days I may write 700 or write pages upon pages of notes 1940. The dog’s bed is close to my mahogany writing desk.
words and others 2,000 – but whatever though there is a system I’ve worked It’s comforting hearing her snore as I write.’
War on clichés!
How to avoid falling back on hackneyed Meet Eleanor Anstruther,
phrases, and why you should them who revisits the skeletons
in her family’s closet as
Author experiences inspiration for her debut novel
How I wrote two books
in a year, by WM’s
Genre-defying Canadian
own Tina Jackson poet and novelist Katie
Munnik explains the
And much more...
rhythms and routines of her
writing day
PLUS
We explore the life and career
All your essential leads, competitions, of Booker Prize winning author
opportunities and industry news, in Writers’ News Penelope Lively
THE
di sgru nt l edDIVA
Lorraine Mace is getting hacked off with
someone else getting the credit for her words
I
seem to have mislaid my gruntle. I done all in my power to come close.
know that’s not a proper word, but I always programme my work for
it should be because I feel decidedly the month ahead, making time for
disgruntled when I read one of my everything that is due and setting days
regular monthly articles. So, if I aside for writing my novels. I used to
can be disgruntled that must mean my put that article in for the second-to-last
gruntle has gone AWOL. Ignoring the week so that I could leave it for at least
semantics, why would one of my own seven days before re-reading with red
articles make me feel so out of sorts? pen in hand.
I hear you ask. Well, not actually hear The last few months haven’t quite
you, but on a writer/reader level, I am worked out that way. I’ve been
able to convince myself that’s the case, finding time to do anything other
so I will answer you. than get down to writing it. I’ve tried
Until such time as my novels get to repositioning its slot to the beginning
the stage of challenging Val McDermid of the month, but that didn’t help. I
and Kathy Reichs for bestseller slots, just kept putting it off to the next day,
writing articles will remain part of my and the next day, and… then it was the
day job. Some, like this column, go out last week of the month and the days
with my name at the top of the page were flying by. A few times I’ve put off
(for others, it’s in a bio at the bottom). the dreaded deed for so long I’ve had
Still more are published without any to write it first thing in the morning
mention of me as author. I don’t mind before it’s even light on deadline day
not getting an acknowledgement as and then proofread and submit at five
these anonymous pieces generally pay to midnight.
well and every penny helps to keep The crazy thing is that I actually
creditors from my door. enjoy writing the articles. Not at
My issue with the article that has the time, because I’m too often
caused my gruntle to fly away is one of feeling grouchy, but afterwards I can
hubris, pure and simple. Well, hubris never quite understand, when the
can’t ever be pure, of course, but my column is such a pleasure to write,
reasoning is simple. why I prevaricate until it’s almost
I write a popular column that has too late. I like the topic and, once
someone else’s name at the top. Every I eventually get going, the words
month readers comment and praise almost write themselves.
the content and style, but because I So, if prevarication is causing me
am not acknowledged in the byline, such grief, why do I do continue to
I have to accept this other person put obstacles in the way? I don’t think
getting the plaudits. I’m not going I’ll ever know the answer to that one.
to say which article it is, for obvious What I should do for my peace of
reasons, but I would dearly love to mind is say: sorry, I quit! But, life
claim the credit for it. being what it is, I have bills coming
I’ve been writing the column for in every month. The mortgage and
many years and it’s never bothered me utility accounts have to be paid. I need days before proofreading and editing
in the least that writer X has taken clothes and I have to eat (and the odd to make it sparkle. Off it went a full
the praise. At least, I didn’t think it bottle of wine doesn’t go amiss). ten days ahead of deadline. I patted
bothered me, but clearly it has because This particular article pays well myself on the back for being so
I have recently taken to carrying out above the standard rate, so practicality grown up. Today I went online and
some subconscious self-sabotage. wins out hands down over pride. read the replies from the ‘author’ in
The piece is due on the last day Last month I was a very good response to readers’ comments.
of each month and I have never yet girl and wrote the article in the first Oops! There goes my gruntle
missed a deadline, but I have certainly week. I printed it and waited seven again.
98 MAY 2019
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