T H E U K S B E S T S E L L I N G W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E

August 2016

Disconvneerr
your i
writer 10
Get you
TOP
TIPS
r book
published
and keep

Kei
it
selling

Miller
Writing without
boundaries

Earn from your writing

and get published c o m p et itions, calls
Cash prize s and writing
bm is sio n
for su 2 0 pages of
n itie s in
opportu

Cut to the
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without losing SOCIAL SKILLS
Learn to use your
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READER Readers share their success stories

SUCCESSES Meet our publishing deal competition winner
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 Dont get paid monthly

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 E D I TO R S L E T T E R

Discoveerr
your inn
writer
Kei
T H E U K S B E S T S E L L I N G W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E

August 2016

10
and keep
TOP
TIPS
Get your book
published

selling
it
Welcome...
Miller
Writing without
boundaries

Earn from your writing

Dear Reader
Be yourself!
and get published petitions, calls
Cash prize com and writing
ns
for submissio 20 pages of
Congratulations! Youve already made the right choice in reading the biggest
Cut to the
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and inspiring exercises, discover new ways to earn from your writing with our
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READER Readers share their success stories

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4.10

9 770964 916259 SUCCESSES Meet our publishing deal competition winner

p001_wmagJuly.indd 1 21/06/2016 11:58

Published by
competitions to enter, and hear from authors of all levels, from beginners to
Warners Group Publications plc,
5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds, bestsellers, sharing their successes and the secrets of what works for them.
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Publisher: Janet Davison month were putting special focus on e-publishing, and if you havent visited
Email: jand@warnersgroup.co.uk
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Well fill your toolbox. Now its up to you what you create with it.
Email: nathanw@warnersgroup.co.uk Happy writing!
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writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk
Photography has remained in last year, her obsession with She has written and compiled
Competitions: the Amazon Photography top ten the writing process bore fruit several books and is currently
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Cover Image Nick Cunard/ Writer Pictures www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 3

p3 Editor's letter.indd 3 23/06/2016 09:49

 In this issue ...
INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES PUBLISHING
15 From the other side of the desk
COVER STORY The publishing landscape from a literary agents perspective
16 Star interview: Kei Miller
From the hills above Jamaicas August 33 Grumpy Old Bookman: Submit, dont give up
Town to London academia, the Getting to grips with modern submission protocol
award-winning poet and novelists
voice resonates across boundaries 78 Publishing: Proof perfect Improve your
proofreading skills and increase your earning opportunities
26 On writing: Winston Churchill

26 How I got published:

WRITING LIFE
Psychological crime writer Jenny Blackhurst

30 Beat the bestsellers

The techniques and style of Beatrix Potter COVER STORY 10 Be yourself
Discover your inner writer by writing just 500 words
42 Shelf life
Biographer Tom Bower picks his top five reads 34 Ten top tips: A world of opportunity
Whether youre looking for writing topics or markets, theres a lot to
74 Crime file: Emma Kavanagh be said for considering other countries

COVER STORY 44 Talk it over: Game on?

86 New author A reader asks whether a TV game show appearance might be good
profile: publicity for his writing
Peter Breakspear
The winner of the WM 45 Novel ideas
and Matador Books
competition for a debut novel explains COVER STORY 46 The business of writing:
how it feels to be a published author Social engagement
Is social media for writers just of frittering time, or a way
108 My writing day: Jemma Wayne of legitimately working?
The writer and journalist sits at her
grandfathers desk and explores complex COVER STORY 52 Subscriber spotlight
issues of love and identity WM subscribers share their publishing success stories

58 Circles roundup
Writing groups profile their
OUT AND ABOUT interests and activities

25 Away from your 59 Writers circles:

desk Get out of your
garret for some upcoming
Back soon! All ears
Manage dominant
activities and places to visit personalities and shrinking
violets to ensure your
writing group runs fairly

WRITERS NEWS 110 Notes from the

88 Your essential margin: Finding the
monthly round-up of right words
competitions, paying Lorraine Mace is lost for
markets, opportunities words when she reads her
to get into print and friends first attempt at
publishing industry news writing a novel

4 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p4 contents.indd 4 21/06/2016 12:07

 CONTENTS

FICTION
COVER STORY
20 Whats it all about?
Get to the heart of good
writing and uncover the essence
of your novel
24 Beginners: Trust your
inner editor Writers tend to
be perfectionists, but sometimes
youve just got to let it go
28 True lies
What is reality? In fiction, its not
actually real life and that isnt
what readers really want anyway
48 Under the microscope
The first 300 words of a readers
novel go under our forensic lens
POETRY
50 Fiction focus:
Tales retold
Writers have always reimagined
stories and retold classic tales
70 Writing for children
Newly confident readers love 66 Poetry workshop: Time to write
animal stories as much as Alison Chisholm explores a poem that celebrates
younger readers, as two popular discovering the creative process
authors explain
67 Poetry in practice
76 Fantastic realms: Advice on toying with line length
Thats magic!
Magical elements pepper 68 Poetry primer: Poetry from A-Z
fantasy fiction, An alphabetic guide through the language of poetry
but consider
carefully how
youre going to
wield the wand
RESOURCES
6 Miscellany

8 Letters

27 Editorial calendar

74 Behind the tape

Your legal procedure
queries answered

80 Writers web watch

COMPETITIONS 82 Helpline
AND EXERCISES Your writing problems solved

36 Train your brain: Pen pushers Outlining a novel

NON-FICTION
Creating an outline for a novel isnt a one-size-fits-all job. Try these
exercises to find the outline that works best for you

37 Train your brain: Red editing pen COVER STORY

12 Non-fiction: Ten steps to get your reference
39 Win cash prizes and publication in our book published and promoted
love story competition
72 Features desk: In their own words
40 Humour short story competition winner Conducting strong interviews and presenting them
in the best way possible are essential skills for non-
61 Win cash and publication in our subscriber-only fiction writers of all kinds
competition launch
83 Going to market
62 Dialogue-only short story competition winner
85 Research tips: Unobtrusive research
64 Read the winning entries in our holiday You can discover a lot about human behaviour by
poetry competition discreet observation

69 Enter our annual love poetry competition 103 Travel writing know-how

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 5

p4 contents.indd 5 21/06/2016 12:07

 MISCELLANY
THE WORLD OF
WRITING
Writer
on the carpet
Spoons Carpets: An Appreciation by Kit
Caless is based on his popular blog http://
wetherspoonscarpets.tumblr.com
Kit discovered that Wetherspoons 950-plus
UK pubs all have a unique carpet, inspired
either by the building or the name of the pub.
His blog poses the crucial question are any
two Wetherspoon carpets the same?
More than fifty of Spoons carpets are
featured, along with Kits text on the
inspiration for each carpets design, the history
of the pub and key facts and statistics about
the branch and its regulars.
Rosemary Davidson, of Square Peg at
Penguin Random House, who bought the
Figures of speech
p6 Miscellany.indd 6
Rugs, drugs, ties, reads and laughs...
all that really matters is to keep writing
book, said: We knew we had to publish Kits
brilliantly eccentric celebration of the Great
British pub, craft and design immediately.
The story of these unique Spoons carpets is
marvellous and the book will be designed
and produced with care, attention and
suitable trimmings: a fitting tribute to the
carpets themselves.
Kit Caless said: I am delighted to be
working to produce a beautiful book on the
glorious world of threaded wonders Ive been
sent and collected onmy blog.
Kit, a London-based writer and
broadcaster works for publications
includingVICE, Architectural DigestandThe
Quietus. He is also co-founder of Influx
Press, a small independent publisher of
fiction and creative non-fiction.
Spoons Carpets: An Appreciation will be
published by Square Peg in October.
Winning ways with
Feldenkrais and
gesellschaft
Sticking to the facts
Philippa Gregory was asked by Stephanie
Nayor, AbeBooks.com, Do you read other
historical fiction novels?
No, I never. I find that it can too easily
become fact in my mind. I only read
historical fact. One of my favorite authors
is Alison Weir. She is wonderful because
she does not get intimidated by, or ignore,
women of power in history. There is a
traditional prejudice against ambitious
or successful women, but Weir simply
reports fact. I also read modern fiction
and classic literature. Some of my favorite
authors for classic literature are George
Eliot, Jane Austin
and EM Forster.
The USAs Scripps Natio
nal Spelling Bee
Janga, 11, spelled
resulted in a tie as Nihar
the final stages, and
gesellschaft correctly, in
Feldenkrais to
Jairam Hathwar, 13, spe lled
draw level.
row there have
This is the third year in a
been co-champions. Before
that, the last
1957.
co-championship was in
As thi s yea rs com pet itio n progressed words
ges , including
derived from rarer langua
h Ga elic , Maori and
Afrikaans, Danish, Iris
uce d, larg ely because all top
Mayan were introd
about words with
spellers are knowledgeable
Greek or Latin roots.
denkrais, from
Jairams winning word Fel
tem of body
a trademark, means a sys
eas e ten sion.
movements intended to
t me ans a me chanistic type
Nirars gesellschaf
of social relationship.
ht about included
Other words they were rig
enedael, Hohenzollern,
euchologion, Kjeldahl, gro
juamave and zindi.
21/06/2016 12:13
 MISCELLANY

Prescribing the comical cure-all Everythings

all-write
There can be no
escaping the message
It really is true:laughter is the best medicine. Not only does having a giggle improve from US writer
your mood, it also boasts a variety of actual health benefits, wrote Adrian Conti in the Melodie Ramone, who
Daily Telegraph. was quoted on the
So, to make everybody feel better, Adrian repeated some of the top jokes by British Goodreads website:
comedians, including: Write it. Just write it.
I went to my doctor and asked for something for persistent wind. He gave me a kite. Write it on receipts in the
Les Dawson, fromLes Dawsons Joke Book car while you wait for your kid to finish their
What do you call an alsatian in a grey jumper? A plain-clothes police dog. piano lessons, scribble on napkins at lunch with
Harry Hill, from Harry Hills Whopping Great Joke Book friends. Type on crappy typewriters or borrow
I said, Its serious doctor, Ive broken my arm in 20 places. He said: Well stop going computers if you have to.
to those places. Tommy Cooper, on his TV show Fill notebooks with ink. Write inside your
A cement mixer has collided with a prison van. Motorists are asked to look out for 16 head while youre in traffic and when youre
hardened criminals. Ronnie Corbett, fromThe Two Ronnies: The Complete Collection DVD sitting in the doctors office. Write the truth,
My husband can do the work of two men. Unfortunately those men are Laurel and write lies. Write the perfect spouse. Write your
Hardy. Jo Brand, during a live stand-up show dreams. Write your nightmares.
Write while you cry about what youre
writing, write while you laugh out loud at your
Pot book wows the joint own words. Write until your fingers hurt, then
keep writing more. Dont ever stop writing.
A pot-growing manual has won a major His book was one of 1,400 entrants in Dont ever give up on your story, no matter
book prize, reported David Downs in the 54 categories of the Benjamin Franklin what they say. Dont ever let anybody take
San Francisco Chronicle, an achievement Book Awards, one of the oldest and away your voice. You have something to say,
which he described as a new milestone for most respected book award programmes your soul has a story to tell. Write it. There is
cannabis legitimacy. in the USA. never any reason to be afraid. Just write it and
Cannabis Encyclopedia,, by George Van George Van Patten said at the awards then put it out there for the world. Shove it up
Patten (aka Jorge Cervantes) ceremony in Salt Lake City: a flag pole and see who salutes it. Somebody
won the Reference Category in After 33 years publishing will say its crap. So what? Somebody else will
Americas Independent Book cannabis books, Van Patten love it. And thats what writings about. Love.
Publishers Associations Benjamin Publishing is proud to receive Love of the art, love of the story, and love for
Franklin Awards, beating books this award from the IBPA, the and from the people who really understand
on the geology of southwestern first association to recognise a your work. Nobody else matters. Love yourself.
Maine, and Korean slang. cannabis book with an award. Love your work. Be brave. Just write.

www.writers-online.co.uk SEPTEMBER
AUGUST 2016
2015 7

p6 Miscellany.indd 7 21/06/2016 12:12

 TITLE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers
and dont forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue...
Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners
Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds
LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your
name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all
STAR LETTER
WRITE WHAT YOU WANT?
Arent we a sensitive bunch?
I recently received my manuscript after assessment by a
renowned and respected service. Like all writers, I hoped
for a warm and rewarding critique.
Do many of us, after reading a substantial and
informative report, actually wonder if we really possess
sufficient aptitude for writing as a profession?
I pose the question: what do we do when our voice is
at odds with the accepted practices of publishing houses?
Do we go our own way (with no intent of thumbing our
nose to the respected critic) and risk not being published,
but still retain pride in our work? Or, do we conform for
the sake of better prospects and forsake the very art that
we have cultivated and nurtured?
PAIGE ELIZABETH TURNER
Evesham, Worcestershire
A very good question, Paige. Write for the market or write
for yourself? If publication is your aim, you need to at least bear
some basic considerations in mind (length, credibility...) but all
successful writers have styles that are in some way distinctive, so
you shouldnt abandon the quirks that make your writing yours.
Perhaps the trick is actually to find the right balance?
That said, Id still question when our voice is at odds with
the accepted practices of publishing houses. Try to step back
and deeply analyse your style and that critique again. Are you
absolutely sure its your voice that was questioned? Honestly,
with no one else looking, are there no improvements to be made
without compromising your style, thereby actually strengthening
your voice? A warm and rewarding critique would not do its
job of pointing out improvements, and rare is the writer with
nothing left to learn! Ed
The star letter each month earns a copy
of the Writers & Artists Yearbook 2016,
courtesy of Bloomsbury,
www.writersandartists.co.uk
8 AUGUST 2016
p8 Letters.indd 8
a
letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing
Magazine. Letters may be edited.) ri
When referring to previous articles/letters, please state
month of publication and page number.
READ WHAT YOU WANT
In reply to Catherine Smaridges letter (WM, July), I too struggle with
finding good books to read. I think a lot of publishers want fiction written
to a formula, to repeat previous success. I think this makes some bestselling
authors lazy: because they have a contract and an audience already, they
dont have to try as hard.
I much prefer to read books in the young adult category. Although these
are aimed at young people, I usually find these stories start with a bang and
pull me in. That is what many adult books lack, I feel.
If you like scifi and detective fiction then read that Theres no shame in
reading what you enjoy. And if what you like does not exist then theres
your opening, put your ideas down on paper!
LORNA SUGDEN
March, Cambridgeshire
START NOW
Having retired three years ago, I bought paints and canvas to try out in
my spare time its still sitting here; I started writing instead.
Now Im on my way to completing my first novel, it has been hard
work, but the achievement in getting this far is great.
With Writing Magazine, which I subscribe to, and the local writers
group I attend, I have even managed to win my first short story
competition in my citys bookfest contest.
I cant believe the enjoyment this has given me and the wonderful
people involved in all manner of writing that I have met along the way.
Just putting pen to paper, and it is you that is doing it, is a terrific
feeling. I only wish I had started years ago.
Who knows what could be around the corner, even at my age?
DAVE FLINT
Portsmouth, Hampshire
www.writers-online.co.uk
21/06/2016 11:13
 DONT GIVE UP
Its very good advice, dont give up (Star Letter, WM, July).
I note the number of rejections the writer has received. This feels like
a success! The norm for a submission to agents and publishers (and in
many competition entries) is no response at all.
A rejection would be preferable to being left hanging on for weeks
or months. After all, we are told that rejection letters are an absolute
rite of passage. A personal response from an agent should be treated like
winning the lottery.
When I was involved in non-fiction (under a pseudonym) and
became well known the situation was different, as agents and
publishers responded immediately. Meanwhile, as a relative
newbie to the fiction world, its tough, but I look forward
to actually receiving many rejections!
CHARLES KNIGHTLEY
Winchester
BREAK ONE RULE
They say you must learn the rules before you can break them.
However, there is a rule that we are actively encouraged not to break.
The long sentence. Do whatever you have to do to make your writing
zing; rub a lucky rabbits foot, pray to James Joyce, deny yourself
access to social media, yet keep those sentences crisp and short. If not
then doom will be upon you! Come editing its full stops at the ready
and away you go, snip, snip, snip.
But I do love a well-written long sentence. Recently Ive re-read Meg
Rosoff s How I Live Now, with many long sentences that take you by
the hand and carry you away, leaving you breathless by the end.
The art of writing a long sentence seems to be a secret art known
only to the special few. Having read many articles that help my
writing I find one article lacking. I would love to read one extolling
the virtues of the long sentence, the pitfall and rewards, not just for
the writer but the reader as well.
CHRIS MENDHAM
Christchurch, Dorset

SEE BOTH SIDES

work. We put so much of ourselves into it, that it feels deeply personal
if its rejected. Its like being dumped, with no explanation, not even a
text saying, Its me, not you.
I dont think any of us expect to get shortlisted, never mind hired, for
every job we apply for, yet when I receive a rejection for something Ive
submitted, or no feedback at all, itll undoubtedly knock my resolve far
more than a thanks, but no thanks from a recruiting manager.
I only hope that I can draw on my experience in HR, to understand
that sometimes youre just not in the right place at the right time. But
next time, I might just be.
JULIE ROBINSON
Great Barr, Birmingham
As a novice writer, Im not yet ready to submit stories or articles, but
having read Piers Blofelds From the Other Side Of The Desk (WM,
July), as well as letters from fellow writers bemoaning rejections or
lack of feedback from agents and publishers, I saw parallels with my
day job in human resources.
I sympathise with agents and publishers; they must get thousands
of unsolicited stories and articles on subjects theyre not currently
looking for. Itd be like receiving an application for an accountant
when Im looking to hire a chef. I wouldnt have time to provide
in-depth feedback to the accountant; Id be too busy recruiting a chef.
However, as writers, our hopes and dreams are wrapped up in our

We can help you

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Sally Bridgewater on 0113 200 2917, FREE
email writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk BOOK!
or see our website: http://writ.rs/cwcourses

CWC Listing.indd 1 17/06/2016 09:44 The Writers Academy June.indd 1 20/04/2016 11:12
p8 Letters.indd 9 21/06/2016 11:13
 TITLE

Be
yo u r
self
Write just 500 words to help you discover
your inner writer. Author and lecturer
James McCreet introduces a practical
exercise and considers why it works

A
s part of my MA Novel
course, I often ask the
students to do a short
writing exercise that
always has interesting
results. Its quite simple.
All they have to do is write 500
words about a book from the wider-
reading list, explaining why they
love it as a piece of writing.
I am clear on one very important
point: this shouldnt be a review. I
dont want to read a summary of
the story. I dont want to enter into
value judgements or star ratings. The
piece is intended for an audience of
one me and has no other purpose
than to show me how the reader has
engaged with the book as a piece of
writing. I dont want to know about
the author or the books history or
the reputation of the title. I just want
to know how the reader felt and why.
No mark is given. It counts not a jot
towards the final degree.
I first gave this exercise to check
me more than it taught the students.
I found that these 500-word pieces
were, in every case, superior to the
nominally creative work students
were submitting for discussion in
workshops. The voices were more
confident. The prose rhythms were
more natural and more innovative.
Even the least confident and least
technically proficient students were
producing highly readable work.
In short, each writers natural
personality was more clearly and
powerfully expressed, regardless of
what they had to say about their
chosen book.
Why did this happen? Why
did this short writing exercise
produce better quality writing
than the creative pieces the
students had laboured over? It
was an interesting conundrum
that needed solving. Here, I offer
some of my interpretations.
Be yourself
The most persuasive explanation
is that the exercise encourages
writers to be nothing more or less
than themselves. Not authors or
writers or students. Such labels are
awkward costumes we sometimes
wear when we sit down to the
blank page. Too often, we write in
character, stiffly attempting to be
something we cant quite define
and it shows in the writing.
Bad writing is often bad because
its source is compromised. We write
in a fog of too-powerful influences
or of urgent expectation. We strain
to express what should express itself
clearly and naturally through the
chosen characters or situations. We
stand in the way of our own work,
casting an obfuscating shadow.
This exercise absolves the writer
of having to be anything else.
Theres no trick, no tripwire. Just

that my students were in fact Bad writing is often bad because its source is
reading some of the books on the
wider-reading list (some dont!) and
compromised. We write in a fog of too-powerful

to gauge the level of their reading
engagement. Such things help me
to understand the class and set
a teaching level. But the results
surprised me and probably taught
inuences or of urgent expectation. We strain to express
what should express itself clearly and naturally through
the chosen characters or situations.

10 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p10 be yourself.indd 10 21/06/2016 11:18


relax and say what you really want
to say. Thats one of the keys to
good writing.
No consequences
Its very important that I give no
grade for this exercise. Too often,
MA students become obsessed with
grades rather than with becoming
better writers. There are no
distinctions conferred in the world
of publishing no certificates given.
You get published or you dont.
Thats the only pass mark.
So the students have nothing to
lose in this exercise, and having
nothing to lose makes them free.
They dont need to second-guess
me or worry about the right way
to complete the task. They can be
irreverent, often revealing levels of
humour that have never appeared in
their creative work. In other words,
there is nothing to fear. We write
better with such liberty.
No rules
Liberty is also a result of there
being no rules. This is not a piece
of academic writing, so formality
goes out of the window. Balanced
argument is not required only
persuasiveness. Its not a review, and
so there is no particular format or
layout to be followed. The piece sets
its own rules for itself with the tone
it chooses to adopt.
Such freedom in a creative piece
often leads to the familiar blank-page
paralysis, but here the gaping page is
an enticement, an invitation to make
a Rorschach blot of your own.
Writing with purpose
With all this talk of liberty, its worth
remembering the few limitations
imposed on the exercise. The first of
these is the requirement to express
your enjoyment of a favoured book.
Its a question that naturally asks
you to think in terms of examples,
but also to make your pleasure clear.
Often as writers, we can become
confused with the clamouring
voices inside our heads as we try to
narrate a scene. There are story, tone,
pace, character, structure and the
innumerable stylistic opportunities to
hand. Theres so much to think about
that our focus can become hazy. The
writing suffers.
p10 be yourself.indd 11
Clarity of purpose is a wonderful
thing. Simply: what do I want to
achieve with my 500 words? What
is its measure of success? How do
I show my reader what I want her
to see? Theres almost an element
of writing sales copy. You have to
persuade and prove and infect an
audience with your contagious
enthusiasm. This is a basic drive
behind all good writing.
Knowing your audience
The second part of the challenge is
knowing your audience. Vladimir
Nabokov claimed that he wrote
for an audience of one: the man
he saw in the shaving mirror each
morning. It helps to have a sense
of who youre writing for. Thats
why letters are so easy to write (for
those of us who still do). When
you know your audience, you settle
into a tone. Its when writers dont
conceive an audience that they drift
into such bad habits as over-telling
or haemorrhaging plot detail too
early in a novel.
In this case, my students know
enough about me to hold me in
mind as they write. Perhaps they
seek to please me. Perhaps they
seek to antagonise me. Perhaps they
simply dont care what I think (a
healthy attitude, within reason).
Whatever, their approach, they write
as if they are speaking directly to
me and their voices flow fluently.
Almost always, I can hear their
spoken voice as I read the exercise.
Word limit
Another limitation is the 500-
word maximum. Its good to have
a specified word-count because it
allows you to establish a structural
framework. You know how much
or how little needs to be said. In
this case, were talking about a
page of single-spaced text.
That allows you to split the
space notionally into thirds
or quarters or fifths so you
know roughly where the
intro will be, how it develops,
where examples might be used
and how much space is available for
the sign-off.
In practice, this is no different
to any piece of creative work.
Experience tells us roughly how
www.writers-online.co.uk
WRITING LIFE
many words we need to narrate
a scene or fill a chapter, so we
can impose rough structures on
everything we write. The problem
comes when some people tend to
write into a void, not perceiving
where a scene will end. In such
cases, the narrative often loses
shape or consistency.
Deadlines are good
Hugely successful writers such
as Douglas Adams or George
RR Martin are allowed to miss
deadlines, but the rest of us need to
find fame before we earn that right.
Deadlines make us professional
and can help to structure our
development as writers. Eventually,
we must impose and adhere to our
own. In the meantime, a relatively
short deadline is a good prompt and
a positive sign of progress.
Trees/wood separation
All of these ideas may seem
obvious, and yet many writers
fail persistently to put them into
practice when working on creative
pieces. Its a paradox that stems
from the urge to be a writer and
to produce writing when whats
really required is to be yourself,
understand the purpose and write
without fear for a known audience.
However simple that sounds, it is a
frightening thing to embrace such
freedom. Its a risk. But its also
hugely liberating.
When I point out to my students
how good their exercise pieces are,
theyre often surprised. How can it be
so good? they say. They werent even
trying. It wasnt even difficult. They
were just saying what they thought.
Thats why it was so good, I say
(no doubt a little smugly).
Good writing isnt difficult. You
shouldnt have to try. You simply use
the requisite tools and techniques to
express yourself, or your characters,
or your story. Take off the writers
costume and drop the authorial
voice. Relax. Just be yourself.
For an example of James 500-word exercise,
an exploration of Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita,
see his own example at http://writ.rs/augwm
AUGUST 2016 11
21/06/2016 11:18
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12 JUNE 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p012_wmagaug16.indd 12 17/06/2016 09:34

 TEN STEPS
TITLE

to get your reference book

published and promoted
Sarah Platers Mastering Portrait Photography hasnt left the Amazon
photography top ten since publication last November. Here she explains how
to get a specialist reference book accepted for publication and keep it selling

H
ave you considered combining your writing skills with another
interest or area of expertise? If you are passionate about a topic
and can help others learn about it, you could be the ideal person to
write a reference book.
Although it may seem less glamorous than a fiction debut, theres
a healthy demand for how-to books and guides which educate or entertain, and
youll experience the same swell of pride when you see your book on the shelf
in shops and online. Follow these ten steps to get you started.

websites and note similar titles they have

SECTION 1:
PLANNING
1 Research the market
for your book
Publishers are commercially minded.
They commission titles that they
believe will sell sufficiently to recoup
their costs and return a profit. Thats
why your first step is to research
the subject area of interest and the
publishers that operate within it.
Go into bookstores and libraries to
see whats currently available on similar
topics. Flick through as many books
as possible, noting down their format,
length, number of images/graphs/tables
used, print quality and publisher.
Then research online. What are the
top-selling books on Amazon in the
same category, and who published
them? What do customer reviews praise
and criticise about them?
Your research will give you an idea of
the likely demand for your book and
the competition it will face, as well as
prompting ideas for making your book
different from, and better than, others.
2 Shortlist your
potential publishers
Buy a copy of the Writers & Artists
Yearbook and highlight all the publishers
that cover your niche. Look on their
released as well as the date of publication.
While it might be tempting to send a
proposal to every single publisher on your
initial list, a generic approach is less likely
to be effective, and the rejections (or lack
of response entirely) can be dejecting.
Instead, narrow down the publishers
to those whose other books you were
most impressed with. Bear in mind that
publishers who have recently released
a title that is similar to your idea are
unlikely to commission new work that
might cannibalise sales of a current book.
3 You dont have to do it
alone collaborate
Reference books often feature high-
quality images. You may wish to team up
with someone who specialises in creating
illustrations or photographs, preferably
within the subject area of interest, in
order to strengthen your proposal.
Alternatively, you may want a
co-author who can share the graft of
hitting the word count with you. By
adding their expertise and providing
an alternative viewpoint or source
of experience into the text, you are
likely to end up creating a more
comprehensive reference book.
If you are considering working with
someone else, research them carefully and
meet them face-to-face. Do they offer any
advantages, such as a high profile in the
area that the book relates to or a strong
Mastering Portrait network of contacts?
Photography, Sarah See samples of their work and check
Plater & Paul Wilkinson whether they are able to commit the
(Ammonite Press) necessary time to both producing the
book and promoting it.
SECTION 2:
HOW TO SUBMIT
4 Chapter lists and
sample chapters
As part of your proposal, prepare a
chapter list to show exactly what topics
you anticipate covering in your book.
Select one of the most compelling
chapters and draft it in full. This will
show the style, length and format of
the chapters, including any elements
such as tables, summary sections,
discussion questions and so on.
If your book will need to use images
that are owned by a third party (eg
archive photographs, photographs
taken on private property or copyright
illustrations, for example), then contact
the copyright holder to find out their
terms, costs and whether they would
consider granting permission for use
of the images in return for a credit.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 13

p13 Publish your ref book.indd 13 21/06/2016 11:14

 NON-FICTION Book Launch
27 absolutephoto.com
Photography News Issue

24

BaBies (012 Mo nths

hs)
Technique

Light fantastic
Portrait shooting )

s (012 mont
think about when and where
s will be to have your shoot.
the benefit in your picture its in a flash the most successful time
g is easy to get into and
tends to be in the morning,
portra
Studio-style portrait lightinfollow our guide and youll be shooting better
immediately after theyve
been fed. shoot indoors
so
Just you can control the ambient
immediately obvious. bright room with plenty
temperature, and choose
a
Paul Wilkinson and Gill
McGowan of natural lightflash will
Pictures by Sarah Plater, atmosphere and possibly kill the
Words by Kingsley Singleton wake the baby. Bear in

Lesson BaBie
newborn shoots can take mind that
between four and six hours,
Good portraits rely
on good lighting, and if you start the shoot too so
most of the time that
comes from working late in the day (particular
possible to take the winter months), you ly during
with flash. Yes, its certainly available light, can quickly run out of natural
great people pictures
using
Beanbags, beds, and large light.
has its restrictions. sofa cushions placed on
but that method always worse, natural
For better or (frequently) and often low in floor can all work as places the
light is inconsistent, fleeting
to lay the baby. Cover whatever
intensity. Its also hard
to modify; you might soft surface you choose
from where you to use with a large, clean
have to move the subject Blankets enable you to blanket.
certainly cant move have a variety of colors
want them, because you in the
unwieldy diffusers final set of shots and also
the sun, or use large,
the light is low you create a seamless studio-sty
and reflectors. And if le
walk the tightrope of
using slower shutter background. remembe Above
or raising the ISO r that the baby wont be
speeds than youd like, issue youre nappy, so anything you wearing a theres been nine months
of nervous excitement and
and losing quality. Whichever to adapt or use may get dirty. up to the new arrival. While
the baby is feeding, use
preparation leading
and forced use a hot water bottle filled
constantly challenged details around the house the time to capture
means, although many with warm (not boiling) that tell the story of the
compromise. All that water has led to this moment. love and anticipation that
the opposite, that its to heat the blankets slightly
people would assume so the chill of the fabric
and natural light
actually flash thats easy initial contact doesnt wake on
thats difficult.
into realising that
the baby. for shots from
But pushing yourself create a hollow in the blankets above,
convince you its time to cradle the baby; for shots
can be difficult. So, to
or to work on honing from the sides, a firmer,
to give flash a go flatter surface normally
have this month we works best.
the skills you already start by laying the baby
and flash lighting
caught up with two studio on their back and then
and Paul Wilkinson, slowly
experts, Sarah Plater and gently tidy up the pose
Portrait Photography. so that the hands and feet
co-authors of Mastering there are few things that
is the big draw of are where you need them
So what, for them, compare to being asked
For Sarah, its the to to be. for nude shots, bend
using flash for portraits? photograph a proud parent Above knees and cross the legs the
appeals; Being able s new arrival. Babies change
consistency of flash that studio light full-length shots of newborn to hide the babys private
to set up predictable, controllable and develop so quickly babies are perfectly complement each time you press a limb parts.
that I can shoot all year that the photos you take ups of their tiny features, ed by close- into place, hold it there
anywhere I go means
results. If I was soon be the only record today will which change rapidly over
the first few weeks. for a
round and get consistent of how they looked at that few seconds until you feel
solely reliant on natural
light, Id be limited time. NewborNs the baby relax into the pose.
and forever trying to
however, you will need afterward, gently move
to slow shutter speeds, to consider the babys abilities the baby onto his or her
windows! But isnt it milestones at each age and the best time to get a shot side,
push subjects closer to when planning a shoot. changing the blanket at
more effort, in terms of the amount of gear,
Patience of a sleepy, curled-up newborn the same time for maximum
On this Sarah is
than using natural light? kit packs down
and confidence are crucial: is when the baby is between Change your angle and variety.
my you will need to work around one and two weeks old. experiment with the distance
unequivocal. No way the babys feeds and moods, most cases, the baby will in and
car, which makes it while also exuding calm be settled and feeding direction of the light falling
and fits into my Smart properly, on to the babyhaving
easy for me to transport
to clients homes, that both the baby and so but will allow you to adjust the baby
his or her parents will relax their pose while theyre parallel to a window will
where they feel most relaxed. while asleep. mean the light is flatter,
Photography is all about
light. How it falls you work. excited new parents often shadows, which works for with fewer Above
shapes and defines want to capture their son some shots but not others.
on the subject, how it almost infinite daughter just as nature or for many moms, one of
and studio lighting provides created themnaked. in getting newborn shots the most precious memories
this even with one ensure the baby is comfortab order to perfect takes lots of time time spent cuddling up
to their new son or daughter,
of parenthood is the
possibilities to change patience. if the baby wakes, and inhaling the scent
Paul. You can easily le you need to warm the of their skin and falling
or two lights, enthuses hard, contrasty to about 86f (30C). room take photos of details in in love with them. Lifestyle
shots like this capture
get silhouettes to profiles; room or focus your attention the those moments perfectly.
gradings; high-key to low-key; on any siblings while the
light, to soft 78
lighting; dramatic to foundatio n Course is settled again. baby
rim lighting, cheek can do in the
is so much you
gentle. There

Invitation
studio, its always exciting!
learn how to do
But even Paul had to like most
it, because his background,
rs starting out, was shooting in
photographe
Portrait Photogra
Phy 79

Studio lighting
provides almost infinite means that you can make
creative portraits that
would be

possibilities to change Above Studio lighting

is all about control, and
the freedom it supplies
light modified with a beauty
dish is all that was required.
or
light even with one
light alone. Here, a single
impossible with natural

two lights 140922 Book Launch

invite.indd 1
Foundation Course:
25/09/2014 08:59

Portrait Photography,
SECTION 4:
The publisher will need to take any credentials to write it, then they might Sarah Plater & Hannah BUILD YOUR SALES
additional costs into consideration when just offer you a contract. MacGregor (Ammonite
forecasting whether they will make a Its worth getting a legal expert to go Press) 8 Launching your book
return on your book. through this document with you and Give your book the best possible start
you may wish to query or renegotiate in the world by holding a launch
5 Submitting your proposal certain elements. One part which event. This is likely to be at your own
What will be different about your book needs careful consideration is the expense, but you dont need to spend
that means people will choose it over a agreed deadline for your content. The much and its an opportunity for you
similar title from another publisher? Why publisher may have a date in mind: to to sell copies of your book, which will
is now the right time to publish it? Why tie in with Christmas sales or release hopefully more than cover the costs.
are you the right person to write it? dates of other titles in a series, or You could arrange to host it in a
Your initial contact with potential to coincide with a day that has PR section of a pub, restaurant or library,
publishers will need to answer these potential (eg Blue Monday for a book or hire a conference room. If there is
questions, succinctly and professionally. on happiness). Alternatively, they may a location that would be relevant to
Your research from Step 1 will support ask you to suggest a deadline. Either the theme of your book eg a local
your answers to the first two questions, way, take time to calculate whats museum for a local history title, for
so now consider your credibility as realistic for you. If you work full-time example then thats even better.
an author. or have other commitments, how many If the event will be open to the
Have you had magazine articles on the hours can you commit to writing per public, promote it as widely as
topic published? Do you write a popular week? How many words can you write possible: on social media, through
blog about it? Do you have qualifications, per hour? Think back to the sample friends and family, in the local press
experience or awards on the topic? These chapter you did for Step 4. and any specialist press relevant to the
will help to reassure the publisher that Things usually take longer than books topics. If there are local clubs
you have the necessary expertise. expected, so be generous in your or groups whose members would be
Look on the publishers website for calculations. After drafting and editing interested in your book, make contact
contact details and preferred submission your work, youll also need time to with the organisers and attend a
processes or refer to the directory in the draft image captions and read through meeting where you can talk about your
Writers & Artists Yearbook. everything once more with fresh eyes. book and invite them to attend the
Contact one publisher at a time, launch. Are there local shops where
working through your shortlist from Step 7 Proofing and authors copies your prospective readers might shop?
2. If theres no response, wait at least a Your text will be edited by the publisher, For example, if your book is about
fortnight before approaching the next then laid out by a designer. Youll receive gardening, approach local garden
publisher. Persevere: expect rejection as a digital copy for checking through centres and ask them to put leaflets
part of the process, ask for feedback and before it goes to print, and the publisher about the event at their tills.
amend your proposal as appropriate. will usually commission a professional
proofreader, too. 9 Promoting your book
Make time to read through the whole Your book launch is a newsworthy
SECTION 3: book where you wont be disturbed and event immediately after it happens.
PREPARING TO dont rush it otherwise the first thing Contact local and specialist media

PUBLISH
youll see when you receive your authors again, focusing each time on the most
copy might be a mistake (when its too relevant angle, eg that youre a local
late to fix it). Dont be tempted to leave author for the local press; that the
6 Contracts and deadlines anything until the printed proofs, as book addresses a specific need which
If a publisher agrees that demand for doing so means you wont get a chance to will be of interest to readers for the
your book exists and that you have the double check the correction. specialist press. Include images of

14 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p13 Publish your ref book.indd 14 21/06/2016 11:14


Book launch and flyer
your book cover and your launch
event to encourage them to devote
more space to it.
Liaise with your publisher to get
copies of your book sent to specialist
print and online media for review. Then,
after the reviews have been published,
contact the editorial teams and offer
to write exclusive content for the two
or three magazines or blogs most read
by your target readers. Maybe this
content could explain the behind-the-
scenes process for the book, or offer an
additional set of tips. For the editors to
accept the content, it will need to be of
value to their readers; in return, you and
your book will get credited.
Promote the book (and engage with
readers) using social media. This is also
a great channel for sharing additional
content that may be relevant to target
readers, especially video, which is
becoming easier to record and edit for
little or no cost. You could record an
interview, answer common questions,
rebuff common misconceptions, read
out excerpts from your book or offer
additional content on the theme.
Offer some videos as exclusive content
for magazines and blogs so they can
promote them on their social media
channels. Make sure you include a
reason to buy your book and a picture
p13 Publish your ref book.indd 15
OU
TN
OW
!
RRP 19.99
DONT JUST CAPTURE PHOT
OS.
CREATE THEM.
of its cover in every video you create.
Return to those clubs and groups
that you invited to the launch and
ask to speak or host a workshop,
bringing copies for you to sell and
sign. Offer local book and specialist
stores signed copies and approach
organisers of festivals which your
target market might attend whether
you can talk there.
10 Following up with
a second proposal
Have you got a second idea? As
youve established your credibility
and built a relationship with your
publisher, nows the time to ask. First
however, you need to return to Step
1 and complete the research again,
so you can demonstrate to them that
demand for a second title exists.
The publisher is more likely to
be interested in another proposal
from you if theyve seen you are
pro-active in promoting the book,
and sales are strong. This is an
ongoing process. If you launch your
book and market it feverishly then
abandon your efforts two months
later, sales will drop off.
www.writers-online.co.uk
AG
NEON
NT- FO
ICTION
PINION
From the
OTHE R SIDE
OF THE DESK
Even though its party season the
publishing lifestyle isnt as glam as people
think, says literary agent Piers Blofeld
W
hen I tell people that I am a literary agent, one
of the most common reactions (other than I
know someone who is/am writing a book) is
some sort of rib-nudging remark about all those good,
boozy lunches I must have.
Sadly that is now a myth. Not only are the lunches
less frequent, but they are greatly less boozy than they
were. There was a generation of agents and publishers,
prematurely gathered into the great slushpile in the sky, for
whom lunch wasnt lunch without at least a couple of bottles
of claret. Now it is much more likely to be a couple of
glasses of mineral water.
We live in a more corporate, healthier and, it must be
admitted, faintly duller world. However the one time of year
when these out-of-date stereotypes do get at least partially
dusted off is the summer party season which is now upon us.
Across London swish locations are being decorated and
bottles of just about passable white wine and prosecco
are being uncorked. But while it is easy to imagine that
these are terribly glam affairs, I am afraid to say the reality
is somewhat more prosaic and in truth these parties are
neither very wild or very glamorous.
There tends to be an inverse rule whereby the bigger
the company the less fun the party. They are all really just
an opportunity for agents and editors who have in many
instances known and worked with each other for years to
chat and gossip over a few glasses of wine.
The people I often feel get the worst deal are authors. The
household names are of course greatly lionised and fussed
over, but the newer, less successful authors who still perhaps
cant quite believe they have a publishing contract will often
only know their agent, editor and perhaps a publicist.
The skill set and approach to life that makes for a good
author is often (but by no means always) not what makes for
someone who is a natural party animal and I always worry
that some authors feel they really have to make the effort, so
they book the train tickets and the hotel room and turn up
to have a not terribly good evening.
Making a good impression on your publisher is hugely
important and something I will write about in the next
column, but if you are ever in the situation of wondering
whether you should go to your publishers party, only if
your really think youll have a good time otherwise it
really doesnt matter if you dont. You certainly wont be
missing some wild bacchanal!
AUGUST 2016 15
21/06/2016 11:14
 S TA R I N T E RV I E W

Aent
f e r
dif view

From the hills above Jamaicas August Town to London

academia, award-winning poet and novelist Kei Millers voice
resonates across boundaries. Interview by Tina Jackson

Keis Augustown is a shanty town a two-stage process. One thing, then

in Jamaica where old, blind Ma Taffy,
sitting on her porch, senses that a
terrible danger is coming. When her
grandson Kaia comes home from
school, his Rastafarian dreadlocks shorn
by his teacher, Ma Taffy knows that the
Autoclaps is on its way.
Augustown is a slim novel it but
the involved stories it tells, including
a second thing, came together. Kamau
Brathwaite is a poet in the Caribbean
that I very much look up to, and years
ago I was a student at the University
of the West Indies and he said: It is
time to write about Bedward. And I
thought, yeah. And, when can you write
that story in a different kind of way?
A conversation with a friend gave him

I
f you only read one new novel
this summer, WM recommends
the spell-binding Augustown, by
Jamaican poet and author Kei
Miller, winner of the 2014 Forward
Prize for Poetry. Its 223 pages are
crammed with narratives, ideas,
politics, love, tragedy and marvels, all
conveyed with deep humanity, searing
insight and lyrical clarity.
that of the real-life Jamaican preacher,
Alexander Bedward, who believed that
he would fly to heaven and who paved
the way for Rastafarianism, have had a
slow genesis. This novel took forever
because I was so interested in story. I
didnt want the beauty of language to
detract from the story. Augustown is
purposely stripped down, to focus on
the story and whats happening, Kei
says. The beginnings of Augustown was
the beginnings of an answer.
And not long after that, another
Caribbean poet, younger than me,
Ishion Hutchinson, and me were
talking, recounts Kei. And he is very
in the thrall of vocabulary and uses
elevated language, but he was telling
me this story, this horrific story about
how his teacher at school cut off his
dreadlocks and his mother went to
school and punched the teacher. Id

16 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p16 interview.indd 16 21/06/2016 10:43


You write what
you want to write in
the way you want
to write it. You make
up the writing
as you go along.
never heard him slip into Jamaican
Creole before... and it was the
language he used, to describe this
trauma. To tell the story about this
boy, and the story of Bedward. These
are the two kinds of beginnings, and
years later I thought them over and
connected between the two stories.
Keis Augustown is a real place.
Where I grew up in Jamaica is on a
hill that looks over August Town, he
says. Simply by making it one word is
my nod to fictionalising it. Its a place
thats not far from where I grew up in
some ways scary and violent but a place
I knew was full of history. Its a book
about place and I very much know the
people from those worlds. Houses I
know, my own family.
The story of Bedward, and his
attempted flight is one that, he says,
is still told and used as to diminish
people. Its a story you could hear. A
story of this stupid preacher who said
he was going to fly. A story that middle
class people would laugh at. The poet
Linton Kwesi Johnson said that if you
were stupid at school, people would
say: Stop being a Bedward. Its still
there about how could the folk believe
in something so ridiculous but there
p16 interview.indd 17
was a time when he was one of the most
important preachers in the Caribbean,
and Rastafarianism is impossible
without Bedward.
Its a story that Kei, who has an
academic PhD and teaches creative
writing at Royal Holloway, wanted
to reclaim and repurpose with his
characteristic blend of social justice and
compassion. I wanted to tell it
not from the perspective of middle
class people committed to mock
the people who need to believe they
can fly. What does that flight mean
for people who are so constantly
oppressed? The flight in Augustown is
what lies at the heart of a lot of what
Ive been writing what a lot of people
consider magic realism but the people
who live there would never consider
magic realism. How do we privilege
one system of belief over another?
Like Keis other works, Augustown is
post-colonial metafiction, layered with
meanings that transcend straightforward
narrative and ask questions about whose
story is being told and who is telling
it. The meta-fiction is probably always
there, he admits. I think its something I
fall back on very easily. Its obviously there
in this book but if I was even more strict
www.writers-online.co.uk
S TA R I N T E RV I E W
on myself it wouldnt be there at all. Being
a novelist and an academic, Im always
thinking who is telling the story, what are
the politics of the story? That criticism
comes very easily and naturally to me.
One of the most famous names in
post-colonial literary fiction provided
Kei with his lightbulb moment. Salman
Rushdies Shame was the book that
exploded my world it has a wonderful
moment where he stops the narrative
completely and says; lets just pause
and tells you the whole story of how the
book came about, and how he weaves
the story into the rest of the novel. And I
thought, how do you get away with that?
It has informed all of his work since,
including his teaching. When you teach
creative writing you talk about authorial
intrusion and I think, how can an
author intrude on himself? Its authorial
inclusion you are allowed into your
own book. It pisses some people off,
though. For a long while Ive simply
been trying to get away with it.
He is too aware of the nuances of
language not to be wary of his own
technique. I have to temper myself
from moments of authorial inclusion
to suddenly stop the story and
accuse the reader of reading it wrongly.
AUGUST 2016 17
21/06/2016 10:44
 S TA R I N T E RV I E W
Thats very much the post-colonial
critic bursting out from the seams of
the fiction and wagging its finger at
the reader. It can get in the way, but
hopefully it works if its done right.
He is also profoundly aware that one
of his greatest skills as a writer his poets
gift for conjuring image and metaphor
might disguise, but will not help
him solve, the problems that he comes
up against as a novelist. In my career
as a writer, poetry has been the more
prominent thing, or at least the thing
Ive been most known for, and theres
something I have to teach myself, because
I write across so many genres: theres a
kind of description that disappoints me.
When theres a problem in a novel, if
youre a poet you can throw every kind of
beautiful language at a scene, you lard it
with metaphors about the post-colonial
condition, you throw in 1,000 yellow
butterflies but it doesnt solve the
problems of plot, and character.
Augustown is Keis tenth book: since
2006 he has published two other novels,
four poetry collections, a book of short
stories, a book of essays, and edited the
2007 anthology New Caribbean Poetry.
The book for which he is best known,
at least in the UK, is his Forward Prize-
winning collection, The Cartographer
Maps His Way to Zion, which contrasts
two systems of knowledge the logical,
scientific voice of the cartographer and
18 AUGUST 2016
p16 interview.indd 18
the spiritual language of Rastafarianism
to examine the way territories have
been understood and controlled through
history. He wrote it as a diversion
from Augustown. It was completely a
distraction from writing this novel, he
smiles. I was on sabbatical and meant to
finish Augustown and I thought Id write
poems and a Rasta was in my head.
When it became a prizewinning
success, Kei found himself adopted by
British literary culture in a way that he
hadnt imagined. Then I was embraced
as a black British poet and Id never
conceived myself as British, or black
British, or part of British literature.
Im not disdaining it Id just never
thought of it until then, he says.
Kei came to the UK from Jamaica
in 2004, first to Manchester University
where he did an MA and supported
himself as a slam poet, and then to
Glasgow to do his PhD. He had already
dropped out of a degree course at the
University of the West Indies, but
was making a name for himself as an
emerging Caribbean writer by the time
he arrived in the UK, and his writing
identity had been formed.
By the time Id moved to Scotland Id
written three books and I knew the kind
of literature I was writing. It gave me
a security Id always been conscious
that there was a great literature from
the place where I was from, he says.
www.writers-online.co.uk
Very literally, Id known these writers,
wed read together at festivals and I
understood myself as a young writer in
this tradition. I was never aware of me
fighting to be a part of British literature,
I was always a part of the literature of
where I came from.
Kei became a writer because: I cant
do anything else! He laughs deeply.
Im really shit at everything. Despite
being a nominal academic now and
having a PhD (stupidly, I decided to do
an academic one), I dont have a first
degree I dropped out and all this came
after. But when I was at university, Errol
Hill, a Trinidadian playwright, came
and gave a lecture. I knew by then I
was dropping out. He said, take this
with all the kindness, a career in the
arts is something you can only do if you
cant do anything else. And I thought,
thats why Im going to be a writer. I
remember thinking, very possibly Im
not going to earn the kinds of money
my friends who will be doctors and
lawyers might make. And thats okay.
He thinks hes still discovering what
he wants to write, but he knows his great
subject is the Caribbean. There can never
be enough stories about that world. It
could be ambition, it could be arrogance,
but it should be possible to write large
literature about a small island.
After ten years of prolific publication,
he knows quickly which category
21/06/2016 10:44
 S TA R I N T E RV I E W

a piece of his writing will fall into.
Its easy for me to tell, these days, if
something will be a story or a poem.
If something occurs to me as language,
like Cartographer, that potential was
there. I had the voice of a Rasta and the
voice of a cartographer, and when you
put the two together that created a kind
of dissonance. How do you make
something lyrical out of this
end of the day these are the stories you
want to tell, and you tell it with what
you bring to it. And as much as what
he writes is generous and humane, it
is fuelled by a deep sense of injustice
and a desire to understand, through
language, the profound, complex and
difficult history of colonialism that is
central to his work. Poetry for me
is about language and story is
and their way of knowing that is
completely dismissed. The Rasta way
of knowing is scorned and completely
dismissed. I give credit to people
whose beliefs have been dismissed. I
know this sounds earnest but I am
constantly thinking of people who
dont get the credit they deserve: gay
people, women, religious people
even though these people might not

clash between scientific and
spiritual? Its a problem of
language, and that means
a poem.
Kei does not use woman got up and
poems as a vehicle
for telling stories, but
for exploring language for telling my story
and ideas. I mistrust
narrative poems. My
students sometimes do them,
and its not about language,
how it moves and leaps, but
about something that happens. If
Im writing about something that
happens, or happened, it is never
going to be a poem. If Im teaching, a
poem cannot be about an event, it has
to be the events, it has to happen in
the language.
He is a firm believer that a writer
should find their own, unique voice.
You write what you want to write in
the way you want to write it. You make
up the writing as you go along. At the
about event, and essays are
about things Im angry
about. I use stories but
This old, black there is always a point.
Often Im trying to
disguise my anger, so
said: Thank you I say, let me tell you
a story to illuminate
the point. What I am
fundamentally is an
essayist. The Cartographer
works everything through
language but there is a point. My
fiction has an essay at the heart of it.
Im an essayist who disguises his essays
as fiction and sometimes as poetry. And,
occasionally, writes essays.
Although he writes in a variety of
forms and a multiplicity of voices, there
are themes he returns to over and over.
For some reason religion and belief is
something I keep returning to. What do
people believe? Trying to give credit to
different belief systems. Different ways
of knowing the world. The Bedwardites
see eye to eye so I see the ways in
which different people are overlooked.
For me this is tempered by a critical
mind that wants to speak for people
who dont have that agency but realises
theres a tension in doing so.
Keis writing is fiction but the
stories he tells could not be more
raw, or real. The novel he published
before Augustown, The Last Warner
Woman, tells the story of one of those
overlooked people: a woman who
comes to the UK from a Caribbean
Revival community and is sectioned
when she tries to give a prophecy.
It was launched at a bookshop in
Islington, and this old, black woman
got up and said: Thank you for
telling my story. This inspirational,
questioning, vibrantly eloquent writer
was stopped in his tracks then, and still
is as he retells the story. The warner
woman had come to see me to say
thank you. It was one of the few times
when I was actually speechless.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 19

p16 interview.indd 19 21/06/2016 10:44

 FICTION
Whats it all
about?
Get to the heart of good
writing and uncover the
essence of your novel with
advice from Gary Dalkin
W
hats it all about? Not the
meaning of life, but your
novel (which of course
might just be about the
meaning of life). It sounds
like a big question. Subtext, theme, the
heroines journey. Or is it just about
542 pages? Or perhaps its 30,000
words too long and something has to
go and you dont know where to begin?
Wondering what your novel is
really about can sound pompous,
pretentious. Especially if it is a book
designed purely as an entertainment
with no thought to being a literary
award winner. But the question of
about, of theme or subtext in any
fiction, is not necessarily a matter
of profundity. Rather, it is about
discovering the essence of the book so
that everything can be focused to bring
out that essence to full advantage.
And that applies whether that means
making a cosy romantic comedy as
funny and heartwarming as possible, or
ensuring a subtle exploration of a soul
in torment gets unerringly to the heart
of the matter.
Whether the lightest read or the
most demanding experimental novel,
all stories are about something.
20 AUGUST 2016
p20 SUBPLOT.indd 20
Stopping
to think
about what
that something is
(and it may be more
than one something)
enables us to bring it out,
and at the same time helps
you, the writer, decide just what should
be included in your novel, and what
is unnecessary. What might even be
hindering the book, dragging it down,
killing the pace, distracting from what
you are really trying to say, do or
achieve. What should be cut.
Know your style
It is famously argued that there are two
sorts of writers. Plotters and Pantsers.
The former plan meticulously and
know every last detail of their story
before they ever write a word of it,
while the latter fly by the seat of their
pants, pouncing on a character or idea
and following down the rabbit hole
and along the yellow brick road to
see where he, she or it will go, only
discovering the story as they tell it.
The reality is more complicated than
that, as some writers will adopt one
approach on one project, and the other
on a different book. Nevertheless, in
his landmark book On Writing Stephen
King writes: Plot is, I think, the good elements because they seemed too
www.writers-online.co.uk
writers last resort, and the dullards
first choice. It is certainly the case that
King sometimes starts with no more
than some characters and a situation,
and writes to see what happens. Once
he put two characters in a room and
let them battle it out, and the result
was one of his best novels, Misery.
Yet a novella like Rita Hayworth and
Shawshank Redemption depended on a
certain degree of advance plotting to
make the mechanics of the story fall
into place.
Most novelists really work
somewhere between the two extremes
of fully planning every detail and
flying by the seat of their pants. Its a
sliding scale. You may have characters
and know what is going to happen to
them, at least roughly. You probably
have significant plot developments,
and know the sort of atmosphere you
are trying to create, the emotions you
are aiming for, the ideas you intend
to test. And yet... and yet... first drafts
tend to be big, messy sprawling things.
Especially if you write fast, trying to
get it done, get everything down before
you forget about it or the inspiration
and enthusiasm dies. The tendency is
to write now, sort it later. But what a
tangled mess we can weave.
First draft blues
Often early versions of a novel can
feel like throwing paint at the wall
to see what sticks. Sometimes it is
as if the author has introduced new
21/06/2016 10:11

good an idea not to try out, and the
writer probably had the intention of
making everything fit together better
afterwards. Making it up as you go
can give rise to electrifying drama,
and it can also result in extraneous
new characters, pointless scenes spun
on the fly, reams of woolly stream-
of-consciousness dialogue, copious
descriptions, lengthy flashbacks and
often unnecessary subplots.
All too often these features simply
detract from the central thrust of
the book. So how does this happen?
Sometimes its because we dont have
an entirely clear idea of where we are
going with a story. Creativity is not an
exact science. Sometimes we have to do
something in order to find out why we
shouldnt have. Why it doesnt work, is
a bad idea, or simply doesnt fit in this
particular place. A good idea which
doesnt fit can always be saved to use
elsewhere later.
Sometimes writing a novel can
be like stone carving, but in reverse.
Sculptors have been known to say that
it feels like the statue is already in the
stone, and their job is to liberate it.
They start with a lot more material
than they end up with, and in that
block of raw stone, if they are good,
they will find a beautiful work of art.
The book obviously isnt already
on the page, or in a file on your
computer. But the words already exist,
the characters and the stories are there,
somewhere, deep in your imagination,
some already thought through, others
still to emerge from your subconscious
as you write. So instead of cutting
away from the stone like a sculptor,
we do the reverse, pile up words on
the page where previously there were
none, building our work up word
by word, character by character, idea
by idea, story development by story
development, until it is done. But it
can seem like a ragged, unfinished
work of sculpting. Just as after the
heavy cutting the artist has to refine
and hone down the stone to the finest
detail, so we need to stand back, look
at the half-formed thing we have
created, and wonder what on earth
to do with it. How to turn it into a
publishable novel.
And to do that we have to get to the
heart of the matter. Discover what we
have really being writing about. Then
trim away the excess, that which mars
p20 SUBPLOT.indd 21
the lines, destroys the form, just as a
sculptor works in ever greater detail
the closer they come to the finished
article. And this is just as true whether
we are talking about a rollicking good
adventure yarn written with no deeper
intention than to entertain, or a literary
novel with aspirations to significance.
Step back
So stop and take a good, long hard
look at your book. Ask yourself: what
is this really about? Not the story, but
the intent. Perhaps the question would
be better phrased as: what is this novel
for? What is it meant to do? It then
becomes easier to read it with a more
objective eye and see if what you have
written fulfils your goals.
Lets take the above mentioned
rollicking adventure story as an
example. We could think of James
Bond, Allan Quatermain, any number
of war stories about men on a mission.
In these sort of stories it is fairly easy
to see what is necessary and what is
not. First we must have a protagonist
(lets say James Bond), or perhaps a
group of them (lets pick the Mission:
Impossible team). Our hero(s) have to
have a purpose. This is provided by a
villain, or antagonist. Our hero(s) have
to foil some sort of dastardly plot: to
stop someone starting WWIII, stealing
state secrets, ruining the economy,
assassinating the president. Things
will happen to get in the way. Our
hero may get distracted most
likely by a beautiful woman
or disarmingly charming
rogue. He may be
betrayed, either by the
love interest or by a The tendency is to
trusted colleague. He write now, sort it later.
or she will meet people
who will help or hinder But what a tangled
them. In the end, against mess we can weave.
overwhelming odds, and
at the last moment, our
protagonist will triumph. Yes,
its a formula, but it has worked
over and over for centuries, and a
good writer is an expert at disguising
the mechanics of the story with
compelling characters and fascinating
incident. Note, I didnt say anything
about real world believability the
adventure story demands a certain
suspension of disbelief, and the reader
happily plays along if everything is well
enough done.
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FICTION
Kill your darlings
But what if youve written an
adventure story which simply gets
bogged down? What if the plot is
too complicated and has stopped
making even the sort of sense we
accept from a good thriller? What if
characters do things for no reason
other than because you need them
to so as to make the plot gears turn?
What if you introduced characters
who are left hanging, with no
resolution, their part of the story
simply being left in midair?
Some streamlining is going to be
necessary. This is where Sir Arthur
Quiller-Couchs excellent advice
in his 1916 book On The Art of
Writing about murdering your
darlings pays off. Couch was talking
specifically about style, but the
principle applies to any aspect of a
manuscript which doesnt enhance
the whole but of which the author
has become enamoured.
You may find you have included
things in your book because you like
them, because they mean far more
to you than they do to anyone in
the novel. Consider each scene and
each character. What is that scene
there for? What function does the
hairdresser introduced on p76 really
play? So the protagonist needed
someone non-judgmental to talk
to? Is this hairdresser needed as a
character in their own right?
Is it necessary to then have
a sequence from the
hairdressers point of
view, perhaps in which
she worries about
something unrelated to
the plot of the novel,
such as her inability
to communicate with
her mother? Could
the same information
your protagonist told the
hairdresser be conveyed in
a more direct way, without
having to introduce a new minor
character, or location or plot
development, into the story?
If, for instance, your detective
hero is tracking a serial killer, it is
likely they will need to explore the
first crime scene, and the second.
For the second will perhaps offer
contradictory evidence, deepening
the mystery. But if it is the same
AUGUST 2016 21
21/06/2016 10:12
 FICTION
killer being sought, is there a good
reason for an in-depth investigation
of the third, and the fourth, and the
fifth murder sites? The same point
does not usually need to be made
over and over again. So examine your
scenes. Do you have more than one
sequence making the same point in
different ways? Perhaps it would be
as well to focus on the core point of
these scenes, on what they say about
character, how they drive the story,
and combine the different scenes
into one more powerful passage
which makes the same points with
more impact than several separate
sequences ever could.
Whats Alfie all about?
Take Bill Naughtons play Alfie (now
the opening words of this article fall
into place), made into the Michael
Caine comedy drama feature film of
the same name. If each woman that
Alfie became involved with had the
same sort of character then the story
would fail. The story works because we
see various aspects of Alfies character
through his relationships with several
very different women. If the same
situation simply repeated itself we
would have a short story stretched
to novel, or feature-film length. The
best reason to repeat a situation is to
show how the character themselves
has changed by reacting differently
between the beginning and end
of a story.
Now here is an exercise.
Something to think Consider each scene
about. The film The
Godfather Part II and each character.
was one of the first What is that scene
sequels to be more
highly acclaimed than there for? What function
an already massively
lauded original. The
does the hairdresser
Godfather won three introduced on p76
Oscars, including Best
Picture and Best Adapted
really play?
Screenplay for Francis Ford
Coppola and Mario Puzo jointly
adapting the latters novel. Part
II won six Oscars, including
Best Picture and Best Writing,
Screenplay Adapted From Other
Material, again by Coppola and
Puzo. Except one can argue that The
Godfather Part II is a film without a
story worth telling.
Like all great films The Godfather
22 AUGUST 2016
p20 SUBPLOT.indd 22
Needed more
murdering?
The Godfather Part II
Paramount Pictures
began and ended at exactly the right
places. There was nothing else to
say. The Godfather was the story of
Michael Corleones degeneration
from war hero to murderous mafia
boss. Part II mostly continues
Michaels story, but has nothing to
add because he just carries on being
a murderous mafia boss, having more
people killed to protect his family
or further his aims. The already
lengthy film also includes around an
hour of scenes following Michaels
father, Vito (nominally the titular
character of the original film)
as a young man. Now
consider, are these scenes
necessary? Do they tell
us anything we do
not already know,
especially given the
first film shows
us exactly what
the older Vito will
become? Do we
need to see selected
highlights of how he
got there?
This argument goes
against the grain we are
tearing apart about one of the
most acclaimed films ever made
but are the flashback scenes with Vito
Corleone needed? Or do they make
a long and slow drama already even
longer and more protracted, yet to
no good purpose? Do even the scenes
in Part II with Michael add anything
to the story told about him in The
Godfather? If it were all one work,
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one vast novel, as indeed it started,
where should the cuts come? What is
necessary in order to say everything
about these characters that needs to
be said? One might argue that while
there are plenty of murders in the
Godfather saga there are far too many
darlings left alive.
Know your story
So, get to the heart of the matter.
Be clear who your story is about,
and what they are trying to achieve.
What is your purpose in telling this
particular story? Then with those
ideas clear you can focus on making
your novel as good as possible,
removing anything which does not
fit with the characters, the mood,
the theme. Remember, a good idea
which doesnt fit can only make the
book worse. If the idea, or character,
or whatever it is really is that good,
save it and repurpose it later in
something else.
All novels, all stories, are about
something. So take some distance,
untangle the thicket of plot and
character and see what needs to be
said, then cut, shape, rework and
refine away anything which is not
useful until your novel does exactly
what you want it to, whether that
is thrill like no other thriller on the
market, or to the explore deepest
recesses of the human heart, or
investigate the most challenging
of all moral or philosophical
conundrums. Cut, refine, polish that
about... to perfection.
21/06/2016 10:12
 Faber Academy
Manuscript Assessments
Just nished a rst draft? Gearing up to submit to
a literary agent? Or just looking for an honest &
professional steer on your work-in-progress? We
have a manuscript assessment for you.
Pick your perfect report today.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 23

p023_wmagaug16.indd 23 17/06/2016 09:35


T
heres nothing more likely to put
a serious dent in your day than
spotting a typo after youve
sent off your pristine submission
letter and manuscript to an
agent or editor. Even after all the re-reads
and edits, endless scans to spot any errant
commas or bloopers, you missed the
blighter. And there it sits, taunting you
with a big, fat grin on its face.
I know the feeling, dear reader;
been there, felt the shame wash over
me like a wave of hot tar and gone for
a lie-down in a dark corner until the
feeling has passed.
The fact is, it happens and you do
get over it. Its something you learn to
watch out for and correct at the earliest
opportunity. All you can do is hope the
editor or agent isnt so callous that theyll
dismisses the manuscript out of hand.
A similar situation, but a great deal
more difficult to deal with, is after
publication in paperback or hardback,
seeing something you wish youd written
differently in the first place. It could be a
simple question of style over substance,
a word which, in retrospect reads a
little clunky maybe even a minor
character you wished youd killed at birth
when that little editing gnome on your
shoulder was screaming Step away from
the keyboard, moron!
By then, of course, its too late.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda; the three
levels of pointless regret. The book is
out there where you always wanted it to
be, so you might as well buck up and
get on with the next project, because
those words are now the equivalent of
being set in stone. Like, for ever.
I doubt there are many authors who
havent noticed something similar while
flicking through their first comp copy. A
word or sentence leaps off the page and
its enough to send a cold chill through
the vitals. And wishing you could turn
back the clock and do a quick rewrite of
24 AUGUST 2016
p24 beginners.indd 24
Inner editor
but sometimes, youve just got to let it go,
the offending piece before anybody
else notices just wont work.
It aint gonna happen.
With an ebook, theres a good chance
that the publisher (or you, if youve
done it yourself ), can go in and amend
it. On Kindle Direct, for example, you
simply go to your original draft, make
the changes and reload the manuscript.
Easy peasy.
The thing is, nobody outside your
head will know what youre thinking
unless youre a social media fanatic who
likes putting every dot, comma and
waking moment of your life out there for
the world to read and dwell on. Then,
well a twinge of sympathy aside,
perhaps, will they even care? Probably
not. And why should they?
Remember, its your book and
nobody else could have written it. It
started out as your idea, with your
setting, characters and plot. You
constructed it from nothing more than
a glimmer and built it into a complete
story. You laboured over it for months,
possibly years, ground it through the
editing and proof-reading stages and
sent it off, all the time convinced that
this was the best you could do. If
you hadnt been, youd never have got
beyond It was a dark and stormy night
or whatever is your opening line.
So who on earth out there, bar
pedants, are you going to hear say on
reading it, Sheesh I bet this author
wishes theyd made a better fist of this
paragraph; contextually speaking, dude,
its a bit of a mare, imho.
Instead of worrying about such
an unlikely event, you have to trust
in your inner editor. Be confident of
what youve done and accept it. Shrug
off your doubts and put them down
to experience and maybe a writers
natural urge to never being quite 100%
happy with every single word.
Wanting to make something better
www.writers-online.co.uk
Trust your
As writers, we tend to be perfectionists
says Adrian Magson
than when it started out is what we do.
Most of us, anyway. Sure there are writers
out there who can produce a good read
at the drop of a hat, and never look
back because it simply never occurs to
them. But most of us have doubts, big
or small, and thats what makes us the
writers we are. We write, edit, rewrite and
re-edit. We chop and change and move
on, gradually stitching the idea together.
Its all part of the craft. Ask your family,
friends and partners; they will know. Its
the reason for the thousand-yard stare
they see so often (or as my wife describes
it, the blank gaze of a dumb rabbit
caught in the headlights).
But eventually we have to grit our
teeth, stop fiddling and send the
damned thing off to await judgement by
those Higher Beings known as agents or
editors. Thats the only acid test we have
to worry about at this point. Readers
come later. Theyre important, yes. Very
important in fact, even Higher Beings
than the others, because writers need
readers. Without them were like actors
without an audience, models without a
catwalk, celebrities without whatever
it is they have.
But once the first part is done and
dusted and the book is published, you
have to throw off those niggling doubts
and resolve to be happy with what
youve created. Learn what you didnt
like with the last one and soldier on, and
your next book will be even better.
TOP TIPS
Write the best book you can. Until youve finished.
Edit, read and rewrite. Repeat as required.
Trust your own inner editor. Accept outside guidance
as necessary later.
Be happy with the finished product. Its all yours.
21/06/2016 10:45
 Away from your desk
Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit
LONDON
SCREENWRITERS FESTIVAL
(2 to 4 September) is the
worlds biggest professional
screenwriting event, with
pitching opportunities and over
150 speakers including Fight
Club screenwriter Jim Uhls, and
1,000 delegates over three days.
Website: www.londonscreen
writersfestival.com
TAKE TIME TO
WRITE CRIME
Probation officer turned award-
winning author MARI HANNAH
will be headlining at Getting
Away With Murder, First Pages
residential crime writing course
in the Lake District, between
31 October and 4 November.
Website: www.firstpagecourses.com
Image: Alexander James
Sign up for summer school
With Joanna MacGregor as its artistic director,
DARTINGTON INTERNATIONAL SUMMER
SCHOOL AND FESTIVAL starts on 30 July with a
programme of music and creative writing workshops
and evening concerts that goes through to 27 August.
Website: www.dartington.org/whats-on/summer-school/
p25 What's on.indd 33
Back soon!
Get your boots on!
Richmond WALKING AND BOOK
FESTIVAL will take place from 24
September to 2 October. During the
day there will be guided walks in the
beautiful Northern Yorkshire Dales, and
the evenings will feature author events
including Celebrating Charlotte Bront
with historian Juliet Barker.
Website: www.booksandboots.org
Wuthering arts
Constella OperaBallet are bringing
SHATTERED LOVE AND GLASSTOWN,
their new theatre-dance productions
about the Bront family, to Grimeborn
Festival between 9 and 14 August as part
of the Bront Society and Parsonage
Museum 200 Celebration.
Website: www.constella.org.uk
CREATIVE
CONNECTIONS:
SOUTH OF THE RIVER
is a new display running until 6
September at the National Portrait
Gallery of inspirational people who
have lived or worked in Lambeth
and Southwark. It includes David
Bowie, Vivienne Westwood, Adele
and author Malorie Blackman.
Website: www.npg.org.uk
21/06/2016 10:46
 I N S P I R I N G WO R D S
On writing
Tony Rossiter explores great
words from great writers
This is the sort of
English up with which
I will not put
WINSTON
CHURCHILL
C
hurchills comment was written in the margins of an
official paper that clumsily avoided ending a sentence
with a preposition. In cases like this, the ear is a pretty
safe guide. Its far better to end with a preposition than to
construct an ugly sentence that avoids a prepositional ending
but grates on the ear.
Churchill was a great advocate of plain English. In 1940 he sent
a memo to his War Cabinet asking his colleagues and their officials
to make their reports shorter, and to set out the main points in a
series of short, crisp paragraphs. Phrases such as it is important to
bear in mind the following considerations or consideration should
be given to carrying into effect could, he said, be replaced by a
single word or left out altogether. Let us not shrink, he added,
from using the short, expressive phrase, even if it is conversational.
What exactly do we mean by plain English? I think there are
four main precepts.
First, cut out all superfluous words. For example, instead of
writing In actual fact, we discussed the issue of IT, we can
simply write We discussed IT.
Second, use short, everyday words. Instead of concerning or
regarding, we can probably write about; try is often better than
endeavour; and we may be able to replace consequently with so.
Third, avoid clichs and jargon. If youre tempted to use
acronyms, abbreviations or jargon, put yourself in the shoes
of the reader and ask yourself whether he or she is likely to
understand them.
Finally, wherever possible use the active rather than the passive.
The Board will decide future strategy is better than Future
strategy will be decided by the Board.
Theres nothing new about plain English. In 1550 the future
Edward VI said: I would wish that the superfluous and tedious
statutes were made more plain and short, to the intent that men
might better understand them. Over 400 years later, in 1978,
President Carter signed a memorandum requiring regulations to
be written in plain English. And in 1998 President Clinton sent
out a memo urging officials to use common, everyday words
(except for necessary technical terms), you and other pronouns,
the active voice, and short sentences.
26 AUGUST 2016
p26 on writing HIGP.indd 26
How I got
published
Jenny Blackhurst used to read this column and
swore one day shed be the featured author.
Interview by Dolores Gordon-Smith
C
lutching my fresh copy of Writing Magazine
I threw myself down on the sofa and flicked
through the glossy pages until I found it.
How I Got Published.
Published
A different story every month, inspirational tales
of bravery and hard work. And always in the back
of my mind one day that will be me.
Fast forward eighteen months. My first
completed novel is I think ready for submission. Ive had my
opening chapters torn apart by the good folk at YouWriteOn and
put back together again. Ive spent hours, days even, crafting perfect
individual query letters to agents looking for crime submissions. So
out goes my first query and less than 48 hours later I get the call. The
agent loves the submission. This is it! I have an agent on the first try.
Everyone was wrong, this isnt hard work, its easy.
So obviously the first rejection hit me hard. And the second. All
were encouraging but made me realise my work just wasnt ready.
So I revised and revised. I sought the advice of a few trusted friends
and went back to YouWriteOn. While I was working on it a friend
recommended The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood. I read it in two
nights. And as always I flicked to the acknowledgements to see who
she credited for her success I wanted that agent.
My book had been through the mill. It had been cut, tightened,
pulled apart and sewn back together. She was ready.
Laetitia Rutherford read the book in a night. After a breathless phone
call in the corridor at work back in my real world we arranged a
meeting and more work on the book. Yes,
more work. But this time I wasnt alone.
The rest is a bit fairytale ending. My real
life was punctuated by calls from my dream
life with offers and negotiations and within a
month wed accepted deals in three countries.
At that moment it felt as though it had been
the easiest journey in the world, the hard
work and rejections forgotten. That was
when the hard work really began!
Psychological crime novel How I Lost You,
published by Hodder Headline, is Jenny
Blackhursts debut novel
JENNYS TOP TIPS:
Research the agents you are submitting to. It will impress them
and you will end up with a better fit for your book.
Make sure your work is ready. It will save you time in the long run
if its the best it can be.
Appreciate what youve achieved before you move the goalposts.
Finishing a book is a big deal so bask in that before you get upset
about any rejections.
21/06/2016 10:23
 Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions.
Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.

2 November
The BBC Television Service
1 November was founded 80 years ago,
The rst DVD player,
created by Sony, in 1936. It was renamed
went on sale in BBC1 in 1964
Japan 20 years ago

15 November
Elvis Presley made his
11 November acting debut in Love Me
NASA launched Gemi
ni Tender, released 60 years ago
Xll, the nal Ge mi ni
manned spaceight, 50
years ago. The Gemini
programme paved the
way for the Apollo
moon landings
19 November
100 years ago, motion
picture company
Goldwyn Pictures
Corporation (from 1924
major studio Metro
20 November Goldwyn Mayer)
The musical Cabaret opened was formed
on Broadway 50 years ago

23 November
26 November The rst Tamagotchi
The Sex Pistols rst single,
Anarchy in the UK, was released digital pet went on sale in
in the UK 40 years ago Japan 20 years ago

Looking ahead: Sport in 2018

Winter Olympics from 9 to 25
February in South Korea
The Commonwealth Games will take
Big birthdays place on the Gold Coast, Queensland,
Loud-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey will be 50 on 8 November, Australia, from 4 to 15 April
Singer Jeff Buckley would have been 50 on 17 November (died 1997), FIFA World Cup takes place between
US author Don DeLillo will be 80 on 20 November. His latest novel, 14 June and 15 July in Russia
Zero K, was published in May.

p27 Editorial calendar.indd 77 21/06/2016 09:30

 e
FICTION
r
T lu
ies What is reality? In fiction, realism is not
necessarily real life, and that isnt what readers
really want anyway, argues Sophie Beal
F
ilm director Richard
Curtis summed it up:
If you write a story
about a soldier going
AWOL and kidnapping
a pregnant woman and
finally shooting her in the head, its
called searingly realistic, even though
its never happened in the history of
mankind. Whereas if you write
about two people falling in love,
which happens about a million times
a day all over the world, for some
reason or another, youre accused
of writing something unrealistic
and sentimental.
In fiction, whatever the medium,
writers strive to achieve realism. But
that notion of reality the kind
that keeps viewers gripped, and
glued to their screens doesnt really
correspond to real life.
Curtis was talking to the BBC
about his time-travel romance About
Time. Watching the film, I waited for
the fight. Surely the female lead would
find out about her partner Tims time
travel, or hear hed almost cheated on
her with his first love. Shed feel either
manipulated or betrayed. But the film
finished before any of this happened.
There were plenty of tears but the
conflict came from events outside their
control. These stimulated the character
growth and by the end Tim learnt to
savour everyday life, whether or not he
could change what was ahead.
Curtiss ambition was to tackle a
big, real life, question with no simple
answer How do we find happiness?
but the film was critically dismissed
as another romcom.
Helen Fielding didnt set out to
speak for a section of the population
in Bridget Joness Diary. But nobody
28 AUGUST 2016
p28 Reality in fiction.indd 28
else had dared to describe how
difficult it was for single women in
their thirties to figure out the career/
dating/babies issues no one has fixed
the biological clock yet. She portrayed
single women in their thirties as
something other than tragic spinsters
or bunny boilers. Meanwhile, she
made us laugh at tactless comments
from smug marrieds, and celebrate
the Singleton Urban Family. It was
ground-breaking comedy that created
a new genre. It wasnt truly realistic,
but still rang true with audiences. And
among the broadsheet critics, it had
more detractors than fans.
Curtis and Fielding might be
comforted knowing Jane Austen had
the same problem in her day. Of
Austens work, Charlotte Bront (who
wrote of a governess unaware her
master was keeping his mad wife in
the attic) said in a letter to critic GH
Lewes: Why do you like Jane Austen
so very much? I am puzzled on that
point... I had not seen Pride and
Prejudice till I read that sentence of
yours, and then I got the book. And
what did I find?... a commonplace
face; a carefully fenced, highly
cultivated garden, with neat borders
and delicate flowers; but no glance of
a bright vivid physiognomy, no open
country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no
bonny beck.
You cant tell the importance of
someones work by how difficult
it is to understand, or how miserable
you feel by the end.
So what is it that readers look for in
this fictional approximation of reality?
Escapism
I listen religiously to A Good Read and
Open Book on Radio 4. The guests
www.writers-online.co.uk
often seem to recommend books
set in a barren landscape, or among
Colombian street children, then
say they read to escape into another
world. I understand reading to inform
yourself, to increase your empathy,
but why would you escape anywhere
so depressing?
In December 1915, War Illustrated
explained to those at home, that
What was wanted [in the trenches,
was] the friendly companionship of
a good and kindly book to take the
mind away from the contemplation
of the terrible environment. Many
men enjoyed romance, particularly
Jane Austen, but had little interest in
adventure novels.
Jane Austens exclusion of gritty
reality, including war, from her
stories appears deliberate. She wrote
during the Napoleonic Wars. One
of her brothers was in the Navy, and
her sisters fianc, an army chaplain
died in the Caribbean. However,
although many of her male characters
are involved with the military, there
is little if any mention of fighting,
wounds and those killed in action.
Her comments about the things she
did choose to observe class structure
and family life stand 300 years later.
Richard Curtis and Helen Fielding
have both witnessed international
suffering first hand through their
work with Comic Relief. Yet the
comedies they are known for are
based in the UK and their characters
are relatively privileged. Is this
21/06/2016 09:46

co-incidence? Has exposure to these
things driven them towards escapism?
Are they sugaring serious purpose
with comedy and nicely painted
kitchens? Or are they simply writing
about what they understand best?
Readers use their mental energy
to meet the challenges set by a book
or film. The easier a novel is to read,
the less energy is expended coping
with understanding a new world. The
more palatable its made by humour or
human interest, the more likely they
are to notice themes and ideas.
Finding the lighter side
Nora Ephrons motto was
Everything is copy. She discovered
her husband, Carl Bernstein, was
having an affair when she was eight
months into her second pregnancy.
Her response was to write a funny
novel about it. Heartburn barely
disguises her inspiration.
In the story, someone asks the
heroine why she feels she has to turn
everything into a story. She replies:
Because if I tell the story, I control
the version. Because if I tell the story,
I can make you laugh, and I would
rather have you laugh at me than feel
sorry for me. Because if I tell the story,
it doesnt hurt as much. Because if I
tell the story, I can get on with it.
Jane Shilling said in The Telegraph:
What makes Heartburn a great novel
rather than simply a great revenge
novel are the instances of grievous
pain spun into comedy.
In the best comedy there are
elements of tragedy. My favourite
part of the first Bridget Jones film is
the opening credit sequence. Drunk
Bridget lip-syncs All By Myself. Her
reactions throughout the book and
film are comic, but the loneliness
itself is serious.
Comedians will tell you comedy is
tragedy turned on its head. How any
individual sees their circumstances
is often down to attitude and
upon which events they focus.
Using different tones, one novelist
may produce a miserable Booker-
winning epic and another something
much lighter with the same story.
The most successful TV comedies
usually mix darkness and humour.
Porridge, for instance, is set in a
high-security prison. Blackadder Goes
Forth emphasises the stupidity of the
p28 Reality in fiction.indd 29
First World War, the ineptitude of
the commanders and the incredible
tragedy (Richard Curtis again).
Realism versus reality
Theres a difference between realism
and reality. No one, hopefully, is
going to write a film based on my
life, but if they did, theyd probably
cut out the Facebook sessions and
trips to Tesco, and skip to the
part where I have children.
They might include
me shouting at these
children to get dressed
and eating too many
No-one is ever going
cherry bakewells to make a film based
for a little character on my life, but if they
development.
Good dialogue did theyd cut out the
is far from realistic. Facebook sessions and
One of my standard
conversations taken
trips to Tesco.
down verbatim would
include a lot of ums, ers,
and at least one Sorry! What was
I going on about? Fortunately I
dont walk round with a reporter, Simpson earned a role in Curtis next
so I dont feel all my conversations
should advance the plot of my life or
they should have a natural rhythm
as well as new information for a
reader. (Although I do find myself
correcting my own grammar.)
US author John LHeureux
said: Dialogue is a construct; it is
artificial; it is much more efficient
and believable than real conversation.
Just as fiction itself distorts reality
in order to achieve a larger truth,
so dialogue eliminates all the false
starts and irrelevant intrusions of
real life in order to reveal character
and move the encounter toward a
dramatic conclusion.
Wish fulfilment and
fairytale endings
A guy can travel back in time to
improve his life; a bookseller spills
a drink on a film star in the street
and ends up marrying her; a prime
minister has a public relationship
with his coffee girl.
Im not arguing these scenarios are
realistic, but Curtis has used these
conceits to make his points. Fame
is empty. Kindness is important.
Happiness involves connecting
properly to those around you.
And to say the highly unlikely is
www.writers-online.co.uk
FICTION
pointless, dismisses two entire genres,
science fiction and fantasy, and
elements of most others.
Joe Wright said of his Pride and
Prejudice adaptation: Before [it],
I naively thought they were a
cop-out, but now Ive come to
believe that happy endings and
wish fulfilment are an incredibly
important part of cultural life...
Fairytales to me are never happy,
sweet stories. Theyre moral stories
about overcoming the dark side
and the bad. I find it ironic that
happy endings now are called
fairytale endings because
theres nothing happy about
most fairytale endings.
Privileged suffering
All the writers Ive mentioned
so far, from Austen to
Ephron, focus on privileged
sections of society. When their
characters suffer, they usually do so
in pleasant settings. Few minorities
are represented. (Comedian Junior
film after marvelling in his stand-up
at the special effects in Notting Hill
that removed all the black people
in the area.) But money, race or
class dont insulate from pain. These
writers works contain affairs, failure,
heartbreak and death.
Domestic fiction is often used as a
euphemism for trivial. But you dont
have to escape the British home to
find gritty reality. 35% of children
in an area close to me live below the
poverty line. It is estimated one in
four women experience domestic
violence during their lifetime.
Elderly people struggle with extreme
loneliness. These are realities.
Light and shade
Good fiction relays truth about the
world. Overly cheerful writing is
therefore often unsatisfying. But sheer
quantity of and reverence for the dark
doesnt work either. Most real peoples
lives are a mixture.
After Pride and Prejudice was
published, Jane Austen wrote, It
is rather too light, and bright, and
sparkling. It wants shade. I think the
opposite can also be true. Perhaps
books and film are like drawing a
mix of light and shade enhances the
perception of depth.
AUGUST 2016 29
21/06/2016 09:47
 B E AT T H E B E S T S E L L E R S

The techniques and style of

BEATRIX POT TER The pioneer of modern childrens picture book writing, Beatrix Potter,
was born 150 years ago. Underpinning her work was a seamless harmony
between animal and human nature, says Tony Rossiter

Y
ou may go into the home in Hertfordshire. From an early Beatrix: Edward Lears Book of
fields or down the lane,
age she observed what was around Nonsense and Lewis Carrolls Alices
but dont go into Mr her and loved to draw and paint. Her Adventures in Wonderland. She was
McGregors garden: earliest sketchbook, Dalguise 1875, also entranced by books read to her
your Father had an includes a careful watercolour study by her Scottish nurse at Dalguise.
accident there; he was put into a pie by of caterpillars, as well as scenes These were full of folklore, rhyme,
Mrs McGregor. depicting what she observed adventure and fantasy (she
But Peter is a naughty rabbit who around her: a farmer with a especially liked fantasy). Her
does not do as he is told, and he does cow, a bridge over the river, favourites included Aesops
not follow Mrs Rabbits instructions. the house at the foot of Fables, the Grimm Fairy
His behaviour mirrors that of a naughty the mountain. Another Tales, the Fairy Tales of
child. No wonder The Tale of Peter sketchbook of the same Hans Christian Andersen,
Rabbit (1902) was such a success. period shows rabbits Charles Kingsleys The
Beatrix Potter went on to write and on ice-skates, wearing Water Babies and the
illustrate a further 23 bestselling books jackets, hats and Waverley novels of
of animal tales. scarves. By 1880 she Sir Walter Scott.
was drawing serious, At the age of
ARTIST AND NATURALIST anatomically perfect, fourteen, inspired by her
From an early age Beatrix was fascinated studies of rabbits. admiration of Boswell and
by natural history, science and art. Born From an early age Pepys, she began to keep a
in 1866 into a well-to-do, upper-middle- she demonstrated an diary. This was her literary
class Victorian household, she was exceptional gift for apprenticeship, as she
brought up by nannies and governesses; drawing and painting, experimented and imitated
but on the third floor of the house in encouraged between the styles of admired writers
Bolton Gardens, Kensington, she and the ages of twelve and such as Edward Lear, Lewis
her brother were allowed to keep a seventeen by the tutelage of her Carroll, Jane Austen and her
menagerie which included, at various art teacher, Miss Cameron. special heroine, Fanny Burney.
times, rabbits, a green frog, lizards, Close observation of animals Her first published illustrations, at
newts, bats, snails, guinea pigs, canary, was the basis of her artistic the age of 24, were animal designs,
budgerigar, duck, tortoise and hedgehog. realism. Millais, the famous based on one of her pet rabbits, used
She observed these animals closely and painter who was a friend of her fathers, in Christmas and New Year cards.
drew them endlessly. said: Plenty of people can draw but Three years later, on 4 September
Her interest in natural history was you have observation. 1893, she wrote a picture letter
also stimulated by long holidays spent to Noel Moore (son of one of her
at Dalguise House, Dunkeld, the HOW SHE BEGAN governesses), who was sick in bed,
familys second home in Perthshire, and Before the age of eight, two books about a disobedient young rabbit
at Camfield Place, her grandparents made a particular impression on called Peter; and she followed this

30 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p30 beat the best.indd 30 21/06/2016 09:31


up, the next day, with a picture letter
to Noels younger brother, five-year-
old Eric, about a frog called Jeremy
Fisher. In 1894 she sold nine frog
drawings to a publisher of fine art
printers who had bought a few of her
earlier drawings. At this time she was
absorbed in mycology, the study of
fungi, and wrote a scientific paper on
the subject. Between 1892 and 1896
she produced fantasy illustrations
of favourite stories and rhymes,
including Cinderella, Alices Adventures
in Wonderland and Edward Lears
The Owl and the Pussycat. She also
produced drawings for Sleeping Beauty
and Puss in Boots and illustrations for
stories from The Arabian Nights and
Aesops Fables. Most significant of all,
perhaps, were eight illustrations of Joel
Chandler Harriss Nights with Uncle
Remus; his stories about Brer Rabbit
were to influence her own writing.
Her picture letters to the Moore
children were pivotal in her
development both as illustrator and
writer. We can see how she handled
the transition between natural science
and fantasy, and developed her art
of illustrated storytelling. She built
on Harriss sense of the absurd and
his technique of embellishing the
ordinary, but incorporated her own
observations and experiences. She
knew that the Moore children were
interested in nature and in how things
worked, and that they liked a story
with adventure and humour. These
were to be the main ingredients of her
books, the best of which were based
on her picture letters.
In January 1900 Annie Moore,
Beatrixs former governess, suggested
that some of her picture letters could
be made into interesting books for
little children. Beatrix borrowed them
back so that she could make copies
and consider which one would be
most suitable for a book. She decided
upon her very first picture letter
the Peter Rabbit story of 1893. She
added new text and new black and
white illustrations, and sent it to at
least six publishers. They all rejected
it mainly on the grounds that
the market required not black and
white, but coloured, illustrations.
Among the publishers who rejected
the book was Frederick Warne &
Co, who said that it was absolutely
necessary that the pictures should
p30 beat the best.indd 31
be coloured throughout.
Beatrix thereupon decided
to self-publish. She adopted
the small-size picture-book
format of Helen Bannermans
Little Black Sambo, believing
that this size was ideal for
small children, who could
handle the book easily and
that it would sell. Beatrix sent
Warne a copy of her privately
printed edition and at last
accepting the publishers views
included more coloured
illustrations. She insisted on a
low price and on the small-size
format. Warne agreed, and the
book was published in October
1902, priced 1s 6d.
ANIMAL TALES
With The Tale of Peter Rabbit an
immediate success, Warne were keen
for Beatrix to produce more books in
the same style. By Christmas 1902
she had proposed at least three new
books Squirrel Nutkin, Mr Jeremy
Fisher and The Tailor of Gloucester.
Before these stories were submitted
for publication, she tried them out
on children she knew. Around the
time of Nutkins publication, she also
began sending little letters to some
of her young friends anecdotes
about her animal characters or
conversations between them. One
early, charming example is from
Squirrel Nutkin to Old Brown (the
owl): Dear Sir, I should esteem it a
favour if you will let me have back
my tail, as I miss it very much. I
would pay postage. Yrs truly Squirrel
Nutkin. An answer will oblige.
In 1905, at the age of 39, she
purchased Hill Top Farm at Sawrey, a
small village near Hawkshead in the
Lake District. This was followed by
a remarkable outburst of creativity:
over the next eight years she produced
thirteen stories set in Hill Top Farm
and the surrounding countryside,
and these included much of her best
work. The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
(1908), written for the children of
her farm manager, was inspired by
his wifes habit of giving ducks eggs
to Hill Top hens to incubate, as well
as by her own amusement at her
farmyard ducks. The children and
their mother appear in the story, as
do some Hill Top animals, including
www.writers-online.co.uk
B E AT T H E B E S T S E L L E R S
the collie, Kep. The Roly-Poly Pudding
(1908) was inspired by an invasion
of rats at Hill Top and Beatrixs
ongoing battles against them; it
incorporates details of the house and
its furnishings.
The Tale of Mr Tod (1912) is a
longer, darker and more violent story,
and she was particularly proud of her
opening paragraph: I am quite tired
of making goody goody books about
nice people. I will make a story about
two disagreeable people, called Tommy
Brock and Mr Tod. At the insistence
of her publisher, however, she had to
drop goody goody, and to substitute
well-behaved for nice. Tommy Brock
is a badger and Mr Tod a fox. The
Tale of Pigling Bland (1913), which
came directly out of her farming
experiences, has several biographical
touches and Beatrix herself appears in
the story. It was stimulated partly by
the little black pig she bought soon
after her arrival at the farm.
In 1913 she tried to capture some of
the qualities of ordinary folk life, and
experimented using local dialect, in a
short story, Fairy Clogs, published in
Country Life magazine. Four years later
a collection of nursery rhymes she had
written and illustrated was published:
Appley Dapplys Nursery Rhymes (1917),
which she had first proposed to
Warne following the release of Peter
Rabbit in 1902, helped to stave off the
companys ruin following a financial
scandal. The following year the most
autobiographical of all her stories,
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, was
published. This story, put together
AUGUST 2016 31
21/06/2016 09:31

during the war years, showed her
deep understanding of animal nature
and reflected her own happiness
as a country-mouse. By this time,
however, her eyesight was beginning
to fail and the drawings, though
charming, are not up to the standard
of her best work.
LATER LIFE
In 1923 Beatrix Potter became a
significant Lake District landowner
with her purchase of the 2,000-acre
Troutbeck Park Farm. The previous
year had seen the publication of
Cecily Parsleys Nursery Rhymes, a
satirical collection full of local colour
(it included a caricature one of
her husbands golfing partners, Dr
Parsons). Thereafter, the breeding of
Herdwick sheep, together with the
restoration and preservation
of the surrounding Lake
District landscape, largely
replaced her interest in
writing and illustrating books
for children.
A meeting with an
American publisher, who
visited her in Sawrey, resulted
in some stories and one book,
The Fairy Caravan (1929),
being published in the US.
Her last illustrated animal
book for children was The Tale
32 MAY 20162016
AUGUST
p30 beat the best.indd 32
of Little Pig Robinson (1930).
Unlike her earlier books, this
had more fantasy than reality
and lacked their concentrated
interest. However, she was
particularly pleased with one
of the drawings: she wrote to
the books American publisher,
saying: I think Pig Robinson
looking into a shop window is the
best black and white I ever did. But
by this time she was at the end of her
career as writer and illustrator. I am
written out for story books, and my young readers. She paid great
eyes are tired for painting, she wrote
in 1934.
HOW SHE WORKED
Beatrix Potter had an intuitive sense
about what children liked. In The
Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peters reckless
bravado, deciding to do something
(going into Mr McGregors garden)
which has been expressly forbidden,
is recognisable not only as something
a very naughty young rabbit might
well do, but also as the behaviour
of a naughty child. That seamless
harmony between animal and human
nature is at the heart of Beatrix
Potters books, and goes a long
way towards explaining their
enduring popularity.
Her starting point was the
physiognomy and natural
behaviour of animals: she studied
their behaviours, and built their
characters around those. Her
portraits of animals are never
sentimental. She recognised
that nature had a hard edge
and could be cruel, and she
knew that violence could be
popular with children. So mice
are always in danger from
www.writers-online.co.uk
LISTEN
TAP HERE
to listen to an extract
from The Tale of
Jemima Puddle-Duck
TAP HERE to buy the
book from Audible
cats and owls, little frogs can be
gobbled up by big fish, and rabbits
are on the lookout for gardeners. She
appreciated nature, but respected
its ruthlessness. With her lifelong
interest in artistic realism, her
drawings of animals were set in real
backgrounds: the gardens, houses,
and landscapes which she knew and
lived in.
Beatrixs straightforward, humorous
tone is perfectly pitched to capture
the interest and sympathy of her
attention to her choice of language:
rhythm, cadence and the sound of
the word were very important. And
she always took enormous trouble
over the beginnings and endings of
her books. She usually wrote out
the story in a paper-covered exercise
book and then pasted her drawings
into a dummy book. She was always
extremely particular about look of the
finished product.
She never wrote down to
children, as we can see from the
first sentence of The Tailor of
Gloucester: In the time of swords and
periwigs and full-skirted coats with
flowered lappets when gentlemen
wore ruffles, and gold-laced
waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta
there lived a tailor in Gloucester.
That vocabulary, in a childrens book,
seems quite extraordinary, though
we must remember that this book
was written for children a little
older (perhaps eleven or twelve) than
her earlier readers. This is my own
favourite amongst my little books,
she wrote on a presentation copy, and
her opinion never wavered. The Tailor
of Gloucester always remained her
personal favourite.
23/06/2016 10:01
 GRUMPY OLD BOOKMAN

Submit, dont give up

Michael Allen attempts to get to grips with modern submission protocol

I
ts a funny old world is publishing.
For the past fifteen years Ive
mostly been publishing my own
work so I havent needed to deal
with traditional publishers. Recently,
however, Ive been trying to help a
friend to get a book published in
the old-fashioned way; and Ive been
surprised to discover how difficult
this has become: difficult, that is,
to accept direct submissions from
authors because we dont have the
resources to evaluate them. Really?
That doesnt say much for the quality
of their staff, does it?
And publisher number three
has an almost identical statement.
Paraphrased, what it says to new
authors is: Push off and stop
wasting our time. Adding, for
traditional publication, please dont
give up. Remember that all books
have a potentially long life, even if
theyre not big hits to begin with.
Example: in 1955 Alan Hunter
(then a secondhand bookseller in
Norwich) wrote the first of his
series of 46 crime novels featuring
Inspector Gently. Hunter died in
2005, but two years later BBC

even to get a traditional firm to
consider a book, let alone make an
offer to publish it.
Choosing a suitable publisher to
approach, for any book, is not too
difficult in principle. One way is
to go to Amazon and select a book
which is similar to the one youre
marketing. That way identifies one
publisher. Then you scroll down that
books Amazon page and you come
across a feature which lists books
that are frequently bought together.
And below that there is normally
a list of books which Customers
who bought this item also bought.
Clicking among these links will
usually be enough to give you a few
publishers to start with.
Then you google your way to the
web page for one of your prospective
publishers and look for the name of
someone suitable to write to. And
thats where the fun starts. Particularly
if youre trying to sell a novel.
To research this situation from the
point of view of an as yet unpublished
writer, I began to investigate a few
firms which published some of my
own early books. One such firm,
which fifty years ago was reasonably
approachable, now says bluntly:
We do not accept any unsolicited
material. And they dont list any staff
other than the CEO, so you cant
identify a suitable editor.
Publisher number two is now a
minor imprint of a much bigger firm
which bought it thirty years ago. Like
most publishers, it says, were unable
good measure, We dont Television broadcast the first of
return any of the rubbish what is so far seven series
you send us. Publishing contains a of adaptations of the
If you repeat my books. And in 2016
research yourself you
mixture of people, and in the Mystery Writers of
will find that there your own search for an America has awarded
are a few exceptions agent you may nd one the Edgar for Best
among the smaller TV Episode to Peter
publishers some will
who is a perfect gentleman, Flannery for Gently
accept submissions or lady, and is absolutely with the Women. So
direct from authors delighted to read your Gently book sales will,
but most firms tell the I suspect, continue to
same story. Work through
submission. But dont benefit Hunters estate.
an agent, they say, or you wont bet on it. In my March and April
get a spark of interest from us. columns I wrote about the recent
Yes, yes, of course, I can hear you fashion for republishing in digital
muttering. But nowadays we all format many relatively minor books
know that you have to work through from the post-war period. And
an agent so what did you expect? having noticed this, I began to think
Well, I expected a bit more respect about offering some of my own work
for the creators of the publishers in this market. Obviously I could
stock in trade, for a start. choose to republish my early, out-of-
Trying not to be discouraged, print work myself; but if I dont have
you next start to look at agents. As a digital file I would have to go to a
samples, I visited the websites of two lot of trouble to create one.
large, well established literary agents So, long story short, I wrote a
and one small one. All three promised full description of five crime-fiction
nothing, not even to read three pages. books of mine, first published in
They may not even acknowledge 1975-85, and sent an email about
receipt of your work. And two said them to one of the new digital
that if you dont get a reply within republishers. I sent it at 7pm one
eight weeks it just means youre a Sunday. By 9.15pm I had a reply. Yes,
loser. Or words to that effect. thank you, said the publisher. Would
Well, publishing contains a mixture like to do these. Will get my man
of people, and in your own search to send you a contract tomorrow
for an agent you may find one who morning. And he did.
is a perfect gentleman, or lady, and No great money is attached of
is absolutely delighted to read your course, but my old books will now
submission. But dont bet on it. live on. Publishing is, as I said at the
However If you are looking for beginning, a funny old business.

www.writers-online.co.uk JULY 2015 33

p33 Grumpy.indd 33 21/06/2016 09:45

 A
world of
opportunity
Whether youre looking for topics to inspire your writing or potential
markets for publication, theres a lot to be said for looking a little
further afield and considering other countries. Liz Gregory helps
you get started on foreign shores

Old-school
print opportunities
chnology
Making the most of tetrue to say that the world
irely The ubiquity of email also makes it possible to
Its a bit of a clich but its ent
the se days, thanks to the ease with tap into opportunities for publication in other countries
feels a much smaller place
h others all around the globe. print media. The first short story I ever had published was
which we can communicate wit
rseas via social media sites, in a Canadian magazine I saw it listed in Writers News (yes, I
We can chat to other writers ove
s and opportunities this way. was a reader of this publication LONG before they let me write for
and perhaps pick up new contact
particular country, and the them), emailed my story to the editor, made a couple of changes that
Hashtags are not limited to one
ldw ide makes it possible for us he requested (again via email) and then saw it published in a copy of
number of English speakers wor
world of writing far beyond our the magazine that he kindly sent to me. Obviously not all pieces written
to see what is going on in the
there are millions of English-
immediate location. Likewise, by a UK author will be suitable for publication overseas, but a good
just provide opportunities for
language websites that might story (or novel, or article etc) is a good story, and being alert to overseas
ak your language where
publication, remembering to twe possibilities opens up a much wider market for your work.
or other audience. Keep an eye
necessary to suit an American
for a heads-up on some of the
on Writers News every month
missions.
international sites accepting sub

Other cultures
One of the best things about travellin
g abroad is exposure to other
ways of life besides our own and of
course, the further you travel
the more likely you are to have your
different world. If youre lucky enou
eyes opened to a completely Holiday hotspots
gh to travel regularly either
for work or pleasure then theres plen Travel writing can be a very tricky market to break into
ty of scope here for exploring
other ways of living new customs most publications will use staff writers for overseas trips,
, traditions, religions, foods,
music, clothing could all be of interest and the days of freelancers being able to pitch successfully
to readers back home.
Another interesting area to consider for an expenses-paid travel article are all but gone.
is history. Here in the UK we
have plenty of history of our own, of However, if you would be going to a certain place anyway,
course, but certain periods
are very well-known now and many theres no reason you shouldnt write about it when you
publishers will feel they have
reached saturation point (it would be get home just dont expect publication fees to cover the
hard for a new writer to
convince an editor that they have anyt cost of your holiday. Your chances of success are obviously
hing original to say about
the Tudor period, for example). Luc higher if youve been to a less well-known spot, or can
kily, there are plenty of other
countries out there who have fascinati
ng histories that are less offer a new angle on a popular destination and be aware
familiar to UK readers. Get research
ing and you might just have the that you might have to wait until next year as editors will
basis for a novel or short stor y. have most likely got all the material they need for this
summer by the time you get back.

34 AUGUST 2016

p34 ten top tips.indd 34 21/06/2016 09:52

 Political writing
Learning the language International politics are very much on
the
the radar at the moment as I write,
As a nation, we are not renowned for our ability to talk ld remain
referendum on whether Britain shou
fluently in languages other than our own; Im sure weve ing (and
in the European Union is loom
you
all felt the embarrassment of stumbling over a few words should have just taken place by the time
of Spanish in conversation with someone whose English gee crisi s is wors enin g,
read this), the refu
to
is probably better than ours is. If you do have a talent for and terrorist events worldwide continue
languages though, you could turn this to your advantage ern amo ngst the inter natio nal
provoke conc
sensitive
in a number of ways articles teaching the reader some community. Some of these are highly
grea t care,
essential holiday phrases, regular blog posts where we learn topics that should be handled with
enes s of worl d
about a different aspect of the language every week, vlogs or but there is a growing awar
ide idea s and insp iration
YouTube videos showing us how to master the pronunciation agendas that may prov
polit ical know ledg e
of trickier words and phrases there are all kinds of for UK writers with
have
possibilities. And even if youre something less than a natural, and an interesting angle, or those who
expe rien ce of even ts and can com e up
theres always scope for a humorous piece about your failed personal
lead s me
attempts to become a skilled linguist (and any amusing faux with a human interest story. Which
pas you committed along the way). on to

Key events worldwide

Overseas writing holidays One of the most interesting conversat
ions Ive had
spen t twenty years
What could be nicer than a whole week
to relax, write and recently was with a taxi driver whod
e whe n the wall came
mingle with other writers? Well, doin
g all of these things living in Berlin and had been ther
know all abou t it (the mood,
somewhere hot and sunny, for one thin down in 1989. I wanted to
g, surrounded by Dav id Has selho ff reall y DID try to
interesting new scenery (and maybe a
pool. And a cocktail the atmosphere, whether
someone who actually
bar). If youve been lucky enough to take steal the show) from the perspective of
part in a writing writing and journalism
holiday, either as a guest or as a visiting experienced it all. The same is true of
speaker, then youve t of a significant event
got the basis for an interesting piece righ if you can offer an insiders viewpoin
t there or even ys be interested in what
several pieces: one telling people how
to prepare for the then people who werent there will alwa
cant go back in time and
course in order to get the most from
it, one about the course you have to say. Obviously you
ts in the man ner of a Photoshop
itself, and then a follow-up piece with
ideas for further insert yourself into key even
do have any first -han d experiences of
writing projects stemming from the holid
ay. enthusiast, but if you
worth delving into
interesting things then it might just be
photographs
your memories, particularly if you have
Writing for the expats from the event to accompany your piece.

There are millions of Britons living abroad, with the most popular
countries for expatriates being Australia, the US, Canada, Spain and
New Zealand. It is perhaps unsurprising that four of the top five are
English-speaking countries, a fact that opens up opportunities for
a UK-based writer who can tap into this potential audience. When
youre living abroad, it can be very comforting to be reminded of
home sometimes (as the fact that shops are forced to stock British
favourites like Baked Beans, PG Tips and Rich Tea biscuits amply
demonstrates); again, search online or keep an eye on Writers News
for publications aimed at Brits living overseas.

Writing as an expat So, if youre lucky

Maybe you are one of those expatriates who has chosen enough to be going
to up sticks and move abroad and if so, you are abroad this month for
ideally placed to write both for the UK market and your summer holidays,
for that in which you live. Essentially, you are in the take the chance to lie
fortunate position of having insider knowledge of two back on your sunbed
different cultures you can write for your adopted and come up with a
country (expats or otherwise), and technology also allows few international ideas
you to access all the opportunities in the country you to pursue on your
have left behind. Just keep an eye on your deadlines return home.
as anything that needs to be dealt with by post will
obviously take longer from overseas.
AUGUST 2016 35

p34 ten top tips.indd 35 21/06/2016 09:52

 T R A I N YO U R B R A I N

!? PEN PUSHERS
Outlining a novel
Creating an outline for your novel isnt a one-size-ts-all job.
Try these exercises from Lizzie Eneld to help you nd the outline that works best for you

I
m at that stage. Im starting a new novel. Actually, Ive already made
tline method
a start and am about 25K words in, the stage at which I always The skeleton ou to lay out your basic
s you
realise that its all very well starting off and seeing where you end up This method allow for
ke y po ints but leaves room
but that this novel actually needs a bit of careful forethought. structure and iti ng
begin wr
manoeuvre as you the story
Writers tend to divide into two camps: planners, who meticulously
t yo ur ex po sition. Where does
1Lay ou What
plot every twist and turn of the story and splurgers who spit it all you main chara rs?cte
take place? Who are tin g th em from
out before trying to get it into shape. I fall into the latter camp. I hate at is preven
planning but I am aware that all writing, even a short story, benefits do they want and wh
getting it? What is
from some form of basic outlining. inciting incident.
2Think about your ts that
Even in minimal form, it will reduce the amount of work, pinpoint e sequence of even
going to kick off th
potential roadblocks and plot holes and get the creative process going. ugh the novel?
will take you thro it unfold?
The following methods are useful ways of trying to focus your thoughts g action. How does
3Lay out your risin ev er yt hing to
and plan your work before you begin getting it all onto the page. . What brings
4State your climax
a head? it all up?
e you going to tie
5Resolve. How ar

method
The snowflake t ie boy meets
wi th th e ve ry ba sic outline of the plo The flashlight method
1Start won round.
sli ke s bo y, eventually she is nes. This lights the way as you go along but you only really
gir l, gir l di e girl is Bridget Jo
that basic plot. Th get to think about the story in any detail as you write
2Then expand on own ea ch ot he r
arcy. They have kn
The boy is Mark D t in ha bi t ve ry different worlds your way through it
we re ch ild ren bu 1Think about what your story is and how you are
since they
as adults. while Marks going to start then write the first chapter.
th is fu rth er. Br idgets life is a mess 2Ask how you will move on from this to the next
3Expa nd rsuing other
pe ars to be pe rfe ct. They are both pu chapter and write that.
ap
people, etc. until every single 3Continue to do the same, moving from scene to
panding the details
4Keep going and ex scene and progressing your story as you go along.
is covered.
aspect of the story 4Plan a few chapters ahead but not the whole story.
This will help you progress and shape your story a
little more consciously than if you just sit and write.

The summary method

1Write the story from beginning to end
but omitting all the
scenes, character outlines and plot deta
ils, creating what is The free writing method
essentially a synopsis of your novel.
2Try to include as much of what is goin This last is just writing and writing and seeing where the
g to happen as possible process takes you. A lot of writers prefer this as it allows for
but in very basic from.
3Allow the structure of the story to unfo spontaneous creation and for the characters themselves to
ld and the summary take them in unexpected directions, but the writing tends to
to take you thought the action from begi
nning to end. require more shaping and editing later.

36 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p36 pen pushers.indd 36 21/06/2016 09:55

 T R A I N YO U R B R A I N

Red Editing Pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would all benet from some
careful use of your red editing pen.As writers, and regular readers of Writing
Magazine, you should not nd any of these too difcult. But if you would welcome
a little help, you can always check out Richard Bells suggested solutions below.
Here are this months examples:

1 Amanda was sat at her desk which contained drawersful of unfinished

manuscripts which she and her cohort Maureen had written during the
last few years.

2 Jean said she should call before ten next morning but she, as well as her
manager, were now running late and her making the call would depend
whether she could catch up.

3 Robert bought a present especially for Catherine which, in his judgment,

was something she would really want.

1 Th
in:

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS sitting

Now
should
drawe
F

1 The past continuous tense of a verb (such as to sit) is

formed by the verb was and the present participle (as in:
was sitting) not the past participle (as in: was sat). So our
suggests that should call would be appropriate.
Another little rule we meet in this sentence is that when
two nouns (in this case Jean/manager) are joined by and
the Ro
to a g
refer t
sentence two should open with Amanda was sitting. they require a plural verb, so we would have: Jean and her
Now let us touch on the noun drawersful. When we use
-ful nouns (such as bagfuls, drawerfuls, sackfuls) we should
form the plural by adding a final s not by inserting the s
manager were late. However, when we have two nouns
joined by a phrase introduced by as well as then they require
a singular verb, so our sentence should therefore read: Jean
2 T
is
Jean sa
mid-word. So Amandas desk would not have drawersful of as well as her manager was running late. By
manuscripts but drawerfuls, or alternatively, drawers full. Finally in this sentence, we should remember that depend meani
Finally here, the use of cohort to describe Amandas friend should always be followed by on (or upon which means call (s
and co-writer. A cohort was originally a part of the Roman exactly the same thing). Our sentence should therefore finish Ano
army comprising one-tenth of a legion. It now has a much with: making the call would depend on (or upon) whether she by and
wider meaning, but it is still used to refer to a group of could catch up. two n
people rather than a single person (you can certainly have a theref
Fin
cohort of writers) and we should not refer to Amandas friend
by a noun indicating a whole group. 3 In our final sentence we have some confusion, which
often occurs, about the use of specially or especially.
When something is done specifically for a particular person
means
upon)

2 The first question posed by our sentence two is whether

we should be using should or would. The basic rule is
that we use should with the first person pronouns I or we.
And on this basis our sentence should read: Jean said that
she would call. It is when we are using he/she/you/it that
we employ should.
By way of a rule, this is simple enough but it is breaking
down nowadays because should can carry the meaning
of ought to so if the writer of our first sentence meant to
suggest that Jean hoped to be in a position to call (she
ought to be able to manage it) then present-day usage
or thing, we say that it is done specially for them (or it). So
we should say that Roberts present was bought specially for
Catherine. On the other hand, especially carries the meaning
3 In
W
(or it)
of being above all; we would therefore say that: baseball is carries
very popular, especially in America. Som
Something else that occurs in North America is that they the fir
spell the word judgment without an e at the end of the legal c
first syllable, whereas in standard British English we usually
include the e to give us judgement. However, in legal
contexts, even in Britain, we usually have the non-e version
to give us judgment.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 37

p37 Red ed pen.indd 37 21/06/2016 09:56

 How to Become a
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write about, how they meet, the challenges they
encounter and how their affair pans out are all for
you to decide. Will they live happily ever after or
will it all end in tears?

Your story should be the usual 1,500-1,700 words

and the closing date is 14 September.

The winner will receive 200,

with 50 for the runner-up, and
both stories will be published
in Writing Magazine.
TAP
See p107 for entry details, full rules
and entry forms. HERE
TO ENTER

STILL TIME
250
TO BE
TO ENTER WON

With its closing date of 15 August, theres still time to enter last months competition
for a story of up to 1,000 words, on any subject or theme. Prizes are as above.
See p107 for more details.

p39 open comp.indd 39 23/06/2016 09:52

 THE FIFTH WALL
r
Humouor y
s t
short tition
compe

Winner
by Thomas Everley Thomas Everley is a writer and filmmaker based in the East

I
m sorry, sir, Gabrielle called, as softly
as a librarian would permit herself to.
Were actually just about to close.
He spun round. She saw a flash of
panic in his eyes.
Yeah, kind of an emergency, he blurted out. I
need a book. Have to have it tonight.
She walked round the desk and logged onto
the database. Which book is it?
Its called The Fifth Wall by Hadrian Page.
Doesnt ring a bell, she said as she typed into
the relevant fields. Whats it about?
Its about a character breaking out of their
own book.
The search completed. It turns out we
do have one copy, but it appears to be out
at the moment.
No no no, it cant be!
Please, sir, there no need to get-
Who has the book?
I cant reveal that, Mr er?...
Page. Hadrian Page.
Oh? As in-
Yes, that one. Now, please. I need my book!
Hadrian stormed out of the library, the confused
librarian in toe. He stopped, clutched his head.
Ow! He dropped to one knee. God that hurt!
Whats wrong? Gabrielle asked.
POV shift.
Im sorry?
The stuff before the text break was all in your
head, now its all in mine.
I dont understand.
Hurts like hell when they change it.
Really, theres no need to swear.
He shot a look at her. Hell isnt a Oh no,
youre from a kids book, arent you?
What?
Never mind. Look, we need to get my book.
Who did you say it was with?
She looked at a printout of the loan record.
Stephanie White. Shes a drama student.
Right. We need to get a move on then.
Should we take my car?
Not quick enough. Another text break should
do it.
Another what?
Told you!
That felt weird.
Well, it will if you pay attention. Ignore them
and youll be fine.
The pair walked up the steps to the front door.
Midlands. He typically writes comedy, fantasy and science fiction.
He has written for a number of anthologies, including Tales of the
Mouse and Minotaur and Evil Genius Guide from Fox Spirit Books
(due for release in 2016).
Hadrian rang the bell. Waiting for a response,
he started peering in through windows and
frosted glass panels in the door.
Wait a minute, Gabrielle objected. What am
I doing here?
You agreed to come with me.
Why?
I convinced you.
How did you do that?
It was long and convoluted. I dont really want
to go into it again. It all happened during the
first text break anyway, so it doesnt really matter.
I dont understand.
You dont understand? Imagine how the
reader feels; were not even 500 words in yet and
this storylines already getting pretty thin.
The door opened to reveal a young woman in
her late teens.
Hello? She looked at the pair, a puzzled
expression across her face. Miss Angel? she said,
recognising the librarian.
Hi Stephanie. This is Mr Page. He was
hoping-
Really? Hadrian interrupted. Your names
Gabrielle Angel? I can see why you started out
as the protagonist.
Excuse me?
Never mind. He turned toward Stephanie.
The Fifth Wall. Hand it over.
Erm. I havent got it.
What do you mean you havent got it?
Well, I took it out because I thought it was
a sequel to Stanislavsky. But its just some weird
gibberish. So I returned it.
You returned it? He looked at Gabrielle.
Audrey Sunburn here says she returned it.
Its stage make up.
Its fake tan. How did you not remember
she had returned it?
But it wasnt returned.
It wasnt?
No.
He looked at Stephanie. You didnt return it!
Well, my mum was going that way so she
said shed drop it off. Shes probably doing it
right now.
Hadrian brought his fingers to his temples.
His forehead wrinkled as he attempted to
massage the headache away.
Fine, he sighed. Lets go back to the library.
Okay, where do the books get returned?
If its after weve closed, they can drop it through
that slot there.
Well, come on Enid Blyton, open it up.
Gabrielle unlocked the late night book deposit
box and checked inside. I dont see it-
Oh no! No! We have had three text breaks in
as many pages and we have just changed location
again! I am not embarking on another subplot!
The narrative structure simply cant take it.
Im sorry, but if its not-
Hold on. I want to try something.
Thank God its there, Hadrian thought.
What did you just do?
Is it there?
Yes, it just appeared. How did-?
Its my POV, my internal monologue; that
makes it prose. If its prose, it has to happen.
Gabrielle picked up the book and inspected
it. It was a hardback. The cover was bound in
a deep burgundy leather, with golden lettering
deeply embossed. It had the design of a book
that belonged in museum of magical tomes. And
yet, it almost looked brand new. As if it had been
made only this morning.
So, she ran her hand across the cover.
You wrote this book?
Yes and no.
I dont understand.
The books about me.
You wrote a book about yourself?
Someone else wrote me into it. When I finally
realised I was a character in it, I started looking
for a way out.
A way out? Of a book that you wrote
about yourself?
There is a way for fictional characters to break
free from the restraints of their pages if they
know how to do it.
And you think thats what you did?
I tried, but something went wrong. Instead
of leaving the book, I got pulled deeper into
the fabula.
The what?
The story world. When the experiment
backfired, I ended up getting sucked into the
world of a fictitious story within the world of the
fictitious story that I was originally written into.
And now if I dont figure out what I did wrong
and how to undo what I did, Ill be permanently

40 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p40 comp winner.indd 40 21/06/2016 10:51


trapped within the made up story within a
made up story instead of leaving a made up
story in order to reach the real world where
my author currently resides.
My head hurts.
So does mine. Works of fiction arent
supposed to have an awareness of their own
creative origins. It feels like the Encyclopaedia
Britannica is doing a Bavarian folk dance in
my brain, and I was written as fairly intelligent.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be
for someone who was written for the under-
twelves market, like yourself.
What does that mean?
It means that if the Mr Men knew about
the real world, they probably wouldve
stayed in bed.
So, hang on. Youre not real?
Thats right.
Am I real?
No.
But I think Im real.
Because youre supposed to. Nobody
wants to read about a character with an
existential identity crisis. Except speculative
fiction fans, but thats a whole other thing.
The point is, that on a scale of reality,
youre actually less real than me.
Somewhere between Bilbo Baggins and
an honest politician.
You expect me to believe that Im nothing
more than a childs bedtime story?
Well on the bright side, youre still more
likely than the politician.
My whole life has been a lie. Gabrielle
looked down at the book in her hands.
Hadrian reached out to take the book. She
pulled it back, out of his grasp.
Take me with you, she demanded.
Take you what?
When you figure out how to leave your
story, I want you to take me with you.
No, thats not how this works.
Gabrielle opened the cover of the book and
ripped out the first page.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!
I want to be my own person.
Give me the book!
She ripped out another page.
I dont want my life, my decisions to all be
decided by some sweaty unshaven novelist.
You do know your author can read this,
dont you?
I want to be free!
And Ive a feeling she wont like that
description of her.
She took hold of the next page. Either we
leave together or you dont leave at all.
Hadrian attempted to edge closer. Gabrielle
tightened her grip. The paper crumpled audibly
between her fingers.
p40 comp winner.indd 41
S H O R T S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N E R
Fine, he submitted.
Gabrielle released the page she was
holding hostage. So, she asked. Whats our
next move?
Its essentially a spell. With a very specific
ritual. Were going to need ingredients.
Text break?
Text break!
Gabrielle and Hadrian mixed the ingredients
into a paste. With it they drew an intricate
diagram on the floor inside the library. Lines
intersected within a dodecagonal sigil. As
they completed the diagram, it lit up. A
brilliant white light filled the room.
Hadrian dropped to his knees.
Gabrielle looked down. Hadrian? What is it?
Whats wrong?
Argh! My head! Of all the times for a
POV shift.
What do you mean?
Think something; youll see.
I am, she said. Nothings happening. more disorienting depths of detail,
He looked up at her. Its not your
POV either.
No, the voice spilled out of the light.
Its mine.
I stepped forward into the library. Around
me, the smells of the room flooded my
nostrils: books, sweat, fear, even the strange
occultish paste. They barraged my senses
typical of an unseasoned author. And
yet, within this world, every scent had an
underlying hint of ink.
You? Hadrian said. He looked into my
eyes, his wide with terror and confusion.
You were there last time.
Of course I was! What did you expect?
I dont understand. This was supposed to
free me.
No, you fool. It summons your author!
I gripped my pen tightly. I pointed it
at my creation. Youre going back in that
drawer where you belong.
A great weight clung to my arm. I looked
over to see Gabrielle trying to wrestle the pen
out of my hand.
Go! she shouted.
What about you? asked Hadrian.
I have my own author to face. Now get
out of here.
I pushed her back. Her grip was surprisingly
strong. I twisted my hand free and slashed the
pen across her. She sprayed into a splash of ink
across the bookcases.
I turned just in time to watch Hadrian run
into the light.
No!
Sprinting after him, my stomach churned.
A villain of my own creation was now loose
upon the world.
www.writers-online.co.uk
EDITORS COMMENTS
Meta-fiction that is,
writing about writing, or
playing with story structure
is tricky to get right, but
Thomas Everley does a fine
job in his playful Humour
Competition winning entry, The Fifth Wall.
In longer form, devices such as addressing
the reader directly or having the author
appear in the work herself, can seem
gimmicky and run out of steam, but the
confines of this 1,700 word story are just
about right to tease the concept, get the
reader onside and then deliver a narrative
that satisfies its own, albeit twisted,
internal logic.
Much of The Fifth Walls impact comes
from the piling on of further layers of
literary contrivance. Beyond the character
made real, Thomas adds progressively
playing on elements that writers ought
to be especially aware of: the effect of a
POV shift on the affected characters, the
usefulness of text breaks to skip potentially
boring exposition, the awareness that
Hadrians break out of one fiction into the
real world is itself happening in another
fictional construct.
On another level, Thomas also
demonstrates another key comedy-writing
technique: rather than peppering the
narrative with authorial one-liners, the
storys humour comes from the mouths of
its characters. Moreover, Hadrians jokes
illustrate and derive from his character.
His snippy attitude and snappy answers
highlight his impatience with the fictional
constructs that surround him, and his
fondness for barbed nicknames (Audrey
Sunburn, Enid Blyton, etc) provides a nice
running joke without trumpeting itself as
here comes the gag.
And the judge stepped away from his PC.
RUNNER-UP AND SHORTLISTED
Runner-up in the Humour Short Story
Competition, whose story is published on
www.writers-online.co.uk, was Andrew
Hutchcraft, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
Also shortlisted were: Lou Armstrong,
Norton, North Yorkshire; Hazel Bagley,
Chippenham, Wiltshire; Tony Domaille,
Thornbury, Bristol; Gary Dring, Birmingham;
Ann Elliott, Framlingham, Suffolk; Kay
Stead, Copmanthorpe, York; David
Woodfine, South Milford, Leeds.
AUGUST 2016 41
21/06/2016 10:51
 I N T E RV I E W

Shelf life:
TOM
BOWER
The unauthorised biographer of gures including Tony Blair,
Robert Maxwell and Mohamed Al-Fayed, and former producer of
Panorama, shares his top ve books with Judith Spelman

T
om Bower writes unauthorised biographies of rich and
powerful people. He delves deeply into their lives to find
parts that have usually been left out of earlier biographies or
deliberately concealed. Whenever I find a detail which shows
that a powerful and rich person can be exposed as dishonest or
a liar, that is always a great pleasure, he says.
He studied law the London School of Economics and worked as a
barrister for the National Council of Civil Liberties before joining the
BBC as a researcher and becoming a reporter on Panorama. He went on
to produce the programme for twelve years.
Tom has written books covering football, the oil industry, World
War II and Nazi Germany. His subjects include Klaus Barbie, Robert
Maxwell, Simon Cowell, Bernie Ecclestone, Richard Branson, Mohamed
Al-Fayed, Conrad Black and Gordon Brown. He pulls no punches
and has been sued many times to no avail because he deals with
substantiated facts, His latest book, Broken Vows: Tony Blair The
Tragedy of Power was published in March 2016.

DARKNESS AT NOON
Arthur Koestler
The first book Tom has chosen is
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. I
read it every year because it is the most
superb introduction and explanation of
the human condition, he says. I just
find it a piece of simple writing that is
so evocative. This is a book about the
arrest of a senior communist official in
Stalins Russia who has been through the whole revolution and
is persuaded that he should plead guilty although he is innocent
because that is what the party needs. The twist, says Tom, is
that his original interrogator sympathises with him and that he
is not guilty. Then the interrogator himself is executed by a new
vanguard of apparatchiks. Its a fascinating story of the era in
which I grew up and which is at the heart of tyranny.
BEWARE OF PITY
Stefan Zweig
His second book is Beware of Pity by Stefan
Zweig, an Austrian novelist, playwright,
journalist and biographer. The novel, which
was written over a number of years, was
published in 1939 and is his only work
of fiction. It is the story of a man who
falls in love with a handicapped woman
and why it is so important is that its all about, again, the human
condition and the frailties of human beings. I chose this because
my mother loved it very much and I read it when I was very young
and have re-read it many times since, he says. You see I write
about human beings and their vulnerabilities and their vanity
and their self-deceit and this book, again, is about the exercise of
power and self-deceit. Like Koestler, Zweig understands how people
become either corrupted or have the strength to resist corruption
and whether they actually can withstand the temptations to do
wrong. I find that very interesting.

42 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p42 SHELF LIFE.indd 42 21/06/2016 10:07


SMILEYS PEOPLE
JOHN LE CARRE
Toms third choice is Le Carrs Smileys People. This is a
book that was published in 1979 featuring the British
master spy, George Smiley, who is called out of retirement
to investigate the death of one of his former agents. It is the
third book of the Karla Trilogy.
Le Carr, again, studies human beings and treachery. He is so profound
in his understanding, says Tom. I have written quite a lot about spies,
the Cold War and Nazi and post-war Germany. Le Carr is an absolute
genius, especially in that book, in telling the story of treachery but also on a
personal and a political level.
He has a remarkable insight into the human condition and you have to
often re-read passages to fully understand. He has a terrific vocabulary to
evoke happiness and misery and disappointment. If I need inspiration I can
just read a few pages and be inspired. I always find when I do my writing
the question is always what motivated someone to do wrong and what
repercussions they feared. So often people are so blinded by their egos and
reckless because of their ambition that they dont think of the consequences.
THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF SHAKESPEARE
Tom choose The Complete Works of Shakespeare as
his fourth book. That has everything, he says.
We read quite a lot of Shakespeare at school but
because I was too young I didnt understand it. I
have just read this marvellous book called 1606:
William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear by James
Shapiro. That was the year that Shakespeare
completed King Lear and wrote two other tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth. It was a difficult year following the
failure of the Gunpowder Plot, the outbreak of plague and increasing
religious divisions.
There is so much which I didnt realise in Shakespeare and it is just
fascinating to understand the twists and turns of why he wrote it and how
he wrote it and what it all means. You have to understand the rhythm of
Shakespeare. Shapiro wrote another book published in 2005 and called
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare.
THE OXFORD COMPANION
TO WORLD WAR II
Toms non-fiction book and his final choice is
The Oxford Companion to World War II, edited
by Ian Dear, which brings together a team of
140 international experts covering military and
political areas and showing how the war affected
so many people. The book emphasises the social
history and how people coped in their daily
lives. I have always been fascinated by the Second World War, explains
Tom, and this book has so much in it that I dont know. It will be a
marvellous way of actually finding out. I wrote quite a lot about the war
and post-war Germany. My first book is about post-war Germany and
the de-Nazified Germany. The Oxford Companion is just one of those
books I look into to remind myself of characters or wars and politics of
that era in the post war period.
www.writers-online.co.uk
p42 SHELF LIFE.indd 43
WRITERS BOOKSHELF
A
lthough he is currently working on his next book,
Tom refused to talk about it as the subject and title
had not been announced. Instead he talked about his
writing in general and his last published book, Broken Vows -
Tony Blair; The Tragedy of Power.
On the whole, I believe people unless I am disappointed, he
says. Its one thing not to believe, for example, a Donald Trump
figure, or the spokesman for Putin, but I think with Blair in the
beginning it was quite right to believe him. I believed him. I
believed him when he said there were WMDs and it justified the
Iraq war because the Prime Minister would tell the truth.
I think if you go through life not believing, you just miss so
much. My writing depends on cynicism. I write about people
who have lied. There are no professional reasons for me to
disbelieve them but if I have a vested interest in discovering the
truth, my job is invariably to expose the lies of these famous
and rich people. The reason I wrote about Branson, who really
is a bte noir of mine, is because when he won a libel action, he
stood on the steps of the Law Courts in the Strand and said, I
always tell the truth. Then I discovered he often doesnt.
With Blair, he said that in 1997 he warned Diana not to
continue her affair with Dodi but the date that Blair met her
was three weeks before she actually met Dodi.
If you read Toms books you will see that they are soundly
researched. He does much of that research himself. I have
a team and they are carefully directed, he says. In All the
Presidents Men, Deep Throat tells Bob Woodward to follow
the money: my criteria is to find the victim. Invariably, all the
victims of Blair, or Branson, or Fayed or Maxwell are the
people who can tell you where the bodies are buried because
they are the ones who suffered. Usually you find people who,
very often, are decent people who have suffered.
Usually, an author says that the book he has most enjoyed
writing is his latest. Not Tom Bower. Fayed, he immediately
replies. It was just an extraordinary story and astonishing, what I
discovered. Each book has its highs and lows and then you find
something where people dont want to tell you the truth and you
can show them what they have said. The great pleasure about
writing Blair was that so much has been written about him,
not least by the Blairites, and there was so much more to say. I
interviewed over 200 people and they all contributed something
that hadnt been said before or hadnt been explained.
I spoke to so many people who were close to Blair and they
just disclosed things that they have never talked about before
so I felt amazingly privileged and excited. I was about halfway
through when I realised I had a whole new original and much
more truthful account of the decade. Thats what is so exciting.
The pleasure really is hammering it into a narrative. I have on
my wall Ten Rules of Writing. One of them is re-writing is the
key to writing. All the time, re-write.
When you read the books I have mentioned, which are
about the human condition, human beings and personal
relationships, I find it so much easier to talk to people
because I am always sympathetic, even to mass murderers. I
used to write about Nazi war criminals and I always got on
well with them because I just knew what it was that would
trigger them to speak.
I think the whole role of the interviewer must be to focus
on the person you are speaking to. Its not about you, its about
them. In the end they are human beings.
AUGUST 2016 43
21/06/2016 10:07
 TA L K I T OV E R

Game on?
Y
our letter made me
smile, Roger, but I fear
Jane Wenham Jones helps a reader decide if a TV game it should have been sent
to my good friend and
show might be a good publicity vehicle for his writing colleague, Lynne Hackles.
The nearest I have come to a game

I
am considering applying to go on a well-known game show
as a means of publicity for my novels (I am self-published).
I think I have a pretty good chance of getting on as I have a
friend who has done it and he has been helpful with advice
on the application process, but I must say the thought scares
me stiff. Another friend said I wouldnt be allowed to mention the
titles and so it would have little effect, although she pointed out that
I might win some money I could then use for advertising. You have
written in the past about appearing on television. Do you think it
made a difference to your books sales?
ROGER WOULD-BE-STAR
Chepstow
show is appearing on Ready, Steady,
Cook many years ago a few months
before my first novel came out, as it
happens where I grated cheese and
chopped broccoli with what I like to
think was aplomb, but Lynne had me
watching from behind a cushion when
she appeared on Deal or No Deal.
And not just because she was standing
opposite Noel Edmonds.
Prolific author Lynne got through
to the very end of the contest and
was faced with choosing between two
boxes one containing 10p and the
other 75,000. (You can get quite a
lot of advertising for that!)
Im pleased to tell you the tale
has a happy ending. I was having
palpitations but Lynne who
remained sublimely calm throughout

44 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p45 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 44 21/06/2016 10:09


walked away with the seventy-five
grand, and earned a whole lot more
money and publicity as a result.
You are probably right to be
confident about getting on your
chosen show, as Lynne says being a
writer definitely helped. Both in the
filling out of the original application
form and the many more questions,
on her opinions and attitudes to life
that she had to answer when she was
invited to audition.
While those around me chewed the
ends of their pens and gazed into the
distance, I scribbled away happily, she
says. At the next stage, sitting in front
of a camera and told to talk about
herself, Lynne says her work as a tutor
and speaker came into its own. In
fact, she says, the whole day could be
related to writing experience.
Your friend is right in that you
may not be allowed to mention the
title of your latest novel. It depends
very much on the channel but I have
been expressly forbidden to mention
books at all on some programmes
Ive been on. On others Kilroy
(remember him?) for example it
was captioned underneath my name
every time I spoke.
I was going to advise that ones
occupation is normally given or
requested at which point you shriek
novelist and if you are interesting
and entertaining enough, viewers may
well Google you afterwards to see what
youve written. But on reflection, I
realise that on some shows only the
first name is used, so your surname
even your real one! may not get
aired. Lynnes clearly was. Although
no actual book titles were mentioned,
they made much of the fact that Lynne
was a writer, and she says:
My website crashed because
it received so many hits. Several
magazines ran stories on my win and
I sold several articles about it. Work
came rolling in, especially when I said
wed spent the money on a motor
home and would be travelling around
the coast of Britain. I was asked to
write about it and writers groups
from all areas asked me to speak or
give workshops to them. Deal Or No
Deal did far more than keep the bank
manager happy.
Womens Magazine short story writer
p45 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 45
Linda Lewis, too, found that her TV
appearance reaped rewards. She took
on the challenge of braving Anne
Robinson on The Weakest Link a few
years ago and feels it raised her profile,
thereby gaining her writing jobs as a
result. Like you, she was apprehensive.
I didnt know if Id die of fright or
not, she said at the time. I didnt. It
was great fun.
Another friend, Judy Astley, was part
of a team from the Romantic Novelists
Association that went on Eggheads.
The idea was to get publicity for
the RNA but the opportunity for
personal publicity wasnt to be missed
either as far as I was concerned, she
recalls. Always say yes, I reckon,
however scary the gig.
The RNA was mentioned and
talked about briefly on the show but
although all the team managed to
get in plugs for their books, these
were all cut at the editing stage. And
their surnames werent mentioned,
so, as Judy says, you might think that
publicity-wise on an individual basis,
it wasnt that productive.
She was, however, surprised by
just how many people had seen the
programme. Some years on, she says,
Im still meeting people who say, Oh,
I saw you on Eggheads...
Will it increase your book sales?
Has popping up on TV ever helped
mine? The honest answer is, I dont
know. I like to think so but publicity
is a strange animal. And nothing if not
unpredictable. Sometimes a review in
a national newspaper seems to make
no difference at all, while a small
mention on an obscure blog sends
the Amazon ratings soaring. Ive been
on radio programmes that have led
to brisk sales for the next hour and
others where nothing has happened at
all. There hasnt always been a sure-fire
way to monitor success but I take the
view that whatever you do on the PR
front can only help in the long run.
So I would say: apply for the
game show because it will be fun, it
is good to conquer ones fears, you
might, as you say, earn a couple of
bob, and because when you are a
writer, no experience is ever wasted.
Book sales or not, it will give you
one more thing to write about.
Good luck!
www.writers-online.co.uk
TA L K I T OV E R
Novel
Ideas
Same time,
same place
It doesnt matter where and when,
just write, says Lynne Hackles
T
he definition of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over again, but expecting
different results, is a saying attributed to
Albert Einstein. But was he right?
New writers are told to get a routine to write at
the same time every day. Better still, to find a place
where they can write and go there. So, day after
day, you go to the same spot at the same time and
attempt to write. Nothing happens but youve been
given this advice on good authority so the problem
must be you, and not the experts advice. Or maybe
you go to your chosen place at exactly your chosen
time and the words pour out of you. If the latter
happens, stick with it. It works for you.
Now, for you poor souls who have discovered
same time, same place does nothing for you. I
must be in the wrong place, you may wail. Try
somewhere else but it might be that you are lucky
and can write anywhere. I had always written in
my room, at my desk. Then when travelling around
Britain in a motorhome I thought I couldnt write
no writing room, no desk. Finally I told myself
to get over it and began writing on campsites, on
beaches, on the top of hills. It was a sort of picnic
writing. If you can eat anywhere, as in a picnic, then
theres no reason why you cant write anywhere.
What about the same time every day? So many
writers say that mornings are their best time. I
wonder if theyve ever tried any other. If you find
that the words arent flowing then experiment. Try
writing in your lunch break, tomorrow afternoon,
tonight, just before you go to bed or as soon as
you wake. Try a different time of the day and see if
something amazing happens.
AUGUST
JULY 2016 45
21/06/2016 10:09
 T H E BU S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
Social Engagement
Frittering time on Twitter, or legitimately working?
Simon Whaley dodges the cute kittens to find out.
A
lthough the first
tweet was sent on 21
March 2006, it was
four months later, on
15 July, when Twitter
became publicly available. Since then,
writers all over the world have been
tweeting about their latest blockbuster,
the joy of edits, and the cutest cat
photos they can find.
Social media and writers are not
always happy bedfellows. At worst it
can swallow several hours that would
have been better spent writing, or
it becomes nothing more than a
continuous sales platform of Buy my
latest book! because thats what our
publishers tell us to do.
And when one survey suggests
writers who regularly use social
media sell more copies of their
books, irrespective of whether they
are traditionally published or self-
published, another study reveals the
click-through rate from social media
to authors websites is woefully low
and therefore a complete waste of
time. So when it comes to our writing,
is there a business case for using social
media platforms?
Office support
Peter Jones, who used social media
to engage with his readers about
his latest novel, The Truth About
This Charming Man, finds these
platforms replace something from
his employed life. These days, social
media primarily takes the place of
work colleagues, providing that much-
46 AUGUST 2016
p46 Business of Writing.indd 46
needed daily office banter, which is
the only thing I really miss from my
old banking days.
Its possible for some writers to go
a whole day, if not longer, without
seeing another soul. Social media
provides us with those water-cooler
moments, where we can moan about
the latest rejection, or share the
joyful acceptance. But, perhaps more
importantly, social media offers a
place to meet other like-minded types
who can put those rejections into
perspective and motivate us to get on
with our work in progress.
When I posted a query on a writers
Facebook group asking members why
they used social media, Awen Thorber
wrote: The writer friends I have found
on Facebook have been invaluable.
They spur me on to write when it all
feels useless and pointless. They
give me a laugh with humorous
posts and, when it is a lonely
world writing in the study
at home, provide sanity
and friendship.
Carol Wareham added:
It has truly been an
education in more ways
than one. I have gained
friendship, support, advice
and information. I have
been pointed in the direction of
various groups that could help. Every
writer I have met through Facebook
and eventually in the flesh has been
unstinting in their generosity with
advice, help and friendship. Without
the help and support given I would
www.writers-online.co.uk
Use social media to
interact with people, as
opposed to constantly
lling timelines with
adverts.
Catherine Miller
Twitter: @katylittlelady
Facebook: katylittlelady.author our writing. As Peter Jones points out,
be floundering in a dark pool. It
seems most writers enjoy the support
and friendship offered through
social media. I think it is particularly
invaluable for the new writer.
Emphasis on the network
It doesnt matter what stage your
writing business is at, networking
with other writers, even virtually, can
take your writing business to the next
level. Catherine Miller, whose debut
novel Waiting For You was published
in March, uses social media for
networking with her support group.
Ive always used it as a way of meeting
people and keeping in touch. I met
my closest friends, The Romaniacs,
initially via social media and we keep
in touch mostly via Facebook.
Those writer friends kept
Catherine motivated through her
most challenging days (shes the
mother of twin girls) to
finish her novel. Without
that help and support she
may never have signed
with her publisher, Carina,
and be busy editing novel
number two.
Engaging opportunities
Many writers moan about the
marketing expectation publishers
put on their writers, particularly when
it comes to social media. However,
marketing isnt just about promoting
its about engaging with our readers,
rather than selling to them. I estimate
21/06/2016 10:13

that half of my friends are actually
people who came to me by reading
one of my books, so in that sense
its a really good way to engage with
my readers. Talk about something,
anything, other than your latest
book. Seriously. What did you have
for lunch today? Tweet that! Youll
be stunned how much interaction
you get.
That mundanity is what many
readers are interested in. Before social
media, fan clubs shared interesting
snippets about a writers life with its
members. Today, social media is that
fan club. Its immediate, accessible
and flexible. Its a direct relationship
between the reader and the author,
which is something those original fan
clubs couldnt always deliver.
Deciding which social media
platforms to use can be daunting,
but its worth considering how
you prefer engaging with people.
Facebook is by far my social media
medium of choice, says Peter. It just
seems to make more sense than any
of the others. I can post videos (like
YouTube), one liners (like Twitter),
and pictures (like Instagram), yet its
far easier to use than Google+ and
LinkedIn, which most of the time
leave me utterly perplexed. Keeping up
with replies and comments is a breeze
and, once youve got the hang of it, its
possible to figure out whats actually
working and what isnt, whereas on
other social media sites it feels like
youre in the dark.
Catherine Miller agrees. These
days I would say I prefer Facebook as
it allows a bit more interaction. The
way it is formatted means if I dont
get there as often, I still manage to
catch up with news whereas I find that
harder to do with Twitter.
However, Peter doesnt exclusively
use Facebook. I also use Twitter
and Instagram but only because
theres a small, but significant,
amount of people who wont go
anywhere near Facebook.
This then raises the question about
profiles. Should you have a personal
profile or an author profile, or both?
How much do you really want your
readers to know about you?
Peters view is to keep things simple.
So far as I see it, Facebook is divided
into people and things; people have
profiles and things have pages. If I also
p46 Business of Writing.indd 47
had a page that would be confusing
for both my readers and people who
know me. I can sort of understand
why an author might have a page if
they write under a pen name, but
because of the way Facebook treats
pages, I think theyd be better off
creating a second Facebook account
or profile.
Catherine Miller set up an author
page because she felt this solution
worked best for her personal
circumstances. I have a separate
author page on Facebook and a
personal page, as I often share pictures
of my children on my personal page,
and they are not something I want
everyone to see.
Research resource
Social media is also a fantastic
resource, offering great opportunities
to get in touch with people wed
never normally meet. Commenting
on my Facebook post, Writing
Magazine columnist Julie Phillips,
whos currently researching about
Birmingham during the Second
World War for her next book, wrote,
I use it more and more these days for
research. There are some wonderful
groups on social media and its a
way of linking with those groups
and finding people to talk to with
knowledge and experience on the
subjects youre researching.
Its always worth remembering
that social media puts you in touch
with people, not just dry facts.
When I needed to determine the
official opening date of a long
distance footpath for an article in
The Countryman, it was contacts
made via social media who resolved
my issue, not the relevant tourist
board, local authority and newspaper
archives Id been liaising with
for several weeks. Not only did I
discover when the path opened but
social media also connected me with
someone who was at the official
opening ceremony itself.
If internet search engines return
uninspiring results for your
keywords and specialist subject
matter, repeat the search again
using social media websites. While
blogs and websites are potential
information resources for writers,
social media offers an opportunity to
connect directly with experts.
www.writers-online.co.uk
T H E BU S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
If youre going to
promote something,
find a way to make it
interactive. My last book
launch encouraged
readers to send me
pictures of celebrities
that they thought I might
be impersonating.
Peter Jones:
Twitter: @peterjonesauth
Facebook: peterjonesauthor
ENGAGEMENT ETIQUETTE
Think of social media as a friendly writing business tool
What do you like seeing from people you follow, or are
friends with? If you hate being sold to, then dont sell to
your followers and friends. Find a balance. Engaging with
readers doesnt mean revealing your innermost private
secrets or discussing the finer details of the last argument
you had with your other half. Share the title of the book
youve just finished reading, or mention somewhere youve
visited recently that you found inspiring. Be positive and
upbeat, but dont hold back from mentioning those difficult
days we writers have. Matt Haig (@matthaig1, www.
facebook.com/matt.haig.92), author of Reasons To Stay
Alive, does this well.
Post regularly on your accounts
That doesnt mean every two minutes. It could be once a
day, or every couple of days. But if youre quiet for several
weeks without an explanation, potential followers may
think youve abandoned the platform. Update your profile
image occasionally. When Catherine Millers debut novel
was published she treated herself to some professionally
captured author photos, one of which became her new
profile picture.
Social media doesnt have to be the procrastination
tool it is frequently portrayed as
Think of it as social engagement instead. We need people:
readers, fellow writers and those fantastically-informed
interviewees we connect with for research purposes. Start
engaging with them. Tell them what you had for breakfast.
You never know where it may lead. When an Icelandic
publisher approached me about the Icelandic rights to my
book One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human,
one of the first things he did was share a photo of his dog.
So, contrary to what many believe, social media is not just
about fluffy kitten photos.
AUGUST 2016 47
21/06/2016 10:14
 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Under the
microscope
Author and lecturer James McCreet puts a readers first
300 words under his forensic lens
February 19881
H
is hopes for a day off school had been
raised2 when hed gone down for breakfast
and found his mother listening to Radio
Oxford in the kitchen.3 This only ever happened
during emergencies such as extreme weather and
well, barring the four-minute warning, it was the
only type of emergency situation which seemed
likely to occur.4 But without looking up from the
squeak and hiss of the iron,5 she told him theyd
already read out the school closures and Sir Henry
Grangers wasnt among them.6
Bollocks!7
How you feeling? she asked.8
Oh. Alright, he said, immediately regretting this
answer.9 He should have feigned a terrible headache
which could be a sign of something potentially
serious.10 Was it possible to have concussion two
days after being kicked in the head?11
Good, well.12 Back to school today, then. She
indicated two pieces of cold white toast waiting for
him on the small formica table.13
But .14
She glanced up, eyebrows raised to fend off
the protest.15
He decided she needed to know:16Theyre
saying theres going to be more snow, though! A
weather front coming in from the East blizzard
conditions. The AA are saying not to make journeys
unless absolutely necessary.17 His voice had gone
high and squeaky18 making him seem childish
and whiney instead of fifteen and worthy of being
listened to.19 He cleared this throat.20
His mother looked pointedly out of the
window as a car swished effortlessly past in the
slush:21 Sorry, kiddo. If schools open, youre
going in like everyone else. Your dads gone to
work and look theres Emma on her way now,
she nodded over the road.22
Rob followed her gaze as Emma,23 swathed24 in a
cream snood and hugging her folders to her chest
like an American college girl,25 picked her way
through the patchy snow, down the driveway.26
Even Emma wasnt enough to make him want
to go in today.27
p48 microscope.indd 48
CE McVey is a former journalist, now copywriter from
Cheltenham. Shes working on her first novel and is
finishing this month on the Curtis Brown Creative
novel writing course.
The novel is a character-driven, coming-of-age tale
set in the 1980s involving a group of pupils thrown
together to make their way home in a blizzard.
1 Im a long-term grumbler about
date headings in books. I cease
looking at them after a few pages only
from the board rather than the iron
itself? See also 18 below.
to discover at some point that Ive
missed something important in the
chronology and have to go back to
6 Why is this handled as reported
speech? Why not have the
mother just say these words? True, we
reconstruct the timeline. I dont like seem to be inside the characters head,
to do maths while reading. But thats but active speech would be more
just me. I suppose its handy to know immediate here and be a more rapid
that this is February 1988, but both hook into the scene.
of these facts could be subtly alluded
to in the text.
7 Why is this in italics? My
impression is that weve been
2
Its good that we start with a in his head so far so are the italics
gender but not a name. This purely for emphasis, or to show a
gives us something to read for. Im less switch into free-indirect voice? Was
enamoured of the clichd phrase to the previous voice actually that of the
raise hopes. author? Its a question that may cause
the reader to over-read, or to become
3 Nevertheless, this is a good first
line. It shows how the character
thinks and theres humour in the
confused. Simple solution: dont use
italics and well assume its the same
voice as before.
causal link between Radio Oxford and
no school.
8 Its good that her phrasing is
not grammatical. Thats how
4 At this stage, Im starting
to wonder about narrative
perspective. Id assumed from the start
people really speak. On the other
hand, why state that she asked when
the question mark makes it clear. Just
that were inside the characters head have her say it.
but now I wonder if this four-minute-
warning thought is his or not. Its
exaggerated and unrealistic enough to
be, but also a little too grammatically
9 This interjection directly after
his spoken words is problematic.
It sets up a duality between him as
structured. Though a minor quibble at character and the way hes narrated.
this stage, it remains a useful pointer In short, it fractures the storytelling
to the concerns of the late eighties. illusion. Moreover, it causes us to ask
where the interjection comes from:
5
I love the sound of the iron, but the character or the author. You need
I have a nagging sense that creak to show the reader his regret, not tell
might be better. Does the sound come us about it. This can be done through
21/06/2016 10:15

behaviour and/or dialogue, eg, Oh.
Alright... he said. Well, I mean...
He held his hand tentatively to his
head, watching for her reaction. Was it
possible to... etc
10 Again, is this his internal
voice or the authors? Did
fifteen-year-olds in the eighties talk of
feigning headaches?
11 This is a deft bit of exposition,
however. It subtly evokes the
bullying without spelling it out.
12 My preference would be for a
full stop after good. Is there a
clause here, or is it two separate words?
13 The cold toast is a nice
touch. Theres something
about indicated that isnt quite right,
though. A little too formal? Couldnt
she just point or gesture at it? There
are quite a few adjectives in this
sentence and I wonder how many
of them we need. For example, we
know that the table is small and
Formica (note capital), but we have
no idea where it is in the kitchen.
Its difficult to visualise. How
small is it? If this is not important,
dispense with the detail and put the
toast on the worktop.
14 Lovely bit of interrupted
dialogue, but close the space
after But and get rid of the full stop.
Its an incomplete sentence.
15 Id argue that a glance is
a completed action, ie she
looked up and then down again.
Rather, shes looked up and remains
looking at him. The raised eyebrows
are great, but I think fend off
could be better. Thats more suitable
for a physical rather than a verbal
advance. Neutralise? Nullify?
Counteract? Trying to select the
right word causes me to wonder
again who is narrating all of this and
what tone they might adopt.
16 Seems to me this is redundant.
Its clear as soon as he starts
speaking. Why spell it out? Doing
so again causes me to wonder whos
telling me this.
p48 microscope.indd 49
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
17 This is all good and
credible. Hes heard it on TAP HERE
the radio and is repeating it more To read James McCreets
or less verbatim. suggested rewrite of this extract
on our website
18 Another nice touch.
Squeak is much better
here, and clearly a very different
noise to the iron.
19 Whos telling us this about
his being worthy? Is it from
him? If so, it sounds a tad mature. In summary
Not convincingly his voice.
20 A good short sentence,
but I think we could have
a little more. Hes not just clearing
It has been really quite
difficult to find much
wrong with this. Ive had to
his throat; hes reasserting his age turn the pedantometer up
and masculinity. How about adding
an adverb? Gruffly?
to eleven to get this much.
The only real concern is
the narrative perspective,
21 Pointedly is good. So
is swished. Not so sure
about effortlessly. Its not an
which appears to be
divided between character
and author. This is quite
adverb that seems to go with a car. permissible, but should
Maybe its more a case of being avoid confusion or conflict
unimpeded or unhindered. wherever possible. Its
usually a case of tone and
22 A paragraph break
before this sentence is
not strictly necessary, but I think
vocabulary: who would say
or think what.
I wonder vaguely about
it would add a nice beat between the target audience for
the mothers look outside and her the novel. If it begins
utterance. A full stop is required with the perspective of
before she. a fifteen-year-old boy,
does that mean its a
23 Is the mother literally
gazing? I think this
is a clich trap: following the
young adult book? If so,
how should the character
viewpoint and concerns
gaze. Really, hes looking where
shes looking.
appeal specifically to that
readership?
Narrative perspective
24 Swathed is an
overstatement. Its not as if
shes bodily wrapped like a mummy.
is key to answering
such questions. It must
sound natural as a young
This again makes me wonder who is persons voice.
using the word: character or author.
25 A nice observation about
the college girl. Whose
observation? Robs?
If you would like to submit an
extract of your work in progress,
26 Id omit the comma
after snow.
send it by email, with synopsis
and a brief biog, to:
jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
27 A lovely concluding
line that gives us some
necessary information.
www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 49
23/06/2016 09:54
 FICTION FOCUS
Tales
RETOLD
Writers have always reimagined stories, and retold classic
tales in their own way, says author Margaret James
F
an fiction as a literary
definition is of course
a comparatively recent
phenomenon.
But fan fiction itself has been
around for a very long time,
probably ever since people first
started telling stories thousands of
years ago.
Youll be aware that novelists,
playwrights and movie makers
have reworked Shakespeares more
popular plays over and over again.
But Shakespeare himself often
reworked older stories, turning
a tale from Giovanni Bocaccios
Decameron (this was reinvented
as Alls Well That Ends Well) and
Giraldi Cinthios novella Gli
Hecatommithi (which was reworked
to become Othello) into the now-
classic plays.
The movie Clueless is a
contemporary reworking of Jane
Austens Emma.
The musical West Side Story is
50 AUGUST 2016
p50 Fiction Focus.indd 50
a 20th-century reinterpretation
of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet,
which is itself a reworking of a Classic plays and novels
poem called The Tragicall Historye
become classics because
of Romeus and Juliet by the
otherwise forgotten Arthur Brooke. they speak to us as
Obviously, good stories never die. human beings
They merely get re-imagined
again and again and again.
So, although a novel is certainly a
work of invention, sometimes its a
work of reinvention, too.
But is a work of reinvention
likely to be an enrichment or
a rip-off? The novel and now the if you havent been the kindest and
movie Pride and Prejudice and most loving of parents yourself.
Zombies would Jane Austen have Misguided parents, ill-treated
loved it or hated it? Its such a children, whether biological or
shame we cant ask! adopted they are all damaged
The Pulitzer Prize winner A and conflicted, so they all make
Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley, great subjects for stories. Wuthering
repeats Shakespeares original advice Heights reveals the havoc a vengeful
in King Lear: dont renege on your adopted son can cause in an already
responsibilities, and definitely dont messed-up family, a scenario that
give everything to your children seems to fascinate us all.
while youre still alive, particularly Kate Bushs iconic Wuthering Heights
www.writers-online.co.uk
21/06/2016 10:16

is a great example of fan songdom,
telling the story from Catherine
Earnshaws point of view, but it still
doesnt have a happy ending.
What about anti-fan fiction?
Cold Comfort Farm is a delicious
parody that was inspired by
Mary Webbs Precious Bane and
(although it is probably heresy to
say this), I would suggest the more
melodramatic work of Thomas
Hardy, too.
What about the more recent
Barry Trotter and the Shameless
Parody by Michael Gerber: is that
novel a cynical attempt to cash in
on the Harry Potter phenomenon?
Or is it a work of fan fiction that
pays a fitting tribute to the original
in a generous and jokey way?
Do you have a classic story in
your head that has been with you
for a long time and shows no sign
of going away? Maybe its telling
you to rewrite it for a contemporary
readership? But, before you do, youll
need to work out what its about. So,
see if you can come up with a phrase
or sentence that sums it up.
What is Shakespeares Macbeth,
re-imagined by Scott Smith as
the novel and later the movie A
Simple Plan, about? The folly of
listening to your wife, the dangers
of greed or is it a morality tale
and a warning to us all, pointing
out that under the right (or rather
the wrong) circumstances, almost
nobody is incorruptible? Perhaps
your own Macbeth could be a
company CEO who cant resist
getting involved in a corporate
fraud that spirals out of control?
The classic plays and novels
become classics because they speak
to us as human beings, rather
than as smartphone-carrying,
tablet-using, combustion-engine-
dependent citizens of the 21st
century. Customs, attitudes, gadgets
and fashions are changing all the
Now try this
Tribute to or parody of a classic movie or novel are you inspired to
give it a go?
Who is your favourite fictional character and what has this person
been up to outside the novel or the movie? When happened when
he/she grew up or grew old?
p50 Fiction Focus.indd 51
time, so fiction that merely reflects
contemporary attitudes also risks
going out of fashion. A novel about
a mnage trois that might have
seemed daring and controversial
fifty years ago probably wouldnt
seem anything out of the ordinary
now, when adultery is commonplace
and people have affairs as a matter
of course. But how it feels to be
betrayed, hurt, forced to share
those feelings wont go out of
fashion because hurt and confusion
stay the same whoever and wherever
we might be.
We novelists are all influenced
by other writers. We cant help
it. We read a lot. We think a lot.
We imagine a lot, what-iffing all
the time. So perhaps its almost
inevitable that some of our own
characters will turn out to be partial
reincarnations of for example
Tess Durbeyfield, Sydney Carton,
Jane Eyre or Emma Woodhouse,
and thats fine.
But, if you decide to re-imagine
specific characters whose creators
are still alive and whose books
are still in print, I suggest that at
first you play safe and do this on a
recognised fan fiction website for
the fun of it and with no intention
of making any financial gain.
Maybe its impossible for a writer
of fiction to produce work that is
completely original, and perhaps
its inevitable that we novelists of
the 21st century will always stand
on the shoulders of the giants of
literature.
Lets allow the late Umberto Eco
have the last word. This comment
is from the postscript to his
international bestseller The Name of
the Rose.
I rediscovered what writers have
always known (and have told us
again and again): books always speak
of other books, and every story tells a
story that has already been told.
www.writers-online.co.uk
FICTION FOCUS
I wish
Id known
Novelists tell us what they wished theyd
known right at the start of their careers.
with Matt Hilton
If youre anything
like me, you
probably got
into books and
especially into
writing because
by nature you are
inward-thinking,
and not exactly an extrovert when
it comes to being the life and soul at parties. I
was the shy kid who preferred to stay slightly
in the background, listening and weighing up
situations before getting involved. When my
mates were out playing football or making
nuisances of themselves around town, I would
be reading a good book. Therefore, something I
wish Id known before I was published was that
I was going to have to put aside my reluctance
to being seen and heard in public.
Unless youre very lucky (in that your book
takes off like wildfire, becoming the latest
must-read on everyones list), its a fact that
youre going to have to do most of your own
marketing and publicity because sadly
marketing budgets in publishing houses tend
to be spent primarily on the mega-sellers,
while midlist authors books are left to fend for
themselves. These midlist authors must do their
best to spread the word about their books and
to build their own platforms.
Ill write quite happily from daylight to dark
writing is what I enjoy doing most but these
days a lot of my time is spent doing the rounds
of the social networks, or guest blogging, or
writing pieces and interviews, coupled with
personal appearances at bookshops, libraries and
crime fiction conventions. Talking about my
books and myself isnt something that comes
naturally to me, and it will be the same for
some of you reading this. But its something we
authors all have to get used to doing.
Theres a saying up north, which is where I
come from shy bairns get nowt and, in case
of authors, its true.
Matt Hilton worked for 22 years in private
security and the police force in Cumbria. He is
a 4th dan blackbelt and coach in ju-jitsu. He
is the author of ten thrillers in the Joe Hunter
series, and one previous Tess and Po thriller:
Blood Tracks. Tess and Po 2 Painted Skins is
published this month by Severn House.
AUGUST 2015 51
21/06/2016 10:16
 SAU B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T

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Words in the bank

Space fulfilled
I live in the city of Im delighted to say that I
Worcester with my have completed my first novel,
beautiful wife and A Material Harvest, under my
children, working as a pseudonym, Paul Cranwell, writes
chef and writing whenever subscriber Paul Budd.
possible, writes subscriber Having worked in banking
Kieran Davis. through the financial crash, I
Ive been published wanted to write a story that
in more than thirty captured that world. My protagonist, Michael Turner, is a
anthologies and magazines senior banker who, on the face of it, has everything. Michael
(including Carillon disappears and it becomes clear that all is not what it seems. It
magazine, in which Ive made many appearances). is a scenario that gave me the opportunity to look behind the
Im a keen advocate for writers and the written word in faade of wealth and privilege in the City and to consider the
any form, supporting local events when able. Im a proud reasons why things go wrong.
member of the Worcester Writers Circle, a diverse group of I wrote as a teenager, but, after I started work, priorities
highly talented individuals, who have helped hone my craft. inevitably changed. Eight years ago my wife suggested that we
Im a poet who is also a writer of fantasy fiction, with go on a writing weekend and my enthusiasm for writing was
short stories appearing in publications such as The Top-hat rekindled. Since then we have
Raven and Orcs & Aliens, and Im currently editing my first attended many wonderful creative
novel. My first love has always been poetry, though, and Id writing courses and conferences that
like to think my poetry blog, Baldypoems, reflects this. taught us a great deal about the art
As a self-professed nerd (claiming to have been a geek of writing. We also belong to a writing
before it was cool to be one) I collect books, bookmarks group, Stratford Scribes. Having an
and numerous other treasures that drive my wife nuts. I informed audience for my writing and
also claim to be the luckiest man alive, proof that luck and the chance to practice my skills on a
fortune are not related (because I am skint). regular basis has been an important
Im having a super start to 2016, enjoying further element in my writing world. For the
publication in Carillon, being invited to perform at a last few years I have also been actively
poetry walk and talk for the Evesham Festival of Words involved in the Writers Summer
and getting involved with the Worcestershire Literary School at Swanwick. The opportunity
Festival. Im delighted to have been shortlisted for to mix with many writers in friendly
the Theatre Clouds Loneliness surroundings has been both helpful
Project and having a poem and inspirational. Three years ago, after thirty years in accountancy
read by actor, Ben Stott. and banking, I was fortunate enough to be able to concentrate on
My debut collection writing full time. My wife and I enrolled for an MA in creative writing
of poetry, Lacuna, will be at Oxford Brookes University. A Material Harvest was conceived as
published this summer by part of my masters degree programme.
Black Pear Press. I am most My background in business made the decision as to how
excited about the book launch, to bring the book to market an easy one. I set up a publishing
which will take place at company, Speart House Publishing. The company has published
Drummonds in Worcester my novel in ebook, paperback and hardback form. The company
on 14 August. I hope to is considering a range of other titles for publication, but is not
see you all there! open for submissions at the moment. One of the pleasures of
Website: completing A Material Harvest has been the opportunity to
https://kdavisfanclub. learn about the publishing industry.
wordpress.com/ Website: www.paulcranwell.com

52 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p52 Subscriber news.indd 52 21/06/2016 10:41

 S U B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T

Definitely articles
Fighting fatigue with food If it hadnt been for a friend in our writers
In 2009 I was diagnosed with ME/ circle becoming ill, I would never have thought
chronic fatigue syndrome, writes of writing an article, let alone taking photos
subscriber Amanda Staples. to go with it and submitting it to a magazine,
I had just gone fully self employed writes subscriber Wendy Turner.
as a Pilates instructor and co-owner of a She was a successful article-writer but
therapy centre, working part time as a felt she was going downhill and had lost
clinical hypnotherapist and massage motivation. She had undertaken to write an
therapist. I did not have the luxury article for Hertfordshire Countryside magazine on
of paid holidays or sick days. I was Duke Humphrey, younger brother of King Henry
terrified. I had to find a way to keep V. His remains rest in a vault in the depths of St
going against the odds. Albans Cathedral.
Cutting a long and tantrum-filled story short, I discovered that I thought of offering to help but did not want
what I ate exacerbated or helped my symptoms so I began researching to appear pushy. Finally, she simply asked me as a
nutrition, seeking advice and using myself as a guinea pig. Over the friend and of course I agreed. Would you really?
years through my work I have met many people who have fatigue- she said. Thank you, I was in such a panic.
related conditions and/or common food intolerances and I spoke to Of course I had no idea what I was taking
them about how I use my diet to manage my condition. I am living on. But I soon found out when the postman delivered a package
proof eating the way I do works. After typing up recipes so I could containing all her research papers with a cheerful thank you for
email suggestions to clients I decided to put them in a book. taking over the project.
I work part-time at the centre and teach six Pilates classes a Now it was my turn to panic! But I gave myself a good talking to.
week. I run a home, do paperwork, walk the dogs, read and write in If you are serious about writing, this is a golden opportunity. But was I
between. I have no children, but two anthropomorphised dogs and a up to it? I didnt even know what had been agreed with the editor.
husband with a childlike personality. I write because my brain gives I leafed through some back issues of the magazine to ascertain
me no option. I cannot not write. I have tried. It hunts me down. the approximate word count, the favoured style and the ratio of
I self-published Eating for Energy photos to text.
and the book went Eating
on Amazon on 14 I approached the Cathedral for permission to look round and take
April. The first boxforI had delivered sold some photos, something I had never done before.
Eating
for

within five days. It Energy

has been a journey Eventually I had to call my article done. Off it went with the photos
Energy

of crossroads and hurdles, but I want

This is food to get you going and keep you going; fabulous flavours,
free from refined sugar, dairy, wheat and meat.
to the editor with a note explaining what had happened. It made my day
to encourage anyone who ever feels like to receive a letter of thanks, also asking if I would like to write another
Adaptable to add chicken and fish.

quitting (and lets face it, who doesnt) Eatin

EatinggforforEnergy one. And even better was the enclosed cheque for 40.
to keep going. I class myself as a Energy Recipes free from refined sugar, dairy, wheat and meat.
Adaptable to add chicken and fish.
Since then I have become addicted to article-writing. Research
recovering fatiguer. I still have very is amazing. It leads to undreamed-of places and brings contact with
difficult days, if I can find the energy many interesting and helpful people. Over the years I have had articles
Amanda Staples

to keep going, so can you. No excuses!
Website: http://witchy11.wix.com/
eatingforenergy
published in four national magazines. Topics range from walks, churches,
Amanda Staples local people and events, pets and scarecrows to personal reflection,
humour, travel, nature, war stories and Remembrance Day.
Article writing soon becomes an obsession of the best kind.
Website: www.wendyturnerstories.co.uk

WELL HELP YOU SELL YOUR BOOK! NEW!

Dont miss your exclusive chance
Showcase your book to over 14,000 readers each month in the
to feature on our website, Writers Online Subscribers Showcase. Well give your book its own
www.writers-online.co.uk page, with blurb, cover and a direct link to your website or an online
store. And if youre a WM subscriber, the service is completely FREE.
See p81 for more details

PLUS
When youre sending in submissions to appear on those pages, feel free
to send us any additional content you have available. Whether its an
interview video, book trailer, podcast, audio extract or anything else,
well give you as much exposure as we can through our digital edition
and website. As ever, send your details to tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 53

p52 Subscriber news.indd 53 21/06/2016 10:41

 S U B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T

Takes two to chase a tiger A story that wouldnt go away

When I was nine my parents got me
The genesis behind Chasing a Petite typewriter, probably because
Tigers was a short story written by I was always writing stories, writes
myself some five years ago, writes subscriber Janice Nye.
subscriber Mike Philips. It rapidly became my favourite
Upon reviewing the piece I toy, one I didnt want to put down at
realised that there was more to bedtime. When it came to exams, the
be written and began to develop ones I preferred involved essays. So,
it into a book. However, after I got about five chapters into the book, I when I graduated it seemed logical that
started to literally lose the plot! I decided to shelve the project and move I should write. The only question was what.
onto something else. Whilst out one day I saw a mini van
I have a friend Danny who I have been collaborating with on various parked at the end of a lifeboat pier. The
writing projects over the years (sitcoms, comedy sketches etc). One day he image stuck in my mind, morphing to
muttered the words we should write a book together to me. I delved into someone sitting in their car beside a beach
my laptop to find the five lost chapters of Chasing Tigers and literally threw watching the sun set, trying to work out
it at him, telling him to pick the bones out of it. Danny came right back what to do next. I wrote a short story around
at me with a restructured plot, and so we began to move on with it. It has this, but it wasnt enough, the character
been a hugely enjoyable experience throughout. demanded more, nothing less than a book. That was thirty
Chasing Tigers is a tale of revenge in the name of love. Gritty at years ago, when the only thing to do with a book was to find
times, Danny and I have to admit that the character development of a traditional publisher or to spend a lot of money on vanity
the main villain Jack Holte was one of the more enjoyable parts of the publishing. So I started posting chapters to publishers and
process. I certainly consider his character as waiting. After a few attempts the book was put to one side
evil personified. Then again, if it wasnt for whilst I concentrated on short stories and a diary.
bad guys there wouldnt be any good ones! When my husband told me that he had written a book, I read
We decided to e-publish Chasing Tigers it and suggested that and that self-publishing seemed the best
ourselves on Amazon Kindle as we wanted way to go. This inspired me to return to the book I had written
to get the book to market quickly and in a all those years ago. I re-read it and started on editing and adding
cost-effective way. description, to set it in a time and place. I designed the cover and
Chasing Tigers is the first in a trilogy that once the book was the best I could make it, The Poly and Anna
Danny and I have planned. The next book is was self-published. My son helped me create a website which has
currently in the planning stages. If the process links to my book on Amazon. The character didnt want to be left
is half as much fun as second time around there so her story continues in another book.
well be more than happy. Website: http://janicenyewriter.yolasite.com/

Grabbers, cannibals and coma

In 2011, I was over my dad who sadly passed away from cancer, I
the moon to win the worked on Vile City to get it as good as I could
Scottish Association because I knew something was missing to make
of Writers Pitlochry it my breakout novel.
Quaich Award for a One voice wouldnt get out of my head. He
crime novel, writes was called DC Stevie Campbell and since being
subscriber Jennifer attacked by a suspect wielding a broken bottle
Thomson. hed been in a coma. Initially he was a small
The novel in character in the book.
question was Vile City, featuring DI Waddell The more Stevie talked to me the more I
and was set in Glasgow where a man dubbed realised that itd be great if he started talking
the Glasgow Grabber was abducting women to his pal and colleague DI Waddell but to
off the streets. everyone else he was still in a coma unable to
Vile City has two parallel narratives communicate. Thatd leave Waddell to wonder
kidnapped Shelley and Waddell, the cop wholl if he was going crazy. It also gave me the
leave no door unrattled to find her. Detective in a Coma tagline.
Over the years in between other projects Im delighted to announce that Vile City
and four other books being published by will be published by Caffeine Nights in 2017.
commercial publishers and helping to nurse Its an exciting publisher and it published
one of my all-time favourite authors Shaun
Hutson, so I couldnt be happier.
Im currently halfway through writing
Cannibal City, book 2 in the Detective in a
Coma series. Im also writing a short story
featuring DI Waddell and his team. Its a great
way to get to know your own character and
to introduce him to readers too. As the book
is set in real places in the city of Glasgow, Ive
been able to take photographs of the actual
places where the crimes take place.
Website: www.jenniferthomson.co.uk

54 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p52 Subscriber news.indd 54 21/06/2016 10:41

 S U B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T

Success mounts year on year

What a start to 2016! writes headstone to the civilian victims.

subscriber Lorna Windham. In March 2016, Lilly and I
My historical romantic novel The visited the Royalty Theatre in
Jacobites Daughter, the first of a trilogy Sunderland to watch a reading
set in 1745, has been published as of Rule 55, which had been
an ebook, the first in Tyne Bridge adapted for the stage.
Publishings catalogue of fiction. In a So far this year Ive completed
gripping tale full of passion, intrigue the first draft of audio drama
and adventure, heroine, Morag, To Better Times for CAP
defies her fianc, Euan, and joins (Community Arts Project)
the Jacobite baggage train to become a spy. North East and in June the Rule
I thought 2015 had been exciting as Lilly Moon had asked me 55 team delivered a presentation
to co-write a play, Rule 55, set in 1915 and based on the St Bedes at South Shields Central
Junction railway disaster in Jarrow. The play would be part of a Library. Im also co-writing two
community project at Bedes World. After recruiting a cast of over contemporary plays and editing
twenty, ranging in age from fourteen to sixty-plus, many of whom The Rebel and the Redcoat and Rebel Road, the last two novels in
had never acted before, we recorded the play and added sound my Jacobite Trilogy.
effects. The result: a wonderful experience for all involved and the Though Ive always wanted to write, its only in the last ten years
CD on sale in Newcastle Central Library. that Ive been able to concentrate on doing just that and have had
Several of the Rule 55 team were then invited to talk about the several short stories, flash fiction, poems and local history books
play at Newcastles Book Festival. The drama, broadcast on Hive published. Yes, Ive certainly caught the writing bug and my tip to
Radio in December 2015, commemorated the centenary of the everyone is, Never give up!
accident and led to the local business community dedicating a Website: www.lornawindham.co.uk

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www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 55

p52 Subscriber news.indd 55 21/06/2016 10:42

 S U B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T

Fate takes a hand Shared

in publishing
After writing a variety of fiction books,
short stories, poetry and childrens
stories over the last twenty years it
is with great pleasure that I announce
the publication of my first novel: The
Brindavan Chronicle: Genesis, writes
subscriber John Thompson.
This novel the first of two books
has a story behind it. I started writing it
back in the nineties on an old PC, and
eventually printed my first draft. When
I upgraded the computer, I decided it
was time to get down to the second
draft, which as time progressed became
significantly different from the first.
Finally it was completed, but I delayed
printing it as I felt that a lot more
tinkering was required.
At Christmas 2009 my wife and I took a holiday in India,
and it just so happened that the UK winter was one of the
hardest for years. Our water pipes burst in several places,
flooding the house, and as I discovered on our return
destroying my computer.
Fate, I decided, was against my ever finishing this novel. I
took the old first draft into the garden and burnt it. That was
that! No more writing for me!
Unbeknown to me, my daughter who had loyally read my
book chapter by chapter as I had written the story, took the
PC to a computer whizz friend of hers who retrieved all that he
could. Apparently it had been no mean feat everything was
jumbled and according to my daughter she spent hours going
through the manuscript rearranging it back into order.
I came down one morning to find a hard copy of my novel
with a note on it saying: Please do not burn me again, I am a
great story and I WILL be published.
In June 2015 my book was published.
Website: www.thompson-authors.com
knowledge
My newly published first book
Creating Your Classic Career is now
available from Amazon, writes
Alison Spencer.
You can also get it from my own
company, The Write Career, which is
a career development consultancy that
I run, assisting people in writing CVs/application forms, cover
letters and LinkedIn profiles, as well as giving career coaching;
either on a one-to-one basis or in a group capacity in the form
of workshops. As well as being an avid writer, having had various
articles published in magazines and winning Writing Magazines
Ghost Story Competition in 2011, I am also a columnist in my
local newspaper, writing on career development topics.
It was whilst writing for the paper that I thought about
amalgamating what I wrote and turning it into a self-help guide
for people who are either at a crossroads in their career, are just
starting out or who simply want to know how to write a perfect
CV/application form or practise their interview skills.
I believe everyone should have a career they are passionate about
it took me long enough to find mine! At 42 years old Ive finally
got my career balance right; Ive got what is known as a portfolio
career. I run my consultancy, am a part-time classroom assistant in
my local college which I love, and do background artist work in
local films and TV series. Im also mum to my two children, Kara
and Ross, aged nine and six.
I am a great believer in shared knowledge and want to provide
insight to others on how they too can change their work life if they
are unhappy. The book gives useful tips and
techniques on how to do this, along with real-
life case studies from three completely different
people on how their career paths took an entirely
new direction to what they had planned.
I am confident this book will provide
you with help to look at your career options
objectively and hopefully find a new path to
happiness in the workplace.
Website: www.write-career.com

The gang show

From a start of ten-minute plays via longer
scripts, short stories and a longer novel my new
book for children emerged, writes subscriber
Sarah Booker.
The Wroxton Station Gang is a collection
of nine short stories about a gang of toys lost
many years ago on a train trip. They have been
found in lost property and take pride of place on
Wroxton Station, helping out when no one is
looking, and trying to avoid the grumpy station
cat. Each story has the minor peril element but
everything is always resolved in the end.
The book started life with those toys left
behind after Christmas, on clearance and
seemingly unwanted. From these toys the gang
gradually formed. The link to the trains started
when my partner opened Wroxham Miniature
Worlds in 2014 in Wroxham, Norfolk. With
some of the largest train layouts in the country
and positioned opposite Wroxham & Hoveton
station (hence the shortening to Wroxton) the version is available on Amazon.
gangs adventures were devised. I am currently visiting local schools with
I self-published this book in February 2016 the toys and reading some of stories to children
and was lucky to find a very talented illustrator, which is very rewarding
Liz Monahan, at my place of work. The gang I have previously self-published two short
have their own website and have a Facebook stories and a novel on FeedARead.com but this
page. As well as Wroxham Miniature Worlds the is my first foray into a bigger print run.
books can be ordered via the website or a Kindle Website: www.wroxtonstationgang.com

56 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p52 Subscriber news.indd 56 21/06/2016 10:42

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 WRITERS CIRCLES
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
ASA
SPOTLIGHT ON
LiterEight
LiterEight is a group (as you can probably guess) of eight
writers, writes Fiona Atchison.
We are as they say, ladies of a certain age who initially
met through Ayr Writers Club and are all award-winning
and published authors in a variety of genres, but it wasnt
until the lure of e-publishing that we formed our offshoot
group. Founder member Helena Sheridan arranged for
novelist and playwright Catherine Czerkowska, an already
accomplished online self-publisher, to run an informal
workshop back in 2012. So began the first of what are, to
date, three short story and poetry anthologies for adults: A
Literary Confection, Dark Twists and New Horizons.
We were fortunate to have several very useful skill sets
already within our ranks. Maggie Bolton is an experienced
artist and illustrator, Catherine Lang, who previously worked
in publishing, makes the perfect editor, and we have used
two of her husband Ronalds photographs as book covers.
Janice Johnston uses her accountancy skills on the business
side and my husband John created our LiterEight website.
Fiona McFadzean, Greta Yorke, Lesley Deschner and myself
chip in with proofreading and other publishing tasks. Helena
Sheridan uses her indomitable networking and promotional
skills to good advantage, which recently culminated in our
new childrens story book, published by Alfie Dog Fiction.
As only six of us decided to take part in this new book, we
invited a guest author, Pam Ramage to contribute. The result,
Stomping Good Stories for Children, is a collection for children
ages 5-8, beautifully illustrated by Maggie Bolton.
We have been interviewed by My Weekly magazine, appeared
in the Kilmarnock Standard, Ayr Advertiser, the WORD on the
streets and also in Writing Magazines Writers Round-up (in
2013). We also enjoy performing readings from our books at
Womens Guilds, library author events and schools etc.
Website: www.litereight.co.uk
58 AUGUST 2016
p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 58
Writing in the sun
I started the Lanzarote Creative
Writing Group in 2005, in a
bar in Puerto del Carmen,
writes Sue Almond.
Finding premises was difficult.
There are no little rooms above
shops. The library we approached seemed amazed at our idea.
One of the sociodads (social clubs) was interested but sent us
off to the local Town Hall; Spain is famous for its red tape and
we were refused permission!
Undaunted we found a bar and were delighted when six people
turned up to the first meeting. I have lost count of the members who
have come and gone over the years but two original members are still
with us. Some of our members are swallows. They spend part of
the year here and then disappear for months back to the UK. Some
have joined us just to give their brains a bit of exercise, and for the
social aspect. One or two are serious wannabe writers and some have
seen their name in print for the first time since joining the group. We
have had German, Canarian and Dutch members as well as British
and firm friendships have been made along the way. Weve had a few
different venues too but we currently meet in Dickens Bar (a great
name for a writers group) in Costa Teguise.
We have had visiting speakers to share their experience and advice,
poetry evenings and whole-day workshops. Last year we had a great
party to celebrate ten years of creative writing in the sun.
Somehow I have always managed to find ideas for activities for
us to do and I enjoy it as much as ever. Usually I devise a writing
exercise. After doing the writing task we share and discuss the
outcomes. I encourage everyone to submit stories and poems and
enter writing competitions, with some success.
If you are on holiday in Lanzarote and you would like to join us
for a session or two you would be most welcome. The atmosphere is
friendly and informal and there is always the chance of a great cup of
coffee or even a nice glass of local wine.
Website: http://writersend.com/
www.writers-online.co.uk
21/06/2016 10:17
 W
WRRIITTEERRSS C I R C L E S

All ears
Manage dominant personalities and shrinking violets to ensure
your writing group runs fairly, says Julie Phillips

I
n a room full of people it can be
difficult to get your voice heard. If your
writing group meetings are busy or even
if youre a small group it can be hard
to get your point of view across. It only takes
one member to dominate proceedings and
other members can feel as though they and
their opinions are being side-lined. But should
it be the case that he/she who shouts loudest
gets heard? Do you worry that some of your
less vocal or less confident group members
sometimes get left behind in the wake of
more expressive members enthusiasm? Maybe
youre a member of a writing
group where this happens on
a regular basis and would
like to know how to
break the cycle?
so feel vary of contributing again. It may also
be that some members prefer just to listen
and take it all in.
Break into smaller groups
Once you find out why some members arent
keen to take part in group discussions you can
take steps to make the environment better for
them so they feel comfortable to speak. If the
size of the group is the problem twenty or
more voices trying to be heard can be quite
intimidating to some people breaking the
large group into smaller sub-groups for some
discussions and activities might help. People
may well feel more able to contribute
in a smaller group.
line or find another group. This is important
for the unity and cohesion of the group.
Allowing everyone the same amount of time
to speak gives the group a greater variety of
insights and experiences too, instead of one
or two dominating the conversation. This
leads to a greater pool of ideas and creativity.
Listening exercises
As the objective of the exercise is to encourage
greater listening, activities that help members
to hone their listening skills are helpful. You
might like, at the beginning of the meeting,
to try playing a few minutes of dialogue or
instructions, even a description of something
or somewhere. Members are not allowed to

Different
Writers who listen to
Limit speaking time
If there is a particularly
vocal member of the
approaches group who doesnt tend
Writing groups
what is going on around to take any prisoners in
have to operate them often write better, group discussions and
within a two- more informed stories. monopolises the time, it
way process. The might be worth imposing
management or a general rule that members
committee can only are only permitted to speak for
do so much to make a specified number of minutes and
the group as interesting and that it must be on the topic in hand
inspirational for their members as their no straying. This will make it clear to the
members allow. If you, as a member, often group that everyone has equal chance to speak
feel unable to contribute to group discussions and equal value is placed on their opinions.
you could sit down and write what you feel The above solution requires a strong
is stopping you. There are many reasons why chairperson with clear objectives. If your
members feel uneasy with sharing their views chair isnt robust and able to stand up to
within a group setting. Shyness is probably those who might try and rebel against the
one of the main ones, particularly if they are imposed time limit then this strategy might
new to the group. Another reason might be not work. There is also safety in numbers. If
that they feel intimidated by other members. the chairperson appears to be struggling to
Perhaps they perceive that other members keep control then the committee should be
have more knowledge and experience than prepared to step in. If the rule is explained
them or maybe they have spoken out before fully, most people will be happy to oblige.
and been shot down by another member and Those who dont will just have to toe the
take notes but must then write down what
they remember about what was played earlier
at the end of the meeting.
Other activities include members partnering
up with members they dont know particularly
well and each taking it in turns to tell them
about themselves. The group then come back
together and each person tells the group
about what their partner said to them. Not
only does this improve listening skills, it gives
members the chance to talk to each other and
then hold the floor to feedback to the group
which helps with self-confidence and getting
to know each other better.
Everybody wins
There is plenty to be done to help people
find their voice within the group but
being willing and able to take a step back
and instead of speaking, listening to those
group members who dont usually have a
lot to say, is as important for the individual
group members as it is for the group as a
whole. Writers who listen to what is going
on around them often write better, more
informed stories so practising that skill has
benefits all round.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 59

p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 59 21/06/2016 10:17

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p060_wmagaug16.indd 60 15/06/2016 15:36

 I N ! 250
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY COMPETITIONS

W IN CASH PRIZES
& PUBLICATION
125
TO BE
WON

TIGHT SITUATION
Short Story Competition
Get your character into or out of
a sticky situation or both for this months
subscriber-only competition. Take the brief
literally or figuratively, just make sure that
somebodys in a bind.

Your word limit is the usual 1,500-1,700

words and the closing date is 14 September.

The winner will receive 100 and publication

in Writing Magazine, with 25 and
publication on www.writers-online.co.uk
for the runner-up.

See p107 for entry details, full rules and entry forms

TAP
HERE 12B5E STILL TIME TO ENTER
TO
TO ENTER WON
With its closing date of 15 August,
theres still time to enter last months
competition for stories involving an
element of travel. Length and prize
details are as above.
See p107 for more details

p61 subs comps.indd 61 23/06/2016 09:53

 Waiting for Gertie
by Eileen OReilly
I
swear that walk from the
bus stop gets longer each
time we come here.
My feet hurt.
Well sit down on this bench and
take your shoes off for a while. Weve
plenty of time.
I only wear them for funerals
these days.
Not many weddings at our age.
I cant think of the last wedding
I went to.
Wasnt it your Sandras girl?
Melody?
Melanie. Ooh, thats better.
Do you want a sweet? Ive got some
in my bag.
What are they?
Toffees, I think.
You know I cant have toffees.
Not since that time I nearly
swallowed my filling.
Ill check.
Its all right. Theyll be here soon
and then we can go in.
Ive found a barley-sugar. You
can pick the fluff off; its only bits of
tissue from the bottom of my bag.
I think Ill give it a miss.
Therell be hymns at the service.
You cant sing hymns with a
mouth full of barley-sugar, with
or without the fluff.
Please yourself. Ill put it back,
in case you want it later; after all
that singing.
Shes late.
Were early.
Are you sure it was today?
What?
Are you sure it was today?
Was what today?
The funeral.
What funeral?
The one were waiting for.
Of course Im sure. What
day is it?
Thursday.
Ah, thats the right day all right.
Shes late.
I told you were early. Were
always early when we get that bus.
Even when we were young,
62 AUGUST 2016
p62 comp winner.indd 62
she never turned up when she
said she would.
Sure, werent we always waiting
for her?
And wasnt she always late?
She was.
I remember her mother saying
she was born three days late.
There you are then.
Where?
What?
Where am I?
Here. Waiting for Gertie.
No. You said There you are
then, when I said her mother had
said she was three days late.
Oh, I see. I meant she obviously
started off as she intended to go on.
Go on with what?
Being late. She started off being
late and then she made a habit of it.
She got set in her ways.
Well we all did, in those days.
The good old days.
Look someones coming.
Two someones.
Is it her?
Dont be silly. Theyve just got
off the bus. She wont be arriving
by bus.
We could have caught that bus,
instead of the early one.
But then you wouldnt have had
time to sit and take your shoes off.
I only wear them at funerals now.
You said.
What?
You already said you only wear
those shoes for funerals.
I used to wear them for weddings
too. And the odd christening.
All your familys christenings
were odd.
What do you mean odd?
Unusual.
In what way?
Well theres not many who can
say theyve been to a Hells
Angels christening.
They werent Hells Angels.
They were friends from Denzils
vintage motorbike club. He works
in finance.
www.writers-online.co.uk
Dialogue-on
short sto ly
competitioryn
Winner
Eileen OReilly has just completed the second
year of a three-year degree in English and
creative writing. She began her studies at
Wrexham Glyndwr University in September
2014, exactly forty years after leaving school
with a handful of O-levels; proving that its never
too late to take on a new challenge. Waiting for
Gertie is her first competition win.
Shush. You dont want them my mobile phone.
to hear. So we really are early?
Who? And Gerties not late?
Those people who just got off Yes, and no.
the bus. Theyre nearly here. Well wed better be going. Put
Hello. Are you here for the your shoes back on. We should
funeral too? make the next bus if we leave now.
We are. Shes late though. What about Gertie?
She? Shes not coming.
Gertie. Shes always late. Not coming?
Whos Gertie? Not today. We were too early.
Its her funeral. Are you sure. You know she was
Here? Now? I dont think so. always late.
It is so. Not this time.
You are mistaken. This funeral Should we wait?
is certainly not for someone No. Shes not coming today.
called Bertie. What shall we do then?
Gertie. I said Gertie. Well have to come back
Bertie. Gertie. Its all the same to tomorrow.
me. But its not her funeral. Come back tomorrow?
It is so. Eleven oclock. Thursday. What for?
And here we are, waiting. For the funeral.
And shes late. Ah so. Do you want a sweet? Ive
You are early. got some toffees in here somewhere?
We were always early. I told you I cant eat toffees.
And she was always late. Ill see what else Ive got. There
You are both too early. might be something in the bottom
Its nearly eleven. Were not of my bag. Im sure I remember
early now. seeing a barley-sugar.
You are. Keep it for tomorrow.
I tell you we are not. Whats happening tomorrow?
You. Are. Too. Early. Its Gerties funeral.
Prove it. Is it? I bet you anything shell
I bet she cant. be late.
I know she cant. She was always late.
She can you know. Or we were early.
What do you mean? Sometimes she wouldnt even
Shes right. Shes always right. bother turning up.
Well shes not right today. And wed be waiting.
Thursday. Eleven oclock. Always waiting.
Im sorry but she is right. You see, My feet hurt.
today isnt Thursday. Its Wednesday. Its those shoes.
Wednesday? Will you wait while I take them
Are you sure? off for a while?
Yes. See its got the date on You can take them off when we
21/06/2016 10:20
 S H O R T S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N E R

get on the bus.
I could murder a nice cup of
tea. Would there have been tea?
After the funeral?
Probably.
And sandwiches? I like a ham
sandwich. Nothing fancy. None of
your quiches or mini sausage rolls.
Just a plain ham sandwich.
I cant eat quiche or sausage
rolls. The pastry gets stuck when
I swallow.
And fruit cake. You cant beat a
nice slice of fruit cake.
Well well find out tomorrow.
After the funeral.
What funeral?
Gerties funeral. Thursday at
eleven oclock.
Were late.
What do you mean were late?
Were not late; were too early.
Its Thursday today.
Its Wednesday.
Says who?
That woman.
Which woman?
The one who got off the bus
with that other woman.
I remember now.
Good. Now lets hurry to catch
the bus and Ill make you a cup of
tea when we get home.
Will we call and see Gertie?
No. Well see her tomorrow.
If she turns up.
I dont think shell have any
choice about it.
Why not?
Its her funeral.
Well have to get there early.
We will.
Ill wear those shoes.
Which ones?
The ones I always wear
for funerals.
Ah right.
If were early, I can take them off
while were waiting.
You can.
Well have time. Ill bring
some sweets.
Youve got some in your bag.
So I have. Do you want one?
Save them for tomorrow.
I bet shes late.
I expect she will be. She
always was.
Didnt we always say shed be late
for her own funeral?
We did. Well soon see if we were
right. Tomorrow.
***
Thats the first time Ive known the
bus to be late.
See, thats why I always insist we
catch the early bus. Then it doesnt
matter if hes late.
Because well still be early?
Exactly. Whereas if wed waited
for the later bus and hed been
running late too
Wed have been too late.
We would.
And Ive still got time for a little
sit down.
You have. But maybe not to take
your shoes off this time.
I dont need to take them off.
But you always have to take them
off. Its become a ritual. By the time
weve walked from the bus stop, you
have to take your shoes off because
your feet are hurting.
Well theyre not today.
Why not? Whats so different
about today?
Guess.
What do you mean guess?
Guess.
Well your feet havent shrunk.
I used to have lovely feet.
Delicate.
We all used to have lovely feet.
Whatever happened to them?
Life happened I expect.
And shoes. Shoes happened.
A lot of shoes in your case.
True. Ive had some gorgeous
shoes over the years.
You always went for style
over comfort.
I did. And you always went
for comfort.
Which is probably why my feet
dont hurt and yours do.
You still havent guessed why
theyre not hurting today though.
I give up.
Sure you wont have a guess?
Im sure. We havent got time
for guessing. Theyre going to be
here soon.
These arent my shoes.
What do you mean theyre not
your shoes?
What I said.
Well whose are they.
Gerties.
How can they be Gerties?
You remember we always took
the same size in shoes?
You used to borrow from
each other.
We did. Thats why you
thought I owned more shoes than
I actually did.
Because some of them were hers?
Correct.
But if you were the same size,
how can you wear her shoes
without your feet hurting?
Remember she had that fall and
broke her ankle? Well when the
swelling went down, one foot was
bigger than the other and she had to
go up a size. She wore one of those
insoles in the other shoe.
But how did you get them?
After we had tea yesterday, I
called in at the chapel of rest on
my way home.
Whatever for?
Just to see her. Thats all. I didnt
mean to do anything.
What have you done?
Nothing that matters to
anyone else.
Tell me.
The undertaker took me into the
chapel of rest, and there she was,
just lying there. She looked ever so
smart. She was wearing the dress she
had for her nephews graduation.
It suited her.
Still does. And her best shoes
were just standing there, on a table
at the side.
You didnt?
I did. The undertaker had to Tina Ja
go out and take a phone call. I
could hear him on the phone
and it sounded like he would be
sometime, so I just did it. Took
mine off and swapped them, then
I left before he came back.
And they dont hurt your feet?
Perfect fit, and years of wear
left in them too.
Sure and she wouldnt have
minded anyway. Probably
would have given them to you
if youd asked.
I expect so.
Looks like theyre here.
Right on time.
First time ever.
Its a miracle,
so it is.

EDITORS COMMENTS
The challenge in this months
short story competition allowed
no authorial intrusion whatsoever. Only
dialogue was permitted, and its a restriction
that Eileen OReilly wholeheartedly
embraces here, painting a warm portrait
of two doddering senior citizens in their
circuitous discussion of the absent Gertie,
like Samuel Beckett reimagined by Alan
Bennett. Without names or scene-setting,
Eileen has to fill in the readers blanks
carefully all too many entries were
rejected for unnatural expository dialogue
but she pulls a neat trick. Her old dears
repeat themselves, lose their conversation
thread and need to explain things to each
other, and the reader, conveying their
characters and plot under the guise of an
apparently natural conversational flow.
She also has a natural ear for dialogue,
capturing the cadences and mannerisms
of a conversation we could easily be
eavesdropping on ourselves.
RUNNER-UP AND SHORTLISTED
Runner-up in the Dialogue-only Short
Story Competition, whose story is
published on www.writers-online.co.uk, was
Carol Homer, Farnborough, Hampshire.
Also shortlisted were: Dianne Bown-
Wilson, Drewsteignton, Exeter; Sarah
Franlin, Redditch, Worcestershire; Sarah
Harbour, Ashbourne, Derbyshire; Gill
Hoare, Tonbridge, Kent; Anne Rogers,
Banff, Aberdeenshire; Mary Waters,
Calne, Wiltshire.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 63

p62 comp winner.indd 63 21/06/2016 10:20

 Poetr y
competitio
Winners
n
getting away
SELKIE, DUBLIN JULY 2013,
1st prize Judge Meg Marsden highlights the winning entries from
our subscriber-only Holiday Poetry Competition
BY JOANNA FAHEY
Winner

E
We went to see the Book of Kells veryone loves a holiday those who have not come across this
but it was closed and the Guinness dont they? Or do they? word, the dictionary definition is a
and the craic had left us lightheaded. It would seem not mythical creature that resembles a seal
judging from the many in the water but assumes human form
All night in a grubby B&B in Lower Gardiner St, and varied submissions on land. The word has Celtic origins
we heard the plaints of the gulls to the subscriber-only holiday poetry and having just read a wonderful book
from the black Liffey competition. It is so easy for us all set on the Orkneys I know that this is
insistently cry vengeance and old wrongs. to make assumptions based on our their word for seal.
own feelings and experiences. It never Recognisable almost instantly
We put our fingers in the bullet holes in the GPO. ceases to fascinate how very different upon reading this poem, what
We looked at the brass bosomed tart and her barrow we all are. makes it an enduring work is the
of brass cockles and mussels, alive alive o; Amongst the entries were those readers desire to revisit the poem,
Oscar resplendent in granite and green jade, who detested the very idea of moving and, because of its subject matter,
lounging in Merrion St away from the security of their to maybe visit the location. Having
and black James, jaw jutting. everyday working pattern. Many been to Dublin, upon reading Selkie
wrote of glorious childhood trips there was a yearning to get back
To Howth then. Midsummer to the seaside; some wrote sadly of there very soon and explore the
in the driving rain. leave when in the forces and then places so vividly written about.
From the jogging train window I searched in vain being parted from a loved one as Selkie has pretty much everything
for the bird girl war intervened. And Venice featured one could want from a poem and its
bosom soft and slight fondly in several submissions. very much a poets poem. There is
as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. It was disappointing that a musicality and song within its content
amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters. number had to be put aside as their and form and the reader is taken
memories, though often interesting on an educational but entertaining
But the smoky rain obscured the sea in content, became an unformed tour of Dublin and its surrounding
and there was only and everywhere seawrack narrative more prose than poetry. areas. We are told at the outset that
and the scream of gulls. The other problem encountered the Book of Kells at Trinity College
was that of an oh-so-easy trap too is closed but nothing daunted as the
On the shivering pier, damp dispirited children; many adjectives. I mention this as its local Guinness brewery had created
moored fishing boats, butting and fretting in the tide. something that can easily be remedied a happiness and light-headedness
in any future poetry. It is not difficult otherwise known in Ireland as that
And there - when enthusiastic about a topic to great word, craic.
an old man seal upright in the swell, gush and spoil what could have been a As we read on we are given a very
skin atwitch with lice. super piece kill your darlings. good example of a poem showing
Joanna Fahey of Greater Auckland, rather than telling; we see the black
Huge eyes looked at me and I at him. New Zealand, has come first with her Liffey, the bullet holes from the 1916
And he knew all about it: poem Selkie, Dublin July 2013. For Easter Uprising, Molly Malone, Oscar
the brawling, keening days,
the fields of Athenry,
the priests and the prayers, Shortlisted: Shirley Anne Cook, Denham, Bucks; Elizabeth De Winter,
the tears, the fears. Wilsford, Lincs; Richard Hough, Ringwood, Hampshire; Eunice Lorrimer-
The whisky in the jar. Roberts, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; Sarah Mitchell, Bournemouth,
Drinking and dispossession, Dorset; Lucy Nankivell, Ferndown, Dorset; Betty Norton, Bamber
and all that stuff. Bridge, Lancashire; Joyce Reed, Marple, Stockport; Christine Savage, Ely,
Cambridgeshire; Julie Shackman, Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.
I waved.
And he waved back, a leathery flipper
breaking the brackish swell.
64 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p64 Poetry winner.indd 64 21/06/2016 10:20

 P O E T RY C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N E R S

Wilde and James Joyce in the writers
wonderful third stanza.
As we journey on, towards the end
is the short verse And there - / an old
man seal upright in the swell, / skin
atwitch with lice. Now there are not
many insects in the ocean but seal do
carry a certain complex lice and the
words used here do give us a perfect
picture of the seal alert and vital. This
was so necessary to get across to us
through the seal its knowingness of
all that previous history the famine
sung about in the ballad Fields of
Athenry, religion and all that stuff.
Yes, so very good economic but
containing so much.
Heather Cook of Woking, Surrey, is
our runner-up with The Holiday Show.
There are two verses in aabb rhyming
pattern with ten lines to each and this
poem encapsulates the emptiness felt
by The sad, pale girl on the cruise liner
stall; she is in the business of attempting
to sell posh cruiser holidays and her
feelings are portrayed and magnified by
the behaviour of the senior, moneyed
folk and the younger couples who are
quite happy to go camping and suffer
the insects and inclement weather.
Its either cruises with Jacuzzis or
camping with midges.
But although this is a young girl
we can tell from her attitude that
she feels as though her life is over
and that there is no more fun to be
had such as in Tunisia and that she
no longer feels attractive or that life
holds any amusement for her.
The apparent simplicity of the
work aids its heart-breaking power.
The device used of the almost
identical first two and last two lines
gives not only a terrific poignancy
but also a claustrophobic and
somewhat trapped feeling for this
sad, pale girl on the cruise liner stall.
I for one feel drawn to give her a
big hug as she makes her way home
to what the reader would imagine
to be her lonely, empty flat.
As is so very often the case,
this was a difficult one to judge
as there was really some super
poetry submitted and great praise
goes not only to the two writers
above but also to those worthy
shortlisted winners.
2nd prize
Winner
THE HOLIDAY SHOW,
BY HEATHER COOK
The sad, pale girl on the cruise liner stall
has been smiling all day at nothing at all.
Surrounded by posters of blue seas and skies,
she smiles but the smile never reaches her eyes.
Young couples entwined ask questions and gather
brochures and pens, then say that theyd rather
go camping in Scotland and suffer the weather,
the midges, the bogs, the bees in the heather.
The old ones have money, but are very choosy,
demanding a cabin with fridge and Jacuzzi.
She looks at the man on the wine tasting stand,
relaxed and quite attractively tanned,
and thinks of those nights she spent in Tunisia
when life was amusing and she felt much prettier.
As the crowd melts away, she stretches and yawns,
then packs up the brochures, the books and the forms.
Her muscles are aching from standing all day,
listening to people with so much to say
to the sad, pale girl on the cruise liner stall,
who has smiled all day long at nothing at all.

www.mslexia.co.uk/novel
0191 204 8860
novel@mslexia.co.uk

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www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 65

Writer's Retreat Normandy.indd 1 12/05/2016 10:02

p64 Poetry winner.indd 65 21/06/2016 10:20

 e to
Tim write
F
or each of us there is a time
of discovery when we realise
that writing is the path to
follow. It may be a lightbulb
moment, a flash of inspiration that
reveals the truth in an instant. It may
be a growing realisation. It may be a
decision to try something new, with
the accompanying revelation that the
new activity should be writing.
The poem we are looking at this
month acknowledges the time in
his life when its author started to Perfect your
write, and also looks at the time poetry with a WM
of day when the writing stimulus Creative Writing
begins. On another level, as the course.
title hints, this is a celebration of
TAP HERE!
grasping the perfect moment and
taking possession of it.
TIME TO CREATE
Abstracted nights touched with words
An unqualified mind thats full of life
Not too sure if theyre nouns or verbs
Sensitive thoughts for a sleeping wife.
My priceless time unreserved of sleep
In surreal trances that could never last
Allow careless moments time to weep
In guilty thoughts of a frustrated past.
The past has gone, I welcome the now
An adventurous mind deserves no less
A branch of pros with unbending brow
The chance to learn, I must now caress.
Creating poetry with hopeful ambition
Macular degeneration no more a plight
In this perfect place there is only vision
Im on my own stage of Northern light.
Unpopular rhyme bring forth the dawn
The reality of life opens to stir this day
An awakened mind ideas alone forlorn
I welcome the night to rewrite my play.
66 AUGUST 2016
p66 poetry workshop.indd 66
Alison Chisholm explores a subscribers poem that
celebrates discovering the creative process
Author John Hill of Durham
mentions that he is enjoying
spending his retirement writing
poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and
that he actually came to writing
later on in life, following illness
and eyesight problems. He gets
around the latter with the help of a
large-screen computer and an iPad,
demonstrating that the determined
writer will always find a way. It was
the gift of a book by Alan Bennett
that sparked the interest in
writing, and John Hill admits to
writing something every day.
This regular approach, either
daily or at least frequently, keeps
the writing muscle supple and is
recommended by many professional
writers. Whether it involves adding
material to a manuscript, re-drafting
and revision, researching, note-making
or even just concentrating the mind on
writing activities, little and often is an
approach that works for many of us.
Time to Create starts with an
explanation of the urge to write, looks
back with regret over a frustrated past
and resolves to move forward and
learn more of the craft. It continues
with the assertion that visual
impairment should be no barrier to
moving onward, and ends with a look
at how, when day matters intervene,
there is always the night to come with
its opportunity to fill the blank page
or work on the written one.
All this indicates a clearly planned
route through the subject matter,
a design for the way in which the
poem will convey material from the
heart of the poet via the written
word into the mind of the reader.
This poem is a work in progress.
In e-correspondence regarding its
inclusion on this page, three different
www.writers-online.co.uk
versions have arisen, all conveying the
same core message but using different
wording to communicate it. Its always
good to see a writers openness to
re-drafting an assurance that the
poet can see beyond the joy of the
first version and accept that there is
more work to be done. In fact, the
most valuable tool in the poets kit
is the revision that can be repeated
time and time again until every detail
of the piece is working as well as it
possibly can. By alternating periods
of working on the poem and periods
of rest in between the revision
exercises, the poet has the best chance
of creating an amazing piece.
Although Time to Create has had
rewrites, the current version would
still benefit from some further
attention. While the message is clear
and follows a logical path, the use
of language could be enhanced with
more consideration for the sentence
structuring. The grammar of poetry
can take occasional leaps denied to
the grammar of prose, but some
conventions produce more vibrant and
immediate communication.
In almost every case, the inclusion
of a subject and main verb animates a
sentence, and punctuation helps with
the phrasing. The first stanza illustrates
this. If the simple device I know were
added at the beginning, a much livelier
line would appear, while a comma
at the end of the opening line would
allow the same subject/main verb
combination to spark the next image
too. The sense of the stanza suggests
a full stop at the end of the third line,
before a change in mood for the fourth.
Again, a subject and main verb are
needed. Something like I try not to
disturb a sleeping wife would work.
Applying the same technique to
23/06/2016 09:56

the other stanzas would both enliven
them and make them easier for the
reader to absorb. If the grammar and
punctuation of the sentences are in
place, they are scarcely noticeable to the
reader, but they do have the effect of
making the reading more fluent. You
can concentrate on the message
being conveyed instead of trying
to work out the mechanics
of the phrasing. So helpful
structuring helps to get your
see a writers openness
message across and supports
the words you have selected. assurance that the poet
When working on the can accept that there
grammar, its always worth
checking for any possible
cuts you can make. Pruning
individual words or phrases the
poem can live without strengthens the
piece as a whole, and trims and tidies.
The poet exhibits a flair for accurate
rhyming, with perfect full rhymes
fixed at the ends of the first and third
and the second and fourth lines of each
Poetry in practice
Advice on toying with line length from poet Doris Corti
T
he lines in a poem are
building blocks.
Lines written in prose depend
on font and paper size as well as margins.
In poetry the length of lines and line
breaks will affect a readers experience of
any poem. In traditional forms the length
of each line is to some extent controlled
by the metre used and the rhyme pattern.
In other styles, where the poet has more
freedom over lines and line endings, care
should be taken as to how you use them.
Short lines can create a rapid pace and
emphasise the statement-like quality in
some poems. The way you break a line
can signal a change of movement or
highlight a certain part of the poem, as in
the following example.
The white shore curves
gleaming
under the harsh sun
Here the poet is enhancing the image.
In free verse, lines can be irregular. This
p66 poetry workshop.indd 67
quatrain, alongside the single use of
slant rhyme in words / verbs. There is
only one moment when the rhyming
might be adjusted advantageously,
and that is at the end of the third
stanza, where an inversion has
been included a device that was
acceptable historically, but is
now rather archaic. The line
Its always good to should read I must now
caress the chance to learn to
follow normal syntax, but
to re-drafting an of course this would skew
the rhyme pattern.
There is some lovely
internal slant rhyming
is more work through the poem as well,
to be done. with the assonance of priceless
/ time and branch / chance,
repetition of past / past and alliteration
of perfect / place as well as the full
internal rhyme of night / rewrite. These
add to the overall poetic feel of the
piece, and complement the line-end
full rhymes.
way you will shape your poems as
well as showing readers how a poem
should be read. How you break lines
in a poem can imbue the contents
with an intensity that would not be
the same if it was written in a solid
block. For instance:
I heard the sound of water running over pebbles
like a muttered echo. I listened, waiting
and seemed to hear the invocation of some rhythm.
If the lineation of these lines is
changed, the imagery and intensity of
the theme will be highlighted:
I heard the sound of water
running over pebbles, like a muttered echo.
I listened, waiting
and seemed to hear
the invocation of some rhythm.
Shape your poems by making lines thin
or wide whichever relates best to the
subject matter. Perhaps a new poem is
www.writers-online.co.uk
P O E T RY WO R K S H O P
An extra bonus for the reader of
poetry is the little hoard of phrases
that have a powerful effect and linger
in the memory. Time to Create gives
Abstract nights, surreal trances,
hopeful ambition, and my own
stage of Northern light.
Poetry is the one branch of
writing in which every participant
is involved purely for the love of it.
Very few people make a living from
it, and only a deranged optimist
would set out to do so. John Hill
adds this comment to the end of his
message: this is all new to me, and
I am loving it all. No matter how
new or experienced we are in the
world of poetry, that loving it all is
the perfect reaction. To read, write,
and above all to love poetry makes
for true contentment.
If you would like Alison to consider
workshopping your poetry, please email:
jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
arriving for you by the use of a rhyme?
You can place this rhyme within lines
rather than on line endings to avoid
creating a block pattern. There is a
pattern which is known as the three-step
arrangement. This is where the first line
is written straight across the page, the
second line indented to almost middle
of first line and the third line is indented
halfway under the second line. In
contemporary poetry this form is often
extended and written in more lines.
This means that you might write
three lines as the set arrangement then
followed by a fourth and longer line.
Exercise
l W
 rite fourteen lines in one
block on the theme of a walk
2 Divide these lines into stanzas
3C
 hange the lines making them
irregular
AUGUST 2016 67
21/06/2016 10:17
 P O E T RY P R I M E R
Poetry from
Poet Alison Chisholm guides you through the language of poetry
In IRONY, words are used to convey an
opposite meaning from the literal one,
such as lovely weather! when its pouring
with rain.
IRREGULAR METRE occurs when
the expected metrical pattern in a line of
poetry has been changed, usually with the
purpose of breaking up the regular beat
so that it does not become monotonous.
The two most common variants that adjust
the metre of blank verse, the unrhymed
iambic pentameters used in so much of
English poetry such as Shakespeares
plays, Miltons Paradise Lost and Tennysons
Ulysses are feminine endings and initial
trochaic substitution.
This example of a line of pure iambic
pentameter demonstrates the five feet, each
foot consisting of an unstressed followed by a
stressed syllable:
You followed where my footsteps went before.
With a feminine ending, an additional
unstressed syllable is added at the end of
the line:
You followed where my footsteps went
beforehand
Initial trochaic substitution twists the stress
pattern of the lines opening foot, so that
we have a trochee stressed followed by an
unstressed syllable and then revert in the
next foot to the standard iambic pattern:
Following where my footsteps went before.
ITALIAN ENVELOPE QUATRAINS
are four-line stanzas in iambic pentameter,
where two rhyming lines are enfolded in the
envelope of two lines with a different rhyme.
A fairy needs big magic to exchange
a pumpkin for a carriage, six white mice
for horses; must pass on the right advice
for when to leave a ball, and then arrange
that nobody in town should have the feet
to fit inside glass slippers but one girl.
No wonder that her mind is in a whirl,
her wand arm aches, her spells are incomplete.
68 AUGUST 2016
p68 Poetry know-how/alphabet.indd 68
A to
Any number of these stanzas may be
used to create a poem.
EXERCISE: Using Italian envelope
quatrains, write a poem that either narrates
some aspect of a traditional story or tells a
new one.
JAPANESE FORMS of poetry are usually
based on a syllable count. Patterns such
as the haiku and senryu, tanka and the
collaborative renga, as well as the extended
nagauta, do not have a rhyming or
metrical requirement, but work around
counts of five or seven syllables to the line.
JAZZ POETRY demonstrates facets of
jazz music, featuring improvisation and
syncopated rhythms. Jazz music itself is a
recurring subject. The genre developed in the
1920s and was adopted by the Beat poets of
the 1950s, who often performed it against a
background of piano or drum rhythms.
A JINGLE is a little verse or chant,
spoken or sung, essentially memorable,
and therefore used a lot in advertising.
Dating back to the start of commercial
radio in America in the 1920s, it became
an easy way to fix a slogan in the public
consciousness. Examples include the
vintage rhymed Youll wonder where the
yellow went / When you brush your teeth
with Pepsodent, the prose Go to work
on an egg and the taut compression of
poetry techniques that makes up Beanz
meanz Heinz.
including the three time divisions to
The KENNING is a Norse/Icelandic
verse form, its name deriving from
the old Norse verb kenna meaning to
know. Although there were complicated
rules regarding the formation of
early kennings, the term has come to
mean simply a poem that describes
something without actually naming it, as
demonstrated in this example.
www.writers-online.co.uk
Z
REINDEER KENNING
carrot cruncher
sweet hay muncher
antler wearer
Santa bearer
swoop and soarer
sky explorer
red-nosed racer
moonbeam chaser
sleighbell ringer
big sack bringer
roof tile clatterer
stardust scatterer
EXERCISE: Try writing a kenning in
rhyming couplets, using this example
as a template.
Japanese syllabic poems, both in the
original and in Western versions,
usually feature the KIGO, a word that
implies a particular season, and may
even be as specific as indicating early,
mid or late season. They relate to natural
phenomena, human activities and
special occasions. The words may have
an obvious implication, such as blossom
(indicating spring) or midsummer,
or something a little more obscure,
like jacaranda (a tree that flowers in
springtime), surfing (a summer activity)
or Halloween (autumn).
EXERCISE: Make a list of the seasons,
give twelve distinct periods of the year.
For each, find a non-living natural
state, such as weather conditions, an
appropriate animal and plant reference,
some human facet and a special occasion
reference. The results should be a lively
hoard on which you can draw to provide
seasonal background, as well as material
for your syllabic poetry.
21/06/2016 10:15

Share the
love Improve your chances in our popular annual love poetry competition
with advice from adjudicator Alison Chisholm
T
he word love is bandied
about all over the place.
We love a parent, child or
partner, but we also love
burgers, films, sunshine and football.
The next Writing Magazine poetry
competition gives you the opportunity
to share the love by writing about it.
For the purposes of this competition
the object of the love can be anyone or
anything. The one area of subject matter
that might not be too successful is to
take an overview of the general theme of
love. The most powerful poems tend to
be those with close focus, giving you the
opportunity to write in clear, concrete
terms rather than the abstractions
resulting from the overview.
When you have decided on the
subject matter you wish to cover,
consider your subject from every
possible angle. You might simply want
to write a description of the beloved
person or thing; but before you opt for
this, think about how your descriptive
poem could be enriched, and about the
potential in other approaches. There
could be a list poem of your subjects
attributes, a dialogue of love this, dont
love that, a sustained metaphor, a link
with a different element to complement
the main strand of material or create
a surprise. You might wish to write in
a different voice, in the persona of a
character or object, taking a direct or
a more oblique approach, or using the
format of letters or diary entries.
At this stage, before you have invested
a lot of time and energy in the poem,
its easy to explore a range of routes
through your material. When you start
making notes, make them for two or
p69 Poetry launch.indd 69
three different approaches to see which
works best for you. If you are not drawn
to one route immediately, leave your
preliminary notes on one side, preferably
for a few days. When you come back to
them, there is usually a preferred path
beckoning to you, and helping you to
fix on the best choice of poem.
This is the time to let yourself go with
the poems first draft. Let all the words
tumble onto the page. Because you have
already been thinking about your subject
and making initial notes, this part of the
process may be easier than you expect.
While you are spilling out all your
thoughts, watch for any emerging pattern,
in terms of the phrasing, length of the
treatment, your urge to use or avoid
rhyme, or a natural inclination for the
work to divide itself into lines and stanzas.
At the same time, bear in mind that
love has been the theme for countless
poems in the past, and originality is
essential if you want your poem to
stand out from the crowd. During both
writing and revision, the question: have
I ever seen or written anything like this
before? should be uppermost in your
mind. If theres the tiniest scrap of
doubt, a feeling that you might have
seen a similar phrase or image, its worth
going back over the work repeatedly
until you come up with a completely
fresh thought. Always remember that,
no matter how many other poems
have been written about love, nobody
has ever viewed the theme with your
unique combination of imagination
and experience. If you are true to these,
you will be able to find fresh words to
communicate your message.
One little trick that can help with
www.writers-online.co.uk
P O E T RY C OBM
EPGEI TNIN
T IEORN
S
originality is to confirm whether any
phrases might have been penned
before by using the internet. Put the
words into a search engine and most
importantly put the double quotation
marks symbol before and after the
phrase. If that complete phrase has
already appeared in print, the search
engine will seek it out. As an example,
if you put my love is like into Google,
you get 488,000 results in under two
seconds, including numerous pop songs,
the Burns poem and the Shakespeare
sonnet. If you had thought the phrase
might be a good addition to your poem,
such a result would give you a clear
indicator of its originality, or lack of it.
While your subject and approach
need to be handled with flair and
freshness, dont forget that the most
fascinating theme on earth will fall flat if
the quality of the writing is not superb.
Make sure that the building blocks of
the poem, everything from grammar
TAP and sentence structuring to accuracy
of metre and precision of full or slant
HERE rhyme, are in place. It is worth spending
TO ENTER extra revision time concentrating on
all these technicalities. It would be
disappointing to submit a brilliant
poem let down by a flaw that could be
corrected in seconds.
When you know your amazing idea
has been constructed perfectly, your
poem has the potential to be the winner.
Good luck.
To enter, submit a single love poem, up to forty lines
long, by 14 September. The winner will receive 100,
with 50 for the runner-up. See p107 for more details
AUGUST 2016 69
23/06/2016 09:55
 WRITING FOR CHILDREN

Animal
magic
Newly confident readers love animal stories just as much as younger children, says author
Amy Sparkes, concluding her look at creating animal magic in your stories

A
nimals have a special place in our
hearts and our stories. Animal books
in young fiction (age 5-9) or middle-
grade fiction (age 9-12) tend to fall into one of
two categories: stories focusing on the relationship
between animals and humans; or stories which
view the world from the animals perspective.
Animals and humans
The relationship between humans and animals
is special, whether it concerns a cherished
pet, a rescued animal or an encounter in
the wild. This interaction usually facilitates
the resolution of the protagonists conflict
(internal, external or both).
One way this can happen is magic. Being
removed from the limits of human nature,
animals are sometimes portrayed as magical,
especially in young fiction. Can you create an
animal character with a magical element? How
would the magic work? How could it help
solve a problem?
Animals are also special friends for children
who are in same way alienated or struggling
with emotional difficulties. This friendship
isnt restricted to domestic pets. Think of an
unusual (but in some way appealing) animal.
How could a child befriend this animal? What
conflicts in the childs life could the animal
help to solve?
Stories from the animals perspective
These stories embrace a broad spectrum of
styles, from the realistic (such as the Animals
of Farthing Wood series by Colin Dann) to
the fantastic (such as the Redwall series by
Brian Jacques).
There is more emotional distance when
animals are the characters instead of children,
yet children can still identify with them. This
can help children to feel safe as they explore
difficult issues, such as displacement or death.
Have you got an animal story in you waiting
to come out? Read widely, visit animals and
watch documentaries for inspiration. And see
where your imagination takes you.

AUTHOR
INTERVIEW:
HOLLY WEBB
Nigel Bird

Which animal books have you written?
Animal Stories age range 6-8; Magic Molly, 5-7ish (magical element);
My Naughty Little Puppy 5-7ish.
Why did you decide to write about animals?
Because Id always had lots of pets and Id enjoyed writing about
animals as part of my Triplets series. More specific animal books were
a natural next step.
Why are animal books important?
My Animal Stories series is particularly framed to represent the animal
characters POV and story as well as the child characters. I love doing
this, and I think its really important to engage children with the concept
that pets arent just toys animals have their own feelings and rights.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My own animals, but also stories from friends, and some even from
children at events. The magical stories with talking animals have a
direct connection to my childhood reading love, the Narnia books.
Do animal books work particularly well in series?
I never actually intended to create a series with the animal stories
But I think theres something very comforting for younger readers in a
sense of familiarity within a series.
Whats coming next from you?
My latest animal story is The Seaside Puppy, which was out in April.
I have a new series about guinea pigs publishing in August with
Scholastic, tentatively called Sophies Furry Friends Im really loving
working on it.
Website: www.holly-webb.com
HOLLYS TOP TIPS
1 Your own experience is really helpful!
2 Research can trip you up sometimes you find out so much
interesting stuff that you want to put it all in, which doesnt help
the story.
3 But having said that, its easy to almost get things wrong silly
things like tortoiseshell cats almost always being female
4 People will expect you to be an animal behaviour expert. I am
not, and we seem to have owned the worlds worst-behaved
animals, always.

70 JULY 20162016
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AUTHOR
INTERVIEW:
SARAH LEAN
Which books have you written?
A Dog Called Homeless, A Horse For Angel, The Forever Whale, Hero
and the most recent, Harry and Hope, which features a donkey.
The books are aimed at 9-12 year-olds. Although the stories feature
animals, theyre really about a child who doesnt speak; two children
who find something in common despite their differences; a child
trying to understand her grandfathers Alzheimers; a child who
mistakes fame for heroism; and a child who learns to rely on herself.
It is the action and interaction with the animals that reveals and draws
out the strengths of the child characters through their adventures,
trials and triumphs.
Why do you enjoy writing stories with animals?
When I was a child we werent allowed pets, although I longed for a
cat. One day a cat walked in the back door and adopted me. There
were difficulties with other children at school and the cat stood in for
the friend that I needed at the time. I guess that some things start in
childhood and have a deep significance for us.
Ive always been fascinated by animals. My main interest is with
language and communication. Im captivated by their wordless world
that communicates so much.
Why are animal stories important?
Many of us consider animals in a similar way to children we know
we have a responsibility towards their care. In Harry and Hope the
donkey is rescued from carrying bricks to a building site in India.
But without the donkey to carry the load, his owner cant earn
enough money to feed his family. In stories, both adults and children
have the opportunity to consider situations outside our usual field
of knowledge. This makes stories powerful tools to highlight and
enrich our relationship with people, nature and the animal kingdom.
Reading a story enables the reader to consider the importance of a
subject and can awaken and ignite their thinking and emotions about
the world and how we are living in it.
Do you have a favourite animal moment in your books?
My favourite are the moments of triumph. All the stories make me
cry at one point or another whilst I am writing as I am completely
invested in the characters story. I cannot read out loud the moment
when the silent child speaks in A Dog Called Homeless, when, through
the thundering rain, the dog and her father come to the rescue. Many
adult readers have told me they have a similar reaction.
Once, I read out loud a chapter from The Forever Whale at Hay
Festival and had to pause, sip water and distract the audience for a
moment in order to gather myself to read on without a crack in my
voice. Stories told aloud are immensely powerful and I wasnt prepared
for the emotional reaction from the listeners.
Whats next?
Im very excited about my new projects. Two chapter books from my new
series Tiger Days are being published this year, aimed at 6-8 year olds,
www.writers-online.co.uk
p70 children.indd 71
WRITING FOR CHILDREN
early readers and those who still need support and a story read to them.
Tiger Days is a girl reluctant to engage in the world around her
until her grandmother returns from the wildlife reserve where she
worked in Africa. May Days has bought a big old house in need of
renovation. Tigers adventures are about the friends she makes there.
Sometimes they take the form of neighbours and local wildlife,
sometimes its an orphan or sick animal from the zoo. They are small
adventures made large by discovery and play, with humour and some
emotional tugs. The beautiful illustrations are by Anna Currey.
The next novel for 9-12 year olds will be published in July
The Last Snow Leopard. An imaginary snow leopard leads
Emma, her brother and father to Bhutan. The family is falling
apart and while searching for their own kind of peace, the past
comes back to haunt them when they find a real snow leopard
in need of their help.
Website: www.sarahlean.co.uk
SARAHS TOP TIPS
1 Watch the animal you want to write about. Keep watching the
tails twitching, the tension in the shoulders when they crouch,
wary. Its often the smallest of behaviours that bring out the
unique particularities of the character of the animal, and its these
that need precision in the writing, especially the verbs and nouns.
2 Speak to experts theyre usually quite willing to help. Ive
helped train a donkey with an animal psychologist and met the
team from India who support donkey welfare. You dont have to
use everything you learn, but the more you learn the richer the
picture you can portray.
3 Consider who needs to tell the story. The character, the
narrator, or the animal itself? Will you tell it from the animals
viewpoint, from a humans viewpoint? I think there are triumphs
to be discovered in finding the right way to tell the story. Id
recommend reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine
Applegate for a masterclass in a gorillas voice.
4 Dont feel limited by thinking an animal story has to be either
contemporary or historical, fiction or factual. Animal stories arent
necessarily a genre in themselves. Ask yourself, whats the
best environment in which this story can emerge? Animals can
enhance any genre.
5 Read around the subject but keep reading books that have
nothing to do with animals. Sometimes you need to put
seemingly disparate elements together to create something new.
Youre aiming for the wonderfully unique but seemingly real.
FURTHER READING
Squishy McFluff series by Pip Jones (Faber & Faber)
Animal Ark series by Lucy Daniels (Hodder Childrens Books)
Magic Kitten / Magic Puppy series by Sue Bentley (Puffin)
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (Egmont)
AUGUST
JULY 2016 71
21/06/2016 10:13
 F E A T U R E S In their
D E S K
own words
Conducting strong interviews and presenting them in the best
way possible are essential skills for non-fiction writers of all kinds.
Tina Jackson talks you through the options

G ood journalists need

more than writing
skills, particularly
when it comes to
interviews. People skills are essential
too: talking, and listening. At the
heart of all good journalism is the
ability to engage with a stranger and
persuade them to communicate.
Whatever kind of interview youre
conducting, you are after one thing:
quotes. These are more than the meat
on the bones of your story: in many
cases a profile interview, for instance
they are the story itself. The stranger
who will provide the material for your
feature article may come in many guises
celebrity, expert, case study, to name
just three possibilities but in each
instance, the success of your piece is
totally dependent on your ability to get
them to provide you with good quotes.
Then, of course, you have to shape
your material into a feature. But first
lets look at how to make sure you get
the good stuff.
What kind of interview
are you doing?
Are you doing an in-depth piece about
a particular person? If so, why are you
doing it (the hook) and is there any
particular focus to it (the angle)? For
instance, look at WMs star interview
this month with prize-winning author
Kei Miller. The hook is his new novel,
Augustown. The focus, for a specialist
magazine with a readership of writers,
is his writing life (the angle).
Are you writing a human interest
story where you are speaking to a case
study? Thats a clinical phrase, isnt
it case study? Very often it actually
means a human being with a set of
possibly difficult experiences that
you need them to reveal. Are
you writing about peoples
hobbies, or interests? Do
you need to get factual
quotes to reinforce a
story? Human interest
quotes to add colour?
Are you talking to a better the questions you
celebrity, who is used
to being interviewed, or
someone who might never
have talked to a journalist
before and who needs,
gently, drawing out?
Be clear in your mind about why
you are interviewing your subject
and what you hope to gain from the
interview. This will help you to focus
on getting the best quotes for your
particular purpose.
Do your research
Good interviewers will always be well
prepared, and will make sure they
know their subjects background.
Its good manners, it means you
dont waste questions and most of
all, it means you will have a good
idea of what you want to get out
of the interview. Never be like this
writer, who was once, covering the
Edinburgh Festival, tasked with a
telephone interview with one of the
worlds greatest foreign correspondents,
whose latest book was featured in the
Edinburgh Book Festival. It had been
a long week of back-to-back shows,
bashing out five reviews a day and
burning the midnight oil. Im really
sorry but I havent read it, I wailed.
Fortunately for me, the world-
famous foreign correspondent
was a total gent and with
great kindness, took
The better armed you pity on his ragged,
are with information hungover, incompetent
interviewer and pretty
about your subject, the much conducted an
interview with himself.
will be able to ask. You can never rely on this
happening. Do not busk
it. Never assume anything
the golden rule of journalism
applies here, too. Be sure of your
facts. The better armed you are with
information about your subject, the
better the questions you will be able
to ask. Its that simple.
Be prepared
Its always a good idea to make notes
of the key points for your interview.
They will act as useful prompt as
you are talking and will ensure that
you cover the essentials. Its best,
though, not to have a list and insist
on sticking to it an interview means
having a conversation, not conducting
an interrogation. Think what you
want to get out of the interview, and
be realistic. Do you need quotes to
provide the bulk of a 1,800-word
interview? Or do you only need
answers to five questions? In each
case, make sure that what you want to
ask is pertinent and relevant, and that
you stay on topic, or dont stray so far
from it that you waste time and lose

72 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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the opportunity to get the answers
you need for your piece.
Make sure your tech works
If you are recording the interview, make
sure your recording equipment is fully
functional and that you know how to
work it properly. Tell the interviewee
that you are recording the interview.
If you are taking notes, have a back-
up pen and ensure there are sufficient
pages in your notebook. If you are
phoning the interviewee, make sure
you have the right number.
Be polite
Although there are some people who
take the Paxman route and believe
in a confrontational interview style,
most interview subjects do not require,
or respond well to, an antagonistic
interviewer. Leave the hard-nosed
techniques to the hard-bitten news
reporters whose job it is to ask difficult
questions about topical subjects.
Rather than barking out questions
and demanding answers, you will in
general get much better results if you
ask your questions courteously. Some
interviewees will be more revealing/
engaging/informative than others, but
even if talking to them is like getting
blood out of a stone, remember to
thank them for their time. And if
youve got the interview through a PR,
thank them too.
Ask good questions
By which we mean, ask questions that
invite the interviewee to talk, rather
than closed questions that could be
answered with a yes or a no. The
basic questions who? why? what?
how? when? where? will all serve you
well. Your in-depth research will enable
you to ask intelligent questions, so keep
them short and easily comprehensible.
Ask one question at a time, and dont
be afraid to ask the interviewee to
clarify anything that isnt perfectly clear.
Ask a couple of warm up questions to
put your subject at their ease, then ask
the really important questions. Dont
be afraid, if its what the job requires,
to ask the pointed or even difficult
questions that are what readers will
really want to have answers to. Editors
will not take kindly to you if you file
an interview feature that fails to address
what readers want to know, and it isnt
always possible for you to go back to
p72 Features.indd 73
an interviewee to put the questions you
should have asked in the first place.
Make sure you have planned your time
well enough to cover all the necessary
points within your allocated time.
Listen as well as talk
A good interviewer will be aware with a WM Creative fine. If it worked for Elmore Leonard
of every nuance of what his
Writing course.
subject is saying. Dont force an
agenda, and be prepared to go off-
piste. Your interviewee might tell you
something you arent expecting,
and it might be better than what
you thought you wanted.
Be professional
Although you, and your interviewee,
are both there to do a job, not to make
a new friend, there is no reason why
the whole process should not be an
entirely pleasant exchange for both of
you. Be on time, be well-informed, be
courteous, and remember that they are
sparing you their time (yes, even if they
need you to promote their book/show,/
TV programme/whatever) and you are
not the focus of attention.
Writing up your piece
An interview feature is a feature article
like any other, only with the emphasis
on a person or people as your subject.
The usual feature-writing techniques
apply (see last months WM): grab
your readers attention with a vivid
opener, let them know early on what
the piece is about and why theyre
reading it, keep a thread going, stay on
topic, intersperse quotes with relevant
information, provide some colour, wrap
it all up with a satisfying conclusion.
There are a few specific things to
think about avoiding:
Try not to be part of the piece,
and definitely avoid giving the
impression that the interviewee is
your new best friend. This means
not saying he told me or she
confided to me, which is twee, coy
and ingratiating. The reader wants
to know about your interviewee and
their opinions, but they are not the
slightest bit interested in you, or
yours. Some brilliant interviewers
Simon Hattenstone in the Guardian,
for instance can get away with
putting themselves in an interview
story, but most of us cant, and it
nearly always sounds either amateurish
or just plain embarrassing.
www.writers-online.co.uk
F E AT U R E S D E S K
Dont overwrite. In particular,
dont scour the thesaurus for colourful
verbs to describe the act of speaking.
Explains and describes are possibly
okay if not used to excess but reveals
Perfect your and confides really? To you and
article writing 30,000 readers? Says will do just
and Raymond Carver, it is more than
good enough for the rest of us. Also,
TAP HERE! please dont put laughs in brackets.
You are writing a feature article, not
a screenplay with directions. And
particularly if you are a fan of your
interviewee, no gushing. Your readers
want balanced coverage, not fanboy/
girl slavering.
TYPES OF INTERVIEW YOU MAY
BE ASKED TO CONDUCT
PROFILE INTERVIEW
In-depth, will entail careful research and thought-out
questions. Likely to be with a person used to the media
who is in the news or has a new product they want to
promote, ie talk about/around.
HUMAN INTEREST STORY
May be with a person unused to media attention who
has a sensitive or topical story to tell, and requires a
particularly skilled and sensitive interviewer to put them
at ease so that they feel comfortable talking.
Q&A INTERVIEW
Short and snappy: you ask the question, they provide
the answer. With the emphasis on the questions, you
need to do your research to make sure theyre spot-on.
CASE STUDIES
For a news feature or a trend piece you may need to
interview case studies. In each case you should know
the direction you want the interview to go, and have
a brief number of questions (approx five) designed to
elicit the response you require. If youre interviewing
for a trend piece, you dont want all the interviewees
to say exactly the same thing, so you need to tailor the
questions to each interviewee.
RESEARCH INTERVIEW
You need to get the background to a story, so you talk
to the key people who can provide you with necessary
information. Or you need an expert to explain their
area of expertise.
NEWS INTERVIEW
Something has happened and you are talking to the
person it happened to. Ask who, where, what, why,
when and how.
AUGUST 2016 73
23/06/2016 09:56

CRIME
BEHIND THE TAPE
Crimewriter and lawyer
Neil White answers your
legal procedure queries
How do I find out whether someone is likely to be let out
on bail after being charged? I want this character under
suspicion but out of prison so they can be involved in
the action.
To answer your question, you need to resolve the first part of the
equation: suspicion.
A person is charged when there is enough evidence to convict, ie,
that the person is no longer a suspect but is firmly believed to be the
actual offender, and is required to attend court.
If the person is still under suspicion, its more likely that the
person hasnt been charged. This may be because he has been
interviewed but has raised other lines of enquiry. For instance, if
the evidence isnt forensic but recognition evidence, but the suspect
states that he was in John Lewiss fifty miles away. The police might
bail him to come back at a later date to check out alibis, to chase
forensic results, to look at the CCTV in John Lewis. That is one
way to have the character out in the wider world.
If the person has been charged and the case is a murder (Ill
assume your novel isnt about a shoplifter), bail is less likely to be
given, as there may be reasonable grounds to believe that he will
kill again, or intimidate witnesses, or flee the country. It is not
impossible, and murderers do get bail, but the person would have to
be someone with no prior police involvement or properties abroad,
and with a stable address, etc.
The first thing to remember about someone charged with
murder is that bail cannot be granted by a magistrates court. It
can only be granted by a Crown Court judge, and then within 48
hours. For example, murderer appears blinking from the dark cells
into the magistrates court on Monday. All cases start there. The
case will be sent to the Crown Court and there will be a hearing
possibly on Tuesday, but most definitely on Wednesday, when the
judge will consider bail.
Each consideration of bail is fact-specific: on the type of murder,
the background of the offender, so it is impossible to say yes or no.
What I can say is that only a really regular clean-living guy with
strong local ties is going to have a sniff at getting bail.
If you want your suspect out in the wide world, keep him as
that, a suspect; ie, not yet charged. The police might believe he is
the murderer, but if they havent persuaded a prosecutor to charge
murder, hes at liberty.
If you have a procedural query for Neil, or our other
criminal justice expert, serving officer Lisa Cutts,
email jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
74 AUGUST 2016
p74 Crimefile/ex.indd 74
CRIME
FILE
A psychology background informs the
thrilling realism of Emma Kavanagh, she tells
Chris High
After completing a PhD in Psychology from
Cardiff University, Emma Kavanagh spent seven
years working as a police and military psychologist,
training firearms officers, command staff and
military personnel to deal with the most extreme
situations. An expert in her field, she now applies
her knowledge to her writing, creating realistic
and incredibly tense stories and her latest novel,
The Missing Hours (Century), has attracted rave
reviews from fans and critics alike.
Although Emma appears to have had a career filled with large team
engagement and thereby a far cry from the solitary nature of writing
a novel, this is not the case at all. I have always worked alone, from
doing my PhD to developing my training courses, Emma explains. Of
course, those periods of solitude were interspersed with times of intense
interaction I think the biggest group I ever taught was around 300
people, including a three-star general but Im comfortable in my own
company. That said though, the thing I miss most is the laughter. Police
and military personnel have an amusingly dark sense of humour and I do
very much miss that aspect of my former role.
In The Missing Hours, one moment Selena Cole is in the playground
with her children and the next, she has vanished without a trace. Twenty
hours later, Selena is found safe and well, but with no memory of where
she has been. What took place in those missing hours, and are they linked
to the discovery of a nearby murder? The novel uses multiple first-person
viewpoints, a difficult technique to get right and maintain, but Emma has
it spot on. Id love to tell you that this was a strategic choice and I think
this is one of the things that is most dominated by the characters Im
writing. I often try a number of different narrative styles before I decide
which one works best for any particular character and The Missing Hours
was no different.
A similar consideration was the creation of the association between the
main two investigating police officers, DC Leah Mackay and DS Finn
Hale. This one took me a while to figure out. I think that the brother-
sister dynamic worked better because it allows for a close relationship
which nonetheless can sometimes be competitive, adversarial, even. It also
allowed them to have a very easy bantering interplay between them, which
I thoroughly enjoyed writing.
What does Emma feel are the most difficult and most rewarding aspects
of taking up writing as a career? I think the most difficult part is the fear.
What if Ive somehow lost my abilities and cannot write another book?
What if no-one buys the books? What if they
buy it and hate it? The fear is ever present
and has to be battered down before anything
productive can be achieved. The most
rewarding aspect is simply that I get to tell
myself stories for a living, that living within
my own fantasy world is an integral part of
my job. I am currently and inevitably
working on book four, whilst attempting
to reassure myself that I havent entirely
forgotten how to write. I also have a couple
of other writing challenges ongoing, which
is allowing me to really flex my creative
muscles. Watch this space, as they say.
21/06/2016 10:05
 FIRST PAGE PRESENTS: FIRST PAGE PRESENTS: FIRST PAGE PRESENTS

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p075_wmagaug16.indd 75 20/06/2016 15:51


FA N TA S T I C R E A L M S
Spells, wizards, sorcery, enchanted amulets... magical elements
pepper fantasy fiction, but be cautious about how youre going to
F antasy fiction is a genre that
is often rich in tropes and
archetypes, and as much as
the genre has been expanding
its horizons of late many of
these classic characters and concepts
remain at its heart. But they remain
there for a reason their enduring
popularity with readers for one, and the
fact that it is the continuation of a fine
tradition of storytelling. Theyre also
things that are key to the development
of any area of fiction, and fantasy would
not be here without it.
One of those best-loved and
traditional features is the idea of magic
seen so many times and often wielded
by some of the most iconic characters
in literature. Who hasnt somewhere
heard of Merlin, or Gandalf a couple
of those rare characters whose names
are universally known in their reading
or viewing?
Magic is an element of unreality
that can be drawn from any number
of different sources and employed by
either the very skilled and long-trained
or passed on as a sort of genetic gift,
or even curse. It can be something
destructive, something healing, but
undoubtedly in many fantasy tales it
is a thing of huge power. It can be key
to worldbuilding as well as being very
much story-shaping. Its by no means
an essential any number of great
stories do without, and entire subgenres
of fantasy that simply leave this aspect
76 AUGUST 2016
p76 Fantasy.indd 76
Thats
magic!
wield the wand, says Alex Davis
alone. But if it is something you want
to include in your stories within the
genre you need to consider how to
go about it. Done well it can, quite
simply, be magic.
Something
for everyone?
There are many important
decisions to be made on
the magical front. One
of the first is whether
Keeping within the
it is something that boundaries that you
can be harnessed and
used by most people
establish is vital to building
or something that up a suspension of disbelief
is far more elite and
uncommon. Each decision
and the rich world you
will of course lead to its own need to create.
questions and challenges.
For example, if it is accessible to
all, how do people use it? What sort of
world of spells and counter-spells would
we encounter? Would people tend to use
it for good, or would it be largely used
for evil purposes? Would some people
be able to use it better than others?
Then again, what if magic was
something for the elite, the well-trained,
and learned in the craft? How would
it play into the class system? Would
magic only be for the wealthy, or would
it be something that was passed down
as a sort of birthright, an inheritance
from one generation to the next? In
this instance, would it be something
www.writers-online.co.uk
that would be viewed with suspicion,
jealousy, open hostility?
Considering who has the powers
of magic is going to be crucial to the
society within your story, and is an
important stage of the world-building
process. It can either be a force the
unites people, or something that divides
the inhabitants of your world.
Back to
the source
As with so many matters
in fantasy fiction, its
important that you
establish a set of rules before
you get started. One of the
great joys of fantasy fiction is
that you have the chance to set
your own rules, but its anything
other than a form without rules.
If you establish something in chapter
one, its important to be sure that you
follow it throughout the book and
indeed the series, as is so often the case
in fantasy fiction. We can say in a sense
that there are no rules when you begin,
but rules quickly come into place.
As mentioned previously, where the
magic fits into your society and who
can access it is an important factor.
But probably equally important is to
be sure of where exactly the magic is
coming from. There are many different
ways to play this, of course, and none
of them are explicitly right or wrong.
21/06/2016 10:01

However, it is a rule that you need to
establish up front and once youve done
that its going to be hard to break away
from. Keeping within the boundaries
that you establish is vital to building up
a suspension of disbelief and the rich
world that you need to create.
So what could be the root of this
awesome power? Is your magic something
that floats in the air, an etheric and
otherworldly force? Is it a sort of power
that exists within people, something
special for the chosen to draw upon? Is
it something that comes from special or
sacred objects, the possessor of which has
access to a great well of power?
The above are probably fairly tried
and true in fantasy fiction, and theres
plenty of scope to try other things and
in fact make your book stand out by
doing so. Peter V Bretts Demon Cycle
series used runes as the source of its
magic, for example, something seen
much less often within the genre. A bit
of experimentation and thinking beyond
the obvious can often yield good results.
Staying in control
Once you have a sense of where you
magic emerges from, and who might
be able to employ it, then you have
a further decision to make is magic
actually something that can be used
safely? It appears in many stories as
something that can be used in many
very impressive and powerful ways,
be it a way to swing combat in one
sides favour, influence peoples minds
and emotions and even raise the dead.
In a sense, the limits of magic can be
practically unlimited if you decide
it should be.
The power of magic itself can be
something unstable though, and even
something that can take over its users.
So thats one question to ask yourself: is
the magic within my world something
that people can harness and use without
damaging themselves, or is there a
p76 Fantasy.indd 77
deeper price be it psychological or
physical that your magic users will
have to pay for the privilege? The
battle to control the immense forces
of magic for a character can without
a doubt make for some fascinating
reading. Is the person in that position
a liability or an asset?
Secrets and lies
One of the reasons that magic can be
so effective in fantasy is because it plays
into the epic feel that the genre often
has. These are so often tales set over
huge spans of time, stories that can
explore the entirety of a world and take
in the adventures and challenges faced
by a wide range of characters. These
are so often focused on events that not
just change the city, or the country,
but often the entire world. And many
fantasy authors do take the extra time
to build history and backstory into their
setting and this is where magic can
come in once again.
The attitudes towards magic and
means of using it are rarely simple
in fantasy fiction, and this is very
much something that you can use in
the mythology and history of your
setting. Has the purpose of the magic
become misappropriated over the
years? Are there legends surrounding
it that are true or indeed not true?
What can your characters uncover
in their exploits that might make us
think differently about the roots of the
magic in their world?
As an idea that is very much borne
from our own mythologies around the
world, the power of magic can be a
huge driving influence in your
own story.
Lets get physical
Magic is often considered
something that is cerebral,
something that lives principally
www.writers-online.co.uk
FA N TA S T I C R E A L M S
within the mind, and the mental
and psychological effects can be very
much felt by the wizards or warlocks
(or whatever else you may choose to
title your magic users) in many stories.
However, many magic users do also
come to feel the effects of their gift
in a physical sense the use of these
phenomenal powers can also cause pain,
hurt and long-term damage, and indeed
a character who has to choose carefully
how and when to allow their powers
out can be very compelling. Could it be
obvious just from looking at a character
whether they have these powers within
them or not, and what would the
reaction to that knowledge be?
The easy option?
One of the downsides of magic and the
reason some of the concepts above are so
important is that it shouldnt simply
become a fallback for storylines that
simply dont function in their own right.
You dont want magic to become a deus
ex machina in your plots, something
that is there only to dig your characters
out of the many holes they may get into.
When their backs are against the wall,
magic shouldnt always be the solution
thats why a system for your magic
becomes so important.
If it can only be brought about by
certain means, or if it takes a
kind of toll on the characters,
or if there is a limited pool
to draw upon, then your
characters will have
to come up with
different ways to
get themselves out
of trouble.
Making sure its
not just an escape
route but something
absolutely intrinsic to
the plot is probably the best
way to sprinkle a bit of magic
on your fantasy fiction.
JULY 2015 77
21/06/2016 10:02
 PUBLISHING
A
ll writers must also be
conscientious proofreaders
with an eye for the smallest
details. Once youve
hammered out your epic novel, potential
non-fiction bestseller, short story, article
or anything else, you need to proofread
it to within an inch of its life.
But honing your proofreading skills
can also open up the door to a lucrative
side income, or even a rewarding full-
time career. This month were going to
explore some of these opportunities,
and also look at how you can utilise
proofreading skills to improve your own
writing projects.
The roll role of the proofreader
From JK Rowling to JD Salinger, no
author produces an impeccable and
error-free manuscript first time. Even
after many iterations and redrafts to
iron out thorny plot issues and character
motivations, its likely that errors remain.
In fact, even once it reaches the stage of
having been copy-edited by a publisher,
its incredibly unlikely that the words
and their arrangement are perfect. This
is where the professional proofreader
enters the picture.
In the publishing industry, the
version of the text that is produced
after all final copy-edits have taken
place, and before printing, is called
the proof. This is the almost-ready
version of the text, and it is the role of
the proofreader to identify and mark
any errors or inconsistencies before it
goes to print. Well look more at the
job itself and career opportunities for
proofreaders in a moment, but first lets
define exactly what is covered within
the remit of proofreading.
78 AUGUST 2016
p78 Publishing.indd 78
Proof
PERFECT
What do proofreaders check?
A proofreader is responsible for ensuring
that the nuts and bolts of a manuscript
are in the right place and used properly,
just as manufactured items are checked
for quality before heading from the
production line to peoples homes. This
may involve a wider remit than you
might expect though, and incorporates
checking the following copy aspects:
Spelling, grammar, punctuation and
typos (though most of these errors may
have already been taken care of in the
copyediting stage, depending on the
type of publication)
Style consistencies (eg hyphenations,
spelling variants, title formatting)
Page numbers and headings
Typographic and layout consistency
Awkward page and column breaks
Widows and orphans (short lines
at the end of paragraphs, or single
words or short lines appearing at
the start of a page).
Picture and caption matches
Table of contents accuracy
This checking may be done using
a printed proof, or, as is becoming
more common, an electronic proof.
This proof will generally be typeset it
is set out ready to be printed, so any
major changes beyond those discussed
above are avoided wherever possible.
The proofreader will mark any errors,
inconsistencies or omissions on the
proof, so that they can be corrected
before printing and publication.
In some circumstances, the
proofreader will also be given a copy-
edited manuscript which they must
check against the proof, but often this
is not the case, and the proofreading is
carried out blind or cold.
www.writers-online.co.uk
Improve your proofreading
skills and increase your earning
opportunities, with advice from
Chris Glithero
Proofreading your own work
Much of the above will only apply to
proofreading your own work if you are
self-publishing and handling all aspects of
the publication process by yourself. But all
writers will benefit from developing their
proofreading abilities when it comes to
spelling, grammar, punctuation, typos and
basic consistency.
If youre submitting a manuscript for
publication it will most likely be subjected
to professional proofreading at a later
stage. BUT, appearances and accuracy are
everything when it comes to getting your
writing in front of an editor for the first
time. If your submitted copy contains
numerous errors of any kind then this will
immediately mark you out as an amateur,
and if theyre early on in your book or
article, its likely that the editor will not
finish reading your manuscript. As well
as appearing sloppy, editors dislike copy
packed with errors because it takes longer
to edit and proof.
So, you should make it a habit to
proofread every piece of writing that you
submit for publication or consideration.
Even the best writers make errors in the
heat of the moment, so embrace the chance
to correct them and enhance your writing
towards its greatest potential.
Whats it like to be a professional
proofreader?
Proofreaders work for many different
organisations, including dedicating
proofreading agencies, publishing houses,
print and digital media outlets, academic
and scientific organisations. Many
proofreaders work from home, and some
are freelancers.
As to what kind of things youll be
proofreading, this will vary depending
21/06/2016 11:07

on the organisation you work for,
but may include fiction and non-
fiction books, textbooks, magazines,
newspapers, mail order/digital
catalogues, ebooks, web pages,
academic papers, journals and
business publications.
The job itself can be highly flexible
with regards to working times and
locations, but it can also be a solitary
pursuit. To succeed as a professional
proofreader you will need an exceptional
eye for detail, strong spelling skills,
a comprehensive understanding of
the English language, the ability to
follow instructions to the letter and to
communicate effectively. You will also
need to be a relatively fast reader in
order to complete assigned proofreading
tasks to potentially tight deadlines.
Training and qualifications
for proofreading
If the above sounds like you, you may
well be wondering how you go about
getting into proofreading. As with many
jobs, that journey starts with training
and qualifications.
There are no set requirements in
terms of training or qualifications as
such for becoming a proofreader, but
many organisations will strongly lean
towards working with those who have
undertaken specialist proofreading
training courses.
Having a degree in English, writing,
publishing or a related subject will
of course also help your chances at
getting a start in the industry, but
is by no means essential. Having
demonstrable experience of writing for
publication or employment will also
put you in good stead.
There are a number of respected
organisations offering proofreading
course and certifications in the UK.
These include:
The Society for Editors and
Proofreaders (SfEP)
Established since the late 1980s, the
SfEP provides training and professional
qualifications for proofreaders, with a
choice between online and workshop-
based learning. Courses (http://writ.
rs/sfepwm) include an introduction
to proofreading, and a more advanced
course which will teach you to use
BSI (British Standard Institution)
proofreading symbols. The final step
is a mentoring scheme taught by
experienced members of the society.
p78 Publishing.indd 79
Chapterhouse
Specialists in publishing-related training,
Chapterhouse offers a proofreading
correspondence course (http://www.
chapterhousepublishing.co.uk/product/
proofreader-plus/), which includes
support from tutors, marked assessments
and a certificate of competence upon
completion. It also offers a combined
course in proofreading and editorial
skills (http://writ.rs/chapterhouse).
College of Media and Publishing
Covering proofreading skills and
competencies across a range of
documents, the College of Media and
Publishings online proofreading and
editing course (http://writ.rs/cofmp)
provides tutor support, assignment
feedback and an accredited diploma
upon completion.
Where to get a proofreading job
Once youre satisfied that you have the
skills and the knowledge to proofread
documents on a professional basis, the
next step is to find somewhere that you
can put them to use. There are number
of routes you can take.
Proofreading agencies
Getting a first job in a crowded
marketplace can be difficult, but there
are a number of proofreading agencies
which can do much of the legwork
for you, including The Proofreading
Agency (http://proofreadingagency.
co.uk/proofreading/) and Scribendi
(www.scribendi.com). Please note that
we cannot vouch for these agencies,
and provide their names only for
informative purposes.
In-house staff jobs
At any given time, there are many
different organisations which are in
need of skilled proofreaders either on
a full-time permanent or contractual
basis. These include publishing
houses, marketing agencies and media
organisations. To locate these jobs,
simply use one of the popular job
search websites like indeed.co.uk, and
search using the keyword proofreader
or proofreading. You may also want
to check industry-specific sites such
as the Bookseller (http://jobs.
thebookseller.com).
Going freelance
In addition to large organisations
with high volumes of copy that need
proofreading, there are also many
smaller businesses and individuals
www.writers-online.co.uk
PUBLISHING
who have short-term proofreading
requirements. These include other
writers, and small commercial brands
which are launching a new marketing
campaign or catalogue.
As a freelancer it can be hard-
going, particularly in the early days,
but you are also presented with the
opportunity to effectively create
your own job with your own hours
and style of working. Having an
impeccable and error-free website is
a necessary first step in embarking as
a freelance proofreader, and clearly
any qualifications and experience that
you can demonstrate here will weigh
heavily in your favour.
At first, you are unlikely to be able
to make a full-time income solely from
your proofreading work, but its flexible
nature means that its easy to combine
with other employment while you build
up your reputation and client list. If
youre already making a living from your
own writing meanwhile, proofreading
can be a good way to supplement your
income, at least until you publish that
world-changing global bestseller.
Once youve got your proofreading
website up, its unlikely that people
are going to flock to it (though you
may want to consider advertising via
Google Adwords and other channels),
so you need to proactively look for
proofreading work. Here are a few
places to start:
Upwork.com
A global online marketplace where
freelancers and businesses come together.
You can get started by simply posting
a profile as a freelance proofreader,
including details such as your rates and
your experience and qualifications. You
can also apply for freelance jobs posted
by potential clients.
Peopleperhour.com
This is a similar UK-based freelancing
community where you can promote
your services a proofreader and apply
for jobs posted by the community.
Proofing makes perfect
Even if you decide that
working as a proofreader
is not for you, by honing
your proofreading skills you
can become a better writer,
producing polished, perfect
prose every time.
AUGUST 2016 79
21/06/2016 11:07
 WRITERS WEB WATCH

E
very so often a listicle appears
in our social media feeds or
timelines about must-visit
bookshops. And yes, of
course these physical shops are places
of wonder; treasure troves full of rich
pickings for bibliophiles. But what about
the best bookshops online? Because lets
face it if there is something you really
want to find, the internet is going to
help you more than a determined rootle
through physical book stacks.
Were not talking giant e-tailers here,
although if youre looking for a cheap
copy of a book and can bear trawling
rs/smsbooks). Rare and out-of-print
childrens books? Stella & Roses Books
(http://writ.rs/stellaandrosesbooks).
Books that have been signed and
doodled in by their authors? Doodled
Books (http://writ.rs/doodledbooks).
For anyone interesting in obtaining
official and government publications,
The Stationery Office (TSO) Shop
offers a bibliographic database of over
700,000 in-print titles (www.tsoshop.
co.uk). If you are writing non-fiction
in any relevant areas, you can arm
yourself with the official information.
And although these are specialist You want really niche? We lay at

through the behemoths massive
marketing platform for itself, Amazon
is everyones first port of call this was
its first function and is arguably still its
best one. Even better, WM has tracked
down rare titles through Amazon
subsidiary Abebooks Create A Want
feature, where you can be alerted when
a particular title comes into stock and is
entered by a seller on the database.
Abebooks (www.abebooks.
co.uk), which gathers together the
stock inventories of thousands of
booksellers, is a goldmine. Like every
good bibliophile, we love the Rare
Book Room, with its curated lists
of oddities and niche subjects. Go
a little further into it, though, and
youll find the Directory (http://writ.
rs/rarebookroomdirectory), which
catalogues dealers and sellers of rare
and specialist titles. Want an online
bookstore devoted to books by, about
and connected with 39 Steps author
John Buchan? Got one right here:
50% of the stock of small online-only
seller SMS Books (more than 1,900
titles) is Buchan-related (http://writ.
titles, use your writerly
imagination... Dangerous
Goods Emergency Action
Code List 2015? Might Its glorious to know that
prompt (and certainly
give credibility to) a
these shops, where the
thriller. Food Industry
Guide to Good Hygiene
Practice: Sandwich Bars and
Similar Food Service Outlets?
Surely theres a comedy sketch
lurking between the guidelines?
Love the randomness of a charity-
shop find but cant be bothered to
go out? Oxfam Books (http://www.
oxfam.org.uk/shop/books) has an
online catalogue of more than 60,000
new, antique and second-hand books
to browse. WM had a very happy
look through the art, architecture and
photography and music, stage and
screen books and found tempting
offerings including a small press
anthology of rocknroll writing and
Trumpet and Bugle Sounds for the Army
with Words also Bugle Marches worth
9.99 of anyones money wed say,
especially for a good cause.
your feet The Calypso Online
Fish Bookshop (www.calypso.
org.uk/Bookshop/), which
supports The Fish Orphans
Relocation and Rehoming
Scheme and offers specialist
stock is collected and titles and fish, ichthyology
curated by passionate and aquaria books and a
print-on-demand service
specialists, exist. for rare titles.
Medical titles? Theres
Wisepress (www.wisepress.com).
Road transport history? Look up
Nynehead Books (www.nynehead-
books.co.uk). Music and railways? Bob
Pearman of Pearman Books in Norfolk
(www.pearman-books.com) is your
Speaking of man. Its glorious to know that these
curated book shops, where the stock is collected
collections, keep and curated by knowledgeable and
an eye out passionate specialists, exist. Thanks to
for WMs the internet, we can search out these
recommended places in the virtual world and visit
reads of 2016 them freely. Our high streets may
supplement, with be increasingly generic but the back
our December alleys of the world wide web offer
issue. rich pickings to book lovers happy to
browse off the beaten track.

80 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p80 Webbo.indd 80 21/06/2016 09:44

 Well help you
sell your book
Fantastic
news from

Showcase and sell your book to Subscriber

Writers Online readers showcase
Whether traditionally, electronically or self-published, one of the most
difficult tasks facing the modern writer is How do I market and sell my
book. The team at Writing Magazine have now got the answer. Recently added
We are now giving you the opportunity, FREE to subscribers, to share
to the website
and sell your book through the nations favourite writers website. Each The Darkness
month, Writing Magazines website receives over 14,000 unique visitors, of Love,
all sharing one passion books. No longer will you have to rely on by Catherine
potential readers trawling through the myriad of books on other websites Green
to find your work.

But we havent closed the door on non-subscribers. For a fee of 50, your
book can also be included in the showcase. Tip: a years subscription to
Writing Magazine is cheaper see p57 for details. Cross Killer,
by LE Willetts
Please send an image of your cover, with a teaser sentence (10-15 words),
brief synopsis of your book (approx. 200 words) and a link to where
buyers can purchase it, to lauren.beharrell@warnersgroup.co.uk, with a
subject line of WM showcase. Please include your subscriber number, or
if unsure of that, your postcode.

We will feature your book on our website for two months. If you want The Highland
your book to appear longer, WM subscribers are charged a small monthly Lass,
administration fee of 5. Non-subscribers will be charged at the standard by Rosemary
monthly fee of 50. Gemmell

To view the books already featured, visit

http://writ.rs/subsshowcase
book.indd 84 21/06/2016 11:22
 HELPLINE

Helpline Your writing problems

solved with advice from
Diana Cambridge

Email your queries to Diana (please include home-town 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.

Q How different does a story (or an article) have to be before it can be

submitted to a new market or competition? Ive had a story shortlisted
in a competition (hooray!). As a result it will be published in an anthology in
December. I understand the rights Ive assigned for this version of the story
but what about different versions of it? The story I submitted was a much
reduced version of a longer story (8,000 rather than 10,000 words). If I
identify a market or competition that the longer version would be suitable for
could I still submit it?
CHLOE WILLIAMS, Llanidloes, Powys

A Its quite possible to re-work a story, using the same theme. But it would
be unwise to import chunks of the text into the new version. Youd
need to find different words, different expressions and if possible different plot
devices. A reduction of 2,000 words isnt really that much in story terms. If your
longer version is just 2,000 words added on to the existing 8,000 words, it will
still read more or less as the same story. But check the wording of the rights you
have assigned to the anthology and also the rules of any new competition to
which you submit. Err on the side of caution. This advice also applies to articles.
Q I worked on a short story until the last minute, but
allowed myself an afternoon to upload it to their website
and pay the entry fee. Then I ran into problems with the
website, which first would not accept my card details (although
they were correct, and an hour later were accepted) and then
would not accept my story. Re-reading the rules, I saw it had to
be in a pdf format which I am unable to do. I tried to ring the
competition organisers, but there was only a box to send them

Q I sent off an opinion piece to a national newspaper, and heard nothing from
them. But a couple of days later they did put it on their website without
consulting me. They were not in touch over payment: when I emailed them I had
an email message which they would reply to within 48 hours.
In the end I had to give up.
Why isnt there a help number which you can ring?
a computer-generated reply saying that submissions were automatically considered When everything is done electronically, theres so much
for their website, and may be used. While I am, of course, pleased that they used room for problems!
my piece, I feel a bit short changed seeing it on the website was not as satisfying as OLIVIA STURTON
seeing it in print. They did use my name thats one thing. But it seems there is no Lacock, Wiltshire
question of payment. Is this usual?
JOE PLATTS, Leigh on Sea, Essex
A This will come too late for you for that particular
competition, but my advice is always to get your

A Yes, I would say it is. And I have heard from other writers who found that their
submission had been used on a website, some did not even see it themselves
but were told of this from friends. I think writers have to accept that a website now
carries as much weight as a print version to the people who run them, and to
younger readers. Print newspapers are losing circulation, and will continue to do so.
You can look on this as helpful to your profile. Some writers would be delighted to
have their work published on a national newspaper site, but payment seems unlikely
where newspaper websites are concerned.
work in well before the deadline at least a week. Deadline
entrants often do seem to run into trouble one way or
another. Even if sending by post, a deadline entry may be
sabotaged by delivery problems, loss or damage. So rule one
get that entry in early!
Many competitions are international and often run by
volunteers running the competition isnt their main job,
so they have to deal with entries as and when. A website
helps their workload. If a payment portal is used and
the entrant confuses his card numbers the portal usually

Q I started a correspondence course in feature writing but gave it up about

three years ago. I still have the course book and would like to re-start the
course, which I have paid for in full. Will distance writing schools let you do this?
allows you back in after a period of time has elapsed. If
you do enter well ahead of deadline, there may be a postal
address for cheques and even entries.
DOREEN NASH, Daventry, Northamptonshire But the most important thing is to read the rules
carefully. There may be twenty or more rules, but buried

A You will need to look at your original records or simply ring them up,
and ask, as a new student, whether you can take up your course at any time
after a break. Some schools will allow this, while others wish you to complete your
course in two or five years.
within them may be a line telling you only to enter in pdf.
Start with the rules and print them out if possible. Then
set your own personal deadline for entry, make a list of
all you need to do (format: card details: etc.) and take it
slowly and carefully.

82 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p82 helpline.indd 82 21/06/2016 09:41

 G O I N G TO M A R K E T

Q Do you have to submit play and film

scripts in a special computer programme?
I have heard mixed opinions on this. I am on
a limited budget and dont want to pay for
something I dont need.
DREW McEWEN
Tonypandy, South Glamorgan

A Read the rules or submissions guidelines. Some competitions ask for

scripts in a programme called Final Draft the industry standard for
scripts. It costs around 179, but you can buy special offers. Most general
writing competitions want your entry in 12pt Times New Roman as a doc file,
but scripts are nearly always required in Courier. Some require your entry in
pdf format. Final Draft is useful in helping you format your script correctly, as
there are strict layout rules that are not intuitive to the fledgling scriptwriter,
Away day
but you can still achieve the correct layout manually. For details on format,
Getting out more can be
and more general guidance, see Euroscript: http://writ.rs/scriptlayout
an important part of a writers
quest to be effective says
Q r
Patrick Forsyth
pect as a fee fo
What can I ex
an article of 75
I sent to the lo
0 words whi
cal newspaper
hi st
ch

or
?
y.
W riting is essentially a solitary activity.
Even given an idea, getting the words
ct of local down takes time and it can become, or certainly
Its on an aspe E R S aspects of it can become, a chore. Dont mistake
M A RY S A N D
Rye, Sussex me. I like writing, actually I particularly like
stopping. Getting up from the computer with

A cal papers
(perhaps finally) a feeling that I am content with
something I have done is assuredly satisfying.
thing! Most lo But writers benefit from getting out and
Practically no no budget for
az in es ha ve little or about too and its summer so maybe this is
and m ag that do
ee la nc e su bm ission. Those the time to think about this more. Writing
fr nd
g at up to arou
youd be lookin pt an ce . Magazine now has a page called Away from
ce
35-ish on ac Your Desk (p25). A recent issue listed a variety
of events: a literary festival in Richmond, a
Screenwriters Festival in London, a crime

Q When a book club was started by my local bookshop, I thought this was a good
idea they give us a discount on the chosen books and also free coffee and biscuits,
sometimes a glass of wine. However, there is one member of the group who is very vocal
writing course coming up in the autumn and
a Summer School in Dartington. This is, I
believe, merely the tip of the iceberg. There
and always takes over. The girl running the book club doesnt seem to be able to handle are many such events and some of them are
this very well. What would you suggest? small, local and inexpensive; for example
MOIRA JONES, Cathays, Cardiff Brentwood Writers Circle, to which I belong,
has a full-day meeting each year open to

A If there are several of you feeling the same way, I suggest having a discreet word with
the book club organiser. Explain that you feel that not all views are being heard, and
that this is spoiling the pleasure of the event. You could suggest to her that she makes a
everyone which only costs 25 to attend (see
www.brentwoodwriterscircle.com meeting on
1 October).
gentle rule everyone who wants to speak gets an equal time. Or, the person who spoke I enjoy discussing writing too. Attending
last cant speak again until others have had their say. The offender would, of course, not be such events is an opportunity to network, cross-
named! Its not so difficult to put this into practice. check queries with others and form alliances (for
instance for co-writing). Its useful. In a busy
life it is perhaps easy to put off attendance at
such events, but maybe you need a firm plan
and commitment to attend something like this a
few times each year. Find something convenient,
book up and put it in your diary. It could prove
a significant help in your
quest to write well and get
published in both the short
term and the long.

www.writers-online.co.uk JUNE 2016 83

p82 helpline.indd 83 21/06/2016 09:42

 Matador

Serious Self-Publishing

Seeking reliable and realistic advice about your

self-publishing project from approachable and Matador exhibiting at the
experienced professionals? 2015 London Book Fair

Whether it be writers services companies like The Writers Workshop, Words Worth Reading or Bubblecow, high street and
online retailers like Lovewriting.co.uk, literary agents, even other publishers not to mention the Writers & Artists Yearbook
for the last ten years... time and again Matador is recommended to authors wishing to self-publish a book or ebook for pleasure
or profit.

We produce books for authors to their specifications at a realistic price, as print on demand, or as a short or longer print run
book. As well as a high quality of production, we also insist upon a high quality of content, and place great emphasis on the
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We've always liked Matador because they have the best values in their industry. Apart from anything else, they actually try to sell books. It sounds
crazy, but most of their rivals dont. They print em, but dont care about selling em. Matador do. The Writers Workshop

But publishing a book is the easy part... getting it into the shops is harder. We offer a full sales representation and distribution
service through our distributor and dedicated sales representation team.We also offer a full ebook creation and distribution
option to our authors, distributing ebooks worldwide. Ask for a free copy of our guide to self-publishing, or download a copy
from our website. Or call Lauren, Becky or Rosie if you want to speak to a human being!

www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Recommended by writers services like The WritersWorkshop,The Writers Advice Centre for Children, Oxford Literary Consultancy, Fiction Feedback, Bubblecow,Words Worth Reading,
and PR agencies like Midas PR, Literally PR, Cameron Publicity, Booked PR and Startup PR.

Troubador Publishing Ltd, 9 Priory Business Park, Kibworth, Leics LE8 0RX T: 0116 279 2299 E: matador@troubador.co.uk

Confused about
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YPS are the one-stop-shop
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Copy-editing & proofreading

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Promotion & marketing E-mail: hilary@hilaryjohnson.com
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Book distribution
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Free & friendly advice
'Relax & Write' Writing
UK Creative
Hilary Johnson July UPDATED.indd 1 Courses 12/05/2015 15:35

23-25 September The Palace Hotel Torquay

Cup of tea and a chat! 'Structure your Mystery Novel' - with Eileen Robertson

14 - 16 October 2016 The Hayes Swanwick Derbyshire

'Writing True Crime' Heroes Villains & Victims - with Stephen Wade
Recommended by the 'Write a Non Fiction Best Seller' - with Simon Whaley
'Focus on Writing Romantic Fiction' - with Kate Walker
Writers & Artists Yearbook
4 - 6 November The Hayes Swanwick Derbyshire
York Publishing Services Ltd 'Poets' and Writers' Retreat - with Alison Chisholm
tel. 01904 431213 Please note that numbers are restricted on Retreats - please book early.
enquiries@yps-publishing.co.uk 2017 Weekend Courses to be announced soon.

www.yps-publishing.co.uk For further details of these and other courses please contact Lois on 01454 773579
email: loisbm@outlook.com www.malagaworkshops.co.uk

84 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

Malaga Workshop July.indd 1 12/05/2016 10:05

p084_wmagaug16.indd 84 20/06/2016 09:29


Unobtrusive research
You can discover a lot about human behaviour by discreet observation, says research specialist Tarja Moles
U
nobtrusive research refers to
data collection methods where
researchers do not have direct
contact with the people they
are studying. In other words, these methods
are not obtrusive and therefore they do not
affect the research subjects behaviour.
It may seem strange that you might study
individuals or groups of people without
interacting with them in any way, but
people actually leave behind evidence of
their behaviour and thoughts all the time:
just think about the letters to the editor
published in local newspapers, social media
updates that are visible for everyone online
or peoples spending habits recorded by
market researchers. These are all traces that
can be treated as potential sources of data.
Unobtrusive methods are ideal when you
want to know what people actually do, not
what they say they do which can be two
completely different things. Such methods
are also great for historical research as you
cant contact people directly, but can only
go by traces that remain available.
So, how can you find these traces?
Content analysis
A common type of unobtrusive research
method is content analysis. This means
studying communications in any format
and trying to figure out their meanings. The
communications are often, but not always,
texts and could include books, magazines,
newspapers, speeches, letters, diaries,
historical records, TV and radio shows,
adverts and online content.
The proliferation of digital media on the
internet over the past two decades has been
a real gold mine for unobtrusive research.
Exploring traces that people leave behind
in the online world, for example through
peoples social media accounts or online
forums, can give you a huge amount of
information about someone.
When analysing any kind of content,
its helpful to search for answers to the
following questions: Who says what? To
whom? Why? How? With what effect? If
you can find answers to these questions, you
can start to build a picture of the individual
or a group of people you are studying.
Secondary analysis of data
While content analysis generally refers
to exploring primary sources (ie original
p85 research.indd 85
sources), the secondary analysis of data
relies on secondary sources, that is, sources
that have already been compiled, analysed
and presented by someone else. Examples
include various textual sources that bring
together previous research findings, such
as biographies and obituaries, as well as
different kinds of statistical databases.
Secondary analysis is advantageous in
that you dont have to collect information
yourself but can take advantage of someone
elses data gathering. You can also extend the
scope of your research easily to cover larger
groups of people, such as whole nations or
even the world population, without having
to interview every person individually.
Indeed, any topic requiring quantitative
analysis, large datasets and statistics can
benefit from this technique.
If you are after statistics, just visiting the
website of the Office for National Statistics
(www.ons.gov.uk) will give you access to
a wide range of statistical information on
UK business, economy, employment and
population. Statista (www.statista.com),
The World Bank (http://data.worldbank.
org), OECD (www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
statistics) and YouGov (www.yougov.
co.uk) also provide large datasets.
Indirect measures
If you cant find any primary or secondary
sources that can help you with your
unobtrusive research, you could consider
using indirect measures to find answers:
analysing traces and/or material artefacts
that people leave behind can tell a lot about
their behaviour, thoughts and emotions.
For instance, if youre writing an article
about a show garden or a nature reserve,
you could observe where the most worn
paths lead and use these to give you clues
about the popularity of the different areas.
An early Saturday morning walk in your
local area, in turn, might reveal where the
previous nights party spots have been. And
an exploration of mementos left in the
graveyard could give you glimpses into the
people who have passed away and what
their loved ones thought of them. Ways
to indirectly measure something and get
insights into it are limited only by your
imagination and inventiveness.
If you decide to indirectly measure
something, be aware that your
interpretation of the situation may be
www.writers-online.co.uk
RESEARCH TIPS
something other than you think. For
example, the degree of worn paths may
not indicate that one section of a nature
reserve is a beauty spot, but it could
merely mean that other paths have been
flooded and therefore people have used a
particular path more.
Ethical considerations
There are ethical issues that you need to
consider when conducting unobtrusive
research: although you are not in contact
with people as such, you are still using
information about them.
With national statistics this isnt really
an issue, but if you start using indirect
measures, things can get trickier. For
instance, if you want to find out how much
alcohol the people in your neighbourhood
really drink as opposed to what they say
they do, rummaging through their recycling
bins to seek evidence will leave you on thin
ice. Its best to avoid doing anything that
breaches peoples privacy.
When you are planning your research, its
good to think of unobtrusive measures as
complementary to other types of research
methods. Each method and technique has
its own strengths and weaknesses, and by
combining a number of methods, youre
likely to get more accurate findings.
If youd like to study
unobtrusive research
methods in more detail,
Raymond M Lee has
written a comprehensive
guide titled Unobtrusive
Methods in Social
Research.
AUGUST 2016 8585
21/06/2016 09:40
 N E W AU T H O R P R O F I L E

PETER BREAKSPEAR
Winning a competition organised by WM and Matador Books led to
publication for Peter Breakspears debut novel. He explains the feeling of
becoming an author and his approach to writing, to Adrian Magson

I
ts fair to say that the majority competition run by WM in association
of debut authors follow the with publishers Matador last year.
same route to publication, Well, thats not so different, you might TAP HERE
and the stops along the way say. Plenty of other writers enter to read an
are now familiar territory to competitions, too. extract of
most aspiring writers: develop the Very true. However, Peters writing
idea, write the book, edit and revise, talent coupled with the theme and
End Point
submit to agents and/or editors, storyline got him to the shortlist of
receive an offer of representation and/ six. Then he won.
or publication, say yes, please and But his win got him more
soak up the feeling of becoming a than merely the standard offer of
published author. Simples. publication with the book available in
But not every author does that. ebook and paperback formats. With
As regular readers of Writing WMs help, Peter also gets to follow
Magazines Publishing Behind every stage of production and design
the Scenes series in recent issues something most authors do not see,
will know, Peter Breakspear, from and which goes on behind the scenes.
Weymouth in Dorset, did things a (This process can be found described The story first. It follows the main
little differently. He followed the in the May-July issues of WM and protagonist, Tom, who is leading
writing and submission part of interesting reading it makes, too). a four-man team on a search for
the route, but then found himself However, Peters journey, like all an object that has fallen to Earth.
experiencing a process that most authors, begins earlier than this. He Locating it takes some of the team
writers dont even begin to see. didnt just write it in the middle of the halfway across the world from a
For a start, he submitted End night and see it magically produced. windswept Welsh valley to Aksum in
Point, his science fiction novel, to a Well, not quite. Ethiopia, reputedly the location of the
fabled Ark of the Covenant. Along
the way they encounter evidence,
PETERS TOP TIPS from missions to Mars and Venus,
showing that the world has long been
a subject of interest to other beings
Think about your story when youre not writing; ideas come at the
oddest times. Just remember to write them down. and that the environment on Earth
has been manipulated over several
millennia by them.
Dont worry about layout, grammar, and spelling as you are writing. The middle of the book required a
Just get the story onto paper
lot of revisits, Peter admits, and I had
to do a fair bit of research to make
Let others read the book, or parts of the book, as you write. They will sure I wasnt talking rubbish. The
pick up many inconsistencies that you will not see. main difficulty for me was getting the
story right in a sensible time, and that
Be careful about names, relationships and places, etc, as its easy it was received well.
to start contradicting yourself if you dont keep an exact records of Which it clearly was. Where did the
the plot. idea come from?
Ive always followed science fiction,
Do the necessary research; make sure the things youre presenting he says, so the idea really sprang
as fact are real. from that interest. But this is the first
work of mine that Ive seen in print
other than some technical articles for
Dont be put off by criticism. And dont give up.
military and maritime magazines.

86 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 N E W AU T H O R P R O F I L E

The production process
of End Point is fascinating,
and much more involved
than I thought it would
be. The team have been
amazing and Im
impressed by their EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION!
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And the physical writing itself? How was that accomplished? RELISH YOUR WRITING
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I had to do it part-time, as I have a full time job. But even at
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end. Where I do find it easier is in short periods, with perhaps a
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But where does the storytelling come from?

T
Writing Magazine
Basically, it stems from telling stories to our sons and
grandchildren. I thought I should write them down and it and Rhodia
are offering three WO
OP PRIZE
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His interests, in his own words, include military history, books for every prizes worth 4-up
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End Point was first submitted to three literary agents and once occasion
to a publisher. All said the idea was interesting but it wasnt for
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The production process of End Point is fascinating, he says, is a pleasure to use. Features include leatherette covers,
and much more involved than I thought it would be. The team expandable pockets, ribbon markers and elastic closures.
have been amazing and Im impressed by their professionalism.
His next book (as yet untitled) is about halfway done. Its still in
the science fiction genre but involving criminals conspiring to control To enter, simply answer the following question:
the worlds population. Im not sure when it will be ready.
Rhodias colour palette has diversified
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End Point by Peter
Breakspear won a.) Purple & Blue b.) Orange & Black
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www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 87

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p86 Author Profile.indd 87 21/06/2016 09:38

 WRITERS NEWS

Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets,

opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.

Discovery tales Best poems forward for

this competition
for Dragonfly The Poetry Society has launched this years National Poetry
Competition, and is inviting entries.
The Dragonfly Tea Short Story Competition, which launched last With a first prize of 5,000, the National Poetry Competition is
year, is running again this year in partnership with the Henley one of the biggest and most prestigious single-poem competitions
Literature Festival. in the world. The second prize is 2,000, the third prize is 1,000
The adult section of the competition is for short stories up to and seven commended poets will each win 200. All winners will
3,000 words with the theme of discovery. There is no minimum be published in a Poetry Society anthology and the top three will
word count. There is a first prize of 1,500, a second prize of be published in Poetry Review. This years judges are Moniza Alvi,
750 and a third prize of 250. Entry is free. Gerry Cambridge and Jack Underwood.
The childrens section has three age categories (4-7, 8-11, The competition is for original, unpublished poems of up to
12-15) and the theme is adventure. Enter 500-word short forty lines by poets anywhere in the world. The poets name must
stories. The prizes in each category are a 50 voucher and not appear on the manuscript. All entries should be typed in
100 school voucher. black ink in 12pt font on single sides of A4. Poets may enter as
To be eligible to enter, writers must be non-professional many poems as they like, by post or online. Postal entrants should
fiction writers, ie those who have never received a fee for download and complete an entry form.
their work (fiction or non-fiction). All entries must be original The entry fee is 6.50 for the first poem and then 3.50 per poem
and unpublished. for any subsequent poems in the same submission. Poetry Society
Submit online, a doc file through the website submission members get a free second entry. Pay the fees by credit/debit card or
system, or by post. There are no specific formatting requirements cheques payable to The Poetry Society.
but the authors name must not appear on the manuscript. Postal The closing date is 31 October.
entries should be on single sides of A4 with numbered pages and Details: National Poetry Competition, The Poetry Society,
include a separate cover sheet with contact details. 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX;
Writers may enter up to three stories. email: info@poetrysociety.org.uk;
The closing date is 29 August. website: http://npc.poetrysociety.org.uk
Details: Dragonfly Tea Short Story Competition,
PO Box 125, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 9LY;
email: hello@dragonflyshortstory.com;
website: http://writ.rs/dragonflyshortstory
New pay rates for plays
Theatre negotiators of the WBBB (Writers Guild of Great Britain)
have agreed above-inflation increases on minimum fees for
playwrights: rates for a full-length play commissioned by either the
Royal Court, National Theatre or Royal Shakespeare Company rise
to a minimum of 12,308.
Independent Theatre Council (ITC) minimum rates for a full-
length play (70 minutes or over) rise to 8,500. The minimum
rate of 5,660 applies for a play between 30 and 69 minutes, and
2,830 for a play under 30 minutes.

Novelists, take note of this grand award

Now in its third year, the Caledonia Novel
Award is open for entries to the 2017 prize.
The international award, worth 1,000,
is for unpublished and self-published
novelists. This year there is an additional
prize, which will be awarded to the best
novel submitted by a writer from the UK
and Ireland, of a free place on a creative
writing course at Moniack Mhor during
2017. This years judge is Richard Pike,
who is a literary agent at Curtis Brown.
Entries can be novels in any genre for
adults or young adults. All entries must
be original and at least 50,000 words.
Shortlisted authors will be asked to submit
their full novel manuscript by 6 December
2016. Entrants may be agented, but must
not be agented by Curtis Brown.
To enter, submit the first 20 pages of
the novel, double-spaced in 12pt font, and
a 200-word synopsis. The authors name
must not appear on the manuscript. In the
submission email, note name, novel title,
and full contact details.
There is an entry fee of 20, payable
by PayPal.
The closing date is 1 November.
Details: email:
caledonianovelaward@gmail.com;
website: https://caledonianovelaward.com

88 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p88 News.indd 88 21/06/2016 09:36

 WRITERS NEWS

is often broken into sections

UK MAGAZINE MARKET and boxouts. The key word
for All About Historys content
Gripping tales from history is accessibility. We are not
looking for academic essays
but rather stories that bring
BY TINA JACKSON history to life. A good article
for All About History will have
All About History, edited by Alicea Francis, is a gripping, almost novel-like
an illustrated history magazine aimed at readers opening paragraph, and a
ranging from schoolchildren to casual historians. reasonable amount of creative
Its key aim is to tell the exciting, shocking licence is allowed. Language
and surprising stories that make up the worlds should be dramatic, but
history in an accessible way, inspiring new lighthearted almost chatty.
interest in a subject that is so often presented as Alicea is happy for freelancers
dry and stuffy, said Alicea. It features bespoke to pitch ideas for both regular
illustrations and infographics throughout, features and for bespoke
allowing for a magazine that is both mentally ones. Imagery is important
and visually stimulating. for us, so before pitching the freelancer should look at the artwork
All About History covers all areas of social history, from the currently available, or think about how we might commission new
ancient to the modern day. Each issue contains monthly themed illustrations, and include this in their pitch. Topics shouldnt be
features (ie aviation, piracy or food and drink), and includes single too obscure, and our cover features need to be big, core curriculum
and two-page articles including a Timeline, Hall of Fame, Day in topics. Think along the lines of what you regularly see being made
the Life, How To, Anatomy of and 5 Facts). Within this front into TV docu-dramas or History Channel documentaries, and
section, we aim to cover the entire history of the topic in question, consider which historical films or TV shows are coming up.
from the ancient to the modern day, said Alicea. Prospective writers should demonstrate a passion for the subject
There are also regular monthly features. Each issue we try that translates into engaging copy. In your pitch, show me that
and cover a wide spread of time and place, with a variety of you can write in an accessible, entertaining way. Let your passion
photography and illustration-led articles. These include Greatest and enthusiasm shine through! If youre stuck for ideas, see what
Battles (featuring an illustrated battle map), Hero or Villain? (with anniversaries are coming up and work from there.
a focus on a morally ambiguous figure from history), a Bluffers Contact Alicea via email. Include a gripping header and standfirst,
Guide, a Time Travellers Handbook, a Through History (exploring a paragraph summarising the content, a list of possible boxouts and
the development of a single object through history) and What If?, suggestions for imagery.
in which we explore how the world would be different had an event Payment is at industry-standard rates.
not happened or had a different outcome. Details: email: alicea.francis@imagine-publishing.co.uk;
Features generally range from 2,000 to 3,500 words, although this website: www.historyanswers.co.uk

Poets of the future Beeb boob

BBC Films is making a new adaptation of Arthur Ransomes childrens
The Foyle Young Poets classic Swallows and Amazons for cinema release this year. If successful
of the Year Award is it will be the first of a series of films based on Ransomes twelve novels.
for poems written by However, a change of the name of the character Titty Walker, who was
any young poet aged based on the real Mavis Titty Altounyan, to Tatty, has incensed Barbara
11-17. Having started Altounyan, her niece. Altounyan told The Telegraph, I would absolutely
fifteen years ago, the wring someones neck if I could only find out whose neck I could wring.
competition, run by Its just the most disgustingly pompous thing to do, to feel you can
the Poetry Society with change somebodys identity without any permission or discussion. She
the Foyle Foundation also commented that the real Titty would be turning in her grave and
and support from Arts that the alteration runs the risk of leaving audiences ignorant of the
Council England, is innocence and charm of Arthur Ransomes childrens novel.
now the biggest of its kind in the country. Winners will have The BBC have form in this crime against literature, previously
their work published in an anthology and enjoy the profile changing Titty to Kitty for the 1963 TV serial. By contrast a
boost of following in the footsteps of previous winners shockingly controversial 1974 U certificate cinema film, in which
including Helen Mort. Titty was played by Sophie Neville, now president of the Arthur
Submissions must be original and previously unpublished. Ransome Society, left the name proudly uncensored.
Enter no more than a maximum of six poems. The
competition is free to enter. Poems can be on any theme but
must be written in English. The deadline is noon, 31 July.
Entries must be made via the online submission form at:
http://foyleyoungpoets.org/Apply/
This years judges Malika Booker and WN Herbert will
select five winners and give 85 Commendations, with the
prizes being presented on National Poetry Day, 6 October.
Follow the full rules at: http://foyleyoungpoets.org/rules

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 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES GLOBAL ONLINE MARKET

Church Times weekly
newspaper is edited
by Paul Handley.
Feed Buzzfeed
Short articles up BY GARY DALKIN
to 1,000 words on
religious topics,
Anglican events and Buzzfeed is one of the most popular websites on
personalities are the internet. It is currently the 49th most popular
welcomed. Payment site in the US, and ranked 138th in the world. It
averages 100 per takes a general purpose magazine-like approach
1,000 words. to content, covering everything from news, sport While the subjects are serious the approach does
Details: Church and entertainment, to sections on an A-Z of topics not have to be. No strict word count, though most
Times, 3rd Floor, from animals and audio to the weddings and the successful Buzzfeed posts tend to be between 800-
Invicta House,
world. There are specific sites for UK, Australian 1,200 words. Graphic and photo essays and audio
108-114 Golden
Lane, London EC17
and Canadian readers though most content is shared pieces will also be considered. Payment varies, but for
0TG; email: news@ across all the English-language versions of Buzzfeed. essays Buzzfeed pays around 13 per word, with fees
churchtimes.co.uk; Culture executive editor Doree Shafrir is looking rising to 50 per word for feature articles requiring
website: www. for unique, well-told personal essays. She is interested extensive research.
churchtimes.co.uk in stories about extraordinary experiences, personal Buzzfeed is open to submissions year round and
accounts of big ideas, and biographical accounts of is particularly interested in pitches from women,
Scottish Book taboo issues to which many people can relate. non-white, and LGBT writers, as well as previously
Trust announced Subjects can cover, but are not limited to, sex and unpublished writers. Do not send your complete
that its four Robert dating/relationships, debt/money, disability, mental article, but pitch your idea in the body of an email to
Louis Stevenson
Fellowships,
illness, or the experience of being sick and living with buzzfeedideas@buzzfeed.com with the subject line
involving a month- an invisible illness, parenting and parents (including the IDEAS PITCH. Response time is around two weeks.
long writing experience of parents aging), drugs and addiction, race, Simultaneous submissions are acceptable.
residency in work and workplace issues. Full guidelines at: http://writ.rs/feedbuzzfeed
France, have been
awarded to author
Lucy Ribchester,
journalist and non- Tongue tried
fiction writer Claire A new writers collective based in needs bold writing, that challenges
Prentice, poet and
Pakistan, Zabaan has the goal of our notions of form, tradition,
performer Rachel
McCrum and poet
promoting writers across South Asia, and convention, but also, of race,
Stewart Sanderson. and globally. As well as running class, gender, sexuality, identity,
courses, workshops, and interactive psychology, philosophy and the art permissions have been obtained.
A new bimonthly learning programs, the group will of writing itself . Wait up to two months for a
business magazine, publish an online journal of fiction, Submit: fiction, up to 4,000 response. Payment is a substantive
Business Cloud is poetry, translations, and critical essays words, no more than five poems in critique of work submitted.
being edited by by new and established writers. a single attachment; critical essays Submit a doc or docx file by email
Chris Maguire, This collective is stroppy: We and creative non-fiction, up to 4,000 to submission.zabaan@gmail.com,
former editor, believe in tongue-lashing. We believe words; literary translations of poetry following the guidelines at http://
Chorley and Leyland
Guardian, and the
in catharsis through writing. Zabaan and short stories for which copyright zabaanjournal.com
North West
Business Insider.

A study carried out

for ebook retailer
Explore a collision of opinions Have a laugh with
Kobo suggests that
women represent
The 2016 Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize is inviting this contest
entries by writers aged 18-25 exploring the relevance in our
75% of the most time of a quote from Franklin. The Verbolatry Laugh-a-Riot Contest is inviting
active ereaders
The winning writer will receive 750, and the runner-up will entries of funny stories of writers most hilarious
defined as readers
who spend at least
receive 500. Both winning entries will be posted online by moments in the writing/publishing industry.
thirty minutes a day media partner The Telegraph and Benjamin Franklin House. There are two categories: free and paid. The
using electronic This years quote is: Light often arises from a collision of winner of the paid category will receive 100
books, the Guardian opinions, as fire from flint and steel. and the free category winner will get 50.
reported. Both fiction and non-fiction are accepted. All entries Both winning entries will be published in the
should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. Entry is free, and Verbolatry newsletter.
I always assume each entrant may submit only one entry. Entries may be fiction or non-fiction,
that a good book Enter by email. Provide details of name, email, postal between 100 and 500 words. Entries must be
is more intelligent address, telephone number, age and place of study (if original and unpublished, and should be sent
than its author.
It can say things
applicable) in the submission email. If entrants are not in the body of an email, with the category and
that the writer isnt students, they should include a brief biographical note title in the subject line.
aware of. explaining their current activities. Paid entries cost 5 each, payable by PayPal.
Umberto Eco, The closing date is 31 October. The closing date is 31 August.
quoted in The Details: email: info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org; Details: email: v3rbolatry@gmail.com;
Sunday Telegraph website: http://writ.rs/bfhlitprize2016 website: http://devyaniborade.blogspot.
co.uk/p/contest.html

90 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITERS NEWS

UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Curl up with a feline friend
BY TINA JACKSON Its a Funny
Your Cat, edited by Chloe
Holland, is for everyone who
Old World
R
loves cats and wants to be the achel Halliwell had fun in the Daily Telegraph, offering
best possible cat owner. readers brilliant lines from films. She had a selection of
Its mainly a practical one-liners, including these three:
magazine, with lots of advice
for people on cat health and You cant fool me! There aint no Sanity Clause!
behaviour, said Chloe. We Chico Marx as Fiorello in A Night at the Opera (1935)
have a lifestyle section, with,
for instance, stories of cats who Gentlemen, you cant fight in here. This is the War Room.
have overcome adversity. Its for Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr Strangelove (1963)
anyone who has a cat who wants
to better themselves as an owner. Water polo isnt that terribly dangerous?
We support various cat charities Ill say. I had two ponies drowned under me.
pretty much any charity that Tony Curtis as Junior in Some Like It Hot (1959)
works with cats and thats quite
a big focus of the magazine. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy
The magazine was redesigned has been writing a poem in praise of
a couple of years ago. Its traditional electricity and gas meters as
much more fresh and modern, they are phased out, explaining that she
said Chloe. The magazine readership is what it always has been, with wants to preserve memories of these
middle-aged to older ladies with one or two cats, and a lot of retired fixtures in British homes, which will all
readers, but the website readership is a completely different thing. Its Poetic meter? be replaced by 2020.
doing so well the internet is crazy for cats and it has much younger Carol Ann said: Gas and electricity meters have been a
users, who look at it for advice but also for fun things, though we do fixture under stairs and in cupboards for more than a hundred
position ourselves as the top place for cat advice. years, so it felt fitting to preserve their place in household
Topics covered in Your Cat are: Anything to do with cats! The history with a poem. It is definitely one of my most unusual
practical side, the veterinary side and the behavioural side, and then we projects, but hopefully Im able to produce a piece that
have real-life features there are some amazing tales that you wouldnt captures the last whirs of these spinning machines before they
think a cat could have come back from. We also do short stories every make way for their digital counterparts.
month, and lots of reader stories. There are practical stories, anything
thats relevant. We do try to keep it heartwarming. Two Michigan, USA, librarians, Mary
At the heart of Your Cat is the mission of promoting responsible Kelly and Holly Hibner blog about their
cat ownership. The welfare aspect is really important to me, and that ruthless book culls on Awful Library
educational aspect. And being a nice, curl-up read get a cat on your Books (http://awfullibrarybooks.net)
lap, curl up and read Your Cat! The books they sort out from the
Chloe is always happy to hear from prospective writers who can offer shelves often feature some strange titles,
new angles. Im always looking for something different that spreads like Little Corpuscle, a childrens book
the message of responsible cat ownership we regularly cover the same starring a dancing red blood cell and
subjects but look for different ways of doing it. Send me ideas with a Wax in Our World, a nonfiction book for
fantastic angle and nice pic, or a contact for them. young adults.
Chloe likes writers who are open and flexible, and are willing to Daniel A Gross, writing in New Yorker magazine, said
adhere to Your Cats house style of responsible cat ownership. Send Mary and Holly came to value weeding when working at a
me something I havent thought of. Or something we cant do from library in Detroit, in 2008. The librarys career and medical
here were in Lincolnshire so we cant get to Japan to write about shelves were cluttered with outdated material.
cats living in a railway station. Holly keeps a bag of her favourite weeded books under her
Feature lengths vary from single page (between 600-800 words) desk: Vans: The Personality Vehicle, Be Bold with Bananas and
to four pages (between 2,000 and 2,200 words with pictures). The Psychic Sasquatch and Their UFO Connection. The two
Send an email pitch with as much detail as possible. Samples of librarians maintain that public libraries were not designed to
previous work (cat or pet-related if possible), relevant to the writing in preserve unusual texts, adding: There are places where you
Your Cat, are welcomed. Come to us with an idea, no idea want to hang on to the weird stuff of our culture museums
is a bad idea with us, give us as much detail as possible, and consider and archives.
our style and the responsible ownership message.
Chloe will also accept submissions of fiction. We work with Groan corner
publishers but we do sometimes have space to include fictional short This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club,
stories. These should be cat-themed, never written from the cats but Id never met herbivore.
point of view, and between 800 and 1,000 words. Im reading a book about anti-gravity. I cant put it down.
Payment varies. I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was
Details: email: editorial@yourcat.co.uk; a play on words.
website: www.yourcat.co.uk I didnt like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 91

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 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES Tales for

David Linkie edits
Fishing News, a night owls
weekly newspaper Strigidae Publishing
for the commercial
fishing industry.
has a motto, Well
He will always keep you up at night.
consider illustrated which nicely sums up
news stories and its attitude to genre
pays 25 per fiction. It publishes in print, electronic
picture. and audiobook formats and needs fiction
Details: Fishing from new and established authors.
News, Kelsey
Media, Cudham
GLOBAL CHILDRENS MARKET Strigidae always needs novel and
novella submissions in the genres
Tithe Barn,
of horror, science fiction, fantasy,
Cudham, Kent
TN16 3AG; tel:
Wednesday window for kids books paranormal, paranormal romance, and
01434 607375; speculative fiction.
email: dave@linkie.
BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON It has a current call for ocean-
co.uk; website: themed horror, dark fantasy and horror
http://fishingnews. Harper Collins Australia is currently open to unsolicited erotica short stories, 5,000-12,000
co.uk childrens books. Follow their Wednesday Post rules and words, for the anthology Cetos Brine,
send in email queries on Wednesdays (Australian time) only. which will be published in print,
Audiobooks In the subject line of the email put writers name and the epub, and audiobook formats. Avoid
continue to title of the manuscript. In the body include your name, full mermaids, but selkies, doorways to
become ever more
popular, with sales
contact details, the manuscript title and word count. Then other dimensions, ghost ships, curses,
rising last year by write a cover letter with writers CV and any writing awards madness, mythical beasts from beyond,
over 20% in the received, plus a brief bio. Lovecraftian horrors, and demonic
US. The American Include the target reading market, target age and genre and forbidden love are just a few of the
market is now how the proposed book appeals to that market. Dont forget a tales were looking for. The deadline
worth $1.77 billion, blurb or synopsis of under one page. is 31 July. Payment is $30 plus a copy
while the number Attach a copy of the full manuscript as a doc, docx, rtf of print, electronic, and audiobook
of titles released or txt file in standard publishing format. That means use formats. Submit a rtf, odt, doc, or
in 2015 rose 37% a plain, easily readable font such as Times New Roman or docx file by email:
to 35,000.
Arial, double space the text, and number all pages. Previously cetosbrine@strigidaepublishing.com
Meanwhile the
old abridged
published childrens authors are especially welcome to submit. Payment for novels is through
audiobook appears Submitted manuscripts are considered by one or more royalties, 50% of the publishers gross
to be rapidly of our publishers or editors. It may also be read by other receipts from online sales of print and
heading for the people in-house, including (but not limited to) sales, electronic versions of the novel, 50%
history books, marketing and publicity staff. Submissions are treated as of the publishers net receipts from
with only 3.7% of confidential material. physical sales of print and electronic
titles sold being Responses are only to manuscripts of interest and take three versions of the novel, and 50% of the
abridged versions. months. Royalties and rights are discussed at contract time. publishers net receipts from audiobook
Details: email: kidspitch@randomhouse.com.au; sales of the novel.
Steve Davidson,
publisher of
website: www.harpercollins.com.au Website: http://strigidaepublishing.com
the relaunched
online version of
classic science
fiction magazine
Amazing Stories, Big in Bedford
has announced
that the title is The Bedford International Writing Competition is open The poetry competition is for original,
about to return to for entries in two categories: short story and poetry. unpublished poems up to 40 lines, on any theme.
print. Later this
The short story category is for short stories up to There are prizes of 200, 100 and 50. Winning
year there will be
a relaunch issue 3,000 words on any theme. There is a first prize of and shortlisted poems will be published in an
featuring the 200, a second prize of 100, a third prize of 50, anthology. Type poems in a clear 12pt font on
winners of last and a special Bedford prize of 50 for the best story single sides of A4 with the poem title at the top
years Gernsback written by a resident of Bedford. The winners and of each page. The poets name must not appear on
Science Fiction shortlisted stories will be published in an anthology. All the manuscript. Poems may be entered online or by
Short Story stories must be original and unpublished. Format stories post. The entry fee is 5 per poem, or three poems
Writing Contest, with double spacing and a 12pt font, on numbered for 10, payable by PayPal or cheques made out to
then the title will single sides of A4. Put the story title at the top of Bedford Writing Competition. Postal entries must be
return to regular
each page. The writers name must not appear on the accompanied by a completed entry form.
print publication
from April 2017.
manuscript. Stories may be entered online or by post. The closing date is 30 September.
There is an entry fee of 5 per story, or 10 for three Details: The Administrator, Bedford
Keep cutting stories. Postal entrants should download and complete Writing Competition, 28 Miller Road,
out Prune an entry form and pay be cheques made out to Bedford Bedford MK42 9NZ; website:
unessentials. Writing Competition. Online entrants pay by PayPal. http://bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk/
Evelyn Waugh

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GLOBAL BOOK MARKET
Why not take Liberties?
BY TINA JACKSON
Liberties Press is Irelands leading independent publisher of
high-quality non-fiction on a wide range of subjects, and
fiction, particularly literary and crime fiction.
The company was established in 2003, in the Liberties
area of Dublin, and moved to Terenure, in the south of the
city, five years ago.
Our first book was More Than A Game, a collection of
sports writing by legendary Kerry journalist Con Houlihan.
The book was launched by Ireland and Munster rugby star
Mick Galwey in Doheny & Nesbitts pub in Dublin. More
Than a Game was reprinted twice before Christmas that year,
and we were on our way, said publisher Sen OKeeffe.
Liberties has developed steadily since then. Liberties
started as a classic kitchen-table operation, and has been
built up over the years; we now have a staff of nine, said
Sen. Five years ago, we started publishing fiction in earnest,
and it now accounts for around half of our list. We have an
active publishing programme focused on Northern Ireland
authors, and are continuing to develop in this area.
Future plans include more of the same: Working along
the same lines: publishing the best non-fiction and fiction
to the highest editorial, design and production standards,
in Ireland and internationally, and promoting our books
vigorously via online, print and broadcast media. After years
of challenging economic times in Ireland, the market for
printed books is expanding fairly rapidly, and the challenge
posed by digital is receding. There are still plenty of people,
ourselves included, putting ink on paper!
The time for Irish writers
Short stories and poetry are published in the culture
section of The Irish Times on the last Saturday of the
month and all work published here will be eligible for the
annual Hennessey Literary Awards.
Open to Irish writers around the world the New Irish
Writing section of The Irish Times is edited by Ciaran Carty
and submissions should consist of a story of a maximum
2,200 words or up to six poems. The writers of published
stories receive 130 and poets 65.
The Hennessey Literary Awards has three categories: First
Fiction for writers publishing their first story, Emerging
Fiction for writers still to publish their first book and
Emerging Poetry for first time poets or those who have not
yet published a collection. The winner of each category will
receive a trophy and 2,500. Both these prizes will double
up for a winner, chosen from the three category winners,
who will also gain the title of Hennessey New Irish Writer
of the Year.
Submissions will be accepted by both email and post
and should contain your name and phone number and if
posting, your email address if you have one.
Details: Ciaran Carty, Hennessey New Irish Writing,
The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2; email:
hennessynewirishwriting@irishtimes.com; website:
www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/hennessy-niw
p92 News.indd 93
WRITERS NEWS
A good Liberties Press fit would be a well-written, original
piece of work, and a hard-working, professional author.
Liberties also looks for international potential as titles are
distributed into the UK and North America, and translation
rights sold in foreign-language territories. Liberties Press
currently publishes around 25 new titles a year, with
the primary focus on the Irish market, and Sen accepts
submissions from international as well as Irish writers.
In the case of fiction, were looking for the high literary
quality of the work; for non-fiction, the expertise and
public profile of the author, as well as the originality of the
material, said Sen. A clear covering letter is vital, and if the
author is not well known, endorsements from other writers
or other public figures can make a difference. Ultimately,
though, the submission has to grab the editors attention
from the first page.
Prospective authors should submit in hard copy, with a
covering letter (including a biographical note) and three
sample chapters.
Having a book published is only the first stage in
the process, said Sen. It certainly helps if an author
has strong social media experience, or good media
contacts in general.
Liberties Press publishes in print and ebook, and
pays royalties.
Details: Submissions, Liberties Press, 140 Terenure Road
North, Terenure, Dublin 6W, Ireland; email: info@
libertiespress.com; website: www.libertiespress.com
Enter the Dark City
The Dark City Crime & Mystery Magazine is the
product of a community of crime and mystery writers
and fans by anthology publisher Dark City Books.
Chief editor Steve Oliver loves stories set in
the rough and tumble of the world of crime and
violence. Submit stories, 1,000-7,500 words, in the
body of an email.
Response time is reasonable. Payment is $25 on
publication, for first rights and archival rights (for back issues).
Details:
email: editor@thedarkcitymysterymagazine.com; website:
www.thedarkcitymysterymagazine.com
Amazon launches
comics subscription
In the US Amazon is launching a subscription service which will make
available thousands of digital comics. Comixology Unlimited will cost
$5.99, and actually be very limited, featuring selections, not complete runs,
from the catalogues of major independent comicbook publishers such as
Dark Horse Comics and Fantagraphics Books. There will be nothing from
the two big comics publishers, DC and Marvel, who both have their own
digital distribution. Despite these limitations Amazon intend Comixology to
be the equivilient of a Netflix for comicbooks.
www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 93
21/06/2016 09:34
 WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
France monthly
magazine for
francophiles will
be appointing
a new editor to
succeed Carolyn
Boyd, who is going
freelance. Illustrated
features (approx
1,200 words) will
be considered.
Payment is
negotiable.
Details: France
magazine, Archant
Specialist Ltd,
Archant House, Oriel
Road, Cheltenham
GL50 1BB;
email: editorial@
francemag.com;
website: www.
completefrance.com
Down Under
outlet Melbournes
Readings won
the Australian
bookstore of the
year award.
An abridged version
of Dan Browns
The Da Vinci Code
aimed at a young
adult readership
has been roundly
ridiculed. The new
version, not the
most challenging
of reads in its
original 359
pages, will come
out in paperback
and ebook on 8
September. In
comparison, the
607-page Harry
Potter and the
Deathly Hallows
sold over 44
million copies,
many of them to
young readers.
Why is it that
some people feel
proud to be called
a grammar snob?
Mona Chalabi
argues that those
who correct
others language
are clinging to
conventions that
are unimportant.
She says grammar
snobbery is often
used to silence
those who have
less of a voice
in society.
The Guardian
94 AUGUST 2016
p94 News/ And another thing.indd 94
GLOBAL FICTION MARKET
Make your words count
PDR LINDSAY-SALMON
The Binge-Watching Cure 4,500, 6,000, 7,000, 8,000, 10,000, 15,000,
is a forthcoming anthology 20,000, 25,000 words are sought.
proposed and edited by Bill No fan fiction, erotica, gratuitous gore, violence
Adler Jr. He is publishing or sex. Avoid anything too literary, experimental or
an anthology of short plotless fiction. No sim subs or multiple subs but
stories of increasing size. reprints are allowed.
The first story will be 100 Email your story as a doc, docx, rtf, or pdf formatted
words. The second story file. In the body of your email and on the first page
of the manuscript put the exact word count, and full
will be 200 words. The
final story will be a novella contact details. In the cover letter in the body of the
of 25,000 words. The aim email include a brief bio. Also include a short synopsis
is to persuade readers that of the story, and its genre. Put your storys title and
reading is fun and a long word count in your emails subject line.
story is just as great as a Deadline is 31 December, 2016, or as soon as the
100 word story. The Binge-Watching Cure will reignite story slots are filled. Response time is short. Payment
your love for reading; it will better your life. is $200 for stories under 5,000 words and $500 for
Bill is seeking stories from around the world. Check stories 5,000 words and longer. Contributors also
the guidelines at the website and if a number is crossed receive a paper copy of the book.
out that story slot has been filled. Stories of 100, 200, Details: email: bingecurebook@gmail.com;
500, 750, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500, 3,500, 4,000, website: http://bingewatchingcure.com
The chrysalis of a contest
The Caterpillar Story for Children All three winning stories will appear The Moth Magazine Ltd.
Prize 2016, run by Irish literary in The Caterpillar, The Moths Enter online or by post.
magazine The Moth, is open for literary magazine for children. The closing date is 30 September.
entries to this years competition. Entries may be on any theme or Details: The Caterpillar Short
The competition is for short subject, and must be original and Story Prize, c/o The Moth,
stories up to 1,500 words that are unpublished. The authors name Ardan Grange, Belturbet,
suitable for children between 7 and must not appear on the manuscript. Co Cavan, Ireland;
11. The first prize is 500 and a Writers may enter as many email: enquiries@
two-week stay at The Moth Artists stories as they like. There is a 12 thecaterpillarmagazine.
Residence. The second prize is entry fee per story, payable by com; website: www.
300 and the third prize is 200. PayPal or cheques made out to thecaterpillarmagazine.com
Poets on fire
Creative escape
Fire River Poets Competition 2016 is open for entries.
There is a first prize of 200, a second prize of 100 in Cornwall
and a third prize of 75.
Poems may be in any style and on any subject. Poems may Two bursaries are available for writers
be up to 40 lines and should be printed on single sides of residencies at Brisons Veor residential
A4. The poets name must not appear on the manuscript. studios at Cape Cornwall.
Each entrant may submit up to six poems. The bursaries are worth 275 each and are
The entry fee is 4 for one poem, 7 for two, 10 to cover a weeks residency at Brisons Veor
for three, 3 for each additional poem. Postal entrants in 2017. They are open to low-waged writers
should include a cover sheet with poem titles and full working towards a collection of short stories,
contact details, and pay the entry fee by cheques made out a novel or a play.
to Fire River Poets. Email entrants should include the To apply, download and complete an
poem titles and full contact details in the body of the application form and send it by email
submission email, send entries as doc, rft or pdf files, pay with writers bursary in the subject line.
by PayPal via the online entry system and put the PayPal Applicants should explain their financial
transaction number in the subject line. circumstances and need for a bursary in
The closing date is 31 October. under 100 words.
Details: Fire River Poets Poetry Competition 2016, The closing date to apply is 26 August.
2 Deane View, Bishops Hull Road, Taunton TA1 5EG; Details: email: admin@brisonsveor.org.uk;
email: entry@fireriverpoets.org.uk; website: website: http://brisonsveor.org.uk/apply/
http://fireriverpoets.org.uk
www.writers-online.co.uk
21/06/2016 09:33
 WRITERS NEWS

UK MAGAZINE MARKET And

another
Keeping up with a changing world
BY JENNY ROCHE

Aiming to explain the ideas and innovations

that are changing our lives, from business
thing...
to science to design, and pop to technology
Wired UK edition needs writing that is
ambitious, revelatory and agenda setting.
The basic themes for the magazine are
change and the future and the aim is to
identify the next big thing, whatever that may When I was writing my first book, my
be. There is an online archive giving a good editor advised me to put everything I
idea of the tone and style of the magazine. wanted the review-reading public to know
When submitting, editors will be looking in the first and last chapters, because those
to see that you show passion and engagement are the only chapters that most reviewers
with your topic and that you can tell a fresh read. In the years since then, I have
story vividly, accurately and tightly whilst discovered that indeed most of the quotes
also providing solid evidenced data, first hand reportage, quotes that are pulled by reviewers from my books have come
direct and active from people significant to the story. It is important you from the first and last sections. In non-fiction books at least,
provide the source of all factual information and contact details of people reviewers tend to skim the middle section and read only the
interviewed as this will be checked as part of the editing process. summaries of the argument at beginning and end.
You should first pitch an idea, on specific rather than general themes, Michael Lind, The Smart Set website, Drexel
and there are several sections you can pitch to: University, USA
Start is 21 pages of technology, science, architecture, engineering
and start-ups stories of 300-400 words.
Play is the culture section with 300-400 word pieces covering film, TV, Plenty of writers balked at the joys of word
music, art, books, gaming, fashion and sport. This also includes Q&A processing, for a host of reasons. Overwriting,
pieces of 600-1,200 words, and concise, smart sidebars of 150-250 words. in their view, became too easy; the labour
Ideas Bank is a space for short powerful arguments of 700-900 words of revision became undervalued, and noisy
from writers, thinkers and innovators inviting readers to think about a printers and plugged-in gadgets the norm.
topic in a different way and encourage debate. When Gore Vidal wrote in the mid-1980s
R&D section covers hard science and academic research and showcases that the word processor is erasing literature,
breakthroughs and debate. There is an in-depth read of 1,000 words and he expressed an uneasiness about technologys proximity
a Q&A of 1,200 words with a prominent scientist. to creative writing (and the wider field of publishing) that
Features can be in excess of 6,000 words and should tell a story with a persists. This too is the literary history of word processing,
narrative arc, conflict and actual people with a snapshot of dread about gadget love, the seduction of the
driving emotions and real ideas. screen, and automation and the threats they pose to writers.
The magazine also has online content across Eric Banks, Book Forum, USA
website, podcast, social media and video.
This is the place for breaking news with
12-20 articles of around 500-800 words being The technology that has made it easier
published each day. Pieces should be relevant than ever to tell a story and get it out
to readers of Apple News, Twitter, Facebook to the world cuts two ways. Its made
and other channels. it possible for a handful of authors to
The response time to pitches is usually hit a global jackpot of unprecedented,
under ten days. Himalayan, proportions, while at the same
Details: email: editorial@wired.co.uk; time making it so much tougher for many
website: www.wired.co.uk/wired-insider/ authors to be seen or heard in the vast sea of information
contributor-guidelines in which we now live.
Gail Rebuck, Penguin Random House UK publisher

Infamous five He writes the worst English that I have ever

encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet
Following the unexpected success of spoof Ladybird sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing
books for adults last year, four new titles taking on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup,
Enid Blytons classic Famous Five into adulthood are of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically
to be published by Quercus Books. The new novels, through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort
written by Bruno Vincent, will be published for the of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the
Christmas market in hardcover on 3 November. dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up the topmost
The titles are Five Give Up the Booze, Five Go On pinnacle of tosh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and
A Strategy Away Day, Five Go Gluten Free and Five doodle. It is balder and dash.
Go Parenting. The new adventures of Anne, Dick, HL Mencken, destroying the prose of Warren G
George, Julian and Timmy the dog (who must be Harding in Farnsworths Classical English Metaphor
getting on a bit now) are described by the publisher
as gentle parody.
www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 95

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 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES GLOBAL SF/FANTASY MARKET

Romsey & Dark matters
Wellow Gazette
is a free local BY GARY DALKIN
community
magazine for that Post Mortem Press is a US Additionally, fantasy may be
area of Hampshire. independent press specialising in heroic, urban or low. SF can
Editor Angela dark science fiction and fantasy. cross over into horror and/or
Long welcomes Founded in 2010 by publishers Eric military science fiction, but there
feedback and and Stephanie Beebe, the company should be more menace than
relevant articles. has published over 100 books and anything requiring a hard science degree to understand.
Details: is an officially approved publisher No space opera, dragons, superheroes, hobbits, sword and
email: angela@ by the Mystery Writers of America. sandals, zombies, werewolves or vampires. No previously
mlgpublishing.
Recent titles include Barlow After published works and no series if previous volumes have
co.uk; website:
www.mlggazettes.
Dark by Brad Carter and Ophelia been published elsewhere. Post-apocalyptic fiction will
co.uk Alive by Luke R Harrington, while have to be extraordinary to be accepted, and absolutely
anthologies have featured stories by Clive Barker, Joe must not, under any circumstances, contain zombies.
Destinies: Concerto Hill and Harlan Ellison. Use standard manuscript formatting and submit in doc,
of the Holocaust Editor Elizabeth Jenike is currently considering docx or rtf format. Follow the complete guidelines at:
and the Nakba, by unagented novels between 50,000 and 120,000 words, www.postmortem-press.com/Submission.php
Rabai al-Madhoun, with an ideal length of 80,000-100,000. This open Details: Post Mortem Press, 1172 West Galbraith
a Palestinian-born reading period ends at midnight on 31 August. Road - Suite 203, Cincinnati OH 45231, USA;
British citizen was Both science fiction and fantasy novels may be email: info@postmortem-press.com;
announced as
the winner of
inventive and contemporary, or set in dark, dying worlds. website: www.postmortem-press.com
the ninth
International Prize
for Arabic Fiction
(IPAF) worth
Remote places, enticing entries
$50,000. SeniorTravelExpert.com is running com voucher worth 10. SeniorTravelExpert.com is aimed at
Off the Beaten Track, a free-to- Entries on the theme are invited up over 55s, but entries are invited from
George Orwells enter travel writing competition. to 750 words. Entries may be factual writers of all ages.
Animal Farm is There is a first prize of 100. The or fictional, and must be original and The closing date is 30 September.
the nations
winning entry will be published on unpublished. Upload entries through Website: http://seniortravel
favourite book
read at school,
the website. Ten highly commended the website, marking whether the expert.com/off-beaten-track-
with 27 percent of writers will each receive a firstwriter. story is factual or fictional. writing-competition/
2,000 adults having
enjoyed reading it
in the classroom,
according to A truly international
research carried
out by Oxford competition Game to write about
Home Schooling.
the beautiful game?
Future Publishing
The Oxford Brookes International
is expanding after Poetry Competition is open for entries. FootyBlog.net editor and head coach Matt Tutt is
acquiring music The competition, which will be looking for avid football fan writers to contribute to
and shooting judged by Daljit Nagra, is in two the blog on a freelance basis.
magazines from categories. The ESL category is FootyBlog was one of the biggest football blogs
Blaze Publishing. for poets who write in English as in the UK with a massive readership of footy
These are a second language. The open category is for any poet, fans all across the world, and with your help Im
Acoustic, Drummer, published or unpublished. In each category the winner will looking to build it back up to its former size! he
Bass Guitar receive 1,000 and the runner up will receive 200. said. The site is mainly about the Premier League
Magazine, Clay
The competition is for original, unpublished poems up but were also looking for writers to cover some of
Shooting, Sporting
Rifle, Airgun, to fifty lines on any subject. Poems should be primarily the other big leagues around the world (the MLS,
Shooter and in English but may include words and phrases in another A League and so on).
Gun Trade News. language. ESL poems will be considered for inclusion in the Matt is interested in hearing from football writers
open category. All poets should include OPEN or ESL in who can write up ideas on his list, and would also
Poetry doesnt the top right-hand corner of their submission. be pleased to look at idea pitches.
have to be about Poems should be entered as doc, docx, pdf or rtf files. Each Payment packages may be negotiable.
daffodils. It isnt poem should be in a separate document. The poets name Details: email: matt@footyblog.net;
all wild surmises, must not appear on the manuscript. Submit entries by email. website: www.footyblog.net
heavenly muses
The first three poems submitted cost 5 per poem.
or even the black
night that covers
Subsequent entries (up to ten poems) cost 4 each. Pay
me. Its the world, via the online payment system using debit/credit cards.
and everything Submit poems by email after registering and paying via the
thats in it. Brookes online shop.
Tom Payne, The closing date is 31 August.
Daily Telegraph Details: email: poetrycomp@brookes.ac.uk;
website: http://writ.rs/brookespoetry

96 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITERS NEWS

INTRODUCTIONSWriting Magazine presents a selection of county magazines currently

accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with
their publications before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission guidelines.

One of the UKs highest- Edited by Mike Lowe, Dorset Life, edited by
selling county magazines Cotswold Life is an Jol Lacey, has a
is the Dalesman, edited upmarket county passionate focus on
by Adrian Braddy. The magazine for an affluent, topics of Dorset interest
monthly A5 publication largely female readership. and a readership of
is a celebration of the All feature coverage 50-plus men and
county of Yorkshire, in has a strong Cotswold women with a deep
particular its countryside, connection and includes interest in Dorsets
but is not a lifestyle character pieces, town people, places, flora,
magazine. It has readers guides, interiors, fauna, geology, history
worldwide. Adrian heritage, gardens, and produce. Jol runs
is always happy to hear from new writers fashion, health, food and drink and events. 950-word features on Dorset-specific people
with ideas for quirky, unusual and humorous Features tend to be two or four pages, and are and personalities (not celebrities) and 1,450-
Yorkshire-themed feature articles with the written in an accessible, conversational style word place-specific features. He doesnt run
emphasis on the positive. Feature lengths are that doesnt talk down to readers. Pitches are property, tourism or lifestyle features. It is
usually 800 and 1,000 words, but sometimes up welcomed from Costwold-based writers who appreciated if freelance contributors help
to 1,800. Adrian prefers a words-and-pictures know the magazines readership and platforms. with sourcing images for their pieces. Jol is
package. Send him an outline of ideas and Send ideas by email with samples of work. happy to send out contributor guidelines to
samples of work. Payment is 70 per 1,000 Payment varies but averages 100 for a DPS interested writers, and accepts pitches from
words and the picture rate varies. and 140 for a town feature. readers who are familiar with Dorset Life and
Details: email: editorial@dalesman.co.uk; Details: email: mike.lowe@archant.co.uk; its ethos. Payment is 50 per page.
website: www.dalesman.co.uk website: www.cotswoldlife.co.uk Details: email: editor@dorsetlife.co.uk;
website: www.dorsetlife.co.uk
Norfolk Magazine, edited Kent Life, edited by
by Angi Kennedy, is Sarah Sturt, launched Lincolnshire Today,
a county and lifestyle in 1962 and provides edited by Steve
magazine with a wide- inspirational, feel- Fisher, is a prestigious
ranging appeal for good coverage of county title with a
readers throughout county-wide matters. readership of affluent
Norfolk. Feature topics The editorial content over-35s. Feature
include people, places is all related to key coverage includes
and property, gardens events or things of fashion, beauty, places
and local food and drink interest in the county, of interest, health,
stories as well as fashion, from historical gardening, motor
family, recipes and style. Feature lengths range anniversaries to places and personalities. sports, homes and
from 400 words for a one-page feature to 1,000- The usual feature length is 1,000 words and gardens and history.
1,200 words, and the magazine is highly visual. Sarah works with writers to supply photo Steve is interested in receiving pitches for
Angi accepts pitches of relevant ideas, and details. Kent Life prides itself on excellent articles on local heritage stories, local
commissions at least three months in advance. writing and production values. Sarah interest stories, celebrity interviews, local
Contact her by email with suggestions of ideas accepts pitches of county-wide stories from personality interviews, and local home
plus samples of work. Images are appreciated writers with an awareness of the magazine. decor and garden features.
where possible. Payments vary between 50 Send ideas by email with a succinct subject Suggest ideas by email in the first instance.
and 150 per feature. line. Payment varies. Payment varies.
Details: email: Angela.kennedy@archant. Details: email: sarah.sturt@archant.co.uk; Details: email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk;
co.uk; website: www.norfolkmag.co.uk website: www.kent-life.co.uk website: www.lincolnshiretoday.net

Ebook options diminishing
Waterstones closed its digital download store in June, transferring
customer accounts and ebook libraries to Canadian ebook
company Kobo, itself a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce
conglomerate Rakuten. Waterstones also stopped selling
audiobook downloads at the same time.
Waterstones withdrawal from the ebook market follows the
closure of Barnes and Nobles UK Nook store in April, and before
that the closure of Blinkbox Books and the Sony Reader Store.
Overall sales of ebooks fell slightly last year, the Bookseller
reporting by 2.4%. Given the total UK market in 2015 was
still worth an estimated 381.5 million, this alone is not
enough to account for the closure of successive ebook stores.
Rather the closures appear to be a consequence of the extremely
low selling point of many, often self-published, ebooks,
together with Amazon.co.uks seemingly unassailable
dominance of the ebook market.

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 97

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 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES
UK HUMOUR MARKET
Natures Home
is the quarterly
Join the satire team
magazine of
BY JENNY ROCHE
the RSPB, the
Royal Society
for the Protection Previously compiled by a small for entertainment purposes.
of Birds. Editor team calling themselves moderately It is essential that any material
Mark Ward talented funny people NewsThump submitted is original and the
welcomes readers is a UK news spoof and satire first step to joining the team is to
thoughts on site now looking for others to join submit an example article of 250-
the magazine, the team. 300 words using the submission
wildlife stories, The site takes a daily swipe at form on the website.
nature photos and
news from the UK and everywhere Everything submitted is read and
gardening tips.
There are prizes
else and has no particular affiliation if your piece shows promise or is to
for star letters. or political preference as the aim is be used on the website you will be
Details: to eventually mock everybody and contacted. You will be given a byline
Natures Home, everything indiscriminately. for anything that is used and receive
The RSPB, UK We never let the truth ruin a funny 60% of any advertising revenue
Headquarters, story, its much easier to fabricate it, generated by your article after the
The Lodge, Sandy, say editors, You are NOT supposed sites running costs have been met.
Bedfordshire to believe stories you read here. They Website: http://newsthump.com/
SG19 2DL; email: have been completely made up purely writing-for-newsthump/
natureshome@
rspb.org.uk;
website: www.

Get writing for Willesden

rspb.org.uk

The six-day
Big winners
Loogabarooga The 2016 RSL Ondaatje Prize, WM is pleased to hear that the Willesden Herald Short Story
Festival of which is given for a distinguished Prize, which stopped running for a few years, has been
Childrens work of fiction, non-fiction or resurrected. In its new form, the Willesden Herald Short Story
Illustrated poetry that evokes a sense of Prize has returned to the simplicity of its early days, and
Literature
place, has been won by Peter the winner will get a specially inscribed mug and a bottle
will return to
Loughborough
Pomerantsev for Nothing is True of Champagne. Ten winning and shortlisted stories will be
from 19-24 and Everything is Possible: The published in Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 9. After 150
October. Surreal Heart of the New Russia. entries, entry fees less Submittable fees will go into a prize
fund that will be shared equally between the ten authors.
Frances Weetman, The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for The competition is for short stories up to 7,500 words.
of Newcastle, Comic Fiction has this year been shared for the There is no set theme. All stories must be original and
was the first first time by two winners: Hannah Rothschild unpublished. Format entries as Word docs or rtf files in
winner of the for The Improbability of Love and Paul Murray 12pt font with double spacing. Submit through the website:
Virago/New
for The Mark and the Void. Both winners received http://willesdenherald.blogspot.co.uk
Statesmans
award for a new
Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Bollinger Champagne There is a fee of 5 per entry and you can enter as many
woman economic and the complete Everyman Wodehouse collection. times as you choose. The closing date is 31 August.
and political
writer, which gives The 2016 CrimeFest Award winners are: Audible
her a contract Sounds of Crime Award: Paula Hawkins, The
for an essay to
be published as
Girl on the Train; Kobo eDunnit Award: Michael
Connolly, The Crossing; Last Laugh Award:
Best foot forward for Olga
a Virago ebook, Christopher Fowler, Bryant & May and the Norwich Writers Circles Olga Sinclair Open Short Story
and an option for Burning Man; HRF Keating Award: Martin Competition 2016 invites stories that make reference to
publication of a
Edwards, The Golden Age of Murder. shoes somewhere within the text. The first prize is 400
full-length book.
and a 100 voucher from Van-Dal shoes. The second prize
There are Manchester-based poet and short story writer is 175 and a 75 voucher, and third is 50 and a 50
now more than Michelle Green has won New Writing Norths voucher. Winners and runners-up will also receive a signed
340 literary 2,000 Julia Darling Travel Fellowship. She will copy of The Story of the Norwich Boot and Shoe Trade by
festivals held in spend three weeks in Hayling Island off the south Frances and Michael Holmes.
Britain and Ireland, coast of England. The competition is for original, unpublished short
a London Book Fair stories up to 2,000 words that contain a reference to shoes.
report said. Parashar Kulkarni has won Format stories in 12pt Arial or Times New Roman, double
the 5,000 Commonwealth spaced, with a 3cm margin. The entry fee is 8 per story,
It is from
books that wise
Short Story Prize with Cow payable by cheques made out to Norwich Writers Circle
people derive and Company the first story (postal entrants) or by PayPal (email entrants).
consolation in the the assistant professor in social The closing date is 17 July by post and 31 July by email.
troubles of life. sciences at Yale-NUS College has Details: Paul Taylor, 2 Briar Court, Norwich, Norfolk
Victor Hugo ever written. He is the first Indian NR2 8PR; email: norwichwriters@hotmail.co.uk;
author to win the prize. website: https://norwichwriters.wordpress.com/

98 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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UK CRIME MARKET
Direct route to Crooked Lane
BY TINA JACKSON
Crooked Lane is a crime fiction publisher that
publishes broadly in that category. Everything
from traditional mysteries and cosies to police
procedurals, suspense, thrillers, and historicals,
said editorial director Matt Martz.
Crooked Lane Books was founded in spring
2014 and published its first books last autumn.
From the very beginning it has been our goal
to bring the highest quality crime fiction to an
outstanding community of readers, said Matt.
Fans of crime fiction are knowledgeable and
voracious. They are both exacting and
generous. They know all about well-placed clues
and unreliable narrators. Theyre also the first to
pick up a debut authors book and give it a
shot. Nothing makes us happier than getting a book that theyll love in
their hands and introducing them to characters and authors whom they
can enjoy for years.
Crooked Lane is growing fast. Our goal is to become a standby in the
industry for high-quality crime fiction. Were looking to find talented debut
authors with whom we can work to build careers with successful books for
years to come. In 2016, we will publish 26 original titles, and in 2017 we will
at least double that number.
Crime fiction submissions in all genres are welcomed. Were looking
for exceptional storytelling that stands out from the crowd, said Matt. He
wants stand-out work. All of the various subgenres of crime fiction have very
clear conventions that help create excellent stories. So, at a formal level, its
important that a manuscript satisfy those rules. But writers need to go beyond
simply hitting the marks. Dazzle us with a unique, irresistible voice; knock
our socks off with breakneck speed and hairpin plot twists; immerse us in an
intriguing, atmospheric world.
The ideal Crooked Lane book is anchored with a strong, deftly plotted
mystery. It has a fresh, unique voice and a constellation of compelling
characters as well as pacing that moves along at a quick clip, said Matt.
Authors may be agented or unagented. Submit by email with a query
letter with the first five pages of a manuscript. Crooked Lane will request
follow-up material if necessary.
Crooked Lane publishes in hardcover,
trade paperback and ebook,
and pays advances and royalties.
Details: email: submissions@
crookedlanebooks.com;
website: www.crookedlanebooks.com
www.writers-online.co.uk
p98 News.indd 99
WRITERS NEWS
Funny women
Founded in 2002 by journalist and producer
Lynne Parker, Funny Women has been helping
female comedy writers and performers achieve their
potential with workshops, weekend events and
conferences. A year after the organisations beginnings
the Funny Women Awards were launched and
recognising that not all funny women want to be
stand-up comedians, the Comedy Writing Award is
for those who prefer to be behind the scenes.
The winner will receive career development, with
a 500 script option fee and intensive mentoring
from The Comedy Unit, an award-winning comedy
and entertainment production company delivering
programmes across TV, radio, new media and
theatre, plus 250 of Benefit cosmetics.
The award is open to all women, except those
who have been employed as a professional TV script
editor, and the first step is to submit a 1-2 page
treatment for a comedy script for television plus three
sample scenes of approximately 2-4 pages per scene
before the closing date of 15 August.
Were looking for writing flair and the ability
to put together a laugh out loud joke, so let your
personality shine through, say guidelines.
Only one entry per person is permitted and
you should include your name, email address and
telephone number on your submission and ensure
your script is formatted correctly. A pdf document is
preferred although doc attachments will be accepted.
Scripts will be judged by marks out of five for
concept, story and structure, character and dialogue
and overall funniness and saleability. A longlist of ten
will be selected and will receive detailed feedback.
The eventual winner will be selected by a panel of
three industry judges headed by the Comedy Unit.
Email submissions with Comedy Writing Award
Entry in the subject line.
Details: email: writingaward@funnywomen.
com; website: http://funnywomen.com/funny-
women-awards/comedy-writing-award/
Misjudging talent
Pop impresario Simon Cowell upset authors
and readers alike in May, not by announcing
that he was intending to write a book for
children, but by saying in an interview on US
TV: Ive had to read a lot of these childrens
books and theyre quite boring, I think I could
do it better. Cowell told Terri Seymour for the
news show Extra, And now I think Ill do it,
adding that the book will be about animals.
Presumably it will be better than such famously
boring books as Wind in the Willows and
Watership Down.
AUGUST 2016 99
21/06/2016 09:30
 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES UK FICTION MARKET

Sally Hampton Take up the challenge
is editor of My
Weekly womens
BY TINA JACKSON
magazine and
wants feedback.
Share news, Longmead Publishing careers of previously unpublished authors
views and photos is an independent of fiction, said Tony.
that make you publisher of fiction He is interested in shorter fiction. The
smile. Payment if novellas and novels novella is our preferred format (25-30k
published is 25 by new or previously words) although we will look at longer
and 50 for the unpublished authors. manuscripts up to about 60,000, said Tony.
Star Choice. Longmead Publishing Well-crafted prose is preferred to a high
Details: All About
is the brainchild of author Tony Cornish, word count. We also favour challenging
You, My Weekly,
80 Kingsway
who has been involved in publishing for over material, but this isnt a euphemism
East, Dundee thirty years producing teaching materials for overly violent, heavily sexualised
DD4 8SL; email: for Oxford University Press, Prentice Hall text; intriguing, thought-provoking and
allaboutyou@ and others, history books for WH Smith thoughtful are much preferred.
dcthomson.co.uk; and most recently for Anova Books (The Tony is happy to hear from unagented
website: www. Voyages of Captain Cook). In his early career authors. Initially, we want to hear about
myweekly.co.uk he ran a publishing services company, your idea, he said. This doesnt necessarily
edited magazines and established a history mean there has to be a beginning, middle
Library imprint the Ceiriog Press. More recently, and end all mapped out in detail, but a
development
charity Book Aid
I ventured into the world of fiction, thereby successful outline will show clear signs
International discovering how difficult, even discouraging, of a well-crafted structure and, most
launched its new it is for writers to unlock the help and importantly, some indications of what
website: www. support vital to bring a manuscript to the excites you about the project. Its not
bookaid.org point of publication and started working up necessary for a project to be complete
the principles behind Longmead Publishing. were happy to work alongside you as a
Jamie Hill is editor Longmeads first release, the novella project develops.
of The Ocelot, Peachstone Black: the Thirteenth Labour of Send the outline idea, with a sample
a free monthly Aloysius Beade, was published in 2015. section of the work (up to2,000 words) and
guide to theatre,
Longmead will publish three titles an indication of where you see your book
music, wining
and dining and
in 2015/16, eight in 2016/17 and fitting into the marketplace.
events in Oxford rising by between five and ten per year Longmead publishes in dust-jacketed
and Newbury. He thereafter. Most importantly, we hope hardbacks and pays royalties.
welcomes reader that the imprint will develop a reputation Details: email,
feedback. for publishing engaging, thoughtful, editor.longmeadpublishing@gmail.com;
Details: The Ocelot, challenging literature and supporting the website: http://longmeadpublishing.com
Positive Media
Group, Unit 3,
Century Road,
Arclite House, Get buzzy writing poems Universal appeal
Swindon, Wiltshire
SN5 5YN; email: The Buzzwords Open Poetry Competition, run by Buzzwords Now in its seventh year, Kasma is a Canadian
jamie@theocelot. poetry organisation in Cheltenham, invites entries of poems up online science fiction magazine founded and
co.uk to seventy lines. Proceeds from the competition will be used to edited by Alex Korovessis. The title publishes one
fund Buzzwords poetry gatherings. new story on the 15th of every month and has
Tom Stroud edits There is a first prize of 600, a second prize of 300 and featured work by leading authors including Ken
Island Business five commended prizes of 50. There is also a special 200 Liu and Robert J Sawyer.
Magazine, Gloucester Prize for Gloucestershire residents only. Submissions should be science fiction, ideally
published by To enter, send original poems on any subject that have not 1,000-5,000 words, though slightly longer or
the Isle of Wight
been published in print or online. Type poems in clear 12pt shorter tales may be considered. Stories must be
Chamber of
Commerce. font on single sides of A4. The poets name must not appear original and previously unpublished, and should
Details: Mill on the manuscript. Include a separate sheet, covering email or surprise the editor. Read some of the published
Court, Furrlongs, entry form, which can be downloaded from the website, with works at www.kasmamagazine.com to get an
Newport, Isle details of name, address, email, telephone and titles of poems idea of the sort of stories likely to succeed.
of Wight PO30 being entered. Entries for the Gloucester Prize should mark their Korovessis discusses his taste in fiction in an
2AA; email: entries with GL in the top right hand corner. interview available at: http://writ.rs/kasmaalex
tom.stroud@ Poets many enter online or by email. There is an entry fee of Payment is a flat rate of $25 by PayPal for non-
iwchamber.co.uk 4 per poem or 10 for three, which can be paid by cheques exclusive electronic rights for one year.
made out to Cheltenham Poetry Cafe or by PayPal (include Submit your story in the body of an email sent
Not a wasted
word. This has
the reference number in the submission email). to editors@kasmamagazine.com
been a main point The closing date is 7 August. See full guidelines at: www.kasmamagazine.
to my literary Details: Buzzwords Open Poetry Competition, Butlers, com/submit.cfm
thinking all my life. Western Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3RN;
Hunter S email: buzzwords.poetry@gmail.com; website: http://
Thompson buzzwordspoetry.blogspot.co.uk

100 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITERS NEWS

Penny is a new zine,
providing short fiction that
is accessible, collaborative,
experimental, and
community-minded.
All stories are illustrated and usually written to
a visual or verbal prompt.
Work is wanted for issue two: flash
fiction, creative non-fiction and prose
poetry, 500-1,250 words, in response to
the Penny Prompt on the website: www.
youfoundpenny.com
Response time is within a month. Payment
is $50 for writing and illustrations, or $100 for
graphic narratives, for non-exclusive rights to
use online, in print, and in podcasting.
Details: email: submit@youfoundpenny.com;
website: www.youfoundpenny.com
The Adroit Journal is a quarterly
zine journal focusing on the
future of poetry, prose, and art.
It needs work that is bizarre,
authentic, subtle, outrageous,
indefinable, raw, paradoxical.
Submit up to three pieces of prose, each
under 2,500 words, or eight poems, through the
website. Deadline for the next issue is 11 August.
Response time is quick.
Website: www.theadroitjournal.org
Trigger Warnings is a Danish-based zine
founded by a group of writers frustrated
because there seemed to be no markets for
their darkest of the dark writing.
Trigger Warnings happily publishes stories
with dark, macabre, themes, the twisted and
weird, in any genre. This is not a market for
sensitive writers.
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE
Submit fiction, 1-3,000 words, and poetry,
preferably formal, though free verse could
still be accepted, in the body of an email:
triggerwarnings@hotmail.com
Website: https://triggermag.org
Synapse is a Canadian zine
publishing poetry and prose
with a unique outlook. Submit
only unpublished work, up to
five poems or 2,500 words of
short fiction or non-fiction.
Response time is around sixty days.
Details: email:
synapse.submissions@gmail.com;
website: https://synapseflies.wordpress.com
50-Word Stories publishes two new fifty-word
stories a day. Stories must be exactly fifty words,
with a plot and meaning of some sort.
Submit one story only, in the first two weeks
of any month. The best stories are chosen
and published the same month. Keep content
appropriate for all ages. Submit in the body of an
email. Response time is a few weeks. The best
submission each month gets a $10 prize.
Website: http://fiftywordstories.com
FewerThan500
publishes short,
short fiction and creative non-fiction. Its five
editors look for strong, precise language that
creates a story with deep emotional impact.
Submit an attached file or in the body of an
email: stories@fewerthan500.com
Website: www.fewerthan500.com
The Airgonaut is a monthly online journal
of flash fiction, 250-1,000 words. Flash is a
form that cannot get enough attention, say
guidelines, and: If you didnt have fun writing
your story, its probably not going to be much
fun for us to read it.
It needs courageous writers
more concerned with saying
something bold than hoping
to fit in. Experimentalism and
most genres are okay, but avoid
stark realism, he said/she said,
relationship narratives, introspective voice,
and social commentary.
Submit up to three previously
unpublished stories by email
Details: email:
theairgonautship@gmail.com; website:
https://theairgonautblog.wordpress.com
etre describes itself not
as a zine but an artistic
movement towards a
more self-aware culture. It
encourages introspection
through all types of
artistry. It needs poetry,
fiction, essays and works of art/photographs
on topics of existentialism, introspection,
love, psychology, philosophy, religion and
contemplation of the human condition.
Stories should be brief, 400-1,000
words; non-fiction, 700-1,500; poems
150-300 words, not rhyming. Submit by
email: hello@eternalremedy.com
Website: http://eternalremedy.com
Cultured Vultures was started
by editor Jimmy Donnellan
to allow people to rant.
Anything is welcome,
poems, stories, articles and,
of course, rants, on any
aspect of popular culture, 1,000-3,500 words.
Details: email:
info@culturedvultures.com;
website: http://culturedvultures.com

Unsolicited fiction manuscripts are

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET
Fight the good fight
BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON
Belle Lutte Press is a US small press with a mission, to bring
exceptionalism back to the masses. Believing that todays media
maximises profits by force-feeding the populace cheap and unoriginal
thought the editorial team of Belle Lutte Press is hell-bent on
publishing original, high-quality novels. The press wants good stories
that stick in the mind and could change society.
welcome, providing they conform to the
guidelines. The submission package should
contain thirty pages or three chapters of the
work plus a cover page with writers CV, and
full contact details. Simultaneous submissions
are accepted but let them know if your work
is accepted elsewhere. Submit through the
website: http://bellelutte.com/submit
Response time is slow. Rights and
payments discussed at contract time.
Details: email: B.Lance.Person@BelleLutte.com;
website: http://bellelutte.com

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 101

p100 News/ Zine.indd 101 21/06/2016 09:29

 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES
GLOBAL FICTION MARKET
Womans Own
magazine recently
included an Dont fear Phobos
article entitled
Smart Shopper. BY GARY DALKIN
A footnote stated
tell us how you
save cash and you Phobos is an American semiannual print and electronic stories and poetry should
could win 25. Get weird fiction magazine. Editors and Publishers Robert be up to 2,500 words, flash
in touch via email: Corry and Luke St Germaine describe their title as fiction up to 1,000 words.
womansown@ publishing macabre, astounding, unsettling, thrilling, Submit by email. In the
timeinc.com. baffling, and terrifying stories in the tradition of Shirley subject line include your
Jackson, Ambrose Bierce, HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, story title, word count and
BBC Good Food
and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. issue theme (Deep Black Sea). In the body of
magazine has had
a complete revamp
For Issue 4: Deep Black Sea, Corry and St Germaine your email briefly outline how your story fits the issue theme,
with more pages. want short stories, flash fiction and poetry hauled from a mention of any previous publications and a brief bio,
It now includes the brine of oceans both real and fantastic. That entails which may be as factual or ridiculous as you like. Attach your
more restaurant the meanest, meatiest, most vigorous weird fiction you submission as an rtf or doc file and send to hellophobos@
and travel content. can wrestle to the surface. gmail.com. Enquiries to same address. Full guidelines are
The editor is Payment is 5 per word. Deadline is 31 July. Short at: http://phobosmagazine.com/submissions/
Gillian Carter.
Details: BBC

5,000 for ecopoets

Good Food, 44
Vineyard House,
Brook Green,
London W6 7BT; The Resurgence Poetry Prize 2016, the major award will be expected to record their poem for download.
details: enquiries@ for ecopoetry, is open for entries. The competition is Enter by post or online. The entry fee is 8 for the
bbcgood for the best single poem on an ecological theme. Prizes first poem and 3 each subsequent, paid by credit or
foodmagazine.com; are 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000. debit card, or cheques made out to Resurgence Prize.
website: www. All poems must be original, unpublished and not The closing date is 1 October.
bbcgoodfood.com more than 54 lines. There is no specific theme but Details: The Resurgence Poetry Prize, First Floor,
in some way all entries must address the relationship Fetter Lane, London EC4 4BR; email: info@
Wessex Writers is between humans and the natural world. Winning poets resurgenceprize.org; website: www.resurgenceprize.org
a small group of
committed writers
who meet on the
third Monday of
every month in Notts Open Win a Torbay stay All write rebellion
a hotel in central
Bournemouth. No The Nottingham Open Poetry Torbay Poetry Festival 2016 competition To commemorate the hundredth
poetry is allowed but Prize has a prize pot totalling is now open, for original, unpublished anniversary of the Easter Rising in
membership is free. 625 for three winners and poems up to fifty lines. First prize is 1916, SaveAsWriters writing group
Details: ten merit prizes for original, 700, plus a free weekend at the Festival in Canterbury is running a creative
email: robin@
previously unpublished poems (27-31 October) including Festival Pass writing competition on the theme
robindynes.co.uk;
website: https://
of a maximum forty lines, and accommodation. The second prize is of rebellion.
wessexvoice.co.uk written in English. 400 plus a Festival Pass, and the third Enter original and unpublished
Anyone over the age prize is 200 plus a ticket for two to the poetry up to sixty lines and short
Dame Judi of sixteen can enter the Festival supper. stories up to 3,000 words. There are
Dench, 81, is the competition and there is no Enter online or by post, with an entry prizes of 100, 50 and 25. The
new honorary limit on number of entries. The form downloaded from the website. The entry fee is 4 per short story (10
president of the entry fee is 3, 10 for four. entry fee is 5 per poem, or 20 for five for three) and 3 per poem (8 for
Bront Society, The closing date is 12 August. (postal entry only). Deadline is 28 August. three). The closing date is 3 August.
which is marking Details: The Competition Details: Torbay Festival Poetry Details: Luigi Marchini, c/o
the bicentenary
Secretary, 38 Harrow Road, Competition, The Administrator, Save As Writers, 35 Spillett Close,
of Charlotte
Bronts birth. West Bridgford, Nottingham c/o 6 The Mount, Brixham, South Faversham, Kent ME13 8QP; email:
NG2 7DU; website: www. Devon TQ5 8QY; website: saveas@hotmail.co.uk; website:
I recently asked a nottinghampoetrysociety.co.uk www.torbaypoetryfestival.co.uk www.saveaswriters.co.uk
senior (publishing)
executive if they
were comfortable
with the way self-
published authors
Elemental poems for Living Museum comp
were slowly taking
Black Country Living Museums Annual Prize Poetry can be downloaded from the website, but entries
over Kindle sales.
The response
Competition 2016 is for poems with the theme must be sent by post. There is no entry fee.
largely unsaid Earth and Air. Prizes are family tickets to the The closing date is 29 July.
revealed to me that museum and publication on the museums website, Details: Black Country Poetry Competition,
they were not. plus 100 for first and 50 for two runners-up. Black Country Living Museum, Tipton Road,
Philip Jones, editor, Submit original, unpublished poems up to forty Dudley DY1 4SQ; website: http://writ.rs/
The Bookseller lines. Print entries on single sides of A4. Entry forms bclmpoetrycomp

102 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

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GLOBAL TRAVEL MARKET
Travel insight for Outpost
BY JENNY ROCHE
Travel, adventure and culture are the
content of Toronto-based Outpost
magazine, which aims to cover travel in
a unique and insightful way. Expert tips,
travel stories and comprehensive guides
to destinations around the world are all
wanted, together with beautiful high-
resolution photographs. It is advised you
read online articles to get a feel for the
magazine and websites style, focus, tone
and subject matter.
Columns and smaller stories range from
1,000 to 1,500 words and feature stories
highlighting an adventure travel experience
should be 3,000 to 5,000 words.
Other sections include: Tripping, a space for 300-word profiles or odes
to a person, place or thing that relates to travel; Thrillseeker, for adrenaline-
orientated articles on expeditions, adventure races, thrill seeking and small,
unique off-the-beaten path experiences; Field Notes contains articles and
stories with a science connection; Travel Guides/Tips gives concrete and
specific travel info, advice, tips and ideas on a particular subject, theme or
travel experience; Gourmet Du Monde, for recipes from around the world.
It is advised you submit a complete article if you are a new or
unpublished writer with little publishing history. Other writers can
submit a query outlining the story idea, proposed length and availability
of photos. Include your contact details, samples of previously published
work or links to a website showing previously published work. A full
or partial piece can be included as a doc attachment. Payment rates for
published work are negotiated.
Send queries with Story Query in the subject line by email:
editor@outpostmagazine.com
Website: www.outpostmagazine.com
Book time to enter this competition
Books Ireland magazine is repeating its short
story competition, launched last year, as part of
its fortieth anniversary celebrations.
There is a first prize of 400 and a writing
course at the Irish Writers Centre. The winning
story will be published in Books Ireland. There
are second and third prizes of 200 and 100.
The competition is for short stories up to
2,600 words by writers anywhere in the world
who are writing in English. Stories may be
in any style and on any theme, but must be
original and unpublished.
Send stories by email as double-spaced
Word attachments, with a front page stating name, address, contact
numbers, story title and wordcount.
To enter, pay the fee of 10 (5 for Books Ireland subscribers and
writing group members) through Books Irelands parent company website
(http://wordwellbooks.com/comp) and then send the story by email,
including the order ID number.
The closing date is 31 August.
Details: email: writingcomp@booksirelandmagazine.com;
website: www.booksirelandmagazine.com/competition
www.writers-online.co.uk
p102 News/Travel writing.indd 103
W R I T EW
RS NEWS
L RI
VE T
IN
TR
G
N
W
K
O W-H O
Planning with
purpose
Its worth considering a trip based
on what to do as well as where to go,
says Patrick Forsyth
here shall we go? This is a common enough
W question when people are thinking of
holidays. The writing fraternity may well
couple it with another question: where shall
I write about? But this may not be the only
possible starting point.
Of course, people go on holiday for all sorts of reasons,
including wanting to see a particular place, or sometimes
not to how many people go on holiday and see nothing of
the place they visit, spending all the time by the pool or on
the beach, or inside a nightclub? But some go not so much
to visit a particular place, but to do a particular thing. This
may be at various stages of involvement with an activity: to
explore or start it, to practice or just to experience a one-off
event or cross some activity off their bucket list.
The range of activities linked to travel, what the industry
calls special-interest holidays, is huge. These can involve
wine tasting, painting, photography, music including
learning an instrument or singing in a choir dancing,
horse riding, golf, fishing, the natural world from safari
to bird watching and more. Some are instructional, like
learning a language or to cook. Some are linked to one-
off events, like viewing an eclipse. And of course the link
to location gives rise to huge variation: people can watch
birds in the Lake District or go and see Darwins finches in
the Galapagos Islands. A good many holidays incorporate
writing workshops of some sort too. There is something for
every taste and interest. I would certainly not want to sing
on holiday or anywhere else its not a pretty sound. But
there are other things on offer I would assuredly enjoy.
Investigating the possibilities here may extend the
prospects of a trip with plenty to write about. Effectively
you can write about the place, the activity or purpose or
various combinations of the two. Clearly this works best if
you link to an activity that interests you; I made one great
trip that incorporated a scuba diving course (and didnt
drown) but have still never gone somewhere where I
would see the Northern Lights, which I would love. What
is more, the cost of the diving course was both a business
expense and exceeded by the fees I got paid for writing
about it. Besides it was enormous fun.
So maybe a good starting point as you think about
what to write next is to review not just places you might
travel to, but things you would like to do. Combining the
two might be arranged in a way that saves money and,
by extending what a trip involves, allow you to pitch to
different outlets. At the very least it is an approach that
can take you in a different direction from that suggested
by the simple where shall I go? question.
AUGUST 2016 103
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 WRITERS NEWS

FLASHES
GLOBAL MYSTERY to the Editor
West Dorset
Living is a
MARKET and miscellaneous
items. All ideas should
free bimonthly first be queried with
magazine edited
by Sally Thomson
Maintain the mystery the relevant editor. See
featuring website for details.
BY JENNY ROCHE Once an article is
Dorchester,
Bridport, commissioned it should
Poundbury and Although it does not publish fiction, Mystery Scene crime be emailed with a one-
Lyme Regis. fiction magazine does publish articles on the literary sentence biography
Details: tel: life, the media industry and especially likes insider of yourself and your
01225343710; information articles. Although a lot of its contributors postal address and contact
email: sally. are experienced writers the magazine is open to, and details. Artwork and photographs are welcome and you
thomson@
appreciative of, new writers and new viewpoints. should mention if these are available. Payment rates are
minerva
publications.
Based in New York, the 70-80 page magazine is negotiated for articles and interviews and books and a
co.uk; website: published five times a year and is said to be the most small payment are made for reviews. Essays on books to
www.westdorset authoritative guide to the crime fiction genre. Its content be published are unpaid.
living.co.uk include articles on novels, films, TV shows, audiobooks, The next deadlines, subject to the editors discretion,
childrens mysteries, short stories and reference works. are 1 August for the Fall issue and 1 October for the
Andy Cooper is Articles are wanted of 800-2,000 words, interviews Holiday issue. Make contact as far in advance as you
editor of glossy of the same length, although shorter is preferred, book can for time-sensitive articles.
free community reviews of 100-250 words and essays from authors of Website: http://mysteryscenemag.com/
monthly books due to be published. There is also space for Letters writers-guidelines
magazine Exeter
Life. Feedback is
welcomed.
Details: Archant
South West,
Let the public decide
Newbury House, The UK Short Story Competition Reading groups around the spaced. The writers name must
Fair Oak Close, is a new writing prize where the UK will be reading the entries, not appear on the manuscript.
Exeter Airport winners are judged by the public. and members of the public are also To enter, writers must register
Business Park, The competition is for short invited to become judges. Each by 29 July, and put the title and
Clyst Honiton, stories up to 2,500 with a entry will be sent out for judging registration number in the subject
Exeter, Devon
defined beginning, middle and three times. line of the submission email.
EX5 2UL; email:
andy.cooper@
end. There is a first prize of All submissions must be There is a registration fee of
archant.co.uk 1,000, a second prize of 500 original and unpublished. 12 (6 for subsequent stories)
and a third prize of 250. The Stories may be in any genre payable by PayPal.
Wantage Poetry winners will be published in except childrens and erotica. Register by 29 July, and
Club meets on an anthology along with 27 Enter stories as doc, docx, rtf enter stories by the closing
alternate Tuesdays shortlisted stories. The writers or pdf files, in 12point Arial or date of 31 July.
at 7pm at the Bear of these will each receive 50. Times New Roman, 1.5 or double Website: www.uk-ssc.com
Hotel. Newcomers
are very welcome.
Just turn up or
contact Julian
Higman or Hidden verses GLOBAL LITERARY
Mike Jones.
Details: The Buxton Poetry Competition is open for MARKET
tel: 01235 751656; entries for the 2016 Award.
email: julianhig The theme of this years contest is hidden. The Join the Qu
manwantage5@ first prize winner in the open category will receive
hotmail.co.uk; 500, with prizes of 250 and 100 for the second BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON
mikejones@live. and third-prize winners. In the categories for young
com
peoples poetry (12 to 17) and childrens poetry (up to Qu is an online literary journal,
Weve all heard 11) the winners will get book tokens. published by the MFA program at
that a million All poems must be original, unpublished and under Queens University of Charlotte,
monkeys forty lines. All entries should be on the theme, and USA. Its a new venture, but there
banging on have a title. The poets name must not appear on the are four back issues to read on the
a million manuscript. A completed entry form must accompany website. The editorial team is catholic
typewriters each entry. Send two copies of each poem entered. in taste, made up of students, and the
will eventually Each entrant may enter up to three poems. poetry is particularly good.
reproduce the Entry in the open category is 5 per poem, and Submit fiction, essays, script
entire works of
should be paid by cheques payable to Buxton Festival. excerpts, all under 8,000 words. Poetry submissions
Shakespeare.
Now, thanks to
Entry in the young peoples poetry and childrens should be no more than three poems. Submission is
the Internet, categories is free. online at the website using their submittable system.
we know this is The closing date is 26 August. Deadline is 31 August for the next issue. Response
not true. Details: Buxton Festival, 3 The Square, Buxton time is reasonable. Payment is $100 for prose and
Robert Wilensky, SK17 6AZ; email: claire@buxtonfestival.co.uk; $50 for poetry for one-time, non-exclusive rights to
late US professor website: www.buxtonfestival.co.uk publish your work.
Website: www.qulitmag.com

104 AUGUST 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p104 News.indd 104 21/06/2016 09:26

 WRITERS NEWS

Book Talk BY JOHN JENSEN

UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Fly back in time
BY TINA JACKSON

FlyPast, edited by Chris Gilson, is the UKs biggest-

selling monthly aviation magazine.
We cover the heritage aviation sector aviation
history and warbirds [vintage military aircraft now
operated by civilian organisations or individuals
and often found at airshows], said Chris.
FlyPasts coverage starts from WW1 and goes up
to the late 1970s.
Features include a lot of historical subjects,
particularly the history of wars, and also aircraft
restorations, museums and airshows, and theres
a news section as well. Were 60/40 history,
and military history is a big part of that; we are
primarily a military history magazine in that
respect, said Chris. A lot of it is because many of
our readers are ex-service personnel.
Readers range widely. We have hobbyists and professionals the readership is
a very large mix. The bulk of it is men, but not all of it theres no such thing as
a typical reader. They come from all walks of life: ex-service personnel, historians,
general public. The magazines content, though, is accessible to all. A lot of our
readers are experts but the work we publish is accessible to anyone who picks up the
magazine as a casual read. We dont cater just for expert level we strike a happy
medium. Anyone could pick up a copy of Fly Past and understand it.
Chris aims to provide readers with a rich mix of information. A historical
feature has got to have a really interesting feature at its core. In terms of
restorations we look at the different projects on offer. In terms of warbirds we try
to find examples of interest.
He welcomes contact from prospective freelances. Most of our content is
freelance contributions. Normally the best thing is to email me with an idea a
synopsis. Make sure of your sources, make sure of your facts. And try to write
something youd want to read yourself think of yourself as the audience.
We always try to get good pictures as well, so ideally Im looking for a words-and-
picture package.
Features range from 1,000 to 5,000 words and payment is usually 65 per
1,000 words.
Details: email: flypast@keypublishing.com; website: www.flypast.com

High society prizes for playwrights

The free-to-enter
Terence Rattigan
Society Award offers
a first prize of 2,500
and a guaranteed
theatre production to
the winner of the best
new play written for theatre.
The competition is for original, full-
length theatre plays at least 75 minutes
long, preferably with an interval. Plays
should be for no more than six actors
(doubling is allowed). Plays must not
previously have been performed, or
won another award. Playwrights may
submit up to two entries. The final
judges will be writer Julian Fellowes,
director Thea Sharrock, drama
professor Dan Reballato and actor
David Suchet.
The winning playwright will receive
2,500 and their play will be produced
with not less than six performances by
the Sarah Thorne Theatre Company
in Broadstairs, Kent. The runner up
will be awarded 1,000 and a public
reading of their play will be arranged by
the Terence Rattigan Society.
Enter both a print and an electronic
copy of the script and include a list
of characters, a description of the
setting and a one-page summary of the
action. A completed entry form must
accompany each entry. The playwrights
name should not appear on the script.
The closing date is 31 August.
Details: Rattigan Society Award, PO
Box 67787, London W14 4FB; email:
script@rattiganaward.com; website:
www.theterencerattigansociety.co.uk

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2016 105

p104 News.indd 105 21/06/2016 09:26

 CLASSIFIED
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 C O M P E T I T I O N D E TA I L S

Competition rules and forms

Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk or by post, with the ref code in the address, to:
Sally Bridgewater (Ref Code xxxxx), Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications,
31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. Remember to add a front sheet with full contact details (see Rule 3)
Remember to sign up for our free editors e-newsletter for regular comp news and updates
To enter:
Love Story Competition (see p39)
Love stories, 1,500-1,700 words; entry fee 5, 3 for subscribers; closing date, 14 September; Ref Code: Aug16/Love

1,000-word Short Story Competition (see p39)

No theme; 1,000-word limit; entry fee 5, 3 for subscribers; closing date, 15 August; Ref Code: Jul16/1000words

Love Poem Competition (see p69)

Love poetry; 40-line limit; entry fee, 5, 3 for subscribers; closing date, 14 September; Ref Code: Aug16/LovePoetry

Subscriber-only tight situation Short Story Competition (see p61)

Any theme, but must involve a tight situation; 1,500-1,700 words; free entry, subscribers only; closing date, 14 September;
Ref Code: Aug16/Tightsit

Subscriber-only Travel Story Competition (see p61)

Travel theme; 1,500-1,700 words; free entry; subscribers only; closing date, 15 August; Ref Code: Jul16/Travel

How to enter Poetry Competition

Competition Rules
1 Eligibility
All entries must be the original and unpublished work of the
entrant, and not currently submitted for publication nor for any other
competition or award. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry
form, printed here (photocopies are acceptable), unless stated.
Open Competitions are open to any writer, who can submit as many
entries as they choose. Entry fees are 5, 3 for subscribers.
Subscriber-only Competitions are open only to subscribers of
Writing Magazine. Entry is free but you can only submit one entry
per competition.
New Subscribers Competitions are open only to those whose
subscriptions start during 2016. No entry form or fee is required.
I am enclosing my entry for the .......................................
......................................................... .............................
Ref code .....................................and agree to be bound
by the competition rules
TITLE..................................................................................
FORENAME .......................................................................
SURNAME .........................................................................
ADDRESS...........................................................................
...........................................................................................
Short Story Competition
I am enclosing my entry for the .......................................
.................................................. .....................................
Ref code ................................................ and agree to be
bound by the competition rules
TITLE..................................................................................
FORENAME .......................................................................
SURNAME .........................................................................
ADDRESS...........................................................................
...........................................................................................

2 Entry Fees ........................................................................................... ...........................................................................................

Cheques or postal orders should be payable to Warners Group
Publications or you can pay by credit card (see form). No entry fee is POSTCODE ........................................................................ POSTCODE ........................................................................
required for New Subscribers competitions.
EMAIL................................................................................ EMAIL................................................................................
3 Manuscripts o Im happy to receive special offers via email from Warners Group Publications plc o Im happy to receive special offers via email from Warners Group Publications plc
Short stories: Entries must be typed in double spacing on single
sides of A4 paper with a front page stating your name, address, phone
TELEPHONE (INC. AREA CODE) ............................................... TELEPHONE (INC. AREA CODE) ...............................................
number and email address, your story title and word count. Entries will
be returned if accompanied by sae. Electronic entries should be a single Tick here if you wish to receive our Tick here if you wish to receive our
doc, docx, txt, rtf or pdf file with the contact details, etc, on p1, and your FREE monthly e-newsletter FREE monthly e-newsletter
story commencing on the second page.
Poetry manuscripts: Entries must be typed in single spacing with ENTRY FEE (please tick one) ENTRY FEE (please tick one)
double spacing between stanzas on single sides of A4. Entrants name,
address, telephone number and email address must be typed on a 5 5
separate A4 sheet. Entries to poetry competitions cannot be returned. 3 for subscribers 3 for subscribers
Electronic entries should be a single doc, docx, txt, rtf or pdf file with Free entry (subscriber only competition) Free entry (subscriber only competition)
the contact details, etc, on p1, and your poem on the second page.
I enclose my entry fee (cheques/postal order payable to Warners Group I enclose my entry fee (cheques/postal order payable to Warners Group
All manuscripts: Receipt of entries will be acknowledged if
Publications) OR I wish to pay my entry fee by: Publications) OR I wish to pay my entry fee by:
accompanied by a suitably worded stamped and addressed postcard.
o Maestro o Delta o Visa o Access o Mastercard o Maestro o Delta o Visa o Access o Mastercard
Entrants retain copyright in their manuscripts. You are advised not to
send the only copy of your manuscript. Enclose an sae if you want your
manuscript to be returned. CARD NUMBER ................................................................ CARD NUMBER ................................................................

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 .................................................................

SECURITY NUMBER .......................................................... SECURITY NUMBER ..........................................................

5. Notification
Winners will be notified within two months of closing date after which
CARDHOLDER NAME ...................................................... CARDHOLDER NAME ......................................................
date unplaced entries may be submitted elsewhere. Winning entries
may not be submitted elsewhere for twelve months after that date
SIGNATURE ....................................................................... SIGNATURE .......................................................................
without permission of Writing Magazine who retain the right to publish
winning entries in any form during those twelve months
DATE ................................................................................. DATE .................................................................................

www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST
JULY 2016
2015 107

p107 comp rules.indd 107 21/06/2016 09:25

 M Y W R I T I N G DAY
Writing JEMMA
My
day
WAYNE
The writer and journalist sits
at her grandfathers old desk
and explores complex issues
of love and identity, she tells
Lynne Hackles
J
emmas days begin early. Around
5am, she says. When one of the
kids decides its morning. On a
school day, Im then with them
until Ive dropped the eldest at
school (the youngest is only two
and still at home), and I sit down at
my desk by 9am. I then write until
3pm, stopping for school pick up
and delicious afternoons of family
time. Very often I pick up again in
the evenings after bedtime and write
for another hour or two. Before I had
children, I used to write all day, but
now with restricted hours and the
imperative to get things done in that
limited time, somehow the words come
faster. What is harder, is not having
excess time in which to daydream. I
used to go to cafes, or on long walks,
just thinking, or listening in to peoples
conversations, and often that would
be where the spark of an idea would
begin. These days the spark might
come when Im laden with Lego and
paint, and its a challenge to hold those
nuggets in the mind to explore later.
Ive learned to cope with
interruptions through necessity. I like
my children to see me working, to see
me being disciplined about it, but also
always to feel that they can access me,
that they are my priority. Consequently,
they are very often careering in and out
of my office.
I usually spend 10-20 minutes
at the start of a writing session
replying to emails, reading articles,
looking around the web. Its a kind
of transition period and helps switch
focus from real life to writing.
My first book Bare Necessities was
non-fiction a light-hearted, anecdotal
survival guide to moving out of home
and being a grown-up. After Before
108 AUGUST 2016
p108 My Writing Day.indd 108
was my debut as a novelist, and
Chains of Sand was released exactly
two years to the day later.
Chains of Sand was brewing for a
very long time and confronts some
ideas that are important to me. Set
against the backdrop of the 2014
conflict between Israel and Gaza, the
story traces the parallel journeys of two
men: Udi, a 26-year-old Israeli whos
been in a combat unit of the IDF and
wants to emigrate to London; and a
similarly aged British Jew who wants
to move to Tel Aviv. Alongside this is
a third strand of the narrative a tale
of forbidden love set in Jerusalem a
decade earlier between a Jewish girl and
an Arab Israeli. Through many voices
and eyes, the book explores notions of
truth, identity, and the struggle of four
families dealing with the
prospect of letting their children
sacrifice everything they know, for
everything they want.
I love the research side of the
process the reading, interviewing and
observing, filling pads with information,
ideas and vague scribblings that may
become key events. For Chains of Sand I
spoke to a number of IDF soldiers, over
Skype or in person, and interviewed
others from varying walks of life. I
scoured the internet and visited Israel.
I usually have a rough idea of the plot
www.writers-online.co.uk
and my characters and then spend time
on the research before formally plotting
out the story mapping out key events
or ideas for each chapter, and fleshing
out each character. Its only then, once
Ive inhaled all of this, so to speak, that
I take a breath and put the first words
to paper. Having planned intensively
however, one of things I love most about
the whole process is when
I am surprised by my own
characters, or when the story
suddenly takes a tangent
that wasnt in the original
plan. Often that feels like a
moment of revelation, and is
where the most interesting
aspects emerge.
Since After Before was
published Ive been involved
in a wide range of events
book signings, literary
festivals, talks, and interviews
with press. One of the
highlights was appearing on
BBC News Meet The Author
with Nick Higham. And
during Jewish Book Week I
was on a panel with Ayelet
Gundar-Goshen. We spoke about our
new books which share a number of
themes. These bursts of interaction and
collaboration are hugely rewarding and
a little strange to shift from thinking
silently and engaging only inwardly with
your characters and ideas, to suddenly
LISTEN talking about them with people who
have their own take on what was once
TAP HERE
merely a part of yourself.
to listen to an
extract from
After Before Website: www.jemmawayne.com
TAP HERE Jemma Waynes debut novel,
to buy the After Before, was longlisted for the
book from Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction. Her
Audible latest novel Chains of Sand, published
by Legend Press, is out now
MY WRITING PLACE
My grandfathers oak desk that was given to me
when I was fifteen is a place of inspiration. Its full
of cubby holes and little drawers. I remember it
sitting in his house bedecked with sheets of music,
manuscripts, and jars of perfectly sharpened pencils.
On a shelf theres a small, china egg, running an
ornament given to me by my father when I was a
child and wanted to be in the Olympics. When I see
the eggs determined expression it makes me think:
keep going, you can do it, faster.
23/06/2016 10:00
 DONT MISS THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE!
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INDUSTRY NEWS.
April 2016 - Writing Magazine 109

p109 next month.indd 109 21/06/2016 09:22

 N OT E S F R O M T H E M A R G I N
FINDING
THE RIGHT
WORDS
Lost for the right words when she reads a friends rst attempt
at a novel, Lorraine Mace nally nds inspiration
M
any moons ago I wrote
a column about people
who would write novels
if only they could spare
the time. They fall into
various categories, but the bottom line
is always the same. Writing is so easy
they could do it with their eyes closed
whats the big deal?
One of my close (non-writing)
friends often told me she had a unique
plot that would make a great novel, but
wouldnt tell me what it was in case I
beat her to it. Why she would think
I needed anyone elses ideas when my
brain is in danger of exploding because
of the plots already in there, I never
could understand. Any offer to help her
get going was met with suspicion. In
the end, I gave up. So, you can imagine
my surprise when she told me shed
actually written a book.
I managed to find a few minutes
here and there, she said, making it
sound as if shed knocked it out during
television commercial breaks. I
finished last night and then had a look
online for a publisher. Im sending it
to HarperCollins and Penguin next
week. Whoever puts up the most
money can publish it.
Um, is this a first draft? I wouldnt
advise sending it anywhere until its
been rewritten a few times, I said. I
got the answer I feared. Why would
I need to do that? Mike read it and
said its great.
Mike is her other half. I remembered
my own first attempt at a novel.
My husband and children were so
impressed Id managed to write one,
they all thought it was brilliant. But
110 AUGUST 2016
p110 Notes from the Margin.indd 110
it wasnt. It was poorly written, had
plot holes so deep its a wonder the
hero never fell into one of them, and
characters so wooden they could have
joined a puppet theatre.
If her storyline was as good as
she claimed, I knew shed ruin any
chance of success by sending out
poorly edited work. I also tried
(and failed) to convince her that
the big publishers rarely look at
unagented material, but I did
suggest I have a look at it
before she sent it off.
Well, as long as you How on earth was
dont change anything,
you could read it, she
said. Her tone of voice needed improvements
was wary, but new
writers are often touchy
about their babies.
I took the manuscript
home and settled down
red pen to hand, but also
a pad. I had no intention of
defacing her pristine pages. The
novel was barely 40,000 words and
the storyline was basic: boy meets
girl, boy loves girl, girl loves boy,
they live happily ever after. There was
no conflict, no bar to happiness, no
hurdles to overcome, no character
growth in short, no story! How on
earth was I going to tell her it needed
improvements when she was sure it was
already a bestseller? I had to stop her
from approaching anyone until shed
strengthened the plot, far less one of
the big publishing houses.
But this was her first attempt at
writing and I had no intention of
destroying her confidence. Apart from
www.writers-online.co.uk
anything else, she had achieved what
many say they will do, but never get
round to: shed written a story. If I
was honest with her, that would be
the end of our long friendship. If I
wasnt honest with her, I would be
doing her a great disservice, even if
she wouldnt see it that way.
I wanted to encourage her to
continue writing, while also
pointing out a few rewrites
to add conflict and
resolution would greatly
improve the story.
Sighing, I switched
I going to tell her it on the television.
There was a quiz show
when she was sure on and they used a
snippet of an old black
it was already and white film featuring
a bestseller? Fred Astaire and Ginger
Rogers. The question
concerned the Paramount
executive who rejected Fred
Astaire by saying: Cant act. Cant
sing. Balding. Can dance a little.
Which gave me an idea
I picked up the phone and she
answered on the first ring, confirming
my belief that shed been on edge since
Id taken her baby home with me.
Have you read it? What do you
think? she demanded. Well, I
answered, I think its possible youre
the Fred Astaire of the writing world.
Have you had to let a friend down
gently after reading their work? If youd
like to share your experiences, Ill use
them in a future column (changing
names to protect feelings, of course).
Email: lorraine@lorrainemace.com
21/06/2016 09:20
 www.writers-online.co.uk JUNE 2016 111

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 M Y W R I T I N G DAY

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