Showing posts with label workshops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workshops. Show all posts

Thursday, 9 January 2020

The Self-Doubt Gremlin...

The decorations came down on Sunday and a normal regime began on Monday- my snoozing creativity woke up, but the rest of me was failing to keep up.

I've been dealing with the self-doubt gremlin for a few weeks now. It nearly derailed the mini workshop I was putting together for the writers' club meeting (last night), but I got through it and the gremlin has scarpered.

Weeks of disturbed sleep haven't helped; caused by strange disjointed dreams that had no clear meaning or any sense. I assume my brain was deleting unwanted junk in the memory...

Amazing how beneficial eight hours' undisturbed slumber can be.

There's still lots to catch up on, besides getting back to the novel rewrite; I need to make notes on new scenes before I forget why they're needed and get on with finishing the book I'm reading for research.
No Self-Doubt Gremlins
Allowed...

Meanwhile, avoid gremlins...












Image: Pixabay.com with additions in canva.com

Sunday, 8 September 2019

Workshops and New Projects...

It's been a busy month so far and it's only the first week...

Yesterday (Saturday) I was at a workshop at Nottingham Writers' Club. The guest writer was Patsy Collins who was leading us through Characterisation and Dialogue.

Personally I think the latter element is really helped by getting the former element pinned down.

Patsy Collins & a few
of her books...
Something I will definitely be applying to my characters is how do my other characters see my main characters?

It was good to know my creativity was kicking back in again with the writing exercises.

For the first three days after getting my manuscript into the RNA's New Writers' Scheme my brain just went on temporary strike.

I put in a lot of hours in that last week- 15 hours on the Friday into the early hours of Saturday morning alone- as well as having spent a few hours at the walk-in centre on the Tuesday after a bad fall- catching my toe on the door ledge stepping in from the back-garden.

Yes, my mind had been on my manuscript and that approaching deadline rather than what I was actually doing at that moment...

 I damaged the ligaments either side of my right knee and bruised my tibia. Pleased to say nothing was broken. The bruises are now fading and after taking everything slowly I was moving around with care by the end of this past week, so no problem attending the workshop.

The broken tooth is being sorted later this week.

*   *   *

As I knew it would be a few months before I heard anything from the RNA NWS, I decided to make a start on setting up one of my other novels on Scrivener, but which one?

I have a complete first draft of a contemporary or the first five chapters of a 1920's story- the first three chapters and synopsis won the NWC 2018 Mary Street Romance Novel Shield. Admittedly the first draft novel (the synopsis and first three chapters of it) also won the 2016 Mary Street competition.

A 1920'S hat...
I know I have quite a lot of background research I need to do on the 1920's story, but it was calling to me, so I decided to start setting it up on Scrivener first and use the elements I hadn't used on my main manuscript.

I first started using Scrivener back in April when part of my historical was already in Word 2007 and as I was still becoming familiar with how Scrivener worked, I didn't have time to sort out all those helpful little aspects of the programme. It was get the second draft written!

This year I've learnt a great deal about how I write and put my novels together, so I'm now putting the knowledge I've gained into action with my other projects.

My Dorset novel needs looking at again to see what I need to research there too. That's at a similar stage to the 1920's novel, but will need complete rewriting as my voice has changed since it was started.

Priority is still to complete my 1802 Nottinghamshire novel, but I'm not going to waste the time in between...

Do you have more than one project on the go?




Saturday, 31 August 2019

I've Survived August- Now for September...

It's the last day of the month and as of 4.30 am (BST) this morning, my submission to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme went in.

Now I just have to wait for the eventual email telling me the reader's report is ready. I don't know who the published writer reading it will be, nor whether they're male or female. But whoever gets to read it- thank you.

The part I hadn't expected was how much time checking through the manuscript takes.

When I start the next draft I will be tougher on myself. I know I can do it now, it's about me being better prepared and organised during those busy everyday life events. Even 300-500 words a time soon builds up. I know I still have a lot to work to do in the next draft...

This weekend I relax, catch-up with all those things I didn't have time for- Sanditon on catch-up is first on my list...

Next Saturday (7th September) I'll be attending a half day workshop (I've been involved in organising it) at Nottingham Writers' Club.

Our guest is friend and blogger Patsy Collins The Travelling Writer, with her Effective Characterisation and Dialogue workshop from 1-5 pm.

Patsy Collins is coming to
    Nottingham...
There are still places available, so if you, or anyone you know are within reach of Nottingham and would like to attend, do please pass on the link.

Nottingham's Tram network links the railway station to a nearby tram stop less than 5 minutes walk away from our venue; plus the Victoria bus station and bus routes into the city centre are 5-10 minutes walk...


Then on the 14th I'll be at my desk tuning in to #SelfPubCon2019 it's 24 sessions online over 24 hours. (I won't be sat at my desk for 24 hours though...)

You need to register via ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors) you'll find them on Facebook, Twitter and their website. The three-day pass is free- just register with name and email.

I've tuned in to the past two: spring this year and fall of 2018. Both times I've learnt something I could put into action...


Do you have any writing related plans for September?



Image provided by Patsy Collins.

Sunday, 16 December 2018

Review of 2018 - January to June...

Toward the end of the year I review the past twelve months to see what I've achieved- or not in some cases- and set a few targets for the coming year.

Starting with the targets I set for this year, back in December 2017:
  • Get that second draft completed. (I'm working on it.)
  • Continue to be open to writing opportunities and experiences. (Certainly did that a few times!)
  • Rewrite/revise a few of those short stories I found on my floppy disks. (Not yet.)
  • More reading and much more writing. (Definitely did this one.)
January to June
2018

January

This was a stressful start to the year with the rewiring and re-plumbing of the house starting. There were holes in the wall and ceiling, as well as floorboards up in bedrooms and on the landing. I still think Lights and Pipes would be a good book title.

February

Despite the router and keyboard failure, as well as getting the house warmed up after the new boiler, radiators and pipes went in on the weekend it snowed- thank goodness we were in a local hotel- the rest of the month was better.

I did a workshop with another Nottingham Writers' Club member, Jill Walmsley, on Competitions: Do's and Don'ts; then at the end of the month there was a Saturday afternoon workshop with local author Claire Harvey.

March

This month started with snow on the 1st of March. I live in one of those regions where snow either misses us and hits everyone else in the country, or we get lots and it stays for days.

I was reading the entries to the 2018 NWC National Short Story Competition and giving feedback on each entry; both rounds this year had short deadlines.

Finally I started back onto the second draft of my WIP. While also looking ahead to GDPR and Podcasts (that would eventually become part of a page on the blog).

The podcast
list...
April

The redecorating started at home (it's taken months) and this blog began it's facelift. I took on the role of Chairman at NWC again, after a three year gap.

Enjoyed a trip to a vintage fair in Nottingham city centre and inspiration for a 1920's story idea.

May

An exciting month with the new flooring going down and the wallpaper finished in the living room.

At NWC I'd arranged guest speaker C.J Tudor, author of  The Chalk Man
(recently included in the Guardian's books of 2018 list).

I also booked a place for the Romantic Novelists Association Conference in July near Leeds.

June

That was a mixed month. I had the sad news that my short story 'The Wishful Spirit' would no longer be available after July, due to the publisher, Alfie Dog Fiction, ceasing the short story download side of the site.

The future of the One Word Anthology (with short fiction by me and Serena, from some years ago, in it) was also under consideration, but thankfully continued to be available.

The One Word
Anthology...
At the end of the month the contract changes at Woman's Weekly became news and led to a new writing opportunity.

Find out what happened in part two of my 2018 review on Thursday...



Sunday, 30 September 2018

Autumn Again...

Goodness where has September gone?

No, I haven't been wasting my time since my last post. I've been working on an entry for one of the annual competitions at the writers' club and putting into practise some of the skills I learnt over the summer.

As home life has been a bit disruptive with various family members at home during the day, I've been trying out writing in the evening. Until daytime's settle down again I'm going to concentrate on rewriting in the evenings, while I can use the time during the day for research, admin, and catching up on interesting programmes and Twitter.

It's not ideal but I will be able to get quiet and work intensively.

Yesterday (Saturday) I was at a half-day workshop on dialogue, so I have been writing a bit.

On my travels around the city centre this month I've been taking photos of the various Hoodwinked robins that have been placed across the city. They've been part of an art trail along with a number of book benches.

The robins have been sponsored by local businesses, and each Robin has been decorated by a local or national artist.

Best of all the robins will be auctioned off in October to raise money for the Nottinghamshire Hospice.

They've been popular with children and adults during the school summer holidays and at weekends. After today (30th September) they will be gathered up and taken to Fernleigh House and Garden to join two more special edition robins.

The robins will be getting a tidy up first as I'm sure they've had a few sticky finger prints on them, as well as whatever the weather could inflict on them.

I didn't get to photograph them all, but I did get eight of them. In fact one of them is on the back cover of the autumn issue of Scribe- the club magazine of Nottingham Writers' Club.

Goose Fair, Goose Fowl...
This one was just off the Market Square. It's very appropriate as this week is the annual Goose Fair and in the past it was held in the Market Square.

Nowadays it's a funfair held out at the Forest Recreation Ground and the car park- of the tram stop next door!

Like any tradition it has its roots in history; at this time of year Geese would have been driven into the city to be sold for the Michaelmas dinner. The Geese came from Lincolnshire and would have been walked all that way.

You can find out more about the origins of the Goose Fair over on the Nottingham Hidden History Team site. They're a fantastic resource for Nottinghamshire history.

Do look at the picture of the huge Goose sitting on the roundabout. Every year this heavy duty statue comes out of storage and appears at the roundabout just by the Forest, on a bus route so it can't be missed; and if you forget it's Goose Fair time its appearance soon reminds you...




Thursday, 13 July 2017

Leading My First Workshop...

I have survived.

Previously I've done short writing sessions for the writers' club- when needed- but never actually done a workshop for the evening meeting (it came out to about 90 minutes or so).

Of course all the fears and thoughts of inadequacy passed through my mind before the start, even though I'd been preparing the materials across the previous twelve days.

Flip-pads are
useful...
It was a simple mind-mapping exercise using a chosen image as the starting point to inspire the story idea and hopefully discover suitable characters.

All the images were mine from a variety of places over the last ten to twelve years. A few of them have even appeared on this blog.

When I was choosing which pictures to include in the workshop, I had two criteria; was it a good enough image, and how many ideas could I think of for each one. I ended up with forty pictures!

It seemed a lot, but there had to be enough variety. Some had only one central object, others had lots of scope for choice. There were animals, summer and winter scenes, plants, buildings and landscapes, street scenes, and random items.

A few pictures not chosen...
There were at least 16 people and they all found a picture they liked. Animals and landscapes seemed popular...

The members and visitors were engaged, and by the end of the evening when we went round the attendees, there were a variety of partial stories read out, many ideas, and a poem.

I've received some positive responses today from a couple of members, so I'm pleased.

Yes, there are a few adjustments I'd make if I ever did it again, but you only discover that when you've tried it.

A few more...



Sunday, 16 October 2016

The Further Adventures of Carol...

Life has been a little chaotic in the last month, so getting away from the stresses has been a much needed break.

A couple of weeks ago it was meeting friends, Maria and Patsy.

Then this Friday is was the Leicester chapter meeting of the RNA (Romantic Novelists Association). There were a few recognisable faces from online, but also a number of people who I'd never met, or may have only seen or heard of their books, plus one very familiar face, Maria Smith.

I didn't take my camera, but there may be a photo on Maria's blog later this week.

It was one of those mornings when if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.

Having stopped to deal with an urgent phone call, it was a quick walk to the nearest tram stop. Unfortunately I was only half way along the footpath when the tram I'd intended to get pulled up at the station and then left.

Panic.

9 minutes to the next tram. I'd probably miss the London train that would get me to Leicester with time to spare. The next train would be another half hour...

I'm one of those people who always allows extra time to get lost- if visiting somewhere I've never been before. I'd rather arrive twenty minutes early than twenty minutes late.

Fortunately the tram didn't break down- it does happen, and as it stops above the railway station, I was buying my train ticket within two minutes of arriving. And then down to the platform with the train waiting and five minutes to spare - phew!

That train was busy as it was one coach short- the one with the unreserved seats, but I found an empty seat that was only reserved from my destination, so thankfully I didn't have to stand.

As I had clear directions from the station I was only a little early, so all that worry for nothing. I'll be much better organised next time.

Back to work...
If you happen to see any pictures of me from Friday with a glass in my hand, my back was to the very warm radiator, and it wasn't that cold outside!

There are a number of RNA chapters across the country, each with their own style of meetings, so if you write romance and are interested, have a look here.

You can also read the RNA blog. The current interviewee Claire Harvey, also attended the Writing Historical Fiction workshop that I went to earlier in the year. Hearing her read then, I'm not surprised she was announced as the 2016 winner of the Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers.

Now, I need to get back to the work in progress, and hopefully a calmer few weeks...




image courtesy of  aechan & www.freedigitalphotos.net











Thursday, 15 September 2016

Back to Work and Poetry...

An orderly routine at home has been restored with the academic year beginning, so that means undisturbed writing time.

Well that's the general plan...

I've bought my portable hard drive so I now have an ultimate back-up;  as I retype my Nottinghamshire short novel it's being saved onto it as well as the memory stick.

(Plus anything else I don't want to lose has been saved.)

Three forms of saving must be enough?

As friends on Facebook will have seen, I discovered that not only had I lost the first three chapters of draft 2, I had lost the whole 1st draft too.

The situation could have been horrible, but as mentioned last time, I print out each chapter as I complete it, so there is a copy of the completed first draft to work from.

Surprisingly I didn't panic, that is after the initial moment of horror at discovering the file was gone.

Rather than retyping the 1st draft again- which would take me too long- I decided the most practical solution is to retype the first three chapters from draft 2 (as planned), then once I start chapter four I'll rewrite using my print copy and the notes I'd previously made for draft 2.

The way forward...
Prevents me wasting time and ensures I still make progress despite the set-back.

As I read through and retype I've also started compiling reminder notes on a file card for each chapter. Not something I've tried before, but in the circumstances I thought I'd see if it helps with the rewriting and editing of future drafts.

Being open to new ideas is good. Which now ties into the poetry item...

I attended a short workshop about writing poetry (last night at the writers' club). The aim of the session was to encourage the attendees that even if they didn't think they could write a poem, they could discover methods that would help them do so.

Negativity was not allowed.

Admittedly by the end of the evening I was quite enthusiastic about working on the last poem I wrote, about an old glass bottle with the chemist's name - we were given a selection of objects to choose from and the little glass bottle immediately drew my attention.

Whether I can actually make a decent poem out of it I have no idea, but I said I'd try.






Image courtesy of Stuart Miles & www.freedigitalphotos.net

Sunday, 24 April 2016

Workshop- Writing Historical Fiction...

Saturday- St George's Day and Shakespeare's birthday I spent indoors at a workshop- except for a brief foray outside for food and to admire St. George, and his two fellow knights on horseback outside the Council House, as I passed by.

Author Judith Allnatt was running a writing historical fiction workshop, held in the events room at the Nottingham branch of Waterstones. The events room actually has a name- the Alan Sillitoe Room.

(It's on the top floor and is large enough for a book launch/ talk if you ever have need of one.)

There was also a good supply of tea and coffee to keep us alert...

I must admit that I always find workshops a little scary, as well as worthwhile.

Ready to workshop...
Scary because I worry I'll freeze when it comes to writing exercises, but thankfully I didn't have too much problem. And there were times when a few of us attending found a particular item problematic, but that was okay.

The warm-up bit was fun as we were able to choose from a selection of postcards of shoes (from assorted time periods) and used that as a starting point for creating a character. It was ideal for me as so often visuals connect with the room of waiting characters in my sub-conscious. The pair of shoes I chose were from 1912.

There was one exercise I will definitely use again. My new character, how do they sleep, what is around them in their bedroom or room they sleep in? My character didn't have a first name at this point, but I was soon realising her circumstances were dire.

When you think about it, the place where you sleep is very telling, as are the objects around you, their neatness or an incongruous item or two.

I'd never thought about it that way before, but I will now.

By the time we reached the senses, I knew my character's name, and a better idea of the time setting- late Victorian rather than early 20th century.

(This was when a missing scene from my work in progress popped up and resolved one of my niggle points.)

Judith read an extract from her third and lately released in paperback, The Silk Factory, to provide an example of how the senses could be used.

We looked at published extracts and how they convey information without it being obvious, even if you don't know what event it may refer to- such as a national/world event.

As the workshop drew to a close Timelines were mentioned,  and between us we compiled a long list of research resources. There were a few I will be looking into, especially Academia.edu.

With time running out there was a Q&A to finish.

Everyone seemed to leave inspired to continue writing their historical novels.

Personally, it was enjoyable, I learnt more, but it also reassured me that I'm doing the right things for the historical side of my romances.

Have you been to any workshops this year?







image courtesy of noppasinw & www.freedigitalphotos.net







Sunday, 29 March 2015

My Day at the Writing Conference - Part 1...

I'm finally recovered enough to share my review of Saturday's writing conference. Yes, it was busy, and it was a few hours before the 'buzz' faded; probably the best way to describe it is a low level of background adrenalin that lasted beyond the conference, but didn't make dinner time. By 8 pm I was yawning- despite telling myself it was a bit too early for bed...

(In the U.K the clocks also had to be put forward an hour, so my Sunday lie-in didn't help any!)

Where to begin? I'll do this in two parts because the day covered so many subjects, but even so they will only be snippets from each session.

Generally I've paraphrased, but where I've used quote marks that's exactly what was said by the named person.

On arrival delegates received a Writing East Midlands (WEM) cotton goody bag- WEM had organised the event and had support from a number of other organisations, ALCS, The Writers' Guild, Writing Magazine, the Arts Council and others.

Each bag contained a variety of literary related promotional flyers, a neat little booklet detailing all of this year's Arvon writing courses, a copy of the April issue of Writing Magazine and a book- my bag had a copy of Sue Moorcroft's 'All That Mullarkey'. Another writer friend had a poetry book in her bag, so it was pot-luck what you received.

The keynote speakers were both brilliant, Maureen Duffy, and Kerry Young. And I was fortunate to attend a few of the panels that Maureen Duffy was taking part in and sharing her considerable experience from her long writing career.

Onto the panels: I started with Finding Your Place in the Writing Community. Each panel only had 45 minutes in total, so it was more about the writing community that various social media sources can provide. The editor of Writing Magazine, Jonathan Telfer, emphasised that writers should be themselves, and don't be " a spam monkey". He suggested that a 10 to 1 strategy was useful; for every ten constructive posts, have one sales pitch.

While Aly Stoneman (Poetry Editor at LeftLion Magazine) suggested once a year take an overnight trip to another festival, or a workshop, as it helps expand your network, and also find out what's happening elsewhere, or what magazine/publishing opportunities there may be. Join writing organisations, and support other writers who in turn may support you.

After a 30 minute break- more coffee, tea, fruit juices, and biscuits, we moved on to the next session...

I went to, Myth Busting- Self-Publishing Be Damned: Maureen Duffy shared her experiences of the changing attitudes of publishing that she herself has experienced, and has, with the help of her agent, self-published. She emphasised the importance of a good cover design. To sum up she said you need to "dedicate yourself to it to make it work."

Author of the romantic-comedy 'No-one Ever Has Sex on Tuesday',Tracy Bloom, explained how even having an agent doesn't guarantee success, despite foreign rights selling well, a decision made by Tesco in 2012 not to stock new authors, made self-publishing viable for the book- which went on to sell 200,000 copies. But she did emphasise that a book does need to be good enough - to "have a level of quality."

Key points: covers need to stand out when they are a THUMNAIL size; blurb- snappy, catches the attention and leaps out, as you only have seconds to capture the readers attention. Book bloggers, you could send individual emails to individual bloggers. Don't forget local media, as they want local stories, so give them a local hook.

And "is it the right thing for you.'

There was a lot more from the other panel members, but at the end of the session Maureen Duffy mentioned that books should be accessible for the visually impaired too. E-books need to be produced in the e-pub3 format to be easily convertible for those with visual impairment, but at the moment producers like Amazon and others do not yet use it, so readers have a limited choice of books available.

Then it was time for lunch; to eat and absorb the first half of the day...

I'll post part 2 in a couple of days, which covers the panels on earning a living as a writer, and why having an agent is important...





Thursday, 26 March 2015

It's Conference Saturday Soon...

This Saturday I'm off to The Writers' Conference in Nottingham. It's been held annually for quite a few years now, but this will be the first time I've attended. I leave the men of the family at home too.

The East Midlands has a strong writing community, so events like this conference are well attended and book up early.

As with other literary events there are one-to-ones - I'm not ready for that stage just yet. And the two workshops taking place booked up very quickly, and I missed out on the one I would have been interested in.

There are lots of informative panels too, so I'm going to be kept occupied...

The keynote speakers are Maureen Duffy and Kerry Young. While the Chair of the Conference is Stephen Booth, the successful crime fiction author of the Cooper and Fry series.

There are three panels running in each 45 minute slot, and it's a case of being there in good time to ensure you get in to the one you want.

Unfortunately it looks like there might be some disappointed writers for the seminar on the Importance of the Synopsis, as this does have a more limited capacity apparently - so fingers crossed.

There are other events and services running throughout the day. I won't be using the Poetry Surgery, but if I'm at a loose end I'll pop into the Blogging Booth.

I suspect the panel, 'Why is Having an Agent Important?' will be another popular event.

This year's conference is sold out, so make sure you're on the mailing list for notification next year if you're interested.

I'll tell you how the day went in my next post on Sunday...



Books






Monday, 1 December 2014

Mills & Boon Romance Writing Masterclass News...

Interesting email received today from Mills and Boon; they've announced that in January 2015 they will be holding their first Romance Writing Masterclass, at Paradise Heights in Richmond.

It's an " intense one day workshop" being held on Saturday, January 24th 2015.

Places are limited, but tickets go on sale next week- no idea of cost.

You're asked to email Author Lab, details on this page.

It looks like a long, hard working day.

Described as, "designed to take you from zero to sixty in your romance writing skills." Those attending will leave with "a clear understanding of the romantic fiction market and an idea of the next steps to take in the writing process."

(This doesn't sound like it's aimed at those who have been developing their romance writing skills for some time already...)

There will be a Mills and Boon guest author- presumably they will be revealed when the details are sent out.

The course will be run by Harlequin's senior editorial team, as well as the guest author.

And to finish it off there will be a drinks reception at the end of the day, and the "chance to sign up for our mentoring program."

This could be a costly day when you put travelling onto the potential ticket cost, and depending on how far you have to travel from, overnight accommodation might need to be added into the total.

There could be some cost to the mentoring program - if you look at how other mainstream publishers have been moving into the mentoring sector in the past year or two.

Perhaps M&B are looking to expand further into the romance market, and they see this as a way of nurturing what they want next; or maybe it's the start of a big future change...







Sunday, 23 November 2014

Workshops and Festivals in 2015...

As I missed this year's Festival of Romance in September- it was the same weekend as my son was moving into halls at university- I was hoping that I'll be able to attend next year.

Well the dates and location have been announced.

6th to the 8th November 2015 at Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire.

I spent many summers there going to the theatre- a whole week to visit places during the day, and in the audience at the RSC performances in the evening.

It's been a very long time since I last visited...

You can keep a watch for future details on the Festival of Romance website, here.

2015's date is in my diary already. :D

*   *   *

If you're in the UK and within travelling distance of London, then you might be interested in the dates for the Women's Weekly fiction workshops being held in 2015.

I know a number of writers who have attended them and enjoyed the day- they always fill up quickly, so if you're interested get booking.

Each one day workshop costs £75, and starts with coffee and biscuits at 10 am and finishes at 4.30 pm, with an hour for lunch. 

It's held at the Blue Fin Building, in London, which readers may recognise from the magazine address.

Workshops

Serial writing is running: February 9, April 20, July 3, and October 9.

Short Story: March 2, August 24, October 5, and November 9.

Crime Writing: March 23, October 2.

Twist in the Tail Short Story: April 13, September 7.

You can find out more details by clicking on the workshop date you're interested in, here. You can also book your place and pay online there too.

I'd like to go to one of the short story workshops, but then I'd also be interested in attending one of the serial writing sessions too.

Choices, choices...






Sunday, 12 October 2014

Dialogue & Dialects...

Last week at Nottingham Writers' Club we had a mini-workshop on dialogue.

Now dialogue has never given me issues, description yes, but not dialogue. But we all have areas of difficulty in our writing, and it doesn't mean we won't improve if we work at it.

For those who may not know, dialogue can be used to display character, provide information, but it must help move the story along...

When I was a teenager and started writing, my stories were dialogue heavy- emphasis on heavy. :D

I was fortunate to be exposed to different accents as a child; visits to my Somerset or London relatives, and regular trips to Lewisham market with different cultures emerging (in the 1960's).

Television and Radio no longer restricts what we hear to 'received pronunciation' (old style BBC English), and with regional BBC programmes you'll hear a wider range of accents. Actors no longer have to lose their natural accents to guarantee employment either.

Consider how many programmes have used regional accents/dialects and been successful: 'When the Boat Comes In', 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', and 'Rebus' among them.

But what about dialect in books?

There was a recent article in The Guardian online, 'A Difficulty with Dialect' by author Debbie Taylor. She wrote a book called 'Herring Girl' and was advised to get rid of the dialect before submitting- she said she went for the "dialect lite"option. She regretted how much she'd taken out when she read it out to an audience at a launch party.

At our workshop some of the attendees didn't favour limiting dialect. As an experiment one member spoke in his natural dialect, and while some understood, or were able to make a reasonable guess at what he said, others couldn't. But we all agreed that it was easier to listen to, but probably wouldn't have been if we'd been reading it.

Personally, I prefer the occasional word or phrase that the reader might associate with a particular accent, and paying attention to whether a slightly different sentence construction is characteristic of the natural speech.

There are resources available if you want to hear how people from different parts of the country sound. Here's a few:

British Library- Sounds Familiar?

The International Dialects of English Archive.

The BBC-Voices.

(These will also help with social history too.)

Even though I've lived in the East Midlands for nearly thirty years I still have my southern twang- long sounding a's in words such as glass and bath being the most noticeable. :-)

So what are your thoughts on dialogue, accents and dialect?














.

Friday, 3 January 2014

A Workshop in 2014 You Might Like...

2014...

If you've made any resolutions about attending workshops, and you want to write romance, and you can get to Leeds in May, then the following may be a possibility.

Writing Romantic Fiction with Kate Walker 16-18 May at Weetwood Hall, Leeds.

Kate is a very successful Mills and Boon (Modern) author - there are just too many titles to list, but her next book, 'A Question of Honour', is due out this June...

You may remember my blog post about attending Kate's one day workshop at Nottingham Writers' Club a while ago. If you missed it, then catch up here.

Kate kindly sent me the details of her May workshop so I could pass them on, so here they are.


Writing Romantic Fiction with Kate Walker

Dates:  16 - 18 May 2014

Place: Weetwood Hall LEEDS

Cost: £240 (Weekend residential- see the workshop page link below for more information and contact details.)

Romantic Fiction is big business.  This course is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write romantic fiction.  It gives an introduction to all the skills needed for success, from initial research to the final submission of the typescript. The courses are informal and fun.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN THE PROGRAMME
•             Creating realistic characters
•             Sustaining pace and conflict
•             Packing emotional punch
•             Writing sex scenes
•             Crafting a satisfactory ending.

If you're just starting out writing romance, or you’ve written a manuscript or two but are not yet published and are interested in honing your skills, this course is for you.

For further information Contact Lois Bird-Maddox ‘Relax & Write’ Course Organiser
Further details:  www.malagaworkshops.co.uk

There is a day visitor option, so contact the organiser for details...

I know that many of the writers, who attended Kate's workshop at my local writers' club, found it beneficial, giving them the confidence to start writing a romance, or for those already working on their stories to start submitting them.

Even if you can't go to a workshop like this weekend one, there are lots of one day workshops or courses being run by writers' groups and writing organisations in the UK.

Do look around for what's available, and book early- please don't leave it to the last week or few days - many organisers frequently have to pay room hire charges ahead of the date, and if there aren't enough bookings it can result in cancellation of the workshop.

(I speak from experience of organising workshops last year...)

If you do attend any workshops or courses, enjoy them, and put what you learn into practise; find what works for you and build upon it.

Happy New Year!!! :)






Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ http://freedigitalphotos.net

Friday, 15 November 2013

Fun and Learning at The Festival of Romance...

I finally have time to share a few snippets from my visit to Bedford last weekend for The Festival of Romance.

I had to write a piece about my trip to the festival for the Nottingham Writers' Club magazine, with the deadline of yesterday (Thursday).

I also ended up writing a couple of other items for inclusion in the forthcoming issue, in between appointments.

Next time I go, I will keep the week following, clear...

So what did I learn?

So much. From being able to talk to other writers, listen to them reading their work aloud, and on the Sunday from the editors of the various romance publishers talking about what they're doing currently, to what they're looking for in submissions - and encouragement to submit.

There were one to ones available, but I wasn't ready for that this year, so didn't put in a request when the opportunity was offered a few weeks prior to the festival.

After an evening of readings, from authors in historical dress, set against a background of drawings and paintings by the pre-Raphaelite artists in the art gallery on the Friday night, I was glad of a good night's sleep before Saturday's events.

There was the Romance Fair where you could buy a wide selection of books by various authors attending the festival. I moved onto the Coffee and Cake to listen to more authors reading excerpts from their novels.

I did the 3 hour workshop in the library run by Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney on 'Irresistible Heroes'. I learnt a bit more about one of my heroes in waiting, Hugo, during the practical sessions.

And following that the talk, How to Stand Out, Get Published and Stay Published, given by author Miranda Dickinson and her HarperCollins editor, Sammia Rafique. Miranda described her journey to publication, while Sammia explained her role in the author’s books. 
There was a very useful question and answer session. I wanted to know the current length they required, and for their books it’s at least 90,000 up to 120,000. (Other publishers have their own specifications.)

I can actually be seen at the Ball (on Table 4 in purple and glasses) in the video of the after dinner entertainment- I'm in the background for a while; amazing I was still wide awake as that was at 11pm and I'd been up since 7am that morning...

http://vimeo.com/icundell/professorelemental

Sunday was conference day, with an early start of 9.30am.

Spread throughout the day there were author led panels, including one on building an author platform.

The presence of editors from the main romance publishers was keenly anticipated.

Mills and Boon covered the 5 UK acquired series they deal with: Modern/Presents, Cherish, Historical, and Medical. Guidelines can be found on their website.

I've read their historical novels on and off over the years, and they have changed a lot in that time- length has increased too, they're now at 70,000.

Piatkus Entice is a digital first imprint at Piatkus Fiction.

The important message that came over was that stories needed to be a commercial proposition. And like all the other publishers they wanted 'voices' - fresh, engaging and consistent.

Carina UK - this is an imprint of Harlequin UK. They are a digital first publisher, with their first print title due out early 2014. They talked about their interest in trans-media projects, a different method of reaching readers...

And the good news is that they don't just publish romance. They're seeking, women's fiction, new adult, contemporary young adult, and erotica. And if you happen to have a WW1 romance ( considering next year's anniversary of 100 years since the outbreak of war) it could find a home.

Mira publish Women's Fiction and Crime, aimed at the older reader. Heroines 40+, well written, a hook, and commercial were important words, and they will accept unagented submissions.

Harper Impulse, another digital first publisher. Again like other digital first publishers length is not an issue. You could send a 1,000 word short story that could be read on a phone. They like to get a full manuscript, covering letter and short synopsis.

Generally: They all had a presence on Twitter. Many of the editors can be followed on Twitter; and writers having a social media presence was very useful.

Just as with any publisher, they want good stories, and fresh voices, stories that will sell.

But again and again the editors kept saying submit it! Don't worry if it's not perfect, or you're not sure it's quite right for them, just submit it.

There was so much useful information, that it was hard to take it all in. That's why I made good use of my notebook.

I learnt a lot, and have started putting into action the elements that I was missing- in social media.

But most reassuring was that my writing seems to be going in the right direction...






Tuesday, 5 November 2013

I'm Back!

Life has been catching up with me this past month.

Romance
With my sons new college days, my previously settled writing schedule has been disrupted and I've been finding it difficult to settle, or find a new routine that works for me.

I'm struggling to get used to short writing sessions, rather than longer ones-which is more natural for me and my longer work.

I have added to the novella, but I'm finding the penultimate chapter slow going, as I'm dealing with the final confrontation between the hero and his cousin.

Everything is getting busy at the writers' club too, as we approach the Christmas party and Awards Night at the beginning of December.

This year I'm a contender for the Writer of the Year trophy, alongside two other very good writers- one of whom is fellow blogger and club member Keith Havers.

Only the two Competition Secretaries will know who the judge has chosen (someone from outside the club, who has read the four winning prose competition entries from the past 12 months); and the winner only finds out when their name is announced on the night.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 6th) is the club's annual Manuscript of the Year competition. Members are given a theme and have 250 words to write a story.

Now my mind is in blank mode at the moment, so no 'Why Me' story. This theme was one of the suggestions from club members, on another evening, earlier in the year. For the poets there's a Verse of the Year that happens each March - same formula.

One day I may astound myself- and everyone else - by entering a poem! :D

The Festival of Romance in Bedford happens this weekend. There's still just enough time to buy tickets...

It's going to be a busy information packed, and fun, couple of days.

There are so many things I'm looking forward to - an Irresistible Heroes workshop with Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney early Saturday afternoon, and the ball in the evening, among the numerous events on Saturday.

I finally found a suitable outfit for the Ball, last week, after searching for months. I no longer need worry that I'll look like Cinderella before the transformation... :-)

There's a conference on the Sunday, with romance publishers doing one to one sessions- I'm not ready for that this year so didn't apply. But they have editors doing short talks, among lots of useful topics.

I'll also get to meet a few of the writers who I know from Facebook, at some point...

So I'm finally leaving the men in the family at home to look after themselves, while I immerse myself in romance...

I'll review my weekend experience when I post next week. And I'll try and get some photos taken in between events.

And if you're going to the Festival and see me, do say hello.



Image 'Rose Petals and Glass Heart' courtesy of Victor Habbick and http://freedigitalphotos.net

Saturday, 17 August 2013

Festival of Romance- win tickets...

I've already booked my tickets for this exciting weekend in November- it's the week before my birthday, so it's an early present to myself. :-)

This year's Festival of Romance is taking place in Bedford between Friday evening on the 8th and Sunday the 10th November- finishing mid-afternoon.

The Saturday is busy from morning until night. See the programme here.

I've booked to go to the Irresistible Heroes Workshop in the Central Library, led by Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney.

And I couldn't resist booking a ticket for the Festival of Romance Ball. I have the shoes, the make-up and the jewellery, I just need to find a suitable dress... :D

You can do as much or as little as you want. There are a few free events, but you still need to get the ticket from the bookings page. It is sent to your e-mail address...

Now if you would like to enter to win tickets for two, courtesy of the Romantic Novelists Association, pop over to this page, fill in the form and keep your fingers crossed. And enter by the 30th September. You will find all the details of what the prize covers on that page too.

Good luck.



Monday, 5 August 2013

My Characters Are Calling...

Some of my characters in waiting have started getting impatient, reminding me they are there and they are waiting for me to get on with their story...

Unfortunately I can't handle two different romances at the same time. Each hero is different and it won't help continuity if characteristics from Marcus (from my Dorset novel) start transferring themselves to Hugh (in my Nottinghamshire novella).

I may have to assign different days of the week to each story just to keep them happy.

At the moment another couple of characters are popping into my mind, so I think I need to do some brain clearing- writing down all the ideas/characteristics that have developed since I first started to give them reality (at Sally Quilford's Pocket Novel workshop a few years ago).

I'd like to attend Sally's next workshop in September, but I won't be able to; but do go if you can, you'll learn a lot and enjoy it.

You can find out more on Sally's blog, here. It's titled 'Recipe for Making Love Stories'- and if you book now, you get it for less.

I've just finished reading Sally's latest My Weekly pocket novel, 'Take My Breath Away'. It all starts with Cleopatra- at least the making of a film about her... :-)

I was so near the end of the story, and didn't want to wait until the following day to finish it, so I stayed up until nearly one o'clock in the morning.

Right, I have to go. I need to start recording my characters' latest revelations...

Do your characters-in-waiting start trying to interrupt, when you're writing something else?

Monday, 13 May 2013

My Workshop Experience- Writing for Children...

First, I must say a big thank you to Ann Evans who ran the workshop for Nottingham Writers' Club on Saturday.

It was only a group of 10, but it did mean we could ask lots of questions as we went along.

Now I don't write for children, but sometimes I do need to have children in my stories- as Sarah, the heroine in my novella is having memory flashes and dreams/nightmares from when she was a child, I'd been finding it very difficult to convey the thoughts and language of a 10-12 year when she's experiencing these moments.

So I was hoping that elements of the workshop would help me get a grip on that.

We began with picture books and worked up...

I learnt that the pages are spreads, so if you open the book and have two pages in front of you, that is a spread.

I'd never really thought about how you would lay out a manuscript for a picture book, but it is nothing like a standard manuscript; it's broken up into stages, so the editor knows what the visual clues are (for the illustrator) and the text for each page...

The language use and sentence construction needed for the younger age range proved that it is as hard work as a longer length work.

There was discussion on the skills needed for producing stories suitable for older children who have a lower reading ability. The exciting stories required by their age, but the text not being as complex as you'd usually get. These are referred to as Hi-lo stories.

Writing for young adults did seem to be popular- and it is an expanding market...

There were exercises to do and it was the last set that gave me the breakthrough with Sarah.
We did bullet points about our character- character traits and so on. But we had to include their aim- either for the day or their life, and the thing they fear.

Now Sarah fears storms, so that was easy enough. But as I slowly began to tune into Sarah as a child, I recalled my own care-free childhood around the same age, and like most children wanted to grow-up to be like my mum.
In the past life wasn't as complex as today, so our parents were our role models, who we aspired to be like, so I'm sure Sarah would have felt the same...

As the exercise progressed I found there was a depth to Sarah I hadn't been aware of, and in doing so I discovered why she is so concerned about an aspect of her friends lives in the present.

I will certainly be doing this again, with one of my secondary characters who is a bit two-dimensional at the moment. I haven't quite found the key to him...

We had a variety of discussions, including age ranges and book lengths. Nothing seems hard and fast with lengths, as a publisher may have specific requirements for a particular country/market.

So generally: Ann suggested; picture books approximately 300 words.

4-5 year old- books with line drawings, 1,800-2,000 words or less. At this point parents will be reading the book to their child/children, and then the children will eventually be able to read the book themselves.

7-9 years old- 12,000-25,000 as an average.

9-12 years old- 25,000-60,000.

But clearly every child is different. Consider how many younger age range children were reading Harry Potter tomes- each book seemed to get thicker with a larger word count than the previous one...

While I may never write books for children, I'm not going to forget that the back story of each of my main characters includes their childhood influences and experiences.

After all our childhood is a part of who we become later...