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#164 Jun 2015 3.60

Build a literary career and

write all the way to the bank

WF164JUN01cover.indd 1

Speech marks

New Adult

Beyond Word

Why giving more

dialogue to characters
will impress editors

How to break into

this crossover genre
for older young adults

Five writing apps

designed to help
authors do more

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Welcome

Writers Forum
4
7

14

20

66

A word from the editor

ast week I was invited to talk to GCSE students interested

in becoming journalists. The careers day was all about
inspiring pupils, so I admitted that what had motived me
was money. Id enjoyed creative writing at school but took
a journalism degree, did some freelancing, then went into
womens mags because they paid the most. I made a living
doing something I liked but making a living came first.
These days the market has changed. Websites expect you
to submit articles for nothing and some glossies expect you
to pay them to work as an intern! Stuff that, I told the pupils.
Ive never written anything without knowing Ill get paid. If
you want to write for Kerrang! offer reviews and interviews
to them, and sell any rejects to smaller mags. It will help next
time. Freelancing is the best way to build your skills and CV,
but try not to give work away. Whether you want to produce
articles, books, fiction or nonfiction, people take you more
seriously if they see youve been paid to write. Give it a go.

10
12

14

16

18

Write soon, Carl

Dont miss issue #165 on sale from 18 June
Writers Forum
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Publisher Tim Harris
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for inaccuracies or complaints arising from
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28
29

31

headlines
Newsfront The latest in
the world of writing
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Hard labour Australian
novelist Venero Armanno talks
to Glynis Scrivens about his
struggles as an author
Writers Circle
Your letters
plus First Draft
FIRST STEPS
Make writing pay
Douglas McPherson explains
how to take your first steps
as a professional writer
Promotion
How to take an author
photo Simon Whaley puts
himself in the frame for an
author selfie workshop
WRITING EXERCISE
Styling your story In a
second look at style, Barbara
Dynes looks at tone, tense
and viewpoint and sets
some exercises
Fiction markets
Inside story Douglas
McPherson explains why he
chose an unusual format for
his story about a singer
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
How to break into
New Adult Phil Barrington
asks an editor and two
authors for tips on this new
crossover genre
Computing
Technophobia Keir
Thomas takes a look at word
processing software designed
specifically for writers
FREELANCE MARKETS
The Magazine Scene
Adam Carpenters round-up of
industry news plus Diary
of a freelance hack
AGONY AUNT
Dear Della Della Galton
answers your queries
INSPIRATION
Ideas Store Paula Williams
has been experimenting with
mindfulness
TALES oF MY GURU
Hugh Scotts mystery mentor
spends Midsummers Eve
looking at characterisation

32 TIME TO WRITE
8 days a week In the final
column, Phil Barrington sums
up the series in three words
34 ACHIEVEmENT CALENDAR

June Plot your progress
and see which famous writers
were born this month
36 MOTIVATION
Word up! Think positive
with Janie and Cass Jackson
37 story competition
Fiction judge Lorraine Mace
introduces this months
winners of 550 in cash
prizes
46 Fiction workshop
Doing dialogue Lorraine
Mace uses readers stories
to highlight the importance
of dialogue
48 WRITING KNOW-HOW
Research secrets Literary
novelist Cassandra Parkin tells
Anita Loughrey about the
inspiration behind her novel
The Beach Hut
plus Writing Outlets with
Janet Cameron
50 POETRY WORKSHOP
Painting with words
Poetry editor Sue Butler
looks at how a thousand
words can paint a picture
plus Own Words
52 Poetry competition
This months winners of
100 and dictionaries
54 Writers Directory
This months events, writing
courses and helpful books
58 FLASH COMP
Our quick writing contest
is FREE to subscribers plus
the 100 winner from last
months crime competition
60 earnings
Where to earn money
as a writer Susie Kearley
looks at an earning survey
62 competition calendar
Helen M Walters brings you
the latest tips and comp news
65 Subscriptions
Get Writers Forum delivered
direct to your door
66 Where I write
Phil Barrington visits popular
author Carole Matthews

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN03contents.indd 3

13/05/2015 16:46:59

HEADLINES

newsFRONT
The latest in the world of books, the internet and publishing written by you

Manifesto moves

Less than a week after

winning the election with a slim
majority, the new Conservative
government has been setting out
its stall in various areas.
Newspapers, especially those
controlled by Rupert Murdoch,
were quick to claim that the
appointment of John Whittingdale
as Culture Secretary, was a
declaration of war on the
BBC, although the party itself
denied this. Whittingdale has
chaired a House of Commons
select committee that proposed
scrapping the BBC Trust and
eventually the licence fee,
replacing it with a broadcast levy
on all households regardless of
whether they watch TV or not.
Meanwhile campaigners voiced
concern about the future of public
libraries, given the Governments
pledge to impose ve more years
of austerity measures. Since 2010
some 272 libraries and mobile
libraries have been closed or
handed to community volunteers
by cash-strapped councils.

Romance author comp

Mills & Boon have launched
a competition
to nd a new

romance author, in conjunction

Top authors take lions

share of earnings
Only around one in nine professional
authors
can earn a living just from their

writing, according to a newly released study.

The top ve per cent of professional authors
earned 42 per cent of all income received by
professional writers in 2013 according to the
Authors Licensing and Collecting Society.
The bottom half accounted for just seven per
cent of all authors earnings.
The ALCSs Head of Rights Richard
Combes said: The creative industries are
thriving, generating 76bn per annum, yet
professional writers have seen a near 30 per
High-earning
cent reduction in earnings in recent years.
author EL James
Consequently many are no longer able to
sustain a career.
BBC arts editor Will Gompertz said that with more people writing and publishing books than ever
before, the market cannot accommodate the hundreds of thousands of new books each year.
Readers, with little spare time, are overwhelmed by the choice and end up sticking to the authors
they already know and trust. Hence the big brand authors trade even better in an overcrowded
market. He said the situation made literary prizes even more important. They provide a platform for
new writing and an endorsed product on which time-poor punters can take a risk.
Nicolette Cassar White

For more on the ALCS report, see page 60

with WHSmith and Kobo. This

is the rst time a publisher, a
high street bookseller and an
ebook supplier have worked
together on such a project. First
prize is publication with lots of
editorial help and major book
promotion, and theres a Kobo
ereader for second and third

Free houses for writers

(but in Detroit)
An American organisation,
Write
a House, is giving houses

away to writers. The house belongs to the writer forever, and all
he or she has to do is live in it and engage with the community.
Unfortunately this isnt (yet!) a worldwide project the house is
situated in Detroit. Write a House describes this as a new twist
on the writers residency and they are now taking applications for
2015. See more at www.writeahouse.org.
Cathy Bryant

prize winners. Entrants will need

to have a Kobo Writing Life
account. They have until 14 July
to submit a 500-word synopsis
and rst chapter of up to 5000
words. More details at http://
kobowritinglife.com/2015/04/14/
calling-all-romance-authors/
Allis Gordon

Teacher wins New

Childrens Author Prize
An English teacher at a
school
in Devon has won the

inaugural New Childrens Author

Prize, organised by the National
Literacy Trust and Bloomsbury.
The prize was launched last
year to raise money for the
literacy charity. The entry fee for

the competition was 30 but the

winner receives a 5000 advance
from Bloomsbury. The contest
attracted over 400 entries and
raised more than 20,000.
The book, Malkin Moonlight, is
about a cat who is looking for his
friend Roux who comes across a
group of cats at a recycling centre
and is soon involved in their
ght with a rival gang. It will be
published next year.
Judge Rebecca McNally,
publishing director at Bloomsbury
Childrens, said the writing stood
out for its air and the book
has real warmth, humour and a
strong sense of jeopardy.
Winner Emma Cox said: This
has been an amazing experience
thus far and I am looking forward
to so many things, but the
highlight will be when I see a child

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN04news.indd 4

13/05/2015 16:05:02

sitting in a school or a library

quietly reading my own book.
That, for me, will be a moment of
pure magic.

King gets Edgar

writer Stephen King has
wonHorror
Americas top crime-writing

award for his serial killer thriller Mr

Mercedes. The novel is about a retired
policeman who is tormented by the
perpetrator of a massacre he never
managed to solve. The focus is on
human rather than supernatural evil.
The book beat titles by more traditional practitioners of crime
writing including Ian Rankin, Stuart Neville and Karin Slaughter to
be named best novel at the Edgar Awards in New York.
The Edgars, named after Edgar Allan Poe, which are run by the
Mystery Writers of America, have been running for over 60 years.

Ruth Rendell dies

Well-known British crime
writer
Ruth Rendell has died

in London, aged 85, after being

hospitalised by a serious stroke in
January.
Fellow writer Val McDermid
said: Ruth Rendell was unique.
No one can equal her range or
her accomplishment; no one has
earned more respect from her
fellow practitioners.
Her debut, From Doon with
Death, introduced the world
to Inspector Wexford in 1964.
She was the author of more
than 60 novels and also wrote
psychological thrillers as Barbara
Vine. Rendell won prizes including
the Crime Writers Association
Diamond Dagger for sustained
excellence in crime writing. She
was made a peer in 1997.
In 2013 she told the Guardian
newspaper that she had no plans
to retire.
Its absolutely essential to my
life. I dont know what I would
do if I didnt write, she said. Ill
do it until I die, if I can. You dont
know, but probably.

Hugh Scott is a Whitbread-winning author. He writes and illustrates for The Park Free Press

Nicolette Cassar White

every possible combination of

letters.Now a fan in New York
is creating a digital version of
the library. Its not a random
generator that changes each time
you visit, but a vast directory of
les with each combination, so
you can return to each one.
Jonathan Basile has so far spent
six months on the project and
says it already has more books
than the universe has atoms,
although most of them will be
meaningless twaddle. (So, rather
like Amazon.) It can be found at
http://libraryofbabel.info

Nicolette Cassar White

Monster call-out for

horror submissions

Four anthologies of horror

ction are calling for submissions
until the end of June. Spectral
Press (https://spectralpress.
wordpress.com) want ction
of any length, though prefer
2000-8000 words. Pantheon
Magazine (pantheonmag.com)
are looking for dark fantasy and
horror ction submissions. They
would like new spins on old
monster tropes as well as all-new
monsters.
There are various themes to
inspire writers who are interested
in the forthcoming anthology
from Forgotten Tomb Press,

ODD SPOT BY HUGH SCOTT

including supernatural horror and

conspiracy horror, and details
can be found at forgottentomb.
wordpress.com. Finally, Fey
publishing (feypublishing.com )
want the most disturbing horror
stories imaginable.
Lets hope that writers can
summon up some successful
shivers in the June sunshine.
Cathy Bryant

Innite library opens

Luis Borges 1940 tale
TheJorge
Library of Babel depicts a
libary that houses an innite
number of books containing

Della Galtons back

at Swanwick
Writers Forums agony aunt,
proli
c short story writer and

novelist Della Galton will be

delighting the Swanwick crowd
once again in August.
Devotees of the UKs and
possibly the worlds oldest
writers school have long
beneted from courses run by
Della and her informal advice and
friendship in between times.
This year, she will be an evening
speaker and also a member of
the ever-popular publishing panel.
Full details are available at www.
swanwickwritersschool.org.uk
Maggie Cobbett (already gearing
up for my 10th year at Swanwick!)

Send us your news

and the best item
each month wins a
years subscription

want short news items for

theseWepages,
either researched directly

Having taken up cigar-smoking as every great writer

should Derek sometimes had difculty nding his laptop.

by you or sourced from press releases or

publications and rewritten for us. In return
youll get a byline and the best item each month wins a
free subscription. This months winner is Nicolette Cassar White.
Items should be under 200 words the snappier the better.
You can attach a good quality photo and please make sure stories
about events are submitted in time. Importantly, you must be able
to prove your story is true and where you found it. Writers Forum
may edit any items submitted and if a story is covered by more
than one writer well choose the best version.
Please send items to news@writers-forum.com You can cover
any topic that will be useful, interesting or amusing to
writers. The subject should be big enough to appeal to a national/
global readership although local news might still inspire or
entertain writers in other regions. Get writing and good luck!

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN04news.indd 5

13/05/2015 16:05:13

WF164-06.indd 6

13/05/2015 11:38:32

Author interview

Hard labour
Australian novelist Venero Armanno also teaches
creative writing at university and knows only too
well the challenge facing his students. Here he
talks to Glynis Scrivens

f you want to be a writer you have

to write a lot. Imagine a budding
guitarist who picks up the guitar once
a week. Or a kid with a dream to be a
footballer, who doesnt really play. Youd
never take these people seriously. Same
with writing you have to be committed
and stay committed.
So my advice is: stop thinking, get
doing. Even if youre crap for five to ten
years. So what?
Venero Armanno speaks from
experience. Hes an award-winning author
of novels, short stories and illustrated
books for younger readers. Hes also a
successful scriptwriter. Venero teaches
creative writing at the University of
Queensland where hes won an award for
Excellence in Teaching.
Writing was the only thing he was good
at during his school years. He started
writing as a teenager. Ten unpublished
novels bear testimony to his efforts at
learning the craft.
Writers can need a lot of time to
develop. In all honesty, I can say I started
writing in 1978 and didnt write a single
decent thing until 1988, when a couple of
my short stories started to show a bit of
gold. So there were roughly 10 full novels
behind that, then a 2000-word short story
finally showed promise, and the next, and
the next Then 10 that were no good, then
another that was OK.
Thats how it went for me, so why
should I layer terrible expectations on to
anyone else who has a dream but is only
just starting out? Even now I think Im
back at the beginning. I feel like a 55-yearold man trying to get his not-very-good
first novel published, and meeting brick
walls and negativity at every turn.
So what has kept him going?
Fear of failure, fear of ending up in
a dead-end job, fear of suburbia; fear of
never doing what I hoped to do. My rock
band had failed, so I really was staring my
own limitations in the face. Id also worked
in the public service and as a day labourer
on building sites. That was when I decided
to give writing my all.
The negative thoughts hang around
all the time and you just have to deal with
them. But hopefully when a new story
strikes and the writing process begins,
the idea of publishing, or not, becomes
remote. You just have to go with the flow.
At the moment Im into a big new novel,
trying not to think what will happen if
I spend another few years on it and it
doesnt get published. In the end, I know,
Ill just write another. You can fret or

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN07author.indd 7

Continued overleaf

13/05/2015 11:31:16

Author interview

Continued from previous page

you can write. I think I do both.

I always think if a books good enough,
it might find an audience. What Id really
hate to do is try to work out what people
want to read and write to that formula.
Success took persistence, a quality
instilled in him by his father.
Every summer from the age of 13, I
was a brick labourer. Theres nothing
harder in Brisbanes heat, sweat running
off you and Sicilians swearing at you for
not being fast enough. I hated every second
but I learned the value of hard work. I also
learned that writing, by comparison, is
easy. You just have to dig in.
Venero persisted until he found his
voice.
The early novels were childish and
influenced by whoever I was reading,
from Stephen King to F Scott Fitzgerald
to Graham Greene. One piece of advice
many writers give is to try writing like
your favourite authors until you find your
own voice. That worked for me, though
it was a laborious process. I had no help,
no mentors, knew no writers. Gradually I
found my own voice, and my own themes.
The early manuscripts were surface
level, containing the emotional content of
a late teenager or someone in their early
20s. Well-meaning and earnest, but quite
thin. Continuing to write helped me find
better resonance in my work. This wasnt
conscious, it just evolved over years.
There was also the thing of learning
what a story really is. Most of my early
manuscripts tended to work as set-pieces
and lacked real narrative structure.
Even though new books started to be
published in quick succession after 1991,
a major turning point for Venero came in
1995 when the Australia Council gave
him a six-month residency in Paris at the
Cit Internationale des Arts.
Someone warned me that novelist Tim
Winton ran back to Perth screaming after
only two weeks in that cell-like studio.
No TV, no radio, tiny refrigerator, only
the barest essentials. But to me it wasnt a
cell, it was a window to freedom. Just me,
pen and paper. I wrote my eyeballs out.
Id wake at five, make coffee and write. Id
write until two in the afternoon and then
walk until 10pm.
I really wanted to be on my own. I come
from a long line of Sicilian men who are
far more comfortable in a field on their
own with their stock or produce Its no
wonder I live on three acres now and, aside
from work, rarely speak to anyone!
I returned to Paris for writing stints in
1997 and 1999 and over that period wrote

I was a brick
labourer. Writing, by
comparison, is easy
or finished several novels Firehead, The
Volcano, Strange Rain, My Beautiful Friend,
some stories and a lot of editing. It was
such a fruitful time.
The power often went and Id write by
natural sunlight or candles. Over time,
as each candle wore down, I ended up
creating a sort of giant candle on the floor,
from which Id light the next and the next.
My favourite writing time was morning;
that wonderful semi-dream state youre
still in at five or six oclock. Later Id have
a few thousand words and not remember
writing them, like theyd just appeared.
I tried it again in 2005 but by then I was
married and we had a baby. After two
or three weeks I came home. My time of
living alone feeding my own writing needs
was over. Id learned that for me family
comes first. But I did spend 10 days at an
apartment in Kingscliff, a resort in New
South Wales, to finish The Dirty Beat.
Venero has found his themes. Sometimes
his themes have found him. Candle Life is
based on a character he met in Paris.
He wore broken glasses, broken shoes
tied together with string, his red hair was
wild like a clowns, his tattered clothes
stank, and his head looked like it had been
cracked open and hadnt repaired properly.
He carried a copy of the New York Times,
three weeks out of date. He told me this

crazy story about being forced to live in

the quays, and even underground, because
hed lost everything.
Later I discovered the hotel room he
sometimes slept in was a shrine to his
mother, which he guarded every night
with a shotgun. Before I could run away,
he said, Please, young man, help me? Im
a writer and in trouble.
Writers often commence a project with
some instinct, a theme they want to
explore, hopefully some sense of character,
and here all of these elements had simply
walked up to me in the street and tapped
me on the shoulder. Moments like this in
life make you wonder what brought the
person to that moment.
It took Venero seven years to write
Candle Life. Sometimes you just have to let
it sit for a while. Sometimes those are the
books that work out best.
Similarly The Volcano took 10 years to
write but it won the Queensland Premiers
Literary Award for Best Australian Fiction
Book in 2002.
Since then, finding time to write has
become increasingly challenging.
The main thing was, and remains,
persistence. Now I write around everything
else I have to do.
And there are still rejections.
Ive never been a bestselling author, so
every new novel is a new test. After Black
Mountain I wrote two novels that havent
found homes yet. Its a strange feeling but
Ive a significant enough background in
rejection and acceptance to know you need
to persist and move on. I was particularly
excited about one book but the feedback
was unanimous it doesnt work. So I
went back to the drawing board with it
and reshaped it from a large novel to a
60,000word one called Crystal Girl. Its
much better but hasnt found a home.
Whats his final piece of advice?
Trust your writing process. When you
start a book you think you know whats
going to happen, but it adopts a life of
its own. One of the hardest things to do
is to take yourself out of the equation
and allow the story to tell itself. Graham
Greene compared writing with a plane
on a runway. Theres a long run-up, then
somewhere the book takes off. Youre the
passenger then, not the pilot.
The book Im writing at the moment
is going into its own territory. I thought I
knew what its about, but one of the major
characters has definitely taken the reins.
Im happily following wherever the hell
she wants to take me.
Venero is published by Random House and
the University of Queensland Press

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN07author.indd 8

13/05/2015 11:31:23

Cachet Travel

Creative Writing with Lesley Cookman

Writing Commercial Fiction

7 nights at The Mandarin Boutique Hotel Turkey

The UKs leading literary consultancy.

Cornerstones played a major part in turning me from an

amateur into a professional writer.
Janet Foxley, Muncle Trogg, Chicken House
Winner of Times and Richard & Judy bookclub choice

Structural editing, copy-editing and proofreading services.

Scouts for literary agents

Call 01308 897374

Visit www.cornerstones.co.uk

Listed by the Society of Authors

WF164-09.indd 9

Lesley Cookman is the author of the best-selling

Libby Sarjeant Mystery series. The 15th novel
in the series, Murder in the Blood, is due to be
published this spring and is in fact set in a village
on the Turkish coast, where Libby and her friends
are taking a well-earned holiday! Although best
known as a crime writer, Lesleys wealth of life
experience enables her to advise and coach
aspiring writers in a wide variety of genres.
The image of an author in their peaceful
and scenic writers retreat, glancing up
from their typewriter to gaze across the
sea, may be a clich, but few would dispute
that creativity needs the right environment
to thrive and that travel to foreign shores
can be a rich source of inspiration. So
when Lesley Cookman suggested that our
exclusive Mandarin Boutique Hotel would
make an ideal venue for a creative writing holiday, we needed little persuasion. Its
tranquil location, tucked away in the rural hills above the Lycian Coast, will help you
to stay focused, whilst the beautiful gardens and enticing swimming pool are perfect
for times of relaxation and contemplation.

7-night holiday
Dates: 5 - 12 October 2015
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: 6-10 people
For full details visit:
www.cachet-travel.co.uk/d/page-turkey-writing.html
or call 020 8847 8700

13/05/2015 11:46:10

READER LETTERS

Writers CIRCLE

Your news and views, writing tips and funny stories

RNA TEST

PARK N WRITE
In his letter Warm
PRIZE Wishes (issue #163)
LETTER Stephen Poxon asked:
Where is the best
place to write? As I live in a
small, dark basement at I tend
to head outdoors to write. I have
my favourite beauty spots to

10

MORE SPACES
Here are a few suggestions for
Stephen Poxon, which I hope will
be of use:
Use the kitchen table (one of
your preferred areas) and change
your eating or writing times so
they dont clash.
Write in bed. Sit up and use
your headboard as a back rest so
you are comfy and can write.
When it is warm, either sit
outside on a chair and write, or
nd a park bench and write.
Find a library to write in when
it is cold or wet.
If you have friends or relations
who are going away and need
owers watering, sh feeding
etc, then volunteer. Youll have a
quiet environment to work in and
theyll be glad of a house-sitter.
Cindy Shanks,
Todmorden, Lancs

Writers FORUM
Pin up this calendar to plan
and record your writing work
and then analyse your progress
at the end of the month

Im doing one of
three things: Im writing.
Im staring out the
window. Or Im writhing
on the oor

April 2015
Mon

Tue

Wed

.................................................................................................................................................
No of words of my book I will write each day/week ...........................................................
Willis Hall (1929)
Ram Dass (1931)

30

Poems written/submitted ...............................................................................................

Feature ideas sent out ....................................................................................................................................

Agents approached ..........................................................................................................

Thu

Edgar Wallace (1875)

Milan Kundera (1929)

Topics or ideas researched ...........................................................................................

Stories written/submitted .............................................................................................

Thomas Harris

Samuel Beckett (1906)

Seamus Heaney (1939)
Christopher Hitchens (1949)

31

William Wordsworth (1770)

Erich von Dniken (1935)

Bruce Sterling (1954)

Fri

Hans Christian Andersen (1805)

mile Zola (1840)
Sue Townsend (1946)

James Herbert (1943)

Barbara Kingsolver (1955)

1
8

Henry James (1843)

Jeffrey Archer (1940)
Benjamin Zephaniah (1958)

Charles-Pierre Baudelaire
(1821)

Kingsley Amis (1922)

2
9

Writers Forum #163 on sale

Courses/workshops/events attended ........................................................................

New things tried ..............................................................................................................

13

Sebastian Faulks (1953)

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

14

Charlotte Bront (1816)

John Mortimer (1923)
Alistair MacLean (1922)

Books read .........................................................................................................................

20
CHART SUCCESS
Writing-related income and expenditure

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

............................................................. Total earnt: ...........................Total spent: ...........................

Edward Gibbon (1737)

Cecil Day-Lewis (1904)
Edwin Morgan (1920)
Russell T Davies (1963)

Harper Lee (1926)

Terry Pratchett (1948)
Ian Rankin (1960)

Sum up your writing month in one word ................................................................

21

27
28
How mistaken was I? Every month
Ive looked at the Achievement
Chart in your centre pages and
thought what a waste of space it
was. Then last month I decided to
try it out and phew! What a lot
of work I got through.
After lling in the rst square
I couldnt bear to leave a single
one empty for the remainder
of the month. By 30 April every
square listed an achievement,
and more work and words were
produced than Ive ever managed
before.
Apologies for thinking waste
of space. The Achievement Chart
is now a rm favourite.
Stefe Dennis, via email

MOANER GEEZER
Charles Knightleys letter (Mens
Moan, issue #163) is a common
point I hear from many of my
writing students. When they
analyse a magazine and see all the
articles are written by women,
they wrongly assume the editor
only uses women writers.
My advice to them is always
the same: send the editor
some suitable material or an
appropriate pitch. An editor
cant publish by men if they dont

born 11 April 1940

Ken Robbins

Its been quite a couple of years.

Having joined the Romantic
Novelists Association New
Writers Scheme in January 2013,
I raced to nish my work by the
August deadline. Encouraged
by the feedback I received, I
made the suggested changes and
sent my baby on its way. With
barely a pause for breath I was
contracted to a publisher and
my book, Safe Harbour, became
a contender for the prestigious
Joan Hessayon Award. The winner
will be announced on 21 May at
the RNA Summer Party.
Back-pedal a bit and I had a
one2one with agent Lisa Eveleigh
at the 2014 RNA Conference
and I am now represented by
the Richford Becklow Literary
Agency. Not only that, but my
second book, Honey Bun, is
now available on Amazon as a
paperback and an ebook.
At the Summer Party I shall
be juggling a glass in one hand
and a canape in the other, a skill
I have almost honed at such
events but one which I am happy
to keep practising. My greatest
thrill, though, will be standing
in the line-up with the other
contenders, while at the same
time praying I havent spilled wine
down the front of my dress.
Natalie Kleinman,
London SE3

sit in to write short poems and

prose, but the British weather
is not always favourable. I end
up sheltering in a caf or two,
which is useful for observing
people who go on to inform my
characters and stories, but the
amount I spend on coffee can be
alarming.
Ive learned to take a ask and
nd a car park to sit in, preferably
at a supermarket with public
toilets. This way I get a comfy
seat in my car, the dashboard
and passenger seat double as
my ofce space, its peaceful and
has minimal distractions but still
has plenty of passing foot trafc
for me to use as inspiration for
my characters. Plus I can pick up
dinner on the way home.
Do other readers write in
strange places?
Samantha Kirkby,
Poole, Dorset

15

Henry Fielding (1707)

Louise Glck (1943)
Vladimir Nabokov (1899)

16

William Shakespeare (1564)

Margaret Kennedy (1896)

Sat

Washington Irving (1783)

Reginald Hill (1936)

Lewis Wallace (1827)

Paul Theroux (1941)

Karen Blixen (1885)

Penelope Lively (1933)
Nick Hornby (1957)

Sun

Maya Angelou (1928)

Dan Simmons (1948)

10

Robert Bloch (1917)

Arthur Hailey (1920)

Thomas Harris (1940)

Jeremy Clarkson (1960)

Joy Davidman (1915)

11

Alan Ayckbourn (1939)

Tom Clancy (1947)
Scott Turow (1949)

Sven Hassel (1917)

12

Not a waste
17of space!
18
19

Anthony Trollope (1815)

Sue Grafton (1940)

Walter de la Mare (1873)

Ted Kooser (1939)

Anita Loos (1889)

22
23
25
26
submit
anything
in24the rst
place.
The May issue of Womans
29 Fiction
30 Special
1 has 220
3
Weekly
stories, 19 written by women and
one by a man: me.
I dont know what the ratio
of female to male short story
writers is (particularly for the
womens magazine market), but
its probably greater than 19 to
1. But my point is this: I was only
published in a female-dominated
publication because I sat down
and wrote something.
So Charles, stop moaning and
start submitting!
Simon Whaley,
Church Stretton, Shrops

Robert J Sawyer (1960)

Larry Niven (1938)

John Boyne (1971)

AMAZON ANTIS
As a man who has won prizes in
your short story competition, Id
be the last to agree with Charles
Knightley about female bias in
Writers Forum. But it red me
up about another bias against
self-publication on Amazon.
The prejudice takes several
forms, including reluctance on
the part of some bookshops to
stock Amazon titles, and of local
festivals to allow open discussion
of the topic.
I have offered festivals talks
on the successful self-publication
of my rst novel, Wings Over

WritersFORUM #164

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13/05/2015 11:31:59

Just for fun

WIN

a years subscription!

The writer of the prize letter each month will win

a years subscription to the magazine. Please make
sure that you include your full name and address in
your email. Write to letters@writers-forum.com

Oh dear, it looks like Michelle Paver was having

a bad writing day. Can you spot the 20 errors in
this first draft of Dark Matter?

Ive seen it.

Until two years ago I commuted

to London from Dorset. The
daily journey meant five hours
to write! At first it was difficult
but in-ear headphones deadened
most of the bustle around me.
I was soon unhampered by
anything the commute could
throw at me, from crying babies
to my seat being knocked,
and from loud mobile phone
conversations to the clicketyclack of the train on the tracks.
Only one thing could break my
stride the persistent, rhythmic
sniffer.
Then I began working from
home and found the silence
sucked dry all creativity. After
a couple of weeks of this I
contemplated putting together a
soundtrack of train noises.
Fortunately I didnt have to
indulge such ridiculous notions. I
experimented with classical and
instrumental music playing quietly

comfort zone
A lot writing advice seems to
focus on writing what you know.
What I know well is writing in the
third person and past tense, so
when the flash competition last
month required a first-person
account written in the present, I
thought I had no chance.
Never one to turn down a
challenge I entered anyway and
came runner-up! So my advice is
to jump outside of your comfort
zone every now and again. You
wont learn anything new if you
always stick to what you know.
Sara Newnes,
Newport

EMail mystery
I have been submitting letters
to magazines for years, mostly
photos of my cat and comments
on TV shows. But now that
letters have to be submitted by
email I find that magazines often
forget to pay for the submissions
they publish. It is so embarrassing
having to remind them.
Recently, two months after
being published by the Daily
Mirror, I chased them up, and
they only sent me 5 instead of
the 25 it said beside the piece
of mine they published. Could
this be because of email? It never
happened when I used the post.
Delia Hume,
Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear

Writing the words makes me break out in a cold sweat. But I

have to set it down. I have too make sense of it.
The sky cleared just before noon, so we got our last site of
the sun after all. It was Guss turn to take the readings at the
stevenson screen but, I went with him to watch the Sun rise and
set which by now is pretty much the same thing. Algie stays
inside. She said it would spook him to see it go. This time, no one
suggested a ceremoniel whiskey.
Twilight. Behind the bird cliffs, the red glow of dawn, but to
the West it was night: the cold glimmer of star. The black bones of
the mountains jutted through the snow. On the shore, the whale
ribs glinted with frost, and the rocks sloping down to the sea was
white and smooth. The water was dark purple, vivid and strange.
Because of the cliffs, we couldnt see much. We saw the sky
turn bloody and enflamed as the sun struggled to rise. We saw a
slither of fire. An abortive dawn. The sun sank back defeated.
Gone
I shut my eyes and it was still there, blazing behind my
eyelid. I opened them. Gone. All that remained was a crimson glow.
So thats that, Gus said quitely.
Four months without the sun. It doesnt seem real.
In the doghouse, the dogs begin to howl.
Sent in by Tracey Glasspool, from Devon, who wins 25
11 glimmer of stars (plural).
12 rocks were white (plural).
13 we couldnt (misplaced
apostrophe).
14 bloody and inflamed (spelling).
15 sliver of fire (wrong word).
16 Gone. (missing full stop).
17 my eyelids (plural).
18 thats that, (misplaced comma).
19 said quietly (spelling).
20 dogs began to (wrong tense).

Persistent
distractions

in the background, and in the end

was able to work in total silence.
But I had come close to
employing someone to knock my
seat and spill tea on me with the
proviso that persistent sniffers
need not apply.
Christopher Mendham,
Walkford, Dorset

Corrections
1 have to make (wrong word).
2 last sight of (spelling).
3 Stevenson (proper name).
4 screen, but (misplaced comma).
5 watch the sun rise (no cap).
6 Algie stayed inside (wrong tense).
7 He said it would (wrong pronoun).
8 ceremonial (spelling).
9 the bird cliffs (no apostrophe).
10 to the west (no capital needed).

Summer. Its a subject I know to

be of interest to many who attend
such events, but the first mention
of Amazon and the shutters
come down. Had I self-published
through any other medium, I
think I may have met with a more
positive response.
I understand some of the
prejudices, but Amazon offers
hope for many of us who,
for whatever reason, have
been unable to break into the
mainstream, or cant afford other
self-publishing outlets.
People should be able to hear
about the process, and some
festival organisers are denying
them the opportunity.
Ron Powell,
Barry Island

25

Could you ruin a passage from a modern novel? Send your

error-ridden First Draft (around 250 words), and the 20
solutions, to firstdraft@writers-forum.com Please note that entries
are accepted via email only. We pay 25 for the best published.

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN10letters.indd 11

11

13/05/2015 11:32:06

FIRST STEPS

GET STARTED

Make writing pay

Douglas McPherson shows you how to

earn a living from words

heres a saying in
the world of musical
theatre: you can make
a killing but you cant
make a living. It often looks
that way in all elds of writing.
Topping the list of the worlds
highest earning authors, for
example, James Patterson
trousered $90 million last year,
while Dan Brown picked up
$28 million in second place.
You wont see such numbers
on the tax return of the average
writer, however.
A survey by the Author
Licensing and Collecting
Society claims that the median
income among professional

12

you can expect to make 100

to 400 per article. Daily
newspapers will pay between
200 and 500 (scoops and
exclusives command more)
while a feature in a weekend
supplement will earn a healthy
800 to 1000-plus.
The higher fees are harder
to achieve with frequency, but
are available on an occasional
basis to any writer with
the right idea and relevant
expertise, while lower payers
compensate with more regular
work you can become
de facto staff and contribute
to every issue.
Review fees from 10 to
100 can add up to a useful
extra income, while the
associated freebies act as an
income multiplier, saving you
the need to spend on DVDs,
theatre and concert tickets,
holidays and cars etc.
authors in the UK was 11,000
in 2013 and the median
income for all writers was
4000. Thats just a third of
the 16,850 that the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation says
is required to maintain the
minimum standard of living.
So should we all go and
work in a supermarket? Or
should writing be regarded
as akin to playing the lottery:
a guilty indulgence that will
only pay off if we get one-in-amillion lucky?
The truth is that its perfectly
possible to make a comfortable
living as a writer without being
a famous bestseller. So this

month well look at planning

a career that will let you give
up your day job as soon as
possible.

Features

Despite the proliferation of

unpaid writing opportunities
online, newsagents shelves
remain full of print titles that
make journalism the largest
paying market for writers.
Its also the most accessible. If
you pitch good ideas and can
write, editors at every level will
buy your work with no regard
to your age, background or
education.
For most newsstand mags,

Magazine ction

Its difcult to make a living

from womens magazine
ction alone. Lower-end titles
pay 50 to 100 per story. At
the top, expect 300 to 500.
The problem is that sales are
limited by the huge number of
writers chasing the very few
magazines that still publish
ction. Waiting times for a
decision are horrendous and
you invariably have to write
your story on spec, with
no guarantee of acceptance
whatever your track record.
Despite the drawbacks,
writing for womens mags
can be an enjoyable creative

WritersFORUM #164

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13/05/2015 11:32:49

Regard writing a non-ction book

as a career booster rather than
a direct income source
outlet, provide a reasonable
second income and be a
stepping stone to a book deal.

Serials

Writing serials for womens

magazines makes more sense
nancially. Although the
market is even smaller, serials
pay more per episode than
individual stories and its
easier to write several parts
of one story than as many
individual tales.
You can also sell a serial on
the strength of an idea, or a
short sample plus synopsis,
meaning a guarantee of being
paid for your work.

Novels

The 300 that My Weekly pays

for Pocket Novels may seem
derisory for 50,000 words
written on spec. But you can
re-sell to large-print publisher
Ulverscroft for a further 400
and also pick up additional
earnings from library borrowing
(expect around 100 per title
per annum). That makes a

Pocket Novel a somewhat

better prospect than it sounds
when compared to advances as
low as 500 that are often paid
by mainstream publishers to
rst-time authors.
The reason series detectives
are so popular, and why
mid-list authors with
mainstream publishing deals
are so prolic, is that you need
the royalties and PLR (Public
Lending Rights) income from
a large backlist to add up to
reasonable earnings in any
one year.

Non-ction books

Unless youre a celebrity in

your eld, and ideally on
TV, advances for non-ction
books also tend to be low.
Around 1500 is common
for a rst-time author. And
whenever youre negotiating
an offer bear in mind that most
books sell in tiny numbers, so
what you get upfront will often
be all youll ever see.
Writing a book will, however,
give you that all-important

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Douglas shares writing tips hes learned through experience

#5 Its easier to get a raise for your rst article

than your second
As Ive shown on these pages, the fees paid by magazines and
newspapers vary enormously. Less obvious is that many will pay
different writers different amounts and the rst gure they offer
may not be as much as they could pay. There are also instances
where the work involved in a short article is disproportionate
to the standard rate per word. So whenever you sell an article
to a new market, consider if the amount theyre offering sounds
reasonable. Although it may feel presumptuous, you have a much
better chance of negotiating a higher fee for your rst article than
for your second or third, once your rate has been set in stone.
Ask low payers to match what you get elsewhere. Or try asking
for 50 per cent more and they may come up by 25 per cent.
If you have a question about getting started as a writer,
please email Douglas at gettingstarted@writers-forum.com

TAKE THE STEP

expert status when it comes
to selling feature articles,
especially to the bigger papers
and magazines. Its possible
to earn several times your
advance from related articles,
so regard writing a book as a
career booster rather than a
direct income source.

Talks

Many authors supplement

writing income with associated
work such as tutoring writing
workshops and giving talks.
Author appearances in schools
can pay 150 to 1000. Other
groups such as the Womens
Institute and local societies
will pay less (20 to 50, or just
expenses) but you will have the
opportunity to sell your books
to the audience. If you buy
them at cost price from your
publisher, that means a prot
of 6 or 7 per book instead of
a royalty of 1.
Not every writer wants to be
a travelling book salesperson,
but those that do often make
more from direct sales than
through bookshops or online.

Portfolio career

If you want to make a living

from writing, my advice is
simple: concentrate on articles.
Three or four features a week,
across a variety of markets,
will yield an above-average
annual income and is easily
achievable, as long as you are
prepared to approach it as a
full-time job.
The beauty of feature writing
is that you dont have to give
up your dreams of bestselling
ction. The exibility of
freelance journalism will give
you the time to write short
stories or work on a novel
whenever you wish. That way,
youre still in with a chance
of winning the literary lottery
and joining JK Rowling in the
millionaires club.
In the meantime, if youre
getting paid to write all day...
well, youre already winning,
arent you?

Lesson 1
The most feasible way
of making a living from
words is by writing
articles for magazines
and newspapers.
Lesson 2
Paying the bills with
freelance journalism
is the ideal base from
which to branch out
into short stories
and novels.
Homework
If youve yet to write
an article, think of the
subjects youd most
like to write about,
or could write about
most knowledgeably,
be it hobbies or sport,
jobs, animals, or issues
such as parenting
or an illness. Seek
out some magazines
devoted to those
subjects or that cover
them on a regular
basis you may
already read such a
mag. Go through a few
issues and ask yourself
which articles you
could have written, or
what you could write
that would t in with
the existing content.
If youre already
selling articles, look
outside your comfort
zone for an idea you
could pitch to your
dream market.
Then get pitching
and earning!
Douglas
McPhersons
non-ction book
Circus Mania is
now available
in an Amazon
Kindle edition.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN12start.indd 13

13

13/05/2015 11:32:57

PROMOTION

HOW TO
TAKE AN
Author
Photo

5 Avoid author props Postbox eats

authors hand! Steer clear of authorial clichs
such as keyboards, notepads and pens, or
wine glasses. Author photos are about you,
not props (unless its a great trademark hat).

14

Rob Wilkins

You might hate having

your photo taken but at
some point a publisher
will ask for a head shot.
Simon Whaley puts on a
brave face to show how

1 Terry Pratchetts official author

photo A good author photo shows that
youre friendly, approachable and human.
Here, theres little to distract attention from
Terrys face, even though hes wearing his
trademark hat.

2 Avoid book promotion Avoid photos

that promote specific books or that try
to promote too many. If you want to avoid
having to keep updating your photo, a simple
head and shoulders pose will work for many
different projects.

6 Holiday faux pas Blurred holiday

snaps are unprofessional (it was a good
night, though), as are cropped photos with
a strangers arm round your neck. Author
photos are a professional business tool.

7 Look the reader in the eye The point

is to engage with the reader. Gazing straight
down the camera lens conveys confidence and
respect. Looking elsewhere suggests youre
more interested in something else.

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN14authorphotos.indd 14

13/05/2015 11:34:43

PERFECT
for WRITING
RETREATS
The Mount

Durlston, Swanage

3 Clutter-free composition Think about

your environment. Plain, simple backgrounds
work best. There may be skill in balancing
a hanging basket of daffodils on top of your
head, but it wont sell books.

4 Avoid awkward poses When it comes

to posing, less is more. Dont know what to
do with your hands? Dont have them in your
photo. A head and shoulders pose works best.

Large reception areas for group

workshops and socialising

Six bedrooms with twin or

kingsize beds and writing desks

8 Avoid low res Magazines print at

300 dots per inch and need highresolution
images. Internet images are only 72dpi, so
become pixelated and unusable. A file size
of at least 1Mb offers editors flexibility.

9 Dont forget to smile A simple

highres head and shoulders photo, with no
hands, props or poses, creates an engaging,
professional and multi-purpose image. And if
you can manage a smile, even better!

(No authors, postboxes or hanging baskets were harmed in the making of this feature.)

WF164JUN14authorphotos.indd 15

Surrounded by a private garden

and Purbecks inspirational
Jurassic Coast scenery
To book The Mount for
your writing group, please visit
www.themountswanage.co.uk

13/05/2015 11:34:56

Writing Exercise

Styling your story

Tone, tense, viewpoint
she felt like screaming. Of all the
rotten luck all her favourite people
gone over a few months! First the
split with boyfriend Darren, then
Gran moving out, now Anna going
The tone in Take a Break is
more streetwise; the stories
often told in a dramatic way, with
lots of sparkling direct dialogue.
The fiction in both magazines is
equally readable but the style is
very different.

Viewpoint

The tone of the fiction in that

magazine is often quite reflective;
the main problem emerging in a
subtle way. Had I aimed the story
at Take a Break Fiction Special, I
would have given it a more direct
feel something like this:

If you tell your story through

one particular characters
viewpoint all the way through,
his or her attitude will determine
that storys tone. Most editors
of commercial magazines prefer
their short stories written from
one viewpoint, so that the reader
can identify with that person all
the way through.
If you tell your story through
the eyes of 80-year-old Betty,
mugged on her way to the shops,
the tone will need to be far more
emotional than if youd told it
from the thugs angle.
Getting right into someones
mind and showing everything
from his or her perspective
their emotions, their reactions,
and so on is bound to affect the
style of the story.
If you use the first-person
viewpoint, rather than the
third, the reader will feel even
more closely involved with that
character. First person always
seems more intimate than third:

Jakes landed a new job, miles

away in Sussex. So well be off
soon. Louise grinned. Youll be OK,
wont you, Anna?
Suddenly struck dumb, Anna
stared at her friend. No, I wont!

Looking around at the other

candidates, I wanted to walk out.
How come they all looked so
confident? Beads of sweat broke
out on my forehead and I fidgeted
nervously.

Before you begin a story, think about how you want it

to make your readers feel, says Barbara Dynes

one is the overall feel of

your story, article or novel
and its important. Is it
to be a light, possibly humorous
read, or will you adopt a deeper,
more reflective approach?
In a novel of around 100,000
words, you have space and time
to change mood and style, but
there will still be an overall feel.
For instance, if you are writing in
the chic-lit genre, youll need a
light, bright, humorous tone; for
a thriller, youll strive for a darker,
more on-edge slant.
A short story for a womans
magazine will differ greatly in tone
from one written for a literary
publication, as will an article on
engineering compared with one
for a retirement magazine.
One of the most important
aspects of tone, of course, is your

16

market. Who are you writing for?

Give your readership (and the
editors/publishers) some thought
before you start to write.
Take womens magazines: the
approach you need to suit a short
story in Peoples Friend would not
do for Take a Break Fiction Feast.
This is the opening of a story
Ive just sold to Peoples Friend:
So well be moving pretty soon.
Jake cant wait to start his new
gardening job, having been out of
work for so long. Louise touched
Annas hand. Youll be OK, wont
you, Anna?
As though in a trance, Anna put
down her coffee cup and gazed at
her friend. The noise and bustle
of the caf seemed to have faded
into the background. Probably
through shock on hearing Louises

announcement, Anna decided.

What a blow! Two more people
vanishing from her life, all in the
space of a few months. First, her
own relationship with boyfriend
Darren had ended albeit by
mutual consent then Gran had
moved out

Writersforum #164

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13/05/2015 11:35:37

WritersFORUM

EXERCISE
You get more buzz
but in a longer story
present tense can feel
claustrophobic

The overall feel

Fill in the following charts for each of these

womens magazine short story openings.
First decide on a market for each, then
consider the tone, viewpoint and tense.

1 A story of around 1500 words:

Put that in the third person

and youll see that it distances the
reader a little more:
Looking around at the other
candidates, he felt like walking
out. How come they all looked so
condent? Beads of sweat breaking
out on his forehead, he dgeted
nervously.
Yet rst person is restricting
nothing can be revealed that the
I doesnt experience.
There is no right or wrong way.
A lot depends on the storyline
and the tone you want to adopt.
Some books, such as romances,
work better from just one
viewpoint throughout, others
benet from frequent changes.
A few novelists even switch from
third to rst person and back. But
there will always be a reason why
the author changes viewpoint. It
is rarely done just for effect.

Tense
Past or present? Usually the tense
will come instinctively to you as
you write, suiting the content.
But, again, your intended market
has to be considered.
Past tense is the norm for
short stories and favoured by
most editors. Yet present can be
very effective, albeit it will change
the tone considerably. Present
tense gives a more urgent feel,
its more immediate and can work
well for a short, snappy story
especially one covering a short
space of time. Also, emotional or
extremely tense situations can
benet by its use.
Heres an example in the past
tense:
I was suddenly wide awake. What
was that? Someone was moving

WF164JUN16exercises.indd 17

about downstairs! Petried, I got out

of bed and pulled on my dressing
gown. My heart hammered as I
opened the door.
Example (present tense):

The story centres round Emma, who is seeing Tom, a widower. They get
on very well, but his eight-year-old daughter, Suzie, wont accept Emma
in her fathers life. At Emmas house, Suzie has a tantrum, breaking a
precious ornament. Emma tells Tom the relationship must end
Target
magazine

Overall
tone

Viewpoint
character

1st or 3rd
person?

Past tense
or present?

Im suddenly wide awake.

What was that? Someone moving
about downstairs! Petried, I get
out of bed and pull on my dressing
gown. My heart hammers as I open
the door.
Somehow you get more buzz
from that second version.
Yet using the present tense
undeniably has its drawbacks.
In a longer story or, indeed, a
novel, it can get irritating and feel
claustrophobic unless especially
well done.
In the Guardian a few years
ago, author Philip Pullman
called the use of the present
tense an abdication of narrative
responsibility, adding that he
felt the storyteller should take
charge of the story and give a
broader account of what, where
and when events occurred.
That, of course, is difcult to
do when using the present tense.
So, as with the rst person, it can
be too restricting.
Whatever your own view, the
point is to think about the tone
and feel you wish to create
before you begin to write, and
always bear your market in mind.
Out of that tone will emerge
your own unique style.

Barbara Dynes latest

book, Masterclasses
in Creative Writing,
is published by
Constable & Robinson
at 9.99

2 A 1000-word story told mostly in dialogue:

Louise, a divorcee living with a new boyfriend, is furious when her
ex-husband, Dave, does not turn up to pick up their two sons. She takes
them round to his place herself and nds him in bed with his current
girlfriend. Louise screams at him. Then Dave casually informs her that
he is moving to France with the girl. There is a terrible row
Target
magazine

Overall
tone

Viewpoint
character

1st or 3rd
person?

Past tense
or present?

That last novel or story you enjoyed: reread

it, this time for study purposes. Did the tone
and tense suit the content? What was the
reason for any change of viewpoint? Might
the story have worked better if written in
the rst (or third) person? Taking the market
into consideration, would you have written
it differently?

Notes

13/05/2015 11:35:45

Fiction MARKET

InsideSTORY

Douglas McPherson explains why he chose an unusual structure

for a My Weekly story about a country singer

ve heard it said that

experimenting with form
and structure is the preserve
of the new writer. Thats
when you want to pull all
the toys out of the box: tales
told in letters, emails and
diary entries; plots unfolding
in reverse order; spoofs and
pastiches. Its by playing with
different styles and techniques
that you learn and find your
own voice.
As you mature as a writer,
the theory goes, youre more
likely to trust in the power of
your story and tell it in the
most straightforward way.
Perhaps as you gain experience
of life, as well as writing
you simply have more
substance to share and less
need to dazzle with gimmicks.
There are times, however,
when an unusual structure can
be the making of a story. That
was the case with Song from the
Heart, a My Weekly story that
just wouldnt come together
until I decided to try something
Id never done before.

Backstory

The writers Ive always

admired the most are country
song writers, especially the
classic storytellers like Tom
T Hall who conjure their
characters, plots and settings
so visually and economically
that the term in Nashville is
three-minute movie. Halls
Harper Valley PTA, a hit for
Jeannie C Riley, for example,
includes more characters and
social commentary than most
writers could cram into a novel.
Not only that, you can dance
to it! (Unlike James T Kirk,
incidentally, Halls middle T
doesnt stand for Tiberius. He

18

I imagined a succession of
characters coming into the caf one
by one. But the setting felt stagey
added the initial to make his
name more memorable and
when asked what it stood for,
hed say Talent!)
Todays country music has
changed a lot in style and
themes but, to me, its depiction
of rural America remains
enviably sharp.
Last summer I was listening
to a lot of Bro Country, a
rap-influenced sub-genre about
young country folks who,
living too far from nightclubs,
have what they call tailgate
parties out in the boondocks.
They load their pick-up trucks
with beer, congregate at a
moonlit lakeside, crank up
the music and dance in the
headlight beams or smooch on
their tailgates.
It was a totally different
culture to my own, but one
rendered so vividly in various
lyrics that I felt the urge to
write a story set in that world.
I hankered to spin a yarn baked
in the warmth of south Georgia
sunshine and full of all the
current country song tropes
from hot honeys in skimpy
shorts to skinny-dipping in a
lake, driving a pick-up down
a dusty road and kickin back
with a cold one in a koozy,
which is a thermal sleeve for
holding a chilled beer can. The
question was, where to begin?

Inspiration

One of my favourite country

images was of the water tower

where lovers spray-paint their

names for the surrounding area
to see. That gave me a mental
picture from which my story
sprang:
Kasey, a southern gal in
Daisy Duke cut-off denim shorts
and straw cowboy hat pulls up
in her open-top jeep outside the
U Need It We Got It general store
and caf, where she works. And
there on the side of the water tower
which overshadows the store she
sees a piece of graffiti that mortifies
her: Marshall Kasey.
Marshall is the richest, most
handsome bachelor in the county.
Kasey has only been to one tailgate
party with him. Theyve barely
kissed, but in her part of the
world, linking names on the water
tower is akin to announcing an
engagement in the local paper.
Thats not what Kasey wants
because shes secretly in love with
her childhood friend Cole, who
works next door in the Ammo n
Bait store.
Knowing the whole town will
be talking, she storms into the caf
and vents at an older, blowsier
co-worker who I decided to call
Darlene.
From there, I imagined a
succession of other characters
coming into the caf one by
one: Cole, who Kasey feels too
awkward to face; Kaseys mom,
an over-powering southern
belle whos already talking
wedding dresses and looking

forward to being related to the

rich folks on the hill; ShirleyAnne, the former prom queen
and Marshalls regular date,
whos after Kaseys blood; and
finally the cocksure Marshall
himselfs.

Second thoughts

There was a lot I liked about

that scenario mostly the
characters but a lot I didnt
like, which stopped me writing
it. The static caf setting and
procession of entrances (I
could hear the jangle of the
bell above the door every time
someone came in), felt very
stagey, like the script for an
episode of Happy Days.
It would also be dialogueheavy, which is not a bad thing
for magazine fiction, but with
so many characters it would
eat up a couple of thousand
words very quickly. Wed
probably never get out of the
cafe, which suddenly felt very
claustrophobic when I wanted
to write about the lake and
the heat haze on a sun-baked
road the wider sweep of
southern life.
Worse, a lot of the dialogue
would be filling in backstory,
which would clog up the
narrative.
By then, Id decided Kasey
and Cole had been childhood
friends and nerdy outsiders
at a high school dominated
by American football and
cheerleading. Kasey, who wore
glasses and a brace on her
teeth, and the unsporty Cole,
had been nicknamed Bucktooth
and Loser by Shirley-Anne
and Marshall who were the
glamorous popular kids.
Kasey was a late bloomer,
which was why being belatedly

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13/05/2015 11:37:15

Living In Harmony

FIRST CLASS FICTION

song from the

heart

Whats a country girl to do

when life is good or when
it turns bad? Write a song...

By Julia Douglas

called the first song on the

album Small Town Girl
because thats what I am. I
was raised in South Georgia
in a ll biddy place called Butchers Fork.
Its not really even a town just a fork
in the road where the hunters and
fishermen turn off down the dirt track
through the woods to the lake.
On one side of the street theres a
Feed n Seed depot and Neds filling
station. On the other theres the Ammo
n Bait store. Thats where Cole, who I
wrote the song with, used to work.
Next to that is the U Need It We Got It
general store and caf, where I worked.
Part from that, theres a line of blue,
yellow and white bungalows, a tworoom school and a little clapboard church
where just about everybody within a
five-mile radius was christened, married
and eventually buried in the shade of
the magnolia trees out the back.
Like I say in the song, its a place where
time moves slow and gossip moves fast.
The next song, Chasin Fireflies, is a
bluegrass tune about growing up in

JULIAS
LATEST NOVEL
Polka Dot Dreams
is available to
download from
Amazon or borrow
from your local
library.

26

Butchers Fork with my buddy Cole. The

girls in school teased me for having a
boyfriend but of course he was nothing of
the sort we were nine or ten years old.
Every day after class, hed carry my
books. I lived a quarter mile north of
Butchers Fork and hed walk home with
me before carrying on another quarter
mile to his house.
At weekends and all summer wed
chase fireflies in the woods, fish in the
creek and swim in the lake. We didnt need
a towel the Georgia sun would dry you.
Yep, Butchers Fork was a wonderful
place to be a kid. It was only when I hit

my teens that it lost its shine.

Heartbreak High is about the school
we went to when we got a little older. It
was five miles south in Clayton. Wed go
on a yellow bus and I hated every day I
was there. I must have been a
disappointment to my mom and dad;
they always said their high school years
were the happiest of their lives. They
wanted to relive all that through me.
But then, theyd been the popular
kids. Dad was captain of the football
team. Mom was chief cheerleader, and
Clayton High was the kind of school
where if you werent on the team or

cheering it, you werent anybody.

I was a skinny kid with glasses and a
brace on my teeth. I had about as much
chance of being a cheerleader as Cole
had of being a quarterback he wasnt
sporty at all. Bucktooth and Loser, thats
what the other kids called us, and we were
about the only friends each of us had.
We should have dated, but we were
both too nerdy to make a move. We
could only sit on the sidelines and watch
while the how can I put this?
precociously developed Shirley-Anne
romanced Marshall, the football hero.
It was around then I began to write

songs. Id sit on my back porch with

Cole and his guitar and wish we were
old enough to get out of town.
Georgia Dust is a song I wrote about
Ned who ran the filling station. Hed
taken it over from his dad and it was an
old-fashioned place with two rusty
pumps shimmering in the heat haze.
When I bought my first jeep I used to
pull in for gas and hed shuffle out in his
bib overalls and ball-cap, face like leather.
Hows your mom? hed drawl, and I
always wondered why hed ask, because
Mom never filled up at Neds. She
always topped up her tank in Clayton

when she went to the supermarket.

It was only years later that I found out
Ned had been in love with Mom in high
school. She turned him down to date
Dad. But all those years later, Ned still
held a torch for her.
I remember one time seeing the
wistfulness in his eyes as he watched her
cruise by in her Chevy Malibu, never
giving him a glance. It made me shiver
to think how time had stood still for Ned.
Still, that was how it was for a lot of
folk in Butchers Fork. It was easy to get
seized up in that Georgia dust.

Continued on page 29

www.myweekly.co.uk

www.myweekly.co.uk

pursued by Marshall had felt

like payback for all the high
school put-downs.
That was a lot of background
to get across in dialogue or
ashbacks when a good story
should be moving forwards,
not looking back.
But I did like the opening
image of Kasey arriving for
work and seeing her name on
the water tower. And if I didnt
start there, how far into the
past would I have to begin?
If I started in her childhood
and related everything in
chronological order, that would
be more like a novel than a
short story. And thats not what
I wanted to write.
I wanted to cram a lifetime
into a short word count, like
they would in a country song.

Subplot

While I was pondering the

above, I began to think about
another small town theme
that had been brought to my
attention while interviewing
Sheryl Crow about her country
album, Feels Like Home.
Crow had been to a
homecoming reunion and

realised that many of the

mists like herself who had
hated high school had left their
small town origins behind and
gone on to enjoy fullled lives
in cities.
Some of the popular kids, by
contrast, had come to realise
that their lives had peaked
in school. Once life no longer
revolved around football and
prom night the former local
heroes had become has-beens,
marking time in mundane
local jobs and maybe
disappointing marriages.
I thought that could have
been the lot of Kaseys mom.
In school, she and Kaseys dad
had been the Shirley-Anne and
Marshall of their day. Their
wedding had been like the
end of a high school romance
movie. But 20 years after the
happy ending shes come to
realise adult life hasnt been
much fun. Thats why shes
so keen to relive her dreams
through Kasey.
I thought Moms story
would make a nice subplot
to show what Kaseys future
could be like if she makes the
wrong choice. But, of course,

that meant tting in even more

backstory.

Possibilities

For a while, I contemplated

writing a serial, with scenes
variously viewed through the
eyes of Kasey, Cole and Mom.
I pictured Cole driving his
pick-up to the lake, nding
the remains of a bonre and
remembering the tailgate party
where Marshall romanced Kasey.
Mom, meanwhile, pops into
the little country church to
do some cleaning and thinks
about her daughters upcoming
wedding, before heading home
to the emptiness of her own
marriage. From across the street
shes watched wistfully by Ned,
the lling station attendant an
unsuccessful suitor from her
school days.
I liked the idea of Ned
representing a possible
future for Cole. But so many
characters alone with their
thoughts felt slow and lifeless,
whereas I wanted something
upbeat and lively, like a

27

Solution!

It was then that inspiration

struck. I was writing a pastiche
of country song images. So
suppose Kasey was a country
singer?
Like Crow, shes escaped
her small town beginnings,
but has written an album
of songs about her life. The
story could take the form of
an interview, with her telling
the story behind each song:
her childhood with Cole; her
high school years; the tailgate
party; the day her name was
on the water tower; her moms
story
It was the perfect marriage
of form and content and would
let me squeeze a lifetime into a
short word count just like the
songs that inspired it.

Next issue:

How I wove plot and subplot

together.
Theres more country
music romance in
Nashville Cinderella
by Julia Douglas
(Douglas pen name)

WritersFORUM #164

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19

13/05/2015 11:37:23

INSIDER INFORMATION

NEW ADULT
Phil Barrington talks to an editor and two writers in this new crossover genre

ew Adult is a comparatively new

genre. US author Carter Ashby and
Britsih author Aurelia B Rowl both
write for the market. Deborah Halverson
is a reader and editor of New Adult ction
and has been in publishing for 20 years.

How did the genre develop?

Deborah: The name was coined in 2009
by Dan Weiss, then an editor for St Martins
Press. He believed there was an audience
for ction about post-high school young
people and held a contest looking for new
adult manuscripts. It attracted writers
who had no avenue for publication.
Publishers felt these characters were
too old for YA (young adult) and not old
enough for adults.
Weiss published the contest winners but
bookstores didnt know where to shelve
them and readers werent consciously
looking for them, so not much happened.
Elsewhere, though, the Twilight series

Deborah Halverson

20

Theres an
overwhelming sense
of freedom and
responsibility, not to
mention fear
gained the loyalty of the adult crossover
readers whod discovered YA through
Harry Potter. Self-publishing gave writers
a way to publish, while social media gave
them a way to promote, and suddenly the
talk was all New Adult ction!

What is the genre about?

Carter: The main character is college age
to mid-20s. New adulthood heralds a lot

Carter Ashby

of rsts: college, living independently,

entering adult relationships. And with
those rst experiences is an overwhelming
sense of freedom and responsibility, not
to mention fear. Good New Adult will
capture some of that angst.
Aurelia: I rst heard the term New Adult
used in relation to books like Twilight and
The Hunger Games. Young Adult and Upper
Young Adult didnt quite seem to t. But it
wasnt until I picked up Beautiful Disaster
that I read my rst ofcial NA book.

Did you intentionally write NA?

Carter: No, but when I realised where
my characters were in terms of maturity
and looked at how they were dealing
with some of their issues, I knew my
books were New Adult. The women in
my Big Girl Panties trilogy are 24 but still
going through their rst experiences or
recovering from their rst major mistakes.
Aurelia: For me, writing NA was a

Aurelia B Rowl

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13/05/2015 10:31:40

natural progression, thanks to my vast cast

of characters in my Facing the Music series,
with their varying ages and stages. Book
one, Popping the Cherry, is a coming-of-age
novel that danced between Upper Young
Adult and New Adult. Book two, A Girl
Called Malice, is more clear-cut, with a more
mature storyline. Im now writing book
three, which is also New Adult since my
main characters are now 21 and 19.

What attracted you to the genre?

Carter: Ive read that NA is just Young
Adult with added sex, but when I rst
noticed the genre I was thrilled. Who
doesnt remember with vivid excitement,
horror or embarrassment their rst steps
into adulthood? Its a raw and emotional
time, ripe with possibilities for storytelling.
Aurelia: As a romance writer, I like NA
because it bridges the gap between your
typical coming-of-age novel and the
getting married/settling down type novel.
The characters still have some way to go
before reaching full maturity,.

Do you think there is a need for

this genre?
Carter: I think society has come to
recognise that the transition into adulthood
doesnt happen the day after you turn 18.
The prefrontal cortex of the brain continues
to develop and change well into your 20s,
and the hormones are still raging. The
struggle to leave the nest is both a social
and biological process and something we
all experience. So yes, I absolutely believe
there is a need for NA. Stories allow us
to process and relate to our environment,
our fellow humans, our own conicted
thoughts and feelings.
Deborah: Absolutely. I know from my
experiences with manuscript submissions
starting in the mid-90s, and from the
many interviews I conducted with

successful NA authors, that writers were

already writing these stories before 2012.
I agree with Dan Weisss assessment right
at the start that crossover readers were
craving something more than Upper YA
could give them.
Traditional houses have even gotten into
it, some establishing dedicated imprints
and some ofcially expanding their Young
Adult imprints. Now the challenge is for
NA writers to meet the very vocal call of
readers to push the stories beyond collegeaged romance and sexual exploration.
They want NA concepts and character
explorations to grow in depth and breadth.

What sort of subjects have you

written about?
Carter: Negative parental inuences,
mental health, domestic abuse, falling in
love, losing virginity, divorce. My work-inprogress deals with sexual identity.
Aurelia: Peer pressure, losing virginity,
friendships, dysfunctional families,
bullying and redemption. Up next is a
coming-out story, with the two families
having two very different reactions.
A reviewer once said I do not pull my
punches which is why youll nd drugs,
alcohol, sex featured in my stories.
Deborah: The dominant NA theme has
been contemporary realism, but there are
mysteries, sci-, fantasies (particularly
paranormal and dystopian) and more. All
seem to have a dominant, if not dening,
romance, with characters exploring their
sexuality, often in explicit detail.
Recurrent themes tend to orbit around
getting ones footing in the world and
assembling a social circle that reects
who the characters feel theyre becoming.
New adults remain as susceptible to
peer pressure as teens, but lack adult
censorship. Theyve enough life under
their belts to develop distinct personalities
but not enough to have acquired a deep

well of wisdom, giving NA writers plenty

of fodder for great ction.

Have you a top tip?

Carter: Read widely and observantly.
Certainly read all the New Adult you
can, but read beyond your genre. Read
thrillers so you can appreciate a detailed
plot, romance for the subtleties of character
development, historical ction so you can
understand the role of a rich setting.
Aurelia: Dont be tempted to emulate one
of the bestsellers. You need to nd your
own style, your own voice. If you cant nd
the story youd like to read, then write it.
Deborah: NA ction has been around
long enough now to have its own tropes.
Shake it up! Your concept and characters
must stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Deborah, what is covered in your

book on how to write NA?
Deborah: My goal with Writing New
Adult Fiction is to arm writers with an
understanding of what makes new adults
perspective and concerns different from
those of Upper YA characters and fully
matured adult characters. Successful
NA authors like Sylvia Day, J Lynn and
Molly McAdams contributed tips, as
did many NA editors and agents. I lled
the book with strategies for writing the
NA experience into the narrative voice,
dialogue, characters thoughts and
actions, plot and concept. Everything is
done with careful attention to the unique
needs of the writer and the expectations of
the New Adult audience.

Useful websites

www.newadultauthors.com including
archive of Camp NA podcasts
www.naalley.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/group/
show/85934-new-adult-book-club

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN20htbi.indd 21

21

13/05/2015 10:31:51

CA

may ju
refs to

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World-Class Professionals

MA Creative Writing

Complete a full-length book under the guidance of established

writers directed by Carol Ann Duffy
Novel
Poetry
Writing for Children & Young Adults

MA English Studies
with specialist pathways available in:
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Study in Manchester or by online distance learning

Scholarships available
Find out more: mmu.ac.uk/hlss/english/wrf
Or email: postgradenglish@mmu.ac.uk
Visit our Postgraduate Fair on 3 June or 2 September

Faculty of Humanities, Languages & Social Science

WF164-22.indd 22

13/05/2015 11:47:34

COMPUTING

Technophobia
Dont let Word start and end your computing experience, says
Keir Thomas, who looks at ve creative writing apps

Software
designed to
help creative
writers
A

surprising number of
software developers
are creative writers
too, and many have created
apps that scratch an itch they
felt wasnt served by the big
names of Microsoft Word and
LibreOfce. Below we take a
look at ve examples.

Papel

http://goo.gl/PsjsBR

Phraseology

http://goo.gl/v4CbWq
At rst glance, this 2.49 app
for the iPad is similar to
the distraction-free word
processors reviewed in last
issues Technophobia. There
are certainly no high-level
word-processor functions. You
wont even nd a nd text
function, although the live
spellchecking and autocorrect
features built into the iPad still
work. The intention is that you
start writing without being
bothered by a barrage of tools.
However, a thin strip at the
left of the work area offers
access to a handful of very
useful features for the creative
writer.
The rst is a paragraph
and sentence arranger. Once
selected, this splits your
writing into individual
sentences or paragraphs (you
tap between modes at the top
of the screen), and you can
then drag the sentences or
paragraphs around to reorder
them. Alternatively, you can
opt to delete them. At the
very least this allows you to

see your text from a different

and somewhat detached
perspective.
The Inspect button shows
statistics about your piece not
just character and wordcounts,
but various reading indexes
such as FleschKincaid, which
show how easy your text is
to read.
However, its the tool that
highlights different parts of
grammar that perhaps justies
the cost of this app. This simply
colour-codes words according
to whether theyre nouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
pronouns, determiners,
prepositions or conjunctions,
and you choose any or all
from that list. Considering
that overuse of adjectives is a
common newbie writer sin, this
is invaluable.

Atlantis Word Processor

http://goo.gl/vfQqkv

This 24.51 software for PC has

a handful of writer-friendly
tools built in, but at its core
is the kind of word processor
Continued overleaf

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN23tech.indd 23

This free-of-charge Windows

app has a slight learning curve
thats not helped by the lack
of instructions when you rst
run it. However, it is in fact
fairly simple to master, as youll
discover after a few minutes of
clicking around.
The app functions as both
a document organiser and
word processor but ensures
both tasks are as simple as
possible.
To start a project you must
right-click anywhere on the
document and select New
Papel. Papels are individual
components of your work
and this is the rst and only
terminology youll need to
learn. They appear as icons

in the workspace and can be

chapters or scenes, or character
descriptions, or chunks of
dialogue, or notes, and so on.
Once a papel has been
created you can drag it around
in order to visually arrange
the structure of your work,
and double-clicking any papel
opens it for editing in Papels
word processor.
The toolkit here is mercifully
simple forget about niceties
such as underlining misspelled
words, although you can run
a spellcheck pass later but
theres a handful of very cool
features, such as usage gures
that show how commonly
you use particular words or
phrases. A basic thesaurus is
built in too. Both are found on
the Tools menu.
A notable omission appears
to be the ability to export your
work to another word-processor
format, but you can print from
within Papel.
Theres an elegant simplicity
to this app that might appeal
to some and a lot of instruction
available via the help menu if
you can spare the time to work
your way through.

23

13/05/2015 10:33:27

TECHNOPHOBIA

youd expect to nd in any

ofce, albeit with a vintage look
and feel consisting of menus
and icons, rather than ribbon
toolbars.
Writer-friendly features are
evident as soon as you start
typing because each key press
is accompanied by a typewriter
sound effect, and words
considered misspelled are not
only immediately underlined
in red but accompanied by a
comedy horn. Once the cursor
reaches the end of a line a bell
sounds. Those who stare at
their ngers when typing will
surely appreciate this kind of
thing.
Type a word and a list
of suggestions will appear
beneath, a feature the Atlantis
creators call Power Type. Type
abi, for example, and ability
will appear instantly in a
pop-out window. Hitting the
Enter key will autotype it for
you, making it quicker to type
long or even short words.
Power Type learns your most
used words over time and will
also watch for words youve
already used recently, popping
up a warning window.
Hunt-and-peck typists might

Youre forced
to view your
work from
a different
perspective
consider it revolutionary.
Arguably the best feature
of specic interest to creative
writers is the Overused Words
tool, which can be found on
the Tools menu. This counts
individual word usage, letting
you jump to and from instances
of the selected word, and also
tells you if sentences are longer
than a set wordcount.
Theres much to like in
Atlantis and its the kind of
app that some people will

24

Send your computing questions to tech@writers-forum.com

nd indispensible. A 30-day
fully functional trial version is
available.

SmartEdit

http://goo.gl/cJ07UW
The apps reviewed so far in
our mini-group test have
all involved the creation
of new work. Although
SmartEdit (US$57 for PC; circa
38) includes a reasonably
competent word-processor
component, its main boast is
the ability to run an editorial
pass through stuff youve
already written.
Its not necessarily looking
for errors, and it certainly cant
replace a human editor, but it
checks for things that typically
slip past the eyes of writers
who are too close to their text
to spot such things.
Using the app is a matter
of loading your existing
word-processing le and then
selecting from the list at the left
of the screen what checks you
want to perform. Clicking the
Run Checks toolbar button will
then scan the document (it took
less than a minute to analyse
a 70,000 word novel), and the
results are shown under the
document in the middle of the
screen. Double-clicking any
entry in the list takes you to
that particular word, sentence
or paragraph within the copy.
The checks fall into two
categories: things worth
examining, and things almost
certainly requiring attention.
The latter category includes
such things as suspicious
punctuation, redundancies,
clich usage, misused words,
and repeated words or
phrases. The former includes
monitoring adverb usage,
possible profanity, repeated
words, words that start
sentences, and more.
A result of the scan is that
youre forced to view your
work from a different
perspective, even if youre
not xing problems, and in
each case the only reasonable
response is to think hard about
what SmartEdit has identied
and potentially apply a more

SmartEdit runs an editorial eye over work created in another

word-processing program, including a clich-finding tool

creative x. We didnt come

across a single instance where
we felt the app was wasting
our time.
It might be relatively
expensive, but of all the apps
here SmartEdit struck us as
the one most likely to make
its users into better writers.
Running any of your copy
through its lters takes only
minutes and really could lead
to better prose. If youd rather
stick to using Microsoft Word,
a plugin version of SmartEdit
is available for that word
processor priced $67 (circa 45).

Ulysses

http://goo.gl/G3Lknv
A number of sci- and fantasy
authors, amongst them
George RR Martin and Vonda
McIntyre, continue to use a
decades-old word processor
called WordStar. This is
despite the fact that its almost
impossible to make it work
on modern computers and
even in its day was a perfect
example of how software could
be arcane.
But this, say the authors
concerned, is the appeal.
WordStar doesnt show your
document in its nal form,
like Microsoft Word. Instead it
shows an embryonic version,
almost like a page from a
typewriter. And while the
software is hard to learn,
climbing the initial learning
curve means the user forms a
bond, after which the software

repays loyalty with speed and

precision.
Although created only a year
or two ago, Ulysses (14.99 for
the iPad) put us in mind of this
interaction. Youll have to learn
about sheets, which is how
the app refers to components
of your creative work. You can
add bold and italics, but theyre
added as markup, meaning
theyre surrounded by asterisks
or underscore characters.
There are other complexities
too, but the result is that you
are left to create in peace,
without being able to think
about how the nal piece will
look. The words take centre
stage.
Additionally, once youve
got the hang of it, you should
nd it faster than using a real
word-processing program, a
boon if youre writing books
the size of those in the Game of
Thrones series.
Ulysses isnt for everybody
but it performs a curious
rug-pull under the feet of those
who believe word processors
should be all about WYSIWYG
(what you see is what you get).
Keir Thomas has been writing
about computers for two decades.
A bestselling Kindle author, his
debut novel The
Rock & Roll Beers
has been published
as an ebook and is
available through
the Amazon,
iBooks and Nook
stores

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN23tech.indd 24

13/05/2015 10:33:37

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and copy editor.

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26

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13/05/2015 16:08:41

Freelance Markets

THE magazine SCENE

Adam Carpenter gives a round-up of launches, trends and other magazine news

Wanted: ideas that are hot to trot

Horse Illustrated is a New York-based equestrian magazine but it
welcomes submissions from anyone with a riding background and
good ideas. Here are a few pointers:
Target your pitch to experienced horse owners, rather than
novice riders. Editor Elizabeth Moyer says: The magazine promotes
responsible ownership, from providing tips on better care and
training of your animal, to alerting horse lovers about pertinent
issues in the equine community. We direct our articles to the
adult audience.
Think of ways to give owners a better experience with their
horse and also enrichment activities which can benefit the horse.
Elizabeth says: We need informative, in-depth, upbeat articles
(limited to 2000 words) that will help readers care for and enjoy
their horses. They may be about such topics as training for both
horse and rider, management or horse-related events.
What to avoid? Fiction, poetry, tributes to deceased horses,
book reviews, breed profiles. And longer pieces and columns are
always assigned to experienced, regular contributors.

Recent coverlines: Cope with riding anxiety real life solutions;

Go eventing a first timers guide; 30+ ways to keep your horse healthy
during an outbreak

Visit: www.horsechannel.com/horse-magazines/horse-illustrated

Market NEWS

How to couch submissions to Therapy Today

Want to be sure that your copy isnt tarnished by the usual

magazine clichs? Then you could do worse than study the
work of long-time Daily Mail sub-editor Margaret Ashworth. Since
retiring in 2012, she has compiled a revised and extremely
comprehensive online version of the papers style guide available
free that will quickly warn you off words and phrases such as
broad daylight (what is the alternative, she muses, narrow
daylight?) and moving on with my life. There are many other
sections to her guide, all very much worth studying in depth. Visit:
http://stylematters.margaretashworth.com you will never write
the same way again and editors will love you for it.

If you have experience of the world of therapy, online magazine

Therapy Today would be keen to hear from you. Whether youre
a psychotherapist, researcher, supervisor or even a student in an
appropriate field, heres how you can turn your knowledge of the
subject into great articles:
The magazine has around 40,000 readers who are counsellors,
psychotherapists and trainees with a range of different skills. You
have to capture their interest and be relevant, so editor Sarah
Browne suggests: Have a clear idea of the concepts and information
you wish to convey and why they matter.
The wordcount for most features is 2200 words, considerably
less than your average dissertation! Convert your theories and
findings into a narrative format to engage the reader. Dont write an
academic essay, warns Sarah.
Liven up copy by using case studies from your practice, but be
sure individuals cant be identified from the details and obtain their
permission as they will be able to recognise themselves.

Visit: www.therapytoday.net
26

Ticketmaster wants to expand its blog posts about

forthcoming events, which currently stick to scant details.
Blog manager Jessica Bridgeman is keen to hear from guest bloggers
and says: Were at the heart of Ticketmasters events, so hearing
from other experts in these fields or the people involved is
encouraged. We like to cross genres, where possible, to keep the
blog experience more rounded, so if you are an athlete who has a
secret passion for pop music (or vice versa), get in touch. Check
out forthcoming events that might spark an idea and then email
blog@ticketmaster.co.uk

Writersforum #164

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13/05/2015 10:34:13

THIS WRITING LIFE

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

UNDER PRESSURE
BLASTING NEWS
This citizen journalism website has achieved great
success in Italy and also other parts of the world
and is now making waves in the UK. Blasting News
has 10,000 members contributing to a wide variety
of sections. Heres how you can get involved

Become a blaster
You have to register to start contributing articles but it
is a simple process just have a good read through the
accompanying Blasting News Contract to make sure you are
happy with the terms and conditions. You are responsible for
the accuracy and appropriateness of the content you provide in
much the same way as you would be when posting on Twitter
and other social media sites. And though your work remains
your property, Blasting News expects to have rights to use
whatever you post across other platforms.

Pick your subject

ometimes I wish I could write as well as I used to and no,

thats not a cue to pen a letter of agreement to the editor!

What I mean is, there are days when the words just wont

come and I pick up one of my previously published articles and

marvel at how smoothly it ows. Why cant I write like that today? I
wonder in despair. It was only a month ago that I penned that piece.
Of course, what Im really wishing is that I could write a rst

draft that reads as smoothly as the nal one. Looking at my

printed work I forget that every assignment begins with me sitting

at a blank screen wondering if Ill ever write a coherent sentence

again. How about this intro? I ponder. Or that one? What if I put this
point up there and that one down there? But wait a minute, if I do that,
this other bit wont t

Getting the bones of a piece in order is always hard graft, and

then comes the polishing: untangling convoluted sentences,

Choose from the numerous categories and sections on the site

and dont be afraid to suggest a new one. What is important
is that you know what you are talking about and that you
are offering something that isnt available on the main news
websites, whether it is hard news or strong opinion. The
guidelines say: Blasting News promotes high-quality information
written by individuals showing a high level of expertise,
authority and trustworthiness in their areas of interest.

cutting repeated words, inserting better ones. Editing is actually

Self-sub

a few weeks hence, this hold-the-front-page stuff was a jolt to

Taking note of the style guidelines is especially important as this

has an effect on how your article is read once it has been posted
up on the site and it will also minimise the chances of rejection
by the Blasting News correctors. One interesting point to note
is that you mustnt write your piece with Google in mind, ie
dont worry about how high up search engines will position your
nished work. As the Blasters Guide states: The article has to
be useful to the users. It is not only about persuading readers to
click on the news.

Fees paid

the bit I enjoy. I like to take my time, ne-combing until theres not
a comma out of place.

But what if you dont have the time to take? The other day, at

4.30pm, I pitched a daily paper a feature based on a breaking

news story. At 4.48, the editor asked if he could have it by 9am

next morning, to go online. For a magazine hack used to deadlines

my system, but naturally I said yes, then hit the phone to set up
the necessary exclusive interview. I got my interviewee on the

phone at 8pm, and because he was so excited to be in the paper,

what should have been a half-hour chat stretched to 45 minutes.

Transcribing it took until 10pm, and thats when my brain seized

up. How should I start? What was I trying to say? At 11am I still

didnt have a clue. At midnight I realised Id spent an hour writing

two sentences, which both stank.

Getting nowhere fast, I decided to get some sleep, and start

Payment is made in euros and ranges from a measly 1 to a

decent 150 per article, depending on number of hits. You will
only get paid after you have accumulated a total of 50 but
some frequent contributors are apparently earning over 1000
per month. Keep an eye on how hard youre having to work.

again at 7am. Bleary-eyed, I cobbled the feature together by

Visit: uk.blastingnews.com

nobody else noticed. So is the compulsive polishing I normally do

8.30 and polished it as best I could before sending it in on the dot

of nine. By ten it was online and I cringed at everything I would

have changed if Id had an extra day to work on it. But the thing is,
necessary, or should I learn to stop when its just good enough?

WritersFORUM #164

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27

13/05/2015 10:34:25

ADVICE PAGE

Got a question or advice for one of these readers? Email help@writers-forum.com

Need advice on writing and publishing? Novelist

and short story writer Della Galton can help

Should it be mum or Mum?

Q

I never know whether to use a

capital letter or lower case for family
names such as Mum or Dad. Is there a
particular rule about this?
Jayne Fallows, Stockport

This is something that trips a lot of

writers up, but unlike much of our
language theres an easy rule. If youre
using Mum or Dad as a name, for example
Hello, Mum, or Im going to buy Dad a
present then it should be capitalised.
But if youre saying, Im going to buy my
dad a present, then you are using dad as an
ordinary noun, not a name. Basically, any
time you put my (or your/his/her/their/Bills
etc) in front, then mum and dad are lower
case. The rule applies to other relatives I
like my aunt Jane, or I like Aunt Jane.
Lots of people use capitals everywhere:
in Summer; my Boss; he headed West. These
are all wrong. Its probably a hangover
from the 17th and 18th centuries when
English writers were inuenced by their
peers on the continent, particularly in
Germany, where every noun has a capital
letter. But the fashion died out and we
should now use capitals only for proper
nouns. That said, they are still good for the
odd bit of emphasis, such as, My mother
said a Very Naughty Word.

Ive nished my manuscript and

checked it over and over. I feel
that plot and grammar are both sound,
and that the story has appeal, but I am
concerned that it doesnt read well, and
cannot pinpoint why. Of course, this
could just be my own self-doubt.
To put an end to the endless readthroughs, I feel it is time for an outside
party to have a read and give a more
objective sense of what improvements I
should make to the nal draft. I intend to
upload the rst few chapters to You Write
On (where fellow writers read and offer
advice on smaller sections of text), so I can
polish them ready to be submitted, but

28

I would like some help with getting my

entire novel up to scratch before I start
approaching publishers and agents.
Or does having a perfect manuscript not
matter at this stage? If I submit the rst
few chapters and they are accepted, will I
be given editorial assistance by the agent
or publisher? What are my options?
Alison Crocker, via email

As you suspect, there are several

different stages to getting a novel
ready for publication. Here is a very rough
guide, presuming your novel is complete:

1 Edit novel, looking for structural points

ie does plot work, are characters

believable, does the story work as a
whole?
2 Get second opinion this could be
trusted readers, or a critique agency if
you dont have any readers.
3 Rewrite and edit with suggestions in
mind. Check for accuracy and continuity,
including redraft/cutting of superuous
scenes.
4 Final read a proofread by you.

It sounds as though you are at stage

two. I strongly recommend a cooling
down period between stages of at least a
fortnight, so you can approach your novel
with new eyes. As youve discovered, its
very hard to edit when you have only
recently nished writing. You are too close
to your work.
If an agent takes you on, they will
probably offer editorial assistance, but
you need to get your novel as perfect as
possible before this stage in order to give it
the best possible chance.

I once wrote to an author to ask

why he had described a true event
extremely inaccurately. I got a terse reply
saying that the author had the right to
interpret the event as he pleased. I am
now trying hard to break into the womag

ction market and am also working on

two novels based on my job (with the
usual precaution of no names etc). Is it
permissible to gild the lily or should I
stick to the truth?
Norma Willoughby, Halifax

I agree with the phrase, Never let the

truth get in the way of a good story,
but there is also the matter of believability.
All ction has to be believable. Will
an editor reject a story on the basis of
improbability? Yes, they certainly will. If
they feel an event is highly improbable
say, for example, it relies on a series
of coincidences then they will reject
a story based on that event, even if the
coincidences actually happened in real life.
I know this might seem paradoxical,
but to mention another well known quote,
Reality is stranger than ction. And
reality doesnt often translate very well
directly into ction. Real-life people often
act out of character, do things for bizarre
reasons or sometimes for no reason at
all. In ction they cannot do this because
its unsatisfactory. Fictional stories have
to be better than this. Characters need
believable motivations.
Therefore, and I hope Im not being too
confusing, its often a mistake to stick
rigidly to real-life events as they dont
always sound believable enough. Our job
as writers is to take readers into a ctional
world that sounds likely, even when its
made up. I nd that this is best achieved
by making sure our characters have clear
motivations. I hope this helps.

Win Dellas new book!

Each month the best question or

most helpful letter wins a copy
of Dellas book How to Write
and Sell Short Stories. Readers
can get a 25 per cent discount by
quoting WF25 when ordering
at www.accentpress.co.uk or by
phone on 01443 710930.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN28agony.indd 28

13/05/2015 10:35:09

INSPIRATION

THE WRITERS

have been studying and attempting to

practise mindfulness for a few months
now and want to share with you the huge
difference its made, not only to my life in
general, but my life as a writer in particular.
Mindfulness is about learning to live in
the present moment, accepting what is
and enjoying the journey, rather than being

IDEA

STORE

so its branches were bare but they were

festooned with little quivering crystals as the
raindrops hung there for a moment before
dropping. It was as if I was seeing rain for the
rst time.
I cant pretend that moment was the
inspiration behind a story, but Im sure next
time I want a rainy day setting, my writing will

Paula Williams asks you to discover the magic of mindfulness

constantly focused on the destination the
future or fretting about the past.
As an example, Im at my desk, writing
this, slightly stressed because, as always, I
dont know how to start it. Am I enjoying the
process? I love writing; its what I do. But right
now, in this moment, when Ive already tried
and discarded three openings? Maybe not so
much. So, before I start on opening number
four, Im going to close my eyes and take a
mindful pause.
I hear a blackbird scolding next doors cat.
I feel the warmth of the sun streaming through
my study window, hear the cars on the road
past my house. Then I focus on my breathing
for a few minutes and make a conscious effort
not to follow those little panicky trains of
thought like, What if I tried this? or Should
I open with that? Just breathing and enjoying
being in the moment.

Hang on, I hear you say, I thought this

column was about writing, not some New Age
stuff about nding your inner self! But writing
is about nding your inner self, isnt it? Where
else do those ashes of inspiration that take
your breath away come from?
The other morning, I opened the curtains
to discover it was raining. Hard. Normally,
Id grumble about how dreary it was, how Id
get soaked just getting to the car. But that
morning I stopped and looked, really looked
at the scene outside. Focused on the smallest
detail, as if watching in slow motion or
maybe through a magnifying glass.
First, I noticed the way the raindrops hit
the puddles on the drive, sending out little
circles of movement so that the whole
surface danced with the energy of it all. Then
I looked across at the acer tree outside my
bedroom window. It was early in the year

FICTION SQUARE
Roll a dice to nd all the ingredients for your next story
Ist & 2nd roll

3rd & 4th roll

5th roll

6th roll

7th roll

Characters

Traits

Conict

Location

Object

Volunteer

Naive

Rivalry

Plane

Invisibility
device

Paramedic

Cheerful

Coming
of age

Rainy street

Skateboard

Traveller

Racist

End of
an era

Sports
stadium

Cream pie

Sales person

Alcoholic

Feeling
abandoned

Bedroom

Gun

War hero

Unsuccessful

Old secrets

Cemetery

Musical box

Carpenter

Pink haired

Sins of the
father

Back alley

Ancient
spellbook

be richer as a result of the experience. And it

was a lovely start to my day. Why not give it
a go?
Mindfulness hasnt completely shut up that
nagging inner voice but it has helped me be
a little more selective when it comes to how
much attention I pay it. And, best of all, Ive
learnt how to shut it up at night and this has
brought an unexpected bonus.
A few months ago, I wrote here about how
I was stuck on my current work-in-progress,
a murder mystery that was getting so out of
hand, even I didnt know whod done it or
why! Usually when Ive got a problem like this,
I start going over and over it the minute my
head hits the pillow. But this time, using my
mindfulness techniques, I told myself there
was nothing I could do about it at the moment
and that it would all sort itself out. I kept
doing this until I fell asleep.
And what do you know? The next morning,
there is was. The solution, all neatly mapped
out in my head. All Id needed to do was sleep
on it, add a tiny shift in perspective and my
problem was solved.
I cant tell you what my solution was
because that would mean telling you
whodunnit, and Im hoping youll all go out
and buy copies of Womans Weekly when this,
my latest serial (entitled Sweet Singing in the
Choir) appears. But it was a great example
of learning to let go and trust in the creative
process. I cant wait to try it again when my
next murder mystery grinds to a halt which
could be any time now!

ow thrilled I was that in the March

edition of Writers Forum, entrants
to the Flash Fiction competition
were asked to use my Fiction Square to
write their stories. I couldnt wait to see the
results. At the time of writing this column Ive
just read the winning story and my sincere
congratulations go to the winner, Mairibeth
Macmillan, for her beautifully crafted,
thoughtful story, Irreplaceable Parts.
This months ash comp is again based
on the Fiction Square, so why not try it? All
the entry details you need are on page 59.
Combine it with a bit of mindfulness magic,
trust the creative process and you could well
have a winner. Whatever the result, do let me
know how you found it!

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN29ideastore.indd 29

29

13/05/2015 10:35:41

Corinne Cole
Writing student

A psychological thriller

As a single parent who works

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LIKELY STORIES

Tales of my GURU

by Hugh Scott

The mystery mentor turns his eye to character description

idsummers Eve is not the time

for wandering through English
woodland, because beech trees
twist themselves into naked,
grey esh, and birds dart unaware that
daylight is lingering into unnatural dusk;
and in this false gloaming, movement
that is neither bird nor animal can step
into view and take away the soul of any
foolish wanderer.
And I was a foolish wanderer; for,
having no eye for fairies and no thought
for the dancing faun, I accepted that the
giggles shimmering in the air arose from
children. I should have known better.
Dialogue.
Robin Hood lowered himself from a
tree.
He stood on the greensward, a dusty
bottle in one hand, and in the other a
basket bright with fruit and dark with
venison; and I realised that Midsummers
Eve truly was magical, for this creature,
this myth, was my own avatar of drama,
my precious Guru, who could nd me
anywhere under the moon to advise me
on my amateur writing.
Sit! he cried, so we sat, and he poured
brandy into cups and sliced me a slice
of venison Your dialogue is good, he
announced and slugged brandy.
But, I suggested.
But you are forgetting characterisation.
Every line of dialogue should hint at the
person speaking. He pointed briey,
and a giant approached out of the trees,
and I realised that I was not far from
Hathersage, where the bones of Little John
slept beneath a gravestone lengthy enough
to hold down two men.
Master Hood, acknowledged the giant.
He stared at me and I stood up
He is more than two yards high,
Master Hood, but a mere child that I can
scrag like any puking infant! And he
reached for my throat, but faded into the
green air, so that I sat down suddenly, my
hands trembling.
That wasnt very nice, I gasped.
I know where you live! I shouted.
I remembered that he was dead in
Hathersage. I gulped my brandy.
A movement stirred the leaves of a hazel
and a thigh peeped from under drapery
and a nymph danced, stealing my senses.
Then she spoke as a running stream

speaks so that I scarcely heard the words

but reeled beneath the music of her voice:
Come. Thou art fair of limb and face.
My dance is for you. Step with me, and
we shall laugh and love and linger on the
Trod oh! forever in this endless evening !
Then she was gone, and I sat amazed,
my slice of venison staining my lap.
What, I demanded, are you doing!
And my Guru smiled so that I knew I
had nothing to fear. He ate, and drank
brandy, and nodded past me; and suddenly
there, at my shoulder, was something I
really should fear a satyr, perhaps just
one yard high, but red-eshed and horned
with a thin, evil face and eyes lit with
inward re.
You dare to trespass among my prey,
my deer, my hogs, my creeping herisson
whose blood is mine
Then he shrivelled and vanished, and
my skin was prickling with horror.
I dont understand! I cried. Why ?
Wait.
I waited, panting. I really did not like
what was happening. Something to do
with dialogue.
Couldnt you just write down what you
want to tell me? I whispered.
That brandy is a thousand years old and
can steady the nerves of Watch out!
And I jumped and shufed back against
a tree. The woodland had darkened and
branches swayed so that leaves rustled
and faces gazed down, round faces with
no expression and perhaps wearing old
hats and tattered scarves; then clattering!
like sticks knocking on sticks as the
creatures descended from the trees,
old coats tied around with string and

straw gaping from their cuffs.

Scarecrows.
I almost preferred the satyr.
They rattled their wooden limbs as they
gathered around us. Their mangel-wurzel
heads tilted as they gazed out of holes
instead of eyes.
And they spoke, though no mouths
moved for most had no mouths.
What? they said. Why? Again
Midsummer? Rooks and crows and the
pecking skylark? The sweeping scythe?
We know We know nothing. Who?
And they all said, Who? in a horrid
whisper that brushed my cheek with
turnip breaths.
My Gurus hand reached for me,
steadying me, and we were alone, my
nerves shaking.
This is one tough lesson! I gasped.
Dialogue?
I chose those creatures, said my Guru,
because they are like nothing you will
ever meet, and I let them speak in their
own voices not in the voice of a writer
to demonstrate that any character in
a story should speak according to its
nature and according to its knowledge
and according to its desires. The writers
nature that is, your nature should not
appear. Dialogue must be characteristic of
the speaker.
Brandy, please. How do I get out of this
wood?
That path leads to Hathersage.
I nodded, suddenly feeling clever. It also
leads away from Hathersage.
So I snatched the brandy and ed.

Use it or lose it
You dont want to know about the Trod. It is
not the path to Hathersage. But it is a path.
It is a path that real people can take only on
Midsummers Eve, and once on it, they cannot
leave: they can only laugh and dance and love,
and live forever. Dont use it. Although
The early adventures
of me and my Guru are
published in a superbeautiful hardback, Likely
Stories, published by How
Stories
To Books for less than a
tenner thats the price of
ve coffees. Treat yourself.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN31guru.indd 31

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13/05/2015 10:36:28

Wells Festival
of Literature
2015 Competitions
Short Story and Poetry
Entry fee 5

Prizes
500, 200 and 100 for each category
Plus
The Hilly Cansdale local prize of 100 for Poetry
And the Wyvern local prize of 100 for the
Short Story

Judges
Peter Oswald for Poetry
Rhidian Brook for Short Stories

Closing date 31st July 2015

Full details from
WFAdvert-090315.qxp_Layout
1 16/03/2015 14:20 Page 1
www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk

or telephone 01749 673 244

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WF164-32.indd 32

08456 434 179 office@indie-go.co.uk

13/05/2015 15:41:17

PRODUCTIVITY

days a week

In the final column, Phil Barrington sums up the series in three words

been kept awake most of the

night by a fierce storm.
I think of that every time I
dont feel like writing. It was
freezing, I was sick and this
was supposed to be a holiday,
but I picked up my pen and
notebook and wrote. I just did
it. The success of that story
always reminds me to tough
it out.

ver the past months

Ive asked other writers
for their time-saving
tips. Ive come up with ideas for
you to find more time to write
but, in the end, it all boils down
to three little words:
Just do it!
Yes, thats the secret to
getting your novel written,
seeing a short story published,
receiving that email accepting
your article idea.
I once lived next door to
a busy journalist. One day
while we were in our gardens
chatting over the fence an idea
for a story came to me. I told
him and he said: Go, write it
before you forget and while the
energy is with you.
Stupidly I decided to stay
and finish our conversation.
Five minutes later, at the
keyboard, my idea had faded.
The energy had gone from
it but Id learned a valuable
lesson. In future I would just
do it and not put off writing.
One fellow writer told me:
Years ago I had Wednesdays
off. I worked Saturdays so
still did a five-day week.
Sundays were for family but
Wednesdays were for me. I
would sit and write all day.
The strange thing is, when
I decided to write full time
I didnt produce any more
work than I had on those
Wednesdays. It took a long
while to realise I needed to sit
there each day and just do it.

Screw it, lets do it

Thats one of Richard Bransons

favourite sayings. Its also the
title of a book in which he talks
about what he has learned
in his private and business

Do it, dont regret it

life. He talks about people he

knows who, when faced with a
project, will say an outright no
or want to think about it.
Lets talk books here. You
have an idea for one and
dismiss it or want to think
more about it.
Why do you dismiss it?
Is it because you lack the
confidence or lack the time?
Why are you thinking about
it? Is it so that you can find a
good excuse not to begin?
Have you ever considered
telling yourself: Screw it, lets
do it! You might be surprised.
Why not forget look before
you leap and instead jump in
and start planning, or start
writing, and keep on just
doing that until something
stops you? After all, that may
never happen. You wont know
until you try. You could carry
on doing it until your writing
project is complete.

A novel in three weeks

Popular rom-com novelist

Christina Jones believes in
just doing it. When she was
starting out and her first book,
Going the Distance, was sold to
Orion, she received a two-book
contract.
I thought a two-book deal
meant I had to write two books
before I got any money, she
says, so I wrote the second
book, Running the Risk, in three
weeks. I wanted the money so I
just did it.
Christina is currently writing
her 25th novel.

Tough it out

One of the stories Writers

Forum regular Glynis Scrivens
is most proud of was written
on a day when nothing was
going right for her. She says:
I woke with a headache
after four hours sleep. I was
recovering from flu and had

The two biggest problems

a writer faces are telling
themselves they dont have
the time and procrastination.
If this sounds like you, then
you need to give yourself a
wake-up call. Just do it! Because
if you dont, you will end up
with regrets.
Bronnie Ware was a
palliative nurse, living in
peoples homes for their final
weeks. Whilst doing this she
learned a lot about how to live
her own life so she wouldnt
have the same regrets when her
time came.
Later she wrote a book
called The Top Five Regrets of
the Dying. Most people shed
nursed wished theyd simply
had the courage to be who they
were and to voice their own
opinions. Losing touch with
friends was another regret,
together with creating the life
they wanted to live rather than
the one expected of them.
Is the life you want to live
that of a writer? Then dont set
yourself up for regrets. Surely
it would be better to have tried
and failed than never to have
tried at all?
If youve been threatening
to write for years, now is the
time to ask yourself: If I dont
do it, will I regret it?
Just do it!

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN33time.indd 33

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13/05/2015 10:37:07

Writers Forum
Pin up this calendar to plan
and record your writing work
and then analyse your progress
at the end of the month

June 2015
Mon

Topics or ideas researched 

Tue

John Masefield (1878)

Colleen McCullough (1937)

Thomas Hardy (1840)

Barbara Pym (1913)

Allen
Larry

.................................................................................................................................................
No of words of my book I will write each day/week 
Sara Paretsky (1947)

Patricia Cornwell (1956)

Stories written/submitted 

Poems written/submitted

Feature ideas sent out 

Agents approached 

Courses/workshops/events attended 

New things tried 

Rev W Awdry (1911)

Xaviera Hollander (1943)

15

H Rider Haggard (1856)

.................................................................................................................................................
Books read 

Writing-related income and expenditure ............................................................

22

Antoine de Saint-Exupry
(1900)

Joyce Carol Oates (1937)

Richard Bach (1936)

Joss Whedon (1964)

16
23

John Gay (1685)

Winston Graham (1908)

............................................................. Total earnt: ...........................Total spent: ...........................

Sum up your writing month in one word 

WF164JUN34chart.indd 34

29

30
13/05/2015 10:37:46

Terre
Saul B
Maur

Henr
John

Lawre

When I began to
write Poldark I felt like
a man driving a coach and
four, roughly knowing the
direction in which the coach
would travel, but being
pulled along by forces only
just under his control

Winston Graham
born 30 June 1908
Wed

0)

956)

937)

Thu

Allen Ginsberg (1926)

Larry McMurtry (1936)

2
9

16

Terrence Rattigan (1911)

Saul Bellow (1915)
Maurice Sendak (1928)

Henry Lawson (1867)

John Hersey (1914)

Val McDermid (1955)

10
17

Lawrence Block (1938)

23

Fri

24

Richard Scarry (1919)

Christy Brown (1932)
Margaret Drabble (1939)
Ken Follett (1949)

Ben Jonson (1572)

11

Delia Smith (1941)

Chris Van Allsburg (1949)

Writers Forum
#165 on sale
George Orwell (1903)
Eric Carle (1929)

Sat

18
25

Charles Kingsley (1819)

Johanna Spyri (1827)

Thomas Mann (1875)

12

Pauline Kael (1919)

Salman Rushdie (1947)

Laurie Lee (1914)

Sun

19
26

WB Yeats (1865)
Dorothy L Sayers (1893)

Vikram Seth (1952)

RD Blackmore (1825)
Elizabeth Bowen (1899)

13
20

Catherine Cookson (1906)

Vernon Watkins (1906)

27

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811)

14

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905)

Ian McEwan (1948)

21

Deborah Moggach (1948)

28

908)

30
WF164JUN34chart.indd 35

13/05/2015 10:37:58

Motivation

WORD up!

Janie and Cass Jackson have

been helping writers since 1988
We

heard

an

old

song

the other day that goes:

Whatever Lola wants, Lola
gets We wonder if she
was

thinking

along

the

same lines as the Buddha

36

fies the belief that positive

thought can be used to manifest our desires. You can
do the same to bring about
your own happiness, health
and success. Think success
and it will come to you

youre right!

practically guaranteed.

Remember

whether you think you CAN do something

or you think you CANT

our health can affect all of us. But

you are among the lucky ones, you
have an effective remedy to hand
your writing! Crafting attractive
phrases is pleasing, therapeutic and
redemptive. Once you start writing
you soon get into the zone, fully
absorbed in what youre doing. You
cannot think about your problems
at the same time. Any stress you
felt will have flown away. The more
you write, the less you stress.

we become. This exempli-

Belief in yourself and your writing is the only route to success.

Youll never accomplish anything if you dont believe you can do it.

ost of us become stressed at

M
some time or another. Events
at work, in our relationships or with

who said: What we think,

BELIEVE

o you think that the world is

conspiring against you; that the
universe is cruel and remorseless?
If so, what you need is a strong dose
of pronoia. This is the opposite of
paranoia. Pronoia is a philosophy
that states that everything that
happens in the universe occurs to
benefit you. Its a question of being
at one with the universe and thus
with oneself. Believe that, as stated
in The Alchemist by Paul Coelho,
When you want something, all the
universe conspires in helping you to
achieve it.

youre tired of hearing about

Ilastfshades
of grey, may we have the
word? Thinking in grey is good!
Thinking only in black and white
is not good. Never think, all or
nothing. Just because youve not
achieved your goal, it doesnt have
to be a disaster. Something can
always be salvaged things are
hardly ever as bad as they seem.
Thinking in black and white can be
destructive. Shes right, therefore I
must be wrong, is a typical example. Try to maintain your grey areas
they can be helpful.

WISE WORDS
from the late Tom Clancy

You learn to write the

same way you learn
to play golf You do it,
and keep doing it until
you get it right. A lot of
people think something
mystical happens to you,
that maybe the muse
kisses you on the ear.
But writing isnt divinely
inspired. Its hard work

Writersforum #164

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13/05/2015 10:38:28

Story comp

Writers Forum

fictioncompetition
Congratulations to this months winners, Richard Buxton, Paul Barnett and Ben Howels.
Do you have a short story that could impress our head judge Lorraine Mace?
Any subject, any style is welcome. Turn to the rules and entry form on page 41.

First Prize 300

Little Round Top

Richard Buxton

his could be anywhere, Elliot thought, any hill in the long

Appalachians, between Georgia and New England but
for the monument. His niece, Mary, had left him here alone,
as hed wanted. It had taken a long hour for them to walk slowly
from the other end of the old battle line, anchored to the edge of
the little town of Gettysburg. Theyd ignored hundreds of other
monuments, each to its own regiment, to reach this final one.
He sat on his camp stool and waited for his strength to return,
breathing in the musty smell of fallen leaves and wet earth.
In front of him was a low stone wall that was shoddy to his
farmers eye. It was never higher than a short mans belt buckle
and collapsed at places into careless piles. It started and ended at
nothing with no obvious purpose. He remembered the fervour
with which hed searched the ground for good stones back in 1863.
They all had. What might be judged a days work at home, was
built in twenty minutes and was still here fifty years on.
Hed never come in the fall, never seen it quite like this. The
leaves on the ground held as much colour as those still in the
trees, an intricate and endless patchwork quilt. He could see oaks,
hickories, cherries, walnuts. The decay of fall outshone spring
and summer here. Elliot looked further into the woods as they
fell away down the slope, to where the gradient softened and the
ground hinted at rising again. It had been high summer for the
battle, but otherwise the view was the same as in so many dreams
since. He tried to remember the spot where hed first seen them
emerge, those men in grey, coming on uphill with their rebel yell.
The Maine boys had fought until all their bullets were gone, then
charged and cleared the front every man a hero. Theyd saved
both the day and the Union, so history said.
Youd have thought something so important would deserve a
bigger monument. It stood squat and square, a little inelegant if
he was honest. Especially when compared to the grand memorials
and bronzed generals nearer town. He smiled to himself. Perhaps,
he thought, it wasnt unlike the homely men of the 20th Maine,
weathered fishermen and farmers, placed here with him a
halfcentury ago. He stroked the cool polished granite with his

good hand. What does it mark, he thought? Sacrifice? Glory? If

it were truthful, it would honour desperation, fear, and maybe
stubbornness.
He remembered the boy hed killed, a plump boy whod reached
the wall but spent himself getting there. Elliot had stepped to the
side of the bayonet weakly thrust at him, and swung his musket
to club the boy in the head. It was sad, but boys die in wars. It
didnt bother him anymore. It wasnt why he was here.
He saw a couple, arm in arm, walking along the worn path
below. A small girl, maybe five or so, followed behind and
kicked up the leaves. Her coat looked smart and new and was a
little too big for her. She looked up and Elliot caught the moment
she saw him, before she ran and took her mothers hand. What
had she seen? An old face beneath an old cap, a white beard. He
adjusted the single medal that hung on his jacket to show her he
wasnt a statue. The family passed on, the little girl looking back
over her shoulder.
He took out the small chisel and held it in his maimed left hand.
Two of the more useful fingers were missing, shot clean off. It had
ended his war. It had ended his trade too. It was hard to heave
in a wet fish net if you couldnt grasp it, or to tie the ropes when
mooring up. Maybe losing his fingers had saved him, saved him
from other battles and the sea. There was another memorial back
in Rockland, Maine, with a list of drowned men, a list longer than
this one. But his name wouldnt be added there either when he
died soon now. His doctor had said it couldnt be long. There was
nothing they could do.
His father had found him a job at the general store in town, but
hed never wanted to stay, especially after the war ended. You had
Continued overleaf

Writersforum #164

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13/05/2015 10:39:18

Story Comp

Little Round Top continued

to make allowances for people in Maine, he knew that. They were

only ever friendly in a blustery sort of a way. Like a squall, theyd
rush at you, do what they had to do, and be away. But when the
regiment came home, Elliot had felt a stranger in his own town.
As a shopkeeper he saw most everyone, but knew no one well.
Hed moved out west to Minnesota, where he found a small farm
and a small wife. When Esther and the baby had died together,
hed stayed on, just him and his eight fingers to keep the farm.
Hed feel a pull every few years, and convince himself that there
were people who might like to see him. So hed make the long
journey back, timed for the regimental reunions. Hed even been
to one here. But wherever it was, the same old comments would
come up.
When was it you lost your fingers?
When we charged down the hill.
Unlucky. As I recall they hardly fired a shot. Just turned tail and ran.
Real unlucky.
Hed stopped attending, and instead came to Pennsylvania by
himself. How many times had he sat here?
He moved to the monument and persuaded his old body to
kneel, then took out the small hammer and set the chisel to the
stone. Why be alone forever? Raising the hammer, he felt its loose
weight in his stiff fingers and tried to tighten his grip. But he found
he couldnt strike a single blow: he hadnt paid as they did. His
half-hand dropped the chisel and he cursed, then sat and cried,
not for them, but for his own loss.
Elliot retreated. He climbed the slope above the monument,
the leaves slipping beneath his feet, his old hands keeping him
from the earth. When the gradient eased he turned and sat again,
breathless, setting his back to a tree that accepted his weight.
A boy, a young man, was well down below him amongst the
woods, dressed in blue. He lost him for a moment, perhaps hed
imagined it. No, there he was, in uniform, climbing the hill as
well faster now. Hed be running if the slope allowed it. The boy
flinched and fell, rose again, picked up his cap and came on. He
held a rifle and his eyes were on the ground to help his climb, so he
only looked up at the last moment, when he was right before Elliot.
Crying out, he would have fallen again but caught hold of a sapling.
Slow down, son. I cant see a cause to run.
The boy was in the uniform of a Union private from the 20th
Maine, right down to the last shiny button. Elliot could see the red
cross of the 1st Division on the jacket, and the cap, twisting in the
boys hands, displayed the white bugle of the regiment. He hadnt
seen a uniform like that in half a century. An itch, a prickle, crept
up Elliots neck.
The boy was breathless. He looked over his shoulder and his hair
was soaked with sweat.
Im right sorry, General, he said. I have to get up there. Up top,
to the 83rd Pennsylvania. The Colonel sent me, he did. To get help.
We cant take another charge.
You with anybody, son? Or maybe youre just funning with
yourself. It werent no joke what happened here. Where did you get
that uniform?
I dont mean no disrespect to the uniform, General. Only if I
could get to the 83rd, over the hill, I could maybe help the boys.
The boy smelt of fear and spent powder. It was in the air.
You ever been in a real fight, boy? None of your dressingup
games. And you have it wrong. The 83rd were high on our right.
Nothing but the hills of Pennsylvania back this way.
The boys face crumpled. Ive seen fighting before this day. Stood
my ground, too. But they keep comin, General, and theres no one

38

to our left. All they have to do is come by us. It wont hold. Dont
you hear them down in the valley, yellin like they was Indians?
They keep comin. No little wall of rocks is gonna save us.
The boys knees gave way and he knelt, holding on to his rifle
for support.
Pass me your gun.
The boy reached closer and handed the gun over. Elliot took it in
shaking hands, the weight as familiar as if hed parted with it only
yesterday. He pulled it to his chest, and stroked the stock like he
was holding a new-born lamb. Slowly he turned it over and looked
behind the trigger to where the metal plate gave way to wood.
There it was. Elliot. Hed scratched his name sitting beside a fire on
the road up from Virginia. And on the other side of this famous
hill, hed sat at another tree, reached his two forgotten fingers over
the muzzle, and blasted them from his hand.
He looked at the terrified boy, remembered the fear and laid a
hand on him.
Elliot? he said. Elliot. That line will hold. Itll hold the long
afternoon, and at the end, the Colonel will charge you down the
hill and youll see their grey backs racing for Dixie.
The boy flinched, put his hands to his ears, though Elliot heard
nothing.
I dont think I can go back, General.
Here. Take your gun Well go together.
They both stood, one stiff and one shaking. The boy extended an
arm and they worked across the slope to ease the grade. Only once
did the boy pause to look back up the hill.
Theres nothing for you over that hill, son. Trust me.
They came back to the wall. Elliot could smell sulphur and
burning hair: the scent of rifle and cannon. The thinnest veil of
drifting white robbed the trees below of colour. The boy sat him by
the memorial, unslung a stoppered canteen and passed it to him.
Youll be fine here, General. Youre right. The regiment is still
holding.
The boy loaded his rifle, biting the paper cartridge, then tipping
the charge and ball down the muzzle. Elliot drank and it was good
to wash the gritty salt powder from his mouth. The boys eyes
swept about him and looked over the carpet of leaves.
There are friends of mine killed here, but I can still fight. I need
to get into the line.
Elliot could only smile and nod, his hand slipping from the boy,
who stepped to the wall and put his rifle to his shoulder. When he
fired it sounded like a whole company, a crackle of shots rippling
along the wall from right to left. The boy fired again and again,
then took his bayonet from its sheath and fixed it to the barrel. He
scrambled over the wall and stood to some unheard order. But
Elliot heard the bugle, louder than hed heard it all those years ago
from beyond the hill. Still sitting, Elliot took off his cap and waved
it in circles above his head as the boy raced off down the hill, his
fierce cry keeping company with many others, until they all died
away down in the valley.
Elliot was dizzy. The smoky veil lifted and he was left with the
wall and the monument. On it the letters swam like beans in a
stirred soup, until they settled out, this time with the name Elliot
Nash listed in the middle. He lay back on the leaves, reached to
his chest to pinch his medal, slippery as ice, until his thumb and
forefinger touched, with nothing in between.

About the author Richard lives with his family in Sussex but
travels to America to research his stories. He hopes to publish his
recently completed novel set in the American Civil War. This prize
is his most significant win and a huge boost.

Writersforum #164

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Story comp

SECOND Prize 150

Before the Bubble Burst

Paul Barnett

[Contains strong language]

he flatbed Ford lends itself to fantasy; speaks to me of wide

open spaces and most importantly, it symbolises freedom.
The fat, sweaty car lot owner is looking at me, indulging
a fantasy of his own making; his eyes taking a wander all
over me.
Are you sure this is what youre looking for, lady, only we have
some lovely about-town cars that might be better suited
Im dressed for business; designer labels, heels and Im looking
at a beat-up old truck. I can see where he might be confused. I pop
the trunk. Guys back home in New Jersey were always buying old
cars and doing them up. I paid attention; I know what Im looking
for. Im very good at paying attention. When I hitch up my skirt to
get underneath he starts to fluster saying, Let me get something
for you to lie on.
I ignore him
Fixing to take a little road trip?
Uh-huh, something like that, I say, checking the sump, knowing
hes looking down at my legs.
The engine is sound; itll get me where I need to go. Wiping my
hands on the tissue he hands me, I offer him five hundred dollars
over the asking price, in cash. I tell him I need the vehicle now. He
turns puce, acting outside of himself to close the deal. House of
Cars USA likes a satisfied customer.
Im not five miles from the lot when Officer Dan Tucker makes
his seventh unanswered call of the day to my cell. The message is
the same: Alice, call me. Let me know what youre doing. Hes starting
to feed off his emotions now, but I tell myself again Im in charge,
though Im not convinced.
What passes as home has been described by one realtor as
being a breath-taking Greek revival mansion replete with white
columns. Its a long way from New Jersey, in more ways than one.
The electronic security gates to the long carriageway slowly
open. I check for composure in my rear view, noticing a smudge of
oil on my cheek as I do so.
Gabriela comes out to meet me when I park up. What craziness
is this, Mrs Alice?
Shhh, its a surprise, I say, smiling. How has Holly been?
Good. She spend most of the day in the pool as always.
Keep her busy for me, will you, Gabriela? I need to wash and
change.
Sure thing, Mrs Alice.
As Im pulling on my jeans Officer Tucker rings again. I get
straight into it with him, saying, OK, its on.
Where have you
I need to know youre going to follow through on this, Dan.
We will
Its not just me, its Holly
I know. We
I logged details with my solicitor today. Complete indemnity,
Dan, and a hearing date for the divorce before you make your
move!
Its understood. Trust me.
Trust is in short supply right now, I say. You have no idea of
the sort of people youre going up against, do you?

Were equipped
They have billion-dollar portfolios, Dan, a billion. Can you even
begin to get your head around that many zeros? They regard themselves as rulers of the universe; a narcissistic disorder comes with
the job. Let me give you perspective here ,Dan; his bonus alone is
multiples of your salary. That must have stung, it wasnt necessary
and I wish I hadnt said it.
Officer Dan Tucker swallows hard before saying, Institutionalised financial fraud in the banking system is our area of expertise,
Alice. We
This isnt just a bank, Dan, I say, a little staggered by his naivety.
A bank doesnt always find itself in the sweet spot in the market
every single time without fail. A bank doesnt have a revolving
door on employment for its CEOs; one moment theyre taking up
positions in government only for them to return to the bank when
its useful. Were not just talking about mortgages here
Holly suddenly bursts into the bedroom. Mommy, Mommy.
Gotta go, I say, hanging up, and sweeping Holly up in my arms.
I am sorry, Mrs Alice. She is too slippery for me.
Not to worry, Gabriela, I say. Look, why dont you take the rest
of the evening off?
Are you sure, Mrs Alice?
Yes, of course. Me and this munchkin can manage. Cant we?
I say.
Whose messy old truck is that on the driveway, Mommy?
Thats a surprise for Daddy. Only youre not to say anything
when he calls, do you hear?
OK, but I dont think hell like it. Its not as sparkly as all his
other cars.
With Gabriela gone we settle into the smaller of the four reception rooms; the one that actually resembles a family room and isnt
a showcase to opulence. I allow myself to float into the world of
a six year old. Hollys little voice, like its on helium, distracts me
from everything that is going on. Sadness cuts deeply when I think
of the hurt awaiting her, but other options are lost now and there is
nothing I can do.
Mitch is somewhere in Europe Paris I think so its tough to
know when hell call. But he will call, he never fails to call. I ride
the tides of unease trying to imagine how the conversation will go,
what Ill say, how to keep the anger out of my voice.
Bathed in the glow of the TV, Holly and I are almost asleep on
the couch when the shrill of the phone intrudes violently and
Continued overleaf

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39

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Story Comp

Before the Bubble Burst continued

suddenly, causing modes of flight and fight. Holly runs to answer,

which buys me a little time. She tries to look grown up talking to
Mitch; telling him about what she has been up to. Looking mischievously across at me she says, We have a surprise for you, Daddy.
I shake my head and press a finger to my lips.
I cant say. I dont think its a very good surprise but Mommy
does.
She certainly does.
Holly hands the phone over to me saying, Daddy wants to speak
to you.
OK, well its late. Clean your teeth and straight to bed, you hear?
Ill be along to tuck you in.
Holly says her last goodbye to Mitch, yawns, hugs me and pads
away. I put my hand over the receiver and take a deep breath.
Mitch. Where are you?
Hi, hon, still in Paris, we need to finish off some things here,
everything OK?
Yeah, I say, with little conviction.
Shortstop mentioned something about a surprise?
Its nothing. You know how she gets.
For a moment there I thought you might be thawing on me.
I leave him hanging; saying nothing.
Alice? Alice? Come on, you know we can work this out. Alice?
I cant deny the satisfaction of hearing the whine in his voice.
Its so misplaced somehow. I brace myself before saying, I saw an
attorney today, Mitch.
What? What the hell. Have you gone stark fucking crazy?
Its just to oversee the paperwork; nothing more.
Crying out loud, Alice, you have to be fucking kidding me. You
know the pressure Im under right now.
All about you isnt it, Mitch.
Tell me, Mitch, be honest for once, is she with you now, in Paris,
with you?
What? For the love of Listen to me Alice, for the last God
damn time there isnt anyone.
I wish I could believe you, Mitch. Just lately youve been one
spiteful bas
Alice, hon, Ive told you. Its work 2007 has been the weirdest
fucking year for me, markets in freefall, interest rates all over the
People losing their homes?
What?
Dodgy mortgages? You dont know half the shit you come out
with when youre drunk, and youve been drunk a lot lately.
Its just business, Alice. You wouldnt understand.
No, but Im very good at paying attention, Mitch, dont ever forget that.
And is it business when you pin me to a wall at 3am and tell
me I was part of the package, the trophy wife; that the family unit
looked good for your shitty career, Mitch? My being nettled with
fury momentarily throws him.
That was Im sorry, babe. You know that was just the booze
talking. And that shitty career pays for everything.
Its too late, Mitch, I say, attempting to compose myself. Its
over. How many hearts, I wonder, have been punctured by those
words?
Whatre you going to do, Alice? Mitch sneers. Bit late in the day
to be still trading on your looks, dont you think? I mean where are
you going to go; back to New Jersey?
He says it like its a bad thing.
I ignore him; tell myself to remain focused, saying, I want you
and Holly to have a relationship. I want her to grow up knowing
her daddy.
So she can find out in her own time what a shit he really is.

40

You wont be able leave it all behind baby; the houses, the cars,
the spas, the holidays. And just so you know, Alice, that pre-nup is
sewn up tighter than your ass.
It was only a matter of time before Mitch would mention the
money.
Listen carefully, Mitch, I say, it was never about the money. You
cant even conceive of that, can you? I dont want anything from
you, Mitch, not a red cent, do you hear me? Ill only take from this
what is mine.
Which is absolutely fucking nothing.
Nothing, and Holly. Goodbye, Mitch.
You better be there when I get back or
I press end call and the line goes dead.
He hits redial immediately; his voice going to answer and
sounding increasingly rabid, the way he has of late when hes been
drinking. I wrap my arms around myself, rocking gently and then
realising I dont have to listen to his crap I pull the plug on the
house phone. It takes a moment for Mitch to redirect his rage to my
cell but I block him there too. He and his kind are used to getting
their own way, being in control, but the wall is starting to crack.
In the quiet I realise I could use a drink but I need to keep a clear
head, if only for the drive that faces me. There is no going back
now, I tell myself.
I have several walk-in wardrobes and a separate one for shoes
alone. Its somewhere Mitch would never think of going. Its where
I hid everything, including the file. I take it to Mitchs office and
have one last painful look at its contents. All the telephoto pictures
are there, pictures of Mitch and her together; at restaurants, at
hotels, leaving the theatre together, boarding the plane to Paris.
I can see by the look on his sorry face that he thinks he loves her.
He had the same look for me once before domesticity and harsher
realities kicked in and before work slowly stopped laying golden
eggs. The betrayal hurts. No matter what the circumstances, no
matter what the level of culpability, it still hurts and hurts deeply.
I choke on a wave of emotion before going through the rest of the
file. The photos alone would be sufficient to incriminate, but there
is other evidence, enough to hang Mitch well and truly out to dry.
The detective knew what he was doing.
I put the file on Mitchs desk with the briefest of notes: nine years
distilled into a few pithy words.
I assume there is no need for matters to get messy. Alice
Taking the memory sticks from the file I put them in the side
pockets of my rucksack and then start filling the rest of it with
jeans, sweatshirts, trainers and hiking boots, practical wear. It
would break the heart of the women I loosely call friends here to
leave all those designer labels, to turn their back on all that haute
couture. For me it feels, well, it feels liberating. I make a similar
pack up for Holly.
While Im loading the truck, Chad from security stops by and
asks if everything is OK.
Its fine, I say. Just taking the little one on a road trip; getting
out into some wide open spaces.
He nods, wishes me a safe journey; propriety preventing him
from asking the many questions which are written all over his face.
I leave a note for Gabriela, telling her that Mitch will explain
everything when he returns and that in the meanwhile she is to
carry on as normal.
Lastly I gently take Holly from her bed and settle her in the
passenger seat of the truck. She stirs momentarily but thankfully
doesnt wake.
The seven-bedroom pile with its pool, cinema room and gymnasium has never looked so good, all lit up and, most importantly, in

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Writers FORUM
my rear-view mirror slowly disappearing from view.
Once on the freeway I text Ofcer Dan Tucker to let him know
I am on my way to the motel, the same motel where we have
met previously, a place of his choosing. My cell has 16 unanswered
calls from Mitch. I turn it off, ensuring against any future efforts he
might make.
The quiet of driving at night soothes me and I start picking over
everything that has happened, wondering where my tipping point
was. Maybe Mitch was right, maybe I was hooked on the money;
stopped seeing clearly because of it and losing sight of myself along
the way. After all, I had put up with his indelities and abuse in the
past. Then one night Mitch starts drunkenly bragging on how he
helped set up subprime mortgages and how much the bank stands
to make because of him when people default and have to foreclose.
As he is telling me this, my thoughts turn to my father, and how he
worked himself into an early grave trying to keep a roof over our
heads. The more Mitch allowed the alcohol to do the talking that
night the less he saw of my heart turning to stone.
Its almost morning when I near the motel; overhead cables and
trafc lights crisscrossing a raspberry ripple sky. The area is shabby;
no heart. Its where the American dream has failed its people and
died. Row upon row of take-out joints, diners and motels line the
broad roadsides, a testimony to temporary disposable living. Its a
cold place for the soul where the driftwood of humanity clusters.
Holly yawns and slowly stirs. Her face still etched with sleep as
the grimness of where she nds herself starts to register.
Its OK, sweetie, I say, reaching over and touching her arm. We
wont be here very long; a little adventure.
We stop at lights as a man pushing a shopping cart containing his
entire world crosses in front of us. Looking in at us, he has a face
that has travelled and been made hollow by hard living.
Mommy?
Were almost there now.
I can see this is already a harsh education for Holly. Until now
she has seen little of life not cushioned by money.
Pulling into the Sands Motel I see Ofcer Dan Tuckers car. He is
early as always. He waits for me to book in and settle Molly into
the motel room before he walks across the parking lot, carrying the
briefcase and joining me in the truck.
Youre on your own?
Like I told you, Alice, youre calling the shots.
Drizzle starts to wrinkle the windscreen, causing shadowy patterns on his handsome features. Realising he is waiting for me to
begin, I ask about the woman.
Shes a professional in what she does. I guess youd say shes a
high-class escort.
Mitch doesnt suspect anything?
He shakes his head and says, Shell probably ride the gravy
train with him for as long as it lasts, which wont be long if you
have what you say you have on him. Once we make a move, the
District Attorney is going to want to freeze everything he has, every
account, every offshore investment, every credit card, everything.
All Mitch will be left with is the loose change in his pocket.
I nod and he passes over the briefcase. Seeing the questions I
want to ask he says, Its all there. Lets just say we have a very
generous slush fund; bait for bigger shes. If your information is
as solid as we think it will be, the next payment will be even more
generous. We can do some creative accounting of our own.
I place one of the memory sticks on the dash saying, Youll
have enough there to be going on with. Its all the banks dirt on
subprime mortgages; selling mortgages to people who cant afford
them so the bank can claim on the insurance.
Continued overleaf

WF164JUN37storycomp.indd 41

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13/05/2015 10:39:53

Story Comp

Before the Bubble Burst continued

Peddling misery dressed up in home ownership, the way

pushers peddle drugs.
Thats about the sum of it, I say.
I want to ask how you come by it.
I smile. With the regulations tightening, Mitch has started
panicking; compiling dossiers, making sure he has leverage should
he need it. You see, Mitch is not the sort to take chances. Hes very
good at covering his back. And me, well, Im very good at paying
attention.
When Officer Dan Tucker leaves I go back inside the motel room

and gently crawl in alongside Holly, my most precious commodity.

The next morning Holly and I head out in the truck, my truck,
and I start to reason there are only two directions in life: toward
home and away from home. Im starting to appreciate the adventure that comes with the latter.

About the author Paul is a member of the Bow Wharf

writers group, which has provided a safe and encouraging
environment in which to try out stories and voices. He has been
placed in competitions and is waiting on inspiration for a novel.

THIRD Prize 100

Final Charter
Ben Howels

isher stared at the thin brown envelope that had just been
pushed across the table.
Everything you need is in there. Name. Home and business
address. Everything.
Long fingers deftly sliding the contents from their pocket, Fisher
looked up at Duggan. The mans tone was irritating, dismissive
like he considered himself everyones superior. Not that it mattered.
Once Fisher had done his job and been paid, hed never have to
think about Duggan again.
Rifling through the papers, he swiftly picked out what was
important, and passed over the rest. Most of it was garbage. Clients
were always so desperate to explain why someone was a target
but that wasnt important to him. Payment was the only validation
he cared about. Other than that, he just needed a who, and enough
information to let him plan the perfect how, when and where.
Duggans target wouldnt be a problem, though. Frank Mason
was another local gangster, and Fisher already knew enough to
find him when and where he needed to. Still, he should ask a few
questions, just for the look of the thing.
This is useful, but what about the more esoteric stuff? Has
Mason got any hobbies? What about addictions? Fisher spread his
arms expansively. The more I know, the better I can plan the kill.
Duggan started open-mouthing, looking like a fish trying to
breathe air. Ah, so hes one of those. Someone else has been doing your
work for you, havent they?
The awkward silence was ruptured by a voice like a waking
mountain.
Squash and womanising. No addictions.
Fisher turned to look at the behemoth by the door, who carried
on in his rumbling monotone:
Drives himself, no chauffeur, no bodyguards. Travels with his
son a lot, though Brian, nicknamed Bully. Big lad, early twenties, thinks hes tough. The hillock broke into a smile, granite-face
briefly fracturing before returning to impassive stone. I snapped
both his arms last year, just to prove him wrong.
And that was it the mountain went silent again, a golem on
standby. The only signs of life were his ox-like breathing and
furious grey eyes, which constantly scanned their surroundings.
Fisher had done his research, and knew all about Bortelli.
Duggans long-time lieutenant might have looked like a balding

42

grizzly, but he was far more than hired muscle. Intelligent and
vicious, he was the lynchpin to Duggans organisation, and carried
more underworld rep than Hades.
Fisher turned back to the crime boss slowly, knowing who hed
rather keep his eyes on.
Thank you, said Duggan, his tone suggesting Fisher had already
failed to meet expectations. I trust you have enough? If you need
anything else, Bortelli will oblige. You have his number.
Fisher briefly glanced back to the bear, who gave a nod like
continental drift. Fair enough, time to get on with things.
Yes, Mr Duggan. I assume fee and payment remain as previously
discussed twenty thousand pounds on proof of death, payable
directly to an account of my choice?
Of course, Duggan responded, chubby cheeks reddening at the
temerity of being questioned again. Now get this tub back to the
jetty. I want to enjoy what little remains of the day.
Resisting a strong urge to pull the trigger of the Beretta M9
holstered beneath the table, Fisher rose from his seat.
Certainly. Id like to share a toast on deck first, though. Its a
habit of mine after sealing a deal.
Duggans face slid into a scowl.
Im a rich man, Mr Fisher. I dont do rotgut.
I was thinking more along the lines of some Piper-Heidsieck,
1979.
What? Really? Shock had cut all traces of condescension from
Duggans voice, and Fisher broke into a grin.
You shouldnt look so surprised. I research my clients as well as
my targets and that means I know what you like.
Fisher walked out on to the deck, Duggan just behind him. The
mans demeanour had totally changed, pumpkin-face split by a
broad smile, small eyes glinting in anticipation of an unexpected
treat. Bortelli lingered in the cabin.
Fisher scanned the horizon, saw no ships were in view, and moved
to the deck freezer. Lifting the lid he pulled out a bottle, turned and
Continued overleaf

Writersforum #164

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13/05/2015 10:40:11

ns
e
m
o
w
t
e
l
h
p
pam
tion
i
t
e
p
com
2015

n
e
m
wo
poetry ion
tit
e
p
m
o
c
2015

1st prize 2,000

2nd prize 400, 3rd prize 200

SPECIAL PRIZE 500

for the best poem by an unpublished

woman poet

Closing date: 15 June 2015

Judge: Deryn Rees-Jones

WF164-43.indd 43

mslexia.co.uk/poetry
0191 204 8860
poetry@mslexia.co.uk

1st prize: Publication of

the pamphlet by Seren
Books in 2016

mslexia.co.uk/pamphlet
0191 204 8860
poetry@mslexia.co.uk

Closing date: 15 June 2015

Judge: Amy Wack (Poetry Editor,
Seren)

13/05/2015 16:03:05

Story Comp

Final Charter continued

handed it to Duggan, whose eyes started to devour the label.

Would you like me to open
Duggans sentence went unfinished as an ice pick took him in the
chest, the upwards strike perfectly angled from beneath his ribs, tip
lancing his heart. Fisher wrapped his arm around Duggans body,
pulled him in close, then swept his legs, dropped him to the deck
and straddled his waist, keeping his arms pinned. Duggan hadnt
even had time to drop the bottle.
Bortelli! Bortelli!
The screams were loud, but the gang bosss struggles quickly
grew feeble. Vitality fading, he lay his head back against the cold
deck and smiled up at Fisher.
Bortelli will rip you apart.
Im used to being threatened, Mr Duggan. Im also used to
watching the people that threaten me die. You wont last long,
maybe a few minutes; if the blade comes out it will be quicker, so
best not to struggle. Sensing a fast-approaching earthquake, Fisher
quickly stood and spun away.
Ignoring him, Bortelli crouched beside Duggan, grabbed the ice
pick and ripped it free. Duggan arched up in pain, then settled back
on to the deck, his body shaking gently as he stared into hate-filled
eyes. There were no more screams, no tears, just the silent struggle
of a man trying to understand.
Fisher walked behind Bortelli, leaving him to his moment of
triumph. The big man held his former employers gaze until the
spark went out, then dropped the ice pick and stood, staring out
beyond the stern of the boat.
The men probably knew this was coming Im the one they fear
but a missing body and rumours of a hit will keep the heat off
me. He twisted his torso and head, looking back at Fisher. Theyll
suspect Masons involvement. Ive already started a rumour he was
hiring a Russian to take Duggan out. Hell, thats why Duggan was
so keen to hire you in the first place he liked to be pro-active.
Bortelli smiled for the second time that night, a dark fissure
slashing across a glacier. His eyes still spat grey fire, though, and
Fisher couldnt wait to get rid of him.
Not to sound rude, but you made your play for power, and I
completed my job. Im assuming you have my money?
Of course. Theres already another envelope on the cabin table
thirty thousand in cash.
Fisher gave a respectful nod to Bortelli, never breaking contact
with his eyes.
I trust you enough not to count it. One professional to another.
Thank you. Bortelli turned back towards Duggans corpse. I
assume youll do some filleting, and then throw him over the side?
Normally Id offer to help, but I cant risk getting his blood on my
There was a crisp tkkk, tkkk, tkkk as three suppressed bullets
took Bortelli from behind one in the heart, and a double-tap to the
head. His body rag-dolled forward, left arm coming to rest across
Duggans chest, as if to shield him from harm.
Smiling at the irony, Fisher walked across the deck and bent to
retrieve the bottle of Heidsieck, still loosely clasped in Duggans
right hand. Damn, but hed really liked his champagne.
Skirting the spreading pool of blood, Fisher replaced the bottle
in the freezer and shut the lid. The toast would have to wait he
wasnt meeting Bully for another two hours.
About the author Ben escaped from the law five months
ago, and now writes what he wants to. Having made a few
shortlists, this is his first published piece. He is currently working
on two novels, and far too many short stories.

44

etting a sense of place

into the opening
of a short story is
something many writers
find difficult. Often, so much
information is given about
the setting that it gets in the
way of the hook the reason
to read on.
Richard Buxton has found
the right balance between
setting and hook in Little
Round Top, the story I placed
first this month. He sets the
scene with both description
and hook: This could be
anywhere, Elliot thought, any
hill in the long Appalachians,
between Georgia and New
England but for the monument.
Later in the opening
paragraph it becomes clear
that Elliot has followed an old
battle line near Gettysburg,
but why is that particular
monument important, rather
than the hundreds he has
ignored on the way?
A clue to this is provided
at the end of the second
paragraph where we discover
Elliot was a veteran of the
1863 battle, but that 50 years
have since passed.
This scene-setting has,
within two short paragraphs,
provided the protagonists
name, approximate age,
location and the year of the
presentday action, while also
hooking us into the story.
I enjoy the way the author
drops important information
in the most natural way: He
adjusted the single medal that
hung on his jacket to show her he
wasnt a statue. This tells us he
was decorated without telling
us why, but a clue to that
comes soon afterward with
mention of his maimed left
hand. Two of the more useful
fingers were missing, shot clean
off. It had ended his war.
So we get the picture of a
damaged hero visiting the
battlefield of his youth before
he dies but why does he
want to add his name to the
list of those fallen in action?
Survivors guilt, or something
darker?
The arrival on the scene of
his younger self is beautifully

portrayed. In many such

stories the point is laboured,
but not here. The author gives
his readers credit for being
able to understand what is
happening without hitting
them over the head with
explanations.
As he and the boy talk
about the battle, Elliot is able
to soothe the young mans
fears and encourage him to
do the right thing, as opposed
to the action shooting off
his own fingers that he has
regretted ever since.
Elliot finally sees the boy
charging back down the hill,
his fierce cry keeping company
with many others, until they all
died away down in the valley.
In a poignant ending, the
vision fades and Elliot returns
to the present day to find his
name is now listed among
the fallen, exactly where
he wished it to be, and the
medal hed believed to be
undeserved no longer adorns
his jacket.
I usually prefer endings
anchored in reality, but this
works perfectly for the story.

efore the Bubble Burst

by Paul Barnett also
opens with good
scenesetting and a nice
hook. The unnamed narrator
is looking for freedom and
believes she will find it in the
form of a flatbed Ford. The
unusual aspect of this comes
in a couple of surprising
revelations: the narrator is
dressed in designer labels,
yet is prepared to get down
and dirty to judge the
roadworthiness of the vehicle.
Then she is willing to pay
over the odds, as long as
she can drive it away there
and then. Why such an odd
choice of vehicle and why
the urgency?
The phone calls from
Officer Dan Tucker provide
some answers, but not all.
Instead of spelling things
out for us, the author uses
unfinished and interrupted
dialogue, which works
well to add to the intrigue
while imparting just enough

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STORY COMP

Competition round-up
Set the scene and the hook
Lorraine Mace explains why she chose this months winners
It would be wonderful if

we had more humourous entries. So many stories suffer

from a case of the deadly Ds downbeat tales of divorce, death
and depression. It seems we writers are naturally drawn to
misery, but this neednt be the case. Why not give humour a
try for your next entry? If you decide to take up the challenge,
what do you need to bear in mind?
An extended joke doesnt work as a short story no matter
how funny the punch line
You need to make sure your plot would still make sense, be
entertaining and gripping, even if the humour were removed
The story must have a recognisable narrative drive
Do ensure the humour is appropriate and doesnt feel
tacked on
Allow the humour to surface via the characters actions and
personality traits
Do read humour writers, such as Terry Pratchett, Nick
Spalding or Sophie Kinsella, to get a feel for how its done.

information to keep the reader

interested.
As the story unfolded, and I
found out what Alice planned
and why, my sympathy
slipped somewhat was this
yet another story of marital
indelity and revenge?
Fortunately, there was more
to the narrators actions than
a simple payback. She had
lost sight of who she used to
be, surrounded as she was

by opulence and seduced by

the lifestyle her unpleasant
husband provided. It was the
plight of ordinary people,
whose lives her husband and
his associates had destroyed,
that pushed her to take action.
I was never convinced by her
desire to buy a atbed Ford,
rather than a more comfortable
car, but I am glad at the end
when Alice views the future as
an adventure to embrace.

Highly commended
There were four shortlisted stories this month:
Last Supper by Hector Wells
Million Dollar Chips by Kathy James
Late Kate by Henry Bladon
A Mashed Potato Affair by Sharon Marie Jones

he third-placed story,
Final Charter by Ben
Howels, is an unusual
choice for me because not
one of the characters in
this gangland crime tale is
sympathetic. There isnt a
single redeeming feature to
share between them.
Even though the characters
were convincingly drawn, I
would have preferred it if one
them had been a secret animal
lover, or gave anonymously
to charity. Few people are all
bad, and I think Bens creations
could have been rounded out.
The delight for me came
in the ending. Although the
storys initial twist wasnt
completely unexpected, the
nal twist took me by surprise.
On second reading, I realised
all the clues were there, nicely
planted to mislead. This is the
mark of a good storyteller.
The story opens with the
hitman, Fisher, being paid by
a gang boss, Duggan. The rst
clue to the twist ending comes
when Fisher reects he wont
have to deal with Duggan after

hes carried out the assignment:

Once Fisher had done his job and
been paid, hed never have to think
about Duggan again.
What isnt apparent is that
Duggan is the intended victim,
the hit having been set up
by Bortelli, his second-incommand.
Bortelli is no stranger to
violence, having broken both
arms of Bully, the son of a
rival gang boss, the previous
year. However, he wants to give
the appearance of clean hands
when Duggan is wiped out.
Had the story ended at
that point, even though well
written, it wouldnt have made
the top three. The double
twist where Fisher wipes out
Bortelli on behalf of Bully
is what lifted Bens story to
prize-winning status.
Lorraine is co-author
of The Writers ABC
Checklist (Accent
Press) and author of
childrens novel Vlad
the Inhaler (LRP)

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SHORT STORIES

Fiction workshop

with tutor
Lorraine Mace

Our head judge uses reader entries to show how to improve your writing

Doing dialogue

ialogue is one of the

most powerful items in
our toolbox, but many
writers shy away from using it.
As a creative writing tutor,
I frequently receive emails
from writers expressing their
concerns. Is dialogue really
necessary? What if my dialogue
doesnt sound natural? Im
writing in the rst person, why
do I still need dialogue?
The truth is that most
stories, even those told in the
rst person, can be improved
by showing the characters
interacting through speech
arguing, sharing secrets,
begging for forgiveness or
understanding, ordering
another character to do
something, whispering words
of love or of threat.
To understand its
importance, we need to look
at what dialogue does, how it
works and what it can bring to
a story.

Functions of dialogue

Dialogues main functions can

be expressed as follows:
To drive a storyline onwards
To help create tension,
excitement and atmosphere
To bring characters to life on
the page
To add pace to a story.
All these elements are
equally important and the
order given doesnt indicate
that one carries more weight
than another. Good dialogue
should achieve all four.

Opening paragraphs

Opening with dialogue can

draw readers into the story
immediately. Geraldine Miller

46

begins The Gift of Life with a

very powerful scene, but one
that is crying out for speech
and interaction.
It was the call that every parent
has nightmares about from the
day their children are born. The
minute Sharon opened the door to
nd two police ofcers standing
there her heart had dropped. They
had sat her down on the settee and
told her that her son James had
been in a road trafc accident and
was at the hospital. They had
come to take her there in the
police car.
There are three sections in
this opening paragraph where
dialogue would help with
atmosphere, characterisation
and driving the storyline
forward. The rst is when
Sharon opens the door and sees
the police. The reader is kept
at a distance from how Sharon
thinks and feels because she
doesnt speak. She doesnt ask
what they want. She shows no
surprise or consternation.
Secondly, dialogue is needed
to create atmosphere a sense
of unreality, fear and confusion
when they tell her what
has happened to James. The
reader needs to connect with
Sharon at this point. Empathy
is difcult to achieve without
dialogue. The narrative is
unemotional and distancing.
The nal line also needs
dialogue. Let the reader hear
the police offer to take her to
the hospital. How does Sharon
respond? Is she able to pull
herself together? Is she able
to form coherent sentences?
Is she in a trance, answering
automatically as if what she has

Dialogue is one of the most

effective ways to show not tell

been told is the most normal

thing in the world, while
suffering internal turmoil?

Bringing the characters

to life
In the second paragraph we
have moved to the hospital
where Sharon and her
husband, Brian, are sitting
together, waiting for news.

A few minutes later the door

opened and a doctor and nurse
walked in to talk to them. He had
said that he was the consultant
who had been looking after their
son. He told them that he was
very sorry but James had suffered
a severe head injury in the crash.
The hospital team had tried
everything but the head injury
was so severe. He explained that
James was only being kept alive
by articial means, that he was
brain dead.
Sharon felt like she was going
down a long tunnel as she felt
blackness closing in from every
side.
This scene is one that should

have the reader in tears, but

because the characters arent
interacting, it doesnt carry as
much emotion as it could.
Lets look at the same scene
with some dialogue and
movement included:
A few minutes later the door
opened and a doctor and nurse
walked in. Sharon and Brian
rushed to their feet.
Is he going to be all right? Can
we see him? Sharon asked, amazed
at how normal her voice sounded.
Im so very sorry, the doctor
said. James suffered a severe head
injury in the crash.
But hes going to be OK?
Brian said.
The doctor shook his head. We
tried everything but
Hes not dead? Sharon
whispered. Please tell me hes not
dead.
The nurse moved forward,
laying her hand on Sharons arm,
but she shook it off.
Tell me he isnt dead!
The doctors frown deepened.
James is alive, but Im so
sorry. There is no easy way to say

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If youd like your Story Comp entry to be considered for a workshop, tick the box on the entry form or state it clearly in your email

this. He is brain dead.

Sharon felt like she was going
down a long tunnel as blackness
closed in.
The dialogue and actions
could, of course, be improved
on, but the scene now carries
a highly charged emotional
content that is missing in the
straight narrative.

Driving the storyline

onwards

Geraldines sad tale has a

positive outcome in that
Jamess organs bring new life
and hope to many others. There
is a scene where the subject
of organ donation is raised
between husband and wife.
They spent hours talking about
it, but Sharon could not imagine
allowing her son to be operated on.
Brian pointed out that he thought
James would have wanted to
donate his organs; he was always
giving to charity. He stated that
it would also be a way of his loss
having meaning as his death would
mean others, maybe even children,
would go on living. He said that
in time this would help them both
with their grief, knowing that
some part of their son was still
living. They nally decided to give
permission for their son to donate
his organs.
This is a scene where
dialogue is essential to drive
the storyline onwards. The
argument between Sharon and
Brian needs to be shown. We
have to see Brians attempts
to convince Sharon and hear
her objections. The nal

sentence should be shown,

rather than told. The reader
has to empathise with Sharon,
but also understand Brians
conviction that it is what James
would have wanted.
In particular, the line saying
James always gave to charity
could be given some context in
the course of the discussion.
Not everyone who donates to
charity wants to be an organ
donor. With dialogue, Sharon
could have made that point.

Emotional connections

The Arrival Fallacy by Sharon

Connor also has a very strong
storyline, but lack of dialogue
stops the reader from making
an emotional connection with
the central character.
Karen suffers from postnatal
stress, but is unaware that
this is what is causing her
depression. When she nds a
kindred spirit in Lotty, another
new mother, she believes life
has improved.
But Lotty introduces Karen
to the dubious delights of
alcohol as a numbing agent.
Inevitably Karens drinking
prevents her from functioning
as wife and mother. She burns
her arms trying to get food in
and out of the oven, slops sauce
over the table while dishing up
the evening meal and is only
vaguely aware of her husbands
withdrawal and disgust.
This is a character spiralling
down into the blackest pit, and
one with whom many could
identify. But that essential
connection fails because the
reader isnt able to get close
enough to Karen to care about

CHECKLIST Is your dialogue driving the story?

To avoid having dialogue that wafes without purpose, ask
yourself the following questions:

If you deleted a section of dialogue, would there be a gap in

the storyline?
Does the dialogue cause the reader to fear for a character or
worry about a future event?
Does the dialogue bring about change?
Does it help to dene a characters goal?
Does it help to strengthen or weaken a characters
determination?
Does it show conict?

what happens to her.

In the following passage,
Karen has gone to the local
pharmacy to get some ointment
for the burns on her wrist, but
the pharmacist spots the older
marks and takes Karen to a
consulting room.
She knew immediately that
Mrs Walker suspected she was
either self-harming or suffering
domestic abuse. In her panic,
Karen spoke to Mrs Walker as she
had never spoken to anyone before,
the consultancy room becoming
her confessional. Everything
came out, her exhaustion and
sense of isolation, her growing
reliance on alcohol, and as the
tears streamed down Karens face
uncontrollably, how she felt such
a failure as a mother.
The emotional turmoil
doesnt come to the fore here
because the reader is told in at
narration what was said and
done. This is a clear case where
dialogue is needed to raise the
emotional content to allow
the reader to connect with
Karen and her problems.
One of the few lines of
dialogue in the story follows
the above passage, when Mrs
Walker says: Oh, you poor
young woman, you have
suffered. But it doesnt have
to stay this way. This, at
least, allows the reader to see
Mrs Walker as a real person.
Unfortunately, more narration
follows, which once again
distances the reader from the
characters.
Mrs Walker calmly explained
that alcohol itself was a depressant,
which would only be exacerbating
Karens struggle to deal with what
may be undiagnosed postnatal
depression.
Dialogue between the two
women would enable the
reader to understand Karens
dilemma and feel a sense of
relief that she has nally found
a sympathetic ear.

Adding pace

With short stories you have

to make sure that every word

earns its place. The story needs

to move along without lagging,
or you risk losing your readers.
Dialogue is a great way of
injecting pace into a short story.
You can put get across a great
deal of information in just a
few words.
This passage from Sharons
The Arrival Fallacy is all
backstory, which slows the
pace.
The loss of her independence
and freedom after the birth of
Daniel had come as something of
a shock to Karen. As junior clerk
in a barristers chambers she had
held a position of responsibility,
and had been good at her job. She
had also enjoyed the intellectual
banter she shared with her
colleagues, and the after work
social life which helped them wind
down after a long and hectic day.
In fact, this passage carries
on for some time beyond
this point, giving backstory
about her husband Pete, his
job, how they each felt about
Karen staying at home to be a
full-time mother, and the effect
this has had on her sense of
self-worth. But if we look at
just the section reproduced, the
pace of the story has slowed
considerably in order to get the
information across.
It would be better to use
dialogue to convey all of
the above, for instance in a
confrontational exchange
between Karen and Pete. Some
yelling would show both
partners as real people and
enable them to come to life on
the page.
In this way, the reader could
become involved in their lives
and care about what happens
to their marriage.
More importantly, it would
inject pace into the story.
Writing as
Frances di Plino,
Lorraine Mace is
the author of the
DI Paolo Storey
crime series. Her
latest is Looking
for a Reason

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Author know-how

Research secrets

Cassandra Parkin tells Anita Loughrey how she relived her childhood
memories for her research for her literary novel The Beach Hut

write commercial literary

fiction, including novels
(The Summer We All Ran
Away) and short stories (New
World Fairy Tales). My second
novel, The Beach Hut, is just out
from Legend Press.
When my brother and I were
growing up, our whole family
would decamp from Hull to
Falmouth to spend summer
with our grandparents. We
grew up with a whole other
secret life, with the beach on
our doorstep, salt in the air,
and sand in everything.
Then a few years ago my
parents retired and moved
back home to Cornwall. The
first time we visited was in the
autumn and so of course the
beach was much emptier. It was
less playful and welcoming
but far more beautiful.
As children, we dug holes
and built stuff, fiercely focused
on our own little patch of sand.
Now I had to look at the whole
landscape, and take notice of
the black cliffs and the deep
caves, and, when we walked
down to the water to paddle,
appreciate just how far it was
to get back to the land.
As the weather gets colder,
the ocean changes too.
The waves grow taller, the
temperature drops, and if you
get into trouble, there arent
any lifeguards to drag you out.
At the same time, it becomes
more tempting to swim,
because its so empty and
beautiful and if youre brave
enough, its all yours.
At the first opportunity,
I borrowed a swimming
costume from my mother and
went for a November swim in
the North Atlantic. Apparently
if youre not acclimatised,
which I wasnt, the shock of the

48

To get your characters to

really come alive, remember to
think of them as living people,
not video cameras
cold water can literally stop
your heart; but Im an idiot
so I didnt worry about that. I
just knew I wanted to be in the
ocean. And once I got past the
first panicky minute of oh-myGod-this-is-it-this-is-how-I-die,
it was glorious. The water felt
warmer than the air. I wanted
to hide beneath the surface so
the wind wouldnt blow on me.
As long as I stayed in the water,
I thought I was invincible.
My husband had to force me
to come out and get dry and
dressed again.
For hours afterwards I knew
I was cold, but I was so high
from the endorphin rush I
couldnt feel it. I could only
deduce it by noticing that I
was bluey-white all over and
I couldnt move my fingers or
toes properly.
Experiencing that urge to
do something thats maybe

going to kill you, because its

also glorious and you cant
bear not to, was how The Beach
Hut began. Its about a brother
and sister who build an illegal
beach hut on a Cornish beach
in the autumn, and the journey
that led them there, and it was
inspired by a moment that
combined danger with a deep
sense of coming home.

Hard graft

Of course, however wild and

uplifting your inspiration
is, it takes hard graft and
research to build it into a novel.
Different genres make different
demands (I imagine Jeffrey
Deaver did more research for
his first Lincoln Rhyme novel
than Ive done in my whole life
ever), but none of us can build
an entire, convincing world
only from what we hold in our
heads. Fortunately, compared

to the writers who came before

us, were insanely spoiled and
lucky, because the internet puts
so much knowledge literally at
our fingertips.
Research covers a lot of
different activities. I usually
begin with an extended
period of aimless, omnivorous
information-grazing, which
soaks up hours and hours and
probably looks a whole lot like
me putting off the moment
when I have to actually write
something.
Theres no real structure
or logic to this. I can start off
looking at the development of
Polaroid photography and end
up reading about the origins of
the Davy Jones legend, or the
history of organised crime in
the East End.
If you asked me at the start
of writing The Beach Hut what
I was going to do with the
knowledge that you can taste a
rocks iron deposits by licking
it, or what happens if you
desert from the Foreign Legion,
I wouldnt have had a clue. But
these fragments, along with a
million others, made it into the
finished novel.
Seeking out a specific detail
anything from the number
of bags of crisps in a wholesale
box, to who owns the beach
and the procedure they have
to follow to evict someone
living on it can feel like the
very opposite of creativity,
but its critical. These are the
little details that bring your
narrative to life and make it
authentic and believable.
I couldnt have written The
Beach Hut without a local tide
timetable and a website called
www.moonconnection.com
that shows the phases of the
moon. When youre writing a

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LITERARY MARKETS

WRITING OUTLETS
with Janet Cameron

Quality literary magazines

The Stinging Fly
www.stingingy.org

novel set on a beach, you have

to be aware of what the sea is
doing every minute when the
tide turns, how fast it comes in
and how high its going to be
because your characters will
have to be aware of it too. And
you cant set the climax of
your story on the night of the
spring tide in October if the
tide will actually peak at four
in the afternoon.

Aim for the authentic

If you can visit the location

youre writing about, getting
the landscape right is much
easier. However, if you cant
get to the place, my tip is to
stay as far away as possible
from ofcial sources. Tourist
brochures will give you the
glossy, scrubbed-up version of
a day out, but TripAdvisor will
tell you about the state of the
toilets, the length of the queues
and the terrible manners of the
goats in the petting zoo. Also,
theres nothing funnier than
a fully edged TripAdvisor
meltdown.
Old issues of Vogue and
Cosmo will show you what the
beautiful people were wearing
back in the 1970s; but if you
want to know what clothes
looked like in the real world,
look for family photographs
preferably other peoples
family photographs, which are
usually way more interesting.
And, once more with feeling,
we are so damn lucky to have
the internet. Its all out there.
We just have to look.
To get your characters to
really come alive, remember to
think of them as living people,
not video cameras. So much
modern storytelling is done
through visual media, but the
characters we create arent

just effortlessly wandering the

earth, observing and replaying
the story on the readers behalf.
Theyre physical beings, shaped
by everything thats happened
to them before, and responding
to everything thats happening
around them right now.
And then, once youve done
all your research and you know
every part of your ctional
landscape and its inhabitants
inside out, you have to do the
really important part you
make it all disappear.
Research is the foundation
of a narrative. That means
it shouldnt feel like its
even there. Dont show off
everything youve learned.
Instead, hide it as well as you
possibly can, by weaving it
into the fabric and tucking in
the ends. Dont tell the reader
everything you know about
your characters; let it come out
in the little mundane details of
what they do, how they speak,
what they wear, what they eat
and what they laugh at.
Dont feel constrained by
what youve learned. The Beach
Hut was inspired by a very
particular place and everyone
who knows the north coast of
Cornwall will recognise it, but
Ive made subtle alterations to
suit the story I wanted to tell.
My best research advice for a
writer is to always be curious;
nothings ever wasted. My
second best advice is that when
youre cold-water swimming
in the autumn and your
signicant other tells you that
you have to come out before
you die, you should listen to
them, because theyll almost
certainly be right.
Find Cassandra at www.
cassandraparkin.wordpress.com

This eclectic magazine is looking

for ction and poetry, and is committed to promoting and encouraging the short story. It is based
in Ireland, published in hard copy
three times a year and each issue
contains poetry and several short
stories. You can subscribe for 25 a year or its 8 a copy.
Tip: The current guest editor says he likes to see poems
that are gesturing or hinting towards truths we grasp but
cannot articulate. They do what poetry alone can do.
Submissions: Stories can be 600 to 5000 words. You can
send one story by post at a time, and up to four poems,
which can be emailed. Full guidelines are online.

Firewords Quarterly
www.rewords.co.uk
This hard-copy literary magazine
welcomes poems and stories in any
genre and style. You can subscribe
online to receive two, three or
four issues. They are keen on bold
artwork and design, and promise
to enhance and bring to life any
poetry or stories they publish.
Tip: The editors like powerful
writing but prefer it if it has universal appeal rather than being too specialised.
Submissions: Short stories should be under 2000 words.
Add your name to the mailing list online, so that you will
receive the calls for submissions and deadline information
when a new issue is being planned.

Pif Magazine
www.pifmagazine.com
Every issue of this monthly
ezine is archived online, so
you can browse and get a
good idea of their literary
preferences.
Tip: The editors like to be intrigued by what they read, and
say they prefer individual creative vision over commercially
accessible sameness.
Submissions: Simply go to the submission guidelines online, click on the submit button and follow the instructions.
They request you dont make simultaneous submissions, and
that, if your work is accepted, you grant them 30 days exclusivity from the date of publication.

Janets ebook Fifteen Women Philosophers, published by

decodedscience.com, is available from Amazon

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Poetry workshop

PAINTING WITH WORDS

Our new
poetry editor
Sue Butler
takes a look at
some first-time
experiences to
inspire you this month.
You can contact Sue at
poetry@writers-forum.com

ts said that a picture paints a thousand

words. This month your challenge is to
consider using words to create various
visual effects.

Paintings

Can you persuade your reader to step into

your piece of writing? Can you create a
world the reader can see as vividly as if it
were physically real?
To get started, imagine yourself in one
of the following paintings. They can all be
found easily on the internet or in books at
your local library.
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. The
night hawk has a beaked nose, wears a
dark suit and is holding a cigarette.
The Scream of Nature by Edvard Munch
(shown). Munch created four versions of
this person in agony beneath a swirling
orange sky, some painted, some in pastels.
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador
Dal, where pocket watches are melting
like Camembert in the sun.
Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh,
painted in 1889 when van Gogh was in an
asylum at Saint-Rmy.

Are you one of the characters or objects

in the painting? Are you a totally new
character or object or are you yourself?
Do you wish you could escape the picture?
Are you totally unaware of being in a
picture? Do you worry the viewer will
misunderstand you?
These paintings are just suggestions.
If you have a favourite artwork, use
that. And, of course, the image doesnt
have to be famous. Ask your children or
grandchildren or cousin Eric to draw
you a picture and step into that.

50

Portraits

It goes without saying that the characters

in a piece of writing need to be believable.
So, to enhance your skills in this area, try
writing a portrait of yourself but write
as if you were a stranger observing your
physical characteristics for the first time.
Write two portraits: one that flatters and
one that is more realistic. As you write,
consider what a stranger might suspect
rightly or wrongly - from the tilt of your
head, your hairstyle, the scar on your
temple or the sparkle in your eyes.
Use your physical characteristics to
reveal things only you know about
yourself. Does anything keep emerging
even though you try to hide it?

Using colour

Picasso had a blue period, William Carlos

Williams had a red wheelbarrow glazed
with rain by white chickens, Robert Frosts
two roads diverged in a yellow wood.
Choose a colour and write in it. Use
its many hues to create characters and
landscapes; journeys, revelations, lessons
learned, tension, fear, regret, love.
And after you have written, spend
some time considering why you chose
that colour. Was it the right choice? If not,
re-write your piece using another colour.

Perspective

Are you the sort of writer that always

starts from the same perspective? Does
your subject always sit or stand in the
centre of the piece? Is the sky always

behind the trees and above the land? Do

your clouds pass in front of the moon,
owls hoot at night and larks sing by day?
Does breakfast always come before lunch
and never consists of chips and chocolate
washed down with Napoleon brandy?
Are the head, hands and feet of your
characters always in proportion to the
rest of their body? Would you ever
contemplate giving them three legs
metaphorically or otherwise? Might they
benefit from an extra eye? An eye that
came out on a stalk? Or an eye that can
sing like Maria Callas or Johnny Cash
or your cousin Eric?
Do you ever climb up a tree and look
down on your subject? Do you ever lie
down and look at your subject from
underneath?
When we are children we draw
ourselves as big as houses. The sky is
a thin line of blue or black or purple
(depending on the weather) and M-shaped
birds fly between pillow-sized clouds.
We hold hands with dragons or witches
or kangaroos or dinosaurs or imaginary
friends or family or the pets we love,
beneath the arch of a rainbow.
Spend some time regaining a child-like,
no-limits view of perspective. Let it fill
your writing and lead you down all sorts
of new roads.
Go on, try it and see what happens.

The surface

Jan van Eyck painted the Ghent Altarpiece

on 12 panels, eight of which are hinged
shutters. John Constable used pencil and
watercolours on paper to create A study
of clouds and trees. Michelangelo painted
on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Both
unionists and nationalists have painted
murals on buildings in Belfast.
The great thing about writing is that you
can choose the surface on which to write
your piece and if in the process you decide
youre not writing a miniature in a gold
locket but a Soviet-style fresco, you can
simply change surfaces.
So next time you write, dont be afraid
to experiment. Write in chalk and
charcoal, then add a huge rococo frame.
Take something immense and write it on
the head of a pin. Write on paper, then cut
it up and stick it on a piece of wood. When
it is dry write knife-slashes across the
whole piece, then use words like a coat of
clear varnish.

Writersforum #164

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POETRY

Do some research

In the spring of 1821, Constable exhibited

The Hay Wain. A critic made a less-thanattering comment about the sky, and
Constable decided to repaint it. But before
he did he spent a lot of time observing and
drawing the sky and clouds.
We all think we can write about
everyday things such as the sky, but how
well do we really know these things?
Practise writing about the following:
The taste of tea or coffee with or
without milk and sugar
The feel of soap and hot water when you
wash your hands
Grass
A horse
Cars.

Now take something you would like to

write about in a new and exciting way and
make 20- or 30- or even 40-word sketches
of it. Learn from every one and take what
you learn into the next.
Dont stop after six or seven. Commit to
taking however long it requires. Believe
in yourself and the process and keep on
writing.

Where theres a will

I read somewhere that when Titians

hands became too arthritic for him to hold
a brush, he smeared the paint with his
palms. Whether or not that is true, its a
reminder that artists need to adapt the
way they create to the resources they have
available be that physical ability, time,
or nances.
So if the demands of your life mean
you dont have time to write a novel, try a
short story. If you can only concentrate for
short periods of time, try setting yourself
a target of three or four rhyming couplets.
Dont let your limitations frustrate you.
Harness your potential and get creative.

Dont worry about the value

Did Turner or Rembrandt know how

valuable their paintings would become?
Of course, they needed money to live, but
was that the main reason they painted?
However you choose to use your words,
embrace the process of writing and dont
worry about its nancial value. When
you step back from your canvas or wall
or sketchbook, just take a moment to
check you are writing about things you
care about; know about; want to tell other
people about.
Write because the colours and textures
and perspectives you use make you feel
excited about the subject. Write bravely
and boldly from the heart.

IN MY OWN WORDS
Teaching Chaucers Canterbury Tales to a Class of 18 Year Olds
Some are shocked at how dirty
this medieval fellow can get.
And then there are those,
the quarrelsome, impatient ones,
who demand to know
why Chaucers English is so far off the mark.
Its a bit much, maam, they say,
he drones on and on in really atrocious English about pilgrims who dont interest
us in the least, not counting the Wife of Bath that is.
But I tell them there is no remedy for it.
Chaucer is on the syllabus,
this is my job,
some things just are,
they cant be helped.
And so, for the rest of the hour,
I mete and dole
the Father of English Literature
unto this general classroom unhappiness.

Poet K Srilata writes: Im a professor of English at the Indian

Institute of Technology Madras. The irony of having a dead, white man
on the syllabus, given that south India has a literary tradition that predates Chaucer, is immediately obvious. Decades of questioning the canon
have not changed the topography. Yet, research fellowship exams will
routinely test students on the Canterbury Tales. And so we end up not just
teaching Chaucer, but teaching him in an unquestioning way. Sometimes,
I envy students because they can complain about Chaucer droning on in
atrocious English. But I cannot. Often one feels like Tennysons Ulysses
who must mete and dole unequal laws unto a savage race. Dead, white
poets in my country are like carefully preserved private lawns. Many of
them write beautifully and I enjoy reading them. But that is not the point.
K Srilatas collections include Writing Octopus, Arriving Shortly and Seablue
Child. Her poetry has also featured in The BloodAxe Anthology of Indian Poets
and The Harper Collins Book of English Poetry by Indians. Her novel, Table for
Four (Penguin) was longlisted for the Man Asian literary prize.

POETRY WORKOUT
Not good with numbers? Use these prompts this month and
prove yourself wrong

1
2
3
4

Write an eight-line poem using all the following words in the order
they appear here: rain, jug, withheld, high, cautiously, china (or China if
you prefer), shiver, less, creaking, back.
Write about a number. Make it the hero (or villain) of the piece.
Write two versions of the same piece. First write in the past. Then
the present. What changes? Which version feels more authentic?
Choose someone from history and write in the rst person. Say I
and become Chaplin, Beatrix Potter, Edward or Mrs Simpson.

WritersFORUM #164

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POETRY

Poetry
competition
Each month our rst prize poem
wins 100 and three runners-up
win a copy of the Chambers
Thesaurus, worth 30.

Poetry editor Sue Butler writes: In this months winning

poem, Skys Theatre by Sharon Boyle, wind, cloud, rain and sun
stride across the stage delivering their lines and doing their best
to upstage each other. The full stop at the end of the rst stanza is
like a curtain coming down at the end of a scene. The white space
between that and the beginning of the next stanza accentuates
the time that passes as the reader the audience waits for the
next scene. Now a lone house appears. As the reader is looking at
the stage and trying to understand what this house might signify,
the lone voice of a woman in the audience comments on the
previous scene. Weve all been in the theatre when the brooding
tension so carefully built up by the actors has been interrupted by
a comment from someone sitting near us. Sharon Boyle captures
such a moment then doesnt add further comment. She leaves the
reader to respond in their own way; as they must to the previous
stanza of this poem or to any work of art.
Matastasis by Lesley Bowen also avoids telling the reader what
they should think. This is a brave, brutally honest and very dark
poem in which the words march to a sombre but relentless
rhythm mirroring the unstoppable advance of the disease. The
images are savage and the reader is almost afraid to face the
next one. But while intensely personal, this poem never asks for
sympathy or wallows in self-pity.
Mark Russell-Smith also speaks calmly about loss in his poem,
Collateral Damage 2014. He makes it clear what is lost wasnt a
palace or a stately home; but the narrators home, his community,
his anchor. The poem contains few details about what caused the
loss and leaves the reader wondering if we would be so stoic if
we were in the speakers position.
Coming to by Andrea Jane Cooke reminds us that life contains
all kinds of losses; we need to be honest about our mistakes and
then learn from the experience. Its an age-old lesson but one
that Andrea faces head on. It takes some courage to admit that
not only has life been wrong but more wrong that you thought.
And it also takes some skill to write about this subject without
becoming maudlin or too self-centred.
To end on a lighter note, if there was a prize for the most
intriguing title this month it would go to the two-part commended
poem, When Dinosaurs Loved Poetry, by Clifford Liles.
52

100 winner

Skys Theatre

Sharon Boyle, East Linton, E Lothian

Tonight the Wind is guesting and gusting with an operatic air
Rumpling root-wrapped trees and glued-on gorse
Raging Viking-style through glens and lochs.
Then Sun makes a show and glows and
Glimmers before waning faint
Her promise of an Oscar turn dimmed
By Cloud curtains shooing in the main act: Rain
Needling down and darkening stone
Drilling wide sweeps of eld and fen
Till Sky bows blackly marking scene end.
No applaud, no acclaim
Just a lone house clinging under clenched slate
And inside a woman shooting up her lip
Cawing, Can it no make up its mind?

Matastasis

Lesley Bowen, Alpington, Norfolk

Last month some bad news came to stay
But my brain has locked it away
In a dismal, murky cell in my mind
Only when the torment wardens sleep
Is it able to deviously creep
Through a small aw in the resistance
Then it tramples my mind like a savage beast
Searching for fear and despair on which to feast
And nds a banquet hidden beneath a thin blanket of hope.
It returns to its lair without farewell
Leaving only memories on which to dwell
Whilst in plans its next painful forage
It came to visit me once before
I thought when it left it shut the door
But the door was only ajar, this time its here forever.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN52poetrycomp.indd 52

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Writers FORUM
Want to see YOUR poem
published in these pages?

Collateral Damage 2014

Any topic, any style all entries welcome! Rhyming or free verse,
haiku or sonnet, funny, sad, romantic or angry

Mark Russell-Smith,York

Stark as it was, that block of ats

had a comfortable and comforting face
washing hanging out on balconies, faded
curtains answering from open windows,
birds in cages, a bike propped on railings,
and always childrens laughter and music.
Somehow the hard edges of that plain
building were softened by the powerlines
draped over it like spiders webs, neighbours
doors open all day, friendly talk and trees:
at night-time a galaxy of naked lights.
Coming home was then an anchoring.
Coming home now is to a place out of place.
Expanse of sky above, and below,
emptiness, silence shrouding piles
of rubble, gaping holes, a twisted bike;
curtains still ap from open windows;
and in shell blown trees no birds sing.
Home no longer but for rats and the dead:
huddled in blankets, the old place lled our dreams.

First prize 100

Runners-up receive dictionaries
ENTER AS MANY POEMS AS YOU LIKE
4 PER POEM OR 6 WITH CRITIQUE
Poems must be a maximum of 40 lines and printed on A4.
Give your name, address, phone number and email address.
Add a brief biography of yourself: age, occupation, family,
writing career to date, favourite poets.
Entry fee is 4 per poem, or 6 per poem if you would like to
receive a helpful critique from poetry editor Sue Butler.
Cheques (in sterling only) should be made payable to
Select Publisher Services, ll in your credit-card details below
or pay online at www.writers-forum.com
How to enter
Fill in the coupon below (photocopies are acceptable) and
post with your cheque or credit-card details to:
Writers Forum Poetry Contest
PO Box 6337, Bournemouth BH1 9EH
By entering, you will have been deemed to agree for the poem to
appear in Writers Forum and future Writers Forum anthologies.
The competition is open worldwide but entries must be in English.
Deadline: 15th of each month. Late entries go into the next contest.

Coming to

Andrea Jane Cooke, Lower Gresham, Norfolk

Did you ever wake up one day
and see things differently,
like your whole life had been
even more wrong than you thought,
your misjudgement so plain
that you walk back clear
into the classroom so bright
through sunlight from the thick of night,
walk backwards into the past
try to work it out from the start.
You never ever realised
how cunningly the future is disguised.
Step softly on your former self.
No one needs know.
Fourth and fth years in at the front,
lowers round the back.
You never even gured out
it was just to ease the ow.

Name
Address
Postcode
Phone number
Email address
Poem titles

I declare that this poetry has not previously been published or

broadcast and that it is my own work
Signed
I enclose (please tick) my poem(s) payment of
a stamped self-addressed envelope for my optional critique
I would like my entry to be considered for a poetry workshop
and to be critiqued in Writers Forum
OPTIONAL Please enrol me for an annual subscription
at the price of 38 (UK) 49 (Europe) or 56 (Rest of world)
Visa/Mastercard/Maestro (delete)

Total

Card no
There are four commended poems this month:
When Dinosaurs Loved Poetry pt1 / pt2 by Clifford Liles, Canterbury
Nearly Sixty by Margaret Finnigan, Renfrews
Jogging with Cherries by Karin Mohler, Basel, Switzerland

WF164JUN52poetrycomp.indd 53

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Signature

13/05/2015 15:24:28

Directory
BE BOLD LABOUR AND PRIORITISE!

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WF164-54-6.indd 54

13/05/2015 15:29:07

Send your event listings three months ahead to diary@writers-forum.com

DIRECTORY

Literary diary

Kate Medhurst brings you

the pick of next months
writing and book events

FESTIVALS

AUTHOR & BOOK EVENTS

Felixstowe Book Festival, Suffolk

Leigh Russell, London

27-28 June
Events for everyone who likes to read ction,
poetry and non-ction, including author talks,
writing workshops and childrens storytelling.
Ruth Dugdall will be attending the event to
read from her book Humber Boy B.
www.felixstowebookfestival.co.uk

26 June, 11.30am 5.30pm

The crime author will be at WH Smith Victoria
Station to promote her latest novel, Killer Plan.
For more information call 020 7630 9677.

Robert Goddard, Somerset

2 July, 12.30pm
The author will be at the Somerset WI
Centenary Lunch at the Wessex Hotel in Street
discussing his new book, The Ends of the Earth.
For more information call 01458 443383.

Ledbury Poetry Festival, Herefs

3-12 July
The Ledbury Poetry Festival celebrates its 19th
birthday this year and as always takes place
over 10 days. It features poets from all over the
world including John Burnside, Simon Armitage,
Pam Ayres. Sophie Hannah and Imtiaz Dharker.
There will be readings, workshops, open mic
sessions, performances, music, exhibitions, lms
and family events.
www.poetry-festival.co.uk

Frome Festival, Somerset

3-12 July
Although not solely a literature festival, theres
always a strong focus on words at Frome, and
this years writing events include author talks
and workshops and a short story competition.
Ivan Cooper, John McHugo, Diana Darke and
Peter Clark are among the writers taking part.
www.fromefestival.co.uk

The Telegraph Ways With Words

Festival, Devon
6-16 July
The Telegraph Ways With Words festival is a
10-day event providing the chance for those
who read books to meet those who write
them. Polly Toynbee, Richard Madeley, Judy
Finnigan, Dom Joly, Terry Waite, John Sergeant
and John Hegley are among those taking part.
www.wayswithwords.co.uk

Buxton Festival, Derbys

10-26 July
The festival covers literature, opera and music
and Miriam Margolyes, Antonia Fraser, Kathy
Lette, F Philip Holland and AN Wilson will all be
taking part in the series of literary events.
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime

Writing Festival, Harrogate

16-19 July
The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing
Festival is devoted to crime ction. Some of
the nest criminal minds will knock heads
in a series of debates, seminars and on-stage
interviews as well as talks, discussions and
more. Ann Cleeves, Lee Child,Val McDermid

Antony Beevor, Leeds

Its murder in
Harrogate

and Mark Billingham are some of the authors

headlining this years festival.
www.harrogate-festival.org.uk

Festival at the Edge, Shrops

17-19 July
This storytelling festival features leading
international storytellers in performance, music,
comedy and related arts. There are practical
workshops, story rounds and informal music
sessions for everyone to join in with and there
will also be stories and performances for
children taking place throughout the weekend.
www.festivalattheedge.org

Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall

30 July 2 August
An annual celebration of words, music, nature,
imagination, ideas, food, fashion, owers,
laughter, exploration and fun. Sarah Waters,
Simon Armitage, Ceri Levy, Matt Haig, Nina
Stibbe and Patrick Gale are some of the writers
taking part this year.
www.porteliotfestival.com

Edinburgh Book Festival

15-31 August
Taking place beneath canvas in the genteel
surrounds of Charlotte Square, this is a
celebration not only of the written word, but
also of the big ideas that concern our times.
There will be more than 800 authors in over
700 events including novelists, poets, scientists,
philosophers, sportspeople, illustrators, graphic
artists, historians, musicians, biographers,
environmentalists, economists, Nobel and
Booker prize-winners and more.
www.edbookfest.co.uk

15 July, 6.30pm
The author will be at The Royal Armouries in
Leeds discussing his book Ardennes 1944: Hitlers
Last Gamble. Tickets cost 10.
For more information call 0113 244 4588.

Charlie Adlard, London

18 July, 1-3pm and 7-9pm

The illustrator of the bestselling Walking Dead
comics will be at Gosh! signing from 1-3pm
and then presenting a talk on his working
process between 7-9pm. The event is free.
For more information call 020 7636 1011.

Kerry Hudson, London

20 July, 7.30pm
The author delivers her second novel, Thirst,
at the nal Polari session at the Southbank
Centre. She will be joined by Lisa Jewell, Sarah
Savage, Paul McVeigh and Nigel May for further
literary crackle and surprise. Tickets cost 5.
For more information call 020 7960 4200.

Poetry reading, Flintshire

23 July, 7.30pm
Award-winning poets Wendy Cope and Lachlan
Mackinnon hold an evening of poetry at
Gladstone Library. Tickets cost 12.
For more information call 01244 532350.

Pam Ayres, Hudderseld

29 July, 7.30pm
The Lawrence Batley Theatre hosts an evening
with the popular poet, who is back on tour
with her latest book of poetry. Tickets 23.
For more information call 01484 430528.

Philippa Gregory, London

13 August, 6pm
The author discusses her new novel The Taming
of the Queen the story of Katherine Parr,
Henry VIIIs nal wife, and the play from her time
as Regent that may have inspired Shakespeares
The Taming of the Shrew. Tickets cost 4.
For more details call 020 7452 3000.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN52diary.indd 55

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13/05/2015 15:22:38

DIRECTORY

AUTHORS

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WF164-54-6.indd 56

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Send your event listings three months ahead to diary@writers-forum.com

New courses

DIRECTORY

HELPFUL NEW BOOKS

Get Started in Writing Young Adult
Fiction by Juliet Mushens (Teach
Yourself Books, 10)
is an authoritative and
engaging introduction
to writing Young
Adult ction for the
complete beginner.
It will help you
understand how the
genre works, and the
big dos and donts,
as well as giving you
the inspiration and
motivation you need to write.
Will Write for Food by Dianne
Jacob (Da Capo
Lifelong Books,
10.99) aims to be the
essential how-to guide
for starving artists
who want to become
well-fed writers! A
guide to the world of
food writing, it is an
engaging, informative
handbook for
hobbyists and aspiring
professionals. Published 20 July.

Enjoy the view at the

Writers Lab on Skyros

RESIDENTIAL COURSE
Successful Fiction, Greece

9-22 August
The Writers Lab on the Greek island of Skyros
offers writers the opportunity to share the
joys and struggles of the creative process.
Experienced creative writing tutor Leigh Russell
presents techniques to engage readers interest
and keep them turning the pages. It costs 1245
and includes daily yoga, the writing course and
half-board, twin-share accommodation.
www.skyros.com

SHORT COURSES
Creative Writing: Journalism,
London

4 and 11 July
This two-day practical course is designed
to introduce students to the basic skills you
need to write for newsletters, magazines and
newspapers.You will discover how to write
the story, from the idea to the printed page.
It takes place from 10.30am 5pm on
consecutive Saturdays and costs 121.
www.bishopsgate.org.uk

Creative Writing, Edinburgh

6 July 1 August
This four-week course offers developing
writers a supportive environment in which to
further their writing skills in ction, poetry, and
drama. There will be two-hour group seminars
and individual mentoring sessions.
www.suiss.ed.ac.uk

ONE-DAY COURSES
First Person Narration
Workshop, Norwich

11 July
Award-winning writer Jenn Ashworth will
lead a series of exercises and writing prompts
designed to help you develop a unique narrating
voice for your character.You will deal with
the balance between the external and internal
worlds of your narrator, the slippery question
of unreliability and much more. It costs 75.
www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk

Creative Writing Course, London

5 August
Writer and performer Femi Martins work is
gripping and surprising, brilliant and concise, and

she shows you how she does it in this one-day

course. Taking place in the Sunley Pavilion at the
Royal Festival Hall, it costs 15.
For more information call 020 7960 4200.

DISTANCE LEARNING
Writing Fiction for Children

Online Learning Circle

Learn how to create enchanting and engaging
stories for children with this nine-module
online course. Itll take you through the process
of choosing the best ideas, creating engaging
ction, nding markets for your work and
sending the nished product off to publishers.
It costs 149.
www.onlinelearningcircle.co.uk

Writing a Novel: the rst

15,000 words

23 September
This six-month course consists of structured
learning and constructive feedback on the rst
15,000 words of your novel. It takes place over
28 weeks working at home (nishing 27 April)
and costs 1400.
www.faberacademy.co.uk

WritersFORUM #164

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SHIORT SHORT WRITING

WritersFORUM

FLASH COMP RESULTS

Last months competition was to write a fast-paced crime story

100 winner
Journey Not Taken by Leah Osbourne

ve seen many bodies in my line of work. Whole bodies, parts

of bodies, bloodied bodies, clean bodies. But this one has me
shuddering.
I pull my jacket closer around me and wish Id worn jeans and
sensible shoes.
The woman only has one shoe.
An unimportant detail, but I notice it above all others.
One red shoe. Slightly scuffed. Stiletto heel. The bare foot lies
toes up on the rail, surrounded by brown and black gravel.
On the other side of the platform Detective Inspector Billy
Mason looks past me to the man huddled beneath a uffy blue
blanket. Rufus Joyce. Do you need to call a lawyer?
No. Rufus keeps his head bowed.
Want some water?
No. I feel sick.
Mason and I step back as Rufus leans over, dangling his head
between his knees. Vomit streams from his mouth, a wet, lumpy
torrent. It puddles on the platform, then slides into the paving
cracks, following the runnels before freefalling off the edge.
Is she really dead? Rufus licks his lips.
Mason doesnt answer. Neither do I.
Seems pretty obvious from where I stand.
Two rectangles of orange card utter on the breeze, caught in
the rails below a spill of dark hair. Railway tickets.
I tilt my head to read the writing.
Outward journey: Leicester to London St Pancras.
No return journey.
I remember my own plans to travel south. See the sights. Sit on
the London Eye, or take in a show. All fun things to do with a
boyfriend in tow. Not that well get a chance now. Not with a dead
body on our hands.
A gust of wind sends more debris skittering along the platform.
It rufes the dress of the woman on the rails, revealing then
covering her bare legs in a lurid peep show.
Mason? A voice calls from down on the tracks. You need to
see this.
With a last glare at Rufus, Mason hops off the platform.
I open my mouth to caution him, but close it soon after. There
will be no trains coming this way for at least ve hours.
Something hit her on the back of the head. The scene-of-crime
ofcer leans back on her heels. She snaps off a pair of clear gloves
and balls them up. I wont know without further examination but
my guess is thats what killed her. The fall certainly didnt.
Mason bites the inside of his cheek. Its one of his tells. The one
he always tries to hide when we play poker. The one I always
laugh at because it means one of two things: hes going to cry, or
hes going to kiss me.
The nature of the wound suggests something narrow but blunt.
Almost cylindrical.
I look again at those bare toes. Nod. Like a stiletto heel?
Mason winces. Wheres her other shoe?

58

We cant nd it. At least not in the immediate area.

Widen the search. I want it found.
Yes, sir.
Mason vaults back onto the platform. He rushes Rufus and
grabs him by the lapels. Why? Why, you psycho? How could
you?
Rufus gives a weary smile. It hurts, doesnt it? Losing someone
you love?
What did you do?
He throws off the blanket. Wrenches free of Masons grip.
Nothing the little slut didnt deserve. Dont think I didnt know
what she was doing. What you were doing. I saw the tickets.
I look again at the one-way ticket caught on the rails. The
journey not taken.
Tears ll Masons eyes. Prison for you. I promise you that. And
no cosy cell with Sky TV and a comfy bed either. Im going to get
you the deepest, darkest pit I can nd. The sort of hole specially
designed for murderers like you.
Rufus lifts his hands in a so what gesture. You already took
everything I cared about. What could you possibly do thats
worse? He sniffs. A brief ash of remorse. She was my wife. My
wife.
And you killed her. Mason drops the other man and lowers
himself back on to the tracks. He chews the inside of his cheek
again. Fat tears roll down his cheeks.
Slowly, he bends over the body on the tracks. Presses his lips to
a cold, dusty cheek.
I rush towards him, my dress uttering in the breeze. No,

WritersFORUM #164

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HOW TO ENTER

dont. Halfway there my foot slides beneath me, jerking sideways

on a slick of vomit.
Groaning, I look down.
Confusion seizes my insides. I cant breathe. Cant think.
I fall.
My vision blurs, shrinking down to nothing, but not before I
recognise my own feet: one bare and dusty, the other encased in a
scuffed, red stiletto.
Leah, from Leicester, writes: I was watching a woman walk past the
window of my favourite coffee shop and simultaneously admiring and
hating her stiletto shoes. Then I wondered what might happen if a ghost
was tasked to investigate her own murder. The two things fell together by
accident and this is what erupted from my pen when I sat down to write.

Runners-up
Keeping Mum and Dad by Sandra Crook
Splatter Pattern by Nick Morrish
Bad Day at the Office by Paul Barnett
Time by Katie Ashmore
The Case of the Diseased Redwoods by Tim Dadswell
All Washed Up by Alexandra Plowman
Little Slices of Freedom by Jason Lees
Return to the Dunes by David Higham
A Highly Irregular Situation by PJ Stephenson

Editors comments
The standard of entries to this flash crime competition was impressive.
I ended up with a shortlist of 10 and a couple of others came close.
Apart from needing to be fast-paced and start with the discovery of a
dead body, the assignment was quite open and the entries were very
varied in setting and tone. Those that didnt make the cut shared a few
problems:
Many tried to cram too much into the 800-word limit. Too many

named characters, too much backstory or confusing plot detail. A

simpler crime and/or less explanation worked better. Give the reader
just enough information and trust them to fill in the rest. Its not a
novel and with such a short piece readers are happy to go back and
pick up the clues and connections they missed first time as long as
your story is exciting enough to keep them reading to the end.
Others had the opposite problem and didnt meet the requirement
of a fast-paced crime story. Often they were very nicely written but
just didnt fit the brief. Descriptions went on just a bit too long at the
expense of pace, or the scenes were static. Some read like extracts of
longer works rather than standing on their own.
Leah Osbournes story stood out just ahead of the others because
of its neat twist, cleverly done because all the information is there
but takes on a new meaning when you read it again. I liked the little
touches of police procedure that added authenticity. And I especially
liked the the dramatic, noirish tone, which becomes melodramatic in
places forgivable because it suits the nightmarish conclusion.
Like Journey Not Taken, the shortlisted stories all leapt straight into
the action and got on with it. I would have been happy to publish all of
them, but sadly theres no room to print them here.
Instead Ive invited our winner and all the runners-up to be part of
a crime fiction special, joining professional short story writers in a
magazine called Murder in the Sun, to be published in June. Look out for
it in newsagents and on our website

Writersforum

FLASH COMP
Enter our monthly quick writing
contest with a 100 first prize

ur monthly competition for short short

writing has a 100 prize for one winner
and a number of runners-up may also be
published, depending upon the nature of the contest
and available space.
The flash competition is FREE for subscribers
(single entry only). For nonsubscribers (or extra
subscriber entries) the entry fee is 5, which you can
purchase by following the link at www.writers-forum.com.
Entry is strictly by email only.
Writers Forum wants to encourage you to write, so:

We will have a theme/task each time so that new

writing has to be produced.

There will be a tight deadline so that results can be

published quickly and entrants cant dither!
The judges decision is final and no correspondence over results
will be entered into. By entering, entrants agree to these rules
and for their entries to be published in Writers Forum.

Comp 10:
Fiction SQUARE
Deadline: 12 noon GMT
on Tuesday 2 June 2015
Editors assignment: Use the Fiction Square on
page 29 of this issue to come up with a story of exactly
400 words. Roll a dice seven times to decide the two
main characters and their traits, the main conflict that
drives the plot, the setting and an object that you must
skilfully include in your story. The rest is up to you, but
make your story suitable for a general interest magazine.
How to enter
1 Paste your story into the body of an email followed by
your name and address. State if you are a subscriber to
check against our database or give your entry purchase
number. Add a couple of lines about what inspired you.
2 In the emails subject line box, write Flash Comp 10:
followed by an eye-catching and relevant story title.
3 Send your email to flashcomp@writers-forum.com by
the deadline above.
Good luck. The results will be published next issue!

Writersforum #164

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earnings

Where to
earn money
as a writer
A new survey shows that, while a few
writers are making big money, most are
struggling. Susie Kearley investigates
which areas of publishing pay the best

any writers say you

shouldnt chase
the markets. Write
what you want to
write, they say, and of course,
it makes sense to write about
your passions and make the
most of your expertise.
But theres a balance to be
struck if youre serious about
making money as a writer.
Meeting the requirements of
commercial markets can bring
in cash that enables you to
spend more time writing.
However, the markets are
a changing phenomenon
whats hot one minute, isnt
necessarily hot a month later.
Even the most popular markets
become saturated. For authors,
chasing trends can be tricky
unless you can churn out
quality books very quickly.
Most writers need months,
if not years, to complete a
manuscript. So if your focus
is on books, especially novels,
then writing what you want to
write makes sense.
The question then is what
other opportunities exist for
writers to increase their
writing income? Perhaps the
answer is to consider writing
for different genres. Could
your novel be turned into a
compelling screenplay?

60

Audiovisual writing The

survey revealed that the
highest earners were those
working in audiovisual
writing, such as for radio
and television. This is quite
a specialist field, but its not
inaccessible. Opportunities
for new writers in the
audiovisual sector can be
found at BBC Writers Room
(www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom)
and Channel 4 Talent (http://
4talent.channel4.com search
screenwriting).

and theres a huge disparity

between the modest earnings
of the many and the high
earnings of the few.
British magazines that
publish short fiction include:
Peoples Friend, Take a Breaks
Fiction Feast, Womans Weekly,
Yours, My Weekly, Black Static,
New Worlds and The Edge.
There are also online fiction
magazines, and some in the
USA and Canada that are
worth a look. They include
Fleeting Magazine, Flash Fiction
Magazine, Washington Pastime,
Cicada Magazine, The Walrus
and Boston Review.
Book publishers and agents
dealing in adult fiction can
be found in the Writers
and Artists Yearbook. Some
smaller publishers who deal
with authors directly include
Magic Oxygen, John Hunt and
Skylight Press.

2=

2=

Best paying genres

A new report on writers pay,

published by the Authors
Licensing and Collecting
Society (ALCS) in April,
compares what writers earned
in different genres. Here are the
more profitable opportunities
for those who want to
maximise their writing income:

Adult fiction The

second best paid genre
was adult fiction, but the mean
income figures here were
skewed considerably by a few
very high earners. If you want
to enter this market, then there
are abundant opportunities
for adult fiction in magazines,
and a huge book market. Both
are very competitive, however,

Childrens fiction
If you look at median
incomes rather than mean,
then the second-best paid
genre was childrens fiction.
The childrens and
young adult book market is
considerable see the Childrens
Writers and Artists Yearbook
for agents and publishers.
However, British magazines in

this genre tend to publish more

comic strips, puzzles and crafts
than traditional short stories.
Cricket Media in the USA
offers opportunities for writers
of childrens fiction. They
have a wide range of titles that
carry short fiction, appealing
to children of all ages (www.
cricketmag.com).

Education This includes

text books, educational
articles and course materials.
This is a specialist area of
writing and youll ideally need
expertise and connections
within education to make
progress in this genre.

Travel One of the lower

paid genres was travel,
yet its quite an attractive
genre to many aspiring
writers. Opportunities in
this sector include Coast,
National Geographic, Britain,
Discover Britain and Wanderlust.
Many airlines have in-flight
magazines that offer
opportunities for freelancers,
for example High Life, the
British Airways magazine.
Bear in mind that you
dont need to travel abroad to
contribute. An article about
your home town is exotic to
someone overseas.

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JK Rowlings success
isnt typical, but her
route to publication is

Academic The lowest paid

writers who responded
to the survey were academic
writers, who might typically
write about their research
topics. Many of them have
full-time jobs at universities
and writing is a small part of
their working life. Their work
would include contributions
to specialist journals and the
writing of specialist books.
Technical writing and
non-ction writing were also
at the low end of the pay scale.
However, the survey didnt
ask respondents for the
number of hours spent writing,
so its hard to say to what
extent the earnings per genre

Five ways to increase

your writing income
1 Target some of the best
paying sectors
2 Draw on personal
expertise and experience
to provide a unique
selling point
3 Consider grants for which
youre eligible
4 Consider complementary
income streams
5 Put in long hours, work
hard and persevere!

were swayed by the number of

hours worked.
Its perhaps hardly surprising
that those who had full-time
academic positions earned
the least from their writing.
They probably dont have a lot
of time to spend on writing.
However, for those writers
focused on the money, perhaps
exploring opportunities in the
most protable genres would
make some sense.

The gender pay gap

Is it better to be a male writer?

Not necessarily. Among the
professional authors group,
women earned 80 per cent of
what men earned, but overall,
women actually earned slightly
more than men when you look
at all respondents combined.
The gender pay gap between
writers is much smaller than in
other industries.

Rewards increase with

age up to a point

The respondents earnings

increased with age up to the
age of 50, then decreased
slightly between the ages of
50 and 59, before falling
sharply in retirement years.
Younger writers should
perhaps feel encouraged then,
that better nancial rewards

are to come. As writers develop

their skills over time and grow
in their role, they are able to
draw on their acquired wisdom
and experience to achieve
higher earnings.
For older writers wondering
if theyve peaked, theres no
need to despair. Theres still
a huge market for material
by mature writers, whether
in mainstream titles or in
specialist publications such as
The Oldie, Peoples Friend, Saga
Magazine, The Lady and Yours,
to name a few.
If youre wondering whether
youre too old to be a successful
novelist, think again. The
author of the Little House on
the Prairie books, Laura Ingalls
Wilder, didnt get a publishing
deal until she was 65 years
old. Penelope Fitzgeralds
rst novel, The Golden Child,
wasnt published until she was
60. Frank McCourt only saw
Angelas Ashes published when
he was 66.

Multiple incomes
and grants

Most of the respondents had

multiple income streams;
24.81 per cent were academics/
teachers, 3.75 per cent were
retired, and over 11 per cent
dened their primary role as
other. Even among those who
were primarily working in
writing roles, such as authors,
journalists, editors, and
playwrights, most had another
income stream. Sixty-two
percent of authors received
over 50 per cent of their income
from other sources.
Theres something to be
said for up-skilling and
diversifying in this challenging
environment. Some writers
diversify by providing
photography, illustrations
or computer graphics to
accompany their work. Others
deliver writing workshops or
do private tutoring to generate
a second income. Some
engage in content creation
for businesses, social media
management, or marketing /
public relations activities.
Arts Councils provide grants
for artists and writers to enable

them to dedicate time to artistic

works. JK Rowling received an
8000 grant from the Scottish
Arts Council before her books
became hugely successful.
This enabled her to work on
her second Harry Potter novel,
The Chamber of Secrets, without
having to worry about money.
Literary projects are also
one of the many categories
funded by Googles Creative
Work Fund (see www.
creativeworkfund.org).

Who are the big earners?

The top earners in the ALCS
Writers Pay Survey appear
to be full-time writers,
particularly in audiovisual
writing, adult ction, and some
childrens ction.
However, there is wide
variation between authors
earnings in every genre and
there are big differences
between the mean average and
the median in every genre. This
shows that a small number of
writers are very highly paid,
while the majority of writers
are relatively poorly paid.
However, without knowing
the number of hours that the
respondents spent on their
writing, its hard to be certain
about just how low their
earnings were. Many were
simply working part time.

Is success down to luck,

ability or hard work?

Theres always an element of

luck when a writers work
gets picked up by inuential
people and gains momentum
in the marketplace, but a lot of
a writers success is also down
to hard work, talent and a good
command of written English.
Dedication, commitment and
tenacity are also key attributes
of successful writers.
JK Rowling wasnt an
overnight success. She was a
divorcee and single mother,
living on benets, who was
struggling nancially for years.
She spent years improving her
writing craft before she found
success with her Harry Potter
series which incidentally was
rejected by 12 publishers before
it was accepted.

WritersFORUM #164

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COMP CALENDAR

Competitive Edge
Remember: different judges
like different things

Clio Gray

Helen M Walters talks to short story competition

organiser Graham Jennings of The Henshaw Press

ublisher Graham Jennings, of The

Henshaw Press, runs a quarterly short
story competition. I asked him what
he looks for in a winning short story. Here
are his tips.

The rst paragraph and indeed the

rst sentence is crucial. It must grab the
readers attention and make them want
to read on. Look at newspapers and see
how they grab attention with a handful of
words in their headlines.
Use dialogue where possible; it helps to
lift the characters off the page. It helps the
reader empathise with them.
Get an independent critique; it is very
difcult to obtain a true critique from
friends and family.
Try different competitions; remember
different judges have different views.
Within our own competition each judge
allocates points to a story and it is not
unknown for one judge to give a story
maximum points whilst another will
not give it any points. One of our recent
prize winners had been sending a story
to competitions for 18 months without
success. Our judges thought it one of the
best stories we have seen.
Your story will be judged against the
other entries in that particular competition.
So it is not only the quality of your story
that matters but the quality of the other
entries. Do read the winning stories in
any competition you enter and see how
yours compares.
Have faith, once you have done all the
above; persist. You need a thick skin if you
are a writer. All, even the greatest, have
had work rejected. Keep writing.

Its all excellent advice. Bear Grahams

tips in mind whatever competitions you
are thinking of entering this month.
Find out more about The Henshaw Press
at henshawpress.co.uk.

62

Helens Hint Flash Fiction

Competition of the Month

Last time I taught a residential creative

writing course, I asked my students to
do a couple of exercises that encourage
economy of words. This is great practice
for writing ash ction.
The rst challenge was to write a letter
to a newspaper or magazine in fewer than
35 words. One of the problems people had
was wasting words at the beginning by
setting the scene. In a really short piece,
you dont have time to do that. You have
to dive straight into what you want to say
without any hesitation. It may take you a
few drafts, but if you can distil the idea
you want to get across into as few words
as possible youll make it as strong and
hard-hitting as it possibly can be.
The second challenge was to write a
haiku a poem typically restricted to
three lines, the rst with ve syllables,
the second with seven, and the last with
ve syllables again. When writing haiku,
every syllable counts, so you need to be
even more careful about word economy.
You also want to suit the poetic form
by making sure all your words sound
perfectly balanced. Thats an awful lot to
get right in one short piece, so it will really
get your brain working hard.
When youre writing short pieces, try to
make your writing as snappy and precise
as possible by doing the following:

This months featured comp is the

HISSAC or Highlands and Islands
Short Story Association Competition.
Chair of judges Clio Gray told me,
We have always encouraged unusual
stories, as can be seen in our new
10-year anthology, where we feature
a story in rhyme, one in the form of a
job application, a couple in dialect, and
some rather surreal stories that would
struggle to nd a home elsewhere all
welcomed by HISSAC with open arms.
So if youve got a story idea that feels
a bit different or unusual this could be
the perfect home for it.
Full details are in the listing (page 64),
and if you want to nd out more about
both the HISSAC competition and their
anthology take a look at their website
www.hissac.co.uk

Focus on the art of making every single

word count.
Think about the order in which you are
saying things. Sometimes you can save a
few words by re-ordering a paragraph or
restructuring a sentence.
Less is more. Aim to focus on one main
character in one setting with one theme.
Get to the point straight away. You dont
have time for pre-amble or introduction.
If youre going to have a twist in your

story, leave it until the very end for

maximum impact.
Both exercises are a good way of
practising the things you should bear in
mind when writing ash. Why not give
thom a go and work on your ability to be
brief? This will stand you in good stead for
ash competitions where the wordcount is
low and sticking to it is crucial.
Then, if youre looking for a ash ction
competition to enter, the Exeter Flash
Competition closes at the end of August.
Full details are in the listing on page 64.
Organiser Cathie Hartigan told me: If
you want a top tip it would be for entrants
to think about their ash stories as small
on the page but big in the mind. Aim to
imply rather than state.
Do give ash ction a go. Learning how
to make every word count is such a great
skill. Good luck!

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN62compedge.indd 62

13/05/2015 15:20:39

Send your success stories, questions for Helen, tips and comp news (three months in advance) to comps@writers-forum.com

with short story writer

Helen M Walters

COMPS NOW OPEN

Write Stars Love It!
Closes 1 September 2015
Story: 250 words. Theme: Love.
Fee: 3.50. Prize: 75, a bottle of
champagne and free edit/critique of
up to 1000 words of your romantic
ction. Details: see writestars.co.uk
or write to WriteStars Ltd, 43 Berkeley Square, London W1J 5FJ.
Mslexia Novel Competition
Closes 21 September 2015
Novel: rst 5000 words. Fee: 25.
Prize: 5000; nalists get manuscript feedback from The Literary
Consultancy and invitation to networking event with literary agents.
Rules: women only, unpublished
novelists. Details: see mslexia.
co.uk/novel-competition-rules or
write to Freepost Plus RTKZLGXC-EBAH, Mslexia Publications
Ltd, PO Box 656 Newcastle upon
Tyne NE1 1BR.
Erewash Writers Group
Short Story Competition
Closes 24 September 2015
Story: 2000 words. Fee: 3 for
one entry, 5 for two, 2.50 thereafter. Prizes: 100; 50; 25; free
entry to 2016 comp for two highly
commended entries. Judge: Simon
Whaley. Details: see erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com or
write to EWG Competition, Parklands Connexion, Stanhope Street,
Long Eaton, Notts NG10 4QN.

Institute of Continuing Education

Study creative writing

at Cambridge this summer

Poetry prize
host Ledbury

Join adults of all ages and from over 60 countries at the University
of Cambridge International Summer Schools this July and August.
The two-week Creative Writing programme (2 15 August 2015)
builds on Cambridges rich literary tradition and will help you

Words Magazine
Short Story Competition
Story: 2000 words. Theme:
Murder. Fee: FREE. Prizes: 50;
25. Details: www.wordsmag.com/
compcal15.htm.
Henshaw Press
Short Story Competition
Story: 2000 words. Fee: 5.
Prizes: 100; 50; 25. Details:
see henshawpress.co.uk or write to
The Henshaw Press Competition,
24 Rowlandson Close, Northampton NN3 3PB.
Short Stories Aloud
Showcase
Story: 2000 words. Theme: bear
in mind suitability to be read aloud.
Fee: FREE (max three entries).
Prizes: three winning stories will
be read aloud as part of Oxford
showcase on 20 Oct and will win a
consultation with literary agent
Amy Waite of Felicity Bryan Associates. Rules: winners should be able
to make reading date; open only
to previously unpublished writers.
Details: see www.facebook.com/
groups/151381574984462 or email
shortstoriesaloud@gmail.com

COMPS CLOSING SOON

9 JUL

WF164JUN62compedge.indd 63

Ledbury Poetry Festival

Poetry Competition
Poem: 40 lines. Fee: 5 rst poem,
then 3.50. Prizes: 1000 and a
course at Ty Newydd, The National
Writers Centre for Wales; 500;
250. Judge: Deryn Rees-Jones.
Details: see www.poetry-festival.
co.uk/ledbury-poetry-competition
or write to Ledbury Poetry
Continued overleaf

by established authors, focus on writing in a variety of genres

and styles. Other programmes include Literature, Shakespeare,
Ancient and Classical Worlds, Medieval Studies and History. All
are supplemented by morning plenary lectures and evening talks.
To add to the experience you can stay in a historic Cambridge College,
join weekend excursions and enjoy all that Cambridge has to offer.
+44 (0)1223 760850
intenq@ice.cam.ac.uk
www.ice.cam.ac.uk/intsummer

WIN!!!
Enter our Love It! 250-word love story competition.

30 JUN
Moth International
Short Story Prize
Story: 6000 words. Fee: 12.
Prizes: 3000; week-long writing
retreat at Circle of Misse in France
(including 250 for travel); 1000.
Judge: Donal Ryan. Details: see
www.themothmagazine.com
or
write to The Moth Short Story
Prize, The Moth, Drummullen,
Cavan, Co Cavan, Ireland.

develop your existing writing skills. Practice-based courses, taught

Winning prize: 75 + Champagne + free critique

... and our ...

Springtime! short-story competition:
100 prize

Details at www.writestars.co.uk
Or write to us at our registered office: WriteStars Ltd,
43 Berkeley Square, London W1J 5FJ. Or call on 020 3078 7825.
T&C & rules apply.

GOOD LUCK!!!

13/05/2015 15:20:54

COMP CALENDAR

Continued from page 63

Wasafiri judge Toby Litt

Festival, Church Street, Ledbury,

Herefs HR8 1DH.
13 JUL
Doris Gooderson Short
Story Competition
Story: 1200 words. Fee: 3.
Prizes: 150; 70; 40. Details:
see wrekinwriters.wordpress.com/
doris-gooderson-short-story-competition or write to Competition
Secretary, 29 Christine Avenue,
Wellington, Shrops TF1 2DX.
19 JUL
HG Wells Short Story
Competition
Story: 1500-5000 words. Theme:
Class. Fee: 10 (under-21s FREE).
Prizes: 250; under 21s 1000.
Details: see hgwellscompetition.
com or write to HG Wells Short
Story Competition, 3 Jointon Road,
Folkestone, Kent CT20 2RF.
24 JUL
Wasari New Writing Prize
Fiction/Life writing: 3000 words.
Poetry: ve poems. Fees: 6, 10,
15 for up to three categories.
Prizes: 300 and publication (each
category). Judges: Toby Litt,Yasmin
Alibhai Brown, Roger Robinson.
Details: www.wasari.org/wasari-new-writing-prize.asp or write
to Wasari Prize, 1-11 Hawley
Crescent, London NW1 8NP.
31 JUL

TARGET
YOUR MARKET
THROUGH THE
PAGES OF

WritersFORUM

Call Wendy Kearns on

01392 466099 or email
advertising@writers-forum.
com

64

Cinnamon Press Debut

Novel (or Novella) Prize
Novel/Novella:
rst
10,000
words. Fee: 12. Prize: 700 plus
publishing contract. Details: see
www.cinnamonpress.com or write
to Meirion House, Tanygrisiau,
Blaenau Ffestiniog LL41 3SU.
HISSAC Short Story and
Flash Fiction Competitions
Short story: 2500 words. Flash:
500 words. Fee: Story 5, or 12
for three. Flash 2, or 5 for three.
Prize: Story 400; 2 x 50. Flash
50. Details: see www.hissac.
co.uk/CompetitionDetails or write
to 20 Lochslin Place, Balintore,
Easter Ross, IV20 1UP.

Sterts Theatre One-Act

Play Writing Competition
Play: 30 mins, up to four actors.
Fee: 6. Prizes: full production
and 100; rehearsed readings and
25; for runner-up; additional 25
for best play on a Cornish theme.
Details: www.sterts.co.uk
5 AUG
Over The Edge New Writer
of the Year
Story: 3000 words. Poem: 100
lines, or three up to 40 lines. Fee:
10 (multiple entries 7.50 each).
Prizes: 300 each category; 400
overall winner. Judge: Dave Lordan.
Rules: new writers only. Details:
www.overtheedgeliteraryevents.
blogspot.ie or write to Over the
Edge, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle,
Co Galway.
31 AUG
Exeter Flash Competition
Flash: 250 words. Fee: 4. Prizes:
100; 50. Details: see www.

creativewritingmatters.co.uk.
Park Publications
Article Competition
Article: 1000-1500 words. Theme:
Why do I write? Prizes: 50; 25;
15. Details: www.parkpublications.co.uk/competitions.html
UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
Theme and genre are open. Entries
should be original and unpublished.
Postal entries should be printed on
white A4 in a clear plain font. Include
a separate cover sheet with the title,
word count, your name, address and
postcode, phone and email. Stories
should be double-spaced with good
margins.Where necessary include a
large enough sae with sufcient
postage. Always contact the organiser
or check their website to conrm
details.Writers Forum does not
accept responsibility for errors in or
changes to the information listed.

WritersFORUM #164

WF164JUN62compedge.indd 64

13/05/2015 15:21:07

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13/05/2015 10:45:54

Writing rooms

Where I write

Phil Barrington visits the Milton Keynes home of

romantic comedy writer Carole Matthews

y latest novel, The Cake Shop in the

Garden, is set in Milton Keynes
where I live, as are many of my
books. Milton Keynes is a much-maligned
city usually by people whove never been
here. Most of the people who live here love
it. Its very green and the Grand Union
canal meanders its way through the centre.
Weve lived in this house for about
10 years. Its the house behind the one we
lived in before. I used to look longingly
out of my bedroom window at it the
attraction was that I could have a separate
area to work in and when it came up for
sale, I snapped it up.
The day we moved in I earmarked the
top floor as my office. The movers were
delighted to lug six filing cabinets up two
flights of stairs! Its a bright, airy space
with a nice view over the park. It gives a
slight separation between work and home.
My room is very tidy I cant stand
working in a mess. The paperwork piles up

66

while Im lost in my work in progress, so

at the end of every book, I have a big clearout and get my desk spotless again.
Theres a shelf above the desk for all my
books, which I like to see. Theres also a
postcard from my heroine, Mary Berry.
Shes a big fan of my writing, which is
lovely to know. To celebrate the publication
of my 25th novel, my friend, the artist
Tina Ashton, painted a lovely tree with
heart-shaped leaves and each one has the
name of one of my books in it. I was so
thrilled that she had taken time to create
something for me. I also have two original
covers from A Cottage by the Sea and Calling
Mrs Christmas on my wall, drawn by the
fabulous Alice Tait. Lots of readers have
sent me little gifts over the years little
dolls, plaques, pictures, paintings of my
books by their children. Theyre all in my
office and I appreciate them all.
Ive had the desk and furniture for
years. Its all very scuffed around the

edges but I cant get excited about looking

for anything to replace it theres always
something more interesting to do. If I
had more space Id like a seating area and
maybe a chaise-longue. Other than that,
this is pretty much perfect.
The view doesnt really provide
inspiration but its nice to have a pretty
outlook. At one point I had a shed in the
garden to write in, but it just made me
need an afternoon nap. Im better with a
brick wall in front of me.
My partner, lovely Kev, runs the admin
for me, so we have a computer in this room
that we share. Sometimes he likes to chat
so, if I need to concentrate on a tricky bit, I
shut the door and he knows not to come in.
I stay in the same place, at my computer,
all day. Im usually at my desk by eight and
work through until six-ish with an hour
for lunch. Im a terrible sleeper, so I pull an
insomnia shift two or three nights a week.
I try very hard never to write at weekends.
I think thats the key to getting two
books a year written. People are always
looking for shortcuts, but theres no other
way than spending hours at a computer,
with Radio 2 to keep me company.

Writersforum #164

WF164JUN66writingroom.indd 66

13/05/2015 10:46:38

WF156-68.indd 68

09/09/2014 15:27:53

NJ 298 x 210_Layout 1 11/05/2015 10:30 Page 1

Writing A Job with All

Sorts of Opportunities
for All Kinds of People
by Phil Busby
Do you fancy a challenge? What about
the chance to make some money, get
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abroad? How would you like to look in
the mirror and say, Yeah I did it!

major publisher and turned into a book

which now sells world wide. The Writers
Bureau has given me the confidence to
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me great constructive criticism.

Well then, writing might be just up your

street.

Another WB student, Martin Read,

wanted to keep active in his retirement
and his writing led to a great little bonus.
As a result of my cricket articles, I have
been elected into The Cricket Writers
Club an organisation that counts
experienced journalists among its
members. One of the perks of this
membership is a press card that gives me
entry into all of Englands cricket
stadium press boxes. And there are not
many that get in there.

People have some funny ideas about

writing. As a profession, its not just for
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For the last 26
My tutor was lovely,
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WF164-68.indd 68

We are so confident that we can help you

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Please include your name and address

Louise
Kennedy

Jacqueline
Jaynes

Martin Read

steadily with feedback from my tutor. The

market research activities were invaluable
for opening up potential new avenues for
publication.
Those new avenues led to a travel website
where Jacqueline started writing short
articles. Soon she was asked to join the
team, and now she and her husband get
expenses paid trips all over the world in
exchange for reviews!
These are just some of the many
inspirational true stories from Writers
Bureau students. And theres no reason
why you shouldnt join them. Who
knows, this time next year I could be
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Hannah Evans, Winchester Ive been published in
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writing this I have received 1,197 for my work.
Jane Isaac, Northamptonshire When I started the
Writers Bureau course, I wanted to explore avenues
for my writing and develop and strengthen my
personal style. I had no idea that it would lead to me
being a published writer of novels and short stories. I
still pinch myself when I receive emails and messages
from readers whove enjoyed my work or when I give talks to book clubs
and visit bookstores to do signings. These are magical moments that have
changed my life my dream has come true.
Please send me free details on how to become a successful,
freelance writer:

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Members of BILD and ABCC

12/05/2015 13:35:56