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Every month at Writing Magazine, we strive to give you the very best
content we can: informative leads on publishers looking for writers, ideas
to try and inspirational stories from the people whove done them and, of
WRITING
RESOLUTIONS
YOULL STICK
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course, expert advice on every aspect of writing life, from the nuts and bolts
4.10
19 competitions to enter
50 opportunities to get published
Insider industry news
Essential advice from professional writers
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Dear Reader
Welcome...
17/11/2015 14:10
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HELEN WALTERS
RJ GOULD
KARLA DEARSLEY
writes short stories for

magazines and her work
has appeared in Womans
Weekly, My Weekly, The
Weekly News, The Peoples
Friend, Best, Yours and Take
A Break Fiction Feast. Helen
also writes short non-fiction
pieces, which are mostly
real-life or nostalgia inspired,
and writes on writing related
subjects. She teaches writing
to adults in a number of
different settings. Find out
more on her website
www.helenmhunt.co.uk
lives in Cambridge and works

for a national educational
charity. He has published
in a wide range of journals,
newspapers, magazines
and is co-author of a major
educational book. He writes
humorous, loosely romantic,
contemporary fiction. After
being selected for the
Romantic Novelists Association
New Writers Scheme, he was
signed by Accent Press, who
have published two novels
to date, with two more due
for 2016. www.rjgould.info
began her professional writing

career more than twenty
years ago as a freelance
feature writer for the local
press, businesses and
organisations. Her stories,
flash fiction and poetry have
appeared online and in print
on both sides of the Atlantic,
and several of her plays have
been performed. She has a
short story anthology available
from Smashwords and a
fantasy novel on Kindle. Find
out more on her website:
www.ksdearsley.com
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Cover picture Giles Rocholl/Writer Pictures

p3 Editor's letter.indd 3
JANUARY 2016
17/11/2015 14:18
In this issue ...

INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES
PUBLISHING
COVER STORY
16 Star interview: Matt Haig
11 Grumpy Old Bookman
Whether its fiction, non-fiction or writing for children,

exploring relationships and humanity is at the core of
all Matt Haigs work
Read widely, and dont be overwhelmed

by supposed giants
24 Technology for writers:

Easy ebooks
20 On writing: Alan Bennett
How to compile and publish your ebook
20 How I got published:

Thriller author Adam Brookes
WIN
00
26 Beat the bestsellers

The techniques and tricks of Benjamin Black
and John Banville
a 1,5
trip to the Iceland

Writers Retreat in
WMs exclusive
competition
50 Subscriber spotlight
Writing Magazine subscribers share their
writing success stories
58 Circles roundup
Writing groups profile their interests and activities
p19
76 Crime file: Murder Squad

86 Author profile: Stewart Binns
WRITERS NEWS
The TV producer and military fiction author knows

telling stories can change lives including his own
88 Your essential monthly

round-up of competitions,
paying markets,opportunities
to get into print and publishing
industry news
108 My writing day: Frank Barrett

The award-winning travel writer took a busmans
holiday to write his latest book
RESOURCES
6 Miscellany
8 Letters
76 Excuse me officer
WRITING LIFE
COVER STORY
name? We look at the pros and cons of a

split writing personality
With the new year looming, make practical

resolutions to improve your writing life
72 Writing for children: Healthy

competition
34 Ten top tips: Writing

resolutions worth keeping
46 Talk it over: Home moves

80 Webbo
81 Computer clinic
82 Helpline
Your writing problems solved
JANUARY 2016
p4 contents.indd 4
Settling into a new house has proved

unsettling for one of our writers, but our
columnist offers sound advice
48 The business of writing: New

year, new you, new pseudonym
Is there a business case for using a pen
Give your childrens book an extra publicity

push by organising a contest or giveaway
related to its content
105 Reader survey

We need your help to improve your
favourite writing magazine and to thank
you well enter you in our prize draw to win
a collection of writing books!
17/11/2015 12:26
CONTENTS
INSPIRATION
FICTION
COVER STORY
14 Fiction: RoMANce
Dont overlook the mans role in
romance: advice for creating convincing
male characters
COVER STORY
12 Style: Make an exception

The writers world is full of dos and donts
but sometimes it pays to ignore them
64 Subscriber-only short story

winner
Read the winning entry in our mid-story
sentence competition
22 Editorial calendar
28 Short story masterclass:

Few words, big worlds
68 Fiction focus: Mind your

language
The first of a new series on randomly generating ideas
We look at three classic short stories to

explore world-building within a tight
word count
Use the right voice to make readers

really fall for your story
32 Novel ideas
38 Beginners: Cut the chit-chat

Make your dialogue work effectively by
stripping out the flannel
40 Open short story winner

Read the winning entries in our
competition for short stories of 1,000 words
44 Under the microscope

A readers first 300 words are subjected to
a micro-critique from James McCreet
32 Ideas: Inspiring words
110 Notes from the margin:

Word dancing
74 Crime:
The scene of the crime
Allowing her writing self to relax gave our

columnist a renewed burst of creativity
Pay attention to the setting of your

crime novel, because location can
influence plots, characters and
criminal activities
78 Fantastic realms:
Lets get physical
Explore the body horror genre with
some visceral tips
NON-FICTION
70 Article writing: The article basics creating content
Part two of our series looks at the benefits of taking a systematic approach
83 Going to market
85 Research tips: Writing experimentation
How to apply scientific research techniques to your writing
103 Travel writing know-how
COMPETITIONS AND EXERCISES

36 Train your brain: Pen pushers Write local
Infuse your writing with a real sense of your local area with
these exercises
POETRY
42 Poetry adjudication
Read the winning entries in our annual tanka competition
60 Poetry workshop: Art or scrap?

We explore two poems inspired by an art exhibition
62 Poetry from A to Z
An alphabetic guide through the language of poetry
37 Train your brain: Red editing pen

39 Open competition launch
Win cash prizes and publication in our annual first line short
story competition
59 Circles roundup: Curiosity fuelled the writer

Spark new ideas and projects for your writing group with a quiz
63 Subscriber-only short story competition launch

Win cash prizes and publication in our competition for short
stories about waiting
p4 contents.indd 5
JANUARY 2016
17/11/2015 12:34
MISCELLANY
THE WORLD OF
WRITING
Christies secrets, cookbooks coming up, cowboy croquet, the pleasure of

poetry and nding your nish... all in the wide, wacky world of writing
Punctuation points in triplicate

The Guardians Alison Flood reviewed a new
book, Ellipsis in English Literature: Signs of
Omission (Cambridge University Press) by Dr
Anne Toner, which identified how the three dots
of the ellipsis arrived, and then spread widely in
English literature.
Were told that one of the earliest examples of
the ellipsis, that tantalising piece of punctuation,
had been traced to the 16th century by a
Cambridge academic.
Anne Toner had pinned it down to a 1588
edition of the Roman dramatist Terences play,
Andria, which had been translated into English
by Maurice Kyffin and printed by Thomas East,
and in which hyphens, rather than dots, marked
incomplete utterances by the plays characters.
This was a brilliant innovation, Anne Toner
wrote in her history of the use of dots, dashes and
asterisks to mark a silence of some kind.
She said that after its appearance in Andria,
the punctuation mark quickly caught on, being
used in Ben Jonson plays and by Shakespeare. By
the 18th century it became very common, with
Figures of speech
p6 Miscellany.indd 6
series of dots starting

to be seen in English
works, as well as
hyphens and dashes,
to mark an ellipsis.
And, being
embraced by writers
from Percy Shelley to
Virginia Woolf, it was
in the novel that the
ellipsis proliferated
most spectacularly.
Among the best ellipses in literature referred to
in the book are:
From The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock by
TS Eliot:
I grow old I grow old
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Virginia Woolf imagines death by a bomb
in her diary:
Yes. Terrifying. I suppose so Then a swoon; a
drum; two or three gulps attempting consciousness
and then, dot dot dot.
Backing the
outsiders
When science fiction giant Brian
Aldiss was interviewed for The
Telegraph Magazine he revealed
Agatha Christies secret.
Brian, 91, harked back to when
he was a young bookseller in
Oxford, and fortunate enough to
have lunch with Agatha Christie
Geraint Lewis,
at All Souls College.
Writer Pictures
She was very grand but all
sweetness, and I plucked up the
courage to look for some writerly advice,
asking how she came up with such complex
novels that tie together so neatly. She told me
she wrote the books as normal, all the way
through, before pausing at the penultimate
chapter. Shed then work out who was the least
likely character to have committed the crime
and go back to fix a few train timetables, alter
some relationships and make sure it all made
sense, before proceeding to the end.
Finding the finishing line

How do you know when youre done writing?
That was the question put to a selection of
authors by Milena Schmidt, writing on the
PenguinRandom House website.
Here are some of the replies she received:
I find that Im done with a book when
my subconscious mind is no longer working
on it. When I stop thinking about it when Im
running. Or if Im in the grocery store staring
at avocados and a great idea about the book
doesnt just spring into my head. Or if Im no
longer waking up in the middle of the night

with an urgent need to write down some
dialogue. When those little moments stop
happening, I know Im done.
The deadline arrives. Ask my editor; I
never, never, never turn in anything early. This
may well mean Im still working on it, but it
may also mean I want to give the masterpiece
just one more look. And I can guarantee that
just one more look will reveal something
that needs improving When I cant find
anything else to improve, its done. If that
time ever arrives.
There is only one way I know I am done
writing: when I am holding the finished
hardcover in my hands for the first time and it
is finally crystal clear that begging for a comma
to be removed on page 134 will eventually,
ultimately, mercifully do me no good.
17/11/2015 12:24
MISCELLANY
Food writers cook

up a golden age.
BILLY THE CROQUET KID

Decembers Miscellany touched on the
revelation, from QI: The Third Book of
General Ignorance, that cowboys preferred
bowler hats to Stetsons.
Now, in a letter to The Times, Alec
Tilley, of Hambledon, Hants, has
referred to the claim made by historian
Paul Hutton that Billy the Kid may well
have played croquet.
He added: Many will no doubt
find this surprising, but croquet was
not unusual in the Wild West. Robert
Louis Stevenson (whose works included
Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde),
as revealed in the Silverado Squatters
(1883) went to live in a settlement above
the Napa Valley.
Billy the Kid is on the left in this recently discovered

tintype photograph being sold by Kagins
There he got to know Rufe Hanson,

a mountain man who earned a living by
tracking and apprehending outlaws to
claim the price on their heads. Stevenson
recorded that Rufes recreation, apart
from loafing, was playing croquet with
his friends.
What next? Cowboys preferred milk to
rotgut moonshine in a dirty glass?
Poets: dont worry what others think

Samantha Morton, a twice-Oscarnominated actress and BAFTA
award winning director, told
the BBC how she found solace
in writing poetry.
She talked to BBCs Arts Get
Creative about which poems
spoke to her, how poetry got her
through these tough times and
what advice she would give to
someone considering taking up
this much beloved artform.
Among the question she
was asked was this: What would you say to
someone who is attempting to write poetry
for the first time?
She replied: Id say any kind of writing is

like using your muscles: you need
exercise to get it to work. Forget
about the rules or the structures.
Ignore all that. Dont worry about
what other people think. Write
and think about how it makes you
feel. You dont always have to share
your poetry with other people.
Particularly your early writings:
just do it for yourself, those
writings are incredibly private and
very cathartic.
I am a huge fan of poetry when I feel it.
Sometimes poetry can be technically brilliant
but if you dont feel something it doesnt work.
p6 Miscellany.indd 7
Cookbooks have become an international

success, reported Marie Julien for Agence
France Press, recalling their prominence at the
2015 Frankfurt Book Fair.
Twenty years ago, cookbooks were hidden,
cookbooks were not respected, Edouard
Cointreau, president of the Gourmand World
Cookbook Awards told her.
But nowadays people need comfort in
a world that has become more and more
difficult with crises. And cookbooks are one
of the ways to be happy. Cookbooks are to
dream, to feel good, to travel.
The AFP story described how in the
exhibition halls hosting the worlds biggest
book fair the Gourmet Gallery was
dedicated exclusively to cooking, with recipe
books on display from all over the world.
A stand from Gaza sits alongside one from
Israel, there are books ranging from Russian
specialities and Indonesian dishes to the
secrets of celebrated French cuisine maestro
Alain Ducasse. Cookbooks are a runaway
success in almost every corner of the world,
including Iran.
Edouard Cointreau estimated that the
annual international market for cookbooks
was around 4 billion, and was growing at
between three and five percent, with TV
programmes the prime growth driver.
SEPTEMBER
JANUARY 2015
2016
17/11/2015 12:24
TITLE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers
and dont forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue...
Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners
Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds
LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your
name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all
letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing

Magazine. Letters may be edited.)
When referring to previous articles/letters, please state
month of publication and page number.
Vocal like
Vidal
Having been inspired by James McCreets

article Find Your Voice (WM, Oct 2015) and,
in particular, the quote from Gore Vidal: Style
is knowing who you are, what you want to say,
and not giving a damn. I wrote an article for
a magazine which invites submissions to their
rant section. My article, which criticised the
Gore Vidal: doesnt give a damn
use of children in some charities advertising
campaigns, was challenging but written, I thought, in an ironic tone intended to
be thought provoking.
Having left it festering for a few days, I took another look before
submission. Unfortunately something from the dark side had poured vitriol
onto my work. On re-examination, however, it was clear that it was my words
spoken in my true voice.
I was so mortified that when my WM magazine didnt arrive on its due date, I
thought I had been rumbled and my name had been struck off the subscription
list. Torn between a Gore Vidal-esque not giving a damn arrogance and the need
to survive in polite circles, I went for the latter option and decided not to submit.
To quote James McCreets final paragraph: Its always a significant
breakthrough when you write something that frightens you. You know that most
of your usual critics wont like it.
This was a brilliant article, the effect of which shook my writing practice out of
its complacency. I only hope I can find the courage to not give a damn, (perhaps
with some thoughtful editing) in future.
JANE ASHTON
Nantwich, Cheshire
Driven to sell
I owe WM two particularly big thank yous. First, for the information
about a new publisher called Driven Press (WM, Jan 2015), and
second, for Ready to Launch by Sarah Taylor, packed with useful advice
(October 2015).
Result: I am gearing up, full of confidence and enthusiasm, to help
market my first novel Timed Out, which is to be published by Driven
Press in spring 2016.
BARBARA LORNA HUDSON
Oxford
JANUARY 2016
p8 Letters.indd 8
STAR LETTER
Fifty shades
of writing
N OT E S F R O M T
HE MARGIN
Fifty Shades
of Green
Dont let jealousy
cloud your
judgement of successfu
l
writers, says Lorraine
Mace
I
Lorraine Mace has a valid point
about the merits of all literature, no
matter who the author (Fifty Shades

of Green, WM, Dec). We dont all
enjoy the same reading material, and
to discriminate against something
considered unworthy by a literary elite
smacks of totalitarianism.
That said, I am one of those writers who struggle to
understand the appeal of FSOG. The story failed to engage
me, and I only managed to wade through the first few
chapters, before giving up. (I did manage to skim through all
the passages containing erotica though purely research, of
course, to determine what all the fuss was about ahem.)
Although I may have been disparaging of the text, I wouldnt
consider it jealousy; I would probably feel the same way about
any dry, highbrow literary piece, as well. I dont begrudge any
writer their success, if theyve put in the work. But, I understand
how the purists among us may get upset when theyre playing
by the rules and getting little recognition for their efforts, then
someone comes along who disregards these same rules and is
rewarded with a colossal success. Do I sound jealous now?
The point Im trying to make, albeit circuitously, is that
as readers we sit at different points of the literary spectrum,
which is good for all writers as it means there is a potential
audience out there for everyone. Whether these markets are
of a comparable size well, thats another story.
JULIE LEES
Audenshaw, Manchester
have been astounded by

the vitriol but I want
my lawyer and my lawyers
to know how the story
aimed at EL James, author
panned out.
of
lawyer to look over the
Another comment on the
the Fifty Shades of Grey
contract before
books.
theft
we agree terms and none
Grey was this: Thank goodness of
Im not talking about
of that
reviewers
its been
signing in blood business.
or journalists, but the
stolen. Theres hope for
Were in the
deep-rooted
literature.
21st century now, so lets
conviction so many (otherwise
One of the online answers
go digital.)
to that?
lovely)
I know at least half a dozen
authors seem to have
I bet it was taken by someone
writers
that her success
who
who want to buy some
is undeserved.
couldnt bear the thought
duct tape,
of another
but not to engage in a
dreadful volume selling
The books are not my
bit of
in the millions.
type of reading
saucy fooling around.
material, so I havent even
And
No,
that last comment is the
they
flicked through would
like to tape Ms James
the first in the series, which
one that makes my point.
means I have
Her
fingers to her knees so
no idea of the literary merit
books
she
have sold in astronomical
(zero, if those is incapable
who complain loudest
of producing
Do brain surgeons gnash
numbers. She has a fanbase
are to be believed)
another bestseller. As far
but you cannot take away
around the world of millions.
the fact that
their teeth if someone
as they are concerned,
she has a huge readership.
How many writers are
So she must
able
performs a tricky operation
she is unworthy of the
be doing something right
to make that claim? Id
(or showing
rewards flooding her way.
people how to do interesting
they could have done, but
certainly love to be able
things
to do
And why? Because, in
wrong ahem).
their
so,
but
my
sales
fall way short
werent chosen to do?
opinion, she isnt a proper
So what if they are being
of that target. Am I envious?
used as
writer. She didnt go through
instruction manuals to
You bet I am, but I dont
spice up
the ritual process of submit,
dormant love lives? Does
begrudge success to another
wait,
it matter?
author.
wait some more, wait
Surely the fact that people
Is it only writers who feel
even longer, get
are reading
this
rejection, repeat.
is a good thing? Okay,
way about someone who
so maybe
has achieved
When the follow-up to
are being read by adventurous they
outstanding success in
the Fifty
their
field?
lovers
Do
Shades of Grey trilogy
swinging from a chandelier,
brain surgeons gnash their
was due for
teeth if
or undoing publication,
knots with their teeth,
several people I know
someone performs a tricky
but they are
operation
rejoiced when the manuscript
being read if only to
they could have done,
was stolen.
find out how to
but werent
Writers commented on
escape from the duct tape.
chosen to do?
social media.
Lets hope the thief burns
They are so badly written,
So much depends on
it.
luck in our
wailed
Maybe it will be returned
one of my friends. Maybe
industry the right manuscript,
edited and
so, but the
at
made into something readable.
author wrote them, not
the right time, landing
a ghostwriter,
on the right
But surely it must already
unlike many celebrities
desk, translates into a
be readable
claiming credit for if
six-figure
threeso many have not only
anothers work.
book deal. That same
bought it, but
manuscript
recommended it to others
landing on the same desk
Ms James spent years tapping
as well. My
at the wrong
the
daughters sister-in-law
words out one by one to
time translates into a nicely
(an avid reader
please a growing and
worded
intelligent woman) read
audience on a fanfic site.
rejection slip.
all three
By the time the
books and intends to buy
publishing deal came round
If I could get millions
the latest, Grey,
of people to
she already
so there must be something
had a fanbase most writers
read my books, chandelier
in them. If
would sell
swinging
shed only read the first
their souls to achieve. (Beelzebub,
or not, I would be a very
and then stopped,
happy
if youre Id have accepted
reading this, mine is up
author, but Im not about
the oft-repeated cry of
for negotiation,
to turn fifty
its just soft porn but Nicolette
shades of green because
wanted
EL James got
there first.
110 DECEMBER
2015
P110 Margin.indd
110
20/10/2015 10:06
The star letter each month

earns a copy of the Writers
& Artists Yearbook 2016,
courtesy of Bloomsbury,
www.writersand
artists.co.uk
17/11/2015 10:12
L E T T E R S TO T H E E D I TO R
Five-star problem
Jane Wenham-Jones in her sympathetic

Got the I
and practical advice (WM, Dec) to a
book review
distraught writing group member feeling
BLUES?
pressurised to award a five-star review
to the self-published novel of someone
else in the group, put her finger on a
growing problem.
Writing groups are great for friendship,
encouragement and enjoyment. But if
were serious about wanting to be better
writers its essential we are able to give
and receive honest criticism. Theres no point in dwindling into
a cosy club with everyone dishing out undiluted praise for fear of
giving offence. (Unless of course a pat on the back and a few sales
to kind friends is all were after.)
Jane Wenham-Jones correspondent was made to feel disloyal
to her writing group because she baulked at writing an untrue
review, even though she had been supportive of the book in
other ways, such as helping at the launch party and buying
copies. Given that she had both the ability to perceive the books
faults as well as its merits, and the integrity to stand by her own
judgement, Id say shes its most valuable asset.
Anyway, havent most people learnt by now to take gushing
reviews of self-published
books with a hefty
pinch of salt?
TANYA VAN
HASSELT
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Time will tell
TA L K I T OV E R
Loved the plot, worried about mentioning

the slipshod
editing? Jane Wenham-Jones has
advice on the
minefield that is reviewing a friends
novel
46
DECEMBER 2015
p46 Talk it over (TO DO!)/novel ideas.indd
am part of a small, informal group

of writers who meet once a month
to socialise and support each other,
and I value the friendship very much.
However, our usual harmony is being
threatened. One of our group has selfpublished her first novel and while
it is
a good story, which I enjoyed reading,
it
really needed much better editing.
There
are grammar and punctuation errors,
a lot
of excess adverbs and adjectives and
abrupt
switches in viewpoint that made it
difficult
to relax into at times. Everybody else
has
given it a five-star review online but
I dont
feel I can. And when I explained this
to
another group member I was made
to feel
very disloyal. The view was that we
should
help each other and that as I havent
written
a novel myself I shouldnt be so critical.
But I
have been supportive in other ways
I helped
at her launch party, bought copies
for friends
and mentioned the new book on my
blog. It
is true I am never likely to write a
full-length
work my interest lies in poetry and
short
stories but I am an avid reader, have
an
English degree and have worked as
a librarian
and I feel I have an understanding
of what
makes good literature. If I give this
book
any more than the three stars I feel
it merits,
that will devalue all the maximum
awards I
have given other, very fine books that
I have
admired hugely. But I cannot delay
delivering
my verdict much longer, and hate the
idea of
upsetting the author. Several of us
subscribe
to Writing Magazine so I am writing
under
a pen name, but I would be very interested
in your view and hope it will lead to
a more
balanced discussion.
BETH WILLIAMSON
Ipswich
46
19/10/2015 11:13
Name blame
I read the November edition with interest

and was particularly surprised to read, One
of them may one day decide you were writing
about them (Whats in a Name?). The issue of
libel is also mentioned in one of my creative
writing books, where Dianne Doubtfire warned
that some complete stranger, bearing the same
name as the villain of one of our novels, could
effectively sue for defamation of character.
How would that happen? Would it not be a
tenuous case? Surely the claimant would have
to prove the author knew about his or her life
story in great detail to bring about a case?
Does the statement that characters in
this book are entirely fictitious and bear
no resemblance to any actual person, alive
or dead provide any legal protection? If
not, how do the makers of film and TV
programmes avoid litigation?
I have recently received quite a number of rejections and they

were starting to eat away at my confidence. However, the other
day I received a very unexpected letter through the post. It was a
cheque for an article that has been published along with a copy of
the annual it has been published in. What was so unexpected is
that I sent this article to the magazine eighteen months ago. I had
long since given up hope of it ever being published. This gave me
such a boost it has really given me the impetus I need to carry on
in the face of the rejections. It also shows that no matter how long
you wait your story or article may still get published when you
least expect it.
GERALDINE MILLER
Liverpool
The Short Story Masterclass was masterly

(Dec 2015) and has spurred me on to have another go at
writing short stories a genre which I dont find easy. Helen
Walters chose four diverse stories by well-known authors and I was
able to sit at my laptop, Google each title in turn [We usually give a
link on the page to save you the trouble, Pam! - Ed], read the story and
then read Helens comments from the magazine. The immediacy of the
internet meant there was no excuse not to take part in this Masterclass.
Each story was very satisfactory with strong characters, plenty of
intrigue, and gave me the desire to keep reading to find out what
happened. In each case the twist ending was a satisfying surprise.
Helens summaries and remarks were very helpful. So... Ive now
set myself a challenge: to write a story and enter it for the next
WM short story competition. Well see how I fare as I
attempt to master the art of short story writing.
PAM POINTER
Salisbury, Wiltshire
My comedy novel is about a fictitious

sports club and set in a fictitious place.
Neither exists in real life. My characters
have real names but they are comical ones
(in a similar style used by the writers of the
Carry On films). So for example one of my
characters is called Henry Pect because he is a
character who is constantly henpecked. Does
this mean that a complete stranger bearing the
same name could successfully sue?
Id be interested to hear of an example
where a successful libel case has been brought
against an author simply by using a name so
that I can understand the issue further.
RENU SIMMONS
Ruislip, Middlesex
Tenuous? Probably. Impossible? Not at all!
Google Lord Derwent libel for an instance of
p8 Letters.indd 9
Lit lessons
legal action based on no connection of character

traits beyond the characters name, although it
surely cant have helped that there is only one
Lord Derwent. The disclaimer wont protect
you entirely, but would be useful if you got as
far as court. Counter-intuitively, very common
names might prove safer in this regard: it would
be difficult for any real John Smith to prove
defamation by a character so-named, unless they
also shared many other characteristics with your
fictional creation. Ed
JANUARY 2016
17/11/2015 12:09
L E T T E R S TO T H E E D I TO R
Age-old advice
I have been writing for the past few years and I havent yet plucked up
the courage to contact agents and publishers. I never think my work is
good enough, but I know that I am still developing as a writer.
My day job is working as a health care assistant. Recently I met a
lady who is 105. It came up in conversation that she enjoyed writing
but she hasnt written anything for many years. She said that none
of her work was published, and mainly rejected by magazines. I was
privileged when she found one of her stories for me to read.
The story wasnt appropriate for the magazine she had sent it to.
But her imagination was wonderful. I could empathise with her
when she said, It obviously wasnt good enough. She also explained
that she had ripped up many because of rejections. I told her I
enjoyed reading it. To which she replied, You are the only one.
Writing is subjective. Although you may often get rejected, or
never be published, it doesnt mean you should stop writing. Nor
does it mean that there isnt someone out there who appreciates your
imagination. We arent on this planet for long, unless of course you
reach 105, so we should keep writing, at least just for ourselves.
AYESHA STONE
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
CHSE
ARCR
ACET
TESR AN
D IT
LIM
SUCCESS
What an eye-opening article, Write for writings sake
(WM December 2015).
Michael Allen is so right. Many if not most books
by non-celebrity/already renowned authors, I suspect
actually achieve relatively poor sales but, as suggested, sales
data from publishers are regarded as Top Secret.
Facts, as revealed in the article, show me that what I
previously expounded, that professional agents, editors/
publishers are out of touch with what swathes of the
public want from a book, is borne out by such facts.
Mr Allen is right too about many writers/authors being
overly ambitious, yearning to be a successful writer. To
many success means one thing only; a substantial income
from the sale of books. However, if you like writing and
do not see it as a means of becoming a millionaire (few of
those among the relatively unknowns) then success can have
a completely different meaning. My first novel quickly sold
near 300 copies with next to no publicity other than word of
mouth, and surprisingly still creates the occasional demand
from Gardners wholesalers. Added to the paperback sales,
downloads of the ebook version, now over three thousand
since its publication again with no publicity is my
personal success, albeit with a small S. As it was never my
intention to make money from my love of writing I am
more than happy with this minor achievement. Sales of my
recently published second novel are already heading in the
right direction to mirror that of the first.
TERENCE SMITH
Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey
10
JANUARY 2016
p8 Letters.indd 10
Character limit
Id written about two pages of a short story. I had no idea
where it was coming from or going to, just the image in my
mind when I first thought of it.
I picked up of my copy of WM, Nov 2015, to see what
was next: Simon Halls article on character study. As I read,
I realised that although Id just written two pages on my
main character, I hadnt actually given much thought to her
personality. Id just given her a name, but it was actually me
on the page. As I continued to read, I became aware of my
protaganist taking shape so that, by the time Id reached the
end of the article, I could see my character clearly: eyes, hair,
clothes, traits. Thank you Mr Hall.
DANIELLE CHINNON
Grays Thurrock, Essex
17/11/2015 10:12
GRUMPY OLD BOOKMAN
Just windmills
Read widely, and dont be overwhelmed by supposed giants, urges Michael Allen
ell, its that time

of year again, isnt
it? The time when
they announce the
winners of the big literary prizes
of the year. The announcement of
the winner of the Nobel Prize for
Literature came on 8 October this
year, and the Man Booker Prize
on 13 October.
In your youth, you were probably
brainwashed into believing that there
are unassailable constructs such as a
great writer and a great book. And,
having read all the hoo-ha in the
press about these two literary prizes,
you may have concluded that you
really ought to pay some attention
to these announcements. As a writer,
you need to be familiar with the work
of the great masters, right?
Well, I thought so too, once upon
a time; but then I also believed
in Father Christmas until I was at
least four. So let me try to persuade
you that if you have ever tried to
read a great book and found the
damn thing well nigh unreadable,
you really have no need whatever
to consider yourself lacking in
intellectual capacity.
This year, just for fun, I had a
look at the lists of previous winners
of these awards. Lets start with the
Nobel, which was first awarded in
1901. Out of the 112 winners so
far (some years were blank in World
War II) it turns out that I have
vaguely heard of just 29 of them.
For example, I recognised the names
of Knut Hamsun, 1920, and Wole
Soyinka, 1986, and I sort of knew
that they were writers.
But who among these giants of
literature have I actually read? It
turns out that I have read something
by only ten of the Nobel laureates.
And which of these ten writers
would I warmly recommend to
a friend a friend in need of a
darn good read, or an evenings

entertainment in the theatre?
Um well, perhaps three or four.
You could read some Hemingway,
perhaps. Or John Steinbeck.
But the only really enthusiastic
recommendation I could make
would be that you should take any
opportunity to see Samuel Becketts
stage play Waiting for Godot.
Personally, I have seen
at least six productions
of Godot, from Peter
Halls original 1950s
But who among
production to his
fiftieth anniversary
these giants of
revival in the Theatre
literature have I
Royal, Bath. (Which I
saw twice, on the first
actually read?
night of the run and the
last.) I also saw the 2013
Haymarket Theatre version
with Ian McKellen and Patrick
Stewart. Godot never disappoints, not
least because it is very funny. (See
YouTube for clips.)
One writer who never won the
Nobel, but who has as good a claim
to be a great writer as anyone, was
James Joyce. I have been a big Joyce
fan since my schooldays, mainly
because my school library was
enlightened enough to have copies of
his books. And later, when I found
that my wife had been brought up
just a few hundred yards from the
Martello tower which features on
the first page of Ulysses, I was able to
explore the real-life locales in which
that book is set.
Ulysses is not a book which you
should read from start to finish, in
the usual way. Instead, you are better
advised to just dip into it. And you
shouldnt read it at all until you have
first read one of those books on Joyce
which explain what is going on.
As for the Man Booker Prize,
what of that? Well, Ive certainly
heard of most of the winning
p11 Grumpy.indd 11
authors. But experience has taught

me that I dont like literary fiction,
so Ive only read one of the winning
books (Possession by AS Byatt) And I
wasnt crazy about that.
The official website states that
The Man Booker Prize promotes the
finest in fiction by rewarding the very
best book of the year.
Oh really? Best book of the year?
Sez who, you may be inclined to
ask; as I am myself. The answer,
of course, is that the decision
is based on the opinion of
the majority of the particular
judges who were appointed
to consider the field in any
given year. And in some cases
(Life of Pi, for instance) we
have well-documented evidence
that the book had already been
rejected by several top publishers.
And it is surely reasonable to regard
the staff of leading publishers as
experienced readers in their own
right. The winner, therefore, was
determined by chance. Some readers
admired it, some didnt.
What then, can we learn
from this brief history of two
prestigious prizes?
My own opinion is that the lists
of Nobel Prize winners and Man
Booker Prize winners constitute a
more or less random choice, based
on nothing more objective than the
personal tastes of those who happen
to have been chosen as judges in
any particular year. Different judges
would have entirely different choices,
with no objective standards for
judging involved.
It follows, therefore, that those
who feel themselves untempted
to read this years random
choice of winner should feel no
embarrassment whatever. If you
prefer Mills & Boon to a literary
masterpiece, keep calm and carry
on. Youll be in good company.
JULY 2015
11
17/11/2015 12:23
STYLE
Make an
e xcep t ion
The writers world is full of dos and donts but sometimes
it pays to ignore them, says Karla Dearsley
ow can writers obey the

advice they are constantly
given and still stand out
from the crowd?
Publishers guidelines provide
contributors with lists of what they
want and dont want, but the breakout blockbuster novels are those that
set new trends, and competition
winners have to be memorable. The
rules writers are told to follow are
generally good advice, but sticking
to them too slavishly has pitfalls, not
least that they can be contradictory.
In adhering to one you might fall foul
of another. Following the rules about
reported speech and avoiding the
passive could lead writers to commit
the no-no of repetition.
Breaking rules doesnt mean
ignoring them, or indulging in sloppy
writing rather the reverse. When you
know how the conventional guidelines
work its possible to circumvent
their restrictions and turn them into
challenges and opportunities. In order
to create the effects you intend and
develop a fresh, distinctive voice you
need to bear the rules in mind.
Use the active, not the

passive voice
Passive sentences are those where the
subject of the sentence has something
done to it by something else. The
12
JANUARY 2016
p12 Style.indd 12
man was hit by a bus is a passive

sentence. Progressive constructions
using was + -ing such as she was
sitting on the bench, usually describe
what was happening when something
else occurred. They arent passive,
but theyre also frowned upon. The
theory is that passive and progressive
sentences slow the narrative. Passive
sentences also give greater importance
to the thing acted upon than the actor,
but this isnt always bad.
A passive sentence can echo the
helplessness or weakness of the
subject. There are instances when
its important that the agent of an
action isnt clear, especially in detective
stories. It might be that the narrator
doesnt know who or what did
something, or that the reader shouldnt
know. The active voice also makes
actions seem intentional. Compare he
was killed by falling rocks with falling
rocks killed him.
Show, dont tell

This rule aims to liven up your writing
by dramatising it. Instead of telling
the reader a character is angry, you
should describe how his expression
changed or how he behaved,
preferably avoiding clichs such as
he ground his teeth and clenched his
fists. This is supposed to allow readers
space to infer what they arent told
directly and to use their imaginations,

but it inevitably takes more words,
which may give characters or scenes
more significance than they warrant.
Sometimes its better to tell readers
that someone gave a girl the creeps
an immediate reaction than slow
down the story by going to great
lengths describing his dirty nails and
carnivorous smile.
Directly telling the reader
something can be incredibly powerful
TO BOLDLY GO
It only takes a well-chosen word or phrase to create
more original prose, but you might decide to be
completely avant-garde. If so, its even more important
to do your research. Dont simply rely on editorial
guidelines, read whats already been published.
On the whole, literary and university magazines are
more likely to be open to experimentation. Submitting
innovative work to Aesthetica or Chapman, which says
its looking for fiction thats challenging, surprising,
different stands a better chance of success than
sending it somewhere that wants stories with a
beginning, middle and end. Some genre magazines
also want work thats different. Bare Fiction Magazine
publishes writing of genre-defying boldness... that
makes readers work just that little bit harder.
Competitions can be good places to try more innovative
work too. Read previous winners and find out who the
judges are, if possible. Entry is anonymous, so you arent
risking your reputation, and you may be able to get a
critique to help you judge what works and what doesnt.
17/11/2015 12:21
STYLE
and evocative. When Charlotte

Bront opens the final chapter of
Jane Eyre with Reader, I married
him instead of describing the scene,
the direct statement reinforces the
rightness and inevitability of it. The
result is a feeling of completion.
People who create fiction have
always been known as storytellers,
not storyshowers.
Only use said for

direct speech
Using said when writing dialogue
tells the reader who the quoted words
belong to; using any other verb, such
as whispered or argued tells the
reader how they said it. Accepted
wisdom instructs writers the latter is
intrusive and that the dialogue itself
should indicate whether the speaker
grumbled or insisted. However, if
a character says, I love you it isnt
always possible to infer whether
they whispered or shouted it without
extra information.
When a scene is between more
than two characters, it might not be
obvious who is speaking. This means
you will either have to keep repeating
the characters name and said or
punctuate the dialogue with an
action or description to make it clear.
This can make dialogue clunky and
slow. The occasional use of different
reporting verbs can activate dialogue
that would otherwise be repetitive,
capture the readers attention and
make writing more concise
particularly important if you have a
strict word limit.
In Beryl Bainbridges short story
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie,
about a family who are given tickets
to the theatre, the author uses a series
of active verbs, including admitted,
cried, protested, muttered, fumed,
shouted, hooted, reminisced and
sneered in the reporting clauses, even
where how what is said is evident
(Belt up, Charlie, ordered Alec.) The
effect is to parallel the pantomime
quality of the characters lives with
what they see on stage.
Be concise
This rule dictates that writing
should always be active and pacey.
It recommends short sentences, and
removing adjectives and adverbs.
However, even thrillers which move
at breakneck speed sometimes need

slower sentences, and not only as a
contrast to outbursts of action. Short,
direct sentences generally suit dramatic
scenes, but longer sentences work
better for passages of description or
more tranquil ones.
If your narrator is a nineteenthcentury parson, readers will be jarred
out of the story if the language used
doesnt reflect his personality, culture
and education. Be wary of taking this
too far unless your work is a pastiche.
An example of how to do it well is
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes,
which is written as the diary of a
cleaner with a low IQ, who has an
operation to increase his intelligence.
As his mental powers improve, so does
his spelling, grammar and eloquence.
Someone who wasnt afraid of
using an adjective or three was Dylan
Thomas. He opens Under Milk
Wood with a description of the sea
as sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack,
fishingboat-bobbing, proving that
a well-placed adjective or adverb
can quickly conjure a picture or
atmosphere, especially if its inventive.
Avoid repetition
Repeatedly using the same words
or sentence structures can make
for dull writing, but there are some
words you dont need to worry about;
so-called invisible words that readers
arent conscious of unless they are
used inappropriately, such as the or
to. You might be tempted to delete
them, but then you risk disrupting
the flow of your prose or making it
harder to understand.
Repetition can be used for emphasis
or to build a mood, especially in poetry
or speeches. It builds expectations
that the author can subvert, having an
effect thats almost hypnotic. In Ping
by Samuel Beckett, the author largely
dispenses with definite and indefinite
articles, conjunctions and prepositions
and relies on the repetition of
pairs of words in different
combinations to create a growing
feeling of apprehension.
Keep it simple and

avoid ambiguity
Complex texts appear off-putting, but
take this rule to its extreme and you
end up with the Janet and John books
that some of us were taught to read
p12 Style.indd 13
BOUNDARIES? WHAT BOUNDARIES?

Many of the most successful authors have flouted
writing conventions.
James Joyces groundbreaking novel Ulysses largely
follows what happened to a man called Harold Bloom
in Dublin one day. Joyce uses dashes instead of speech
marks, fragments of sentences and ambiguity, so that
internal and external, memory and the present flow into
each other. The whole final section of around sixty pages
is one long sentence. Ulysses was and is controversial,
but more than 90 years after it was first published in 1922
its fans still celebrate Blooms Day on 16 June.
In Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels, the author
doesnt simply play with the rules of the fantasy genre.
He employs circuitous descriptive sentences with subclauses and footnotes that run over several pages. Far
from being a barrier to enjoyment, Pratchetts baroque,
exaggerated language adds to the surrealism and builds
the readers expectations of the jokes to come.
John Banvilles The Sea, which won the Man Booker
Prize in 2005, breaks most of the rules as the narrator
records his childhood memories. The style makes use of
alliteration, rhythm and repetition in complex sentences
for a hypnotic, wavelike effect. The language is almost
more important than the story. You can open the book
anywhere and appreciate it without needing to know
whats gone before.
with. It could be seen as patronising

readers, who are quite capable of
dealing with sentences longer than 25
words or with semi-colons. Providing
a longer sentence is punctuated
properly, it can be as easy to deal
with as several short ones. There is no
guarantee that a short sentence will be
unambiguous either. Take I opened
the door in my pyjamas, for instance.
Ambiguity is not always negative.
Use it to show a characters confusion,
to blur time periods or blend interior
and outer worlds, but make sure
its always intentional. Remember,
if youre going to make your prose
complex, what youre writing about
has to be worth the extra effort it
takes to read it.
Before you tear up

the rule book
The key to breaking the rules is
to make sure the style matches the
content. It works best when its
done because its the best way to tell
the story. It might take you a while
to find exactly the right language,
but even unsuccessful attempts to
move beyond traditional writing can
increase your creativity. Feel free to try
things out.
JANUARY 2016
13
17/11/2015 12:21
ROMANCE
Ro
ce
Dont overlook the mans role in

romance, with advice on creating
convincing male characters from
Richard (RJ) Gould
hen it comes to the

genre of romance,
women dominate.
Most romance writers
are female, most readers are female,
and plots predominantly centre on the
female point of view. At this early stage,
I should point out that Im a male
author who writes romance fiction.
Im not unique, but I am a rarity.
My publisher, Accent Press, badges
my novels as contemporary womens
fiction and several literary agents have
suggested I use a female pseudonym.
Adopting RJ as opposed to Richard
is my cowardly compromise. At
Romantic Novelists Association events,
including the annual conferences with
up to 200 participants, over 95 percent
are women and several of the few males
write under a female alias.
Romance is all about relationships
and about half of those involved in
them are going to be males. They
mirror females in terms of diversity
of feelings, moods, and responses to
the events around them, so depicting
a strong male point of view is going
to add appeal to the love story, even
though the vast majority of readers of
this genre are female.
Lets take a look at the portrayal of
men in romantic fiction. How well do
14
JANUARY 2016
p14 Male romance.indd 14
you show the male protagonists voice

in your romance writing? Might you be
able to strengthen your males to offer
a more insightful experience for your
female readers and in so doing, attract
more male readers?
chasing successful financial PR

millionaire Luke Brandon and Helen
Fieldings weight-conscious Bridget
Jones chasing successful barrister
Mark Darcy. Their pathway to success
is fraught with challenges, usually
culminating in triumph and a happily
ever after resolution.
What is romance?
A good starting point is a

consideration of what constitutes
The way we were
romance writing. Are there any
In days gone by its easy to see the
universal truths to explain why this
appeal to the female reader of a story
genre is so firmly in the hands of
about winning over the seemingly
the female writer and reader?
unobtainable man, this during
It is a truth universally
an era when winning
acknowledged that a single
over was a real-world
man in possession of
necessity. The perfect
Romance is all about
a good fortune must
husband would be
relationships and about
be in want of a
selected by the
half of those involved
wife. Jane Austens
womans parents
first line in Pride
and it was nigh
in them are going to be
and Prejudice is
impossible to go
males. Depicting a strong
surely one of the
against their wishes.
male point of view is going
most famous ever
What a great plot
written. Although
for
a novel to have
to add appeal to the
we discover the irony
such disparity between
love story.
in this statement as
the rich but unattractive,
Elizabeth Bennet emerges as
ageing man selected by
strong-willed and independent,
your parents for financial and
mainstream romantic fiction
societal reasons and the young stud
frequently features insecure women
of a boy next door who you fancy like
in pursuit of alpha males, women like
hell, even if he is of peasant stock!
Sophie Kinsellas shopaholic Rebecca
Women would have had an
17/11/2015 12:17
ROMANCE
paranormal, psychics, fantasy and time

travel. For me, there is a common theme
romance is about people meeting
people (bearing in mind the sub-genres,
I suppose I should add aliens).
understanding of this plot from first

or close second-hand experience, so
its not surprising they emerged as
both the storytellers and the readers.
Mind you, the book considered as
marking the birth of the modern
romance novel was written by a man.
In Pamela (1740), Samuel Richardson
tells the story of a beautiful fifteenyear-old maidservant who is pursued
by her rich and attractive landowner
master very much the ideal alpha
male. There is that path fraught with
difficulties for poor Pamela ahead of
the happy ending of marriage to the
suitor, even though this was by no
means his original intention. One-nil
to the girls! Richardson, a middleaged, middle-class man, succeeds in
accurately conveying the young girls
thoughts, by all accounts benefiting
from lots of advice provided by his
wife and her friend.
If you are a female writer you should
consider doing likewise get feedback
on how well youre depicting your
males from husband, son, father, lover,
neighbour, postman, everyone.
Modern romance
One real-world change is influencing
romance writing. Although there
may still be inequalities, there are
Im pleased to write, plenty of alpha
females out there, women who are
more powerful, sexually and socially
confident, and financially successful
than their male counterparts. Women
take the lead in starting, maintaining
and ending relationships every bit as
much as men do.
What I write is categorised as
romance, but its not of the traditional
kind. I use humour to describe past,
present and sought-after relationships.
My characters are ordinary people
trying to make the most of their lives
while carrying juggernaut-loads of
baggage. My pathways fraught with
challenges are as likely to be for
insecure, non-alpha males in search of
the women of their dreams as the other
way round. Of the five relationships
depicted in my novel The Engagement
Party, four have the woman as the
stronger one of the pair.
David Nicholls writes love stories.
In describing his novel Us to WM
(October 2015), he outlines the
starting point for his story. A marriage
is on the verge of collapse, this being 25
years after the traditional final chapter
of the romantic novel. Douglas, his
hero, is no alpha male. Using Davids
words, hes conservative, buttoned-up
and emotionally repressed.
In my novel A Street Caf Named
Desire, my lead, David, is surrounded
and intimidated by powerful females,
a wife who has started a relationship
with his ex-best friend, a tyrannical
Men have feelings too

Richardson was well aware his
readers would be women and this has
remained the case for romantic fiction
for over two and a half centuries, with
the writing increasingly taken on by
female authors. Its a highly competitive
market and how well a writer portrays
their men can be the make or break in
getting a deal. Some publishers who
specialise in romance specifically state
in their submission guidelines that they
are looking for strong male leads.
Your novel will have secondary
characters to add flavour and to
develop sub-plots. However the male
lead, even in a story told from the
female protagonists point of view,
is not a secondary character hes
right up there with your woman.
He shouldnt merely be the recipient
of what the female decides to do, a
member of the audience receiving
whats thrown at him. He needs to be
the driving force at times.
Nowadays theres plenty of scope to
inject a new angle into your romance
writing because its become such a
broad category: winning over the
unobtainable man is only one of many
options. Twenty sub-genres are listed
on the Kindle ebook list, including
Right to the heart of it

The essence of a romance novel is
the exploration of character. Whilst
plot is of course important in this as
with all fiction, I would argue that
quality is determined by how well
the characters are portrayed. This
has got to be the case to enable a
novel to stand out, bearing in mind
the basic plot is repeated time and
time again girl sees boy; girl wants
boy; boy either unwilling, unsure or
unknowing; lots of hassles for the
girl; girl gets boy (assuming she still
wants him and hasnt met someone
else on her journey).
Lets assume you are an archetypal
romance author, a female writing
about a heterosexual relationship and
for now lets assume you are more
or less following the girl-meets-boy
storyline. To make your work stand
out you need fabulous characters. They
must be unique, interesting, and have
personalities that your readers can relate
to, so much so that they are desperate
for them to succeed. There will be two
lead protagonists in your story and you
have to make your male as strong as
your female.
All the things that make good
characterisation will apply the
possession of both strengths and
flaws, complexity, consistency but
room to grow, the ability to surprise,
realistic dialogue.
Test your writing with the reversing
roles experiment in the now try this
box to make sure that your romance
gives men the fair deal they, and your
readers, deserve.
Now try this

Take a romantic scene featuring a man and a woman either from something youve written or from
another authors work. Swap the characters gender; Joan becomes John and John becomes Joan.
Keep everything else the same: action, dialogue, thoughts. If you feel that now the female isnt
coming across strongly enough, does this suggest this is an issue for the portrayal of your male?
Take something traditionally described as a female characteristic and allocate it to a male, maybe
hes a shopaholic obsessed with buying hair and skin products. Establish a female protagonist with
a stereotypically male attribute untidiness, watching TV sport (whatever it is and whatever time its
on). Write a scene featuring this couple.
Develop a romantic scene featuring a male with deep insecurities pitched against a powerful
woman, the alpha female, oozing confidence and arrogance about her success.
p14 Male romance.indd 15
boss, and a stroppy teenage daughter.

The portrayal of these females, their
thoughts and actions, is as central as
anything I include about David, even
though the story is written from his
point of view.
JANUARY 2016
15
17/11/2015 12:17
S TA R I N T E RV I E W
Being
human
Exploring relationships and humanity is at the core of all Matt Haigs books, he tells Tina Jackson
16
JANUARY 2016
p16 interview.indd 16
was another reason too: a child asking

for a story. My son, Lucas, whos
seven, asked me to write about what
Father Christmas was like as a boy.
A Boy Called Christmas is a
heartwarming seasonal adventure
packed with reindeers, elves and
trolls, but it is also a rites-of-passage
story that visits disturbing territory.
Its dark in that there is death
in it, says Matt. But I personally
believe that in childrens fiction
as well as fiction for adults, to
write a hopeful book you have to
acknowledge the dark stuff in life.
A Boy Called Christmas includes the
deaths of both parents, horrible evil
relatives, danger, despair and grief.
att Haig, whose adult

fiction has depicted
vampires and aliens
living in suburbia,
has turned to the
most loved imaginary character of all
for his new novel for children, A Boy
Called Christmas.
Id just come out of writing
Reasons To Stay Alive (his memoir
about living with depression,
shortlisted for Waterstones Book of
the Year) and spent months thinking
about the worst period of my life and
really dark subject matter. I wanted
to write about something that would
make me as happy as possible, which
was Father Christmas, he says. There
Click here to
listen to an
extract of
The Humans,
or buy the
book from
Audible
If youre a child or an adult

going through a hard time, its more
nourishing, and comforting, to have
that awareness. If something is glossy
and happy, its not going to comfort
them. Its more important if hope
comes out of something a bit dark.
A Boy Called Christmas is Matts
fourth book for children; his first,
Shadow Forest, won the Nestle/
Smarties Prize and the 2009 Blue Peter
Book of the Year Award. He does not
believe in writing down to his younger
readers. Im always mindful, when
Im writing for children, that its a
childrens story, but I never feel its got
to be light. Whatever their age, its
important not to patronise the reader. I
17/11/2015 15:25
you feel younger, writing for them.

worry that for some children we make
Fatherhood he has Lucas (7)
books that are too wholesome, too
and Pearl (6) with his wife,
goody-goody. If were overthe writer Andrea Semple
worried about what we put
had a crucial effect on
into books for children,
his work. Being a father
theyll either go off and
changed my writing,
read (as I did) books
Where I have gone
full stop. Before I had
for adults or theyll go
wrong with writing, its
children, my books
off and play something
been connected to being
were much more
on the Xbox.
pessimistic.
I either
Writing for
bothered about sounding
had unhappy endings
children is not, he,
like an author.
or pretty bleak endings
says, an easy option.
and didnt feel any duty to
Children are the hardest
put something positive out
readers to write for. You
there. Its not about content,
obviously cant bore them,
because my books still have
and now they have so many
violence in them, but I think theyre
media to distract them, so you have
more optimistic.
to write exciting, gripping stories.
The big theme that unites all his
Children are incredibly close readers
books is family, which rather took
if you get anything wrong, they
him by surprise. I didnt set out to
will be totally on to it. But he loves
be this writer I set out to be this
how receptive child readers are to
young, cool male writer but the
imaginative possibilities. I think I
powerful thing that I think about is
feel freer writing for children because
family relations. Whether you have
even if their vocabularies are a little
children or not, we all have family, so
smaller, their imaginations are a lot
family is a big thing.
wider. They know theyre reading
His first two novels were off-theabout something thats not real, and
wall reworkings of Shakespeares
it doesnt bother them. They make
Henry lV Part I and Hamlet. The Last
Family in England was a dogs eye
view of family breakdown. The Dead
Fathers Club retells Hamlet in the
voice of eleven-year-old Philip from
Newark, struggling with his pub
landlord fathers death.
Early on, the idea was that all
my novels would be reworked
Shakespeare, says Matt. Id done an
MA, Shakespeare was what was in my
head. The influence of Shakespeare
was a very freeing one. The lesson of
Shakespeare is, you can write what
you want. Even Hamlet has jokes in
it, and fantasy, with the ghost. I do
find it interesting that our greatest
writer was also very eclectic, going
from comedy to darkest tragedy.
A third novel, The Possession of
Mr Cave, was the darkest of all. All
the books were successful (the film
rights for The Last Family in England
were sold to Brad Pitts production
company), but looking back, Matt
sees them as a learning curve. You
learn what your style is as you write
it. In my earlier books, which Im
reasonably proud of, I think theyre
not totally true to me. Where I have
gone wrong with writing, its been
connected to being bothered about

sounding like an author.
His next novel for adults was
2010s The Radleys, a funny, sad and
ultimately hopeful story about a family
of vampires desperate to conceal
their differences from their suburban
neighbours. All my books are on the
side of outsiders Ive always felt like
that as a boy and a man, said Matt. I
went to quite a tough school and I was
the soft middle class kid who didnt
really fit in. I wasnt particularly good
at sports, and I used to hide the fact
that I read because reading was seen as
effeminate, so I always felt an outsider.
His next novel, The Humans,
took his theme even further, in a
story where an alien takes over the
body of Cambridge mathematics
professor Andrew Martin, and
tries to make sense of the human
race. With The Humans and The
Radleys, Im not interested in aliens
and vampires in their own right, on
their own terms, Im interested in
looking at ways of being us, Matt
says. Using an alien was a way of
looking at very mundane things,
like sitting round a breakfast table
the humans are the aliens. Most
of my books teeter between realism
and fantasy. Its an exercise in
getting perspective and exploring
distance. Were not here for an
infinite amount of time and were
here to be kind to each other and
explain what it is to be us. Books
are a good way to explain that
they hold up a mirror for us.
At the end of The Humans, Matt
wrote an afterword in which he came
out about his own experience with
mental illness. The response to it
led to him writing Reasons to Stay
Alive, a gritty and compassionate
look back at how depression and
anxiety almost destroyed him, and
how he learned to live again. Id
always wanted to write a book about
depression. Its not a straightforward
memoir, but it changed as I was
writing it it was going to be one
of those little books that you can
buy at till-points, with no memoir
in it at all, but then as I was writing
about depression I realised that the
facts about depression are so unclear
that the only truth we have is our
own experience. With his trademark
warmth and honesty, Matt wrote
JANUARY 2016
17
17/11/2015 12:15
and oddly profound, infused with

to his past self, telling him that the
the philosophical message that
worst of times (Matt wanted to
kindness really matters. I
commit suicide) does not
suppose Ive always been
have to be the end. Joanna
philosophical, says
Lumley described it as a
Matt. I was always the
small masterpiece that
As I was writing about
child staring out of
might even save lives.
depression I realised that the
the window with my
I wanted it to
mouth open, thinking
be easy to read and
facts about depression are
about stuff. I like
accessible its hard
so unclear that the only truth
thinking about stuff.
to focus, when youre
The big questions,
really ill, offers Matt.
we have is our
life
and death. British
So I wanted lots of
own experience.
people arent particularly
lists, lots of white space,
philosophical but novels
and humour if youre
are a good place for looking
writing about depression
at the big stuff. I do find it quite
for people with depression,
miraculous that were
you dont want to depress
worrying about small things
them further. You want
and taking our eye off the
to be hopeful, and leave
big thing, the freakish thing,
a message of hope but
of actually being alive.
be realistic as well, so
Its not a surprise that
it seemed sensible to
Matt starts his own writing
start when I was at rock
process with character. If
bottom. The structure of
you think of a book like life,
it was hard but the writing
in life a person is shaped
was really easy. Life doesnt
by their surroundings and
always have a structure but
whats happening. You cant
books have to.
look at plot and character in
Writing was Matts
isolation. I look at character
lifeline. I always wrote
first and I then look for a
I wrote as a child but
plot that will fit. Any book
I didnt see writing as a
you love, part of that is
career until much later. I
about loving a character.
dont think Id have turned
The essential thing
to writing if I hadnt
for Matts characters
suffered from depression.
is to reconnect with something
A) I didnt have the confidence or
that theyve lost. In A Boy Called
B) the urge to do it until I became
Christmas, the father is a grieving
ill. Writing was a way of articulating
man who has lost his values, hes not
what I was feeling, but also a way
doing good anymore, but he kind of
of focusing on something that
saves himself by reconnecting with
wasnt me, and wasnt illness. So
Click here to
his own goodness at the end.
that became quite addictive for
listen to an
As we speak, Matt has four open
me. My mind is often anxious and
extract of
Word documents in front of him,
fast-moving so its a way of slowing
Reasons to
each containing about 10,000 words.
down and putting the imagination
Stay Alive,
One of them will end up being his
into one place.
next novel.
or buy the
His overarching theme also comes
Write what you want to write,
out of his experience with depression.
book from
he urges. You do need to have a
I suppose transformation is the
Audible
business mind as a writer and I am
biggest thing that Im interested
quite good at being businesslike
in, and I suppose that is to do with
about it when its finished, but
illness, getting better stories were
during the writing, it kills the
so important to me in a very dark
creativity to think about where its
period because I was totally stuck
going to fit in the market. I try to
and stories are about change. I
be as free as possible, and not think
particularly empathise with that.
about the market.
Matts dark-tinged, gentle stories
He claims not to be a very routineof oddball characters at odds with
based writer and admits to going
their surroundings are simply written
18
JANUARY 2016
through massive patches of not

writing, but when hes writing a
novel its all Ill do.
Matt is a firm believer that you
have to be a reader in order to write.
Reading is the petrol in the tank
for a writer, he insists. Reading and
writing are two sides of the same
coin. Writing is a kind of reading
its reading a novel in real time. The
very best cure for writers block is to
pick up a book and lose yourself in
it youre bound to be inspired by
something. It wouldnt make sense to
make a film if youd never watched a
film, and Id question the impulse to
write if it wasnt from a love of books
in the first place. He also believes
that successful writers must be honest
critics of their own work. Dont be in
love with your own style, and always
be happy with the delete button.
His advice to other writers is
simply to write whatever they
want. Write the book you want to
read. So many people, including me,
make the mistake of putting on their
author hat, and that insincerity and
pretentiousness can be spotted a mile
off. Its not an exam. All youre doing
is telling a story, and it needs to come
from a truthful and honest place.
The vital thing, for Matt, is to be
true to whatever story hes writing,
I try very much to always write to
myself so even if it looks like a
childrens book, Im writing it for
myself to enjoy. It doesnt really
feel different to writing a book for
adults. Its just about writing the
right book, and the story dictates
that. The duty of a writer is to be
faithful to the story.
17/11/2015 15:25
WIN
your way to
Iceland
Writers
Retreat
WORTH
1,500
including
accommodati
on AND
flights from th
e UK
Were offering you the unforgettable chance to get away

from it all and explore Icelands rich cultural heritage
as you expand your literary horizons at Iceland Writers
Retreat, 13-17 April 2016.
This exclusive prize includes:
attendance at five small-group workshops, other author
events, and lunches on workshop days
4 nights accommodation in the Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik
Natura, including breakfast
a welcome dinner on the first evening
a literary walking tour of Reykjavik and day-long coach
tour through the Icelandic countryside with a local author
return flights from the UK
To find out more about what the Retreat offers, see the
website: www.icelandwritersretreat.com
To win this fantastic prize just send us up to 500 words,

prose or poetry, on the theme Northern Lights.
The closing date is 3 January, 2016 and the winner will be notified by 1 February.
You must be over 18 to enter, and available to attend the retreat between 13 and 17 April.
Flights are only available from UK airports.
p19 Iceland.indd 19
Images Roman Gerasymenko
Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk

or email your entry as a doc, rtf, pdf or txt file,
to writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk
with the subject line IWR comp entry
DECEMBER 2015
19
17/11/2015 10:18
I N S P I R I N G WO R D S
On writing
Tony Rossiter explores great
words from great writers
A writer has to use

whatever is to hand in the
way of experience.
He or she is in the business
of making mountains
out of molehills.
ALAN BENNETT
ew writers have mined their own life for material as

thoroughly as Alan Bennett. As a teenager he was
a devout churchgoer, and it was a spoof Anglican
sermon (in the 1960 satirical review Beyond the
Fringe) that got him started both as writer and performer.
Bennetts two collections of autobiographical non-fiction,
Writing Home and Untold Stories, draw extensively on his own
largely uneventful early life in Leeds.
A writer does not need to have lived an unusual or exciting
life to write about it in an interesting and entertaining way.
Thats the point. Whatever life experiences a writer has
had, theyre all grist to the mill. Experiences that may seem
mundane at the time can be turned into compelling prose.
Writers as diverse as Bill Bryson, James Herriot, Frank
McCourt and Gervase Phinn have all used their own largely
unexceptional life experiences to produce exceptional books.
Occasionally you may be able to use some real event or
experience exactly as it happened. More often youll need to
change the details, to some extent at least, or to exaggerate their
effects. Exaggeration is a staple of humorous writing in particular.
Of course, its not only in non-fiction that writers can
use their own life experiences. Many first novels are semiautobiographical, and Evelyn Waugh and Beryl Bainbridge are
just two examples of writers whose novels often fictionalised
events and experiences in their own lives. Almost all novels
carry some trace of the authors life.
If you write fiction, you can use your life experience in
many ways. A plot may be developed from something that
really happened to you. A story can be set in a place (or
places) which you know well, or can incorporate real events
in which you participated. In creating a character, you can
draw on someone or, more often perhaps, on more than
one person youve come across in real life; and the character
can be given feelings and emotions you have experienced, or
opinions which you share.
Whatever experiences youve had in life, look upon them
as a box of tools you can sift through and use in your
writing. No-one else has had that experience: every one of
those tools is unique.
20
How I got
published
Adam Brookes
Brookes, whose second book
Spy Games came out last November,
shares his path to publication
I never intended to write fiction. I did try in my late twenties and
the result was awful, so I threw it away.
But many years later years spent in journalism, mostly as a
journeyman foreign reporter I decided to try again. This time,
I felt I had a story. It grew out of a strange episode in China,
where I was working as a correspondent. A Chinese man offered
me secret documents, and tried to persuade me to act as his
go-between with the British Embassy. I refused, of course but I
always wondered if he was genuine or not in his attempt to spy.
I began to spin a story around him. The story nagged at me and
I thought about it at odd moments, in the shower, on a plane. I
started to write it down.
Five chapters in, a very kind agent (a family friend yes, I was
very fortunate here) consented to have a look. She told me to keep
going, which was the encouragement I needed. Another year, a
great deal of spousal support and a chunk of unpaid leave later,
the thing was done: a spy novel set in China, called Night Heron.
The agent made me rewrite. Too linear, she said. Not enough
complexity. So I did. Then, when Id done that, she urged
me to send it to a professional editor. I sent it to The Literary
Consultancy in London, who put the very talented Karen Godfrey
on it. Karen wrote a detailed appraisal. She told me the beginning
didnt work. Nor did the end. Oh, and the middle had problems.
Some of the characters werent functioning properly and the
pacing was patchy. Strangely, this was not disheartening because
Karen was showing me a way forward very clearly. This was a real
turning point for me.
Another rewrite. I was learning that good stuff happens in
the rewrite.
My agent said it was time to submit to publishers, so we did,
and Little, Brown/Sphere bought Night Heron. The novel came
out in May 2014, nearly six years after I began writing it. My
second book, a sequel, is called Spy Games, and it came out in
November in the UK.
Website: www.nightheronbook.com
Interview by Dolores Gordon-Smith
TIPS
Get your draft in front of
an experienced, professional
editor. There is a cost, but I
think its worth it.
Learn to love the rewrite.
JANUARY 2016
p20 on writing HIGP.indd 20
17/11/2015 10:08
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JANUARY 2016
21
13/11/2015 16:18
Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions.
Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.
8 April
75 years ago,
in 1941,
British fashio
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Vivienne Wes
twood was bo
1 April
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California by St
and Ronald
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released on
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5 April
National Media
100 years ago, in 19

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legendary Hollywoo
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Gregory Peck was bo
rn.
WANTED
12 April 1, UK
go, in 194
75 years a
bby
legend Bo
footballing s born.
Moore wa
19 April
13 April
150 years ago, in 1866,

Wild West train robber and
outlaw Butch Cassidy was born.
,
60 years ago in 1956
lly
Ke
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Gr
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sta
Hollywood
of
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Gr
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Pr
became
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to Prince Rain
21 April
200 years ago, in

1816, Charlotte
Bront was born.
23 April
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400 years ago, in 16
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ite
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23 April
One for the academics and historical

authors Ethelred the Unready died
one millennium ago.
Looking ahead:
2019 will be the 50th anniversary of the legendary
Woodstock festival in 1969. If you are considering
non-fiction round this anniversary, keep an eye on
mooted plans for a fiftieth anniversary festival.
29 April
is the fifth wedding

anniversary of Prin
ce
William and Kate
Middleton, the Duk
e
an
d
Duchess of Cambr
idge
p22 Editorial calendara.indd 22
17/11/2015 10:07
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JANUARY 2016
23
13/11/2015 16:19
E-PUBLISHING
creating and formatting your file

Get your ebook ready to go out into the wild with step-by-step advice from Chris Glithero
ast month, I discussed the five

steps that you need to take to
actually create and craft the raw
material for your ebook the
words themselves. This month Im
going to look at how you can take
those words and turn them into a
finished ebook, ready for sale to your
legions of potential readers.
Why you need to convert your ebook

At this point, youve probably got the manuscript for
your ebook prepared as a Word document or similar file
type. Before its ready for sale, it needs to undergo a
transformation, for a number of reasons:
1 If you distributed it as Word file it could be easily
copied and even altered
2 People dont read ebooks via their word processor
3 You want your finished product to be as attractive and
user-friendly as possible
In a moment well look at how to initiate this
transformation from clunky word-processing file to sexy,
slick ebook. First, though, there is one final thing to
consider whether the inclusion of a few images might
enhance your ebook.
How to use images in

your ebook
Images can make your book more
appealing visually, and can also help
to break up the text and make it easier
to read. Use of images is perhaps more
common in non-fiction ebooks, but its
really all about whether you think their
use will add anything to your book and
the readers enjoyment of it.
These images might take the form
of photographs or illustrations, but
24
JANUARY 2016
p24 ebooks.indd 24
either way you should ensure that

those you use are either created by
you or that you have the legal right to
use them. In the case of the latter you
should contact the copyright holder to
request permission to use the images
(negotiations and fees may follow), or
you may wish to use images from an
online library of stock images, such
as Shutterstock.com.
If youve got a bit of artistic talent
meanwhile, or you know someone who
does, you might illustrate your book
with pencil drawings or similar and
then scan these in. When doing so,
scan at at least 150 and preferably 300
dpi (dots per inch) to preserve quality.
Once you have your images, simply
paste them into the appropriate place
in your document using your word
processor. Its important to remember
though that the more images you have,
the larger your ebook file, and this may
incur deductions from your royalties
when it comes to distributing it.
pages. As an ebook, the text will flow

naturally from screen to screen, and on
the occasions where it is essential that
text begins on a new screen such as
the start of a new chapter you should
insert a page break.
It should also be noted that
you should not include page
numbers or header/ footers in your
final manuscript.
Ebooks of this type are referred to
as being reflowable, and this format
is suitable for most books. The main
exception would be childrens picture
books and other books where it is
important that text and images are
precisely positioned according to the
authors specifications. In these cases
it is possible to produce fixed layout
ebooks, however this is often more
complicated and not all ebook readers
will display them correctly. For the
purposes of this article, Ill assume
youre producing a reflowable ebook.
Forget pages
Creating a cover and a

title page
Another thing thats important to

understand is that ebooks brace
yourself do not generally have pages.
Whereas a traditional book has pages
and text of a specific size, ebooks are
displayed at a variety of sizes depending
on the device used and the readers
preference. Therefore instead of there
being a page, it is more a case of how
much text will fit on the screen.
What this means in practical terms
is that when you are finalising your
document for conversion to an ebook,
you should avoid entering extra
spaces to alter the position of text on
Okay, so there are a few types of page

you need to concern yourself with.
Despite good intentions, many people
will judge your book by its cover, so
you need to make sure that it looks as
attractive and professional as possible.
If youve got a bit of artistic flair or
youre a dab hand at Photoshop you
can do this yourself, otherwise you may
wish to hire an illustrator, though this
will of course cost money that youre
not guaranteed to make back in sales.
Another no-cost and relatively simple
alternative that can yield good results is
to use Canvas free book cover maker tool
17/11/2015 09:56
E-PUBLISHING
(www.canva.com/create/book-covers/).
Whichever method you use, youll
need to save your eventual cover
as a jpg image file, separate from
your manuscript.
Youll also need to create a few
additional pages at the front of
your book:
A title page with the name of the
book and your name
A copyright page (eg. Copyright
Joe Writer 2015. All rights
reserved by the author).
A dedication page (if you want to
include one)
You should also create a contents page.
This should not contain page numbers,
as these will change between devices,
but should instead be hyperlinked
to the relevant section so that the
reader need only click or tap on a
chapter heading to be instantly taken
there. You can use Microsoft Word to
automatically generate this (instructions
on doing so can be found at http://
writ.rs/windowstoc).
Finally, some e-readers allow the
reader to instantly go to a certain
position, such as the cover or the table
of contents. To make use of this feature,
you should insert bookmarks (in
Word this can be done by highlighting
the relevant text, opening the insert
menu and then clicking bookmark.
Turning your manuscript into

an ebook
Now youve got a thoroughly edited
and polished manuscript, how do you
go about transforming it from clunky
word processing file to sexy, slick
ebook? There are a number of different
routes you can take but before we take
a practical look at these, theres one
more thing that you need to know
about ebooks...
A word on formats
Ultimately, your ebook will be read
on a dedicated ebook reader, such
as Amazons Kindle, on a tablet PC,
on a smartphone or even a laptop.
Because there are many different types
of devices that can read ebooks, there
are also a number of different ebook
file formats. The two most popular
formats are:
ePub ePub is an open-source ebook
format which, unlike others, is not
associated with a particular brand or
p24 ebooks.indd 25
device. It will work on Apple devices,

Android phones, Barnes & Nobles
Nook reader, Sony e-readers, and many
other ebook readers. It will not, however,
work on Amazons Kindle.
AZW If you want your book to be
available to Kindle owners, then you
will need to make it available in azw,
Amazons proprietary format. All books
sold on Amazon use this format or a
previous version of it.
Its important to understand that
by creating your ebook in the azw
format, it will not be readable by
anything other than Kindle devices.
Equally, by creating it as an epub file,
it will not be accessible to readers
with Kindles. Therefore, if you want
to maximise your sales potential, you
should create two versions using the
different formats.
The process of converting/

making your file
So, weve determined that the main
aim here is to convert your manuscript
into the epub and azw file formats.
There are many different ways of doing
this, some of which can get quite
complicated. You could, at this point,
enlist one of the many conversion
services to aid with this step, but here
are a few of the simplest and most
effective routes to get it done.
Blurb
Blurb is better known for printing
photo albums and conventional print
books, but you can also use their
services to create ebooks ready for use
on all major ebook readers. Simply
head to blurb.co.uk and set up a free
account, and then download their
Bookwright software (www.blurb.
co.uk/ebook#versus). You can find
extensive practical information on the
process on the blurb website at
http://writ.rs/bookwright
Amazon
This is perhaps the easiest option,
and perfect if youre looking to target
the Kindle market. Once at amazon.
co.uk, scroll all the way down to the
bottom of the page and select Kindle
Direct Publishing. On the next screen
select create new title and follow
each of the steps that follow. One of
the main benefits of Kindle Direct
Publishing is that the publishing
process is encapsulated within it, and
it is possible to very quickly have an

ebook available for sale on Amazon.
However, if you want it to be available
to all readers and not just those who
use Amazons service you will also have
to convert your file using one of the
additional methods mentioned here.
Do it yourself
This method requires a bit more effort and may not be
suitable for everyone, but it will give you more control
over the process and the finished product. Its not
possible to cover all aspects of the process here, and
there are alternative DIY methods that can be used, but
these are the basic steps:
1 Save your file in Word as filtered web page/html file
2 Download and install Sigil (http://sigil.en.softonic.com/)
3 Load your document in Sigil and carry out any final
editing that needs to be done. Select Save as and
then select the epub format.
4 Download Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/).
Open your previously saved file by clicking add
books. Right-click the relevant file and select Convert
books> Convert individually. Follow the on-screen
prompts to save again as an epub file. This may sound
like unnecessary repetition but it will clean up the
formatting of the file so that it is ready for use. You can
also use Calibre to convert your ebook to other formats
such as azw, by selecting the drop down menu in the
top right of this dialogue box.
Protecting your copyright

Once youve created your ebook,
whats to stop people from giving it
to all of their friends for free, or even
selling it on themselves?
The answer is Digital Rights
Management (DRM), which generally
prevents the book from being read
except on those devices for which it
is authorised. This will generally be
done by the publisher or distributor
that you use, so is not something
that youll need to do, but it is worth
checking that those websites on which
you sell your ebook have robust
DRM methods.
NEXT MONTH
Unleashing your ebook on the world

Hopefully, with the assistance of the information
here, you will be able to create an ebook that you
can be proud of. But youre not done yet now you
need to publish it and market it to your audience.
Read the final part of this series next month to find
out how to do just that, and get some additional
tips on optimising your ebook sales.
17/11/2015 10:03
B E AT T H E B E S T S E L L E R S
The techniques and tricks of
BENJAMIN
BLACK
& JOHN
BANVILLE
The Booker prizewinners pathologist is a stunning creation,

says Tony Rossiter
heyre the same

person, but
very different
writers. John
Banville writes
literary
literary novels and has won
the Booker prize; Benjamin
Black writes crime novels, most
of them featuring the Dublin
pathologist Quirke. What
surprised me was to come
across an interview in which
he said: I certainly like the
Benjamin Black books more
than my Banville novels.
Beginnings and early

influences
Educated at a Christian
Brothers school and at St
Peters College, Wexford, his
main interest as a teenager was
painting. He did not make it as
a painter, but the experience fed
into his writing, teaching him
to look at the world in a very
particular way looking very
closely at things, at colours, at how
things form themselves in space.
On leaving school he worked as a
clerk at Aer Lingus, taking advantage
of staff discounts to travel to Greece
and Italy. He lived in the United States
during 1968 and 1969 and on his
return to Ireland became a sub-editor
(later chief sub-editor) on The Irish
Press. He remained there as his literary
career took off, later moving to the
Irish Times and becoming its literary
editor. His first book, a collection of
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JANUARY 2016
p26 beat the best.indd 26
short stories entitled Long Lankin,

was published in 1970. Nightspawn,
his first novel, came out in 1971. He
subsequently disowned the book,
describing it as crotchety, posturing,
absurdly pretentious.
When he was young he was struck
by the way James Joyce wrote about
real life, and he started to write what
he later described as bad imitations
of The Dubliners. Beckett, Nabokov
and the German philosopher and
writer Nietzsche are major influences,
but Banville says that the guiding
light has always been Henry James.
Acknowledging the influence of
Larkin, Yeats, Rilke, Wallace Stevens
and Elizabeth Bishop, he likes to give
his prose the kind of denseness and
thickness that poetry has.
Literary fiction
Described as one of the most
imaginative literary novelists writing in
the English language today, hes been
called the heir to Proust, via Nabokov.
With fifteen novels written under his
own name, Banville is known for a prose
style that is precise, lyrical and inventive.
Theres also wit, irony, dark humour and
perhaps most characteristic of all an
aching sense of loss. He has said that
he is trying to blend poetry and fiction
into some new form.
His narrators are typically damaged
middle-aged men who are looking
back over their lives, often coping with
the death of someone close, and trying
to work out what went wrong. In The
Sea (2004), winner of the 2005 Man
Booker prize, a recently widowed art

critic tries to come to terms with his
grief by visiting a seaside village where
he holidayed as a boy and experienced
a childhood trauma.
A masterly study of grief, memory
and love recollected, said the chair of
Booker judges, John Sutherland. You
can smell and feel and see his world
with extraordinary clarity, said one
critic, while another called it a real
work of art, disquieting, beautiful,
intelligent. But other critics disagreed.
The Independents Boyd Tonkin
described it as possibly the most
perverse decision in the history of
the award, while Tibor Fischer in the
Telegraph said, Theres lots of lovely
language, but not much novel.
Back in 1993 Banville himself wrote:
I do not think I am a novelist. As a
writer I have little or no interest in
character, plot, motivation, manners,
politics, morality, social issues.
Theres no message I just want
to recreate the sense of what life feels
like, what it tastes like, what it smells
like. Thats what art should do.
Despite deciding to write his crime
novels under a different name, Banville
dislikes the way bookshops categorise
books as literary, crime, romance, etc. I
wish they didnt do that, he says. This
genre of literary fiction is new since I
started writing. Its usually in a corner
of the bookstore, and it may as well
have a neon sign saying: dont read
this stuff. My ideal bookshop would
have no sections, just alphabetical,
and not just fiction, but all the books
17/11/2015 09:46
B E AT T H E B E S T S E L L E R S
next to each other. You would discover

things I hate genre. Some of the
best writing of the 20th century was in
crime novels. James M Cain, Raymond
Chandler, Richard Stark, Simenon of
course this is wonderful work, and
shouldnt be put off into a ghetto.
Quirke
The origins of the first Quirke novel
was a commission for a television
mini-series which Banville received
in the early 2000s. He wrote three
episodes, set in 1950s Ireland and
America, but the TV series was never
made. Around the same time he began
reading Simenon (creator of Maigret)
for the first time and found himself
bowled over by what that writer could
achieve with very simple components.
He already had a plot, characters and
dialogue; and he decided to turn the
TV script into a novel. He began one
Monday morning while staying with
friends in Italy, and later said: by noon,
to my astonishment and some awe, I
had written 1,500 words, more or less
in the right order, a total it would have
taken the poor drudge Banville a week
to achieve, if he was lucky.
Christine Falls, the first Quirke
novel, was published in 2006 and
there have so far been six further books
featuring the Dublin pathologist. They
combine brilliant characterisation,
most memorably of Quirke himself,
with atmospheric evocations of Dublin
in the 1950s and plots rooted in the
unholy alliance of church and state that
ruled Ireland for the better part of the
last century.
Quirke is a stunning creation.
How best to describe him? Lots of
adjectives come to mind: troubled,
determined, dogged, melancholy,
alcoholic, brooding, grumpy,
befuddled, laconic, stubborn, curious,
instinctive, intolerant, persistent,
damaged, uptight, enigmatic. They all
seem to fit. Despite his pessimism, hes
an immediately endearing character.
Physically, hes a huge fellow, broadshouldered and rather ungainly, but
irresistible to women.He teams up
with his friend Inspector Hackett to
satisfy his curiosity and follow up
suspicious deaths, but hes not the
greatest investigator. Banville/Black
has said that, He misses the point of
things, he stumbles over clues,

we didnt know the criminal way
misreads people But this is what
in which the church protected
I treasure in him his human
the abusers, switching them from
frailty, and the curious kind of
parish to parish to cover it up.
dogged honour he can sometimes
display. Quirke, he said, came
How he writes
from the damaged recesses of
I am essentially a religious type,
my Irish soul. I sympathise with
says Banville. In my teens I gave up
Quirke; he is a very damaged
Catholicism, and at the same time
person, as many Irish people are
I started writing. Writing keeps me
from their upbringing.
at my desk, constantly trying to
Set in 1950s Dublin, the novels
write a perfect sentence. It is a great
carry an atmosphere of smoky bars,
privilege to make ones living from
seediness and decay. Its the Dublin
writing sentences. The sentence is
of Banvilles childhood, dingy and
the greatest invention of civilisation.
To sit all day long assembling these
ramshackle with a melancholy beauty
most of which is gone now.
extraordinary strings of words is
I trawled through my
a marvellous thing. I couldnt ask
memories of being a child when
for anything better. Its as near to
I was writing the books, he
godliness as I can get.
said, and I was astonished at
A sentence can always be
how much I could remember.
improved, he says. I work by the
Quirke lives in the same Dublin
sentence. When Ive got a sentence
apartment in Upper Mount
as close to being right as I can get, it
Street that Banville inherited
generates the next sentence, and I let
from his aunt and lived in
the big stuff take care of itself.
during the 1960s. With telling
Banville has contrasted the ease
detail he paints a picture of
of writing the Black novels with
1950s Dublin thats as
the concentration required for
vivid and authentic as
Banville: If Im Benjamin
Simenons Paris or
Black, I can write up to
Rankins Edinburgh.
two and a half thousand
Theres no message
The novels
words a day. As John
typically open with
Banville, if I write two
I just want to recreate
a mysterious death,
hundred words a day I
the sense of what life
as Quirkes scalpel
am very, very happy
feels like, what it tastes like,
reveals an anomaly:
Poor old Banville takes
something doesnt quite
three, four, five years to
what it smells like.
add up. Reluctantly but
write a book. Black does
inevitably, Quirke starts
it in three or four months
digging. I made a pact
Crime writers get very cross
with myself that I would write
when I say this, as if the crime
books with plots that could actually
stuff I write is much inferior. But its
happen in life. Ive tried to stick with
just different. Its an entirely different
that, says Banville/Black. The plots
way of working. Its craft work.
are simple, but there are always moral
Blacks habit of changing viewpoint
and ethical dimensions. The true
within a chapter (or, occasionally,
villain in these books is the unholy
within a paragraph) can be irritating
alliance of church and state that ruled
but, for me for me at least, the slight
Ireland for the better part of the last
feeling of dislocation that results from
century, says Banville. It was a very
this is outweighed by the quality of
mean time, mean-spirited. One of
the writing. Banville envies writers
the most awful things were learning
who can work on aeroplanes or
about [Ireland in] the 1950s is how
in hotel rooms. He can produce
many people knew what was going on
an article or a book review while
and turned a blind eye to it. We knew
travelling, but says that, For fiction I
that there was abuse and we knew it
must have my own wall with my own
was bad, but we didnt know it was
postcards pinned to it, and my own
quite as bad as what was revealed, and
window not to look out of.
p26 beat the best.indd 27
JANUARY 2016
27
17/11/2015 09:46
Few words,
Big worlds
Conjure a strong sense of place in your short stories
by analysing some of the classics, guided by
Helen M Walters
hen I teach short

story writing
to beginners I
often start by
asking students
what the essential elements of a short
story are. People readily come up with
characters, plot, dialogue, theme and
so on, but they rarely mention
setting until I prompt them.
Yet setting is absolutely crucial in
a short story. Imagine you have two
characters lets call them Tom and
Jim. Youre going to have a very different
story if you put them in the local pub
propping up the bar from if you have
them dressed in scrubs and facing each
other across an operating table. Be
imaginative with your settings. Where
else could Tom and Jim be? A Greek
Island, an Oxford college, on board a
luxury jet. All these settings will lead to
very different stories.
An unusual, or particularly vivid,
setting can really make a short story,
and in this article I want to show you
some classic examples of how short
story writers have used setting or world
building to great effect. I want to look
at the importance of setting to plot,
and also at how you can make your
settings come alive and seem real and
authentic even within the limited word
count of a short story.
The stories I have chosen are The
Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman,
Goose Fair by DH Lawrence and The
Sentinel by Arthur C Clarke. You will
learn most if you read the stories for
yourself and really consider in detail
28
MARCH 2012
JANUARY
2016
p28 Short stories.indd 28
how the writer handles setting and

world building. As always, spoilers
follow, so read the stories now if you
intend to.
The Yellow Wallpaper

Read all three
stories at
http://writ.rs/
gilmanetc
Lets start with The Yellow Wallpaper

by Charlotte Gilman. One of the
significant things about this story is
that it is almost entirely set in one
room. Having only one setting in your
story can be really powerful as you
can describe it to the fullest and most
dramatic effect and show your reader
details that might be lost to them if you
were flitting from location to location.
In The Yellow Wallpaper, the main
character has been confined to her
bedroom for most of the story. She
refers to being outside, or in other parts
of the house, but it is only this one
room that the reader experiences with
her. The narrator starts by telling us
how much she dislikes the room, she
wouldnt have chosen it for herself, but
it is imposed on her by her husband.
In a sense the room becomes both her
whole world, and like a prison to her,
and the reader feels the claustrophobia
of the setting as the story progresses.
Pretty soon we start to see what it is
about the room that disturbs her. There
are bars at the window, the bed is nailed
to the floor and the wallpaper has been
stripped from the wall in places. But it
is the wallpaper that becomes the main
focus of her distress. The writer gives us
an incredibly detailed description of the
wallpaper as the main character becomes
increasingly obsessed with it.
Paragraphs and paragraphs

are given over to describing the
yellowness of it and the intricacy of
the design. Ultimately the character
anthropomorphises the wallpaper, seeing
eyes and a broken neck in the pattern
as she convinces herself a woman is
trapped behind it much in the same
way as she is trapped in the room. In
the end, the presence of the wallpaper is
described as torturing her.
Normally we wouldnt describe a
setting in quite so much detail, but in
this story it is crucial because the room
is as important as any of the characters.
It is important because it has such a
dramatic effect on the narrators state of
mind. We see her becoming more and
more disturbed and steadily losing her
grip on reality as the story progresses.
But the setting also becomes an intrinsic
part of the plot at the end of the story
as she starts to tear the wallpaper off the
walls and it forms the final scene where
her husband is confronted with exactly
how possessed she has become.
Goose Fair
Goose Fair by DH Lawrence depicts

a clash of two different worlds. The
setting, therefore, sows the seeds of
the action as the rural, traditional
world contrasts with the emerging
industrialised world.
Notice how vividly the opening
paragraphs set the scene. A young girl
is herding geese into town for the fair,
but as well as focussing on the girl,
Lawrence also builds a compelling
setting. He talks of the cobbles on
17/11/2015 10:22
SHORT STORY MASTERCLASS
the ground over which the girl and

her geese are walking and describes
the high-sided houses and doors with
dull brass plates that she passes. The
atmospheric description of the fog
and the torch flares seen through
the gloom of night sucks the reader
right into the story.
We then have a brief vignette of the
girl standing looking up at a burnt-out
warehouse. This is significant for two
reasons. Firstly, it encapsulates one of
the tensions in the story that between
the traditional, rural world of the
goose girl and the industrialised world
of the town. Secondly, the burnt-out
mill foreshadows much of the action
that plays out in the rest of the story.
This one small aspect of setting is
working really hard in this story and
demonstrates the secret of using setting
to good effect in a limited word count.
Another thing that works well in this
story is the way Lawrence contrasts the
inside world with the outside world.
We see into the house of one of the
main characters, Lois, through the
eyes of a passer-by. We get a glimpse
of a spacious hall and a lamp with a
scarlet shade. We then follow Lois to
her bedroom and experience the warm
fire and the thick folds of the curtains.
The contrast with the outside world is
reinforced again when Lois finds herself
back out in the night. Again we have
the atmospheric descriptions of trees
that drip fog and crowds of people,
their faces lit up by fire.
Then she sees the source of the
fire. Not benevolent fire like that in
the grate at home, but destructive
fire eating up a building. This scene
is incredibly powerful with layers of
meaning. Notice how Lois can see
the outlines of the machinery in the
buildings turn white and then fall
through the burning timbers. These
arent just any buildings, they are the
factories that symbolise the troubled
industrial atmosphere of the time.
The final scene of the story takes
place the next day in front of the
burnt-out building. Lois confronts her
lover, Will, in front of the building
that she believes he may have burnt
down himself. The setting, therefore,
amplifies the action. Notice also how
the motif of the geese and the goose
girl is brought back in here. Again
underlining the contrasts between two
different and conflicting ways of life.
The Sentinel
In The Sentinel, Arthur C Clarke has

gone much further afield for the setting
of his story than our other two writers.
Hes set it on the moon.
This story offers a good example
of a fictional world being built that
is completely separate from our own.
Note how he describes the terrain of the
moon. All the geographical features we
find on earth are there the caves, the
cliffs, the rivers, the mountains but
they are subtly different. The cliffs
are described as stupendous and
the mountains are bigger and more
rugged than those on earth.
We find a world also that
operates differently from our own: the
lunar dawns, the close horizon, the
diminished gravity, the tideless oceans.
The world is recognisable, and yet not
recognisable at the same time. This fine
balancing act gives the story a feeling of
almost heightened reality. When writing
this sort of story, dont forget that the
setting needs to feel authentic. If the
reader doesnt believe in the world, then
they wont believe in your story.
Another clever use of setting in
this story is the way Clarke starts
the story by asking the reader
to consider standing on earth
looking at the moon. Notice how he
mirrors this later in the story when his
characters stand on the moon looking
back at earth. This serves to underline
the scale of the canvas he is using as
his setting and to provide a neat link
between the two worlds.
part of your plot? How can you make

setting work just as hard for you as
your characters and theme?
In a very short story of one or
two thousand words or so, such as
you may write for a magazine or to
fit competition guidelines, youll be
limited in how much description you
can include, but these stories illustrate
how the details you use can be really
powerful and bring your story to life.
You may not have space to describe
a whole room in as much detail as
Charlotte Gilman does, but maybe you
can focus on one piece of furniture
such as a much-loved antique dresser
that says a lot about your character.
Use the senses
Learn the
art of the short
story with a
WM creative
writing course.
See p84
Compare the worlds
With this story were almost as far

from the first story as its possible to
be. In The Yellow Wallpaper the story is
confined to one room, in The Sentinel
we have the entire universe. Equally,
the plot of The Yellow Wallpaper is
personal, taking place mostly in the
main characters mind, but the plot
of The Sentinel (first published in
The Prussian Officer collection) turns
out to have repercussions for all
of humanity and beyond. This
illustrates further how intrinsically
setting can be linked to plot.
In your own writing, do think about
where your stories are set as hard as you
think about characters and plot. Like
these classic short story writers, can
you use the setting to bring your story
to life? Can you make it an integral
p28 Short stories.indd 29
One powerful way of making the most

of setting in a limited word count is
to make sure you use all five senses
when describing it. Most of us find
it comes automatically to talk about
the sights and sounds of our story;
the yellowness of the wallpaper; the
sounds of the fire burning. But often
we can enhance our descriptions,
making them more vivid and
intense. What sort of yellow was the
yellow? Was it sulphurous yellow,
sunshine yellow or ochre? Exactly
how did the fire sound? Was it licking
or hissing? And dont forget about the
other three senses. Let your readers
know how things feel, smell and taste.
Notice how these authors have done
it. Notice the way the feel of cobbles
under your feet is evoked in Goose Fair,
and the feeling of reduced gravity in
The Sentinel. Be aware of how the smell
of burning sausages in The Sentinel
triggers thoughts of a more mundane
and domestic world. Consider what
the author of The Yellow Wallpaper
means when she talks of the yellow
smell that follows the narrator around.
How would those breakfast sausages
have tasted if they hadnt been burnt,
and how might thick fog taste as you
breathe it in?
If you can pin down your settings
so that they feel real to your readers,
and also use them to their maximum
potential to enhance your plot you will
help to make your short stories much
stronger. So next time you sit down to
write a new story really consider your
setting. Dont let it be a poor relation
to characters, plot and theme, but
polish it up and really let it shine.
JANUARY
JULY 2015
2016
29
17/11/2015 10:22
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30
JANUARY 2016
Writing magazine 130x92.indd 1
www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk
03/11/2015 10:12
13/11/2015 16:23
A DV E R TO R I A L : A L C S
WE PAY WRITERS,
ALL WRITERS
Being a writer was recently found to be the

most desirable profession but the reality is
writers are paid less now than a decade ago.
Kirsty Ridyard and Caroline Sanderson
explain how authors can maximise their
income in these difficult economic times.
n the last year the Authors Licensing

and Collecting Society (ALCS) paid
out over 32 million to over 70,000
writer members. Why then, are they
the writing industrys best kept secret?
Set up in 1977 by writers, ALCS is a
not-for-profit society based in London
which pays money to all types of writers
when their published work is photocopied
and scanned. Money that is received
from collective licensing agreements and
overseas PLR is paid back to members in
the form of two distributions a year, in
March and September.
In surveys commissioned by ALCS,
the number of authors who rely solely
on income received from writing
has dropped drastically from 40% in
2005 down to 11.5% in 2013. The
typical author now earns only 87%
of the minimum wage making the
money writers receive from ALCS more
important than ever.
A mere 36 pays for lifetime
membership of ALCS. Some members,
including living writers and estates are
tracked down by the ALCS Author
Research Team, whose aim is to release
money held by ALCS due to those who
have not yet joined the society.
No 1 Lost Authors
Detective Agency
ALCS researcher Jack Johnson
explains that often his job isnt just a
case of locating authors and getting
an application form to them. The
second part, which can be the most
complicated, is convincing a writer that
ALCS is not a confidence trick. As one
author, who later became a member,
remarked: Nice one, guys, the scam
difference that even quite modest sums

looks so professional I nearly fell for it.
of money can make to writers can be
Gaynor Coules, another researcher,
a rewarding experience. An uplifting
agrees. I think the word that best describes
example of how ALCS has helped
a potential member in this situation is
writers comes from Gaynor: One
sceptical. Given that our inboxes are
authors payment meant she could buy
filled with internet hoaxes and scams, it
a flight to see her son get married in
can be difficult to convince people that our
Poland, while for others, their ALCS
approach is a genuine one.
payments have helped cars pass their
In the quest to hand over money
MOTs, paid for holidays, and sustained
owed, I have been called everything from
future writing projects.
con artist to Father Christmas. I dont
blame people for being sceptical: you
just have to hope that your powers of
Best-kept secret
persuasion will win them over in the end.
ALCS believes secondary royalties
I have also been assured that my spelling
belong to the author whose work has
is too good to be a fraud.
been enjoyed and shared in schools,
Other writers are easier to convince,
universities, businesses and abroad.
including the scriptwriter owed a fiveAs administrators of The All Party
figure sum. The timing was fortuitous
Parliamentary Writers Group ALCS
as he had recently suffered from financial
keenly lobbies on behalf of writers in
problems and had been forced to take out
parliament regarding their rights and
a large loan. I literally made his day, or
copyright law. One member, Simon
year, to the point that he offered to take
Brett, wrote that: Its a wonderful
me out to dinner. Never have I had such
feeling for authors to know that ALCS
an offer before, or since!
is out there working away on their
One estate Jack dealt with took three
behalf. Copyright is very precious; it
years of negotiating between the relatives
needs the kind of extra protection that
of a high-profile writer and his overseas
the ALCS provides. And the cheques
business partners to settle: The parties
are very welcome too.
Have
you
ever
had anything published? For the 36 lifetime membership fee
differed
on how
to split
thousands
of pounds
the authors
you can receive money owed to you for
A bookofperhaps,
or an existing
article in a magazine like this one.
royalty
payments,
requiring
UN-like
If you have then the Authors Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) the photocopying and scanning of your
could bebetween
holding money
owed to you.
arbitrations
the opposing
works, which happens more regularly
ALCS
secondary
royalties earned from a number of sources than you may first think.
camps,
andcollects
involving
the biggest
including the photography and scanning of books.
folder of evidence I have seen to date.
Unlock information about ALCS by visiting:
Thankfully, the beneficiaries eventually
www.alcs.co.uk
reached
a compromise, and the estate
Spread the word
continues to receive ALCS distribution
If youve ever had anything published or
payments today.
know of someone who has, whether youre an author, poet,
Despite the intricacies and sometimes
editor, translator or contributor for books, anthologies,
frustrations of the job, all the researchers
magazine or journal articles, spread the word about ALCS
at ALCS agree that seeing the tangible
and join today: www.alcs.co.uk/join
The writing magazine, 2014.indd 1
8/27/2014 2:59:40 PM
p31 ALCS advertorial.indd 31
JANUARY 2016
31
17/11/2015 09:43
IDEAS
IDEAS
ick a card. Any card.

Weve all heard this
said by magicians
just before the magic
happens. Now change one word
card to comment and see if you
get a magical result.
Pick a comment. Any comment.
Writers must learn to be good
Inspiring words
Ideas can come from just about anywhere, suggests Lynne Hackles,
in the first of a new series on randomly generating ideas
listeners. You never know what

you might be told, or overhear.
Next time youre chatting, face
to face or over the phone, with
a friend, shop assistant, family
member, work colleague or total
stranger, really listen to whats
being said and see if any random
comment sparks an idea.
Stor y Ideas
Elizabeth Moulder often gets inspiration from overheard
comments and uses them as start-off points for her short
stories. Her examples demonstrate how to make the most
of even the most unassuming comment.
I didnt actually have any designs on a seriously rich man I
dated briefly but if I had theyd have been squashed when a
friend said, Itll never work. Youre Lidl and hes Fortnum
and Mason. Instead of being offended I immediately
recognised this as a story. My heroine felt like the Beggar
Maid to his King Cophetua. Sure enough he took her
to Wimbledon with a posh hamper from F&M so she
reciprocated with a hamper a combination of homecooked and Lidl and treated him to a car boot sale. They
eventually went their separate ways with good will on both
sides. The title for this story was, unsurprisingly, Lidl To
Fortnum and Mason.
After a talk Id given to a local WI I overheard one of the
ladies explain how her newly retired husband had taken up
golf. She said, He apologised for going off yet again for a
round of golf and I told him not to worry about it. I was
looking on it as a dry run for widowhood. I started work
on the story the very next morning using the situation shed
set up for me. The rest of the story was her solution which
turned out to be belly dancing and, obviously, the title had
to be A Dry Run For Widowhood.
Articles
I asked Glynis Scrivens, author of Edit Is A Four Letter Word, if a random
comment had ever proved useful to her.
In the gift shop at the Ipswich Railway Workshops outside Brisbane I
saw a jigsaw puzzle of the Flying Scotsman but it didnt look right. Surely
this famous train was green not blue. I mentioned this to the woman
at the counter. Thats what Dave Rollins says too, she said, and he
should know. He used to drive it. That was the random comment
which made me want to know more.
I left a note for Dave in the gift shop. When he phoned me, I
learned he was the driver when the Flying Scotsman was brought out to
Australia as part of our Bicentennial Celebrations.
I arranged to interview him in person and he arrived with
newspaper clippings and photographs. We met weekly for several
months. He was like an onion. Id peel off a layer only to find more
underneath. He was always surprising me with comments like, We
always knew when there was royalty on board, or, Flying Scotsman
wasnt the first choice for the Bicentenary.
So much had already been written about the Flying Scotsman that
I realised anyone reading something new would need the anecdotes to
be fresh and the information 100% accurate. The interview with David
Rollins was published in Steam Railway magazine, to coincide with the
twentieth anniversary of the Flying Scotsmans non-stop record set in
Australia between Parkes and Broken Hill in 1989. The longer version of
the interview is an ebook.
When a friend in the UK mentioned buying a rocking chair for
her back pain her comment intrigued me. In Australia no one I
knew had ever bought a rocking chair for therapeutic uses. A quick
internet search revealed a range of international studies. My curiosity
led to an article which sold, in differing formats, to Scottish Home &
Country, Emerge and Body+Soul.
Now I am consciously on the lookout for article ideas so will be
listening all the more carefully. If it matters to one person, chances are
itll matter to others. And if it intrigues me, it may intrigue an editor.
Exercise
Growing A Bunion was a short story which came about

when a friend told me about a hypochondriac she knew
who managed to grow a bunion just walking up the
high street. This turned into a story about a woman who
developed hypochondria every time she got dumped. All
three stories were bought by Womans Weekly.
32
JANUARY 2016
p32 Random ideas.indd 32
Learn to listen. Eavesdrop. Sit next to busy tables in

cafes and near people on buses.
Be consciously on the lookout for ideas and keep a
notebook handy.
Write down any random comments that appeal.
What can you make from what you overheard?
A story, an article, a poem?
When writing, keep a market in mind.
17/11/2015 09:41
I take writing more seriously;

I increased my confidence; but
I also raised the bar in terms
of the quality of output
I demand from myself.
Lucie, a student on
Writing A Novel
CREATIVE WRITING
COURSES WITH
CHARACTER
V I S I T F ABERACADEMY.CO.UK
OR CALL US ON 0207 927 3827
JANUARY 2016
33
13/11/2015 16:24
T E N TO P T I P S
r
e
g
s
o
n
l
u
i
tions
t
i
r
W
om writing
Ten top tips fr
gory
tutor Liz Gre
me
ilty of this at so
eve all been gu
eaning
l-m
up a list of wel
point: drawing
of them
t
os
m
then broken
resolutions and
totally
e
ar
e
es
Too often th
y.
ar
nu
Ja
of
d
e by the
before the en
olate; lose a ston
oc
ch
up
e
iv
(g
g deprivation
unrealistic
lculated to brin
ca
or
k)
ee
w
e
ocolate; lose a
end of th
lives (give up ch
r
ou
to
in
ow
rr
and so
at a time of year
of the week, etc)
e
d
en
e
th
by
e
ston
ay. Here are som
depressing anyw
t
ty
n
et
ld
pr
ou
be
sh
n
at
ca
th
that
ing habits
rit
w
e
iv
sit
po
r
suggestions fo
to stick to.
be too onerous
worth keeping
Find your perfect writing time.

Make time to write every week.
One of the main reasons that resolutions fail is that they
are simply not sustainable. We set targets that are far too
ambitious and put a huge amount of pressure on
ourselves in trying to keep them. Saying that youll
write every single day may seem a noble goal, but
unless its your full-time job youre likely to find
that before too long, real life will start getting in
the way and you just wont have the time. Rather
than beat yourself up over this, set yourself a
minimum weekly target, ideally in a regular time
slot (see below), and stick to it even an hour
a week is better than nothing. People who write
regularly are the best writers, and if you remember
that your resolution is a minimum, chances are youll
do a lot more every week anyway without feeling
guilty if you dont.
Again, if you write for a living youll have to write even when you
dont feel like it, but for the rest of us its possible to have some
control over when we flex our creative muscles. We all tend to
have particular times during which we are more productive.
Much as I hate getting up in the morning, Im all too aware
that I work far better early in the day, and that if I put
things off until the evening they are unlikely to get done.
Others are the complete opposite, night owls who prefer
to work into the small hours, whilst others are driven by
necessity perhaps the only time you get to yourself is
once the kids have gone to bed or have been dropped
at school, or during your lunch hour at work. Whatever
works for you, find that time and earmark it for yourself,
even if, as weve already said, its only an hour a week.
Keep a writing journal or diary.

One of my absolute favourite things about
January is the excuse it provides for buying
new stationery. A new year is a new start and
obviously requires a plethora of new note
books and diaries to go with it. On a more
serious note, a new year is very much like the
fresh, clean first page of a new diary you
can do anything with it you put your mind
to. Whether you choose a beautiful journal
in which to capture your creative thoughts
longhand or a practical diary in which to
record deadlines and submission dates, a new
writing book signals a fresh, positive start for
the year ahead.
Find your ideal

writing spot.
This is one habit I really need
to adopt myself, My favourite
spot for writing (on the sofa, in
front the TV, preferably whilst
wearing dressing gown or similar) is
definitely not my most productive
one. Im lucky enough to have a
lovely office upstairs which boasts
a generous-sized desk loaded with
all the beautiful stationery discussed opposite, as well
as all the bits and bobs essential to anyone trying to
take writing even a little bit seriously reference books,
printer, paper and so on. My resolution is to write here
more often than I currently do, not least because it gives
me an air of purpose and professionalism that I lack
when left to my own devices. Find your ideal writing
spot and stake your claim to it in the year ahead.
34
JANUARY 2016
p34 ten top tips.indd 34
Never feel guilty.

One of the main reasons I eventually let my long-neglected gym membership
lapse (apart from my overwhelming laziness) was the sheer sense of guilt I
used to feel when I didnt go. The relief at being freed from this emotion once
Id left was immense (as well as financially rewarding). Remember, for most of
us writing is a hobby or a part-time source of income, so dont beat yourself
up over it just give yourself the night/week/whatever off and then get back
on it raring to go again.
17/11/2015 09:39
T E N TO P T I P S
Leave your comfort zone

at least once in a while
This neednt be anything drastic, but its easy to get
stuck in a rut as a writer, and trying something new
is one way to move forward. It also prevents getting
bored, which for me is one of the main reasons
for giving up on my resolutions. If you promise
yourself to keep your writing fresh by trying at least
one new genre once a month, for example, then
youre far more likely to still be writing
productively by the end of the year.
Dont avoid things

you find difficult
or boring.
Involve your loved ones.

Many hobbies lend themselves to being sociable,
and are a way of spending enjoyable time with
friends and family; playing sports together, for example. We are
often more likely to stick to our resolutions if we can team up with
a like-minded soul, someone who can encourage you to go to the
gym when you dont feel like it, or forcibly drive you to slimming
club when you really dont want to go. Writing is a more solitary
pastime however, and doesnt always lend itself to company I
find it much easier to write when Im on my own in the house
without anyone else distracting me. This can not only lead
to loved ones feeling a bit left out but can also make those
good intentions falter. If youre on your own, whos to
know if you accidentally eat biscuits all day rather than
write anything? Kill two birds with one stone by
involving family in your writing goals. For example,
tell your partner youre going to write a draft of
an article or 500 words of your novel and that
youd like it if theyd read over it when they
get home.
One of my worst habits is

procrastination. If I dont
fancy doing something I simply
put it off and do something more
fun instead, and unfortunately
this doesnt just apply to my writing
projects. My way round this is to
write a list (an old-school one, but a
list on your phone will do just as well)
and physically tick things off when I
have done them theres only so long
you can ignore the words proofread
article or research that really big topic
that youre not that interested in before
you cave and get it done just for the
pleasure of deleting it.
Have more than

one project on the go.
One of the main reasons for writing resolutions
faltering is rejection. You lovingly craft and hone
a piece of work and send it off into the world
where it is met with criticism or, worse still,
complete silence. Its tempting to give up in such
circumstances, but one way of dealing with this
kind of disappointment is to have a number of
things on the go at any one time. Okay, so your
short story might be doing the rounds of
uninterested publishers and editors, but rather
than sit at home and fret about its fate,
if you crack on with something else
youre much more likely to
stay positive.
But never lose sight of your primary focus.

Whilst there are a number of benefits to having several things on the go
at once, weve already established that unrealistic goals can put undue
pressure on an individual and even lead to them giving up altogether.
If writing is your job then its only reasonable to expect some pressure
from time to time, but for many people writing is an enjoyable hobby,
pure and simple, and shouldnt ever feel like a chore. So yes, its good to
push yourself out of your comfort zone, and to bring some variety into
your writing, but whatever your particular passion romantic fiction,
poetry, local history you should never lose touch with what you really
love doing. Just remember to keep moving forward, so even if you
choose to remain within the same genre, try to get better at what you
do every time you write.
p34 ten top tips.indd 35
Whatever your writing

resolutions for 2016,
good luck and a
Happy New Year!
JANUARY 2016
35
17/11/2015 09:40
T R A I N YO U R B R A I N
!? PEN
PUSHERS
Write local
Infuse your writing with a real sense of your local area with exercises from Lizzie Eneld
ve just been asked to talk about writing books which

are set in the South of England where I live, and to
discuss what made me want to write about this particular
corner of the UK.
In truth, I hadnt given it a great deal of thought when I sat
down to write my novels. I was more concerned with the plot
and characters and the setting seemed to follow. But having
sat down to think on it, I realised the place where I live has
influenced my writing in a strange subconscious way.
The South is a peculiar part of the world: separated from the
rest of the country by London, cut off from the world by the
slowly encroaching sea and cushioned by relative wealth and
prosperity. The latter breeds its own particular set of neurosis: a
constant wondering if the grass might be greener, a voyeuristic
identification with other peoples tragedies and an obsession
with minutiae of relationships and family life.
It provides a rich seam of virtual unreality one that I have
mined in all of my novels.
The following exercises are designed to get you thinking about
where you live and how this might influence your writing.
EXERCISE ONE
cters
Creating local chara
in fiction is not just about
Creating a sense of place
the
ings but about examining
describing your surround
who
ple
peo
e
iqu
un
the
and
ce
history and quirks of a pla
the
ere
wh
other than Brighton
inhabit it. Are there places
sal
cau
in
to
in town is alluded
worst-dressed transvestite
s meet
end
ke
ma
to
mer, struggling
conversation? Does the far
e of
som
ide
ngs
alo
ng
livi
it harder for
in rural east Sussex, find
s
doe
gs
the land? And what longin
e,
the wealthiest bankers in
epp
Di
to
y daily from Newhaven
the ferry, ploughing its wa
it?
tch
on the shore and wa
create for those who stand
EXERCIS
E TWO
Linking
people
to places
I once overh
eard a shop
assistant ta
about her fo
lking to her
rthcoming
colleague
wedding.
The recepti
on was to b
e
h
eld at the h
Well if it al
otel on Bea
l
chy Head.
remark mad goes wrong, I can ju
mp! she jo
e me think
ked, but her
about how
out on mar
it might fe
ried life a st
el be startin
ones throw
many peop
g
from a place
le have end
ed
where so
theirs.
This exerci
se is design
ed to make
place influen
you think ab
ces people.
out how
36
JULY 2015
p36 pen pushers.indd 36
1 Think hard about the pla

ce where you live and
the kind of people who live
around you.
2 Try to come up with a cha
racter whose
circumstances are peculiar to
the place.
3 Write a few facts about the
m. Where do they live?
What do they do? Name one
thing they
do every day without fail?
4 Write a short paragraph des
cribing
your character.
5 Now write another paragr
aph beginning with the
line If x (your characters nam
e) had not lived in x
(the place) life might have bee
n very different.
1 Think of a local
landmark, place or
feature. It could be
a beauty spot, a pl
ace of work or leisu
re or a house or
garden with an un
usual quirk.
2 Take the characte
r you thought abou
t in the previous
exercise to this plac
e. Give them a rea
son to be there and
write about it.
3 Now make someth
ing happen. There
could be an
accident, a phone
call is received, a sto
rm breaks etc.?
How does your ch
aracter react and ho
w might
this differ from so
meone who was no
t so well
acquainted with th
e place?
17/11/2015 09:29
T R A I N YO U R B R A I N
Red Editing Pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would all benet from some
careful use of your red editing pen.As writers, and regular readers of
Writing Magazine, you should not nd any of these too difcult. But if you would
welcome a little help, you can always check out the suggested solutions below.
Here are this months examples:
She was looking for an address at Bank House, Grant Sq. and the reason why
she was running late was simply because she was lost.
Sally had only just set foot in the store when she was faced by a sales assistant with
the inevitable: Can I help you madam? Why, she thought to herself, do customers
have to put up with the tediousness of this persistent harassment.
It had been a difficult year for the company and they were still in the throws
of getting rid of a handful of staff members who had, quite frankly, been
fermenting trouble.
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
In our first sentence, we are using Sq as an abbreviation

and have used a full stop after this abbreviation. Not
many years ago there was a punctuation rule that you
should use a full stop after an abbreviation if its final letter
differed from the final letter of the word being shortened.
The abbreviation here ends with q while the complete word
(square) ends in e; different letters, therefore the need for a
full stop according to this outdated rule. Almost nobody
nowadays pays any attention to this convoluted rule which
was swept away in the drive for minimal punctuation.
From this point, our sentence becomes a drive for
maximum tautology. For a start we should avoid the
expression the reason why because the why is totally
redundant; we would be better simply with the reason she
was running late.
We then run into the next tautology with: the reason
was because. We should recast the latter part of this
sentence to read: the reason she was running late was
that she was lost.
Lets start to look at sentence two with a consideration

of the can versus may debate. Can I help you said the
sales assistant, but should she have said, May I help you?
In most contexts, can and may are interchangeable. The
main exception is the situation where Can I is used to
convey the sense of do I have the ability to (help). May
is more formal and more courteous. Many sales courses
recommend the use of may I help you instead of the
can version because it implies that you are requesting
the pleasure of being of help. On the other hand can is
frequently used in hostile situations such as can you move
your car? and can I ask what you think you are doing?
The sales assistant in our sentence should go for may
rather than can.
Finally, we have the word tediousness. It is a perfectly
legitimate word, there in all the best dictionaries. But
it is also a long word and raises the question: why use
a long word when there is a perfectly good shorter
word available? The shorter word here is tedium which
is near enough in meaning to tediousness to be
perfectly acceptable.
Sentence three is an exploration of using the wrong

word just because it sounds all right. For a start, lets
look at throws. There is no such noun as throws; you can
use it as a verb, as in he throws and she throws but that
is not relevant in the context of this sentence. So it is the
wrong word. It sounds like throes which is the trouble
arising (for example) from having to make changes. It is
throes which should be used in this sentence.
Then we have people fermenting trouble. Fermentation
is a process that takes place in the production of alcoholic
drinks (although the same word has sometimes been
used to mean stir up).
However, fermenting sounds rather like fomenting
which is the word for the act of instigating trouble and
unrest. So we should have the staff fomenting trouble
rather than fermenting trouble.
These things, however, happen to the best of us: at the
time of writing there is a shadow cabinet member whose
list of interests in Whos Who includes fermenting the
overthrow of capitalism. Wow.
p37 Red ed pen.indd 37
JANUARY 2016
37
17/11/2015 09:27
CUT THE
CHIT-CHAT
Make your dialogue work effectively by
stripping out the flannel, says
Adrian Magson
conversation between two

or more people usually
follows traditional and timehonoured lines: first one
person speaks, followed by another, then
the other and so on. Theres never an
obvious now you signal, but its there all
the same, like a built-in green light.
(Interestingly, it even exists on social
media, where theres no eye contact to
help with these signals.)
This social convention comes from
way back in childhood (wait until its
your turn) and is perfected over years of
interaction as we mingle and grow.
But thats normal life in normal-town;
were talking fiction, where rules can be
broken if the situation demands.
Take a normal written conversation
where the scene is calm and matterof-fact, a discussion between friends.
It operates as usual with one person
speaking (she said), then another (he
agreed) and possibly another (she
confirmed). The tone and atmosphere is
polite, agreeable and placid, and might
include laughter, the odd wry comment
and so forth to break up the dialogue.
But what about a different scene
altogether, where youre writing about
a situation full of tension, emotion,
desperation or humour? In this case a
series of polite exchanges would not only
be grossly out of place, theyd kill stone
dead any sense of the tension you might
have built up beforehand.
So would too many words.
Quite simply, throw convention out
of the window. This is make-believe, so
start chopping. A way of doing this is to
restructure your dialogue to the minimal
and even have them end abruptly.
You cant come in here and-
Jason pushed past her without listening.
Or
Im sorry I wish I knew what to
38
JANUARY 2016
p38 beginners.indd 38
say She shrugged, helpless in the face of

such raw emotion.
Both these examples imply a loss of
words caused by surprise or uncertainty,
and you can hear instances like them
every day in real life. We dont actually
notice the missing words or short stops
because our ears are tuned to recognise
them for what they are and fill in the
gaps. Another example is:
What-?
This suggests the speaker has been cut
off or has simply run out of words faced
with something they cant understand or
where no response seems adequate. Its
like the wtf exclamation in social media,
which expresses a range of emotional
responses in just three letters.
But by far the most effective way
of keeping up the pace in a scene is
to leave out the he said she said
thing altogether, unless interjected with
something physical.
Norman, what are you doing with that
ornament? Put it down.
Im trying to save your life! Open the
door quick!
Why? I dont need saving, thank
you very-
But Madge this is a live grenade!
Rubbish. Its a pineapple paperweight my dear grandad brought back
from Tobruk in 1944. Give it back
its mine!
Its not a paperweight, I
told you
It is. Norman! Let go right now!
Ping. As Norman and Madge
wrestled furiously for grandads war
memento, a slender piece of metal
detached itself with a metallic sound
and flew across the room, bouncing
off a Capodimonte figurine on the
mantlepiece.
Madge you idiot! Look what youve
done its going to go off!
Wha- How dare you call me an idiot!

Ill call you a lot worse if this bloody
thing expl-
The blast that cut off Normans
final words and tore out the side of the
bungalow, ended a volatile and somewhat
unusual relationship between him and
Madge, while allowing the insurance
company to bring in clause 59(b) (e)
(12c), disallowing a claim due to the
presence of an explosive device in the
family home.
Okay, an exaggerated scene in many
respects (all right, all respects), and
humorous, too. But it could just as
easily be a deadly serious confrontation,
where the protagonists are busy going
at it hammer and tongs. We dont
need to be told who says what the
language is a fair indicator of that,
anyway. Theyre wrestling with each
other as much verbally as physically,
and all social conventions are ignored
as they fight for possession of the
so-called paper-weight.
And that means we can ignore the
conventions, too, to keep up the pace
TOP TIPS
and tension of the situation without
wasting endless descriptions of who
Look at ways of
says what, when and how.
chopping unnecessary
You might not want to go on for
words without
a whole page of rapid-fire dialogue
losing the meaning of
the sentence.
like this although theres absolutely
nothing wrong with it and some very
Let the dialogue speak
successful authors do it all the time.
for you to inject pace
But if you feel the need to break it
and emotion.
up a little, you can always throw in a
brief snippet of description, such as
Surprise or shock is
best portrayed at the
Normans face was turning red. Or
end of a sentence,
Madge bared her teeth and reached
where words can be
for the poker.
dropped or truncated.
The main thing is, use this
technique to push the scene along at
A lack of words
a rapid pace and enjoy building a
will often portray
emotion better than
lively picture while doing so. Youll
lengthy dialogue.
find it a lot of fun.
17/11/2015 09:25
O P E N S H O R T S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N
WIN
!
0
5
6
IN CASH PRIZES
& PUBLICATION
0N
5
2
WO
TO
BE
Annual FIRST LINE

Short Story Competition
To start the year, we have our annual First

Line competition, in which we suggest the
first line of a story and invite you to write
the rest, in up to 1,500-1,700 words. This
year your first line is:
What are you

doing there?
STILL TIME
TO ENTER
With its closing date of 14
January, there is still time
to enter the Annual Open
announced last month.
Entry details and prizes
are as above.
Our Annual Open Poetry
Competition is also open
until 14 January, with a
limit of 64 lines and no
restrictions on form or
theme. Prizes are 100
and 50.
See p107 for more details.
The winner will receive 200 and

publication in Writing Magazine, with 50 and
publication on www.writers-online.co.uk
for the runner-up.
400
TO BE WON
See p107 for entry details, full rules and entry forms.
p39 Short story comps.indd 39
17/11/2015 09:24
1,000 words
short story winners

Baby Blue Eyes
1st prize
by Paul Speller
Paul Speller is a freelance journalist and PR from the Isle of Man. He

is currently trying to write his first full-length novel. It was actually
while he was searching for a new opening chapter for that novel that
the idea for Baby Blue Eyes came to him. Although it did not fit in
with the novel, he saw it had potential as a stand-alone short story.
splash, then a giggle and those baby

blue eyes lit up.
Her child had always loved bath
time. Now, at six months old and
able to sit up with minimum support, it
was even more fun.
These days, she could relax and enjoy it too.
The nagging fear had gone. It was no longer a
time of vulnerability. No need to worry about
being caught off guard.
They had told her it would not work.
They had been right. It had not worked.
But it had produced something special that
was the source of enough love to make up for
everything else.
The baby chuckled as mother pulled out the
plug and the water babbled down the plughole.
It was his favourite moment of the whole process.
Seconds later, she wrapped him in a soft towel.
The one with the blue teddy bear on the hooded
corner. His favourite.
He curled into her, his head resting on her
uncovered neck, downy tufts of hair tickling her
chin. She listened to his breathing and felt his
heartbeat against her own.
They had told her she would not manage
on her own.
They had been wrong about that. She was
managing just fine. Better than if the father had
still been around.
She lay the baby down on the bathroom
floor and unwrapped the towel. His creased legs
waved in the air. Uncoordinated hands reached
up towards her. One managed to grab her nose.
An untrimmed nail scratched at the skin, but
she did not mind.
They had warned her to be vigilant; told her
how dangerous he was.
She had always known it, even when they were
40
JANUARY 2016
p40 open comp winner.indd 40
together. He had shown an almost supernatural

ability to know what she was thinking and found
it easy to slip into her mind. It was a skill that
had entranced her at first but it did not take long
for it to become unnerving. Her mind was her
own again. Mother and son were safe now.
There was a soft thump from downstairs.
The late summer breeze blowing closed the
back door that she had left open while the
tumble drier was grinding away in the utility
room. It was good to feel secure enough to leave
the back door open, safe enough to not jump
out of her skin at the merest sound.
Gently and slowly, she rubbed baby lotion all
over her smiling baby as he looked back up at
her. It was true what they said about a babys real
smile being identifiable by the sparkle in his eyes.
He had been to see his child. She had not been
able to deny him that. Nor had the authorities.
There was a moment, as he had cradled his boy,
when she had wondered if he could change. It
soon became clear he could not. Or would not.
It was no longer an issue.
A creaking sound was no cause for alarm. The
draught was just easing through and caressing
the stairs. Now, she barely registered any of the
settling murmurs from the old house that had
once put her tender nerves on edge.
The baby blues focused on her. She often
wondered what went on behind them. Her son
had more control over the movement of those
eyes, which no longer reminded her of his father,
than any of his limbs. His gaze followed the
rocking motion of her head as she sang softly to
him while she massaged his small body.
Sweet Child O Mine. The song had belonged
to someone else. Now it was theirs.
Carefully, she picked up her son and headed
into the bedroom, shouldering open the door
Winner
that had been eased shut by a whisper of wind
that sneaked through the window. The cot was
next to her bed, close enough to reach out in the
night and soothe him, without getting up. Not
that he needed much soothing. He had been a
good sleeper from very early on. Unlike her.
Only now was she able to sleep as comfortably
as her son. No more did she feel the need to have
one ear primed; not just to hear a night-time
distress call or demand for food from her son,
but waiting for signs of danger, a noise from
someone trying to get in.
The threat had gone. So had the scars.
They told her they were waiting for
confirmation from dental records, but the
detective said they were certain it was him.
He could not hurt her. Or their baby.
With no sense of hurry, she eased the infant
into his sleep suit. Another favourite. It had
blue and white stripes, along with a picture of a
giraffe on it. As she fastened the press studs, she
wondered why giraffes were so popular among
babies. At least, with the makers of baby clothes.
It was time to put her son into the cot. He
went down happily, mouth curled in the same
smile he had shown when getting into the bath.
A reflection of her own smile. Next to him
was Chi Chi, an ancient toy panda she had
treasured when she was a child. She would need
to remember to remove the bear before leaving
the room as it would not pass any safety test for
babies, but she loved the fact he liked Chi Chi.
It reminded her of her own childhood and its
simple innocence.
She reached over the cot to switch on the
blue nightlight positioned on the bedside table.
Its primary purpose was to provide reassurance
to her son, but later that evening it would guide
her to her own bed.
Turning back to look at him, her heart filled
with happiness. His eyes grew wider. She loved
the way his pupils dilated to show recognition.
She could dive into those baby blue eyes.
Too late, she realised the eyes were not looking
at her, but at the wardrobe behind her and the
door that was opening.
17/11/2015 09:13
S H O R T S TO RY
The Strangest Thing
by Tom OBrien
arry saw the wheelchair first, then the

boy in it, who was laughing loudly
and loosely at his fathers struggle to
push him along the cobbled street. A
glance at the boys legs betrayed the obvious
impossibility that they could ever support him.
The father laughed, despite his frustration.
Happy because his son was happy.
There was a woman a few paces behind,
repositioning a knapsack on her shoulder as she
navigated the tourist-thronged street. Barry had
the strongest sensation that she was the mother,
even as a stray thought tugged at him. What
if she was the one who catered to the boys
smallest need and whim every other day? Then
I see them on the one day the father is there,
free of the escape to work, interacting with
the boy. Not the daily grind but the enforced
tourism of the working father.
Maybe, maybe not, Barry thought. I know
nothing. Anyway, there was the laughter. That
boy didnt get much happiness. Barry was sure
of that. What he did get was offset by plenty
of the other; pain, frustration, boredom,
despair, worry.
Barry was past them when he saw the beggar.
The first thing he noticed was the filthy
baseball cap, pulled low, the logo of a luxury
car brand waxy under grime. The cap and facial
hair were both in need of attention or removal.
Neither were likely to get that. The head under
the cap slumped low, as if asleep. It seemed as
if being wedged at the base of a pillar was all
that kept him from lying down in sleep or in
shame. Between his legs was a Styrofoam cup.
There, scored as much as written, in block
capitals was: THANK YOU and underneath in
green ink and in lower case was: god bless you.
It was nothing Barry hadnt seen before. Hed
been in London long enough. Small town Ireland
might not have had this brand of poverty, though
it had its own. As a scene it was moving, if you let
it be, invisible if you didnt. He stuffed his hand
into his pocket, letting it slide past his wallet to
the change below, finding coins buried in lint.
He left the coins there.
When his hand slipped back up from his
pocket it had his wallet in it. He flicked it
open; fat with the useful and useless slivers of
city life. There were credit cards and a fifty
pound note and loyalty stamp cards for coffee
shops hed never revisit.
He ignored the note, crumpled so that it gave
the Queen a semi-stoned smile. Instead he pulled
out a credit card. He found, rather than decided,
that he had stopped walking, in line with the
beggar. He cast a shadow on the cup with its
2nd prize
Winner
few lonely coins. He dropped the card on top of

them, though the card and coins never touched,
as it wedged halfway down.
The baseball cap tilted up, confused by
the odd sound in the cup and blinded by the
sunlight behind Barry.
Thanks, he ventured. Barry saw that there
might be only a few years age difference
between them. He heard an accent too,
different to his own but an outsider in this city
of outsiders all the same.
0604, he said, Youll need to remember that.
0604?
Yes. I wont be paying it off anymore, so I dont
how much youll get from it before they shut it
off but, well, good luck.
The young man shifted his weight to stand up,
as if this might help him understand but Barry
motioned him not to bother. Youre grand, he
said, not looking back. He didnt head back to his
toward his flat anymore either. Instead he went
to Victoria Station and bought a bus and ferry
ticket. One way. It surprised him that he had his
passport in his inside pocket. When had he fallen
into the habit of keeping with him? Maybe things
werent as spontaneous as he thought, even when
they were a surprise to him.
He was going home. His Mam would be
delighted to see him. His Dad too, though
he wouldnt let on.
They were like that; father and son. Barry
wasnt going to let on what he had seen in the
laboratory where he worked. Every day he
typed out the monotonous patient details of
a thousands strangers. Each one of them had
been to a doctor, had blood taken, was waiting
for results. Barry would never say that he had
seen a mans name on a test request, his fathers
name. That request had crossed the Irish Sea to
be processed by the only son in the world whose
heart it could break. Blood had returned to
blood. The results were terminal.
Theyd worry of course, Mam and Dad, when
Barry came home. They had thought he had
been doing great in London. Why wouldnt
they? Thats what he had told them. Had that
beggar told the same things to his parents, if
he still had them? Probably not. He had bigger
problems than keeping up a front for the ones at
home. Barry hoped the poor soul had the wits
to get the best from the card before the banks
twigged and started shutting all his stuff down.
Should be the best part of a month.
Barry slept well on the bus, though he was
woken with a shiver somewhere in the night, on a
part of the motorway he couldnt identify, by the
sound of a boy laughing, loosely and loudly.
p40 open comp winner.indd 41
Tom OBrien lives and

works in London but
originally hails from small
town Ireland. He has
written scripts and short
stories as well as corporate
and technical pieces for pleasure and
occasional profit. Several of his scripts
have been made into short films and
he has had feature length screenplays
optioned. Since switching his focus
to prose he has had some success
in short story competitions and is
currently working on a novel.
EDITORS COMMENTS
1,000 words is not a lot of room for a
short story but our two prize winners
achieve solid results with very different
approaches in this competition.
Winner Paul Speller presents us with
a single scene of tenderness between
mother and child, letting the back-story
emerge slowly through the reflections
of our close third-person viewpoint
character. Zooming in like this allows Paul
the luxury of revelling in the detail the
flailing limbs, the giraffe suit, the toy
panda that colour the character of our
unnamed mother so effectively, but also
masking the clues, peppered throughout,
to the chilling last-minute twist. Read
back to see how many little giveaways
our mother and we overlooked.
Tom OBrien, on the other hand, takes
a much wider focus, painting a scene
almost of society as a whole as an entry
point into his viewpoint characters state
of mind. Matter-of-fact despite touching
on some very emotional points, The
Strangest Thing is devoid of schmaltz. The
observed details, which surely ring true to
all of us, serve as a distraction for Barry.
He acts impulsively and thinks about the
world and characters surrounding him,
both to avoid processing his own present
and future, and as a means of reflecting
on it. It is no accident that this story
begins with an image of paternal love
enduring, and ends with its echo: a big
story in few words.
RUNNER-UP AND SHORTLISTED
Runners-up in the 1,000-word short story
competition were: Sharon Boyle, East
Linton, East Lothian; Julie HoneybournePrice, Swinton, Manchester; Glenise
Lee, Blaby, Leicestershire; Sophia Lovell,
Northampton; Christine McDonnell,
Hoylake, Wirral; Helen Roberts,
Cinderford, Gloucestershire; Veronica
Viscardi, London NW10.
JANUARY 2016
41
17/11/2015 11:59
TITLE
Listen to the sea

Both winning tankas in the WM competition
have a seaside theme, says Alison Chisholm
or anyone who enjoys

sharp, specific images that conjured
writing in syllabic forms,
a clear picture for the reader. The
the tanka is a delight.
brevity of the five lines lends itself
Longer than the haiku, with
to a concentrated, focused reference
31 syllables rather than
whatever the subject matter, resulting
seventeen, it is slightly more relaxed
in a fine clarity of writing.
than the shorter form. This allows
Few tankas were set aside because
for a gentle easing of the wording. It
of any problems with their content,
gives more scope for narrative, and as
which attained an excellent overall
the traditional restrictions of the
quality. The problems that did
time and nature references are
arise came out of the delivery of
not pressing, offers poets the
the message. Over-repetition
opportunity to explore wider
glares in a brief piece, and
Even the shortest
ranges of subject matter.
full rhymes draw too much
Some of the tankas
attention to themselves. The
poems can introduce
submitted for the
syllable count is crucial, and
startling thought
competition used clever
some poems suffered from
processes in
wordplay, such as an
excessively long or short lines.
anagram in a crossword
In their desire to use
their readers.
setting. Others shared a joke
economy of language, some
or made a complaint. Several
poets over-tightened, creating
entries touched on loss, and in these
a jerky, telegram-ese effect.
the brief form let writers highlight
Unfortunately, there are no rules to
a single, poignant symbol of loss,
dictate how far the language can be
making the poems affecting and
cut back; but reading the poem aloud
effective. There were tankas of battery
provides a useful guideline. If it reads
hens and stalking cats, market gardens
as a set of staccato phrases, it may
and garden wildernesses, childhood
need to be relaxed a little more.
and advancing age, the start of a
The poems that used recognisable
relationship and the end of one.
grammar and punctuation tended
It was interesting to see how
to communicate their message most
many poems carried rich strata of
effectively, although the tanka is one
material, so that while they could be
of the very few forms that can work
appreciated in the immediacy of a first
with less formal application of these
glance, they yielded more layers of
elements. In fact, one of the poems
thought when they were re-read and
that reached the shortlist, which
studied. This depth is not an essential
is constructed in the form of a
aspect of poetry, but adds to the
sentence, is unpunctuated.
pleasure the reading engenders.
Some writers decided to use titles,
Many of the entries benefited from
others to omit them. Again, the tanka
SHORTLISTED
Entries shortlisted to final judging stage were from: Rita Barsby, Skipton, North Yorkshire; Heather
Cook, Woking, Surrey; Shirley Cook, Herne Bay, Kent; Tracy Davidson, Stratford-on-Avon; Frances
Harris, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex; Elizabeth Minister, Holbrook, Suffolk; Julia Perren, Ryde, Isle
of Wight; Joyce Reed, Marple, Stockport; Heather Ann Russell, Dinnington, Newcastle-upon-Tyne;
Daphne Schiller, St Albans.
42
MARCH 2012
JANUARY
2016
p42 Poetry winner.indd 42
is unusual in that an untitled piece

is perfectly acceptable. The two
winning poems have titles, but this
is coincidental.
The first prize is awarded to Eunice
Lorrimer-Roberts of Bury St Edmunds
for her poem Shells. This poem
looks at the shell not as a dead and
discarded thing, but as a miniature
treasure store.
The first two lines promise a
revelation, and the shells of the title
are fixed right at the centre of the
poem. The narrator stumbles on them
by good fortune, describing how they
are concealed among storm-tossed
detritus. The fact that they have
survived unscathed is lucky. They are
shown to gleam, a verb that creates
a positive and pleasing picture, and
which holds the readers breath for an
instant with its long -ee vowel sound
and the sustained -m consonant.
The turn of the poem is
observed where the practicality of
straightforward description gives way
to lines with a slightly mystical touch.
The labyrinthine coils describe but
when they are coupled with of time,
their significance is given an added
dimension. No longer supporting the
life of some sea creature, they are now
sheltering ancient secrets. This opens up
a list of questions for the reader. What
are the secrets? Why are they ancient?
Is this some metaphor for the key to
the universe, or simply a moments
whimsy on seeing the shell?
These questions are implied, but
not actually set and certainly not
answered. So the reader moves away
from the poem with them leaving
a slight disturbance in the mind;
nothing more than that, but equally
nothing less than that. Even the
shortest poems can introduce startling
thought processes in their readers.
While tankas do not use full rhyme,
they thrive on slant rhyme. This one
17/11/2015 09:11
benefits from the assonance of the long

-i sound which appears in the first four
lines. Lying, detritus, tiny, labyrinthine
and time all contain it. Theres a slightly
mournful characteristic to this long
diphthong, the whisper of a sigh that
both lengthens the sound of the poem
and suggests a wistfulness, almost a
yearning. This is particularly the case in
the fourth line where it is used twice,
in the fourth and seventh syllables.
Between them we see coils, and here
again we have a longer vowel sound,
another diphthong, -oi, followed by the
liquid and sibilant consonantal sounds
of -ls. So there is a slight drawing-out
of sound in the poem, which seems
appropriate, somehow, alongside the
mention of ancient secrets.
Nestled in the middle line, the word
tiny is interesting. It has a more cosy
feel than small or little would have
offered. It suggests vulnerability; and
as the adjective thats so often applied
to babies, it has a secondary resonance
with newness and freshness. This is a
poem with hints of the cycle of life,
something new emerging among the
tired detritus.
Another resonance that works
with the piece is the suggestion of
the ear. The term shell-like refers to
the ear, of course, but we also have
the ears labyrinth with its bone and
membrane, which is coiled like a shell.
So those secrets that end the poem are
presented alongside the ear; theyre a
whisper, intimate and confidential.
The reader arrives at Shells expecting
a glimpse at the shoreline but leaves
with all sorts of other subtle messages
to think about in the future.
The poem in second place also
carries more weight than a surface
reading would suggest, and by chance
it is also about the sea. Here, though,
its a very different sea, offering more
threat than hope. Waiting for you is by
Mathew Lopez-Bland of Skillington,
Lincolnshire, and it starts in total
stillness. The first four words of the
poem could be an idyllic seaside
image. The next phrase shows the
reality of the situation.
The title is most important to this
poem, as it is the key to appreciating
the text. The use of the second person,
in both title and in the fourth line, is a
direct appeal to the reader, producing
a level of involvement that couldnt
exist in a third-person address.
Here, too, there is a turn before

the last two lines. We move from the
passivity of motionless to a turmoil
of hope and the hopelessness of
the breakdown in communication.
The last line has strong echoes
of Stevie Smiths Not Waving but
Drowning, and so both highlights the
frustration of the narrator and forges
links between the physical and the
metaphorical references.
This is another poem where
slant rhyme subtly reinforces the
message. The consonance of -s in
motionless, face, notice and silence has
the sibilance of the sea, and further
cohesion is forged by the alliteration
of floating / face and helplessly /
hoping. Another lingering vowel
sound forms assonance. The -oh of
motionless, floating, hoping and notice, a
diphthong once again, gives the words
a slightly ponderous effect.
The fact that drowning in the
last line echoes down in the second
adds extra depth, in both senses of
the word. And once again we are
presented with a long diphthong and
the lingering nasal -n / -ng sound to
elongate the reading.
The end of the first section of this
poem, with its haiku syllable count,
places two thoughts in the readers
mind. Is the wait for the release of
death or in the hope of rescue, in
either literal or metaphorical terms?
Does the adverb helplessly refer to the
waiting or to the hoping? Either or
even both would work. Its up to the
reader to choose.
The last line also poses a question.
Is the narrator actually drowning
without making a sound, drowning
in despair without saying anything, or
being drowned by the actual silence
of loneliness in either the presence or
the absence of the other character? No
answer is given. The reader decides,
and so the poem becomes a part of the
readers experience.
Both of the winning poems on
this occasion feature the sea, but the
nature of them is very different. We
have the hope and promise of the
shells with their ancient secrets,
and the hopelessness of the narrator
who is drowning in silence. Both
poems give their readers the
opportunity to glimpse, consider and
analyse their message. Both are
highly successful tankas.
p42 Poetry winner.indd 43
Tanka
competition
Winners
1st prize
Winner
Shells
By Eunice Lorrimer-Roberts
Lying half-hidden
among storm-tossed detritus,
the tiny shells gleam;
labyrinthine coils of time
sheltering ancient secrets.
2nd prize
Winner
Waiting for you
By Mathew Lopez-Bland
I lay motionless,
floating, face down in the surf,
waiting, helplessly
hoping that you might notice
I was drowning in silence.
JANUARY
JULY 2015
2016
43
17/11/2015 09:11
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Under the
microscope
Author and lecturer James McCreet applies his forensic criticism

to a readers first 300 words
Former police investigator Chris Clement-Green
started writing seriously in 2007. She undertook
Open University creative writing and advanced
creative writing courses and completed the
Bath Spa University creative writing MA in
2013. The Soft Tread of Vengeance is her first
attempt at a novel and a lucky connection
made at Oxford Universitys Summer School resulted in a
request to submit the first twenty pages to Curtis Brown
in New York although shes not holding her breath. She is
moving to Wales to set up a writing school and retreat.
Prologue
Sow a character and you
may reap a destiny1
It felt odd2 for the sun to be shining so brightly
over3 the horror of such a mean-spirited and
pointless death.4 The boy crouched over the body
of the dead cat,5 examining his handiwork6 with
excited curiosity. He was mesmerised7 by the faint
twitching of the tiny front paw8 as muscle memory,9
an echo of life,10 was the last thing to drain from
the still glossy but lifeless body.11 Tiggs would catch
no more mice and shit in no more gardens.12
The crunch of running feet on gravel made the
eleven year old look up.13 He was still smiling to
himself14 as he turned towards the younger girl,15
and it was that smile that made her pick up his
abandoned air rifle.16 She could feel the heat of
outrage transferring itself from her clammy hands
into the cold metal of the gun,17 as she struggled
to keep the long barrel pointed at the boys head.18
Beneath her surface rage,19 an iron-calm swelled20
and then settled over her churning belly,21 as she
pulled back on the trigger.22 But her seven year
old determination23 to exact revenge24 was not
matched by her ability with a gun,25 and she
missed what shed been aiming for26 the boys
right eye.27 An eye for an eye - thats what Miss
Wright the Sunday school teacher had always
taught them.28
Pop.29 The soft sound the pellet made was not
satisfying.30 It did not match the explosion of
indignation that had ignited the girls puppy-fat
legs31 and propelled her from her bedroom window
to the murder scene.32 But it was enough to make
the boy curl-in like a hedgehog,33 and the pellet
entered his left thigh rather than his startled face.34
Everyone assumed it had been an accident. The
boy and the girl knew different.35
The prologue title seems a little

momentous and overwrought,
steering the reader too overtly
towards an impression thats yet to
be made. The novels title, The Soft
Tread of Vengeance, is also archly
threatening, but in a different
way. More like hard-boiled crime
fiction than the quasi-Biblical metafictional undertones of the prologue.
The tone is ambiguous.
It felt odd for whom? Not for

the boy, who were told has
other feelings. For the author? If so,
is the author a character present in
the scene? It looks like the reader is
being pressured to feel something
rather than the author letting the
scene evoke it.
Where is our focus: the sun in

the sky or the sunlight shining
on the death scene? The choice
of preposition (over or on) makes
a difference.
The author intrudes again to

tell the reader what kind of
death this is. Its better to present
the scene and let the reader decide.
5
6
Is this different to saying he

crouched over the dead cat?
Handiwork doesnt seem

like the kind of word the
boy would use himself. Its arch
44
JULY 2015
p44 microscope.indd 44
tone borders on clich and is clearly

vocabulary imported into the scene
from the author. This creates an
inconsistent tone and therefore a
narrative barrier, making the scene
less real.
Excited curiosity and

mesmerisation is not the same
thing. Can it be both?
I think the tiny is a bit too

much. Its pressing the reader to
feel pity, but its too obvious and could
have the opposite effect: mawkishness.
Isnt muscle memory something

different? My understanding is that
its the facility of the brain to hardwire
a particular movement or action
(usually sporting) when its repeated
enough times by a living human.
10
11
But I do like echo of life.

Thats much more fitting.
Life draining from a body is a

clich. As with tiny, the glossy
coat and the lifeless looks like a
clumsy attempt at wringing some more
emotion from the reader. We already
know the cat is dead.
12
An effective sentence to end

the paragraph, although
the expletive introduces a new and
different tone. Are we to assume that
this is the boy thinking?
17/11/2015 11:59
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
13
I like the aural effect here,

though we need some
hyphens in eleven-year-old.
14
Is it important that hes

smiling to himself, or can he
just be smiling? Either way, it has
the required effect.
15
So when he looked up
he wasnt looking in her
direction? This needs clarifying.
16
How far away was the

rifle if she could pick it
up without him stopping her?
The focus changes from the
boy to the girl now, so a new
paragraph is advisable.
17
It seems highly unlikely

that a girl of her age would
register heat transfer in these terms
and therefore unrealistic to put it in
her mind. The description is in the
authors language rather than from
the characters perspective.
18
Active versus passive

voice. The barrel was
being pointed (passive), but she
was struggling to keep the barrel
pointing (active) at his head.
How big is this rifle anyway? Hes
also a child.
19
We now enter a convoluted

piece of description that is
clearly not the girls own feelings
but feelings described to us in the
words of the author. How is rage a
surface emotion? Isnt it something
that swirls and throbs within?
20
The metaphors are

beginning to mix. Putting
aside the surface rage, does calm
swell? And how is calm hard like
iron? If this is an oceanic metaphor,
how does iron swell?
21
And if were talking

about waves, how do they
settle? Weve got a surface rage, a
swelling iron calm beneath and a
churning stomach beneath that?
Its overwrought and doesnt really
make sense.
22
Pulled the trigger. Avoid

unnecessary prepositions.
23
causes us to ask whose language this

is: the girls or the authors.
Hyphens again: sevenyear-old. Also, its a

curious phrase. Her determination
is seven because, presumably, she is
but what if she, too is eleven and
only her determination is seven?
33
The hedgehog comparison

is good (something the girl
might say), but Im not sure about
that hyphenated curl-in. Curl
would be fine.
24
25
Clich.
34
Pace would be better served

with an as instead of an
and. Im not sure we need any
more words after thigh because we
already know where she was aiming
and that she missed. Keep the
writing taut and focused.
Strange phrasing like

a piece of distanced
reportage in a regional newspaper.
The tone overall is very variable.
26
It would be sharper to say

simply that she missed.
The fact that she was aiming in the
first place is implicit in a miss.
35
A snappy little paragraph

to round off the scene, but
do we need that final sentence? Its
redundant because we, and they,
know it was no accident.
27
28
A colon would be more

correct than a dash here.
A nice bit of irony

with the Christian
message being used to justify an
act of violence. Mentioning the
teachers name is good it lends
veracity. If this is the girls voice,
however, Im not sure shed say
Miss Wright was the Sunday
school teacher. Thats for the
readers benefit. The hyphen is
masquerading as a dash.
29
I feel this needs italics or

an exclamation point to
give it some presence.
30
Clumsy phrasing.
Weve already heard the
sound, so the emphasis needs to
be more on the underwhelming
nature of the shot.
31
Another unfortunate
bit of description.
Does indignation affect the
legs primarily? Not the heart?
Not the head or the emotions?
Mentioning the puppy-fat makes
the image inadvertently comical
we picture the stubby legs
quivering with indignation.
In summary
This is a good scene to open the novel. We have
characters, action and emotion. Unfortunately, the
potential is diminished by a few general flaws.
First, the narrative perspective is confused between
putting us inside the scene or character and narrating
it from authorial distance. The language and tone
vary, creating artificiality when we need vividness.
The context suggests a character point of view, but
the vocabulary shows otherwise. Showing and telling
is an issue. Clich doesnt help.
Secondly, the description strives too obviously
for effect, providing vocabulary and images without
achieving the desired evocation. Feeling is not
about words and grammar; its about sensation and
perception. The best description is almost invisible,
putting impressions in the readers mind without
them knowing how it was done.
Theres also a tendency to overwrite: using
unnecessary words or overstating what the reader
has already understood. Keep it simple and trust
the reader to understand. Explaining is not writing.
Writing is not a reading-recipe; its the finished dish.
32
Legs that literally

propelled her from a
window. How far did she jump?
The context suggests almost a feat
of human flight. Murder scene
overstates the case and again
p44 microscope.indd 45
If you would like to submit an

extract of your work in progress,
send it by email, with synopsis
and a brief biog, to:
jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
JANUARY 2016
45
17/11/2015 09:08
TA L K I T OV E R
e
m
o
H es T
mov
Settling into a new house has
proven unsettling for one of our
writers, but Jane WenhamJones is on hand to advise
hree months ago, difficult family circumstances

compelled me to move from a small village to the
outskirts of a town and I am finding it almost
impossible to write in my new home. Although
the new house is pleasant and comfortable and
I am sitting at the same desk in a room very similarly laid out
to the way it was at our previous address, it just doesnt feel
right somehow. The view from the window isnt as pretty
or inspiring, the sounds outside are different, and feeble as it
sounds, I just cant seem to get any words down. Or not any
worth keeping. I have never had any sort of writers block
before but now I feel totally uncreative and it is making me
miserable and frustrated. Especially as I had started a novel I
was so pleased with. I wrote in all my spare minutes in my old
house. How can I get going again in this one?
HILARY WILSON
Colchester
m so sorry you are feeling miserable,

Hilary, but when I read your letter
I immediately thought of my good
friend Lynne Barrett-Lee one of
the cheeriest people I know.
When I first met Lynne, shed published
a few short stories and was working on her
first novel. She had, as she describes it, all
kinds of self-imposed rules about where I
could and couldnt be creative. She would
make notes on planes and trains but she
could only write actual narrative at her
own desk, on her desktop computer, in
an empty house, which made, as she now
wryly recalls, week-long visits from her
mother something of a trial.
These days she is much in demand
as a ghost-writer, as well as working on
her own projects, and has written so
many bestselling books Ive lost count of
them. Her latest under her own name,
Able Seacat Simon (Simon & Schuster) is
published in January, as is the fourth in the
series about the notorious Hudson family,
Blood Ties by Julie Shaw (Harper Element),
which Lynne ghosted.
46
JANUARY 2016
p46 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 46
17/11/2015 09:05
TA L K I T OV E R
When I last spoke to her she was on

come to see it as a new beginning. Could
holiday in Lanzarote, in a villa crammed
you move the furniture around? Perhaps,
with family and friends, but with twelve
according to taste, buy a new cushion or
chapters to finish on the current work and two and some scented candles; a potted
only two weeks left till deadline. Was she
plant or a brightly-coloured throw?
working on a laptop wherever she could
Would it help to go somewhere else
find a space to put it? You bet!
altogether to write, just to jump-start
These days, she says dryly, I am
you for now? Maybe you could take your
much less corralled by the perception of
laptop or notepad to a caf or library (or
a fickle muse.
simply walk to wherever you end up), and
You will, of course, entirely get the
see what fresh inspiration can be gleaned
point of this story. Professional writers
from an entirely new outlook?
cannot suffer writers block or be too
It is easy to get into a vicious circle in
choosy about the view from
which one is miserable because
the window. They have
one is not writing and
to deliver the goods,
then not writing
whatever. And so
because the misery
need to be stern
has become
with themselves,
overwhelming.
Its not unusual to
whatever the
Going back
get locked into habits
circumstances,
to the start of
and simply
this, I have
and rituals and to
Get On.
found that it
find yourself unable
I do not
is sometimes
lack sympathy
indeed best
to function if they are
or empathy as
to be strict
taken away.
I say this. I too
with oneself, in
have found it very
the manner of a
difficult to get going at
professional, and just
times and its not unusual to
start anyway.
get locked into habits and rituals and
If you make yourself write something,
to find yourself unable to function if they you will feel better about everything, I
are taken away.
promise. If you dont feel up to tackling
Whether it is writing with a certain
the novel yet, then just talk to yourself.
pen, being in a particular room, or
Write down how you feel about the move,
needing to have total silence or music
your reservations about your pleasant
playing, many writers depend on the
house and how you might kindle more
environment being just right.
enthusiasm for it, your hopes for your
However, in your case, my instinct is that work in progress, or even just send some
this is not so much about your immediate catch-up emails with your latest news. Get
surroundings, but your grief and sense of
the writing muscle moving somehow.
loss about moving. You have had a difficult
Mark some time out in the coming
time, been compelled to do something you week that you will spend this way and
clearly didnt want to do, and are homesick stick to that plan come what may. You
for both the previous dwelling and perhaps dont have to look out of the window
also the smaller village community you have keep your eyes on that page or screen.
left behind.
If the unfamiliar sounds distract you,
You ask what you can do to get going
turn the radio up. Be strong and brave
again and I think the first step should be to because three hours later, youll be really
acknowledge that and be kind to yourself. glad you did. As for words not worth
Three months isnt very long and of course keeping, you keep it all! Therell be some
it all still seems new and unfamiliar and
nugget in there somewhere. Thats what
a bit sad. If you can manage some treats,
editing is for.
some outings or some pampering do it.
I will leave you with my best wishes and
And is there a friend you can talk to about Lynnes final words on the subject: I think
how you are feeling?
muses are bullies that we cower before too
I wonder on a practical front if it wouldnt much. And as with all bullies, if you stand
be more helpful to set the room out quite
up to yours a couple of times, youll be
differently from the way it was in your
amazed how soon it will wither
old house, so that rather than a constant
I hope you feel happier soon.
reminder of what you have lost, you can
Good luck!
p46 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 47
Novel
Ideas
Let yourself off the hook about
writing something perfect, says
Lynne Hackles, and remember
your work has its own value
I was trying to paint an abstract of the Tour
de France. There was one on the wall of a
caf that I lusted after but the owner didnt
want to sell. I could see his picture as I began
mine. It was in my head, my minds eye, and
it was vivid and beautiful. Mine was going to
be like that. Or was it?
It didnt turn out that way. In fact its
now face to the wall and the back is being
used as a noticeboard. That painting was a
disappointment because I could see exactly
what I wanted but was unable to produce it.
Its the same with writing. Im guessing a
lot of us are disappointed when we compare
what weve actually written with what we
imagined in our heads. We start something
a poem, short story or novel seeing,
or knowing, exactly what the end product
should be, and it doesnt materialise so we
lose faith. This might happen a line or two
in, or halfway through the project.
My effort at reproducing the work of a
professional artist, one who had sold his
work, was discarded because it didnt meet
my expectations. But was I being too hard
on myself? The answer is yes. Ive produced
less than half a dozen paintings since leaving
school so why should I expect a masterpiece?
Your story is turning out differently to
how you imagined but does this mean its no
good? Not necessarily. Its different. Thats
all. If we constantly aim for perfection we
may always be disappointed though we
should always aim for it. But do not let that
perfect image stop you from writing, or
painting, or whatever else you may aspire to
in the creative vein.
I wonder if the creator of that abstract was
happy with his end result.
DECEMBER
JANUARY 2015
2016
47
17/11/2015 09:05
T H E BU S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
New Year,
New you,
new
pseudonym?
Is there a business case for using a pen name? Simon Whaley chats
to three writers about the pros and cons of a split writing personality.
y name is Simon
Whaley, and thats the
name I write under.
Although there was
that time when I entered the National
Association of Writers Groups minitale competition and I had to use a
pseudonym (entries had to be judged
anonymously). So, for a couple of
hours, I became Milo Swahney. I used
an anagram of my real name on that
occasion because when I entered the
competition the previous year Id
used my porn-star name. Suffice to
say that was memorable for the wrong
reasons, and I had to come up with
something different.
One of the most frequently asked
questions new writing students put
to me is whether they should use a
pseudonym. Its as though getting the
48
JANUARY 2016
p48 Business of Writing.indd 48
right author name is more important

than writing something in the
first place. Many get hung up on
the myths and mysteries of why
certain writers chose to write
under specific names. Did JK
Rowling use initials to hide her
gender? Did JK Rowling write her
Cormorant Strike novels under the
name of Robert Galbraith to separate
them from her Harry Potter novels?
There are many reasons why writers
use pseudonyms, but the best reasons
are when theres a clear business case
for doing so.
Proliferate pen names
Some writers dont set out to write

under a pseudonym, but find
themselves in a situation where one
is required. One such writer was
Lorraine Mace
aka
Frances di
Plino
romantic novelist and short story writer

Patsy Collins, who was approached
by an editor to come up with another
name. A magazine scheduled three of
my stories for the same issue, she says,
and they decided theyd rather publish
at least one under a different name.
I used Leah Tilbury, the name of the
lead character in my novel, Escape to
the Country. That made it feel less of
a big deal. Id made up the story and
character names, so why not use a
name Id made up?
Patsy isnt the only one. There are
several short story writers who write
under many pseudonyms as well as
their own name, but the reason for
doing so is a business one: theyre
prolific short story writers, trying to
maximise their income. As Patsy says:
Id heard of this happening, so I wasnt
particularly surprised. I would rather
theyd used my real name, but not if
that meant using fewer of my stories.
Patsys taking a pragmatic view, but
appreciates that her success, experience
and productivity enable her to take
this stance. Seeing my story in print
was still a good experience, even
with a made-up name on it. Ive sold
hundreds of stories though. If this had
happened in my first year, I might have
been disappointed.
Market moniker
Some writers feel a pseudonym is

essential for certain markets and genres,
either because they believe readers
expect novels in that genre to be
written by one gender, or because they
dont want friends and family to know
they write in that particular genre.
One male writer chose the name
Yvonne Sarah Lewis for his erotic
novels. At first I was shy and didnt
want erotic novels published under
my own name, says Yvonne. I was
writing from a female perspective, and
when I looked at the author lists of the
publishers I was interested in I found a
majority had female names.
So Yvonne made a business decision
to write under a pseudonym and
now has eight books to her name, her
latest being Harmony in the Harem,
published by Whiskey Creek Press. But
if Yvonne was making this business
decision now, would she still make the
same decision? If I were starting now
Id be bold and use my own name.
This is because there are drawbacks
17/11/2015 09:02
T H E BU S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
to writing under a pseudonym. It

makes it difficult to do signings, she
says. I dont make enough to hire a
ghost. And when people find out
they always ask why, and telling the
story again becomes irksome.
Yvonne also encountered another
problem. Like Patsy, she choose
one of her characters names as her
pseudonym, perhaps because of the
familiarity. Yvonne was a character in
my first couple of books and I knew
and liked both her and her name.
On later consideration I decided it
wasnt a great idea to write as one of
my characters, since it appeared to
limit her access to my other characters
stories. But by then it was too late.
Yvonne was established as an author,
so in later editions I changed the name
of the character.
Despite this, Yvonne feels that
having a pseudonym has its benefits. A
pseudonym frees you up to be someone
else. Im an amateur actor and early on
I was struggling with self-consciousness,
so the director suggested I wear a
moustache so that the person on stage
wasnt me but the character I was
portraying. A pseudonym can be like
a moustache: it frees you up to be the
uninhibited person you want to be.
Type transition
Another business reason for taking up

a pseudonym is when a writer who
is already established in one market
wants to broaden into new markets.
Established writers become a brand
for that style of writing, and readers
expect more of the same from that
brand. Forging into new markets can
mean creating a whole new brand. This
is what Writing Magazine columnist
Lorraine Mace had to do. I was already
known and had a following for my
humour writing, she explains. As my
crime novels are dark and edgy, I didnt
want to disappoint readers who might
have been expecting a more lighthearted approach to crime writing. I
am also an author of childrens novels.
The first two in a trilogy (Vlad the
Inhaler and Vlads Quest) are published
and I was worried that a young reader
would see one of my crime novels in a
bookshop or library and take it home
to read under the covers at night.
Imagine the scene when the poor
parents would later have to comfort a
traumatised child.
Like Patsy and Yvonne, finding

the right name takes time, and
Lorraine considered many options
until she settled on Frances di
Plino. I did try out quite a few
variations on my maiden name, my
mothers maiden name, the woman
next doors maiden name, but elected
in the end to stick with my Italian
roots. Lorraines pseudonym is inspired
by her Italian great-grandfathers name,
Francesco di Plino.
Patsy Collins
aka
Leah Tilbury
Downsides to a
dual identity
The downside to creating a pseudonym

is that youre starting from scratch
again. Previously published writers have
worked for years creating their brand,
and when you create a new brand you
have a lot of work ahead establishing it,
as well as continuing to manage your
existing brand, if youre still writing
under that name too.
From the point of view of
getting my books known it has
been a nightmare, says Lorraine.
I already had a following, but
Frances di Plino was a completely
new person. It has taken three years
and four books in the DI Paolo
Storey crime series to get to the stage
where Frances has a following. For a
long time I operated two Facebook
accounts, trying to keep the two
separate, but have now realised that
was a mistake. I should have used my
own account and simply told all of
my friends I was using a pen name. I
have since closed the Frances di Plino
account and am about to launch a fan
page for her. I also have two Twitter
accounts, also to keep the two genres
separate. It is time consuming and I
am not sure is really of any benefit.
From the point of view of spreading
the word about my crime novels, it
would have been much easier if I had
stuck to my own name, but I dont
regret using a pen name because of the
reason outlined above.
The mysterious
Yvonne Sarah
Lewis
Make your name

stand out
When it comes to pseudonyms, its

worth thinking about how your readers
will find you. Although many books
are sold electronically these days, the
print market is still huge and many
people browse bookshops for their
favourite authors. Some authors believe
p48 Business of Writing.indd 49
having a surname near the start of

the alphabet is better than having
one near the end of the alphabet
because, when filed A-Z, those
at the beginning of the alphabet
are the first ones found by readers
walking through the bookshop doors.
Whether readers are too lazy to make
their way towards the back of the
bookshop is another matter, but its
worth thinking how a bookstore might
file your book. As Lorraine says: I am
never sure if Ill find my books under
D for di Plino, or P for Plino, di.
Names are important. I shall always
remember my nephew, aged four,
saying he didnt like his name because
it didnt sound like a Premiership
footballers name. (He felt his name
was too English!) Its understandable
why some writers feel the need to
have a different name, but dont let
the name-creating exercise become a
form of procrastination, preventing
you from writing something in the
first place. Ask yourself not what
name should you write under, but
why shouldnt you write under
your existing name? Opting for a
pseudonym should be treated like
any other business decision. Dont
rush it. Say it out loud several times.
Practise signing it. Google it. Think
it through carefully, because there are
consequences. But choose well and
your brand new name could become a
well-known brand.
Business directory:
Playing the name game
Mothers maiden names can be useful to both men
and women when conjuring up a pseudonym.
Using your middle name with your mothers
(or grandmothers) maiden name can produce
good results. (Change your bank security details,
though, if you do.)
Make your pseudonym memorable, not silly.
Creating a new brand means you want people to
take you seriously.
If your name is similar to an established writer,
try differentiating your name in some way. Use
a middle initial, or an alternative spelling
(Jeffrey/Geoffrey).
If youre really stuck, try a random name generator,
such as www.behindthename.com/random/
JANUARY 2016
49
17/11/2015 09:02
SAU B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T
SH A RE
U R STO
SUBSCRIBER
SPOTLIGHT
Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and
would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
A tale of incarceration
Cast off
Ive wanted to write
a book since I was
little, but it took my
baby being born with
a congenital condition
to make that dream
a reality, writes
subscriber Natalie Trice.
Lucas was diagnosed
with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), where the ball and
socket of the hip joint dont fit together snugly, when he was four
months and I was devastated.
Whilst I cobbled together information and found support
online there were no books out there to help answer my
questions and worries.
Time went by, Lucas had many operations, got strong, started
school, and I decided to move from PR into writing. Whilst taking
a non-fiction writing course last year, I decide I was going to change
things and write a book about DDH.
After the eight-week course I started to contact agents and
publishers with my pitch. The reality of rejection hit quickly
but this was something I believed in and I kept going. Then one
November afternoon, as I did homework with my sons, an email
offering me a book deal landed in my inbox.
I started to work with the team at Nell James and in October
Cast Life A Parents Guide to DDH was published, just as Lucas
faced his next operation.
Cast Life covers everything from explanations about the
condition and details of the various treatments involved, to
making life easier when your child is in
a spica cast. It also looks at family life
and dealing with emotions, as well as
first person stories.
I passionately believe there needs to
be more awareness of DDH, which if
left untreated, can lead to long-term
disability, hip replacements and lifelong pain. I hope Cast Life and Spica
Warrior, the charity I have set up to
offer information about DDH, will
help and support others at what can
be a tough time.
Website: www.tantaramedia.co.uk/
www.justbecauseilove.co.uk
50
JANUARY 2016
p052 Subscriber news.indd 50
In 1994 I was alerted to the fact

that during redevelopment an old
tin had been found in a hollow tree
in the grounds of what was left of
the old Brookwood Lunatic Asylum
in Knaphill, near Woking Surrey,
writes subscriber Mal Foster.
The tin contained a number
of artefacts belonging to a young
male patient who had resided at the
asylum as far back as 1929. These included some scribbled
diary notes, not enough to simply reproduce, but enough to
inspire me to eventually write my debut novel, The Asylum
Soul, some twenty years later.
I am a keen advocate of self-publishing and have been
consistently enlightened and inspired by the many authors
whose success stories have appeared in Writing Magazine across
the years. Now was the time to follow suit, I thought.
I knew I would need some assistance and I had no
hesitation in going to PublishNation, whose advertisement
I had previously seen in Writing Magazine. I was also aware
that despite that old saying never judge a book by its cover
I would need something special to draw people to the story
inside the book. I went to a company called Spiffing Covers
whose professional design based on an early synopsis of my
book was spot on.
The most challenging part of my publishing journey
has been in the promotion of the book. I began looking at
alternative angles and where I should send my press releases.
Quite soon local radio and newspapers were in contact and I
also enjoyed a very successful book launch at my local pub. As
a result a bacon and leek pie which is mentioned in the novel
is now on their new winter menu!
Next I feel that I need to expand
my marketing approach beyond the
local boundaries and this is where
social media such as Facebook
and Twitter has already helped.
I believe the marketing of any
book is on-going and that no title
should have a sell-by date. After
all, having written and then selfpublished my first novel I believe
that I owe it to myself to continue
peddling the book as best I can.
Website: www.malfoster.co.uk
16/11/2015 16:58
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JANUARY 2016
111
13/11/2015 16:38
S U B S C R I B E R S P OT L I G H T
Stolen away
Frozen south comes north
The Stealers is my third thriller using the same

protagonist, Jack Crane, writes subscriber
Charles Hall.
I decided to publish this one with Troubadors
imprint Matador. They have produced a fantastic
eye-catching cover for the novel, which concerns
car theft and child abduction. As with my
previous two novels, Bad Faces and Sea Fort,
the story begins in Essex and East Anglia. In
The Stealers, retired SAS soldier, Jack Crane, has his iconic car, a 1966
Mustang convertible stolen, and he wants it back, come what may.
Recently, a really great local newspaper review suggested that I had
been taken over by the main character. Maybe its true, because I am now
working on the fourth Jack Crane novel. Apart from producing The Stealers
in paperback, Matador have also published it on the main ebook sites. My
previous two thrillers have found their way into the libraries of Essex and I
am pleasantly surprised at the amount of times they have been out on loan.
My story telling began late in life by
writing Megaton Mornings, a novel regarding
a year spent on Christmas Island during
my service with the RAF. It was there that
I experienced 25 atmospheric nuclear tests.
It took some time to write about this and I
was lucky enough to have enlisted my wife
Jacqueline, a school teacher, to help. We
both had very busy lives working at the
time. Now, I am quite happy to write away
whenever I feel like it and over the past few
years, this has led to giving after dinner talks
and invites to some libraries which makes
the whole thing worthwhile.
My one-act play, Antarctica, is heading

north to Yorkshire for a rehearsed reading
at Ilkley Playhouse and a full performance
at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, writes
subscriber and contributor Karla Dearsley
(see p12).
The play was highly commended
in the inaugural Walter Swan Trust
Award, which I discovered in Writers
News. This was set up in memory of playwright Walter Swan to
encourage the creation of new writing and provide opportunities
for writers. There were two categories, and the winning and highly
commended entries in each are produced.
Antarctica follows the misadventures of three workers in
a frozen food depot. It grew from the habit my headmaster
at primary school had of reading to his class for a period
each afternoon. One of the books he read was South, Ernest
Shackletons account of his disastrous expedition to Antarctica.
He also read the account of Captain Scotts tragic attempt to
reach the South Pole. What made the difference between survival
and death? Was it luck or leadership? What makes a hero, and
how can anyone know how theyd measure up without being
tested? These questions formed the starting point for the play.
From there on the characters took over.
My fantasy novels in The Exiles of Ondd series are on Amazon,
and Ive had short stories published, but the opportunity to see my
work brought to life on stage is the greatest thrill.
The performances are at Ilkley Playhouse on 4 December and
at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds on 7 December.
Website: http://www.ksdearsley.com
Write what you know

Its a great piece of advice for
fiction writers: write about what
you know, writes subscriber
Timothy Walker. Its generally
assumed that this is a conscious
decision. But it can also be a subconscious voyage of self-discovery.
In my case, I started writing
short stories during a period of
convalescence and slow recovery
in 2012-13 from a series of skin cancer operations and treatments. I wrote
an emotional account of my descent into the world of the un-well, and
drew encouragement from that to try creative writing. I undertook an
online creative writing course, attended an Arvon residential week, and read
around the subject, including subscribing to WM. I joined the newly set-up
Windsor Writers Group as part of the process of morphing into An Author.
By early 2015 I had a collection of sixteen stories, coming to about
30,000 words. Enough for a volume, I thought, and I needed a guinea pig
to try out Kindle Direct Publishing.
But apart from myself being the author, and possibly the circumstances
of ill health and recovery, what possible theme could I hang my collection
on? They are not maudlin stories, and only one has a character who is
irked by having a hole in his head after skin cancer surgery. Even this is
treated with wry humour.
52
JANUARY 2016
I had written a
collection of stories
bound together
by the course
of a river.
What thread of theme could

connect my stories? Then it came to
me: most of the settings are places
on the River Thames. I had written a
collection of stories bound together by
the course of a river.
And so, Thames Valley Tales came
together, and hangs together nicely as a
themed collection of mainly contemporary stories with
much evocation of historical and legendary events that collude to add
atmosphere to the flowing heart of England.
So this is how I arrived at my book title, via a sub-conscious write what
you know; in a roundabout, ad hoc, unplanned way. It fell together as a
collection of stories about what interests me, set in a geographical location:
one of Englands best known and longest rivers, flowing 214 miles through
nine counties out through the Thames estuary to the North Sea. I have
now read much about the historical events that have taken place on its river
banks, and feel much wiser and enlightened as a result. I have discovered
a new interest. My battling illness and journey to recovery is a hidden subtheme, and that is what this book will always mean to me.
Ive kept my momentum going with further short stories (Im half
way to a volume II), and am serialising my first novel, Life of George, on
channillo.com.
Website: http://tnwalker.wordpress.com
16/11/2015 16:58
DONT MISS THE FEBRUARY ISSUE!
101
ON SALE 7 JANUARY
STAR INTERVIEW
WITH CRIME AUTHOR
LOUISE WELSH
New author Mike Craven on

getting his debut novel published
The techniques and tricks of
Milly Johnson
Guinevere Glasfurd
shares her writing day
INSPIRING WAYS TO
GENERATE IDEAS
Under the microscope

Our editorial
eagle-eye dissects
a submission letter
BANG TO RIGHTS!
AUTHENTIC DIALOGUE
FOR YOUR CRIME NOVEL
Ten top tips
for writing romance
SPECIAL E !
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How to organise an author event at your

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Benefits of setting up your own DIY retreat
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OR
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Call 01778 392482 or visit www.writers-online.co.uk
June 2015 - Writing Magazine
p109 next month.indd 109
Develop yourself as a
childrens author
ARTICLE WRITING:
HOW TO APPROACH
EDITORS AND SELL
YOUR WORK
PLUS
ALL OUR USUAL PUBLICATION
OPPORTUNITIES, PAYING
MARKETS, COMPETITIONS
TO ENTER AND PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY NEWS.
109
16/11/2015 16:00
Pre-teen tec
Accent on clarity
As you can imagine

I was delighted when
I heard that my comic
crime novel A Clear Solution had been accepted
by Accent Press for publication, writes
subscriber Eric McFarlane.
I first heard about Accent Press through
Writing Magazine and thought there was nothing
to lose by giving them a try. They liked it and
some months later here it is. The publisher was
helpful throughout and I enjoyed working with
them during the editing process.
The novel was started as an antidote to
redundancy and worked in that respect. It
clocked up at least fifty rejections from agents
and publishers before I began to have doubts, but
there had also been a small number of positive
comments which kept hope burning. The first
few chapters posted on youwriteon.com had
also shown me that some people liked it. I had
however relegated it to the bottom drawer as a
possible candidate for self publishing should I
decide to take that route. Meanwhile I went on
to write a thriller, an SF novel and a sequel to A
Clear Solution but still felt that the original had
something. It is set in an environment I know
well and features some dastardly goings on in a
university chemistry department.
Corpses, cats and chemical catastrophes... its
all just another day in the lab.
The novel is available from Amazon and you
can find links on my website.
Website: www.ericmcfarlane.co.uk
Blue sky thinking
Funny, thoughtprovoking, poignant,

quirky... Blue Sky Days
to Come is my second
collection of poems and
with more than fifty
poems, theres something
for everyone, writes
subscriber Pam Pointer.
Subjects are as varied as badgers, debt,
umbrellas, and the military. Titles include:
Bernards beard, Four-way man flu, Front seat
54
JANUARY 2016
The idea of a story

about a schoolgirl
detective had been
buzzing around my
brain for a while,
writes subscriber
Jacqueline Pye.
The plot and
characters began to form, and they
just wouldnt go away. Eventually, after
writing the story, then buying a critique
and sorting out all the issues it raised,
I self-published Millie the Detective and
the Diamond Ring. By then Id fallen
in love with Millie who is twelve, and
cared greatly about the other three
characters, too her
younger brother, his best
mate, and the family dog
Boris. I even had a tiny
soft spot for Badger the
school bully, with the
vulnerability he tries
to hide but which the
reader can usually glimpse.

After that, I concentrated for a while
on entering writing competitions, with
some success, but the trio and Boris
were never far away. The second book
in this planned series is just published:
Millie the Detective in The Thief
Unmasked. Like the first, its themes
are friendship, loyalty, and working
together to resolve worrying situations
although Badger is never far away from
the action.
After teaching children of midprimary-school age, I worked as an
educational psychologist for many
years and published
articles in magazines on
developmental topics
including reading. Now
I am writing books for
those same children.
And, oh crikey further
plots are emerging from
the mist already!
Website: www.jacpye.com
Winning is out of this world

Writing Magazine is required reading as soon as my copy arrives every month!
writes subscriber Jacquie Rogers.
In the summer you published an item on AudioArcadias SF and fantasy short
story competition which caught my eye. I entered my SF story Calypso Solo
under my pen name J S Rogers, and was thrilled when editor Lindsay Fairgrieve
picked it as a winner.
My story, along with the other winning stories, has now been published in
AudioArcadias anthology, On Another Plane.
Its out in paperback from Lulu and the ebook is on Amazon.
Ive been published in ezine format before, but this is my first print anthology
publication and much more exciting!
If WM readers are interested in how it feels to have a story published in an
actual tangible book, my blog is available to read at the address below.
Website: https://jsrogersblog.wordpress.com
upstairs, The skyscraper dance, and God is

crying again.
Im the author of nine books, two of which
are poetry books. I had written a number of
non-fiction books on different subjects, but have
only been writing poetry for about ten years.
Blue Sky Days to Come (6.99) makes an ideal
gift and is available through Amazon or via my
website. Follow the link to the Books page and
Blue Sky Days to Come is at the top of the list. Its
easy to order copies. You can also read three of
the poems on the Poetry page of the website to
give you a taster.
Im a keen photographer and

my observations of life through
the camera lens give inspiration
to my writing. Im also an
eavesdropper! Its amazing how
snatches of conversation on the
bus or in the market can fuel
ideas for poetry.
In addition to my books, I have won a few
writing competitions, including one
or two in Writing Magazine another source
of inspiration.
Website: www.pampointer.co.uk
17/11/2015 12:00
A rollercoaster of writing
Since first being introduced to
Writing Magazine, I have been on
a roller-coaster of writing, writes
subscriber Delphine Richards.
Strangely, my part-time work as a
feature writer/columnist for magazines and
newspapers didnt create the same lack of
confidence and over-analysis as writing
fiction. I followed WMs advice in its many
guises join a creative writing group, attend
literary events, enter competitions, and, of course, keep writing daily!
Eventually, a string of successes in competitions gave my confidence
enough of a boost to try the next stage! A story accepted by Radio 4 (but
later not used as it did not fit their themed timetable) and various stories in
anthologies where competition was fierce, gave my friends enough reason to
say why dont you write a book?
The experts say that writing a short story is harder to do than writing a
novel. Oh yeah?
I have more unfinished novels on my PC than those experts would
believe was possible! Looking back on my entries to a timed writing
contest, I realised that I had a series of events which could be linked to
create one whole novel. Eventually I turned some of them into a book of
interconnected novellas that could each be read as a standalone story.
Next came the painful process of sending it out to publishers. Thats
where the rejection slips raised their ugly heads!
However, after a year of trying,

a mainstream publisher actually
liked it and was prepared to take
it on. It felt like winning the
Lottery for a brief time!
Then, before contracts were
exchanged,the publishing house
unfortunately closed down and
that was the end of the dream.
However, as other publishers had been
encouraging, I was reluctant to give up.
Reading up on independent publishers in WM,
I decided to try that route. Tracking down authors and
getting their input, I eventually found one that sounded just right for me.
Even more of a bonus is that they were right on my doorstep!
So, thanks to WM and Cambria Publishing Cooperative, Llandeilo,
I was delighted when Blessed Are The Cracked was published in 2013.
As with all independent publishers, the author is expected to put it a
considerable amount of work in terms of marketing, but having said that,
the royalties are better.
As per WM advice, Im still entering competitions, but I am also
delighted that the follow-up book, The Truth About Eggs, will soon be
published by Cambria.
I am already well into the third book in this series, so maybe those
experts were right after all!
The experts say that

writing a short story
is harder to do than
writing a novel.
Oh yeah?
Give the gift of...
better writing
Treat yourself or the writer
you love this Christmas...
or start hinting now!
F ine
OFagazs
%ing Mriber
10or Writsubsc
Mi
Cr ni
iti
qu
e
S
RSE
OU
GC
ITIN
R
W
IVE
EAT
CR
Our professional writers are ready and waiting to

assess your work with Writing Magazines Reading
and Critique Service. We offer impartial guidance,
support and encouragement to make sure youre
heading in the right direction.
For just 50,
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Code: WM/CWCR/01-16
Critique Half January.indd 1
27/10/2015 11:40
JANUARY 2016
55
16/11/2015 16:58
An eye on holiday romance
The keys to writing

I have been subscribing to WM for a long
time now and would like to say how much l
enjoy the many articles and inspiring advice
always on offer, writes Brian Turner.
Over the years I have dabbled (lazily) in
the world of writing with limited success.
However, I have had a couple of short stories
published in well-known magazines. I must admit though, up to five
years ago, writing has always taken second place amongst my other
activities and hobbies.
This all changed when my son Michael approached me with
an idea, (which I considered to be very good) for a full-length
novel. After much discussion we decided to go ahead and jointly
write November Keys.
Initially, we set out to write three drafts which ended up more like
fifteen. Huge chunks of our time were spent discussing the plot and
characters. The book took over much of our lives but it was great fun.
There were not, in truth, many, arguments but it could take a long
time for us to agree on certain aspects of the book, We viewed this as a
bonus as after all, two heads are better then one.
Finally the manuscript was completed and ready for editing.
Fortunately we were offered the services of a successful author who
helped us through this process and also shared their expertise by
offering useful tips
We self published through New Generation Publishing who also
helped us considerably. Eventually, the book in all its splendour was in
our hands. We have worked hard at marketing
November Keys, appearing in a national tabloid
and interviewed on three radio stations. Michael
built our website which has helped considerably.
Sales have been slow but sure. Feedback has
been very positive with some first-class reviews.
Hard work, yes, but I have not regretted
one moment. If you have an idea and time
to spare, settle down on your word processor.
You will not regret it.
My latest novel Turkish Eye was

released in October last year,
writes subscriber Wendy Coward,
who writes under the name of
Beatrice James.
I decided that Turkey is such a
popular holiday destination that it
would appeal to anyone looking
for a holiday read. It features the issues of age gap love and the theme
that maybe some of the English women who travel there looking for
love, find men who may just be too good to be true. The story opens
with the disappearance of an English woman and soon it appears that
a killer is targeting English women in the Turkish town of Kusadasi.
The book has reached up to no 9 in the Amazon holiday reads
and no 60 in international mysteries and I have linked it through
various Facebook sites related to Turkey, of which there are many.
This seems to have worked and I have had some lovely comments
from those who have read the book, and they have encouraged
others to buy it. This has created a buzz around the book and sales
over the summer have been extremely pleasing.
My first two novels, An Artists Impression and the sequel Sentence
Expiry Date are now selling on the back of Turkish Eye and its great
when people like your work enough to look for more. I found
those books more difficult to promote at first without giving away
the plot. This is something that I need to work on and I intend to
re-edit the books using the knowledge I have gained over the last
eighteen months or so.
In terms of Turkish Eye I think the cover of the book
has helped. The Turkish eye itself is iconic and along
with a picture of Kusadasi harbour complete with
cruise ship, I think its quite striking. The next book
in the Turkish eye series will be set partly in Istanbul
but I intend to keep my detective Yogi and the ex-pat
community. Turkey is a fascinating place, for me
its where East meets West. I hope my books will
encourage those who havent been there to visit. That
would be the biggest compliment!
Website: http://turkisheye.co.uk
History deal with Bloomsbury

As a history teacher, I often create my own
resources for pupils; they get great reviews from
parents, pupils and colleagues alike, writes
subscriber Matthew Howorth.
However, in terms of getting something
published, I focused most of my efforts on
trying to further my fiction writing. Flicking
through Writers & Artists Yearbook looking for
suitable places to hawk my WW1 novella, The
Officers Whistle, I saw that Bloomsbury had an
education department and took submissions. I
sent them a few examples and they replied back,
saying theyd like to take it to review. Although
they decided not to pursue my project, they
were putting together a new series of books
for primary teachers and invited me to submit
a sample. I was thrilled when they then asked
56
JANUARY 2016
me to write the book, which was released in

September. Bloomsbury Curriculum Basics:
Teaching Primary History contains everything
a non-specialist needs to teach the subject,
complete with lesson plans, online resources,
apps, books, trips, games the lot!
I now want to write a textbook for pupils,
called History Rocks! and will wave the
Bloomsbury book at publishers to show
them Im serious!
I have also had a number of plays performed
and last year released How Lion Became King
of Tinga Tinga Land, a childrens picture book
illustrated by Dave Miller, a Disney artist who
had provided artwork on Cars.
I enjoy writing in many different forms,
so depending what day of the week it is or
however I feel, there

is always some project to
be getting on with! I also have a WW1 story,
The Officers Whistle and a pirate adventure, The
Land Beyond the Sea available on Kindle and
iBooks. And if youd like to read/perform one of
my plays, please get in touch!
Website: www.matthewhoworth.wordpress.
com/www.kingoftingatinga.com
16/11/2015 16:58
Helping with police enquiries

Over the last four years, since retiring after thirty years
police service, I have been helping writers make the
policing aspects of their stories credible, writes subscriber
Kevin N Robinson.
Ive been asked many varied questions by authors
wanting to make their police officers and their actions
realistic. In many cases, the same questions arise time
and again so I decided to write my next book, 218
Facts a Writer Needs to Know About the Police, to help those writers too afraid to ask what
they may think is a stupid question (it certainly wouldnt be) or those who cant find a
friendly, knowledgeable officer of the law to help them out
with their research (not as easy a task as it may sound).
Not only does this book provide 218 interesting and
useful facts based on 36 areas of police investigation and
organisational structure but it also contains forty ideas for
taking a story forward based on those facts.
It has been structured in such a way that the reader can
dip in and dip out, spending as little or as much time they
wish on increasing their knowledge and understanding of
the police in the UK.
The book will prove indispensable to those wishing to bring
authenticity and realism to their writing and help them to
create a convincing, believable story.
Website: www.crimewritingsolutions.wordpress.com
Learning self-belief
When I left university I thought of following my degree up with a postgraduate course in
journalism, writes subscriber Anne Gaelan. Unfortunately I met a person who told me I
would never make a journalist because I had the wrong type of personality.
Yet when I joined a local college writing class in 2003 the first poem I wrote was
published and I was later shortlisted for a national writing competition.
I wrote to Writing Magazine saying what had happened expressing concerns about
taking writing seriously. Jane Wenham-Jones said I had to believe in myself and had
received the most unhelpful advice.
Since then I have produced two films about Arthur Ransome and Oscar Wilde, made
with the co-operation of Lancaster Film Makers Co-op and students of Lancaster Royal
Grammar School. The films, for which I wrote the screenplays, have been highly praised by
audiences at local libraries and organisations Kino Shorts and They Eat Culture in Preston.
An ad for the event is even on the Arthur Ransome Society website!
On 15 October this year at the Storey Institute in Lancaster there was an event,
Wilde-Ransome, with a lecture I devised and the films. In November I gave this talk at
Bare Mens Fellowship.
I am also listed in the archive of the National Festival of LGBT History.
My poem On the Shore at Bolton-le-Sands appeared in An
Lucht Lonrach in July and I have an online comedy childrens
novel May, Magic and Moonlight now on Amazon Select which
has received five stars!
Wilde encouraged a poetic voice while in films Roman
Polanski influenced me. I went to Poland following
graduation where I saw Polanskis shorts and his excellent
examples of structure. Film making took off from there.
I have now finished a full-length screenplay set in
pre-Revolutionary France with a supernatural element and
have sent it to a producer.
Jane was right!
Website: www.annegaelan.co.uk
Strange discoveries
I now have eight
ebooks online and
three are available
in paperback
on Amazon,
writes subscriber
Pamela Strange.
Mysterious
Master, written
under the pen
name of Isabella Rose, was
shortlisted for an award at
the Festival of Romance
in 2012. Attending the
gala ball with movers and
shakers from the world of
publishers was such a thrill.
I discovered that library
archives kept on microfiche are invaluable
when researching real life stories.
Ena Roscoe (pictured) was my aunt real
name Edith Alderman who after training at
the London School of Music as a classical singer
in the early 1920s had a fan club following her
career. As well as singing in concert halls to
make enough money to live, Ena also sang for
silent films at the Finsbury Park Empire. She
became leading lady in the Arcadians and had
interesting stories to tell about working with
famous radio stars of the day.
The research for Ena Roscoe Musical Star
1920s-1940s was fascinating and libraries
in places like Blackpool where she gave out
photographs to her fans had information to
give me, and welcomed the article I wrote for
them which is now stored in their archives.
Ena fell in love and eventually married a
charismatic stage impresario Harry Benet. She
lunched with Walt Disney who gave her a gift
still in the family today, but unfortunately
the photograph of her with Walt Disney no
one can trace. Interestingly, people from as
far away as Tasmania wrote to say they were
related in some way and were happy to find
the ebook on line. I wrote a three-page article
on her which Peterborough Museum put in
their book on local famous people.
Daddys Little Spy by Isabella Rose was also
backed up by library archives as they had
microfiche newspaper articles on witchcraft
illegal during wartime which backed up
Isabellas memories.
Im pleased that, as a writer, age doesnt
matter because eventually talent will triumph.
I always live in hope that I will be discovered
before I drop off my twig.
Website: www.pamelastrange.com
JANUARY 2016
57
16/11/2015 16:58
WRITERS CIRCLES
CIRCLES ROUNDUP
If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event
to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
Lancashire Writing Group

meets in North Preston
SPOTLIGHT ON
Yarm Writers Group

The group was originally named PLOY (People Literate Of Yarm) a
clever title but not a name that rolls off the tongue easily, writes chair
Doris Perley.
Early in the 1980s the name changed to Yarm Writers Group. The
group has always met in Yarm Library on alternate Thursday mornings,
10am to 12 noon. Usually two topics are suggested, but they are not
compulsory. Members own works are also welcomed although long
stories and novels are usually read in serial form over several meetings. We
are always surprised at the variations in the stories and poems written on
the same topic. Successes from the past include a Commonwealth literary
prize winner, while another member had been a missionary in Nigeria
and had been writing her memoirs for some time when she heard that in
the village where she had done her duty the well had dried up. Working
hard she completed the work and had it published to raise money for
a new well. Within three weeks the sale of the book had raised enough
money for a new artesian well.
Our usual attendance is between six and sixteen members made up of
roughly equal numbers of male and female.
A lady from the local blind society said they mainly got classical stories
and well-known authors on audio tapes, and she thought some members
would love to hear what ordinary folk have written. So we set out to
choose some works from our anthologies and actors and actresses from
Middlesbrough Little Theatre did the readings. The blind group were
quite pleased with the result as the theatre group had done an excellent
job of the readings.
We have produced seven anthologies and promoted
writing competitions.
Some of our members have had work published in local and national
publications. Our main aim is to encourage writing because we enjoy it,
and we share hours of fun, friendship and great camaraderie.
We are always delighted to meet and welcome anyone interested
in writing in our area, and details of how to find us are always available
at Yarm Library.
58
JANUARY 2016
p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 58
A group of amateur writers has been meeting quietly in Fulwood for

only three years, writes Malcolm Leighton.
The group is a branch of the Creative Network Northwest, which
is run by Nigel Stewart, top right-hand side in pic). We get together
about once a month to share experiences and support each other, said
Nigel. It seems to be working, looking at what people have achieved.
These Lancashire Writers are now moving into publishing the
proof of this is shown in the accompanying photograph, taken at a
recent meeting by Neville Beckett.
In the back row we have (left to right) group leader Alan Greenwell,
he has written and published his first novel, Fallout, under the pen name
Alan Rokeby. Next to Alan in the picture is Stephen Jansen. Stephen
was co-owner of the Chance Factory theatre company; he now works
as a freelance writer of screenplays, and until recently was screenwriting
lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire.
Next to Stephen stands Lloyd Martin, who has sold nearly 200 books
in the United States. Katherine Ann Angel co-leads the group. She wrote
Being Forgotten, eight short stories about marginalised teens, which
gained an excellent review in The Times Educational Supplement.
On the end is the groups organiser, Nigel Stewart.
Seated on the front row we have (left to right) John Winstanley, who
has written a book on unsigned bands in the north west. Su Ainsworth
has written Drabicus, a book that took her sixteen years to complete.
Sitting next to Su is Barry Durham, a former journalist who writes
supernatural crime thrillers and childrens books. In the final position in
the photograph is Randolph Booth, who even designed his own font for
his book in rhyme, The Lumpheads An Odyssey of Idiocy.
Other attendees of the group, but not in the picture, include poet
Lorna Smithers and ebook author Stephen Unwin.
A founder member, Lloyd Martin, said of the group:
I turn up at meetings unsure of what to expect but every time I
come away from the meeting, I leave with vital knowledge that I didnt
even know I needed.
Anyone interested in joining these Lancashire Writers should contact
The Creative Network at: info@thecreativenetwork.org
16/11/2015 16:51
TITLE
Curiosity
fuelled
the writer
Spark new ideas and projects for your
group with a quiz, suggests Julie Phillips
general knowledge, geography or a mixture? It

riters tend to know lots of little
would be a good idea to have different levels of
facts about a wide range of
questions also some that are very easy, middle
subjects. We are nosy by nature
of the range and very hard, which should test the
and through our research we
full range of your members knowledge.
pick up lots of information that might never
This could be an ideal opportunity for you to
see the light of day in any of our work but our
seek out a new venue or time for this event. A
creative and knowledge-thirsty brains cling on to
it as though their survival depended on it. We are, change is as good as a rest and a new environment
could reignite your writing groups passion for
in essence, walking mini-encyclopaedias.
the meetings and writing. Why not try your
When you have a room full of writers, all
local watering hole, or the village or town
researching and working on different projects
hall any venue that is, preferably, cheap and
you magnify that knowledge, so, in the interests
easily accessible to members? If you were feeling
of fun and improving your writing, why not put
generous and in a charity fundraising mood
your collective fountain of knowledge to the
you could make it a charity event and
test and hold a general knowledge
invite other writing groups or local
quiz at one of your meetings?
authors to take part too. This
All you need is a couple of
would not only raise money
well-organised members
Writers are nosy by
for a worthy cause but raise
to research and set the
nature and through our the profile of the group too,
questions and a few
willing volunteers to take
research we pick up lots and be good advertising for
part and youre away.
of information that might potential new members.
It could also be an ideal
never see the light of
networking opportunity,
Running your quiz
whether you do it for charity
How you organise this
day in our work.
or purely for fun.
quiz is dependent on how
To make it fun, you could offer
many members you have.
small prizes to the winners and runners
You might like to have teams
up as an incentive to take part.
(with appropriately inspired literary names,
of course), or you could have pairs or pitch
individual members against each other. Whatever
Incorporating writing
suits your group.
As you are a writing group there should be some
Its important to have a couple of quiz masters
opportunity for writing at some point. The
who will not take part in the quiz and can be
reason why a quiz will be good for your group
totally impartial. You could have someone from
is because it enables the group to collaborate,
outside the group to do that, in the spirit of
if they are in a team, and having to think hard
fairness and objectivity.
about questions helps the creative part of your
Think about what types of questions will be
brain via the networks that lie in the brain
asked too. Do you want the quiz to take a certain
making connections and retrieving information
theme, for instance, literature, music, sport,
from your memory banks.
p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 59
Once the quiz is over, ask the group to write

about their experience. Ask them to write a
few words of non-fiction; perhaps in the style
of a newspaper report telling readers about the
quiz, and then a fiction piece, maybe a poem or
part of a short story based on their experiences.
If members would rather produce a mind map
or spidergram/notes on the quiz, then thats
good too.
Ask them to consider the following:
How they felt just before the quiz began.
Did they know the answer to any of the
questions and if so did they manage to get it
right and score a point for their team? How
did they feel about that?
Did they get any answers wrong? How did
that make them feel?
In which subjects were they strongest
and weakest?
Where they surprised by how much they
actually knew or dismayed by how little
they knew?
Did they come up with any strategies to
help them win?
Were they encouraged by or put off by other
teams that appeared to be more engaged
than them?
Any other thoughts that occurred to them
during the whole process?
The quiz and writing activity are designed to
enable members to think about what they know
and how they can utilise that in their writing.
Writers love quirky facts and pub quizzes have
the potential to explore plenty of those. You never
know what inspiration might be lurking behind
a question and its answer. If it goes down well,
you might consider making it an annual event,
trying out different venues and inviting the local
community to take part too. A writing group is
part of that after all.
JANUARY 2016
59
16/11/2015 16:51
P O E T RY WO R K S H O P
Courtesy of the Whitworth. Photographs by Michael Pollard.
ARTor
SCRAP
An art exhibition inspired two slightly different poems. Alison Chisholm looks at subtle differences in effects
kphrastic poetry the

term given to poems
inspired by art works has
been written for centuries.
Poets have been inspired by
works of art, and used them as
the springboard for poems that
simply describe the works, explore
the thought processes of the artist,
model or characters portrayed, find
a narrative to animate the piece, or
follow some logical or imaginative
trail of ideas sparked off by the
picture, statue or installation.
Corinne Lawrence was prompted
to create two ekphrastic poems,
written as a pair in contrasting styles
but sharing the same subject matter.
She says: They were inspired by a
piece called Composition With Horns
60
JANUARY 2016
p60 poetry workshopindd.indd 60
(Double Flat) in a recent Cornelia

Parker exhibition in Manchesters
Whitworth Art Gallery. The
instruments and pieces of household
silverware, as depicted in the poems,
had been flattened by a 250-ton
industrial press.
Corinne comments: My reaction
to the exhibition was one of some
ambivalence: as a music lover, it
was painful to view the flattened
instruments, in particular, but there
was a strange beauty in the pieces
as sculptures, responding to the
movement of light and air in the
exhibition hall. This comment
explains, perhaps, the reason the
poems had to be written. Sometimes
an image disturbs you to such an
extent that you have to deal with it,
process it, in order to allow yourself

to move on from the experience.
Writing a poem is the perfect
medium for this progression.
The content of these poems is
so similar that they are really two
versions of the same piece rather than
two separate poems. Both versions
are lucid, easy to follow and full
of images. Both end with the same
question. So the challenge is to
decide which is the more effective
way of communicating the poets
thoughts to readers.
The first difference you notice
between these is their physical
appearance. Both shapes of poem
are fine, although it might be
worth looking again at the second
version to check for the placing of
16/11/2015 16:49
P O E T RY WO R K S H O P
some rather less important words

at line ends, (to, an), squandering
the opportunity to place a more
significant word at that point, and
so capitalise on the hint of extra
emphasis that resides there.
On the subject of producing
the two pieces, the poet says: I
was intrigued by the amount of
language manipulation that was
required to create the two differing
styles of verse. With such similarity
between the two accounts, that may
seem surprising; but if you look at
them carefully you can see how the
different shapes have influenced the
use of language.
The opening sentence reads more
fluently in the first version, which
is enhanced by the use of the verb
dances, while the second gives it an
edgier, more uncertain quality. There
is hesitation in the very short lines
that begin the second, and a slight
awkwardness of expression, which is
compatible with the uncomfortable
theme. It is also more tautly written,
and if the poet decides to proceed
with just one version, the airs
unheard music has a condensed
feel that makes it stronger than the
unheard music of the air.
The middle stanza of version one
gives a detached description of the
instruments, whereas the parallel
section of version two places the
narrator firmly in the centre of
events with Only / now do I see.
Both work. Perhaps the first has
the more vivid rendering, and if the
tiny hiccups were ironed out with
the inclusion of of to aid the flow of
squeezed out them, and the use of a
comma rather than full stop before
the final two words of the stanza,
this would be a flawless portrayal.
Theres a reversal in the final
descriptive passage where version
two gives the extra information. The
adjective crushed and the inclusion
of the cutlery add to the picture.
In both versions, we read that the
domestic items share a like fate. This
is an interesting phrase. It would
read more easily and naturally if
the poet simply said share their fate.
But the extra word and the slightly
awkward consonant grouping in like
fate add to the sense of disquiet the
poet is conveying.
When we reach the comment
on the artwork, there is another

example of the detachment of one
version and involvement in the
other. Version one shows that In
the mind, sound and sight grapple,
while two says In my mind sight and
sound grapple. On the surface, these
seem the same, but there are actually
a few subtle points of difference.
The comma in the first indicates a
little pause, a hiatus before the idea
continues. The juxtaposition of mind
and sound creates a lovely touch of
consonance, one of the range of
slant rhyme sound similarities that
enrich free verse. The absence of
the comma in the second creates a
more insistent run of words, and the
three i sounds coming together in
my mind sight highlight the plaintive
assonance of this sighing sound.
The use of the possessive makes the
whole idea more personal.
The most diversity between the
poems occurs in the final thought.
Version one poses the single vital
question in just four words, Art
or scrap metal? while two places
different questions, ending with
the one-word challenge, You? Both
interrupt the flow of the poem to
make a direct appeal to the reader.
The decision to pursue this course is
controversial. Some readers will love
while others hate it; and yes, the
effectiveness of the technique is as
personal and subjective as that.
It would be useful for the poet
to consider various alternative
endings for this piece, possibly
introducing more ideas concerning
the deliberately wrecked musical
instruments and domestic items,
which might yield some additional
fascinating thoughts. It would also
be worth considering whether the
immediacy of the appeal to the
reader is as effective as setting out
the facts and hinting at a conclusion
that could be drawn from them.
While remembering that both
of these versions work, it might be
helpful for Corinne Lawrence to put
them away for a while and resist the
temptation to develop them further.
Then after a few weeks or months,
she will be able to place them side by
side and know instinctively which is
better. The distancing effect of time is
the poets best asset when it comes to
revising and refining a piece.
p60 poetry workshopindd.indd 61
ARTWORK
Just above the floor, light dances on silver plate:
blue becomes purple, becomes green,
shifting to the unheard music of the air
in a silent, iridescent pavane.
Flattened French horns, trumpets,
trombones the breath squeezed out them
face up in mute appeal. Silenced forever.
Beyond them, coffee pots
and candelabra share a like fate.
In the mind, sound and sight grapple.
Art or scrap metal?
ARTWORK II
Just
above
the floor, light
on silver plate:
blue becomes purple
becomes green, shifting to
the airs unheard music an
iridescent pavane. Only
now do I see flattened shapes: French horns,
their breath stifled - face up in mute appeal.
Beyond them crushed coffee pots, cutlery
and candelabra share a like fate.
In my mind sight and sound grapple.
Creation or pretension
beauty out of brute force
Sophistication
or scrap metal.
Art or not.
Who knows.
You?
JANUARY 2016
61
16/11/2015 16:49
P O E T RY P R I M E R
Poetry from
to
Poet Alison Chisholm guides you through the language of poetry

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
gives poetry its poetic feel. It
communicates a literal message
through non-literal wording.
Perfect
There are various categories of
your poetry
figurative language. Three of the
most common are a metaphor,
with a WM
where something is described as
creative writing
being something else, such as the
course.
past is a foreign country; a simile,
See p84
likening one thing to another
Oh, my love is like a red, red rose;
and personification that endows
something non-human with human
characteristics, as in the wood grain
that spoke of agony and triumph.
EXERCISE: Consider an element of
landscape, such as a mountain, island,
river, wood. Write a straightforward
description of it in 100-150 words. Now
re-work the description, using figurative
language in place of the literal wording.
A FOOT is the unit of poetic
metre. It usually consists of two
or three syllables, and its nature is
determined by the placing of the
natural stresses of pronunciation.
The most common feet in the
English language are displayed in
the table below:
A metrical pattern is described when

the nature of the foot is acknowledged
alongside the number of feet in a
line. So iambic pentameter means five
feet in a line, each consisting of one
iambus. Dactyllic trimeter means three
feet in a line, each being one dactyl.
Its important to remember the
significance of the stress pattern in
the feet. You cant create a line of
iambic pentameter, the most useful
building block for poetry, simply
by writing down ten syllables the
alternating pattern of unstressed
followed by stressed syllables is
essential. The line of dactyllic
trimeter is not just nine syllables.
The pattern of one stressed and
two unstressed syllables must occur
three times.
In practice, there may be
some latitude with regard to the
management of the feet within a line
of poetry. There are accepted variants,
and occasionally elision will create
tiny adjustments to the structure of
metrical feet. But by understanding
the dynamics of the different feet and
learning how they affect the impact of
a line, we are adding another tool to
the poets kit.
COMMON FEET
iambus or iamb
trochee
pyrrhic
spondee
dactyl
anapaest
amphibrach
amphimacer or cretic
bacchius
anti-bacchius
tribrach
molossus
62
JANUARY 2016
p62 Poetry know-how/alphabet.indd 62
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
3
3
unstressed, 1 stressed syllable

stressed, 1 unstressed
unstressed
stressed
unstressed, 1 stressed
unstressed, 1 stressed, 1 unstressed
stressed, 1 unstressed, 1 stressed
unstressed, 2 stressed
unstressed
stressed
a dog, today
going, change it
in a, of the
deep heat, long sleep
merrily, wondering
at a time, on a bus
October, develop
handlebars, daily bread
a long day, demand cash
top heavy, fried bacon
as if a, it is a
long red car, sad old man
The FORM of a poem is the pattern

used for communicating its message
to the reader. Those patterns, which
have proved effective over the years
and been used and adapted maybe
by generations of poets are known
as traditional or set forms. There
are hundreds of these templates for
poems, recognised by line length,
metrical feet, and the placing of
rhymes. They may have a fixed
number of lines, such as the fourteen
lines of the sonnet, or be constructed
around repetition, like the villanelle.
They may depend on a syllable count,
like a cinquain, or on elements of
their content, such as a haiku with
its time and nature references, or a
minute, whose contents should take
place within the space of a minute
in time. The presentation may be
important to the form, with indents
and patterns in the text.
Remember, though, that when you
are not using set forms, your poem
finds its own form as soon as you start
to write it down. Its pattern on the
page and the structuring that holds
it together might be unique to that
piece of writing, particularly if you are
using free verse. They might, however,
create a template you and other poets
will want to use again.
If you set out to invent a new form,
remember to apply it flawlessly in the
first examples you read or publish.
Then your pattern will be clear and
easy for others to follow.
EXERCISE: Devise a new poetic
form. Think about its overall length,
shape, line length, rhyming pattern,
repetition, metre, stanza structuring,
and presentation on the page. Make
sure that the subject of your poem fits
into the parameters you have set for
it. When youve written and titled the
poem, give your form a name.
16/11/2015 16:44
NJ 297 x 210 2016_Layout 1 16/11/2015 08:47 Page 1
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Travel
Those new avenues led to a travel

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Writers
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27
Years of
Success
Members of BILD and ABCC
16/11/2015 09:58
Mid-story
sentence
competition
Winner
k
n
a
B
t
s
u
Aug
Holiday
By Bob Donaldson
Bob Donaldson retired to deepest Shropshire a few years ago after a

lifetime in research and development. He joined the Bishops Castle
Writing Group and found that writing stories was not that different
from writing technical strategies. This was his first competition entry,
so he now looks forward to entering many more.
ack was waiting at the roadside, rain

streaming off his anorak, his thumb
extended to the passing traffic. The road
was busy but nothing had shown any
sign of stopping except for one driver
who slowed, peered at him and then accelerated
away. Jack considered his appearance: his tatty
backpack parked on the verge, his four days
growth of stubble and his muddy trousers. No,
he thought, I wouldnt pick me up either. He
wished hed left the festival earlier when hed been
offered a lift, but hed wanted to see the last set.
He was just getting resigned to the idea of
walking to the next intersection, where things
might be better, when a smart Volvo drew up.
The nearside window rolled down.
Do you have a driving licence? a female voice
asked from the drivers seat.
Surprised by the question, Jack replied that
yes, he did. A bit odd, but maybe she would
want him to share the driving or something.
Put your bag and coat in the boot and
get in. He rapidly did as she asked and then
hopped into the passenger seat. He looked
across at his Good Samaritan. About thirty-five,
he thought, blonde, slim, not bad looking bit
surprising a woman on her own would pick
him up; still, a bit of luck for him.
Thanks a lot. Ive been there an hour. Id just
about given up hope.
Where are you going? she asked.
Newcastle.
Youre a long way from home, she said.
64
JANUARY 2016
p64 ss winner.indd 64
Ive been to the Reading Festival.

Well youre in luck because Newcastle is
exactly where Im going. Looks like well be
stuck with each other for hours. Im Abigail but
friends call me Abby.
Hi Abby. Im Jack.
Have a look through those CDs. She pointed
at a stack in a holder. See anything you fancy,
stick it in the player.
Jack shuffled through the CDs. They all
seemed to be opera or musicals, neither of which
appealed to him but on the other hand he was
dog-tired and didnt feel much like talking. He
selected one at random. Carmen, that would do.
He slipped it into the player and set the volume
quite low. The music, the drowsy warmth and
the white noise from the tyres on the wet road
soon put him to sleep.
When he woke the music had finished, it
had stopped raining and dusk was quite
advanced. The traffic seemed lighter. Abbys face
was softly lit from the instrument panel and
brought into occasional sharp relief by the lights
of approaching traffic.
Where are we? asked Jack.
We just passed Pontefract. You havent
asked me what Im doing, driving to Newcastle,
she said.
I didnt like to ask. Its none of my business.
Well Ill tell you anyway. Im running
away, she said. Im running away from
my husband. Im just going somewhere,
anywhere, that isnt my home and Newcastle
is as good a place as any.

Jack wondered if she was joking but she
didnt look like she was, staring ahead, face set,
no smile.
Can I ask why youre leaving him? he
said, tentatively.
She grimaced and her voice changed to a snarl.
Because hes a drunken, philandering sod, she
said. And hes too handy with his fists. I dont
mind him having a go at me but hes started
knocking the kids about too.
Jacks upbringing by two adoring parents had
ill-prepared him for such horrors. He looked
across at her; her clothes, her expensive-looking
hairstyle, the Volvo this was a middle class
nightmare taking place behind fancy curtains. He
struggled to find what best to say.
How many kids have you got? Are they still
at home?
Two. Theyre with a friend.
Dont you think it would be better to go back
and try to sort things out? he suggested.
Abby was silent. Jack was relieved that the
conversation seemed to have run its course.
Shall I put some music on? he said. Abby
glanced across at him.
Its more complicated, she said. He came
home drunk, we fought, I stuck a knife in
him, a kitchen knife, a long kitchen knife.
Hes dead. I didnt mean to kill him, but I
did. Abby had adopted a weary monotone as
though she were repeating a statement for the
umpteenth time to the police.
Jack was shocked into silence. In his minds
eye he saw a man sprawled across a sofa, a large
carving knife sticking out between his ribs;
he saw chalk marks round the body; x marks
the spot he thought, and couldnt suppress a
hysterical snort.
16/11/2015 16:43
S H O R T S TO RY
Its alright, she said. Im not going to

kill anyone else. She seemed to consider for
a moment. Well, maybe thats not strictly
true either.
Jack felt a frisson of fear. What did she
mean by that remark? He began to wonder
why had she picked him up in the first place?
Why would a woman pick up a scruffy bloke?
And what was that about the driving licence?
He looked surreptitiously around the car.
There was no sign of a weapon.
Im sorry, he said. I dont understand.
Im going to kill myself. I cant possibly
go to jail I couldnt stand it. And who
would look after the children? Ive no parents
or siblings who could take them on. Their
fathers family is the same. And there is no
money to help them the house is mortgaged
to the hilt thanks to that rotten wastrel.
But how would that help anyone?
Youve still got the problem of who will
look after them.
Thats true, but this way theyll have a trust
fund to take care of them until they reach
eighteen. My car insurance will pay out a
million if I die in a road accident, two million
if its on a Bank Holiday. Twos so much better
than one, dont you think?
Abby spoke calmly, as though she were
discussing the price of milk, but what she said
was not lost on Jack, who was well aware that
it was August Bank Holiday Monday.
Thats a seriously bad idea, Abby, Jack
exclaimed. Besides, you might not even die!
Oh yes I will, Jack. There probably wont
be much left if I hit a bridge or turn into
one of these juggernaut things. So you see,
sometime before midnight I shall have to have
an accident. Im awfully sorry but you will be
what they call collateral damage.
But you dont need me, Jack screamed.
Please just stop and let me out.
Ah, but I do need you. I only have a
provisional licence and my car insurance will
be invalid without someone like you sitting
by me, someone with a full licence. So you
see, youre worth two million pounds to me.
Abby began cackling and beating a fist on
the steering wheel. She reached down and
set Carmen to play again, this time with
maximum volume.
It finally dawned on Jack that he was in
the clutches of a madwoman. He had to get
out of the car. He had to get out of there
before midnight. Somehow, he had to get
her to stop.
I think its a terrible plan, he shouted
over the music. Look, why dont we stop
somewhere, get a bite to eat and some coffee
and talk it through. Im a very good listener.
I can help you.
She turned the volume down. I dont need

to talk it through, Jack. Its all over, dont you
see? There are no choices left.
Well, please just let me out, he begged. In
response she increased her already fast pace.
Jack could see the instrument panel showed
ninety mph and the time was ten to twelve.
He wondered whether to grapple with her
or pull on the handbrake but both options
seemed too risky. He was feeling that this was
how his life would end, partnered with a mad
woman and crushed against a bridge, when
he heard a distant siren. It seemed that Abby
heard it too for she increased her speed still
further. The siren became louder; the Volvo
was no match for whatever was in pursuit.
Jack twisted in his seat to see three police cars
screaming up towards them in the outside
lane of the dual carriageway, blue lights
flashing and sirens blaring. Abby looked
panic-stricken. Jack thought she might hurl
the car off the road into the sparse woodland
on the nearside. He got ready to grab the
wheel. Meantime, the police cars boxed the
Volvo in and slowly reduced speed to bring
the Volvo to a halt.
The police approached the Volvo, flashing
torches into the passenger compartment.
Abbys door was opened and a young
policewoman gently coaxed Abby out the car
and walked her back to one of the police cars.
Jack was about to get out of the car when a
burly sergeant got into the drivers seat.
Whats your name, son? he said.
Harding, Jack Harding.
Tell me what youre doing here Jack, in
Abby Westons car.
Jack told his story: the lift, the murder,
the suicide plan, the midnight deadline. The
sergeant nodded from time to time.
Okay Jack, you can go, he said.
Jack was confused. Surely they would need
need him as a witness or something.
Is that it? Wont you want me in court?
The sergeant smiled.
Nobodys going to court, he said. There
was no murder. Mr Weston is alive and well.
He alerted us that his wife had absconded
from her private hospital. It seems the poor
woman has fantasies. Whether she would have
carried out her suicide plan well never know
but maybe you had a narrow escape.
The sergeant started the Volvo and
indicated with a gesture that Jack should
leave. He stepped out of the car and
retrieved his coat and backpack from the
boot. As the convoy drew away, he saw
Abbys pale face looking straight ahead.
He stood on the side of the road. It was
quarter past twelve and it had started to rain
again but it felt good to be alive.
p64 ss winner.indd 65
EDITORS COMMENTS
The classic Cinderella set-up (He had to
get out of there by midnight.) demanded
a certain ingenuity from our Mid-Story
Sentence Competition entrants. Winner
Bob Donaldson stood out by deeply
engraining the ticking clock into his plot.
Both protagonists share the deadline:
Jack must get out of the car to survive
and Abby must destroy it to secure the
fate of her children.
With Jack as the viewpoint character,
the reader shares his suspicions from the
off: why would this well-to-do, attractive,
woman driving on her own, pick up a dirtcaked hitchhiker on his way back from a
festival? When the mystery is revealed,
were satisfied that the storys riddle
is resolved, and carried along by further
questions ahead of what we expect to be
the storys conclusion, so we dont really
see the twist coming.
One element of style that Bob handles
very well here often causing trouble
for writers is dialogue. The characters
interaction is naturalistic and plausible (or
as plausible as can be expected under the
circumstances). With only two characters
involved, there is no confusion about
who says what, so Bob is free to let the
dialogue roll on unattributed, a bonus in
the restricted word count of a competition
short story. Look back at where there are
(s)he said tags to see how unobtrusive
and almost invisible they are a good
example for other writers to bear in mind.
In fact, the story plays out entirely
in dialogue until that last few hundred
words, and there is little description of the
characters and car beyond the initial scenesetting. The result is a story that manages to
cram a lot into its tight word count, without
seeming heavy going. Well done Bob!
RUNNER-UP AND SHORTLISTED
Runner-up in the Mid-Story Sentence
Competition was Andrew Hutchcraft,
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, whose story is
published on www.writers-online.co.uk
Runners-up: were: Jacqueline Bain, Paisley,
Renfrewshire; Caroline Boobis, Gosforth,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Valerie Hoare,
Southbourne, Hampshire; Valerie Powell,
Alresford, Hampshire; Victoria Rhodes,
Idle, Bradford; Jo Swift, Haverfordwest,
Pembrokeshire; Robert Scragg, North Shields,
Tyneside; Jackie Tritt, Balnarring, Victoria,
Australia; DY Tyrer, Southend-on-Sea, Essex;
Mark Warren, Plymouth.
JANUARY 2016
65
16/11/2015 16:43
GREAT
W R I T E R S R E T R E AT S
getaways
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Escape the winterjustblu
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to learn from the best or

e
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CREATIVE WORDS MATTER

Writing workshops at Brooklands Museum
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FREE YOUR CREATIVITY AND GET

STARTED ON YOUR BOOK
With Philippa Pride, The Book Doctor and Creativity Coach
An inspirational writing adventure with certified coach, publisher and Guardian
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Get away from it all to write in our unique apartment beside our house in
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Please call if you would like further information.
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JANUARY 2016
17/11/2015 12:07
W R I T E R S R E T R E AT S
FRENCH HOUSE PARTY
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Tel: 0044 1299 896819
www.frenchhouseparty.eu
enquiries@frenchhouseparty.co.uk
ARTE UMBRIA - WRITING GREAT FICTION

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Contact Arte Umbria now for further information,
tel: 0039 345 876 8311; email: info@arteumbria.com
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MORE THAN JUST A B&B...

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MONIACK MHOR
Moniack Mhor is Scotlands Creative Writing Centre. For over twenty years,
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Twitter: @moniackmhor; Facebook: Moniack Mhor
JANUARY 2016
67
17/11/2015 13:03
@
* Mind your
*
@ language!
%
FICTION FOCUS
Paying close attention to the language you use is the key to getting readers to
really fall in love with your writing, says Margaret James
take us to the right place at the right

time and in the right way. Lets look
at some examples of language which
do exactly that.
Whatever we think of Thomas
Hardy as a storyteller, and however
much he upsets us when he torments
his unfortunate characters, his
language continues to enchant
generations of readers. Here is
a description from Tess of the
dUrbervilles of the heroine working
in the fields at harvest time:
Then, stooping low, she moves
forward, gathering the corn with both
hands against her knees, holding the
corn in an embrace like that of a
lover. She kneels on the sheaf while
she ties it, beating back her skirts
now and then when lifted by the
breeze. A bit of her naked arm is
visible between the buff leather of the
gauntlet and the sleeve of her gown;
and as the day wears on its feminine
smoothness becomes scarified by the
stubble and bleeds.
How can we read that without
feeling our own knees bending
to tie the sheaf of wheat, or
without flinching as the grazes
sting our own arms?
Charles Dickens takes
us right into the dismal,
money-grubbing world of
Victorian London in his
portrait of the home of the
money-lender Smallweed, a
minor character in Bleak House:
ialogue, story,
characterisation, narrative
viewpoint, pace and style
when we write fiction we
need to use all these writing
tools effectively. But something a
lot of novice novelists dont seem to
think about is language.
Yes, language is closely related to
style, but its a topic in itself and
using language appropriately or
inappropriately can make or break a
novel. Whenever a reader tells you
he or she loved a story, dig a little
deeper and youll usually find it was
the language the voice that did
the trick.
We writers are tradesmen and
words are the basic tools of our
trade. Theyre the ingredients in
our recipes. We always need to use
the right ingredients. So that means
no use of the f-word in stories for
children, obviously. But if you
wish you can use the f-word
and many others like it
in contemporary stories
about the SAS. I dont
suppose that in battle
situations many soldiers
say botheration or my
goodness me. But of
course no five-year-old
should be encouraged
to say sod off,
Mummy when told its
time for bed.
Language needs to
68
JANUARY 2016
p68 Fiction Focus.indd 68
16/11/2015 16:41
FICTION FOCUS
in the dark little parlour below

the level of the street a grim, hard,
uncouth parlour, only ornamented
with the coarsest of baize table-covers,
and the hardest of sheet-iron tea-trays,
projecting from the chimney-piece is a
sort of brass gallows for roasting
Beside him (Smallweed) is a spare
cushion with which he is always
provided in order that he may have
something to throw at the venerable
partner of his respected age whenever
she makes an allusion to money
Listen to the language used in
the descriptions of things in this
parlour the hardest of sheet-iron
tea-trays: a sort of brass gallows:
something to throw at the venerable
partner of his respected age. We know
all about this man now, dont we?
More recently, in Patrick Nesss
A Monster Calls, here is the child
Conor contemplating a possibly
real or possibly imaginary monster
who might or might not have come
to save him:
Every time the monster moved,
Conor could hear the creak of wood,
groaning and yawning in the monsters
huge body. He could see, too, the power
in the monsters arms, great wiry
ropes of branches constantly twisting
and shifting together in what must
have been tree muscle, connected to a
massive trunk of a chest, topped by a
head and teeth that could chomp him
down in one bite.
Look at that final phrase: and
teeth that could chomp him down
in one bite: at that string of
monosyllables, at all those hard
consonants and be afraid!
Here is Ali Smith in The
Accidental, using appropriate
language to skewer a man whos
falling for a woman he shouldnt
want at all, and to make us
understand how it feels to be

Michael, the predatory university
lecturer who finds himself out of
his depth when fascinated by a
woman who doesnt seem to be at
all interested in him:
She looked utterly bored
It was real coffee, he had wanted
to tell her. He wanted her to know
he was the kind of man who would
never make instant. He couldnt
imagine any way of saying it, though,
that wasnt patronising-sounding.
Shed notice when she tasted it, he
was sure.
What do we find here a
determination to impress without
seeming to want to impress? A
desire on Michaels part to keep the
upper hand while simultaneously
understanding he doesnt have the
upper hand at all? As The Times
said of this novel its writing as
rapture, as giddy delight.
The charm of the language keeps
us reading a novel more or less
contentedly even if were starting to
hate the characters and couldnt care
less about what happens to them:
if they get their happy-ever-after or
jump off a cliff.
Conversely, its language that
stops us reading a story we want
to read and want to enjoy, but
find we cant because the language
is so clunky, so inappropriate,
so irritating, and because the
writers tools and ingredients are so
inexpertly and clumsily used that
we give up.
It might be heresy to suggest this,
but I feel that if you can get your
language right and enchant your
reader from the start, you will stand
a very good chance of keeping this
reader hooked for the whole of
your story.
Now try this

Try writing a short story for a
five-year-old and an action scene
for an SAS thriller. How does the
language differ?
Novelists tell us what they wish

theyd known right at the start
of their careers.
With Trisha Ashley

At eighteen, I sent out my
first novel to a childrens
fiction publisher and made
every possible mistake. It
was the wrong length, I
illustrated it myself and,
although children seemed
to enjoy reading it, the
humour and satirical
edge were more suited
to adults. The covering letter was a masterpiece
of vagueness, making it clear I had no idea
what I was writing.
Back came the rejection but how helpful and
generous it was of the editor to take the time to
give me some practical words of advice and then
to soften the blow with a little encouragement, to
the effect that I showed originality and promise
and should keep on writing.
My eyes were immediately opened. I sent my
grateful thanks to the editor and never made the
same mistakes again. Just as an abstract painting
by an artist who understands perspective and
the golden mean has a depth thats lacking in
a painting by an artist who does not, a novelist
needs a grasp of the classic structure of the form
in which he or she has chosen to write.
My new-found knowledge didnt stop my
dark comedies being rejected, despite one being
shortlisted for a major award. But, on the strength
of this shortlisting, I had the good fortune to be
taken on by a top London agent. She suggested
I should weave a romantic thread through my
novel. So I did, and it became Good Husband
Material, my first romantic comedy.
You can see that the major lesson I learned
right at the start of my
writing journey was to
be open to constructive
criticism and grateful to
those busy professionals
who took the time to
drop words of help and
encouragement into the
abyss of my ignorance.
Trisha Ashleys latest
novel is A Christmas
Cracker (Avon)
p68 Fiction Focus.indd 69
I wish
Id known
DECEMBER 2015
69
16/11/2015 16:41
THE
E
L
TIC
Creating
content
ARBASICS
In part two of his series, Patrick Forsyth looks at the benets of taking a
systematic approach to writing non-ction articles
riting non-fiction can be

as rewarding, in every
respect, as writing fiction.
Whats more, unless
your novel becomes a blockbuster, it
can be easier to generate a financial
return from it too. Last month I
wanted to spark your enthusiasm for
thinking about writing non-fiction.
Now lets turn to getting it done. You
might compare writing non-fiction to
digging a ditch: it is hard work and
must be done right but at the end of
it you have achieved something. Not a
ditch, but a piece of writing.
We looked at deciding topics last
month. With a topic in mind (or,
ideally, commissioned) you need to
actually get the words down and into
acceptable form. A systematic approach
can be very beneficial. One thing first:
Tone of voice
Deciding on the tone of voice to adopt
involves two considerations. The first is
where you intend to place your article.
It is very different writing for the parish
magazine and, say, The Economist.
Serious publications may demand
close compliance with detailed writing
guidelines. Compliance demands
consideration and can add to the time
writing takes. I know. I once wrote a
book for The Economist.
This may demand matching your
70
JANUARY 2016
p70 article.indd 70
tone to that of a publication or simply

deciding upfront the tone you will
take. Give this some consideration.
I mentioned humorous writing last
month and, for me, this takes a little
longer to do. Another example is
how-to writing. This needs to be
credible and acceptable. You may need
to establish your credentials before
you make specific suggestions and
you should not talk down to people
or be condescending. You do know
what condescending means dont you?
Sorry, old quip I digress.
Suffice to say that you need to have
a clear view of the tone of writing you
will adopt before starting to write.
Getting the words down

Here, a clear, systematic approach to
non-fiction writing can help, allowing
you to accurately create a text and do
so in reasonable time. The following
provides a pathway. You can follow
it or adapt it. You can shortcut it
for straightforward bits of work, but
not too much. Omitting significant
elements of the different stages
can make writing slower and more
awkward and mean that the end result
is less good than it might have been.
Stage 1: research
This may or may not be necessary.
It may be that everything you need
to know is in your head. On the
other hand, you may need to do

some digging, or at the least some
assembling. There is no hard and fast
rule here. You should, however, ask
yourself what might be useful and take
a moment to collect and look at or read
what the task suggests is necessary.
Stage 2: list the content

Next, forgetting about sequence,
structure and arrangement, just list in
short note (or keyword) form every
significant point you might want to
make. Give yourself plenty of space.
Use one sheet of paper as it lets you see
everything at a glance without turning
over. Put the points down, as they occur
to you, at random across the page.
This process acts as a good thought
prompter. It enables you to fill out the
picture as one thing leads to another.
The freestyle approach removes the
need to think or worry about anything
else or even link points together. The
scale of this stage may vary. Sometimes
it is six words on the back of an
envelope, more often more on an A4
sheet (or larger for books).
Stage 3: sorting it out

Now you can bring some sort of order
to bear. Review your notes and decide:
On the sequence things should go in
Items logically linking together.
What is ancillary, providing
illustration, evidence or example to
exemplify points made.
Whether the list is complete. You may
think of things to add, or whether some
16/11/2015 16:37
ARTICLE WRITING
things on it can be omitted without

weakening the overall picture. This point
links to consideration of planned length.
The quickest and easiest way to do
all this is to annotate your original
notes, highlighting and amending
in a second colour. This is for your
reference only. If you find it helpful
to use arrows, circle words or draw
symbols or pictures fine, do so.
Stage 4: arrange
the content
Sometimes, at the end of the previous
stage you have a note you can follow
and no more is necessary. Often,
though, what you have in front of
you is messy. By arranging it I mean
turning it into a neat list. This could
also be the stage at which you type it
out to finish the job on screen.
Final revision is, of course, still
possible at this stage but, that done,
you are left with a clear list setting
out content, sequence, and emphasis
to whatever level of detail you find
helpful. Some experimentation may
be useful, though I am not suggesting
over-engineering the process. Such
sheets become the blueprint from
which you write. You must decide the
form which is most useful.
Stage 5: a final review

This may not always be necessary or
possible (deadlines may be looming)
but it can be useful to leave it a while.
Sleep on it and only start writing after
you come back to it and look at it afresh.
Now, with a final version of what is
effectively your writing plan in front
of you, you can at last actually
draft the words.
Stage 6: writing
Now you write. This is where the
real work is, though it is much easier
with a clear plan. What you have
done through this approach is simple,
obvious, but significant and useful.
You have separated the two tasks, one
of deciding what to write, the other
deciding how to put it. Being a bear
of very little brain, I for one find this
easier. It helps too if you:
Choose the right writing moment.
Ideally when you are in the mood and
least likely to be interrupted.
Keep writing. Do not stop and
agonise over small details. If you cannot
think of the right word, a suitable
heading whatever put in a row of

xxxxs and continue. You can always
return and fill in the gaps later, but
if you lose the overall thread, then
writing becomes more difficult and
takes longer too. Again the idea of
preserving the flow in this way can
become a habit, especially if it helps.
So now you have a draft, though
already you may feel that it needs
further work. Now what?
Start your
article writing
career with a
WM creative
writing course.
See p84
Ringing the changes

There is one very distinct element
about non-fiction. Think about it: you
have written an article, commissioned
by an editor. Lets say that its 1,500
words in length and about public
speaking. What potential does it
contain? Maybe it contains only a small
percentage of your knowledge and
ideas on the subject, so you might:
Write several other articles focusing
on different aspects of the topic.
Edit it into versions of different
length covering similar ground.
Change its format, for instance
recasting it as ten top tips (at a
different length too perhaps).
Change the tone, eg make it humorous.
Link topics into a series of linked
articles, perhaps two or three.
Use it as the basis for a book.
Move beyond it. For instance, fear of
public speaking might prompt a piece
on developing confidence. This too
might expand into many forms.
Stage 7: editing
Few if any people write perfect
text first time and alter nothing. If
you write, then editing goes with the
territory. Dont feel inadequate, allow
some time for it. Dont regard editing
as a chore; it is an inherent part of
getting something right. Take care,
use the spellchecker and, for anything
especially important, read it aloud.
Then, when you are happy with it
let it go. Just press print or do whatever
comes next. It is easy to tinker forever.
You will always think of something
else that could be put differently
(better?) if you leave it and look again.
Productivity is important too.
Experiment by all means. Then let
your (revised) version of this systematic
approach become a positive habit. You
will find it gets easier and quicker to
produce something you rate; more so
than just pitching in at the top of a
blank screen and starting writing.
There are many possibilities here. They

can all can work in a way thats good
for productivity, reducing the work and
Think about it: you have written an article, commissioned by an

editor. What further potential does it contain?
To summarise the
message here is simple:
Go about the task of writing
systemically.
Create and work to a writing plan.
Separate deciding what you are
going to include and what you will
not include (content) from how you
are going to put it (style).
Fix on an approach that suits you
and stick with it, creating individual
habits in the process.
Give the task space and priority.
Check, check and cheque (sic) again.
Such an approach will help you craft
p70 article.indd 71
an article and, more elaborately a book.

My non-fiction books have typically
started on one extra-large piece of
paper divided into chapters. So, having
got what you feel is ready, you send it
off. What next?
time taken to construct something new.

In addition, the original article and
any subsequent spin-offs could be sold
overseas, in English-speaking markets
or even, working with a translator, in
others too. The ultimate amount of
material stemming from the original
brief, research, thinking and writing
time could be considerable; as
could the income.
Now, however good your ideas and
work, you still need to convince editors
that what you produce is what they
want. Thats what well look at next
month, in part three.
JANUARY 2016
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16/11/2015 16:37
WRITING FOR CHILDREN
Healthy W
competition
Give your childrens book an extra
publicity push by organising a contest
related to its content, suggests
childrens author Amy Sparkes
hen your childrens

book is just
published, its
important to invest
some time and
energy into promoting it. Running a
competition is a brilliant way of doing
this. It raises the profile of the book,
engages the children, and can be great
fun along the way.
There are various ways to run a
competition and it largely depends on
the nature of your book and the age
range its aimed at. If at all possible,
tailor the competition to reflect the
theme of your story. This helps it to feel
fresh, links it more closely to your book
and hopefully makes the experience
more memorable to those taking part.
Prize draw
This is one of the easiest competitions

to organise. Its low on cost and not too
time-consuming. Prize draws are very
inclusive as everyone stands an equal
chance of winning. This can make it
ideal for picture book launches as some
young children may not have the skill to
enter more creative competitions.
Entering people into a draw works
72
JANUARY 2016
p72 children.indd 72
well as a thank you for attending an

event, such as a book launch, and can
easily run alongside other competitions
if you wish. And even though its
essentially a pull-a-name-out-of-the-hat
style of competition, it can still be great
fun. My picture book, The Goodnight
Star, was launched in my local library
and the children each decorated a star,
using glitter, pens or anything they felt
like. Contact details were written on the
reverse and then the star was dropped
into a black box (representing the night
sky). At the end of the book launch, a
star was picked out at random by one of
the librarians.
A signed copy of your book makes
a brilliant prize for the draw. To make
it extra special, you can always add a
badge, stickers or something else which
is specifically relevant to your book.
If youre running any kind of prize
draw competition, its best to ask
someone else to pull out the winning
item. This ensures you cannot be
accused of favouritism. Rather than
asking a child to participate (this may
also result in a quick rummage or a
couple of rejects while the child is
looking for their own item!), ask an
17/11/2015 12:02
WRITING FOR CHILDREN
objective adult in advance.

Although prize draws are particularly
good for younger children, they are also
good for older ones. Not every child is
going to excel in creative or talent-based
competitions, so it can be good to run
a general luck of the draw competition
alongside a creative one.
Creative competitions
The joy of this type of competition is

that it can be anything you wish. Again,
its a wonderful opportunity to reflect
the theme of your book. If you are
launching a picture book, a colouring
competition is an easy and appropriate
way to involve younger children.
If you are traditionally published,
your publishers may create a black-andwhite illustration from the book to act
as a colouring sheet for you. If you are
self-published, ask your illustrator if they
have something suitable. This material
can also be used for any future events,
such as pre-school or school visits.
As long as you have the black-andwhite image itself, a colouring sheet
is quite easy to create. Make sure you
include the front cover and the book
details somewhere on the competition
sheet. This ensures that all the children
taking the competition form home
are automatically taking details of
your book, which helps to spread the
word. Remember to include a space
on the reverse of the sheet, to include
the childs details so you know how to
contact the winners.
For older children, even at the top
end of the picture book age range,
designing competitions work well. If
your book is about dinosaurs, ask the
children to create their own dinosaur. If
its about time travel, ask them to design
their own time-travelling machine.
Whatever your book is about, find an
element which will engage the children,
inspiring them to create something fun
and interesting.
This sort of competition works well
at both local and national levels. Local
competitions can be promoted via
newspapers, schools and libraries. Make
it as easy as possible for people to return
the forms to maximise participation. You
can collect competition entries in person
from venues such as libraries or schools,
or arrange for entries to be posted or
taken to a convenient location, such as
an arts centre, bookshop or creative hub
(but obviously ask for permission first!).
Its obviously important never to use

your own personal address.
Nationally, entries can be promoted
on traditional publisher websites, as
well as your website or Facebook page.
Entries can normally be sent directly
to the publicity team at the publishing
house, who can forward entries to
you. If youre self-publishing, ask
whether theres any way to run such a
competition, as support and willingness
to be involved may vary from company
to company.
Social media giveaways
Do you have a Twitter account or a

Facebook author page? If so, doing a
giveaway is a lovely way to thank your
followers. Its simple to do and can
extend your reach. On Twitter, put
up details of the competition, such as
a website link or brief information.
Include the book title and any relevant
hashtags, because hopefully this
information will reach many people.
Ask people to retweet the information
and, as you are notified of any retweets,
youll be able to accumulate names to
add to a lucky draw. Dont forget to set a
deadline, and then after this has passed,
simply randomly draw out one of the
names. The hardest part will be creating
a tweet about it in 140 characters!
Facebook is similar. Put up a post
about the competition (remember
to attach a photograph of your book
cover) then ask people to like your
post. Again, youll be notified when
somebody does, and you can add the
details to your draw list.
Promoting your competition

Theres no point having a competition if
no-one hears about it. Having multiple
channels of communication will
obviously increase your reach and attract
a wider range of children.
Visit local schools personally with
information. As well as ensuring
the competition is brought to their
attention, the personal contact can
create or strengthen relationships with
the school.
Work with your local library, which
will probably be happy to help. Ask if
you can leave competition forms there
for people to take. Its also worth asking
if they would accept completed entries
for you to collect after the closing
date. This benefits the library too, as it
encourages participants to revisit.
p72 children.indd 73
Perfect
your writing for
children with a
WM creative
writing course.
See p84
Think laterally. Business relationships

can be formed in the oddest of places.
Whats your book about? For example, if
it features farm animals, is there a local
farm park tourist attraction who might
be interested in stocking competition
details? Or if its an underwater or
overwater theme, perhaps a local
swimming pool would be interested.
You dont know if you dont ask! Making
contact may lead to other opportunities,
such as taking stock on a sale-or-return
basis or inviting you in for an event.
Take time to contact local newspapers
or magazines. Write your own press
release and send a photo of you and
your book. Also remember parish
magazines or local newsletters.
Finally, check online to see if there
are any whats on websites for your
local area. Also look on Facebook, as
there may be local or regional whats on
pages or groups you can contact.
Why not give a competition a go?
Decide which approach works best
for your book, think creatively, plan
thoroughly, and give your book the
extra publicity it deserves.
Things to remember
Photographs
If you want to take photos of competition winners
for your blog, website or local newspaper, make sure
you have permission from a parent or guardian. The
best practice is to ask them to sign a permission form.
Keep hold of this in a safe place; although youre
unlikely to need it, if any problems do arise, you have
evidence of permission.
Contact details
Sometimes with competitions, you need to obtain
contact details, such as name and phone numbers.
After the competition ends and winners have been
decided, immediately shred any contact details. You
can always scan in any competition entries if you want
to save them, but ensure that no personal details are
stored digitally.
Check with parents or guardians whether they are
happy for the winners name to be included in any postcompetition publicity. Its usually advisable to only use
the first name of the child for privacy reasons.
Terms and conditions
You may want to include these somewhere, perhaps a
brief summary on the back of a competition entry form
or direct people to a place on your website. Its very
rare that someone kicks up a fuss about a competition
decision, but just to safeguard yourself, you may want
to specify that your decision is final and any other
relevant points that are specific to your competition.
JANUARY 2016
73
17/11/2015 12:02
CRIME
the mode of death gun shots on a

city street, or a bizarre gothic murder
on a remote island?
Location, location, location
E
N
E
C
S
E
H
T
OF THE CRIME
Pay attention to the setting of your crime novel, says Claire McGowan.
Location can influence plots, characters, and criminal activities.
here is your crime

novel set? This may
seem like an arbitrary
decision, but its
worth thinking
about it before you start writing. Will it
take place in London and the South-East,
like so many novels, or somewhere more
unusual? Theres always been a strong
tradition of Scottish crime writing, for
example, and in recent years weve also
seen the emergence of Northern noir
and Emerald noir (time for Welsh noir
next?) Do you want to write about crimes
in remote, small communities, or about
the grit of city streets? Do you want to
conjure a place you know, or somewhere
you wish you knew? Done well, the
setting can become an integral part of
the work think of how Broadchurch
cleverly used the Dorset coastline. Also
think about who your characters are
frustrated Home Counties commuters,
or tough independent farmers? Where do
they belong? Do you want to take your
readers somewhere theyve never been,
or hold a mirror up to their lives? Asking
these questions before you start will help
you use setting consciously, rather than
opting for the place you currently live as
a default. An interesting and vivid setting
may be the element that sells your book.
Closed spaces, remote places

But setting is about more than
geography. Can you make your book
74
JANUARY 2016
p74 Crime.indd 74
stand out by choosing an interesting

location? A school, a convent, an Oxford
college, a cruise ship? Enclosed settings
with limited suspects also work very
well for building suspense, as we know
the killer must have been one of the
characters weve met. Think of how
Agatha Christie did this with trains,
boats, and locked rooms. Islands are also
great (as in And Then There Were None),
as theyre a bigger version of lockedroom mysteries. This was used to great
effect in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
and by Mo Hayder in the very creepy
Pig Island. Many authors have given in
to the temptation to write what I call a
weird stuff happens on the island book,
as its such an irresistible setting (Im
doing mine next).
Remote settings also have the
added advantage that loss of mobile
phone signal becomes more plausible,
ramping up tension. The police may
also not be able to rescue you easily,
so you can side-step procedural details
if you dont want to handle those in
detail. There might be a real danger
than the weather will kill you before
the murderer does. All of this adds
useful suspense to your work. You
could also choose to set your novel in
an unusual community, such as the
Amish people in Witness. The clash of
cultures adds interest and conflict, and
can provide thematic richness. Your
choice of setting might even influence
Do you need to visit your location, if

you dont live there? Sharon Boltons
latest book Little Black Lies is a
highly atmospheric thriller set in the
Falklands (more weird islands). As
Ive never read anything set there,
I found this fascinating Britain
yet not the Britain we know, a
hostile environment, a close-knit
community, and the legacy of a war.
I assumed she must know the area
well to write it so vividly, but she
told me she hadnt. Stef Penney also
famously wrote her Canada-set Costaprize winner The Tenderness of Wolves
without ever going to Canada, partly
because she was unable to travel at the
time of writing. By all means travel
for research if you have the time and
money (it can also be tax-deductible),
but as with all research, never let this
get in the way of actually writing
your book. Its perfectly possible to
write about a place without ever
having gone there. If this sounds like
sacrilege, I understand but it can be
dangerous to do so much travelling and
researching that you never write!
If you choose your setting well, it can
almost become a character, escalating
existing problems. There might be
a storm, or a well-timed riot, or a
heatwave, or difficult terrain. The culture
of the area or country might cause issues
for your characters. Equally, the setting
can be a pleasant addition to reading,
such as in the Inspector Montalbano
books, which are popular for their
gorgeous descriptions of Italian scenery
and food. Your choice of setting may
well depend on the themes you want to
explore. If your book is about realising
you cant trust those you know best,
somewhere isolated and small might
work. If youre interested in how we live
cheek by jowl with potentially murderous
strangers, a city would be better.
My crime series is set in Northern
Ireland, where I grew up several miles
from the border. Id been wanting to
write about big topics for years religion,
politics, history and realised I could
explore these via crime fiction, while still
having an entertaining story. Its a real
gift of a setting. You have two countries
separated by a border which no longer
16/11/2015 16:32
CRIME
exists as a physical structure, but which

have different police forces and very
different rules and cultures (if you want
to post a letter across the border you have
to use a European stamp, for example).
You have people who are rooted in the
land still, who are often very religious
and in some places believe in fairies, faith
healing, and other superstitions. You
have the aftermath of a terrible conflict,
which still rumbles on, and where the
killers often live side-by-side with the
victims. So if you want to write a series,
its worth choosing a setting that lends
itself well to lots of crime! Think about
whether its plausible that your smalltown detective would end up working on
yet another serial killer case. In something
like Midsomer Murders, we accept that
this town has a murder rate that rivals the
New York projects, because its tongue-incheek and cosy, but if youre aiming for a
more realistic tone, this wont work.
Creating a sense of place

So how do you actually describe your
setting? Nothing will kill the pace of
your book faster than lots of physical
description, however beautifully
its written. One good tip is to use
viewpoint here, and describe the scene
as the character experiences it, rather
than from an omniscient author stance.
How are they affected by it? Do they
like the scenery, or do they not even see
it because theyre preoccupied with the
nasty murder theyve just discovered? Do
they long to be somewhere else? Do they
hate its beauty or ugliness because it
reminds them of a great loss from their
past? Do they feel at home here, or are
they out of place? The outsider in a new
place is a great way to use setting and
create story. Bear in mind too that if
your character is very familiar with
a place, they wont necessarily notice
or think about the details of it. Im a
big fan of thinking about viewpoint,
and I feel that if youre deep in the
characters POV, the narrative voice
should reflect their thoughts. This
means using an appropriate voice
and register, but also only describing
things that would be significant for
them. Try this and you should find
that the pace and readability of
your writing improves.
Beautiful descriptions of places
are a classic darling that writers
dont like to kill (Ive certainly
been there!) But its such lovely
writing! Cant it stay? Not in a crime

novel, unless its doing at least two
things out of: creating mood, moving
the plot along, and illustrating
character. As soon as you get used to
cutting the nice but unnecessary things,
your work will move up a gear. If you
cant bear it cut something, put it into a
folder called extra bits. This will trick
yourself into thinking its not gone for
good (though 99 times out of 100 it
will never go back in).
Time and place

Setting can also be about your choice
of time period. If you want to write
a historical novel, its worth finding
a place and time that feel fresh. The
Tudor period, for example, has already
been well-covered. Is there a period you
can think of that hasnt been done? Its
worth noting that anything up to the
1980s counts as historical, for award
purposes. Should your book be set right
now, or slightly in the past or future?
Writing in the near future means you
have to world-build at the same time
as setting up your story, so it can get
tricky, and it can also change the focus
of the story. When writing the past
and perhaps more so when writing
the future, or an alternative reality, its
very easy to get bogged down in detail.
You did your research, or spent hours
working out your alternative world,
and you want to show off all this hard
work. But the reader wants the story.
The way out of this is to use viewpoint
again. Would your character be thinking
about the details of their daily life, or
who the king is, or how the apocalypse
happened? If you get this right, it can
actually add suspense when you hold
back information. The reader will be

wondering what you mean and what
happened, and will turn the pages to
find out. George RR Martin was once
reportedly asked about the grammar of
his imaginary language High Valyrian
he laughed and said hed only invented
the six words that appear in the books.
You might want to reflect your setting
through the language and dialect people
use but dont be tempted to overdo
this (unless you are Irvine Welsh).
Too much dialect can quickly get
wearing, or seem contrived. Its about
striking a balance between a flavour of
authenticity, and readability by a wider
audience. Authors with American deals
may find theyre asked to rewrite bits or
change words.
Imaginative territory
Finally, dont feel you have to use real
places for your books. Mine are set in
a fictional town called Ballyterrin (I
translated this out of the Irish, which
would roughly mean Border Town).
Although its similar in many ways
to my own home town, this means I
avoid writing about real people (eg the
mayor of the town), hopefully side-step
libel issues, and also have free rein in
changing the layout of the town to suit
my own purposes. Ballyterrin is much
more diverse population-wise, and also
more crime-ridden (though its real-life
counterpart does give it a run for its
money). Best of all, no one can ever
tell you that a street is in slightly the
wrong place. So as with all things
in writing fiction, your imagination
should be the driving force, and
setting should only be used to create
atmosphere or add to the story.
p74 Crime.indd 75
JANUARY 2016
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16/11/2015 16:32
CRIME
Crime file
he original crime writing

collective Murder Squad,
comprising crime fiction
heavyweights Margaret
Murphy, Ann Cleeves, Cath Staincliffe,
Chris Simms, Martin Edwards and
Kate Ellis, has colluded with six other
big names to publish The Starlings &
Other Stories (Graffeg): twelve tales
inspired by the work of West Wales
photographer David Wilson.
Davids atmospheric photographs
of the Pembrokeshire countryside
carry, in his own words, an eerie
sense of foreboding, and the staff
at Graffeg who had published a
couple of anthologies of Davids
work thought they would make
ideal images to accompany crime
fiction, explains Chris Simms, author
of the Jon Spicer series. Following
a chance meeting with Ann Cleeves,
the idea was hatched to pair stories
Eerie photographs have inspired a collaborative

Murder Squad crime anthology, reports Chris High
with images, rather than the other way

round. It was a challenge everyone in
Murder Squad was intrigued
by especially once we saw just
how much drama was captured
in each image.
The cast list for The Starlings
is an impressive array of writing
talent featuring not only the
six Murder Squad members
but also Christine Poulson,
Helena Edwards, Toby Forward,
Valerie Laws, Jim Kelly and
Mary Sharratt. How was the
process of deciding which story
to include in the anthology
undertaken? It was, purposefully,
kept free of constraint. Once each
member of Murder Squad had chosen
their accomplice, we all could pick
any image from Davids anthology,
Pembrokeshire regardless if that
choice clashed with another writers.
Excuse
me officer
Not sure where to go next with your crime novel? Sunday Times
bestseller and former police inspector Clare Mackintosh
answers your questions on law, forensics and procedure.
You dont mention what rank your detective is now (or at the
start of your series), so Im going to assume hes a detective
constable. He will have to have served at least a couple of years in
uniform when he first joined the job, before moving onto CID, so
you could arguably have him promoted in post to detective sergeant
a year or two later. It is possible to get promoted quickly I passed
my Inspectors board after six years service but think carefully
before you promote him too quickly. The higher the rank, the less
front-line action he can have without straying from reality,
so if authenticity is important to you, dont put a
detective chief inspector in an interview room with
a suspect. If you do choose to promote him quickly,
consider the impact that will have on his relationships
at work. Rapid promotion can cause resentment from
colleagues, and may require your protagonist to work
harder to prove himself as a good detective.
Crime-writers tip
Crime fiction is all about conflict, and one of the easiest
ways to get conflict into a scene is to include characters
whose goals are in opposition to each other. eg Jane wants
to escape; Bill wants to stop her. Sarahs keeping a secret;
Jess wants to discover the truth.
CL Taylor, whose novel The Lie is published
by Avon.
Am I right in thinking that the use of the word detective,

both as a form of address (eg what are you doing,
detective?) and in a characters name eg ...said detective Smith)
is purely an Americanism and would not be appropriate in a
UK-based story?
Peter Corbett, Frome
I see this in a great number of British police procedural

novels, and it never fails to annoy me! As a form of address,
as in the first of your examples, it has a formality and a stiffness
that I have never seen outside a court room or disciplinary panel.
Detectives and indeed officers in other roles are called by their
first names by their peers and by their supervisory officers. When
speaking to a senior officer one might use their first name, if the
relationship meant it was appropriate, but otherwise sir, maam,
boss, or guv would be used. The second of your examples uses
detective as a title, and I agree that this is not realistic for a British
setting, where the rank would be used as well, giving ...said
detective constable Smith.
Im working on a police procedural series set in Surrey
police. My protagonist is a straight-talking, ambitious
detective with designs on the next rank. How quickly can I
promote him, whilst retaining an authentic feel?
Emma Bassin, Guildford
76
As it turned out, only two writers

opted for the same image, and its
fascinating how their stories are so
different. Then it was simply a case
of lets meet a few months down the
line once all our stories are written.
Again, no boundaries were set on
what the stories could be about,
other than they had to contain an
element of crime.
Short stories are immensely
enjoyable to write as they give you
the chance to try new things away
from the more highly-pressured
environment of a novel. Stephen
King once said: A short story
should be like a kiss in the dark
from a stranger, and I can see his
point: there is a fleeting quality to
a good short story. It touches you
unexpectedly and is then gone so Mr
King was on the money yet again!
Website: www.murdersquad.co.uk
JULY 2015
p76 Crimefile.indd 76
16/11/2015 16:29
Lets get
physical
Explore the body horror genre with visceral tips
from author and editor Alex Davis
here are many kinds

of horror out there
psychological,
supernatural, monster
horror, chiller which
employ a whole host of devices to
unnerve their audience. But horror
is also a genre that at times prides
itself on being hard to read. The
design of some is to inspire revulsion
and disturb the reader as they work
through the story. Its not an easy
effect to pull in a book by any stretch,
but when done well it can stay with
the reader for a long time.
When the human form is at the
centre of this, we often use the term
body horror the idea of the human
body rebelling against its owner by way
of simply changing from human to
something else. If you think of movies
such as American Mary, Hellraiser and
The Fly youre probably in the right
ballpark three fine examples of body
horror on the big screen. But this can
be among the hardest horror to write,
not just because of the sometimes
disgusting scenes going on but also
because putting it down convincingly,
impactfully and, particularly, without
clichs presents a great range of
challenges. In this article, were going to
look at how you can write your body
78
JANUARY 2016
p78 Fantasy.indd 78
horror stories and scenes in a way that

will truly affect with your reader.
1 Start slowly and build

upwards
If you take one of the key themes of
body horror to be transformation,
youre approaching powerful stuff.
Its often a more powerful motif
and theme in the field than pain or
death for example, all the classic
monsters in horror dont necessarily
kill you but turn you into one of them
(zombies, werewolves and vampires
alike). And this element is something
that tends to unravel slowly in body
horror. The changes, at first, may
be small or almost unnoticeable in
the first instance. The symptoms in
their beginning phases may even be
easy to write off as known medical
conditions. But the key to the story
will often be escalation what is one
day something minor can grow and
grow into something truly horrific and
unpleasant. Move upwards in degrees
rather than making the transformative
phases too rapid a steady pace and
build is crucial.
2 Cause and effect

While the character may not be
aware immediately of what it is that
has prompted the strange journey

they find themselves upon, it is
important to get across to the reader
at some point what it is that
has begun the transmogrification
of their form. Bear in mind that
this could go many different ways
there might be some supernatural
cause, the body being taken over or
invaded by some malevolent spirit
or demon. It could be something
biological, an experimental virus
or a medicine gone wrong. There
might be some even stranger reason
behind it, something in the family
history, some kind of mutation... the
reason is entirely up to you, but it
has to be there. Things never happen
at random in horror stories. The
good thing about having this cause
there is also that it might feed into a
possible solution or cure for what is
happening to your protagonist.
3 Body, mind and soul

Its also vital to remember that the
element of transformation may also
have more than a physical side. Take
the classic The Fly for example
the changes were anatomical and
physiological, yes, but they also went
with alterations in behaviour and
psychology becoming more flylike
17/11/2015 12:03
FA N TA S T I C R E A L M S
in mannerism bit by bit.

These changes may simply be the
kind of depression, paranoia and
fear that naturally go along with the
bodily alterations.
But horror even when in its
most exterior form usually carries
an interior element too. Is the
change to your characters body
also accompanied by changes in
thought processes, falls or increases
in intelligence or cognitive function,
becoming more violent or dangerous,
mood swings and swift changes in
emotional state? All of these things are
possible developments in body horror.
4 The move towards

isolation
What body horror can have in
common with many other kinds of
horror is that the bodily changes
often result in the character becoming
increasingly isolated, withdrawing into
themselves and sometimes finding a
kind of morbid fascination with what
is happening to them.
At the beginning of the story they
may have some friends or family
around them, someone willing to
help and support them through
the nightmare that is about to
unravel. But be it the psychological
changes as mentioned above or pure
embarrassment or fear, there will be a
tendency to drive away anyone who
might help. A character dealing with
this kind of transformation alone
makes it all the more fearful for them.
Its a similar effect to survival horror
characters around the final individual
are picked off one by one until that
person is truly isolated and must face
their fears head on.
5 Where is the journey

heading?
One of the things that can make
body horror a challenge to write is
that it can very often veer towards the
unpleasant ending namely, whatever
started the metamorphosis cannot
actually be stopped and the lead has to
suffer it out to its logical conclusion.
If this is the case, then how do you
still make the story compelling and
the ending effective?
Is it all about the decline and the
suffering, as in the truly horrible
Thanatomorphose, one of the most
challenging body horror movies in
years? Is it about the fascination and

being drawn into the process for the
lead? Or are they still attempting to
escape whatever curse it is that afflicts
them and can they succeed in doing
so? Or can you deliver something truly
unexpected in your finale?
6 The power of description

And, of course, now we come to the
elephant in the room. Body horror
needs to be plotted thoroughly, as
does any kind of fiction, and its also
vital that we have a lead character that
we care about in some way, otherwise
all youre trying to present to the
readers is a gory shockfest. Again that
caring about could be sympathy for
an innocent person going through a
nightmare, or a bad guy getting their
just desserts for their dark actions
as long as we are invested in the
individual in some way.
But there is, in a sense, the
requirement to convey in some way
exactly what this body morphing
looks like.
Of course all writers are different,
and you might think that you can get
away without getting too much into
the unpleasant details. But then does
that truly make it body horror? The
clue is in the name; the focus is on
the body and the physicality. If youre
shy to get into it, you might be better
working in other areas of horror fiction.
With all that said, see the sidebars for
a few points that could come in really
helpful in making those rather more
difficult scenes effective.
Body horror is a subgenre of
horror that has enjoyed a certain cult
popularity over the years, and one
that retains a following, particularly
within the small press. They are often
more open to work that is more
horrific, darker and more brutal
than mainstream horror often is.
Of course, as per so many genres,
theres no point in having a crack at
writing in the field if its something
you simply have no interest in. But if
you like horror, and you would like
to have a go at something that has a
very human angle, both physical and
psychological, you could do much
worse. With a growing canon of work
in the field, and a style that is often
cutting edge and modern, this could
just be a subgenre to watch out for in
years to come.
p78 Fantasy.indd 79
GUIDELINES FOR
WRITING BODY HORROR
Try not to overdo synonyms.
One of the things that can make
body horror difficult to write is
that there are often very few
synonyms for key words you might
find yourself using. This can either
result in your overusing the same
word over and over again blood
would be a likely contender for
this kind of thing or go reaching
for some very strange-sounding
synonyms. We all know what
blood is, but lifeblood, sanguine,
vital fluid, cruor and haemoglobin
are perhaps pushing the limits of
what really works. Sometimes it
can be best just to restructure
your sentences, or use metaphor
or simile to evade either the
repetition or the overly loquacious.
How much do you want to linger?

You will know the lead character
you have, and the way they will
approach things. Some characters
might only want to look fleetingly
at the transformations, burying
their head in the sand. They might
eventually take a thorough look, and
when they do you cant duck away
from what is happening. The visual
aspect is important, but you might
also want to consider the other
senses are there any smells,
sounds, textures that go with the
adjustments the body is making
to itself? Also, if people see them,
what is their reaction? Our lead may
not be able to see things as clearly
as someone else...
Is there a shape to the

transformation? And what
are its stages?
Itll be hugely useful to go back to
you cause and effect at the start of
the story and explore this what
initially started the body horror
off, and how can that play into the
story as it wears on? Will it lead
to any particular traits, looks or
behaviours? You also really need to
think about some early small steps
in the transmogrification if youre
going to get your pacing right
79
17/11/2015 12:03
W R I T E R S W E B WAT C H
WRITERS
WEB
WATCH
I
n writing as in life, going

accidentally off piste can lead to
something really useful. Story
Planner (www.storyplanner.
com) is a new website launched
by Joanne Bartley. Joanne was
initially an instinctive writer, but a
screenwriting MA taught her the joys
of structuring a piece of work. She
developed an obsessive approach to
planning her own writing projects,
which include long and short fiction
and screenwriting, but with various
plans in notebooks, Word docs,
Excel spreadsheets and on bits of
paper, she wanted a way of keeping
all her plans in one place. The result
is Story Planner, a website designed
to help other writers keep all their
work together. It offers a variety of
planning templates that suit different
writers styles as well as varying styles
of writing, including Blake Snyders
Save the Cat screenwriting method;
the snowflake method for creating a
one-page outline; Michael Hauges
Six Stage Plot Structure (a variation
of the three-act structure and the
heros journey plan) and many more.
Similarly, there are log line planners,
synopsis plans, chapter plans,
character plans and setting plans.
Registered Story Planner users can
use one plan for free (ie save their
work in it). Premium membership
allows access to all the plans for $12
for three months or $40 for a year.
If you havent yet got to the
planning stage and instead are wanting
to play around a little and respond
to some prompts to see what might
fire your imagination, Kim Fleets
Writers Playdates (http://writ.rs/
writersplaydates) might be for you.
For thirty days, youll get a quotation,
80
JANUARY 2016
p80 Webbo.indd 80
Webbo has been scanning the virtual

world for solutions for writers
another online thesaurus.

a photograph and a prompt delivered
Also from Word Magic, Tag Journal
to your inbox. Kim calls them
(also 2.99) is a diary and notePlaydates because she emphasises the
taking iPad and iPhone app that links
fun of creativity. If your spontaneity
to iCloud. It has four tag settings:
has taken a hike and writing feels like
personal, research, travels and work.
a slog, for less than a tenner you could
On our trial run it was happy to
treat yourself to a month of playing.
accept and tag diary notes (timeline)
You never know, one of the dates
but it crashed on tagging a note and
might just end up turning into a
also when we tried to upload a
long-term relationship with a
photo or use the camera. I think
substantial writing project.
well wait for an update, and
Once youve got stuck
get on with some writing.
into a new project,
One of the dates might
finding the right words
just end up turning into
is key. The WriteRight
writing app from Word
a long-term relationship
Magic Software a
with a substantial
plain text, Markdownenabled writing app
writing project.
or iPad and iPhone that
links to Dropbox and iCloud
comes into its own with a
synonym finder. Once youve created
a document, and pressed the little
blue cog logo at the far right hand
side of the iPad or iPhone keyboard,
a tiny blue gear icon will appear
over words or phrases to which it
will offer meanings and alternatives.
As its an editing app, it will replace
your original word with one of its
alternatives if you tap it. Be careful
its not simultaneously running a
check for style or grammar and a test
run in the WM office suggested alias
as a synonym for known as which
may be correct but would have created
the phrase later alias Friern Hospital,
ie gobbledegook, if the word had been
tapped. But with careful use of the
find and replace option, it offers a
wide range of vocabulary suggestions,
including colloquial ones, and at
2.99 from the App Store, its a neat
word-finding tool if you dont have
16/11/2015 16:21
Have a Word
about the Office
M
COMPUTER CLINIC
PC trainer Greta Powell casts her eye over the

upgrade to many writers go-to software package
icrosoft released its most recent version of Microsoft Office,

which is now known as Office 2016 in July 2015. With
Word in use by a great deal of writers, now seemed as good
a time as ever to take a look at a few of its new features.
After downloading and installing it my first impression was what has
actually changed? But this is an initial impression, because once you
glance upwards and start to look at Words ribbon bar you notice it has
acquired new additions.
Help is at hand
The first is the rather large text box in the middle of the ribbon bar
intriguingly named Tell me what you want me to do. Was this the
return of Clippy the winking paperclip from earlier Word versions or
something completely new? It is exactly the same concept as Clippy but
as might be expected, superior in every way.
It really is a useful tool, as long as the appropriate search criteria is
typed in (as with everything knowing the right terminology always
helps). You simply type in something such as paragraph and a
comprehensive list of menu choices related to that particular search
query appear. Working with Tell me what you want me do makes
life much easier because its easy to access and much faster to use than
searching through help files or trawling online documents to
find an answer. It is very slick to use but over time Word
conundrums may occur that might cause it to falter.
Fact finding
Possibly Words Smart Lookup is not the most in-depth research

tool, but if you are constantly looking up data it may come in
handy. Simply highlight a word or a phrase in your text then right
click on it to select Smart Lookup which will then open up the
insights pane. As this is a Microsoft product it is no surprise to see
that Bing is being used to integrate searches from the web. It drags
in the relevant information from a number of sources including
Wiki articles, word definitions and information.
More for Mac users
This time round Mac users have not been ignored, with the new and
appropriately named Office 2016 for Mac giving them no excuse not
to upgrade. In fact most of the features mentioned above for Windows
computers are included. But some other rather useful features have also
been included and although it retains its unique Mac feel the whole look
of this version has been smartened up. It has finally had the Design tab
added to its ribbon bar, a nice tab which not only lets you brighten up your
document but lets you easily synchronise your layout, typefaces and any
colour schemes inside the document. The ribbon itself has been
overhauled and is a lot tidier than in previous versions. It has
been reorganised, with several tools being moved away
from the Home tab and rehoused in other new tabs. It
does look better but you will probably have to spend
If you have a
some time working out where the new locations
technical query for Greta,
are. For example, the new Insert tab is a pleasure
Google Docs is wonderful for online document
please email: info@
to work with, bringing together the tools used to
collaboration but with Word 2016 Microsoft
curveandlearn.com,
work with graphic elements such as charts, shapes,
finally provides a quick option to let one or more
or contact her via
pictures and other artwork.
people edit the same document at one time. For
www.curveandlearn.com
To purchase Microsoft Office for either PC or Mac
instance, if you and a co-author were working on a
go to www.microsoftstore.com where there are a number
book at exactly the same time then you would both be
of purchasing offers available. The long-awaited boxed
able to see those changes happening in real time. To turn
release of the Mac version finally became available in September.
on this feature you have to share the document via the share
pane. To set this up you go to the ribbon bar and on the very right
hand side of the bar there is a new share button which prompts you
to save the document to a shared folder* on the One Drive. Once the
document is saved this opens the share pane where you add any fellow
collaborators from your address book in the Invite People box. You
will then need to appoint them a permission to either view or edit the
document from the drop-down box. All you need to do then is to click
the Share button to distribute the document to any co-collaborators.
*In order for this process to work the folder has to be created as a shared
folder: http://writ.rs/sharefilesandfolders
Using the share feature lets you easily send out your document as a
pdf or a copy directly to someone. If you look towards the bottom of
the share pane you will see an option to Send as attachment. Choose
which option you want, either a copy or as a pdf, then add the email
address and simply press send.
???
GET CONNECTED!
Simpler file sharing
p81 tech.indd 81
JANUARY 2016
81
16/11/2015 16:18
HELPLINE
Helpline
Your writing problems

solved with advice from
Diana Cambridge
Email your queries to Diana (please include home-town details) at: diana@dianacambridge.co.uk or send them to: Helpline,
Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. She will answer as many letters as
she can on the page, but regrets that she cannot enter into individual correspondence. Publication of answers may take several months. Helpline
cannot personally answer queries such as where to offer work, or comment on manuscripts, which you are asked not to send.
When you become jaded with writing, which I seem to have done, is it
best to take a total break or just to try and power through? The thing
is, I have not had any successes lately (though I have had won one or two
competitions in the past) and the longer this goes on, the more jaded I get.
Emily J Smith, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
My best advice is to do a short, achievable course that hasnt

anything to do with creative writing and isnt difficult. You might
find one online (Reed offers many courses, some free or nearly free, some
Government funded, no age limit; www.reed.co.uk).You might pick a
holiday course in a second language, an office course which you know
youll be good at, or some basic therapy or art course. The thing is pick
something thats easy and enjoyable. The worst thing would be to take on
something stressful for example an IT course when you hate IT and know
youre not good at it! If you dont want online, pick a short course from your
local leisure centre or cookery school. Any kind of alternative to writing will
perk you up. It wont be long before you feel a lot less jaded and you may
even pick up some material for your writing.
Is it worth paying a PR person to try and make

my name better known, so people buy my books?
They are self-published but have good reviews. I write
under a nom de plume. I seem to be giving a lot away
and have not sold very many. How do writers get their
books reviewed in national magazines and newspapers?
Max Bowerman, Cropston, Leicester
They are usually either already successful, or have

just won a first award. Your question about paying a
PR person is interesting I have heard from friends of bad
experiences, with a lot of cash spent and not much gained
from it. Its hard for a PR person to do more than you can
yourself. You might, for example, be surprised by how easy
it can be for your local bookshop to give you a reading, or
a desk, at their premises. Even if self-published, they could
still be interested its the content, and the fact that you
are local, which is the draw. When it comes to reviews, all
you need to do is what the PR person would do send out
your book, plus a press release, to as many likely magazines
and newspapers as possible, plus local radio stations. This
does mean a lot of posting and printing, but will compare
very well with the money youd give to a PR company.
Social media helps of course, and if its not your forte, this is
where it could be worth paying someone to do this for you.
Suggest an hourly rate, and pick a local IT person. They
dont really have to know a lot about publishing more
about using social media. Another tip is to offer yourself
as an interviewee to everyone you contact. When someone
takes this up, drop everything to do the interview!
Make publicity your first priority, and you could do as
well as a PR professional.
If I publish my novel as a CD, is it best to hire an actor to read or to read myself? I am not
nervous when reading to family but am nervous when I think of doing this for the world at large.
Also, I am unsure what to stress and what to downplay. The novel is a mystery, with some modified
violent scenes.
Rhodri Lewis, Cardigan West Wales
It would be ideal if you could read your own story, yet if your reading isnt excellent, you dont do
yourself any favours. Either way you might have to invest some cash, either by getting some voice
training, or by paying an actor to read for you (which wont be cheap). One way round this is to add a
personal touch by introducing your story in just a couple of minutes then having the actor read for you.
A good actor can bring life to any story. So you could maximise your chances this way. You might try
performance courses at your local university they may have students who would welcome the opportunity
to read. This would build up their experience and their portfolio but make sure you have the option to
choose your preferred voice.
82
JANUARY 2016
p82 helpline.indd 82
16/11/2015 16:14
G O I N G TO M A R K E T
I have retired from my career as a nurse attached to a GP surgery. Ive

always loved writing though have had nothing published as yet, apart from
letters in magazines. Would there be a market in writing about health? I notice
that there are health columns in every single magazine, and some newspapers.
Since I have spent my career giving advice in as simple terms as I can, I do feel I
could be a success at this.
Alison Judge, Beccles, Suffolk
I think youd have to specialise in one area of health say eating problems,
sexual health, weight problems, sleep difficulties and make this your own.
General health advice is there in magazines, but isnt as interesting as one topic.
Also, people often look up health matters on the internet (although my experience
is that GPs dont advise logging on to health forums, since there can be a lot of
anecdotal advice and incorrect advice) and they always look up a specific
problem. So specialising could be an asset for you. The key would
be to compose, say, three columns first, plus some biog of you
and a picture of you, and use this as your marketing plan.
Calling yourself something like The Sleep Mentor or
Diet Nurse or something similar may help though if
a magazine likes the idea, they may prefer to use
their own tag. Youre right in that people are
very interested in health and better health
and new research is constantly being
unveiled. Yet down-to-earth advice
can be hard to come by. Use, say,
five tips or dos and donts for
each question and answer
you deal with.
My homeless character gives birth to her rapist stepfathers child she

wants no one to know who she is and has no means of identification on
her. How can she register and christen her baby?
Andrea Yarnall Dakin, Holywell, Flintshire
No information about the father is necessary to

register the birth. His name doesnt have to be
mentioned. The mother can register the baby in her own
name, or choose a name for the baby. The registrar will
need to know the full names of the mother, and her birth date
and place of birth. Online information says it would be useful if supporting
documents of identification were brought along if there are none at all
then an official decision would have to be made, perhaps based on precedent.
However, if you say your character wants no one to know who she is, possibly
she simply invents a name and birthday for herself, or says she suffers from
amnesia and cant remember. There is a form of address known as no fixed
abode which may be used. In terms of having the child christened, its unlikely
that a Church of England vicar would refuse to christen any child. Thats easier.
But on your plot structure, think clearly on the motive for the mother wanting
the baby registered and christened, without giving her own details. If she makes
up details, then her child wont have an accurate birth certificate (which may
cause problems for the child in later life) does this matter to your character?
When the baby is christened, the vicar will of course be aware that she is the
mother of the child again, does this matter to your character? I have given
you the English laws, but they are slightly different in Scotland and Northern
Ireland. In Scotland a birth card issued by the maternity hospital is a form of
identification. This gives the babys time and date of birth. Of course, your
homeless character may not have given birth in hospital. An interesting plot!
p82 helpline.indd 83
Getting
competitive
Patrick Forsyth suggests that
competition entry is worth a go
s I write this piece I have recently

received Writing Magazines supplement
about coming competitions. Its useful
information. Some writing groups hang their
whole programme round it, picking topics that
allow their members to produce something
right for the group and ideal as an entry for a
particular competition.
Those interested in writing seem to have
mixed views about competitions. Some happily
write as a hobby and have no interest in being
published or entering competitions. Others
twitch at the entry fees, though maybe an
attitude of speculating to accumulate is to be
recommended. Such fees are often little more
than the price of a coffee and cake. I feel
competitions can be particularly useful in a
number of ways.
First, writing to a brief, in this case the
competition rules, is a discipline that helps
develop writing skills. Choosing competitions
carefully can focus you on areas where you feel
you need to practice and develop. Secondly,
a win, or a number of wins, can be added to
your writing credentials. At least in part, it
may persuade an editor that you are worth
commissioning to write for a fee. Last, but by no
means least, you might win something useful.
Often there are several prizes and, whether its
cash or something else, it can be worthwhile;
though strictly it needs to be borne in mind
that for a writer earning something from their
writing, a cash prize is taxable.
If you have not yet done so, perhaps you
should find a competition that
suits you and have a go. Who
knows, maybe you will be able
to add something positive
to your writing CV and
bank a useful cheque.
JANUARY 2016
83
16/11/2015 16:14
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19/10/2015 16:46
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15/09/2015 12:47
Writers News
1/4 page
16/11/2015 10:04
RESEARCH TIPS
Writing
experimentation
Apply scientific research techniques to your writing
by following advice from Dr Tarja Moles
ou may remember doing

experiments in science lessons at
school and think that they are
no longer relevant to you as a
writer. However, experimentation is not
restricted to laboratories, but can be useful
in finding out about all sorts of things in
virtually any context. For example, recipe
writing, gardening tips and basically any
kind of how-to writing may have its basis in
experimental research.
An experiment can be understood as
being part of the so-called scientific method
which simply refers to the process of
systematically exploring the world. Here are
some steps for a basic method:
recipe, you could explore whether baking

powder will affect the cakes density and
your hypothesis could be: Using more
baking powder will make the cake lighter.
As you can see, this statement is an
informed guess based on previous research
and observation, and its also testable.
the experiment, such as a power cut,

being distracted by the telephone ringing
or the kitchen temperature being higher
than normal due to a hot summers day.
Additional data may prove useful in the
future if you need to revise your hypothesis
and rerun your experiment.
3 Design the experiment
5 Accept or reject the hypothesis
Now that you know what you want to

Once youve done your experiment, analyse
test, design your experiment. Its absolutely
the results. If everything went as you had
essential to devise it so that it tests what you
anticipated, you can accept your hypothesis.
want it to test. This may seem like stating
This doesnt, however, mean that you have
the obvious, but youd be surprised how easy
proven anything: a single experiment could
it is to drift off course.
have contained errors and repeating it might
Pay attention to your variables, which are
not give you the same results. Therefore,
the elements or factors that you can
your results merely support your hypothesis.
If your hypothesis was incorrect, reject it.
1 Observe and do background research change or control in your experiment.
Only experiment by altering one
This is not a sign of a failure, though.
Before you start the actual
variable at a time, so theres no
In some cases its merely an indication
experimentation, spend some time on
confusion over which one has
that you need to rethink your
background research and observation. If
hypothesis and start again.
someone has already researched your topic affected the outcome.
In the cake recipe example, the
Often accepting and rejecting the
and found some answers to your research
hypothesis is not black and white. You can
question, take advantage of this knowledge variable youd alter would be the
amount of baking powder. All the other
always decide the degree to which your
and build on that. Theres no point in
factors in the cake making, including the
hypothesis can be accepted and/or rejected
trying to reinvent the wheel.
other ingredients and the baking methods,
and continue from that basis.
If you were trying to develop the perfect
would be kept the same.
chocolate cake recipe, you could research
other peoples recipes and use your own
6 If necessary, start again
previous attempts at cake baking as your
4 Test the hypothesis
If you rejected your hypothesis completely
starting point. By combining these sources
or partially, consider what youve learned,
Now its time to conduct the experiment.
of information, you could conclude that you Record everything that you do and what
formulate a new hypothesis and start again.
have an almost-perfect recipe and its only the happens during the experiment. You could
If you found the cakes texture too
cakes texture thats a little too dense. Youd
also record any observations that are not
dense, you could continue tweaking the
then try to figure out how to make it lighter. directly related to the hypothesis, such as
recipe, for instance, by using less flour or
unusual variables that you have no control
more whisked egg white or mixing the
over. Make sure you keep all the data and
2 Formulate a hypothesis
ingredients together more carefully. And
so the experiments would continue until
dont be tempted to discard results if they
Formulating a hypothesis helps you define
dont support your hypothesis.
your problem in a single question. But
you found just the right combination of
Experimenting
When testing the chocolate cake
what exactly is a hypothesis? Simply put, a
ingredients and baking methods.
with your
recipe, you would at the very
hypothesis refers to a possible solution to
The good thing is that when you
writing process
If youd like to
start again, youre not starting from
minimum jot down the amount of
a problem thats based on knowledge and
experiment with
baking powder used and what
research. In other words, its an informed
scratch but are building on your
your writing habits and
past experiment(s). When things
the cakes density was like.
guess of what will happen when you
become more productive,
dont go to plan, remember
You could also make a note
do your experiment. Additionally, and
Monica Leonelles book
Write Better, Faster gives
what Thomas A Edison said: I
of the way you prepared the
very importantly, a hypothesis has to be
advice on how to experiment.
have not failed. Ive just found
cake and whether something
something that can be tested.
10,000 ways that wont work.
unusual happened during
In the case of the perfect chocolate cake
p85 research.indd 85
JANUARY 2016
85
16/11/2015 16:12
AU T H O R P R O F I L E
STEWART BINNS
TV producer and military fiction author
Stewart Binns knows telling stories can change
lives including his own, he tells Margaret James
he historical novelist
Stewart Binns already
had a successful career
in television, winning
BAFTA and Grierson
awards for his documentary work,
when he decided to try writing
fiction. He is now a bestselling
novelist. He and his wife Lucy are
the co-founders of Big Ape Media,
an independent production and
distribution company, and they offer
a range of services to writers, too.
But Stewarts journey to
success hasnt always been an easy
one. Many writers come from
backgrounds that are in some
way connected with the arts, but
this wasnt the case with Stewart,
who was born into very humble
circumstances in Burnley.
Im certainly an oddity in my
family, he says. While I was
growing up, there were no books
in the house thats except for
Charles Buchans football annual
and I was very limited at my
secondary modern school. At
twelve, I still couldnt read and
was good only at sport and at
woodwork.
So how did Stewart end up
becoming a novelist? I had
already written some non-fiction,
he explains. This was mainly in
the form of coffee-table books to
accompany some of my television
documentaries, such as Britain at
War in Colour.
While working in television, I
came to understand the power of
words, especially when spoken by
some of the very talented actors who
had narrated my documentaries,
such as Brian Cox, John Thaw, Ian
McKellen and John Hurt.
When we moved to Somerset
in 2006, I decided I wanted to
86
JANUARY 2016
p86 Author Profile.indd 86
spend more time with our twin

boys Charlie and Jack, who are
now ten. So I cut down on my
television work and started to look
for something I could do from
home. Although I had never had
any previous ambition to become
a novelist, I began to wonder if I
could write fiction, which seemed to
be a logical extension of what I had
always done tell stories.
These days, I spend about half my
time writing fiction. But, as a deadline
approaches, it can be much more. I
still make television documentaries.
Luckily, Im also a workaholic, which
is certainly helpful.
Stewarts new novel The Darkness
and the Thunder is the second in
a series set during the First World
War. He has also written novels
about various conflicts during the
Middle Ages. What does he find
particularly interesting about writing

stories set during wartime the
mechanics of battle, the human cost,
the challenges with which he can
present characters when they are put
in very difficult situations?
Wars have always been the
cleaving points of history, he says,
and this is still the case. Wars
show us at our human best and
at our worst. Wars are raw, cruel
and savage, but histories of warfare
are also full of wonderful tales of
bravery and self-sacrifice. I was a
soldier for a while, so I know what
it is like to be at the sharp end
of a conflict.
Does Stewart plan his stories, or
does he wait for his characters to
show him the way?
Real events and real people
provide the narrative structure of my
fiction, so I dont really need to plan
anything, he told me. The events
of 1915, which is when The Thunder
and the Darkness is set, are out there
for everybody to read. Most of my
characters are real (or very close to
real) people. One of the characters in
The Darkness and the Thunder is my
grandfather, albeit thinly disguised.
STUARTS TOP TIPS

If you wish to become a successful novelist,
keep going and always remember that the
fact you want to write is enough, because this
means there is a book in you.
Learn the craft skills to help you get your work
on to the page in a way that is readable.
Get help and advice from people who know
what theyre talking about, but not from
people trying to sell you a formula, because
formulas dont work.
Storytelling is an instinctive gift we all have
and writing is a series of disciplines so learn
these disciplines.
16/11/2015 16:06
AU T H O R P R O F I L E
also love my last-but-one novel The

As for the fictional events in
Shadow of War because I know I am
my work I like to make them up
a much better writer now, although
as I go along. I love to get myself
I also know Im still a journeyman
boxed into a corner because I enjoy
learning his trade.
thinking of ways to get myself out
When Im on a roll, I write
of it again.
all the time. But normally my
When Im writing about a
best times for writing are at
character, I am that character
night after half a bottle of
and I am there. I can see
claret. As for my working
everything around me. I
I began to wonder if I
methods I wrote
never write about a place
could write fiction,
Conquest long-hand, on
Ive never visited. Detail
one side of the paper
matters very much to
which seemed to be a
only. Ive still got the
me and Im not sure if I
logical extension
original first draft,
could write at all without
of what I had always
which is a stack two feet
the internet! I use Google
high! Im now a twoEarth and Google Images
done tell stories.
finger typist.
and so on, because these
Stewart has a website that
help me to get as close as
is full of information about
possible to places, scenes
him and his work, but hes not
and events.
keen on social networking. I call
My personal favourite among
the two most popular platforms
my novels is my first one: Conquest.
Twatter and Faceache and I have
This is partly because I didnt think
a presence there only because Im
Id ever finish it. It took me about
bullied into it, he says. Ive often
six years to learn the craft skills I
thought of launching a website called
needed to write fiction, and I still
inconsequentialbollocks.com.
have fourteen drafts of chapter 1. I
WIN!
It would probably make me

a billionaire.
What is Stewarts primary motivation
in writing fiction to make sense of
the world, to explain him to himself?
Is it something he needs to do, is it an
escape from real life?
I just love telling stories, he says.
I want people to be as enlightened,
moved, inspired and excited as I was
and still am by books, television and
the cinema. These things changed
my life, and nowadays I want to be
able to change other peoples lives,
too. Sometimes, I do! Recently, I
had a message from a man in Perth,
Western Australia. Hed been given
Conquest by a friend God knows
how the book had got as far as
Western Australia and he told me
that even though he was 38, hed
never read a book before. He added
that Conquest had changed his life
forever and that now he couldnt
stop reading. Just one email like that
made all the angst that goes with
being a writer worthwhile.
Website: www.stewartbinns.com
0
3E0WON
B
TO
300
New subscribers
short story and poetry
competitions 2015
Closing date 31 January 2016
If you started your subscription

to Writing Magazine anytime in 2015,
we have two competitions open
now, just for you!
IN CASH PRIZES
& PUBLICATION
The short story competition is for stories of

1,500-1,700 words on any subject or theme.
The poetry competition invites poems of up
to 32 lines, again on any subject or theme.
ENTER NOW
E!
First prize in each is 150, with publication

in Writing Magazine for the winning entries
NO ENTRY FE
These competitions do not require any entry fee or form.

Simply send your entry, labelled New Subscribers Competition 2015
(Short Story or Poetry) by email to writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk or by post to:
New Subscribers Competition 2015, Writing Magazine, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD.
1/2 page comp ad.indd 1
p86 Author Profile.indd 87
16/11/2015 09:46
JANUARY 2016
87
16/11/2015 16:06
WRITERS NEWS
WRITERSNEWS
Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets,
opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.
Screenwriters see red

BY TINA JACKSON
Red Planet Pictures will launch its search for

a new drama series writer to develop for TV
on 4 January.
The competition is for sixty-minute TV
drama screenplays. The winner of the Red
Planet Prize will receive 5,000 to have their
script optioned and developed by Red Planet
Pictures, and will also have six months of
intensive development with a professional script
editor, as well as professional masterclasses with
stellar scriptwriters including Andrew Davies,
Tony Jordan and Sarah Phelps.
Belinda Campbell, who is head of drama
at Red Planet Pictures, said: The Red Planet
Prize is about finding hidden writing talent

and giving them the opportunity to develop
their skills through an unrivalled mentoring
scheme. Red Planet Pictures is all about the
writer and we are committed to finding new
voices, original stories and ambitious scripts
from upcoming talent.
Red Planets head of development, Judith
King, added: Were looking for ideas that burst
with character, people and worlds weve never
seen before, new spins on genre or totally new
genres! But most importantly ideas that are
deeply truthful and personal to the writer
stories that only they can tell.
A chance to write
Writer Kit de Waal is funding a fully-paid
scholarship for the creative writing MA at
Birkbeck, University of London.
The Kit de Waal Scholarship is for one
student to study part time on the MA
between 2016 and 2018, and includes a
travel bursary. It is targeted at writers with
disadvantaged backgrounds who would
not otherwise be able to do the course.
There are people of real talent out
there who look at the cost of doing a
creative writing masters and say no
chance, said Kit, whose debut novel
My Name is Leon will be published by Penguin/Viking in 2016. Too
often university education is for the few the best doesnt always rise
to the top. So I wanted to start this scholarship to give someone the
opportunity to develop their craft, to learn from the best, to take that
chance. Im convinced theres an exciting writer with a new distinctive
voice whos ready to take the next step. If youre thinking about
applying I would say Go on, be brave. Its a privilege to be involved in
your journey.
Novelist Julia Bell, course director at Birkbeck, said: We believe that
the development of talent and ambition should not be the privilege of
those who can afford it.
Shortlisted candidates will be offered the opportunity to take up
mentoring and support from Spread the Word, The Literacy Consultancy,
the Jo Unwin Literary Agency, The Word Factory and Penguin. Birkbeck
University does not require MA candidates to have a first degree.
To apply for the Kit de Waal Scholarship, writers should apply for
the Birkbeck MA in creative writing, clearly indicating that they are
applying for the Kit de Waal Scholarship. Include up to 5,000 words
of creative writing and a personal statement of up to 1,000 words. Also
fill in the funding form, available on the website.
Applications close on 15 February.
Website: http://writ.rs/kitdewaal
88
JANUARY 2016
p88 News.indd 88
To apply, writers
should submit
the first ten pages
of their script, a
half-page outline
of how the series
would work, and
a brief (no more than half-page) biog. Submit
through the website. Shortlisted writers will be
asked to submit a full script.
Submissions will open on 4 January and
close on 22 January.
Website: www.redplanetpictures.co.uk/
the-red-planet-prize
A Laureates legacy
The Edwin Morgan Award, which is
awarded biennially, is open for entries
to the 2016 competition.
The Award, which is run by The
Edwin Morgan Trust, is given in
honour of the Scottish Laureate who
died in 2010, who was known for his
support and encouragement of new
poets. The 20,000 Edwin Morgan
Award replaces the Edwin Morgan
Poetry Competition, which ran between
2008 and 2012.
The Award is given either for a
published or unpublished collection.
A published collection must be at least 32 pages, published in the
two years before the award. An unpublished collection will have a
minimum of 25 and a maximum of 50 poems. All poems may be
written in English, Scots or Gaelic (Gaelic poems must provide an
English translation). Poets with published collections should be no
older than thirty on 1 January of the year of its publication. Poets
with unpublished collections should be no older than thirty on 1
January of the year of the award. To enter, poets must be either born
in Scotland, resident in Scotland for the last two years, brought up
in Scotland or have a Scottish parent.
Three copies of a published book or unpublished manuscripts
(hard copies) should be submitted. Manuscripts must be typed
on numbered pages. Include an SAE, full contact details, and a
completed entry form, which may be downloaded from the website.
The closing date is 1 March 2016.
Details: Edwin Morgan Poetry Award, Scottish Poetry Library,
Crichtons Close, Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DT;
website: www.edwinmorganaward.com
16/11/2015 15:27
WRITERS NEWS
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
On the road with a

roof over your head
BY TINA JACKSON
MMM, The Motorhomers Magazine, is Britains bestselling motorhome

and motorcaravan magazine and celebrates fifty years in 2016.
The monthly magazine is aimed at the experienced or first-time
motorhomer. Written by motorhomers for motorhomers, MMM is full
of inspiring motorhome travel features, comprehensive road tests, owners
reports, news and in-depth reviews, said travel editor Helen Wherin.
Readers typically either own a motorhome or campervan of their own or
are interested in buying one.
MMM has an extensive and very popular travel section featuring
inspirational, engaging and in-depth motorhome touring features, usually
over five or six pages. MMM usually carries seven such travel features
in each issue, said Helen. Im very interested to hear from writers with
pitches for motorhome touring articles in the UK and France, Spain,
Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Germany and Austria.
Helen is looking for highly

inspirational, engaging, well-written
features, undertaken within the last six
months, reflecting the writers experience
of an area. She welcomes articles for
consideration for publication.
Features should be 1,900-2,300
words (not including the necessary
fact file information), be written in
the first person and be accompanied
by 25-30 high quality photographs.
Photographs are of equal importance
and need to be of very high quality.
There are other requirements in
MMMs guidelines, which will be
sent on request.
Helen wants pieces that will encourage readers to travel where the writer
has been. Im looking for travel articles which will make the reader go
Wow, I want to go there... Thus, pictures are very, very important, too.
Send initial enquiries by email with information about the destination
you are interested in writing about and its target readership.
Payment is 80 per published page to a maximum of 400 per article.
Details: email: mmmtravel@warnersgroup.co.uk;
website: www.outandaboutlive.co.uk
Small mag beats big names

Independent British online magazine Holdfast has beaten
heavyweight competition from Interzone and Lightspeed to win
the British Fantasy Award for best magazine.
For us as editors its a truly unprecedented, amazing and
lovely thing, said Laurel Sills, who co-edits Holdfast with Lucy
Smee. We were genuinely not expecting to win we were up
against some really big and established magazines and thought
it was amazing just to be shortlisted with them. Anyone who
was at the ceremony will vouch for how amazed we were.
Holdfast was conceived after Laurel and Lucy shared
a caravan at the SciFi Weekender in Wales, and is now
approaching Issue #8. I write fantasy and work in publishing,
and Lucy is a film archivist, said Laurel. I started going to fantasy conventions and loved being
part of such a great, loving community. Holdfast wants to celebrate writing, and to address
what Laurel and Lucy noted as perceptions of the fantasy community. I felt there was a clichd
view of what a fantasy fan was, and we wanted something that looked current and accessible
attractive and easy to negotiate. We also wanted to look at the idea that scifi and fantasy isnt
diverse enough, and look at why that is.
Each quarterly issue is themed. Holdfast has an open submissions policy, and will publish
around 6/7 stories depending on what they receive. We want the stories in Holdfast to be
good writing, saying something interesting. We dont want to reinforce negative stereotypes.
Scifi and fantasy can be very relevant, looking at social issues through a detached lens,
allowing people to look at something in a different way.
For next issue Laurel and Lucy are looking for work that explores love, sex and romance.
It would be lovely to see more examples of diverse relationships,
for instance other than relationships between white heterosexual
people. Fiction should be between 100 and 5,000 words,
formatted in house style (1.5 spacing, doc or rtf files). The closing
date is 15 January.
Whatever the theme, all submissions for Holdfast have to be spec
fic. Its an umbrella term really, from magic realism all the way
through to hard scifi. Anything thats not mainstream. Anything
with an odd element to it.
Holdfast is run as a labour of love. We dont make money from
Holdfast and we do it in our spare time, said Laurel. Last year we did
a crowd-funded anthology so we could split all the profits equally
between the contributors. It wasnt pro rates but it was better than
nothing and people seemed to really appreciate it. We cant promise
it will be successful but we will do everything we can. Im hoping the
BFA win will bring more readers and writers to the site.
Website: www.holdfastmagazine.com
p88 News.indd 89
COMPETITION
Short, brief or both
Artificium, the journal of new fiction
and poetry, is inviting entries for two
creative writing competitions.
Short Stories is a competition for
short fiction between 2,000 and 8,000
words in any genre. The winner will
receive 300, and a prize pot of at least
100 will be shared between up to
four runners-up.
In Brief is a contest for writing
between 500 and 1,000 words, which
may be flash fiction, poetry or anything
else. The winner will get 150 and up to
100 will be shared by 1-4 runners-up.
All winners will be published
in Artificium.
A template for submissions is provided
online but writers who dont want to
use it should type in a readable font,
lay their entry out clearly and provide
contact details, title and wordcount at
the beginning of their entry, and also
provide a brief biography. All entries
must be original and unpublished.
Writers may enter as many times
as they like, but each piece may only
be entered in one category. All entries
should be made through the website.
There is a fee of 5 for UK entrants
and 6 for overseas entrant, which may
be paid by PayPal as part of the online
submission system.
The closing date is 5 February 2016.
Website: www.artificium.co.uk
JANUARY 2016
89
16/11/2015 15:27
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Cycling Active has
been relaunched
by publishers Time
Inc and has a new
look. Acting editor
Garry CowardWilliams welcomes
freelances with
high-quality road
cycling coverage.
Details: Leon
House, 233 High
Street, Croydon
CR9 1HZ; email:
cycling@
timeinc.com;
website: www.
cyclingweekly.
co.uk
Swanwick Writers
Summer School
has launched its
own gift vouchers.
Starting from 25
and tailored to the
recipient, vouchers
can be redeemed
against the cost
of full or part-time
attendance of the
summer school in
August. Vouchers
can be obtained
through the
Support Us page
on the website
or by emailing
treasurer@
swanwick
writersschool.
org.uk
Website:
www.swanwick
writersschool.
org.uk
The Royal Society
selected Gaia
Vince as winner
of its Winton
Prize for Science
Books 2015, for
Adventures in the
Anthropocene, a
close-up look at
the most pressing
ecological issues
facing the planet,
and the people
who are using
science to
solve them.
I became a
connoisseur of that
nasty thud
a manuscript
makes when it
comes through the
letter box.
James Herriot
90
JANUARY 2016
p90 News/FOW.indd 90
UK NON-FICTION MARKET
A splendid opportunity for non-fiction
BY TINA JACKSON
Splendid Publications is the

new boutique non-fiction
imprint of Splendid Books.
We publish non-fiction,
books that we love reading
ourselves and hope will
appeal to a wide audience,
said publisher Shoba Ware.
For example, William and
Kates Britain by Claudia
Joseph is a colourful,
glossy guide to the haunts
of the Duke and Duchess
of Cambridge which
appeals to just about all
ages. Who doesnt love the royals?!
Shoba set up Splendid Publications in September
2014. My business partner Steve Clark wanted to enter
into a slightly different area of media such as marketing
and digital training, whereas I wanted to continue
down the old-fashioned publishing route, said Shoba.
Therefore we each set up our own imprints, although
we continue to successfully run Splendid Books together
as well. I have a journalistic background I used to
work as a reporter then deputy TV editor on The Sun
newspaper as well as in television.
Splendid Publications is small but growing slowly,
said Shoba. Were taking on more staff gradually and
publishing more books. Well expand but will always be
a boutique publishing house.
Splendid Publications will only publish titles that
Shelley survives
A lost poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley has been
acquired by Oxford Universitys Bodleian
Library. The 172-line A Poetical Essay on
the Existing State of Things is the heart of an
anonymously published pamphlet, of which
the Bodleian has acquired, for an undisclosed
sum, the only known surviving copy. The
poem, together with an accompanying essay
and notes was written between 1810-11,
when Shelley was in his first year at Oxford.
The work shows Shelley afire with student
radicalism, attacking the abuse of the press,
corrupt political institutions and war. He
turns his anger on the cold advisers of yet
colder kings who coolly sharpen miserys
sharpest fang
regardless of the poor
mans pang.
The twenty-page
pamphlet will become
the 12 millionth work
to be added to the
Bodleian Library, and
will be made freely
available online.
really appeal to Shoba. How

many titles well publish really
depends upon what lands
on my desk. If an amazing
manuscript presents itself and
I feel I can work with the
author, then I wont limit the
number of books we publish
in any one year.
The initial treatment has
to grab Shoba and her team
of trusted readers: shes looking for books with wide
appeal that will sell in quantity. If Im hooked within
the first three chapters of a book and my readers concur,
then we usually know we want to proceed and see if we
can reach a deal.
She is very happy to hear from authors with
potentially Splendid titles. But if you have a good
story to tell bear in mind Splendid Publications deals
in non-fiction alone then go for it. The best way is
to email me directly and attach a clear introduction
and synopsis of the book. Im happy to receive all
submissions and reply to all enquiries but obviously
there are no guarantees.
Splendid Publications are issued in hardback,
paperback and ebook for all platforms. Payment varies.
Sometimes we pay a small advance then a share of the
royalties. If we dont pay an advance, the royalties share
can be as high as 35% which is generous.
Details: email: shoba@splendidpublications.co.uk;
website: www.splendidbooks.co.uk
The White prize for sci-fi writers

Every year the free-to-enter James
White Award welcomes entries of
stories by non-professional writers.
The competition, which is run
in honour of James White, one of
Irelands most successful sci-fi writers,
offers a first prize of 200, and the
winners story is published in leading
UK science fiction magazine Interzone.
All entries must be short science
fiction stories under 6,000 words.
Stories must be original and
unpublished, and not written by professional writers (ie, in
this case, writers with three story story sales to a qualifying
market, or one novel sale to a qualifying market). The
writers name must not appear on the manuscript. Entry is
free, and writers may enter only one story.
Manuscripts should be double spaced, and must not
include the writers name. The story title and page number
should appear in a header on each page. A completed online
submission form must accompany each page.
The closing date is 24 January 2016.
Website: www.jameswhiteaward.com
16/11/2015 15:30
WRITERS NEWS
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL
MARKET
Eco concerns
JENNY ROCHE
A quarterly journal concerned with

environmental issues, Earth Island
Review needs freelance writers who can
write distinctive stories that anticipate
environmental concerns before they
become pressing problems.
We want stories that surprise, provoke,
entertain our readers and explore new
territory overlooked by other publications,
says editor Jason Mark.
Topics covered in the journal range
across the whole gamut of environmental
issues including environment-related film,
music and books. Technical or academic
reports will not be considered but stories are welcomed of individuals
and communities successfully involved in environmental concerns. These
should not, however, be so localised that they would not have an interest or
implication for readers around the world. The journal has an international
readership which is both educated and environmentally savvy.
Jason prefers a query first before submitting a story. Say why the story
is newsworthy, mention any specific angles you would cover and who
you will interview. Provide as much detail as you can and include two or
three examples of your most relevant published writing. You will only be
contacted if your work is to be considered for publication and anything
submitted by post cannot be returned.
Payments range from 25 per word for shorter dispatches of 1,2001,500 words up to $750-$1,000 for an in-depth feature story. Reports
are published online five days a week and payments here are $50-$100.
It is recommended you aim for an online submission if you are new to
reporting or writing. Fresh ideas are always sought.
For both print and online queries email: submissions@earthisland.org
Website: www.earthisland.org
On the rocks
Testimonies of the Rocks: The Hugh Miller
Writing Competition is for work inspired by
the geological and landscape writing of the
19th-century Scottish nature writer Hugh Miller,
who was a self-taught geologist.
The competition, which is organised by
partners including The Friends of Hugh Miller
and the Scottish Geodiversity Forum, is in two
categories: under-16 and adults. Prizes for the
free-to-enter competition are being provided by
the partners, and have yet to be announced.
Entries may be in any written format,
including fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and
must be directly inspired by Hugh Millers geographical or landscape
writing, and must celebrate Scottish geology and landscapes.
Entries in the 16-and-under category should be no longer than 200
words. Entries in the adult category may be up to 1,000 words. All
entries must be original and unpublished. Send entries as Word or pdf
attachments by email. The writers name must not appear on the entry
itself. Include contact details in the submission email.
Details: email: competition@scottishgeodiversityforum.org;
website: www.scottishgeology.com/hughmiller
new book, Dull Men of Great Britain

(Ebury Press) by Leland Carson,
assistant vice president of the Dull
Mens Club, pays tribute to the president of
the UK Roundabout Society; the chap who
tours Britain taking photographs of hedges;
the owner of more than 300 vacuum cleaners
and men who collect lawnmowers and bricks plus 35 others.
Leland and a friend Grover Click, both living in New York at the
time, set up a website with the message that its OK to be dull. After
they published a calendar featuring the dull men who got in touch
with them, Leland was asked to write a book.
The book, which also features the owner of the worlds biggest
traffic cones collection, and the founder of the Apostrophe
Protection Society, costs 8.99.
Don Quixote, Daenerys Targaryen and
Oedipus have turned out to be the literary names
which people have trouble in pronouncing.
When digital audiobook retailer Audible held
a survey of 2,000 people, Don Quixote was the
name most commonly mispronounced by 44
percent of participants.
For the record, its Don-Key-Hoh-Tee, not
Don Quicks-Oat.
The study followed Harry Potter author JK
Dena... Danny...
Rowlings recent disclosure that Voldemort is
Dragon Lady
pronounced Vol-De-Mor with a silent T.
Daenerys Targaryen, a leading character in George RR Martin
novels and their TV derivative Game of Thrones, was the second most
commonly mispronounced name (28%), with Oedipus, from ancient
Greek writer Sophocles, at number three (23%).
The Hyper Tomb website amused readers with a collection of
eyebrow-raising public signs which included:
In case of fire exit building before tweeting about it.
Do not breathe under water.
Warning. Due to a shortage of robots, workers here are humans
and may react unpredictably to being abused.
Danger. Moving propellers rip off heads.
Do not iron while wearing shirt.
For your own safety please do not climb on the lion.
Christopher Oldstone-Moores Of Beards
and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair
is the latest book about unshaven chins to
sprout on the bookshelves. It follows Allan
Peterkins One Thousand Beards: A Cultural
History of Facial Hair, and his The Bearded
Gentleman: The Style Guide to Shaving Face.
Amazon almost bristles with whiskery
literature including The Facial Hair
Handbook: Every Mans Guide to Growing
and Grooming Great Facial Hair by Jack
Passion two time world beard champion;
The Little Book of Beards by Rufus Cavendis
and A Gentlemans Guide to Beard and Moustache Management
by Chris Martin. Chin chin.
p90 News/FOW.indd 91
Its a Funny
Old World
JANUARY 2016
91
16/11/2015 15:30
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
David Linkie edits
weekly newspaper
Fishing News,
and welcomes
illustrated
news stories.
Details: Kelsey
Publishing Group,
Cudham Tithe
Barn, Berrys Hill,
Cudham, Kent
TN16 3AG; tel:
01959 541444;
email: dave@linkie.
co.uk; website:
http://fishingnews.
co.uk
Oneworld has
appointed
Alex Christofi,
previously an
agent at Conville
& Walsh Ltd, as
commissioning
editor for nonfiction.
Monthly magazine
Gay Times has
been redesigned
and has also
launched a new
website: www.
gaytimes.co.uk
Nosetouch Press
are reading for
an anthology,
Blood, Sweat &
Fears, to feature
horror stories
of 3,000-10,000
words inspired by
the 1970s. Think
paranoia and
social and political
unrest rather
than excessive
gore. Minimal
payment of $25
plus contributors
copy. Deadline, 29
February.
Website: www.
nosetouchpress.
com/call-forsubmissions/
The Caravan
Industry and
Park Operators
publishers, AE
Morgan, based in
Norwich, has gone
into liquidation.
Effective poetry
causes us to see
something anew.
Kathleen Rooney,
Poetry Foundation
website
92
JANUARY 2016
p92 News.indd 92
GLOBAL TRAVEL MARKET

Hidden Europe
BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON
Based in Germany, Hidden

Europe is a travel magazine
with a difference and a
marked style and tone.
Travel writers wanting to
submit must read back
issues and study that style
before submitting. Topics
covered are not famous
destinations, posh hotels
and the finest restaurants.
The two editors, Susanne
Kries and Nicky Gardner,
write about everyday
Europe with passion, care and conviction, and want
this from their contributors. Pieces published reveal
a wide and balanced understanding of how a place
and its people function, backed up by reasoned views,
careful explanation and perceptive insights.
The magazine specialises in Europes unsung
spots, or in lesser known aspects of familiar
territory. If a well-known destination is covered
it is done so with a quirky or unusual perspective.
Got (the sands of) time to

enter this competition?
Hourglass Literary Magazine is an annual, bilingual
print and digital publication written in English and
the BCMS languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. It exists to create an
intercultural literary forum to encourage understanding
and tolerance through art, and to discuss literary and
cultural questions.
Hourglass has launched its first writing contest, the
Hourglass Literary Contest. The winning entry in each
of three categories short story, essay and poem will
be awarded $1,000.
Short stories may be between 700 and 7,000 words.
Poem submissions should be between 1,000 and 3,500
words, and poets may submit up to three poems in an
entry. Essays may be up to 9,000 words. There are no
boundaries of theme or genre in any category.
All entries must be original and unpublished. The
writers name must not appear on the manuscript.
Format entries in 12pt font as doc, docx, rtf, odt or
pdf files.
There is a fee of $8 for entry in one category, or
$15 for writers who would like to submit in more
than one category.
All submissions must be made through the online
submission system.
The closing date is 31 December.
Website: http://hourglassonline.org
Certain themes, slow travel

and public transport, and
border regions, are favoured.
To submit, aim for a word
count of 1,700-2,000 words,
with a well-formulated
proposal. Confirm it is
original and unpublished in your covering letter and
include brief suggestions for two or three further
articles, to show the range of your interests. Good
photographs, illustrations and maps are a must.
Include a short bio highlighting points relevant to
the article and mentioning publications. Britain,
Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark,
Norway, Finland, France, Switzerland, Croatia and
Greece are all well covered for 2016.
Submit by email or snail mail and expect to wait
around six weeks for a response. Payment is in euros or
sterling; fee and rights are discussed on acceptance.
Details: Hidden Europe editors, Nicky Gardner &
Susanne Kries, Geraer Strasse 14-c, 12209 Berlin,
Germany; email: submissions@hiddeneurope.co.uk;
website: www.hiddeneurope.co.uk
Do you fit the bill?

Shropshire-based boutique
publisher Platypus Press seeks to
unearth innovative contemporary
poetry and prose, as well as other
more elaborate literary works.
The editors, Michelle Lloyd and
Peter Barnfather, are looking
for poetry and prose works in a
variety of genres. Manuscripts
may be any length but must be
complete. For prose and literary
essays keep away from erotica, horror, religious
material or fan fiction. For poetry, please dont send
rhyming poetry or translations.
Submit only the first three chapters of the novel as
a PDF attachment, with short bio. Response time is
within a month. Payment and rights are discussed
with the contract.
Platypus Press have just launched Wildness,
a literary magazine, and the editors
would like submissions for its second
issue. The magazine will publish
poetry, prose, essays, art, photography
and videos and work should linger
just out of reach in a readers mind.
Response time is reasonable. There is
no payment yet.
Website: http://platypuspress.co.uk;
Wildness, email: submissions@
readwildness.com; website: http://
readwildness.com
16/11/2015 15:33
WRITERS NEWS
UK SMALL PRESS MARKET

Smash into print
BY TINA JACKSON
Wrecking Ball Press is a small, Hullbased press with a reputation for cuttingedge publications.
We publish poetry, novels and short
stories by writers who tend to be ignored by
mainstream publishing houses, said Wrecking
Ball Presss Russ Litten. Anything that is from
the heart and the gut.
Wrecking Ball Press was founded in 1997 by
Shane Rhodes at The Green Room, a vegetarian
caf situated in the heart of Hulls bohemian
bedsit land, according to Russ. Fuelled by a love
of music and poetry, Shane set up a series of jazz
nights and spoken word evenings where budding
writers could air their work in public. News soon
spread and a mountain of manuscripts quickly built up in the back room.
Inspired by the small American independent publishing houses such
as Black Sparrow and City Lights, Shane set about collecting the best of
this work. The result was The Reater the first in a series of collections
showcasing poetry and prose from the width and breadth of Britain, along
with a few rare and previously unpublished poems by Charles Bukowski,
procured from sources still undisclosed. The Reater was an instant success
and paved the way for a succession of iconic titles, and Wrecking Balls
predilection for literature informed by music saw further rocknroll
influenced titles, all of which faced the world in Owen Benwells trademark
Wrecking Ball Press artwork stark, modernist and instantly recognisable.
Wrecking Ball Press books tend to be: Hard-hitting words in a highquality format. We want our books to look and feel beautiful, in bold and
vivid designs. Were coming from the pop culture world, and we want
Wrecking Ball Press books to be inclusive and accessible.
Quality is vital. We would like to publish work that means something
of real worth to the world, to make books that people will treasure for a
lifetime. Next year we are publishing the second volume of Bonnie Greers
biography, plus a book of essays. There also plans to move into theatre and
further push spoken word performances and audio installations. With Hull
gearing up to be 2017s City Of Culture, there is a lot of positive energy
flying about. Wrecking Ball Press are proud to be a part of that.
Wrecking Ball Press aims to publish at least five titles a year, and
submissions are warmly welcomed.
We tend to not get involved in the overtly flowery or academic writing.
We like passion and grit and left-field voices. Poetry, short stories, novels,
biographies all welcome.
Writers can submit in any way they like. However is the most convenient
way for them. We will look at anything from a single poem to a novel and
people can submit through the post or email.
Wrecking Ball Press is funded by the Arts Council. It publishes in print
and ebook formats and pays royalties.
Details: Wrecking Ball Press, Office 9, Danish Buildings, 44-46
High Street, Hull HU1 1PS; email: editor@wreckingballpress.com;
website: http://wreckingballpress.com
p92 News.indd 93
Spy stories with a

difference wanted
Comma Press is inviting entries
of short fiction on the theme
of espionage from new writers.
Fifteen of the best will be included
in a print and ebook anthology, La
Nouvelle Espionage, with payment
for all authors.
Judges want you to avoid the
many and well worn clichs of the genre and to write a
story with tension, suspense, compelling mysteries and
a redefinition of what modern spying actually is. The
Comma website has a wealth of hints on the kind of
work it looks for in all its anthologies.
Entries should be 2,000-6,000 words long, formatted
in double-spaced 12pt font in a doc attachment. Include
your name and email and postal addresses at the end
of your story. No entry should have been previously
published, be submitted elsewhere or be under
consideration for publication. If you have previous
publication credits mention these in a short cover
note. As the competition is to identify new writers, if
you have previously published a novel or short story
collection you will not be eligible to enter.
The deadline for submissions is 18 January 2016.
Submit a maximum of one per person by email to
both Sarah.Hunt@commapress.co.uk and Ra.Page@
commapress.co.uk with Espionage in the subject
line. Also post a hard copy to: Comma Press,
MadLab, 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester M4 1HN.
Website: http://commapress.co.uk/resources/2015new-writer-showcase-la-nouvelle/
Worldwide drama on
the airwaves
Entries are invited from writers outside the UK for the
International Playwriting Competition from the BBC
World Service and British Council in partnership with
Commonwealth Writers.
The competition is open to new and established writers
who live outside the UK. There are three prizes: for a play
written by a writer whose first language is English; for a
play by a writer for whom English is a second language,
and the Georgi Markov Prize.
The winners in the first two categories will each win
2,200 and a return trip to the UK to see the play being
recorded for the BBC World Service and for a prize-giving
ceremony. The winner of the Georgi Markov Prize, which
will be given for an entry which, although not ready for
broadcasting, shows outstanding potential, will be flown to
the UK and provided with accommodation for two weeks,
during which time they will spend a week with the BBCs
drama department and a week with the World Service.
The competition is for scripts for a 53-minute radio
play with up to six characters. To enter, send the
completed script with a 400-word synopsis. An entry
form, which may be downloaded from the website, must
be included with each entry.
The competition is free to enter.
Website: http://writ.rs/bbcintlplaywritingcompetition
JANUARY 2016
93
16/11/2015 15:33
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Launched in
2014 as digitalonly, iShoot now
appears in print.
Editor Peter Carr
welcomes article
suggestions on
all aspects of
shooting.
Details:
Lawrence House,
Morrell Street,
Leamington
Spa, Warwickshire
CV23 5SZ;
tel: 01926 339808;
email: rebecca@
blazepublishing.
co.uk
Claire Cartey
and Penny
Holroyde have
set up Holroyde
Cartey Limited,
London, an agency
representing
authors and
illustrators for
adult and
childrens books,
animation,
licensing and
packaging.
Julie Schumacher
has become the
first woman to
win the Thurber
Prize for American
Humor, worth
$5,000, with
her book Dear
Committee
Members.
Chrissie Long
is editor of The
Angus, the
Aberdeen Angus
Cattle Societys
specialist
publication for
commercial
producers.
Details:
The Aberdeen
Angus Cattle
Society,
Pedigree House,
6 Kings Place,
Perth, Perthshire,
Scotland
PH2 8AD;
email: chrissie@
mooandbaa.com
Becoming a
writer is about
becoming
conscious.
US writer
Anne Lamott
94
JANUARY 2016
p94 News/ And another thing.indd 94
UK TV AND SF MARKET
Film and TV fans, Telos about it
BY TINA JACKSON
Telos is an independent UK press

that publishes non-fiction guides on a
variety of different subjects, especially
films and television series, and also a
wide range of genre fiction. So, on the
non-fiction side, weve done books on
Doctor Who, Blakes 7, Battlestar, Till
Death Us Do Part, the 1967 Casino
Royale film, vintage and modern horror
films as well as some self-help/
lifestyle type books, amongst others...
Its quite an eclectic list! said publisher
David J Howe.
Telos started in 2000, and published
early on a successful range of licensed
Doctor Who novellas, before branching
out into other fiction and non-fiction
subjects. We try to present books to the
best quality we can our company motto
is Committed to Quality! and on the
non-fiction side pride ourselves on the
factual accuracy and authoritativeness of
our titles, said David.
On average Telos publishes between
twenty and thirty titles a year across
all the ranges. It is currently not open
to fiction submissions for its Moonrise
digital imprint, but is very happy to

accept proposals for non-fiction titles.
On the non-fiction side, were always
looking for the angle, said David. It
can be easy to think that almost anyone
could write a factual guide to a television
show but what makes it special? And
does the show have a fan base who
might actually buy the book and make
it a viable commercial proposition?
Whats the unique selling point (USP)?
Are you the grandson or sister of the
shows creator, perhaps, with access to
original paperwork or behind-the-scenes
photographs or something?
In the first instance, approach Telos
with an idea. Just an email outlining
what youre pitching is all we need
initially. If were interested, then well
ask to see some sample text and take it
from there. Email David or co-publisher
Stephen James Walker. Telos appreciates
a willingness on the part of prospective
authors to help with promotion and
engage with readers on social media.
Telos books are published in
paperback and ebook formats, and
sometimes signed and numbered
hardback. Payment usually takes the
form of a modest advance and then a
percentage for the royalty.
Details: email: david@telos.co.uk
or stephen@telos.co.uk;
website: www.telos.co.uk
Hampstead Theatre closes window

Hampstead Theatre has changed its submissions policy
and will now only consider unsolicited scripts during
its submissions window, which is due to close on 31
December 2015. It will reopen each year in July.
Striving to produce theatre that presents new
perspectives and engages with the world we live in
today the theatre receives over 1,000 scripts a year, all of
which are considered, but only around twelve new plays
a year are commissioned. There is, however, a studio
space, where the theatre can experiment and explore
new ideas that will hopefully become future main
house productions. To give your play its best chance
it is advised you familiarise yourself with Hampstead
Theatres current productions before submitting.
We want to read bold stories, writing that takes
risks and plays that are relevant and speak to a modern
audience, said literary manager Will Mortimer.
We have no
restrictions on
subject matter.
Only scripts
from UK-based
writers will be
considered. Plays
should be at least
fifty pages, not musicals or adaptations and should not
have been previously produced.
It may take up to four months to read your script and
if you do not hear anything within that time your play
has not been selected for further consideration.
Submit your script as a pdf document with a synopsis
and short note saying why you think your play is right
for Hampstead to: scripts@hampsteadtheatre.com
Website: www.hampsteadtheatre.com/playwriting/
16/11/2015 15:35
WRITERS NEWS
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Give your writing a platform
The Pedestal Magazine is the grand old

dame of literary paying zines, publishing,
in alternate issues, a consistently good read
of fiction or poetry and reviews. Check
the submissions dates on the website as
submissions are open for poetry and fiction at different times.
Short stories can be any sort of high-quality literary and genre fiction,
including traditional and experimental works.
Poetry submitted may be of any genre, length, theme, or style. Submit no
more than five poems in a single file.
Reviews are mostly handled in-house, covering full-length poetry collections,
short-story collections, novels, and various works of non-fiction, but feel free to
query if you have a special something.
Submit through the website. No reprints; multiple subs and sim subs are
reluctantly accepted. Response time is 4-8 weeks. Payment 5 per word or
$40 per poem, for first rights.
Details: email: editor at pedmagazine@carolina.rr.com;
website: www.thepedestalmagazine.com
Big winners this month

Chimamanda Ngozie Adichies novel Half of a Yellow
Sun has been named the best winner from the past
ten years of the Baileys Prize for Womens Fiction.
Half of a Yellow Sun won in 2007, when its author
was 29.
Conal Macintyre, a musician who performs as
Mull Historical Society, has won the Edinburgh
International Book Festival First Book Award for
his debut novel, The Letters of Ivor Punch.
The winner of the Royal Automobile Clubs
2015 Motoring Book of the Year Award is Simon
Moores The Magnificent Monopostos: Alfa Romeo
Grand Prix Cars 1923-1951.
The 2,000 Historical Writers Association
Debut Crown Award was won by Ben Fergusson for his first novel, The
Spring of Kaspar Meier. At the same ceremony at Harrogate History Festival,
Michael Morpurgo received the Outstanding Contribution to Historical
Fiction Award.
How to Train Your Dragon author Cressida Cowell has won the Philosophy
Now Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity. She is the first
childrens writer to be included amongst the prizewinners, who include Noam
Chomsky and Bad Science author Ben Goldacre.
Steve Silberman has won the 20,000 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction
for Neurotribes, an in-depth study of the evolution of approaches to autism.
The overall winner of the 500 Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award is
Adam Thorn for his play Our Jonathan.
Liz Kershaw has won the No Exit Press Short
Story Writing Competition for crime tales with The
Valentine Murders. Rubicon by Ian Robinson and The
Power of Four by Marie Henderson-Brennan were
also shortlisted.
Nina Allan won the Novella Award 2015 for
The Harlequin, winning the 1,000 prize and
a publishing deal with Scottish independent
publisher Sandstone Press. The award is for a
previously unpublished work of fiction of between
20,000-40,000 words.
p94 News/ And another thing.indd 95
And
another
thing...
Writing is selection. Just to start a
piece of writing you have to choose
one word and only one from more
than a million in the language. Now
keep going. What is your next word?
Your next sentence, paragraph, section,
chapter? Your next ball of fact. You select
what goes in and you decide what stays out. At base you
have only one criterion: If something interests you, it
goes in if not, it stays out. Thats a crude way to assess
things, but its all youve got. Forget market research.
Never market-research your writing. Write on subjects
in which you have enough interest on your own to see
you through all the stops, starts, hesitations, and other
impediments along the way.
John McPhee, The New Yorker
I loved writing when I was a child and I
got diverted in to doing other things as
an adult, but I always thought I would
write a novel one day.
Id had this idea knocking about for
a while and I thought I will write that
novel. So when my daughter was sleeping I
would just go to the computer and write. I felt it was
something that gave me complete freedom. I had no
baggage and I had no idea what was involved.
Tara Guha, on her debut novel,
Untouchable Things
What an astonishing thing a book is.
Its a flat object made from a tree with
flexible parts on which are imprinted
lots of funny dark squiggles. But one
glance at it and youre inside the mind
of another person, maybe somebody
dead for thousands of years. Across the
millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently
inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the
greatest of human inventions, binding together people
who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs.
Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that
humans are capable of working magic.
Carl Sagan, repeated on Goodreads website
Opinion is even divided on where
the opening line should come in the
writing process.
According to Joyce Carol Oates,
the first sentence can be written only
after the last sentence has been written.
According to Stephen King, nothing at
all can get done until the first sentence is perfect. Or as
Louise Doughty author of the recent bestseller Apple
Tree Yard more lyrically suggests: Getting the first
sentence right is the key to the magic door that leads to
the rest of the book.
James Walton, critic, Daily Telegraph
JANUARY 2016
95
16/11/2015 15:35
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Roger Borrell
edits Lancashire
Life, a monthly
country magazine
which includes
the Lake District.
He welcomes
illustrated
articles on
regional topics.
Details:
email: roger.
borrell@
lancashirelife.
co.uk;
website: www.
lancashirelife.co.uk
Clare Foggett
is new editor
and Greg Loades
is deputy editor
of The English
Garden monthly
magazine.
Details: Jubilee
House, 2 Jubilee
Place, London
SW3 3TG;
tel: 0207 349
3700; email:
theenglishgarden@
chelseamagazines.
com; website:
www.theenglish
garden.co.uk
Culture, the
Sunday Times arts
magazine, is edited
by Sarah Bader.
Details: News
UK, The News
Building, 1 London
Bridge Street,
London SE1 9GF
Peak Advertiser
is a local free
fortnightly
newspaper for the
Peak District.
Details: First Floor
Offices, Orme
Court, Library
Building, Granby,
Bakewell
DE23 2ES;
tel: 01629 812159;
email: enquiries@
peakadvertiser.
co.uk
Let grammar,
punctuation, and
spelling into your
life! Even the most
energetic and
wonderful mess
has to be turned
into sentences.
Terry Pratchett
96
JANUARY 2016
p96 News/Introductions.indd 96
UK CURRENT AFFAIRS MARKET

Online opportunity on the political frontline
BY JENNY ROCHE
The website of the New Statesman magazine has a pool

of regular contributors, but unsolicited pitches will
be read and writers paid if published. A fee should be
negotiated before work is accepted and published.
Timely, well-written pieces bringing a new angle
to current affairs and politics are wanted. Outline
your pitch in the body of an email with a short
paragraph saying what it is about, your expertise
for writing it and if relevant, the names of any
potential interviewees.
Include links to previously published work but dont
submit your CV, portfolio, any large attachments or a
completed article. Your pitch should be unique to the
New Statesman and not be pitched elsewhere and you
are advised to make sure your pitch is well written and

concise so there is confidence in your ability to write
a quality article. If your pitch is to be considered for
publication you should be contacted within 24 hours.
Email pitches to:
caroline.crampton@newstatesman.co.uk
If youd like to pitch for The Staggers Blog
(see the website) email your pitch to:
stephen.bush@newstatesman.co.uk
Website:
www.newstatesman.com/contributor-guidelines
On the multimedia cutting edge

For writers who want to experiment
with multimedia work, Razor Literary
Magazine is writer-friendly and
welcomes writers at all stages of
their writing life.
Razor was founded to publish
literature and art, and to investigate
the inner workings of the creative
process. Genres published are
poetry, fiction, nonfiction, graphic
narratives, comix, artwork, hybrid and
experimental work, photography, and

visual essays. Work is accepted from
new and established writers and artists
and work is published in digital and
audio versions.
The editorial team seeks to use
the digital medium as a way to
enhance what a literary journal can
be. If your work is accepted, you
will be asked to explain how it was
made in a creative backstory for the
Criminal initiation
Before the
Razor series.
Submit
through the
website, up to five poems in a
single document, or up to 6,000
words prose.
Include full contact details and a
short cover letter with writers CV.
There is no payment.
Website: www.razorlitmag.com
Book Talk BY JOHN JENSEN
Independent Brighton-based publisher

Myriad is celebrating its tenth anniversary,
and has launched a special edition of its
annual First Drafts competition: First
Crimes. Now in its seventh year, this
edition of First Drafts will focus exclusively
on crime and thrillers and will be judged
by a panel of bestselling crime authors: Lisa Cutts, Elizabeth
Haynes, Peter James, Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thomson.
In collaboration with West Dean College, Myriad invites
submissions of up to 5,000 words of a crime novel or crime
short story collection in progress. The winner of First Crimes
will receive a week-long writing retreat at West Dean College.
To be eligible to enter, writers must not have previously
published or self-published a novel. To enter, submit up to 5,000
words of a work in progress in the crime and thriller genre. The
writers name must not appear on any of the manuscript apart
from the first page. Format entries in 1.5 spacing with the title
and page numbers in a header or footer on every page.
With each entry, include a synopsis of the complete novel
or short story collection, a covering letter with details of name,
address, email address and telephone number, and a cheque for
the 10 entry fee made payable to Myriad Editions, or a PayPal
receipt (info@myriadeditions.com).
All entries must be made by post.
Details: First Drafts Competition, Myriad Editions,
59 Lansdowne Place, Brighton BN3 1FL;
website: www.myriadeditions.com
16/11/2015 15:38
WRITERS NEWS
INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of motoring enthusiast magazines currently
accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with
their publications before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission guidelines.
MG Enthusiast, edited
by Simon Goldsworthy,
is the worlds bestselling
MG magazine, and
is read by a highly
informed, specialist
readership. Simon
accepts occasional
freelance pieces for
the front end of the
magazine: contributors
must be motoring specialists familiar with
the magazine who have a proven track record
in good-quality publications. Ideas should
be fresh and offer a novel angle, and writers
new to the magazine must have exclusive
access to cars or stories and be able to provide
a high-quality words-and-pictures package.
Simon is also happy to accept contributions
for the back end of the magazine, but these
are unpaid. Payment for a five-page feature
including words and images is 300.
Details: email: goldsworthy131@aol.com;
website: www.mgenthusiast.com
US monthly magazine
for Chevrolet enthusiasts
Super Chevy covers all
brands of the marque
including the iconic
Chevrolet, Corvette
and Camaro vehicles.
Features include tech
pieces and car profiles.
The editorial team
is happy to accept
freelance contributions for feature articles
accompanied by photographs from specialist
writers with access to the cars they want to
cover. All pictures must be captioned. Send
pitches through the contact form on the
website in the first instance. Payment varies.
Website: www.superchevy.com
Edited by Dan White, Retro Cars is a monthly
magazine for modified classic car enthusiasts,
with the bulk of its

coverage being cars
from the 1950s to the
1990s. Every month
Retro Cars features
owners stories,
practical advice on
modifying classic
cars and reports from
specialist car events.
Most of the magazines content is sourced
from freelances and Dan is happy to look at
pitches from petrolhead writers who know
the classic/modified car scene inside out and
can write for a readership of dedicated and
extremely knowledgeable enthusiasts. Writers
must be able to access the car they want to
cover, and supply photographs. Dan pays
between 100 and 150 per feature.
Details: email: dan.white@kelseymedia.
co.uk; website: www.retrocarsmag.co.uk
Performance Vauxhall
is the UKs only
magazine dedicated to
buying, owning, and
tuning performance
cars from the GM
stable (Vauxhall, Opel,
Holden etc). Its a 132page, bimonthly title
edited by Dan White
aimed at anyone with
an interest in the marque. The majority of
the content is written and photographed by
freelancers, and Dan is always looking for
potential feature cars, and relevant (Vauxhallbased) feature topics. Send submissions by
email. Payment varies.
Details: email: performancevauxhall@
kelsey.co.uk; website:
www.performancevauxhall.co.uk
Land Rover Monthly, edited by Dave Phillips,
is written by enthusiasts for a readership
that is passionate about Land Rovers. The
magazine covers
every aspect of the
perennially popular
four-by-four, with an
emphasis on restoring,
modifying and
maintaining vehicles,
and a very strong
technical section. Many
readers are interested
in older models, and carry out their own
maintenance and repair work. Dave is happy
to hear from prospective contributors who are
familiar with LRM, and welcomes suggestions
(send him a brief synopsis, but not unsolicited
material). He is especially interested to hear
about people who have unusual uses for their
Land Rovers. Good quality photographs are
appreciated with commissioned copy. Contact
him by email. Payment varies.
Details: email: dave@lrm.co.uk;
website: www.lrm.co.uk
Practical Classics, which
is edited by Danny
Hopkins, has a 35-year
history of publishing
practical, hands-on
information about
restoring classic cars
as well as inspirational
driving articles about
vehicles that have
been restored, road tests and buying advice.
All PCs staff and contributors are involved
in restoring classic cars and the hands-on
aspect is vital to Danny. He accepts freelance
contributions from knowledgeable, passionate
writer-restorers, particularly those who can
offer the fabulous, one-person-against-theodds restoration tales which are PCs stock
in trade. Contact him with ideas by email.
Payment varies.
Details: email: practical.classics@
bauermedia.co.uk; website:
www.practicalclassics.co.uk
Grist to the writers mill

Grist Books, the small press at Huddersfield
University, is running the Grist Books Point
of View competition.
There is a first prize of 500, a second
prize of 250 and a third prize of 125.
In 2016, Grist Books will be publishing a
collection of five books: I, You, He, She and
It. All the stories or poems in I will be in first
person; in You, second person; in

He, She and It, third person masculine,
feminine or neutral.
Submissions are invited of short stories
(up to 5,000 words) and poems (up to forty
lines). Submissions may be sent by published
and unpublished authors.
Prose submissions should be double-spaced
p96 News/Introductions.indd 97
in 12pt font on single sides of A4. Paragraphs

should be indented. Poems should be singlespaced and left-justified. Each poem should
have its own page.
There is a fee of 5 per entry. Payment and
submission must be made through the website.
Website: http://writ.rs/gristpointofview
JANUARY 2016
97
16/11/2015 15:38
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Marcus Janssen
has followed Mike
Barnes as editor of
Fieldsports quarterly
magazine. He
welcomes in-depth
illustrated articles.
Details:
BPG Media,
1-6 Buckminster
Yard, Grantham,
Lincs NG33 5SA;
tel: 01476 589840;
email: mjanssen@
bgpmedia.co.uk
Marking the debut
of Academic Book
Week, On The
Origin of Species
by Charles Darwin
was voted the most
influential academic
title in history, from
a shortlist of twenty.
The definition of
academic was
stretched for the
public vote, to include
popular science
works Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson, A
Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
and The Naked Ape
by Desmond Morris,
as well as George
Orwells novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
The Dish, The Sunday
Times new food
magazine, is edited
by Laurel Ives.
Details: News UK,
The News Building,
1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1
9GF; tel: 0207 782
2000
Coach is a new
free weekly fitness
publication launched
by Dennis Publishing
and edited by Ed
Needham.
Details: 30 Cleveland
Street, London
W1T 4JD; tel: 0207
907 6000; email:
editorial@coachmag.
co.uk; website: www.
coachmag.co.uk
Books teach
children to see the
world through the
eyes of others and
empathise with
others. Its about the
story.
Malorie Blackman
98
JANUARY 2016
p98 News.indd 98

Right up your street
BY JENNY ROCHE
Poetry, fiction and creative non fiction

are wanted for the twelfth issue of
Upstreet literary journal, an annual
anthology published by Massachusettsbased Ledgetop Publishing.
Editor Vivian Dorsel founded it
in 2005 to offer a voice to prose
writers and poets who might not find
publication opportunities in more
mainstream journals.
I like to see work that deals with
an unusual topic or with a familiar
topic in an unusual way, says Vivian. Structure and style are also
significant. I like to hear an interesting distinctive voice, one that
will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.
The website has more information on the tastes of fiction editor
Joyce A Griffin, poetry editor Jessica Greenbaum and creative
non-fiction editor Richard Farrell.
There are no restrictions on subject matter, styles or genres
and the word length for prose is a maximum 5,000 words.
Submissions should be previously unpublished but although
simultaneous submissions will be considered, let the journal know
if it becomes accepted elsewhere.
Submit no more than three poems, two pieces of fiction and two
pieces of non-fiction per issue, with each piece in a separate file.
Format poetry single spaced and prose poems should be submitted
as fiction or creative non-fiction.
Payment on publication is $50-$150 for poetry and $50$250 for fiction and non-fiction. Contributors will also receive a
complimentary copy of the journal and the opportunity to buy
more at a reduced rate.
Submit your work before 1 March 2016 through the website:
http://upstreet-mag.org
Bad dreams in
the bazaar
Horror maestro Stephen
King will pick the winner
of the Stephen King
Bazaar of Bad Dreams
writing competition,
named after his recently
published anthology, which
contains several previously
unpublished stories.
The story picked by Stephen will be
published on the Guardians website, and
its writer wins a free place on a Guardian
Masterclass run by Stephen Kings UK
editor, Philippa Pride.
The competition is for original short
stories up to 4,000 words which must be
inspired in some way by the brief provided
by Stephen King: Theres something to be
said for a shorter, more intense experience.
It can be invigorating, sometimes even
shocking, like a waltz with a stranger you
will never see again, or a kiss in the dark, or
a beautiful curio for sale at a street bazaar.
All entries must be original and
unpublished. Format entries as Word docs
in 12pt font with 1.5 spacing, with a header
on each page with story title and authors
copyright, and a footer with the page
number and THE END typed at the end.
The Word document must include a cover
sheet including author copyright, address,
email address, Send entries by email.
Entry is free. Writers may only enter
one story.
The closing date is 18 December.
Details: email: bazaar@hodder.co.uk;
website: http://writ.rs/badbazaar
By George, its political prize time

The Orwell Prize, the UKs most
prestigious prize for political
writing, is open for entries for the
2016 awards.
The Orwell Prize has three
categories: books, journalism, and
for the second year running, the
Prize for Exposing Britains Social
Evils, which is sponsored by the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The winner of each category will
receive 3,000. In each category,
the judges are looking for work
that comes close to George
Orwells ambition to make
political writing into an art.
Book prize: Submit books
or pamphlets, fiction or nonfiction, published for the first
time between 1 January and 31
December 2015. Self-published

books are not eligible. Send five
physical copies, a cover art image
and a completed entry form.
Journalism prize: Given to a
journalist for sustained reportage or
coverage in any medium during the
calendar year preceding the award.
Submit between four and six items
as pdfs, with a byline photograph
and a competed entry form. There
has to be a written element to all
submissions (ie a script if the work
is a TV or radio entry). The
items in a submission do not need
to have been produced for the
same organisation.
Prize for Exposing Britains
Social Evils: For a story that has
enhanced public understanding

of social problems and public
policy in the UK communicated
by at least two out of these
platforms: journalistic writing,
video content, audio content,
social media, photojournalism.
It can have been created by a
single author or a small team
of up to three, in the calendar
year before the award. Writing
should be sent as a pdf; video
and audio content via a URL,
social media content as a pdf
and photojournalism in an
accessible file format. A byline
photograph and an entry form
must accompany each entry.
The closing date is 15 January.
Website:
http://theorwellprize.co.uk
16/11/2015 15:39
WRITERS NEWS
UK GIFT BOOK MARKET

Doing things differently
BY TINA JACKSON
Graffeg is a Cardiff-based independent publisher

that typically publishes high quality illustrated
non-fiction books such as photography
collections, cookbooks and guidebooks.
However, in the last few years our collection
has really started to grow and recently weve
published our first fiction book and a beautiful
non-fiction account of a rescued falcon by Jackie
Morris called Queen of the Sky, said Graffegs
Lauren Sourbutts.
Graffeg also produces non-book products
including poetry posters, calendars
(including the Twitter-famous @MySadCat) and a range of greetings
cards and notecards.
Graffeg, founded by Peter Gill, started publishing in 2003 with
Cardiff Caerdydd. Since then Graffeg has gone from strength to
strength, winning several awards and receiving critical acclaim in both
national and regional press and media. We have retained Graffegs
original focus of beautiful, design-led products whilst taking on new
challenges such as a collection of short crime stories and an upcoming
childrens books collection.
In 2016 Graffeg is set to publish at least 25 books, including both
non-fiction and a new childrens range,

along with a collection of fourteen calendars.
Being a design-led company we look for the
promise of great images, whether they are
photographs or illustrations, and a strong
concept, said Lauren. Our range is quite
diverse, so were open to new ideas and
directions and are willing to give most things a go. A clear proposal,
a sample of writing and an idea of what your book will look like are
what were looking for, along with an understanding of the market
in which it will hopefully sell. And dont forget to tell us all about
yourself! We work with some funny, brilliant and fantastically talented
authors and are always looking to find more.
Good books for Graffeg are characterised by personality and charm,
and the company has a strong belief in doing things differently. This
year we published a collection of short crime stories, each one inspired
by, and illustrated with, a black and white photograph. Most of our
books are still non-fiction so if you know a
lot about a subject and have great things to
say about it, let us know.
Carefully envisage what your printed
book would be like, and send proposals in
whatever format you believe is best for the
idea for your book. Include information
about yourself and the potential market for
the proposed book.
Graffeg publishes mainly in print, and
pays royalties.
Details: matthew.howard@graffeg.com;
website: www.graffeg.com
GLOBAL TRUE LIFE MARKET

Be thankful for Chicken Soup
The Chicken Soup anthology editors are

getting into technology and welcoming
video clips as submissions to some
anthologies. As usual there are several
anthologies in need of submissions. The
basic rules for every anthology have not
changed. The story must be fact not
fiction, it must be a first-person account
and no longer than 1,200 words. Payment
is $200 plus ten free copies. Submission is

at the website using their system.
Check out the long list of anthologies
needing stories at their website,
including Chicken Soup for the Soul:
The Power of Gratitude, an anthology
about being thankful, which closes on
15 December.
Website: www.chickensoup.com
Women writers wanted

The Weekend Read is part of the For
Books Sake community. This growing
community aims to create a community
that centres, supports and champions
writing by women and girls, challenging
inequality and empowering women and
girls of all backgrounds to tell their stories
and have their voices heard. The founders
were tired of sexism
in the media and
publishing industries
and determined
to do something
about it.
The Weekend
Read publishes
fiction by women
only, every Friday,
from prizewinning
authors to
emerging voices.
Women writers worldwide are welcome
to submit short stories in any genre,
2,000-6,000 words
Response time is around two months
and payment is coming.
Website:
http://forbookssake.net/weekend-read/
p98 News.indd 99
Hit mysterious
buttons
Buttontapper Press is a San Diego micropress run by author Laura Roberts. The
Press publishes digital and print-on-demand
anthologies of short fiction and essays in the
love and relationships genre but is currently
seeking to expand with a mystery line,
Damned Dames, with the first novellas out in
March 2016.
The Damned Dames Imprint will publish
books which are in the mystery genre,
accepting subgenres including noir, cosy, and
caper. The novellas will have an emphasis on
female PIs and protagonists, both professional
and amateur sleuths, and all stories must pass
the Bechdel Test (ie have substantial female
characters whose roles go beyond discussing
the male characters) and subvert the clichs of
the genre.
Your manuscript should be complete,
15,000-30,000 words in length, but submit
only the first 5,000 words in the first instance,
along with a one-line summary of the plot and
a one-paragraph author bio, along with links
to all your social media, Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, GoodReads etc.
Response time is reasonable. Buttontapper
pays royalties, but no advances.
Website: http://buttontapper.com
JANUARY 2016
99
16/11/2015 15:39
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Education in
Chemistry (EIC)
is a bimonthly
for teachers in
schools and
universities.
Editor Karen
Ogilvie will
consider articles
(max 2,000 words)
from writers
with relevant
knowledge.
Details: The
Royal Society
of Chemistry,
Thomas Graham
House, Science
Park, Cambridge
CB4 0WF; tel:
01223 420066;
email: eic@rsc.org
Archant launched
a new magazine,
Rifle Shooter,
produced by the
Sporting Shooter
and Clay Shooter
team based in
Wokingham.
Quercus
Childrens Books
is now part of
the Hachette
Childrens
Group, and
Roisin Heycock,
publishing
director, QCB,
now reports to
Hilary Murray
Hill, Hachette
Childrens
Group CEO.
Writers including
Hilary Mantel,
Salman Rushdie
and David
Nicholls promised
earnings from
their books to
raise 1m for
Syrian refugees.
Adriaan van Dis
received the
2015 Constantijn
Huygens-prijs, the
Dutch lifetime
achievement
author award
worth 10,000.
Everything I write
is designed to be
milked to the last
drop of revenue.
Leslie Charteris
100
JANUARY 2016
p100 News/ Zine.indd 100
GLOBAL SF MARKET
A royal opportunity
BY GARY DALKIN
poetry and comic strips. Preferred length is 3,000-5,000

words for stories, 15-25 pages for strips, though if you
can convince him a novella-length tale is necessary he is
open to persuasion.
Payment is 4Aus per word or $12.50 per page.
Contact first with a pitch to make sure concept to make
sure it will fit with the established books.
Deadline for pitches is 31 March, 2016, Australian
Eastern daylight savings time. It is essential to follow the
full submission guidelines online.
Details: email: submissions.allthekingsmen@
gmail.com; website: http://shanewsmith.com/
allthekingsmen/submissions/
All The Kings Men is to be a

new two-volume science fiction
anthology from Deeper Meanings
Publishing, to feature stories
set in the fictional universe
established by Shane W Smiths
space adventure trilogy The Lesser
Evil, Peaceful Tomorrows, and The Game. The stories
will explore the lives of ordinary people struggling to
make sense of their lives and dreams in a galaxy torn
apart by civil war.
Smith is editing what is intended to be an epic
anthology and will consider conventional prose stories,
A flow of poems
The annual Magma Poetry
Competition is open for
entries. There are two contests.
The Judges Prize, this year
adjudicated by Daljit Nagra, is
for poems between 11 and 50
lines. The Editors Prize, chosen
by a panel of Magma editors,
is for poems of up to ten lines.
In each category, prizes will be
awarded of 1,000, 300, 150,
and five special mentions.
Entries for both contests
may be in any style and on any

subject. All entries must be
original and unpublished in
print or online and unbroadcast
in any format. Each poem should
be on a separate sheet, typed in
single spacing.
The poets name must not
appear on the manuscript.
Entry fees are 5 for the
first poem, 4 for the second
and 3.50 thereafter. There are
reduced entry fees for subscribers
to Magma magazine. Payment
may be made by PayPal for

online entries of by cheques
payable to Magma Poetry if
entering online. Postal entrants
must complete an entry form,
which may be downloaded
from the website.
The closing date is
18 January 2016.
Details: Magma, 31 Dagmar
Road, London N4 4NY;
website:
http://magmapoetry.com/
competition
GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

HarperCollins needs visionary
fiction for new digital imprint
BY GARY DALKIN
HarperCollins is launching a new global digital

imprint, HarperLegend. The imprint, part of digital
division HarperOne, seeks to discover and publish
new authors of visionary and transformational fiction
in the digital-first format. HarperLegend gives
examples of visionary fiction as The Screwtape Letters
and the Space Trilogy by CS Lewis, The Alchemist by
Paul Coelho and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
HarperLegend is interested in novels, trilogies or
series with great characters, compelling storylines and
original ideas which communicate wisdom, insight
and transformation. Works may be in any spiritual
tradition, and may include fables, historical and
fantasy fiction.
You will need to upload your book as a doc, docx or
pdf file and have a brief synopsis (under 200 words)
and query letter (under 750 words). Include either your
best scene or the first 1,000 words in the form. Your
manuscript must be complete. Preferred length is

between 50,000-60,000 words, though manuscripts
of any (novel) length will be considered. If you have
written, or are working on a series, submit just the first
book. You can submit more than one manuscript, but
do one book at a time. No non-fiction.
Payment will be royalty based, 25% for the first
10,000 copies sold, thereafter 50%. Successful titles
will receive a print edition, and all titles longer than
25,000 words will be available as print-on-demand
physical titles.
Unagented submissions can be made via the
form at: http://harperone.hc.com/harperlegend/
submityourwriting
16/11/2015 15:42
WRITERS NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE
concis magazine is an
online and e-pub journal
devoted to brevity:
the succinct, pithy,
condensed, laconic, crisp, compressed and
compendious. It needs short form anything,
from poems and flash to epigrams and reviews
in miniature.
Poetry, up to 25 lines, or around 300 words
of prose should be submitted using the online
system. Submit no more than five pieces as a
single rtf, doc, docx, pdf or txt attachment or
paste the work in the body of an email,
to: submissions@concis.io, or submit
through the website.
Response time is up to thirty days. Payment is
$10 per piece
Website: http://concis.io
Reservoir is a semi-annual,
online literary journal,
publishing poetry, fiction,
creative non-fiction and art.
Issued in the summer and in
the winter, the zine is open to
submissions at certain times.
Check the website for details.
Poetry editor Caitlin Neely welcomes 3-5
poems which are experimental, weird, narrative,
lyric as long as it cares about what its saying.
Fiction editor Cady Vishniac will accept three
flash fiction pieces, preferring over 400 words
each, or one larger piece, up to 10,000 words.
Dirty realism, the impossible, stories that are
loud as well as stories that are quiet are preferred
writing styles. Submit prose in Times New
Roman or be deleted.
Creative non-fiction editor Minda Honey
looks for work under 3,500 words about the way
youve lived, not quiet, flowery sentences about
life happening to you.
Submit doc or pdf attachments, with your
name and genre in the subject line. Paste a short
cover letter and bio into the body of the email.
Response time is reasonable, payment maybe,

for first serial and archival rights.
Details: email: reservoirjournal@gmail.com;
website: http://reservoirlit.com
Response time is quick and payment is $300

for negotiated rights.
Website: http://electricliterature.com/category/
recommended-reading/
Bear Review is an online

literary journal of poems
and micro prose published
twice a year, in the autumn
and spring. Editors Brian
Clifton and Marcus Myers
accept work year round and BEAR REVIEW
enjoy reading poetry and flash
fiction of all shapes and sizes.
Submit no more than five poems or one to
two short prose pieces under 500 words. They
will also consider long poems or a sequence of
interconnected short story sections.
Submit through the website:
http://bearreview.com
Oval Magazine
exists for exciting
fiction. Check out
the website and see
Whiteside Review is a new zine which explores

the probable, as well as the possible through
speculative fiction, art, and the occasional
poem. Poetry and fiction are welcomed but no
reprints, simultaneous or multiple submissions,
or fan fiction.
Submit one or two poems, up to 45 lines each,
or fiction, up to 4,500 words.
Paste your work into the body of an email,
with full contact details and a third person bio
(75 words) along with an author photo and links.
Response time is reasonable; payment is
$5 via PayPal.
Details: email: marie.lecrivain.pd@gmail.com;
website: http://whitesidereview.com/
Recommended Reading, a magazine by Electric
Literature, publishes one story a week, for free.
It publishes quality short stories, 2,00010,000 words. No multiple subs, but
simultaneous submissions are accepted. Check
when submissions are open before submitting
through the website.
what the editors like.

Watch for submission periods: some are not
free but need a $1 fee, usually close to the end
of a submission period, so submit early. Stories
should be 500-5,000 words, exciting, passionate
and memorable.
Submit an attached doc, docx or txt by email.
Include full contact details, a brief bio and label
the file with your name and the story title.
Details: email: subs@oval-magazine.com;
website: www.oval-magazine.com
Moonsick Magazine is a zine

with attitude. Young, techy
and cheeky, the editorial
team seek work with a
contemporary touch.
Stories should be
5-3,000 words, preferably
really good ones.
Non-fiction may be
essays, interviews, reviews of continental
breakfasts, whatever, under 3,000 words, tight
and meaningful. Poetry, no haikus, should
show the poets ability with words. Submit no
more than three.
Submit work in the body of an email with
full contact details and a brief bio.
Multiple subs are fine, simultaneous
submissions are fine, with the usual proviso,
but no reprints.
Response time may be slow, payment perhaps
for first publishing rights.
Details: email: editors@moonsickmagazine.
com; website: www.moonsickmagazine.com
Fine drawn poems

Peepal Tree Press has a call out for Filigree,
a new anthology of Black British poetry.
Filigree, which will be edited by Nii
Ayikwei Parks, will include work by new
as well as established Black British poets
and poets who have made their home in
the UK. For the purposes of this anthology,
Black British is defined as anyone who
considers themselves of Black or Asian
descent including mixed race with at least

one Black or Asian parent.
Poets may send up to three unpublished
poems which respond to the theme. Nii
is looking for delicate work that plays
with the theme and counters the heavyhanded approach to race in the media. The
anthology will be published by Peepal Tree
Press in 2018 under its Inscribe imprint.
p100 News/ Zine.indd 101
Submit poems
through the online
submission system
as Word docs in
12pt font with 1.5
spacing on single
sides of A4.
The closing date is 30 April 2016.
Website: http://writ.rs/peepaltreefiligree
JANUARY 2016
101
16/11/2015 15:42
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
The Golf Paper
is a new weekly
golf newspaper.
Editor DavidEmery
welcomes reports
of tournaments
from amateur
clubs.
Details: Greenways
Publishing Ltd,
Tuition House, 2737 Saint Georges
Road, London
SW19 4EU; tel:
0208 97L 4333;
email: newsdesk@
thegolfpaper.co.uk;
website: www.
thegolfpaper.co.uk
Gilly Sinclair, editor
of Chat weekly
magazine, not
only pays 25 for
published letters,
but now welcomes
photographs for
a similar amount.
Pics should be
exclusive to Chat.
Include a brief
description.
Details: Chat to Us,
Blue Fin Building,
110 Southwark
Street, London
SE1 0SU; email:
chat magazine@
timeinc.com
Farm Country
Monthly, a
new farming
supplement, has
been launched
by the Teesdale
Mercury.
Keely Stocker has
succeeded Eric
Musgrave as editor
of Drapers, the
weekly publication
for textile and
clothing traders.
Peter Muir edits
Cyclist monthly
magazine.
Details: Cyclist,
Dennis Publishing,
30 Cleveland Street,
London W17 4JD;
email: cyclist@
dennis.co.uk
It has long been an
axiom of mine that
the little things are
infinitely the most
important.
Arthur Conan Doyle
102
JANUARY 2016
p102 News/Travel writing.indd 102
Rewarding history
UK SF MARKET
Open window at Gollancz
BY GARY DALKIN
Leading UK publisher Gollancz is holding an open

period reading in the new year, when between 4-22
January the editorial team will consider unagented
postal submissions. The company, which publishes
such luminaries as Stephen Baxter, Joanne Harris,
Michael Moorcock and Connie Willis, is seeking
new, aspiring writers and encourages submissions
from anyone, around the world, regardless of
gender, race, religion, location, lifestyle or anything else. Submissions
must be science fiction, fantasy, horror or YA crossover, and be complete
novels of at least 80,000 words. Previously self-published works will be
considered, but novels by authors who already have representation by an
agent are not eligible, though can be submitted in the usual way.
Send the first fifty pages of your manuscript (double-spaced, in a
standard font), a full synopsis no more than one page long and a cover
letter outlining the scope and concept of your work. Essential to follow
full guidelines at: http://writ.rs/gollanczjan
Submissions must be made by post and mailed to The Gollancz Team,
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DZ.
The Historical Writers Association is

inviting entries for the HWA Goldsboro
Debut Crown Award.
It is the fifth year that the 1,000 prize,
for a work of historical fiction by a firsttime author, has run.
To be entered, authors may have had other
works published, but these must not have
been fiction. Books must be nominated by
publishers, and should have been published
between 1 October 2014 and 31 December
2015. Any UK print publisher may nominate
titles, and all nominated titles must have been
published in print. Only one title per author
will be considered.
The submission process involves two stages:
nomination and submission of titles.
To nominate a book for the HWA
Goldsboro Debut Crown Award, the
nomination form on the website should be
completed and sent by the closing date of
31 January. A fee of 30 is payable per title.
Books (one physical book and one epub file)
must then be submitted by 28 February.
Website: http://historicalwriters.org/awards/
A fantastic win
David Mitchell, the cover star of
WMs November issue, has won the
World Fantasy Award for best novel
for The Bone Clocks.
The genre-straddling authors
works bridge speculative and
literary fiction, and The Bone
Clocks was longlisted for The Man
Booker Prize in 2014. The novel
is a fantastic form, David told

WM. Its nearly infinite, you can
do what you want with it, new
ways to utilise it come along. Isnt
it kind of obvious that if youre not
an astro-physicist, and you want to
think about time and what it does,
isnt the novel the perfect form to
explore that?
United we publish
Pankhearst is an international collective of independent
writers. Formed in 2012, the collective exists to develop and
promote new writers, and to learn while doing. It has so far
published four fiction collections, two novels, a dozen Kindle
Singles and two collections of poetry and flash fiction.
Pankhearst welcomes all writers everywhere, regardless
of age, colour, disability, familial or parental status, gender
identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, and anything else you or we can think
of. Submissions are wanted of poetry, Singles, fiction and
anthology stories.
Published as ebooks, Singles are
usually general fiction short stories/
novellas, 10,000-25,000 words, but
managing editor Elspeth McGregor, is
open to other ideas and has accepted
a piece of poetry and flash fiction,
and a play. Submit through the
page on the website: http://writ.rs/
pankhearstsinglesclub
Published online once a week,
Raw wants short stories, about open
nerves and naked self-expression.
There are no limits, word counts or
genre straitjackets. Paste your story and a personal paragraph

into an email with the title and genre in the subject line, to:
editor@pankhearst.com
Fresh poem publishes a poem each week. Submit
2-5 poems to Kate Garrett, with a brief intro, by email:
pankhearstfresh@gmail.com
Slim Volume is a biennial themed anthology of poetry
and flash fiction. See Into the Dark submissions close on 5
Feb 2016. This is a chance for established poets to submit
and shine.
America is not the World, edited by Rachel Nix,
will be a print and ebook collection of stories and
poems themed around its title. Submit short fiction or
poetry about your world, written your way. Submit
up to five poems or up to three pieces of short fiction,
in the body of an email, by 4 January 2016, to: rachel.
pankhearstsubmissions@gmail.com
Life During Wartime, edited by Evangeline Jennings, is
another themed anthology about an imagined immediate
future dystopia, set some time after a nightmare new
President has taken office. Submit fiction up to 10,000
words by 31 January 2016, in the body of an email, to:
editor@pankhearst.com
Website: https://pankhearst.wordpress.com
16/11/2015 15:44
WRITER
S NEWS
W
RI
TR
IN
UK TRAVEL MARKET
VE
BY JENNY ROCHE
Priding itself on publishing some 35-40 travel

guides a year to mainstream places and unusual
destinations in addition to wild life guides, slow
travel and one-off titles, Bradt Travel Guides has
recently branched into publishing travel literature.
It is always looking for new titles in addition to
updaters for titles which original authors are
unable to update themselves.
If you would like to write a travel guide
there are no specific qualifications. The only
requirements are the personal and professional
qualities of: An adventurous spirit, enthusiasm,
determination, focus, expertise, the ability to conduct thorough research,
a willingness to go the extra mile and the ability to write engagingly.
If you can demonstrate these qualities plus a genuine interest in
the destination youre writing about, ideally gained through personal
experience of travel in that destination and related travel elsewhere, you
could be on your way to becoming a Bradt author. Updaters need to have
a prior knowledge of the country theyre looking to update a guide on
and ideally a proven ability to write.
To submit a proposal for a travel guide or to apply to be an updater
email a brief summary of your proposal together with your CV, which
should include any writing and travel experience you have. If your
proposal is of interest you will be asked to supply an unedited 500-word
writing sample on a destination of your choice.
If you have an exceptional story to tell for the travel literature series
submit a short synopsis giving the overall plot of your book, a chapter
breakdown and at least two sample chapters, one of which should be
the opening chapter.
We are looking for new and beautiful writing
and stories with a strong topical
interest, say guidelines.
The publisher also runs an annual
travel writing competition and travel
writing seminars. Click on the Events/
Seminars section of the News &
Competitions link of the website for
details of upcoming 2016 dates.
Email proposals to:
rachel.fielding@bradtguides.com
Website: www.bradtguides.com/
writing-for-us
Experimental book work

Book Works has announced an open call for submissions for experimental fiction for
the Semina series of novels guest edited by artist, writer and filmmaker Stewart Home.
Book Works is an art commissioning organisation specialising in artists books,
spoken word and printed matter.
The Semina call for submissions is aimed at writers and artists who take risks with
their prose and disregard conventions that structure received ideas about fiction.
One project will be selected from the open submissions for publication. It will be
published alongside Seminas commissioned work, Mercedes Benz by Iphgenia Baal.
Send a proposal outline and a sample of the proposed work (3,000-5,000 words)
with a completed application form by the closing date of 4 January. Include a CV
and samples of previous work. There is a registration fee of 10.
Completed works will be between 30,000 and 50,000 words. The selected writer
will be paid 600, plus 100 copies of their work.
Details: Book Works, 19 Holywell Road, London EC2A 4JB;
website: www.bookworks.org.uk
p102 News/Travel writing.indd 103
Set your travel

writing in motion
O W-H O
Description,
description,
description.
Patrick Forsyth finds inspiration in
the writing of Paul Theroux
here are many types of travel writing. Some
is factual, sometimes little more than a stock
description of a place and how to get there.
Some is much more descriptive the journey
book is one example. In the latter category
we all have favourites, some well-established
writers and some new and surprising. One writer I have
read with pleasure over many years is Paul Theroux.
As I write this I have just started his latest book. Deep
South describes a series of visits to the southern region of
his own country and at this stage I can report that it is off
to a very good start. Even on its first page it prompted a
thought. Let me quote a sentence: A church in the South
is the beating heart of the community, the social center, the
anchor of faith, the beacon of light, the arena of music, the
gathering place, offering hope, counsel, welfare, warmth,
fellowship, melody, harmony, and snacks.
The point I want to make is that the quoted sentence
contains no less than fourteen separate descriptive
elements, from conceptual phrases such as the beacon of
light and the arena of music to snacks. Not only is that a
considerable number how many of us have ever written
a sentence with so many? but they seem to be very well
chosen and arranged in a pleasing order. It succeeds in
making the growing description build both logically and
clearly. For interest I tried to edit the sentence and see if I
could find a more pleasing sequence; I could not. Snacks
seems very well chosen to be last. A word a little different
in tone from the rest makes for a surprising end.
Perhaps, it made me think, we too often let one phrase,
or two or three, do the job. The phrase the beating heart of
the community could have been used as an umbrella term,
either on its own or with just a couple of others. But it
would not have been the same. There is a thoroughness
of description here which I admire and which I believe
lifts the writing, making it stand out from much else in
this field. Of course one doesnt want fourteen elements
in every descriptive sentence, but how often do we sell
ourselves short and curtail a description that is on the
verge of becoming better, perhaps because we think that
too many descriptive elements are somehow not normal?
Descriptions can be achieved in a variety of ways.
Some progressively gather strength through several, or
many, pages of text, but this technique can be useful and
deserves to be borne in mind.
JANUARY 2016
103
16/11/2015 15:44
WRITERS NEWS
FLASHES
Hello! Fashion
Monthly targets
18-35 year-old
women. Editor
Judith Herd
will consider
interviews
and profiles of
designers and
trendsetters.
Payment is by
negotiation.
Details: Hello
Ltd, Wellington
House, 69-71
Upper Ground,
London SE1 9PQ;
tel: 0207 667 8700;
email: jherd@
hellomagazine.
com; website:
http://fashion.
hellomagazine.com
Fantastic Stories
of the Imagination
has now been
classified as a
professional market
by the Science
Fiction Writers of
America. Payment
is 15 per word
for original science
fiction or fantasy
stories up to 3,000
words. Reprints of
any length will be
considered, but pay
1 per word.
Website: www.
fantasticstories
oftheimagination.
com/submissionguidelines/
The Peoples
Friend awarded a
shortbread barrel
to a recent star
letter writer. Send
letters to: Between
Friends, The
Peoples Friend,
80 Kingsway
East, Dundee
DD4 8SL; email:
beweenfriends@
dcthomson.co.uk
If you cant think
of what to write,
tough luck; write
anyway. If you
can think of lots
more when youve
finished the three
pages, dont write
it; itll be that much
easier to get going
next day.
Philip Pullman
104
JANUARY 2016
p104 News.indd 104

Your literary work wanted
BY JENNY ROCHE
Based in Oregon, literary

quarterly Tin House is sold
online and around the world,
aiming to publish compelling
and authentic narratives of our time and to salute the artistic
edge while remaining rooted in the tenets of the classic
storytelling tradition. Submissions of fiction, non fiction and
poetry are welcome from all levels of writer, worldwide.
Although the spring and fall issues are themed there are no
restrictions on genre. The fall 2016 issue closes to submissions
on 31 December 2015, with the theme of sex, and the
unthemed winter 2016 issue closes on 28 February 2016.
Submit a maximum of five poems, or one story or essay,
up to 10,000 words. No submission should have been
previously published and although simultaneous submission
will be considered, let the magazine know if it then becomes
accepted elsewhere.
There is also the opportunity to submit an essay to Lost and
Found, which champions books that have been overlooked or
culturally neglected. The book needs to be at least ten years old
and preferably about the work of a lesser-known author rather
than the lesser-known work of a famous author. If you have a
story about how and why you came to
love that book, that would be given great
consideration. You can pitch your idea
before writing or submit a finished draft.
Submit through the Submittable link
on the website www.tinhouse.com or,
if you must, to Tin House, PO Box
10500, Portland, Oregon, OR 97210,
USA; pitches and articles for Lost and
Found only can be sent by email to
emma@tinhouse.com
African specfic
sought
Sub-saharan Magazine is a new online
weekly for speculative fiction with an
African flavour. The editors, Walter
Dinjos and Chigozie Nelson, also
publish a quarterly anthology showcasing
the best stories.
Walter and Chigozie aim to address
the under-representation of Africa in the
fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres,
so pieces must either be written by Africans
or have African speculative fiction written
all over them. That given, writers anywhere
are welcome to submit.
The zine publishes flash and short
fiction. Stories should dive into rare
African cultures and traditions, tweak them
to taste and sprinkle magic and futuristic
science over them.
Stories may be up to 2,000 words,
but 100-1,000 words is preferred.
Poetry of no more than 40 lines is
welcomed, preferably dark, speculative,
and humorous.
Submit a doc, docx, or rtf attachment,
with Story/Poetry Submission, Title in
the subject line. Response time is within
two weeks.
Payment is nominal, up to $10, for the
right to exclusively publish on the website
and in the quarterly anthology.
Details: email: magazinesubsaharan@
gmail.com; website: http://
subsaharanmagazine.com
Like a hurricane?
US small press Kind of a
Hurricane is planning to
provide online poetry journals
for as many different poetic
genres as we can handle.
The first project is a basic
contemporary poetry site,
Pyrokinection, which is always
open to submissions. Jellyfish
Whispers is a genre-specific site
for nature-themed poetry.
The busy small press also
produces themed poetry and
flash fiction anthologies and its list for 2016 includes:
Secrets and Dreams, which needs poetry and flash fiction
on the theme of secrets and/or dreams, by the deadline of
31 January 2016; Shattered, for poetry and flash fiction on
that theme by 31 March; Tranquillity, deadline 31 May;
Emergence, deadline 31 July; Reflections, on the theme of
mirrors and reflections, deadline 30 September; Absence,
deadline 30 November.
Submit free verse poetry, literary, mainstream,

and experimental forms, flash fiction and exceptional
prose poetry.
Submission details are the same for all: no reprints, sim
or multiple subs. Submit 1-3 poems or one flash fiction
piece, under 750 words, in the body of an email, with
you name, genre, submission for name of anthology or
poetry website.
Response time is quick.
Payment is an ebook of the
anthology for one time electronic
publishing rights. The press hopes
to offer payment in the future.
Details: all anthology
submissions to:
kindofahurricanepress@
yahoo.com; websites: www.
kindofahurricanepress.com;
www.pyrokinection.com;
www.jellyfishwhispers.com
16/11/2015 15:45
Dear reader, we are keen to find out what you really think of Writing Magazine,
so this survey is your chance to let us know your thoughts.
Please return this questionnaire by 7 January 2016 to be entered into a prize
draw to win a collection of ten how-to-write guides, to help improve your writing.
Prefer to do it online?
Reader Survey
Visit here - http://writ.rs/writerssurvey
1. How often do you buy Writing Magazine?

I have a subscription
Every issue, but not a subscriber
Quite often (eg, once every other month)
Occasionally
This is my first issue
2. Where do you obtain your copy of WM?
Supermarket
WHSmith
Newsagents
Friend/family
Digital
Subscription
7. Why do you read WM?

Writing is my hobby
I enjoy the content
I want to learn a new skill
To enter the competitions
For publisher and market leads
I was attracted to the star interview
Recommendation
Other, please state: .
8. Do you read any other magazines?
Please state: ........................................................
................................................................................
................................................................................
3. Have you tried the digital version of WM

for Kindle, tablet, smartphone etc?
I have a digital subscription
Dont have a digital subscription but
regularly buy/download a digital issue
Dont have a digital subscription but
occasionally buy/download a digital issue
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9. What is your favourite article in WM?

Please state page number or article title:
................................................................................
4. How long have you been reading WM?

5 years or above
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11. Do you follow us on social media?

Facebook
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5. How many people read your copy of WM?

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Creative writing
Biography, and life writing
Non-fiction
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Submission calls
Competitions
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Reader stories
Reader Survey.indd 85
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p107 comp rules.indd 107
JULY 2015
107
16/11/2015 15:46
M Y W R I T I N G DAY
Writing FRANK
My
day
book is not really a guide to these places

but what happened when I visited
them. Sometimes I found myself having
incredible rows most notably at the
Bront museum in Haworth. If you have
three months to spare touring Britain
looking at writerly places, this is the
perfect holiday.
Did Frank visit all the places he wrote
about? I had the most fantastic time. I so
love the National Trust an hour
looking at, say, Agatha Christies
palatial home in Devon followed
by a lovely lunch in the propertys
restaurant and then half an hour in
the propertys shop. Multiply this
by a factor of sixty and youll have
some idea of the dedicated task this
book was. (I put on half a stone
through all that carrot cake).
How much planning and research
did he do? I spent a lot of time on
the internet, some of it even doing
Mary 2, a synopsis for a book,
serious research, and a lot of time at
an idea for a TV programme,
the London Library. I imagine that
The Times Quick Cryptic
if there is a heaven it will be a lot like
the London Library.
Crossword, the iPad version of the Mail
And what is he planning next? I
Mail Plus has the best cryptic
have an idea for doing something
crossword which can sometimes
similar in France. The worst
eat up an entire morning
public row Ive ever had in
I do a bit of tweeting but
You dont have to be a
my whole life was many
zero self-promotion I see
years ago at the Louvre
enough of self-promotion
bibulous philanderer to
where a ticket seller and I
from aspiring travel writers.
become a writer but it
had the most phenomenal
It isnt always pretty.
seems to have helped
contretemps in French.
I grew up in a village
Perhaps Ill call the book
police station. My father
everyone from Byron to
Contretemps
en France. French
was a village policeman
Dylan Thomas.
people, I have to say, have
and had a big old manual
almost no interpersonal skills.
typewriter on his office desk
which I started bashing away at aged
six. The biggest boost to my career was
Treasured Island by Frank Barrett
being elected sabbatical editor of the
is published in hardback by
student newspaper. Like most student
AA Publishing
activities it was a huge ego trip.
What is Treasured Island A Book
WRITING PLACE
Lovers Tour of Britain all about?
Many authors have lived lives which
are as interesting, or in many cases more
Im fortunate to have my own office
with a view of the neighbouring
interesting, than their books. You dont
street and the occasional excitement
have to be a bibulous philanderer to
afforded by the emergency
become a writer but it seems to have
helicopter dipping over our house as
helped everyone from Byron to Dylan
it heads for the local hospital. I listen
Thomas. Sitting down to write a book is
to Spotify: half classical and half pop
such an act of self-aggrandisement that
and rock. Recently I was listening
to 10CC on a trip to the Dordogne
anyone who does so with conspicuous
(which produced another awardsuccess is likely to be an interesting
winning piece!) and somehow
character. In Britain were unique in
ended up in 10CC member
having so many properties which are
Eric Stewarts chateau.
connected with famous writers. The
BARRETT
The award-winning travel

writer tells Lynne
Hackles about taking a
busmans holiday to write
his latest book
rank Barrett has been travel

editor of The Independent, has
presented the BBC Holiday
Show, appeared regularly
on ITVs Holidays From Hell and
contributes to BBC Radio 4. Since 1994
he has been travel editor of The Mail on
Sunday. Its a dirty job but someone has
to do it, he says. My writing days are
normally involved with travel features.
Some are my own but most are celebrity
pieces I talk on the phone to the likes
of Steve Pemberton or Gregory Porter
in order to write a travel piece based on
their experiences.
While researching Treasured Island I
discovered that a lot of writers are very
bad sleepers. Dickens used to walk the
streets of London at night writing in his
head. When I wake up at night, I do
find writing in the dark very productive.
I have absolutely no interruptions so can
become very focused. I seem to spend
eighty per cent of my day answering
emails its very distracting. Writing in
your head, as Dickens and others did,
gives you a good starting point. You have
to sit down with something that you can
begin writing immediately. But I often
fight a losing battle to keep off email and
the internet. Im very easily distracted.
Frank has won several travel writer
of the year awards. There are more
travel writing awards than you could
shake a stick at, he explains. One of
the awards was for a piece I did on L M
Montgomerys Prince Edward Island it
was here that she lived and set Anne of
Green Gables. It was this that inspired
me to write Where Was Wonderland,
a book about the real-life locations of
childrens books.
At the moment Im working on a
piece about Florida, a cruise on Queen
108
JANUARY 2016
p108 My Writing Day.indd 108
17/11/2015 12:04
N OT E S F R O M T H E M A R G I N
dancing
WORD
Allowing her writing self to

relax gave Lorraine Mace a
renewed burst of creativity
m often amazed at the strange

places writers find inspiration and
Im no exception.
After I was widowed, my lovely
children became even more caring than
ever. Unfortunately, their care took
the form of wanting to wrap me up in
cotton wool. I know Derek would have
been egging me on to break free of the
protective covering, so I looked around
for something to do to shake up my
comfortable existence and decided belly
dancing would fit the bill.
Ive been doing a fair amount of
comfort eating over the last year,
so Ive got plenty of belly to dance.
When I told my children, they were
horrified. I tried to defuse their
concerns by pointing out that I could
have taken up pole dancing instead,
as that was also on offer at the local
cultural centre. They have always been
convinced my marbles are, if not lost,
then a bit too loose for safety.
Whats the betting she goes pole
dancing next? Michelle wailed to her
brother. David didnt answer, but the
look on his face made me think he was
planning a visit to the nearest care home
to see if they had any vacancies.
Why were they so worried? Whats
wrong with belly dancing? Or pole
dancing, for that matter. Ive heard
its an amazing way to get fit. Im
sure youre wondering what this has
to do with writing. Well, its because
the belly dancing has had a profound
effect on my mental attitude. Its
amazing what can go through the
mind when the body is shimmying to
much. Its true what they say nature

the left and gyrating to the right.
abhors a vacuum. Plot ideas flooded
Although there was no connection
in to fill the empty space as I moved
between the two events, a few days
around the floor in time with my fellow
before I bought the beads, bells and
students. At the end of each hour, Id
jingly scarf to transform myself into
mentally written scenes and come up
an uncoordinated Mata Hari
with dialogue that was too good
(dancing not spying) Id had
to waste. I couldnt wait to get
a meeting with my agent
home to make notes on
and uttered words I never
novels I told myself I had
I left the meeting with
thought would ever
no intention of writing.
a sense of liberation.
issue from my lips.
Of course, you know
I told her I planned
what
its like, once
Only one more book to
to give up writing
the ideas are down on
write and, as I already had
novels. She knew I
paper they take on an
the plot outlined and had
had one for my crime
existence of their own.
series under contract
The
characters come
begun work on it, I didnt
to complete as that
to life and start doing
feel under too
scary Frances di Plino
things without even
much pressure.
woman, but after that,
asking permission.
who knew? I was ready to
Ive been in touch with my
call it a day. She was shocked,
agent and told her not to take
but wished me well and said shed be
me off her books just yet. I thought
there if I changed my mind.
Id reached the end of my writing
I left the meeting with a sense of
career, but clearly I was wrong. Ive
liberation. Only one more book to write
got enough material to keep me going
and, as I already had the plot outlined
for years to come and I havent even
and had begun work on it, I didnt feel
finished the classes yet!
under too much pressure. After that
If this is the effect belly dancing has
Id be hanging up my novel writing
had on my creative juices, I thought,
keyboard. That was the idea, anyway.
just imagine what literary heights I
Then I started the dance class and
could reach up a pole. I signed up
everything changed. All the other
last week to have a go at pole dancing
students were Spanish and the lessons
for beginners, but Im not telling my
were given in Spanish. Conversation
children. Ill simply invite them to the
and instructions were all too rapid to
end of year exhibition. Thatll teach
understand, so I zoned out and just
them not to put labels on people.
copied what the teacher was doing. At
They thought I was too old for belly
first I shimmied when everyone else was
dancing, but youre only as old as you
jiggling, but I soon got the moves in my
feel and I feel like getting to grips
head and didnt have to concentrate as
with that pole.
p109 Margin.indd 109
JANUARY 2016
109
17/11/2015 15:22
Self-Publishing
Experience
The
10 selected memoirs to be
published in the
Fish Anthology 2016
incl: 1st - 1,000.
Judge: Carlo Gebler
Word Limit: 4,000
Closes: 31 Jan 16
Entry: 16, 10 subsequent
Find out about self-publishing at

an informal day at a publisher...
Prizes
Hosted at Troubador Publishings offices and warehouses in

Kibworth, Leicestershire, The Self-Publishing Experience is a
chance to find out how books and ebooks are made, what
publishing options exist for authors, the dos and donts of
self-publishing, how print works, marketing books and
ebooks... and much more.
pap
erb
a
k ck
(am indle
azo
n)
Details & Online Entry:
As well as speakers from Matador and The Book Guild,

theres also plenty of opportunity for informal discussion on
any aspect of publishing or your own project.
www.shpublishing.com
Attendance costs just 10.00 and includes all refreshments

and a buffet lunch but places are limited to 9 people.
Book early!
16th March and 28th September 2016

For details and to reserve your place, visit
Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co Cork, Ireland.
www.selfpublishingexperience.co.uk
WRITERS RETREAT..
at Retreats For You.
Comfortable rooms with

desks and kettles, plenty
of homecooked food, and
blazing log fire to fuel the
muse. PLUS working writer
on site to discuss your work
if needed.
The UKs leading literary consultancy

Want to know if your manuscript is good
enough to attract an agent?
Has your plot come to a standstill and
you need a professional editors opinion?
retreatsforyou@gmail.com
www.retreatsforyou.co.uk
01409 231252
DebDooleyNew.indd 1
Detailed manuscript assessment by professional editors

19/06/2014 15:27
for writing at all stages, in all genres
Links with publishers and agents, and advice on
self-publishing
Six online one-to-one sessions with a professional editor
Includes separate manuscript assessment and industry day
with publishers and agents
Looking to publish and want to make your

manuscript print-ready?
'I believe the process I went through with
Cornerstones helped me get my manuscript in good
enough shape to secure a book deal.'
Annabel Kantaria, Coming Home,
three book deal with Harlequin.
Structural editing, copy-editing and proofreading
Masterclasses and skills workshops

Literary events and overseas writing retreat
Scouts for literary agents
T 020 7324 2563

E info@literaryconsultancy.co.uk
W www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk
corner quarter.indd 1
Call 01308 897374

Visit www.cornerstones.co.uk
Listed by the Society of Authors
JANUARY 2016
77
16/11/2015 16:15
17/11/2015 10:56

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108 My writing day: Frank Barrett

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110 Notes from the margin:

Allowing her writing self to relax gave our

Pay attention to the setting of your

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