THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WRITING MAGA ZINE

JANUARY 2017

LEE
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW

CHILD
Keep readers thrilled the
WIN!
£108,345
IN WRITIN
G
JACK REACHER way PRIZES

CREATING
A HERO
The power of an irresistible lead

INCLUDING
20 PACKED PAGES OF Stand out in
HISTORICAL
FICTION
• Over 30 competitions to enter
• Opportunities to get published
• Insider know-how and much more…

p001_wmagJan.indd 1 22/11/2016 14:34

 2 DECEMBER 2016 www.writers-online.co.uk

p002_wmagjan16.indd 2 21/11/2016 09:27

 E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WRITING MAGA ZINE

LEE
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW

CHILD
Keep readers thrilled the
JACK REACHER way
JANUARY 2017

WIN!
£108,34
IN WRITIN 5
PRIZES
G
Welcome...
CREATING
Dear Reader
A HERO
The power of an irresistible lead
A question we are asked again and again at Writing Magazine is, how do
you keep readers interested? And it’s one that this month’s star interview
INCLUDING Stand out in
20 PACKED PAGES OF HISTORICAL
FICTION
subject is more equipped to answer than most. After 21 novels, Lee Child
• Over 30 competitions to enter 01

has built an incredible brand loyalty that means most readers become
£4.10

• Opportunities to get published

• Insider know-how and much more… 9 770964 916259

p001_wmagJan.indd 1

Published by
22/11/2016 11:56

repeat readers, and his commitment to a regular publishing schedule

Warners Group Publications plc, prevents them ever waiting too long for the next one. Lee isn’t precious
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Editor: Jonathan Telfer answer your queries on writing life, tech, poetry, crime plotting, writing
Email: jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
style and more... just send me your query and we’ll endeavour to answer Jonathan Telfer
Assistant editor: Tina Jackson in a future issue of Writing Magazine. Email: letters@writersnews.co.uk Editor
Email: tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

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www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 3

p3 Editor's letter.indd 3 22/11/2016 14:36


IN THIS ISSUE
STAR INTERVIEW
18 ON THE COVER A hero for our time
Like his irresistible man-mountain hero, Lee Child just
keeps coming back strong. He talks about keeping it
fresh and piling on the thrills
INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES
26 How I got published: Thriller writer James Silvester
30 Beat the bestsellers
The style and technique of John Braine
44 Shelf life: Kate Furnivall
The historical novelist on her top five reads
52 Subscriber spotlight
WM subscribers share their writing success stories
58 Circles’ roundup
Writing groups share their interests and activities
75 Crime file: Michael Koryta
86 New author profile: Su Bristow
The debut author is bringing new life to an old legend
108 My writing day: Marsali Taylor
The Shetland crime writer describes her writing routine
WRITERS’ NEWS
88 Your essential monthly roundup
of competitions, paying markets,
opportunities to get into print and
publishing industry news
4 JANUARY 2017
JUMP TO THE
ARTICLE
Tap the image to jump
straight to the article
PUBLISHING
10 Grumpy Old Bookman: Earnings warnings
Aspiring authors continue to ignore the financial facts,
observes Michael Allen
11 Ask a literary consultant
New columnist Helen Corner-Bryant from Cornerstones
answers your writing and publishing queries
17 From the other side of the desk
Agent Piers Blofeld explains the mysterious role of the
literary scout
78 Technology for writers: Ditch the rejections
Dig out your rejected manuscripts as we highlight
alternative ways to put them to use
FICTION
12 ON THE COVER Fiction: People power
Create irresistible lead characters that will keep
readers turning page after page
16 Style: Swear where?
Striking the right balance with swearing in your fiction
17 On writing: Mark Twain
24 ON THE COVER Historical fiction: Rewriting the past
There’s always room for new approaches in
historical fiction
28 Writing style: Words from the wise
Writing advice from the ancient Greeks that stands the
test of time
40 & 62 Competition winners
Read our short story competition winners
www.writers-online.co.uk
 CONTENTS

POETRY

48 Under the microscope 42 Poetry competition: Holly jolly winners

The first 300 words of a reader’s work are given a Read the winning entries in our children’s Christmas
micro-critique poetry contest

50 Fiction focus: Staying power 64 Poetry workshop: Lure of the lighthouse

Keep readers on the hook for your next book and Explore a memorable poem that began its life with a
expand your fictional world haunting phrase

68 Short story masterclass: You can trust me 65 Poetry in practice

Whip unreliable narrators into line by studying Let your senses suggest themes for your poems
the masters
66 Poetry from A to Z
72 Writing for children: A winter’s tale An alphabetic guide through the language of poetry
Set the scene for a magical children’s winter’s tale

76 Fantastic realms: What’s in a name? COMPETITIONS AND EXERCISES

Finding plausible names for your characters and
settings in fantasy and SF
WRITING LIFE
15 Get writing: Writer’s day off
Reward and inspire yourself at the same time
with a day off to refresh your senses
27 Win a publishing deal with The Book Guild,
including a £1,000 advance
36 Pen pushers: Say it with letters
Experiment with epistolary form with these exercises
37 Train your brain: Red editing pen

23 Beginners: Courting success 39 & 61 Win cash prizes and publication

Writers make their own luck Our latest short story competitions

32 Away from your desk 59 Circles’ roundup: Get cracking

Forthcoming events to inspire your writing life Warm up your logical faculties and look at
writing problems
34 Talk it over: Read to write
Don’t be afraid of other books influencing your
writing style RESOURCES

35 Novel ideas 6 Miscellany

8 Letters
46 Writing life: Food for thought 22 Editorial calendar
Don’t let festive overindulgence leave you feeling 80 Webbo
creatively sluggish 81 Computer clinic
82 Helpline: Your writing problems solved
110 Notes from the margin:
Grandma, what bad books you write!
How Lorraine Mace became a Wicked Stepmother

NON-FICTION

70 Article writing: The magazine sleuth

– a study in detection for article writers

83 Going to market

85 Research tips: Ask the experts

Find the right sources to back up your story

103 Travel writing know-how

50
www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 5

p4 contents.indd 5 22/11/2016 09:04

 MISCELLANY

THE WORLD OF
WRITING
Snobby accusations, brolly revelations, sexy celebrations, hacks down,
cosying up and a cool crossover... the wide world of writing

‘Elitist’ jibes anger novelist Are click bait and churnalism

Accusations that his novels are elitist or snobby, newspapers’ future?
wspaper matter?
solely populated by the well-heeled and well-
educated, annoy novelist and scriptwriter Ian Does the decline of the ne
McEwan, 68, reported Robbie Millen who
interviewed the author for The Times. The question was asked in The Week magazine, which said:
‘It’s an extraordinary thing, people ask why ‘Falling revenues mean that the days of large newsrooms may
aren’t there any manual labourers in my novels. be numbered. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of UK
They don’t ask Julian Barnes that. It’s not my journalists fell by almost a third.
problem, it’s the problem of my interviewers. ‘The disciplines – fact-checking, training, accreditation – that
ian mcewan © Geraint Lewis, Writer Pictures

‘They know I come from a background where characterise serious newspaper journalism are under threat.’
my parents left school at fourteen. They [these The Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner had said:
critics] are a bit indignant. What am I doing? ‘Newsrooms are in danger of losing what matters most about
How dare I?...’ journalism: the valuable, civic, pounding-the-streets, sifting-
He adds with emphasis: ‘I don’t feel I have the-database, asking challenging questions, hard graft of
to explain myself in this respect. You can’t ask uncovering things that someone doesn’t want you to know.’
writers about all the things they don’t write. ‘As she sees it, news will be dominated increasingly by
Why aren’t there any Chinese people in my “click bait” and “churnalism” – recycled stories designed to
novels? Why aren’t there more Russians? I have attract internet traffic, to the detriment of democratic debate,
to write what I write.’ Long, detailed investigations will be hard to sustain,’ The
Week article added.

OF GAMPS, BUMBERSHOOTS
Figures of speech AND PARAPLUIES…
Brolliology by Marion Rankine, a quirky and literary book about the
humble umbrella, has been acquired by Melville House UK.
Marion Rankine is the head of promotions at Foyles, Charing Cross
Road, and this is her first book, which will be published this autumn.
We would not be surprised to see Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe, get a
mention for his brolly/parasol covered with animal skins
Other likely candidates are Mrs Gamp who always carries her umbrella
in Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens (‘gamp’ entered the language as a
slang word for umbrella in the 19th century), and GK Chesterton’s Father
Brown, who always walks out with a brolly.
Christopher Robin, soulmate to AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, is also an
umbrella sort of person, and it would be surprising if the talking parrot-headed
umbrella which helps Mary Poppins to fly is left out of the text.
In The Lord of the 24 Umbrellas And Other Tales of Brolliology, an article
which appeared moons ago in The Christian Science Monitor, Christopher
Andreae said a British brolly ‘is a bumbershoot (American), a parapluie
(French), a Regenschirm (German), a higasa (Japanese)’.
He added that umbrellas have been around for more than 3,000 years,
and it seemed that to begin with they were what we now call parasols, used
in hot countries.

p6 Miscellany.indd 6 22/11/2016 09:08

 MISCELLANY

New award’s sexual preferences

Dr Who meets
the Mr Men
In what is assuredly Miscellany Manors’ favourite
cultural mash-up ever, ‘two well-loved perennial
British favourites’, Doctor Who and the Mr
Men, are coming together for a new series of
books, reported Paul Jones in Radio Times.
Paul described how ‘the twelve incarnations of
the Time Lord have each been given a makeover
in the style of Roger Hargreaves’ famous children’s
characters, illustrated and written by his son Adam
Hargreaves, and are said to combine “the iconic
storytelling of Doctor Who” with the Mr Men’s
“whimsical humour and design”.’
The first four books featuring William
Hartnell’s First Doctor (1963-1966), Tom Baker’s
Fourth (1974-1981), Matt Smith’s Eleventh
(2010-2013) and Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth
(2013-present) are out in spring.
The remaining Doctors’ stories will follow at
some later date.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, told
BBC News there was a sense that since the adult
Ladybird books {such as The Ladybird Book of
the Hangover and The Ladybird Book of Red Tape}
there has been a market for ‘ironic takes and
mash-ups from old classics done with a new twist’.
The Erotic Review has had enough of the Literary Review’s ‘infamous Bad Sex in Fiction
award’, which it fears may dissuade authors from writing about sex, and is starting up
the Good Sex in Fiction award, reported Christopher Hooton in The Independent.
Lisa Moylett, the Erotic Review’s publisher told The Times: ‘We have laughed enough.
We are throwing down the gauntlet. No more “bad sex” writing. That is not something
we should be celebrating.’
She added that while sex is celebrated in high art cinema, when it comes to fiction, it
is often associated with ‘bargain bin, titillating train reads’.
Lisa added that she hoped the prize would ‘bridge the gap between the horrible world
of porn and what we all chat about and enjoy’.
Snuggling down
Scandinavian-style
Hygge, a Danish almost everywhere.
word, has been and now it’s become
the subject of Collins’ Words of
much sociological the Year.
analysis about its Most people
precise meaning. know the definition:
It also merits Brexit (noun): the
a mention in withdrawal of the
Collins, an imprint United Kingdom
of HarperCollins Publishers UK, which from the European Union.
creates the Collins English Dictionary: Other words to be highlighted include:
hygge (noun): a concept, originating in dude food (noun): junk food such as hot
Denmark, of creating cosy and convivial dogs, burgers, etc considered particularly
atmospheres that promote wellbeing appealing to men
Michael Booth, of the Guardian, Plus: sharenting (noun): the habitual use
wrote: ‘It is no great mystery, nor of social media to share news, images, etc of
is it even unique to the Danes. The one’s children
Germans call it gemütlich, the Dutch, And snowflake generation (noun): the
gezelligheid. In English, “convivial” young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being
pretty much covers it, too. less resilient and more prone to taking offence
That word Brexit has been getting than previous generations

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 7

p6 Miscellany.indd 7 22/11/2016 09:08

 TITLE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers
– and don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue...

Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing
Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds Magazine. Letters may be edited.)
LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your When referring to previous articles/letters, please state
name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all month of publication and page number.

STAR LETTER TYPO NEGATIVE

SOUL CUTS
It seems that everywhere I look lately I
see people quoting one famous writer or
another telling us to cut out unnecessary
words, that to indulge our readers in a little
descriptive wordsmithing is superfluous and
counterproductive.
I disagree, mostly. I would much rather
read a tale with a rich and diverse narrative
set in a wonderland with plenty of description
than something which reads like a list of
directions in a desert. No matter how much
detail you give in a story, I believe we all have
imagination enough to immerse ourselves
in our own conjured visions and make the
experience unique to everyone.
If we continue down this perilous road of
infinite unscrupulous hacking at innocent
words, the old rhyme It’s raining, it’s
pouring… will be reduced to nothing more
than: The weather is bad, man hurts himself
and goes to bed.
Sorry but that doesn’t do it for me. Why are
we writing down to our readers? When I was a
young boy I revelled at the discovery of a new
word and would leaf through my dictionary
and my thesaurus jubilantly in search of a
deeper understanding. Or is it just me? Was
my youth wasted?
On a coffee break during a very unproductive day where I was constantly interrupted
by the cacophony of computerised communication, I was leafing through WM and
discovered Clive Brooks had the answer. In his article, Unplugged (WM, Nov), he
recommends ways to avoid distraction and his first suggestion was a typewriter.
But not just any typewriter, the very model I had just inherited from my father, the
Olympia Traveller Deluxe S. I immediately switched off all my tech and retrieved the
ancient machine from the loft, convinced I would now write the greatest novel ever.
Placing it on my desk, I opened the case and cast my eyes hungrily over the cream
and grey casing, the wonky keys, the sheen on the type bars and the splodged thumb
print that had been there forever. The scent rising from the ribbon brought back happy
memories of my father. I was delighted.
I rolled a piece of paper in and tried to type but the keys wouldn’t budge.
Frustrated, I began pulling random levers until I found the carriage release. Then I
began to type, only to break a nail. I tried again and realised that although there is
a backspace key, it does not delete typos. Then the ribbon ran out. I booted up the
laptop to download a manual and spent the rest of the afternoon (and many days
since) exploring the workings of this beautiful, complicated, idiosyncratic machine.
It appears that I found yet another distraction! And discovered that Tipp-Ex mice
are worth their weight in typewriters.
ANNA PYE
Gomersal, West Yorkshire
I really enjoyed Clive Brooks’ article Unplugged, regarding ways to remove distractions
from the writing process and I will definitely be experimenting with turning off the
wifi and phone. I work shifts and I have been lucky enough to have the whole house
to myself on the few days I’m off during the week. An ideal time to get some writing
done, you might think? So did I!
Unfortunately, up till now, I found that DIY, guitar playing, and the dreaded email/
Facebook pull has been too strong.
You can imagine my delight last week when I found out I would be babysitting
an eight-week-old West Highland terrier puppy for
the foreseeable future. That’s it, I thought, All writing
WRITING
LIFE

MICHAEL MALONE opportunities down the pan. How wrong was I. Apart
©Clive Brooks

Shotts, North Lanarkshire
The star letter each month
from having lots of fun playing with our new pup, I am
now grabbing precious moments to write with renewed
enthusiasm. So when little Otis puts his head down for UNPLUGG
half an hour out comes the pad and pen. Yes, you heard ED Do you hanke
r for distraction-

T
Clive Broo free writing
ks guides you but still need
through the text you
hardware and can edit or submit later?
here’s a text to answe software optio

earns a copy of the Writers’

r, a long list ns

me right. Pad and pen.

read and you’re of tweets to
trying to keep computer
or so people up with what for your writing
are up to on fifty obvious, and , but none
some inexpli Facebook, perhaps you of them are
cable reason becaus to find them. just don’t immediately
quite fathom that you genuin e for That’s okay, have the time
ought to. Your any more, ely can’t I’ll show you I’ve or tenacity
at you endles
computer
bleeps, bings,
you feel that
you really how to embar done it all for you. Read
and comple k on a very-lo on
w cost, enjoya and

& Artists’ Yearbook 2017,

sly, and throug bloops tely distrac
to settle down h all this nonsen and flashes stuff could transfo tion-fre

It’s amazing what you can get down when

quietly to
write a first se, you’re rm your writing e writing experience ble
magazine trying wonderful life. I’ll introdu that
article. draft of that writing machin
Contrary to novel or how much es, tell you ce you to
popular belief, (or how little) where you some
There are it doesn’t can doveta to pay for can get yours,
alternatives have to be il effortlessly them, and
to using that like this. as oppose into a moder explain how
constantly d to begins n workflow they
connected

courtesy of Bloomsbury,
computer – with your that ends
screens, all computer. –
outside too. of these device Unlike moder

a ticking puppy could go off at any time.

s can be proper n
Typewriters ly viewed
Typewriters
are evocative,
typewriters that irresistible and
repair enginee affordable. The use. The typewri
for their build rs recommend vintage ter
quality and longevi above all others is an enjoyab
manufacturer ty are those le way
to get fiction

Nanowrimo here I come.

Olympia. The from the German first
SM9, and the desktop model drafts written.
best portable to look for is The
superbly made, is the Travelle the temptation to
built to last r Deluxe S. Both edit is
eBay cost a mere and enjoyab are gone, so you’re
£90, and my le to use.
was an unbelie virtually unused My SM9 on forced

www.writersandartists.co.uk
vable £25! Traveller Deluxe to just push on.
When you first
start using a

PAUL PERRY
many years, you typewriter, or Workflow
may be surprise use one again
the sheer physica d at after
lity of the machin the long travel of the keys In years gone
by, a
keyboards or e when compar and double-spaced
touchin ed
minutes of typing, g the glass of an iPad. Howeve to computer retyped. Now
typewriter manusc
ript was edited
I think you’ll r, after ten there’s by
organic nature
of imprinting
begin to appreci the modern workflo a much easier way to integrat hand and then
how finely balance your words onto ate the tactile, e
is a piece of softwarew. What you need is an OCR the typewriter into

Halesowen, West Midlands

d and beautifu paper,
a melody in the lly designed everyth and recognise your printed that, when presente application. This
sound of the ing is. There’s page, recognis d with
the ‘ting’ of the
bell when you
type-bars striking
the platen, and editable text that es the typed characte a scan or photo of
somehow satisfyin reach a line end. in you can open rs and turn them
g. It’s immersive DocScanner on in your word into
approach to writing A typewriter encourages and my
camera to photogr iPad available from the App
processor. I use
the free
too. You can’t a more conside Store. I use the
the words, so red aph the typed
you tend to think go back and fiddle about email the resultan page, iPad
more carefull with t text file to myself then let the OCR do its
y about which it into my word or save stuff. I
ones to processor for it to Dropbox,
too. One can editing. then load
be found at www.on There are free online
24 NOVEMBER lineocr.net OCR sites
2016

www.writers-online
.co.uk
p24 Distraction
free.indd 24

26/09/2016
10:04

8 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p8 Letters.indd 8 22/11/2016 09:10

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

TRAWLING THE ARCHIVES

It has been a long time in coming but recently I had the luxury of going to be a certain amount of repetition. After all writing isn’t
a weekend off from the day job – otherwise known as what pays infinite and there are only so many ways to describe the use of
the bills. I knew exactly how I was going to spend my much needed metaphors, commas and other grammatical details.
down time – sorting through the great Paper Pillar of Knowledge, Oh how wrong I was.
my vast collection of Writing Magazines. The Pillar of Knowledge has been reduced to a mere footstool of
My intention was to flick through each edition, tear out and save data but I am all of a panic, the next eagerly awaited edition is due
all of the motivating articles. I duly set myself up with a lever arch to arrive next week and I have only reached November 2014.
file and invested so heavily in clear plastic wallets the lady at the There is only one thing for it. I must don a disguise on the
checkout thought I had an addiction. off-chance the checkout girl calls security to deal with the plastic
I knew from the outset that I had given myself a monumental punched pocket addict.
task. I have copies going back to October 2010. Foolishly I believed SARAH HARBOUR
that during these past six years of subscribing there was inevitably Ashbourne, Derbyshire

The £1m The star interview with Adam

S TA R I N T E RV I E W

self-publisher Croft, The £1m self-publisher

G
(WM,
(WM Nov), was a very enjoyable has

N
from scratch, Adam Croft
Teaching himself the process ers.
UK’s most successful self-publish

I
grown to be one of the how he did it
Tina Jackson finds out

and illuminating article. I had

A

A T
dam Croft is living the writer’s

K
dismissed self-publishing as
dream. He’s a bestselling
novelist. He works full-time

R
as an author. His most recent
Tomorrow, sold
standalone novel, Her Last

MEE
weeks and enabled
150,000 copies in twenty
He’s on target
him to pay off his mortgage.

a way of getting into print,

for £1m sales this year.
UK self-
29-year old Adam is one the
And it never
publishing scene’s biggest stars.
his work out
really occurred to him to get
there any other way.
2010. I’d always
‘I finished my first book in

largely, because marketing my

and fancied
wanted to do it, I had an idea
The book was his
giving it a go,’ says Adam.
thriller, Too Close for Comfort. ‘I didn’t
debut
self-publishing
know anything about the
you could
process at the time. I discovered

own work was unappealing.

I decided to
self-publish so two weeks later
KDP. Traditional
put the book out myself on
of my mind but
publishing was in the back
the appeal of
after a couple of weeks I saw
it just didn’t stack
self-publishing. Financially
strangers to
up. All I wanted was for complete

However, as Adam Croft

2011 and it was
find it. I put it up by January
So far, so much
alright, I got some feedback.’
newbie. But then
like any other self-publishing
something happened.

THE SKILLS
I’VE LEARNED:
pointed out, whatever your films – everything
• Even if you want to
go down the

method of publishing, you will

story structure, plays, route, you need
what the traditional publishing
• Mailing list, and knowing craft – not by you also need the
is a story. Learn your the writing skills but
not just about pounds to do
long-term gain is. It’s paying thousands of marketing skills.
you to join the taught by
selling a book – if I ask a creative writing course You could find yourself
with a two-
buy the next four book out in 1993
mailing list you might someone who had a book deal and when
that runs out,
long-term.
or five books. It’s all about that sold 300 copies
and is teaching
no access to your customers.
With
You’ve got to the way it is
you to write like them.

still need to sell your writing

of things, I’ve like that. It’s traditional publishing
• On the writing side find your voice, and write now, you still have to
do a lot of the
on the craft of term and taking
got hundreds of books thinking about the long marketing yourself.
development,
writing, on character it seriously.
I read heavily on
constructing a story.
www.writers-online .co.uk
18 NOVEMBER 2016

skills. Since reading the article

26/09/2016 12:39

p18 interview.indd 18

my perspective has changed. I no longer think of the business

side of writing as tedious; rather, I see it as part of the
creative process and something to enjoy. Thumping the keyboard in a feverish effort to get my novel finished I
ANGELA WATSON admit I kind of lost track of the real world. Martians could have landed,
Belfast, Northern Ireland teenagers discovered the washing machine, Boris Johnson become Foreign
Secretary, or any one of a number of other unlikely happenings, for all
I knew. I whacked my manuscript – a children’s novel with a visually

IDEAS FLOW
impaired protagonist – off to my agent, and rewarded myself with a well-
deserved copy of the October WM.
Simon Whaley’s feature about disability, Conquering Challenges, had
me choking on my equally well-deserved cuppa. It was stuffed full of
Further to the excellent article by Patsy Collins, one useful weblinks and contacts and, even better, containing the industry
sentence above all others screamed out to me: ‘using our news that publishers were actively seeking children’s novels involving
ideas increases rather than reduces those we have in stock disabled characters.
for future projects.’ Like mine.
Writer’s block can be demolished by feeling the wall How about that.
but climbing it anyway. For months, I’d had the myopic vision of a grazing cow. While Simon,
Throwing ideas onto paper seems to generate more. and the other WM contributors, had more closely resembled meerkats.
Characters and storylines emerge from nowhere, Ever-alert. Scanning the far horizon. On the lookout for useful writerly
surprising even me. titbits, to educate, inform and entertain.
HELEN KAVANAGH Writers, I decided, swigging the last of my tea, need meerkats.
Audenshaw, Manchester GILL GUEST
Cleobury Mortimer, Worcestershire

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 9

p8 Letters.indd 9 22/11/2016 10:59

 GRUMPY OLD BOOKMAN

Earnings warnings
Aspiring authors continue to ignore the financial facts, as Michael Allen observes

I
have a friend who has just self-
published an ebook on Amazon,
and like most first-time novelists
he is convinced that this one will
sell in substantial numbers.
‘Christmas is coming!’ he reminds
me. ‘People buy books at Christmas!’
Yes, George, I feel like saying. They do
do you get if you add in books from
the rest of the English-speaking
world? And then add an estimate
of all the self-published ebooks and
print-on-demand paperbacks. These
publications are often uncounted in
‘official’ statistics, the chief reason
being that many indies don’t use
Sales for most books will have gone
down, generating less income per
book for all the parties concerned.
It’s the writers’ earnings that interest
you and me of course. Hugh Howey,
a writer who made a big name for
himself in the early days of Kindle,
has set up a website called Author

buy books. But probably not yours.
Or mine either, I might add.
Now why did this particularly
grumpy comment form itself in my
mind? Because of the economic facts
of life, that’s why.
Five years ago, an indie (self-
published) novelist had a remote but
possible chance of selling enough
copies of her ebook to make a goodly
sum of money. Amazon recently
announced that forty writers have sold
more than a million copies of their
books in the last five years. But that’s
not going to be an easy feat to repeat.
Why not? Well, for two reasons:
one, because of the enormous increase
in the number of books being
published, and two, because of the
basically nil increase in the size of the
market, ie the book-buying public.
Back in my youth, say the 1960s,
there were about 25,000 new books
published every year in the UK alone.
Of these, about 20% were fiction, which
translated into roughly 100 novels a
week or twenty a working day. Which is
quite a lot of competition already.
But now? According to a recent
report from the International Publishers
Association, British publishers released
184,000 new and revised titles in
2013. This is 2,875 titles per million
inhabitants, a far higher figure than
that of any other country, and it’s
roughly twenty new titles every hour.
Well-known literary agent Jonny Geller
told the Guardian that ‘It is utter
madness to publish so many books
when the average person reads between
one and five books a year.’
It gets worse. What sort of figures
“”
ISBN numbers and other Earnings. Together with his
internationally recognised anonymous statistician, the
cataloguing systems.
The result of this
The marketplace has Data Guy, Howey has been
analysing Amazon figures
flurry of optimistic and been flooded. An industry and various other sources,
haphazard publishing and has confirmed our
is that no one really
that used to produce one natural suspicions.
knows what the or two hundred thousand The conclusion at
accurate book-output Author Earnings is that
figures are, either for the titles a year now produces the income of indie writers
UK or anywhere else. But
among experienced observers
over a million. has been falling substantially
over the past two or three
there is a general acceptance years. Some well known indie
that the figures are vast – at least writers, such as Bob Mayer, have
when compared with those of not revealed the drop in their own sales;
so long ago. Publishing consultant other successful writers in a similar
Mike Shatzkin, for instance, who is position have made their situation
based in the US, suggests that: ‘The known too. Even someone with sales
marketplace has been flooded. An as modest as my own can hardly
industry that used to produce one or fail to notice that Amazon aren’t
two hundred thousand titles a year handing over as much money each
now produces over a million.’ month as they used to.
And nowadays, once a book is And what lesson do I hope to
published, it stays available pretty convey to you with this rapid survey
much for ever. Print-on-demand of a changing world of print? Well,
technology means that hardly anything I don’t want you to give up writing.
ever goes out of print, as it used to. But I do want you to take a genuinely
But meanwhile, what of the market realistic view of your chances of
for books? Has demand boomed also? success – whether measured in pounds
Are there more people buying and or just in terms of finding a single
reading books today than there were reader for a free ebook.
ten, twenty, or fifty years ago? Again, Writers, I fear, are always over-
I can’t point you to wholly reliable optimistic. The American media
data. But there certainly hasn’t been lawyer who blogs as the Passive Guy
a vast increase in the western world’s recently quoted the US comedian
population, and there are still only 24 Steven Wright, who said he was
hours in a day. writing a book. Oh. Okay. And how’s
To summarise so far. Book output it going, Stevie? Oh it’s coming along
has exploded, but the market remains fine, he reports. ‘I’ve finished the
broadly static. So what do we think page numbers.’
has happened to the sales figures for Good lad. Keep at it. You’ll be
individual titles? Yes, you’re right. signing copies in no time.

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

p10 Grumpy.indd 10 22/11/2016 09:11

 ? ?? ?
? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ?
? ?
? ? ? ? ?
? ?? ?
Ask a Literary Consultant ? ? ?
? ? ?? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
? In the first of a new series, literary consultant Helen Corner-Bryant
answers your queries about writing and publishing

Q I’ve given myself a year to get

published so I can’t afford
to waste time developing
something that’s never going to get
anywhere. I have many stories but how
do I know which of my stories will sell?
[This is a two part question: I want to
get published and which book will sell. I
have a handy exercise that will allow you
to explore an idea or to use as a diagnostic
tool on a completed story that I will cover
next month in Writing Magazine.]
good, it needs to be exceptional to keep
your sales buoyed and booksellers happy
to take your second book and so on. I’ve
known publishers to go to booksellers
own publicity schedule and be active on
social media, word will spread, sales and
reviews will pile in and you’ll start to win
awards. And this does happen more than
saying this is the best book ever and the you think so hold on to that vision.
bookseller will check sales of book However, the end goal of being
If you
have a query
one and regretfully decline. It can published isn’t always helpful to a
be unforgiving but publishing is help, writer, especially if it’s their primary
We’re here to
a business and you want to be a n about focus, as it can stump their creative
on any questio
d publishing
professional writer so you need the writing an verve that creates a bestseller in the
se email:
process. Plea
to deliver with a bang and keep r@ writer sn ews.co.uk first place. Writing is an alchemy
jtelfe
w ritingmagazine
on delivering. or tw eet @
onsult
of the mind and while the practical
with #a sk alitc
How can you predict if your #wmcorner knowledge of being published is
story will sell? You can’t really – it’s useful, your energies are often better

A The first thing to check is your

awareness and commitment to
your writer journey. If you write
a story with the aim of being published
are you aware of what is ahead, what the
publisher will expect you to deliver after
book one? Of course you can hop within
categories from a young adult to a middle
grade series but what if you also wanted
to write adult horror and then women’s
commercial? Even with a name change
your stories would have to be irresistible
and your publisher would need to be able
to accommodate these and to remarket
you each time. Generally your publisher
will want you to produce a similar type
of book for the next number of years. So
choose a genre you’re committed to and
excited to explore.
Then ask if this is the very best book
to launch you. It’s not enough to be
more a question of faith that you and
your publisher believe it will sell. This
is a great thing though, if you can write
a story that gets a publisher so excited
focused on writing the best book you
can at this given time. So, bear in mind
and be prepared to be published (of
course!) but if it starts to be a nagging
they want to take that risk. There are pressure then forget about it for a
classic genre categories you can safely fit while, allow yourself to fall in love with
into: thrillers, historical, quest stories, the story that gets your heart beating
social issues, crime, women’s commercial and the rest will follow.
and general fiction and then sub-genres
that tend to move in and out of fashion • Helen Corner-Bryant spent a number
(psychological thrillers, speculative fiction of years at Penguin working in editorial
and funny MG, for instance). However, before setting up Cornerstones Literary
if you have a story that won’t leave Consultancy in 1998. In 2016, she
you alone, has the hairs on your arms opened Cornerstones US, creating
tingle as you unearth a voice and you’re the world’s first transatlantic literary
scribbling into the night, and then once consultancy. Cornerstones is known
completed, brings the reader to tears or for teaching self-editing techniques,
has them on the edge of their seat, then providing feedback on all types of genres,
you potentially have a winner. Then the scouting for agents, and launching many
publisher will push your book, perhaps writers. See www.cornerstones.co.uk
as a debut lead title, you’ll also have your and www.cornerstonesUS.com

The UK’s 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 editor’s opinion?
Looking to publish and want to make your manuscript print-ready?

“
Structural editing, copyediting
Cornerstones has been invaluable in providing a clear, no holds
and proofreading
barred critique which encouraged me to stretch myself as a writer.
Scouts for literary agents

”
Their feedback helped me gain an agent and a book deal.
Listed by the
Amanda Addison, Laura’s Handmade Life, Little Brown Society of Authors

Call Helen Corner-Bryant 01308 897374 • www.cornerstones.co.uk

www.writers-online.co.uk JULY 2015 11
Cornerstones 1/4 landscape.indd 1 16/11/2016 12:20

p11 Helen Cornerstones.indd 11 22/11/2016 09:11

How do you create irresistible lead characters that will keep readers turning page after page
or coming back for book after book? Gary Dalkin offers some suggestions
W
hat makes a
compelling
fictional character?
Clearly not all
fictional characters
are equally attractive to the reading
public. But just what is it that
keeps readers turning the pages to
follow the adventures of particular
characters? What makes a character
into an icon?
Ordinary people in
extraordinary circumstances
On one level it is not simply a matter
of character, but character plus
story. Almost everyone you meet
has a compelling tale to tell about
something that happened at some
point in their lives, but you likely
wouldn’t want to read their entire
biography from cradle to grave.
Similarly, those stories in which
we find compelling characters don’t
usually recount the character’s entire
life, but pick a particular part of that
life, the most compelling part. A
good author knows where to begin
and end. If the novels form part of a
series then each book will explore a
particularly compelling period from
the character’s life – perhaps the
character is a master spy and each
book tells the story of an especially
dangerous assignment. Even with an
12 JANUARY 2017
extraordinary character at hand, Ian
Fleming never wrote a book about
James Bond spending a fortnight on
Bournemouth beach.
The right author, one who is in
sympathy with his or her character,
can, arguably, write any character in
a way which becomes compelling.
It largely comes down to how
compelling the authors themselves
find their characters, and that in turn
can depend on how much empathy
you have for those characters.
Legend would have it there is a
famous Chinese curse, ‘May you live
in interesting times.’ Why would
it be a curse to live in interesting
times? Because it is a facet of human
nature that what we find interesting
is upset, unrest, trouble, strife,
turmoil. A story in which everything
is wonderful, no matter how finely
written the characters, would be
boring beyond all measure. Conflict
is the essence of drama, what makes
story compelling.
The Bible is an enormous book,
but it doesn’t waste any words telling
us what Adam and Eve got up to
during their idyll in the Garden of
Eden. We can use our imagination.
The story only picks up once conflict
arrives in the form of an antagonist.
Ordinary literary archetypes,
in extraordinary circumstances.
www.writers-online.co.uk
Interesting times. Compelling stories.
A young man working in a shoe
shop in Hartlepool might not sound
very compelling. But then the world
is plunged into war and he finds
himself a radio operator in the
RAF, going from the Battle of the
Atlantic to being stationed in an air
sea rescue launch off the Hook of
Holland during Operation Market
Garden (immortalised in A Bridge
Too Far). This young man takes part
in the rescue of the crew of one of
the many US bombers called Liberty
Belle, then later becoming one of the
liberators of the notorious Japanese
prisoner of war camp at Changi. An
ordinary man surviving through one
dreadful, dangerous, extraordinary
event after another. The rest of
my father’s life was quite ordinary,
but for six years he lived the most
compelling existence. As indeed did
millions of other men and women
of his generation, any number of
whose lives could form the basis for
compelling fictional characters.
Extraordinary people
Of course the converse of ordinary
people in extraordinary circumstances
resulting in compelling stories, is
simply stories about extraordinary
people. Almost by definition
extraordinary people are not to be

found in ordinary circumstances,
because even if they start out
in an ordinary way they soon
find themselves involved in the
extraordinary. Think of a composer
of Mozart’s talent, still as a small boy
performing for the crowned heads
of Europe. Well told, the struggles
of a prodigy or genius become a
compelling tale.
Three compelling
characteristics
Now that we’ve looked at some of the
circumstances in which a character
can be compelling I’m going to
change tack and suggest that no
matter how different compelling
characters might be from each other,
every single one of them has three
things in common. Three things
which make reading or watching
them utterly compelling. Whether
that character is Elizabeth Bennet,
Anne Shirley, Miss Marple, Ellen
Ripley, Sarah Connor, Clarice
Starling, or Katniss Everdeen:
1 They have purpose.
2 They drive the story.
3 They never give up.
Take any character in any book
or film or play and think about
what makes you compelled to follow
them. They may have all sorts of
characteristics. They may be funny,
kind, caring, ingenious, cunning,
ruthless, but they all have these three
things in common.
They have purpose
Compelling characters don’t drift
through life, taking things as they come,
going with the flow. They are actively
engaged in their own world, and they
have a strong sense of purpose.
Certainly at the beginning of a
story a character may not have a
particular purpose, but if that is
the case then something will soon
happen which will give them agency.
In screenwriting terms this is the
‘inciting incident’. Perhaps our
protagonist is a teenager, going to
school every day. There’s nothing
compelling about that. But then her
country is torn apart by war. Her
parents are killed, and she becomes
a refugee, determined to find a
new, safe home, even if that means
p12 hero.indd 13
a journey of thousands of miles
through unknown and unwelcoming
countries. Compelling characters have
something they are compelled to do.
They drive the story
A compelling character takes action
to achieve their goals. They do
difficult things, and they make hard
choices. They take actions which may,
in a thriller or adventure story, be
physically dangerous, and which will
always change the situation, driving
the story forwards.
As well as physical action they may
face decisions which will challenge
their character and have powerful
consequences. They may be forced to
make moral choices which will reveal
their character and so advance the story.
Despite tremendous danger an
army captain may decide to cross a
mine field to rescue trapped men. Or
he may decide to take a safer option
and sacrifice the trapped soldiers.
Either way, he is driving the story. His
decision has compelling consequences
for what follows, both for the lives
of others, and for his own soul. The
reader is compelled to find out what
happens next.
In good fiction a realistic, nuanced
character will take actions or make
decisions which at various points
have both positive and negative
consequences. One familiar example
is the detective so ‘married’ to the
job that she destroys her personal life
through her obsession with bringing
a criminal to justice. An illustration
of this can be found in the true story
told by the film Zodiac, which follows
a team of detectives in San Francisco
through an on-off hunt for a serial
killer. Unlike the usual Hollywood
thriller, the focus is on the impact of
the years-long investigation on the
lives of the detectives themselves.
The mental and emotional toll itself
is what compels us to watch. A toll
which comes because the central
character never gives up.
Of course there are exceptions
which prove the rule, examples of
famous characters who don’t drive the
story forward, but comment upon
it, tell the tale. Consider Dr Watson.
We are not compelled to follow his
adventures, but those of his relentless,
obsessive friend, Sherlock Holmes.
The stories work because although
www.writers-online.co.uk
FICTION
they are told by Watson he is not
their focus. Holmes is the one with
purpose, who drives the story, who
never gives up. Watson is the calm,
reflective chronicler. He is a fine man,
loyal, kind and intelligent, but we are
not compelled by him in the way that
we are by Holmes.
As an aside it can be noted that
cinema has an advantage over the
novelist – the power of movie star
charisma to get away with nothing.
For example, the sheer screen presence
of lead actor Harrison Ford enables
Steven Spielberg to get away with
Indiana Jones taking no part in
driving the climax of Raiders of the
Lost Ark. Jones is tied, blindfold and
helpless, to a wooden pole while the
story resolves around him, and such
is Ford’s star power and charisma
that audiences rarely realise that the
story would play out just as well if
Indiana Jones wasn’t even there. It
is something that a filmmaker as
skilful as Steven Spielberg can pull
off when working with an actor as
magnetic as Harrison Ford. It is not a
storytelling sleight of hand a novelist
can pull off. No reader will find a
character compelling if they sit out the
resolution of their own story.
Compelling characters
never give up
Whether the character Luke Skywalker
taking on the Empire, or Darth Vader
hunting down Luke Skywalker, the
characters who compel us to follow
their journeys never give up.
This truism becomes clearer if we
consider a detective story. Any detective
story. In real life crimes are left unsolved
all the time. Investigations are reluctantly
abandoned. People get away with murder.
The real world is complex, justice elusive,
and sometimes the evidence doesn’t exist
to be found. Or is so well hidden that it
is never to be discovered.
But have you ever read a crime
novel where the detective or detectives
investigating the crime just ran into a
dead end, hit a brick wall, and where
the investigation simply stopped? That
happens in the real world. But it would
never make for a compelling novel.
In a novel the detective always
perseveres. She solves the case, even if
she is taken off it. Her determination
drives her never to give up. Her
insight enables her to see avenues of
JANUARY 2017 13
22/11/2016 09:13
investigation that others can not see.
Her boldness and sense of justice drive
her to take risks to solve the case that
others will not dare. Above all she
does not quit.
And she continues until the case
is solved and the killer brought to
justice. And we find that compelling.
We wish we could be that dogged.
That determined. A character like
this inspires us to be better because,
however flawed they may be in other
ways, they demonstrate a very fine
quality: the tenacity never to give up
on something vital.
Detective novels are often written in
ongoing series. Readers love them and
come back time after time, book after
book, to enjoy the latest investigation
of crime fighting sleuth x, y or z. But
would we come back if the previous
book had ended with the crime
unsolved? No. We want the problems
facing the protagonists who compel
us to follow their adventures to be throws his badge away. But only broken in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the
difficult, and we absolutely don’t want after he has brought the killer to novel is essentially finished. That the
them to quit. Ever. justice at the end of a Magnum .44. government is above everyone, can
Then Harry’s resignation shows his break anyone, even the compelling,
The dark night of the soul contempt for a flawed system which rebellious hero of the book, is
Which is not to say that a compelling doesn’t acknowledge its need for a the ultimate statement of George
character is never tempted to give man like him. Compelling characters Orwell’s message about the nature
up. In fact, they will almost always only quit once the job is done and of totalitarianism. Once his hero
reach a point at which they look into the story is over. Then their act of surrenders to the power of the state it’s
the abyss. They will face a dark night quitting, of giving up is the very all over, which is simply the other side
of the soul. They will feel hopelessly thing which ends the story. of the idea that compelling characters
inadequate to the task, and they may When Winston Smith is finally don’t give up.
very well consider quitting. They
may get drunk and pour out their
deepest fears and doubts to a friend
or colleague. They may go through THREE TYPES OF COMPELLING CHARACTERS
a physical ordeal which pushes them
to their very limits. They may be Three contrasting types of compelling characters have proven themselves irresistible to readers
physically exhausted, near broken. But over the years:
they will get back up, pull themselves
together, gather inner resources, and 1 The character we want to be like (or with)
struggle on. And this makes us all These characters are often larger-than-life fantasy icons. Heroic figures, or sometimes antiheroes
the more compelled to follow their who live life on their own terms, who dare to do the things we would only dream about.
adventures. We respect that they face They could be any detective or superhero or adventurer you can name.
the very depths and that they, perhaps
unlike ourselves, persevere despite 2 Dark characters who are fascinating but we wouldn’t want to meet
everything which is set against them. There is a dark side to human nature which is often, for many people, far more interesting
Compelling characters never give up. than the good. Whether it is genocidal dictators like Hitler and Stalin, or serial killers such as
Hannibal Lecter, as people and as readers we are often compelled to discover more and more
Compelling characters give up about people we would be terrified to be in the same room with.
There are, of course, moments when
compelling characters do give up. 3 Deep, complex characters who develop over time
But only after they have succeeded There are certain characters (and they may also fall into one of the categories above) who we just
in the purpose which drove them want follow through book after book, exploring the world with them and seeing how they face
through the story. Then they may through different experiences. Think of John le Carré’s spy-catcher George Smiley, or Patrick
quit as a moral gesture, to make a O’Brien’s Captain Jack Aubrey and ship’s surgeon, Stephen Maturin.
point. Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry

14 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk


Reward and inspire yourself at the same time by taking
a day off to refresh your senses, suggests Simon Hall
I
’ve often wondered whether it’s
possible for a writer to truly have
a holiday. No matter how much
time you have off, or where you
go, aren’t you always thinking
about stories, characters, and settings?
But it’s Christmas, and everyone
deserves a break. So how about a
perfect writing day off? One in which
you can pamper yourself, and still
indulge yourself in this wonderful
writing world at the same time.
Come join me on Santa’s sleigh ride
of a storytelling kind…
To start with, for breakfast, it’s
time to hunt down some ideas. If
you’re a lark, like me, it’s the most
productive time of day. So put aside
the usual reading, playing with your
phone, or listening to the radio.
Instead, explore your mind.
Brew up some tea or coffee, along
with a pain au chocolat, croissant,
bread or toast. And then sit back
in bed, relax, let your imagination
wander and see where it takes you.
After that, try my toothbrush
challenge. In the few minutes it
takes to freshen your mouth, come
up with an idea for a short story,
flash fiction, or poem.
I also often challenge myself to
write a tweet while I’m showering. It
makes a mundane wash far more fun.
Now you’re ready to face the
world, your morning is taken up with
shopping. First, find some ideas for
characters in the people you see and
the clothes they’re browsing through.
Then push it further, for some
really colourful characters. Root out
some outrageous items of clothing,
from hats to shoes and everything in
between. Who would wear them, and
p15 day off.indd 15
Writer’s
gift day
why? And how could these people
feature in a story?
People watching is a favourite
pastime of mine, and never fails to
throw up ideas.
PS. Don’t forget to buy yourself a
little treat while you’re doing your
shopping ‘research’. It is Christmas
time, and you are pampering
yourself, remember.
After that, it’s time for morning
coffee with a friend. Explore their
life experiences and find an idea for
a story hidden deep inside them. See
if you can surprise yourself. The art
of listening is an invaluable one for
a writer.
And then, it’s time for a curious but
worthwhile diversion.
Take yourself for a visit to your
local Crown Court. All are open
to the public, and even if you
don’t write crime the extremes of
emotions and actions you witness
can provide a powerful insight into
characters’ motivations. Not to
mention areas of life you might not
otherwise have known.
If you don’t fancy court, how about
a public talk, the kind you would
never normally try? From Age UK, to
a museum or university lecture, you
can find new ideas and inspirations in
the strangest places.
For lunch, make a date with yourself
somewhere new. Study the smells
and sounds, the feel of the tables and
floor, the customers, and their body
language. All are experiences that can
help bring your writing to life.
Are the people around you there for
business, or pleasure? And what might
they be talking about? Who is happy,
and who sad? Who are the powerful,
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GET WRITING
and who the weak? Who’s jumpy, and
why? And how can you tell?
Don’t forget to ask your waiter or
waitress for their favourite anecdote
about working in the eatery. You’ll be
amazed what you hear.
And by the way, keep your
phone off. Give yourself an
opportunity to think and feel,
another of my rules of writing.
In the afternoon, take a walk to
give your mind space to wander. Visit
somewhere inspiring, where the air
is pure and the views are stirring.
Dartmoor is a magnet for me with its
wide open spaces and tranquillity.
Try somewhere new, that always
spurs the creativity. Could it make a
setting for a story? My third book, Evil
Valley, was inspired by the name of a
place I saw on a map of Dartmoor on
the wall of a pub.
As for the evening, to finish off your
working treat of a day, take yourself
to see a play or film. Enjoy writing,
characterisation and storytelling by
professionals at the top of their game.
There’s even work to be done
on the way home. Don’t miss the
chance to observe people and places,
and the ways they change in the
night time hours.
And PPS. Buy yourself a new
notebook for your special writing
pampering day. It should be filling
happily with thoughts by now.
At the end of all this, I hope you’ve
had not just an uplifting and indulgent
time but a productive one, too.
One of the great things about
being a writer is how you can be
working whilst looking like you’re
having fun. So go enjoy yourself a
delightful day on me.
JANUARY 2017 15
22/11/2016 09:15
 STYLE
Swear where?
Some writers pepper their fiction, especially dialogue, with expletives.
Others swear off them completely. Lora Bishop considers striking the right balance
M
any years ago there was
a BBC documentary
about a writing
agency, its at-the-time
ascending star, Sheila
Quigley and her extremely successful
debut novel, Run for Home. She was
questioned by the programme maker
on the amount of swearing in the book,
six words on the first page alone. Sheila
made the point that the character was
working class (so apparently would
swear lots), that he had also been shot
and was running for his life. Hence his
internal monologue was understandably
littered with naughty words. So what is
the deal with swearing? Should we be
using it in our writing and if so, how
much and in what context?
A noble history
Profanity is nothing new. Chaucer,
Shakespeare, Cicero... they were all
spicing up their writing with words
and phrases they knew would get the
reading masses hot and sweaty. But
times have changed. Gone are the days
when the utterance of a bad word (or
glimpse of a slender ankle beneath long
skirts) sent polite company rushing for
the smelling salts.
In 1972 comedian George Carlin
first performed his monologue Seven
Words You Can Never Say on Television.
The furore was immediate and
immense. Defending his work, Carlin
said, ‘These words have no power. We
give them power by refusing to be free
and easy with them.’
He was, however, arrested in
Milwaukee for performing the skit,
proving that whilst words may have
no power, cops do. It’s important
to note that all seven of the words
George considered out of bounds
in 1972 are now uttered freely and
easily on television and in books,
thrown about with reckless abandon
whether needed or not. (I’m unsure if
16 JANUARY 2017
p16 swearing.indd 16
a swear word can ever said to be truly
needed, but thinking back to Sheila
Quigley, sometimes character and
context justify it.)
Spice, not substance
Swearing in writing is a bit like salt. A
subtle sprinkle can be flavour enhancing,
but too much, or on the wrong dish can
just make the chef seem like they don’t
know what they are doing. I recently
watched The Wolf of Wall Street, a film
that holds the dubious record of using the
F word over 560 times in just under three
hours. (Total swear word count is over
700.) Is this really necessary I wonder?
(Perhaps I should also wonder why
my life is so empty that I count swear
words in films?) Nor was I alone in my
wondering. ‘I had to stop this film after
listening to a script heavily laced with
filthy expletives. Why do scriptwriters
feel it necessary to include all these four
letter foul words, I can only assume
that they are incapable of expressing
themselves adequately in everyday
English,’ said one disgruntled Amazon
reviewer. The film received mostly
positive reviews and is director Martin
Scorsese’s highest-grossing movie to date.
For people such as ‘disgruntled at
Amazon,’ however, some comfort
can be found in the form of Clean
Reader. An app with three settings,
Clean, Cleaner and Squeaky, it removes
naughty words from your ebook lest
they offend your delicate sensibilities.
Clean Reader has elicited opposing
views. ‘Just because an author wishes to
use swear words doesn’t mean I have to
be forced to read them,’ said one review
on the app store.
‘If you use this app don’t read my
books. I don’t want your business. You
support censorship and ebook piracy,’
said another.
Author Robert Bevan said, ‘When
I consider my target audience,
appeasing the sensitivities of church
www.writers-online.co.uk
going old ladies isn’t really a priority.’
Personally, I find stereotyping
more offensive than swearing but I
Wolf of Wall Street © Paramount Pictures
understand the point Robert is making.
You’ll never please everyone and there
will always be somebody who enjoys
getting outraged. It reminds me of when
I take my buggy on the bus. Wherever I
put it someone always moans. The other
day, in order to stay one step ahead of
the bus bullies, I turfed my child and
shopping out, folded the buggy and
stuck it in the luggage area completely
out of the way. An old woman then
complained loudly to her husband
that I had ‘dumped’ my buggy on her
shopping and was squashing her plants.
My point? You’ll never please everyone
and some people are gloriously validated
by a good old moan.
I get that a writer is entirely free to
do what they like within their own
work, however, it is important to be
aware that swearing too much can be
alienating and if you want maximum
readership it’s probably wise to keep
swearing to a minimum.
This month’s cover star Lee Child
manages to write gritty cop thrillers
without swearing. ‘I have never heard
from anybody who misses them (swear
words) and wishes I’d put them in.’
That said, if you want to swear a streak
in your work, it’s up to you. We are lucky
enough (if lucky is the right word) to
live in an age where no swear words are
considered too taboo. In 1976 when The
Sex Pistols swore live on TV there was
outrage. People marched in the streets.
In 2010 when over 10 million people
heard the C word used in the programme
Big Brother only 100 or so complained.
So be the Wolf of Wall Street in your
writing, or be a wilting wall flower.
Providing you can write well, as far as
swears are concerned most readers won’t
actually give a chocolate-frosted, smiley-
faced emoticon, heck gosh darn.
(Sorry, my Clean Reader app is on.)
22/11/2016 09:16

On writing
Tony Rossiter
explores great
words from
great writers
“”
As to the adjective:
when in doubt,
strike it out.
MARK TWAIN
A
n adjective is a word that qualifies, modifies
or describes a noun. Sometimes it’s essential,
sometimes it’s optional: it all depends on the
context. Usually an adjective answers one of four
questions: What kind? (It was a boring lecture.) Which one?
(Meet me outside the Anglican cathedral.) How many? (There
are three characters in the play.) How much? (There is ample
space to park your car.)
Some qualifying adjectives can be dumped without any loss
of meaning. Consider the following common combinations:
important essentials, past history, absolute certainty, advance
warning, general consensus, future prospects, safe haven, usual
habit. In each of these cases, the adjective is superfluous and
can be deleted.
Some common adjective/noun combinations have become
familiar clichés: deafening silence, honest truth, yawning gulf, bated
breath, golden opportunity, cautious optimism, real/serious danger.
In cases like these, it’s much better either to leave the noun to stand
on its own, without the adjective, or – if you really do need it – to
choose an adjective that is fresher and more original.
It’s best to avoid vague adjectives: words like considerable,
appreciable and substantial. If you’re thinking of using words
like these, ask yourself two questions. First, do I need an
adjective at all? If you’re tempted to write: ‘This is a matter of
considerable urgency’, a moment’s thought will tell you that
‘This is urgent’ is much better. Second, if you’re convinced
that an adjective is needed, ask yourself: would not a more
specific adjective suit better? The use of specific, rather
than vague, adjectives makes the writing livelier and more
compelling to read.
If the adjective you need does not come immediately to
mind, a thesaurus may help you to find exactly the right
word. But you don’t always need to strive for the unusual. The
opening sentence of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four has
two of the simplest adjectives imaginable (It was a bright cold
day in April… ) and they work wonderfully well.
Used carefully and in moderation, adjectives can give your
writing colour. But don’t overdo it: you can have too much of
a good thing. Often, less is more. If you’re not sure whether or
not to add an adjective, the best rule of thumb is to follow Mark
Twain’s advice: leave it out.
www.writers-online.co.uk
p17 on writing / Piers.indd 17
AGENT OPTIN
ITLE
ION
From the
OTHE R SIDE
OF THE DESK
Literary agent
Piers Blofeld explains
the mysterious role of
the literary scout
I
t is still a bit of a shock to me how much the book business, which
is all about making things public, is rather in love with secrecy. A
cynic might suggest that like a great many businesses (management
consultancy?) making what you do sound mysterious is a good way of
retaining a perception of value.
I think that would be more than a little unfair, not only are there some
amazingly talented people in this business, but like all creative endeavours,
its processes are bound at times to seem obscure.
Of all the many job descriptions and roles within publishing the one
which gets the least attention and which I suspect most people outside of
the business have never even heard of are the literary scouts.
Scouts are a kind of intermediary between agents and publishers.
They are paid a retainer by publishers to sniff out those hot books that
everyone is hoping for.
Now, in the age of the email and the internet one might wonder why it
is necessary to have another layer of intermediaries: yet more middlemen?
After all, any agent can send a submission to every publisher in the world
at the click of a button. Isn’t the existence of scouts a sign that either
agents aren’t doing their jobs properly? Or publishers?
Up to a point that may be true, although it’s worth pointing out
that it is the publishers who pay agents a retainer, not agents, so if
the finger of blame points anywhere... But blame is too harsh a word.
Really scouts are a reminder of just how competitive and uncertain a
business publishing can be.
Every editor is crossing their fingers that the next book that crosses their
desk will be ‘the one’, but they are also deeply anxious about buying books
which won’t sell because if they do that more than a few times the chances
are they will get the sack. So they live in a state of perpetual suspension
between excitement and terror.
They also work in a deeply political and inward looking
environment. Publishing companies can be intense bubbles where
editors need to get the approval and support of colleagues for the
books they want to acquire. Chivvying reluctant colleagues into doing
more out-of-hours reading is also not much fun.
These two things mean that in the run up to the key book fairs, when
scouts really swing into gear, and editors’ terror and exhaustion is at their
maximum, having these mysterious outside agents, the scouts, come in
and whisper tales of the hot books that everyone is talking about can be
enormously effective. It can be the deciding factor for an editor whether to
redouble their efforts to acquire a book or give up.
The weary truth is that all of us at times doubt our own taste
and even the best editors can become jaded, and the realisation that
somebody else wants to acquire the book that you have been humming
and hawing about can be decisive.
Certainly, as a writer, if and when you ever get to the point where
your novel is out on submission and your agent happens to mention
that they are getting good feedback from the scouts, that’s the time to
cross your fingers extra tightly, because it could be, just could be, that
your book is about to go big…
JULY 2015 17
22/11/2016 09:17
 A
HERO
OF OUR
TIME
Image © Dan Callister/Writer Pictures

Like his irrepressible man-mountain hero,

Lee Child just keeps coming back strong.
He tells Tina Jackson about keeping it
fresh and piling on the thrills

T
om Cruise may not look exactly as you imagine
the towering Jack Reacher, but in the minds of his
millions of readers, his creator Lee Child certainly
does. Lee’s the Clint Eastwood of the writing
world: the lone desperado; the lean, laconic author with the
1,000-yard stare whose hero faces down a series of antagonists
with a killer blend of brains and superior physique. You can
almost hear the strains of an Ennio Morricone soundtrack
whistling down the phoneline from New York as the world’s
most famous thriller writer settles down to tell WM how he
goes about making a hero for our times.
Lee’s Reacher books have accrued him sales of more
than 70 million copies worldwide and the second
Reacher film – Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, with Tom
Cruise as the eponymous hero – was released last month.
Lee’s new Reacher novel, Night School, came out at the
beginning of November. It’s his 21st – and at one point
WATCH Lee said he was going to write 21 Reacher novels and
then kill him off. Instead, he’s written a prequel that
TAP HERE takes ex-military cop Reacher back to his army days. Is
to watch a video this a cop-out? Has the rock-steady Lee flinched at the
interview with Lee Child thought of terminating such an iconic character?

p18 Interview.indd 18 22/11/2016 14:47

 L E E CSHTA
ILD
R I N T E RV I E W

‘It was one of those questions you get asked – people were
asking and I’d say 21 for no real reason other than there was a
series I admire – John D Macdonald’s Travis McGee novels,’ drawls
Lee. He’s British but long-term residency in New York has given
him a transatlantic accent entirely in line with his persona. His
conversational style is deadpan, his voice uninflected, but rather
than being intimidatingly cool, he’s courteous and good company.
‘He did 21, and died,’ Lee continues. ‘So I thought 21 was a
good target to aim at. But it was very much, when you’re twenty
you don’t mind if you die when you’re fifty, but as you get older
it’s sixty, seventy… Also the title for the last book (Make Me)
became a private marker for judging how popular Reacher was
getting, and it’s all about the readers. And they want more – who
am I to deny them that?’
Night School is set twenty years ago, in 1996, in a world that
had not yet wakened to the War on Terror and had only recently
come out of the shadow of the Cold War. ‘I looked back twenty
years to 1996 and in terms of politics and the international security
situation, 1996 was a long time ago, the beginning of something
we didn’t understand and probably will never understand. With the
Cold War, it was structured and we’re dealing with this new world
war where nothing really makes much sense.’
Lee’s thrillers are a series of standalones. ‘The Reacher Books are
a series in that they’re similar and feature the same guy, but you
could call them all standalones – they’re not a classic series with
an office, staff, friends. But people see them as a series, although
they’re a sequence of standalones featuring the same guy. I make
them different because I don’t have to make them the
same – there’s no formula, no template. You don’t
have to start the same as the others.’

“”
This means Lee can focus in each book
on what he’s currently interested in.
‘It’s a pleasure to write Reacher. I was Having been made redundant, the
fortunate in that he needs no roots, I never get the feeling former Granada TV presentation
location or job so each book can be director then known as Jim Grant
completely fresh. Some books can of being trapped into a famously went out, bought three
have him working with the FBI, formula. It’s like writing the pads of paper and a pencil and
some have obscure people in lonely on 1 September, started writing.
towns. I never get the feeling of first book each time. I keep ‘Reacher was a cathartic thing – he
being trapped into a formula. It’s like
writing the first book each time. I
doing it because it’s a became an avatar not just for me
but for a lot of people trapped in
keep doing it because it’s a pleasure to pleasure to do, there’s that situation in the 1990s, when we
do, there’s nothing bad about it.’ were cut out of the machine,’ he says.
He starts at the beginning and lets nothing bad about it. ‘In the 1990s it happened to a lot of
something occur to him. ‘I never have an people. I thought if I wrote him as being
idea in advance. As I go along I put in what unconcerned and getting on with the next
interests me at the time. With Night School in thing, that was empowering not just for me, but
particular I wanted to make it partly Reacher’s fault – for other people.’
the problem they tackled in 1996 diminished their capacity to Lee notes that there is a blurring of the lines between fiction and
handle it five years later. The 9/11 terrorists [really] did hang out real life. ‘We all put a bit of autobiography into fiction. Reacher is
in Hamburg.’ exactly like me if I could get away with it.’
Writing a prequel for Reacher was an interesting process for Lee At 6’5”, Jack Reacher is literally larger than life: a character
because it meant stripping away accumulated layers of experience from myth or legend transplanted into a series of situations
to get at the essence of his character. ‘How much do we change that demand dramatic intervention. ‘He does the right thing,’
really from when we become young adults?’ he asks rhetorically. says Lee. ‘Helps the little guy – which we would all like to do.
‘We change a little bit but not a lot. A prequel is interesting to Readers are a smart sub-set of the population and everyone
work with because instead of progressing him forward, you’ve got would like to do right but that’s not always possible – maybe
to make him the same guy but twenty years younger – a bit more you’re intimidated or scared if it’s a neighbourhood problem
enthusiastic, a bit more optimistic – before twenty years of being or a problem at work. That’s a bad feeling. People walk around
ground down by life.’ disrespected and frustrated – and then, to be able to see a guy
Lee started writing Reacher at a point of crisis in his own life. who looks like that and acts like they’d like to do if they could.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 19

p18 Interview.indd 19 22/11/2016 14:47

 L E E C H I L D I N T E RV I E W
We turn to fiction for what we can’t get in real life.’
There are versions of Reacher throughout the history of
storytelling; what Lee has done is to create a contemporary
version of an archetype. ‘He’s very much a
mythological figure – a version of a character
“”
that has existed throughout history – the
mysterious stranger, the knight errant, the
noble loner. He’s Clint Eastwood, and
mediaeval characters like Sir Gawain
and Sir Lancelot – and there were Creating suspense as a writer
earlier versions of these heroes. You
have to ask why this character keeps is very easy and basic...Think
getting reinvented, and it’s because
people want that character to be
about any suspense book.
around. He can show up and fix Will the guy be killed? Will the
your problem.’
Giving him a past as a former guy be found? Ask the question,
military policeman was a way of then spend the entire book
emphasising the fact that Reacher
belongs everywhere, instead of not answering it.
somewhere in particular – and is equipped
to deal with challenges out of the range of
mere civilians. ‘Typically, people who are rootless
and can’t settle are usually ex-military,’ says Lee.
‘They’ve been in that world and once they’re out of it, they
can’t adapt to the civilian world. It accounts for the rootlessness
and inability to settle down. A fish out of water. He’s working to
a different set of values and experiences. He’s not going to meet
much that’s super-intimidating to him.’
Violence is an inescapable part of the Reacher thrillers, and Lee
says it’s vital to write these episodes with a sense of belief. ‘There
are two parts: psychological anticipation and execution. I think it
through and then write it with as much conviction as I can. I think
it does need to be graphic because violence has consequences, it’s
not like in the movies where you pick yourself up and dust yourself
down. The way not to do it is to glamourise it and make it more
attractive than it is – to minimise the effects.’
He admits this part of the writing affords him – and the reader
20 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk
p18 Interview.indd 20
– a vicarious pleasure. ‘I do enjoy writing these parts because the
reader not only wants to see the good guy win – more than that,
they want to see the bad guy lose. They want to see him punished.’
If Reacher were merely brawny but brainless, he
wouldn’t work as a semi-mythic character, says
Lee. ‘People enjoy watching things being done
really well. People like to watch expertise
– just to push him to the edge of that
mythological purpose. He eats, he
sleeps, he rides the bus – but deep
down, he’s connected to myth.’
Hot having possessions puts him
at a remove from the rest of society,
although Lee created that detail
about Reacher for his own reasons.
‘That was a personal choice. I was
thinking how I would like to live
like that. But that’s become part of
the myth as well – he’s liberated from
possessions and conventions that wear
you down. He’s free of the things everyone
else is suffering from.’
Making Reacher American, and giving him
the vast territory of the US to move around in, was
also about creating a mythology, this time in terms of landscape.
‘I was fascinated by the hugeness of American geography – vast
distances and empty landscapes, little towns hiding secrets. Europe’s
densely populated, it’s been centuries since there’s been that kind of
empty space – so it had to be set in America.’
As for the technique of creating the suspense that makes a
thriller work, Lee says it’s so easy it’s almost like cheating. ‘Creating
suspense as a writer is very easy and basic,’ he says. ‘It’s almost so
easy and basic it feels a bit cheap – all you have to do is pose a
question, and then you don’t answer it. The big question in Night
School is what is he [the bad guy] selling and they return to this
over and over again. You create suspense by asking the question and
not answering it. It’s that basic.’
He suggests that instead of looking at possible ingredients in
22/11/2016 14:48
 L E E C H I L D I N T E RV I E W

a recipe for creating suspense, your-seat, set-piece finishes.

writers should instead think ‘You’ve got to give the reader a
about what the questions are that big end scene. It’s a cop-out if
they will spend the book not you don’t. I love a big, white-
answering. ‘People think creating knuckle-ride ending.’
suspense is all about methods As a hugely successful
and ingredients. The question commercial writer, he knows
falls into a mindset that suggests how important it is for the reader
you need ingredients, and if you that books end with a sense of
get it right then the cake will resolution. ‘Closure is important
be okay. It leads you into an for the reader. In a couple of books
ingredient-based assumption. A I didn’t explain what happened to
better question would be, how a couple of characters and readers
do I make my family hungry? were unhappy about it. They
And the answer would be, want to have all the ends tied up.
don’t feed them. Think about Sometimes the story just won’t let
any suspense book. Will the you do that. Sometimes you want to
guy be killed? Will the guy be leave it that this story is finished but
found? Ask the question, then it’s opened up possibilities for the
spend the entire book not future – as in Night School. Where
answering it.’ this is going to have a negative
The key to writing a impact later on.’
thriller is also, in Lee’s He doesn’t believe in stashing
book, straightforward. ideas for the finale. ‘If you have an
‘What makes a thriller idea you should use it right away,
work is to scare people not save it for the end, because if the
and make it alright in the beginning is boring, they’ll never get
end. We turn to fiction to the end. I just put in everything I
for what we can’t get in can think of.’
real life – most people The books’ impact has been so
don’t really experience great that Hollywood came calling –
crime very much in real twice. Some Reacher fans may not be
life, and if you do, you entirely happy with how their hero has
don’t get your car back translated to screen, but in his unfazed
and they don’t catch the criminal. It’s unfinished business. In way, Lee’s more than pleased with how
a thriller you read something bad happening and then it’s put it’s all panned out. ‘I like the movies – they’re great, and I’m very
right and order is restored.’ happy with the whole process. A lot of book fans are unhappy
Lee’s books – including Night School – feature huge, edge-of- because Tom Cruise is too small – but I’ll take that deal.’

Read more of Lee’s writing advice, watch

BONUS
a video interview and enjoyCONTENT
an excerpt of
the latest Reacher novel, Night School, on
TAP HERE
http://writ.rs/wmjan17
to read more of Lee’s writing
advice and enjoy an excerpt of the
latest Reacher novel, Night School

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, including Lee’s cameo, centre © Paramount Pictures

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 21

p18 Interview.indd 21 22/11/2016 14:48

 Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions.
Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.

May 2017 1 April

Gear up for Eurovision BBC TV show Pano
rama
in May with a look back, broadcast the famou
s
perhaps celebrating UK April’s Fool Day sp
ce aghetti
victories: it’s fifty years sin tree hoax sixty year
fi rst win wit h Pu ppe t s ago
our
rs
on a String and twenty yea
since our last wit h Love
Shine a Light by Katrina
and the Waves.

2 April
Red Rum won the 12 April
Grand National horse race for EuroDisney
the third time forty years ago (now Disneyland Paris)
opened 25 years ago.

Birthdays
been
Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald would have
100 on 25 April

Daffy Duck is eighty on 17 April,

having made his
k Hun t in 1937.
first appearance in Porky’s Duc
on 22 April.
So is Jack Nicholson, with his birthday

Barbra Streisand will be 75 on 24 Ap

ril
13 April ,
Twen ty years ago t
ds (then Iggy Pop will be seventy on the 21s
Tiger Woo 16 April
) became
aged twenty olfer is Easter
tg
the younges
w in the Sunday
ever to
Masters T o u rn am ent.
Looking ahead
2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day
Landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history,
which took place on 6 June and began the liberation
19 April of France from Nazi occupation. If you are thinking
The Simpsons was first of covering this or writing a long-form work of fiction
broadcast on The Tracey Ullman 27 April
or non-fiction, plan ahead, particularly with regard to
Show thirty years ago 25 years ago, Betty
speaking to remaining veterans.
Boothroyd became
the first woman to
be Speaker in the
House of Commons

p22 Editorial calendar.indd 22 22/11/2016 09:21


D
ig beneath the skin of most
writers and you’ll find a vein
of bloody-mindedness that
runs deep and wide.
Before becoming a full-
time writer, one of my
many day jobs involved working in
an aggressive sales environment where
targets were the norm, company league
tables were required reading, and the
Power of Positive Thinking was the daily
mantra. Personally, that last one always
eluded me because standing up and
reciting ‘Today is going to be a Big Sales
day’ was never enough to convince me
that success would come calling simply
because I asked it to. I was more likely
to be found at the back of the room
quietly muttering, ‘Please God, give
me a huuuuge order so I can get these
people off my back and retire!’
Okay, so maybe that was expecting a
bit too much.
In practical terms my preferred method
was to go out and make sure success
happened by courting it. Certainly
there were uncomfortable moments
– sometimes enough to have the sales
director’s evil eye swivelling my way on
occasion. But I worked on the basis that
activity breeds activity, and the more
times I did my job the luckier I would
get. And so it was – most of the time.
Since those days I’ve used the same
approach to my writing. And that means
doing it, doing it again… and again.
Eventually, I figured, given a constant
and regular round of activity and effort,
of keeping an eye on the market and
not being afraid to try different things
– and of failing occasionally as long as
it taught me something – good things
would happen.
p23 Beginners.indd 23
Courting
SUCCESS
Make your own luck, advises
Adrian Magson
As I quickly discovered, writing one
piece is never enough. It might sell
first time, it might not, so sitting back
waiting to see what happens is not the
best way of ensuring success. You have
to repeat the process. You’ll get fails, as
I did when writing for the magazine
market. They might have already
covered a similar topic, the market
might have changed subtly or the
submission might simply not be up to
snuff compared with another writer.
Whatever the reason, interspersed with
those occasional downers there are
successful ‘hits’ that will lift the spirit
and make up for any recent rejections
ten times over.
This repetitious approach might
seem like tilting at windmills, but I
prefer to think of it as not giving up.
Not that it means doing the exact
same thing every time; that would be a
waste of effort, and frankly not a very
interesting way of spending your time.
But analysing what doesn’t work is just
as crucial as knowing when you’ve hit
on a successful theme. Not giving in to
rejection but continuing to write and
submit is putting yourself out there and
saying ‘This is what I do – and I can
do it again, only better.’
Like all endeavours, you have to be
able to live up to the demands of the
market. Editors love writers who take a
professional approach to their job from
the outset and don’t expect one success
to make everything thereafter an easy
ride. That’s why the good ones will look
critically at fresh submissions: to see
if a writer has that certain something
they can work with and on which they
can rely. If they ask for a rewrite and
encounter objections because the writer
www.writers-online.co.uk
wants to protect their creative credibility
or some such protest, they won’t waste
time arguing because they know there
are others out there who will turn round
and do what’s required.
It’s a tough business and you
have to decide whether to go
with the flow or take up knitting
spaghetti instead. (With apologies
to spaghetti knitters everywhere).
It goes without saying, but I’ll
say it anyway, that simply meeting
word counts, deadlines and genre
requirements won’t cut it; you have to
be able to repeat the process and make
adjustments where required.
The same goes with book-length
works. Some writers get lucky with
their first one; most do not. But the
professional ones keep steaming ahead
even while their first (or most recent)
project is out there under consideration.
I know I’ve said it before, but the next
best thing to an outright offer of a sale is
to have an agent or editor show enough
interest to ask, ‘What else do you have?’
The worst thing is to have nothing
simply because you were sitting back
on your haunches waiting to see what
the reaction to the first submission
would be. Even if all you have is a
work in progress, you can at least talk
about it to show that you have another
project on the go and, if asked, send
it in. Agents and editors work on the
simple basis that they need a regular
through-put of submissions and ideas,
and a writer with more than one
idea and a hint of something extra is
someone worth looking at. Without
new ones to consider, they can’t look
to the future, and the professional ones
are prepared to work with promising
writers to see if they can help them
move forward. If they can, it holds
great potential for both parties.
top tips
• Be professional. Successful writers treat it
as a job, not a hobby.
• The harder you work, the luckier you’ll be.
• Don’t be afraid to send your work out there.
If you don’t shout, nobody will hear you.
• Repetition is the key. Don’t be put off by
rejection – it’s one person’s opinion and
there are many others out there.
JANUARY 2017 23
22/11/2016 09:29
 i n g
e w rit
H I S TO R I CA L F I C T I O N
R e
�
‘Not another novel set in Tudor times.’
T
he very first review
of my new historical
timeslip mystery,
The Phantom Tree,
summed up the
difficulty of making a well-known
period of history your own. Fortunately
the review went on to describe the book
as ‘surprisingly brilliant’, ‘surprising’ in
that it covered the well-worn territory
of Tudor England in a new way. So
how does a writer take a period like
the Tudor era and write a book that is
fresh and original?
First, it’s worth examining why
this is such a rich seam for historical
novelists. The popularity of the Tudor
period has not waned in all the time
I’ve been reading about it (which is
over forty years) and it is curious as
to why, despite the richness of other
places, characters and eras, writers
return to it time and time again. In
some ways the very familiarity of the
story is its appeal. It has memorable
characters, family rivalry, bloodshed,
romance and adventure. From
Bosworth Field to the defeat of the
Spanish Armada and beyond there is a
vast, exciting backdrop of events and
huge and colourful cast of characters
to draw on. It’s terrific background
and inspiration.
24 JANUARY 2017
p24 Historical fiction.indd 24
s t
p a
t h
Certain periods of history are already well explored
by other authors, but there’s still room for new
approaches. Historical novelist Nicola Cornick
helps your book stand out from the crowd.
Let characters lead you familiar history of Henry VIII and Jane
I didn’t set out to write a Tudor novel. Seymour. We are in rural Wiltshire far
For me the characters always come first from the glittering court in London;
and it was a co-incidence that this time I Wolf Hall has fallen into disrepair in
chose a member of the Seymour family the decades following the death of
of Wolf Hall as the focus of my story. In Henry VIII and the downfall of Edward
my previous book, House of Shadows, I Seymour, the Lord Protector, and his
had explored the life of Elizabeth Stuart, brother Thomas. It’s a very different
the Winter Queen, setting the book in world. It gives the reader a new view of
England and the Netherlands during a history they already know.
“”
the 17th century. I’m drawn to tell
the story of strong, intriguing The power of research
women who are largely The past is a different country
lost from history. The One of the things that and it gives an author the
era follows the character opportunity to draw on a
and that was the case
drew me into reading rich and vivid background.
with Mary Seymour, historical fiction as a child The use of evocative
the daughter of Thomas and hooked me forever was language can be a very
Seymour and Catherine powerful tool in conveying
Parr in The Phantom Tree. the world building. It gave your setting. One of the
Writing about lesser- my imagination space things that drew me into
known characters within a reading historical fiction as
familiar context is one way of to roam a child and hooked me forever
making a story your own. Philippa was the world building. It gave my
Gregory did this with huge success in imagination space to roam. Research
The Other Boleyn Girl. Writing about is key. You do need to immerse
a character who is not directly in the yourself in the detail of a period and
spotlight allows the narrator much more understand not only what people wore
freedom. The big names are peripheral and how they travelled, for example,
rather than centre stage and their story but also how they thought and felt.
is shown through a different perspective. The whole framework of your book
In The Phantom Tree, much of Mary must be accurate and convincing.
Seymour’s tale takes place at Wolf Yet although historical novels do
Hall, but it is a Wolf Hall that is very require serious research there must also
different from the one depicted in the be a balance where the author does not
www.writers-online.co.uk
22/11/2016 09:30
 H I S TO R I CA L F I C T I O N

get bogged down relating those facts.
Nothing is more off-putting to reader
than the ‘information dump’ where a
novel becomes a rather dry non-fiction
text. Vast tracts of historical detail also
slow the pace of the story, so authors
need to drop those fine details in
sparingly. Short but vivid descriptions
of what characters wore or what they
ate, the smells they experienced, the
sounds they heard, are like a candle
throwing light on the period. They
illuminate it in an authentic glow and
create atmosphere. In The Phantom Tree
I have a scene where Mary visits the
market in Marlborough. She watches
a barber surgeon pulling teeth, she
trips over chickens and falls in dung
write historical fiction with a modern
tone and do it very well but if you do
this it needs to be clear to the reader
that this is a conscious choice and not
a result of poor research. Nor do you
want some kind of ‘Ye Olde England’
pastiche. It’s a difficult line to tread.
With the dialogue I think it’s important
to avoid what is known as ‘gadzookery’
but at the same time the occasional use
of old language and a different style of
sentence formation can emphasise the
authenticity of your story. As with all
things, it is a balance.
The same ideas apply to your
characters’ sensibilities. Whilst it may
be true that our ancestors felt many
of the same emotions as we do, there’s

and she smells the mix of smoke and
ale, animals and unwashed humanity.
Draw on all the senses to build a really
powerful scene.
Put fiction before facts
So as an author of historical fiction
ps
Top 5 ti
no doubt that their life view and
beliefs were different. For example
most Regency gentlemen would
probably not nurture the same beliefs
on equality or race, or fox-hunting,
as we do. If it is important for your
protagonists to earn and keep the
on writing historical fiction

you’ve done the research (and hopefully
enjoyed it too because research should
be a lot of fun!) You’re armed with the
facts. Now you need to remember
that you are writing fiction. You are
telling a story. Wear the research
1
sympathy of a modern reader, you will
need to be aware of this and perhaps
give your characters more liberal
attitudes than they might have had.
At the very least they need to be aware
of and discuss these issues if they are
Readers want to come away from a historical
novel feeling that they have been entertained
and that they’ve learnt something as well. It’s
important to mix a page-turning story with
a fresh and different aspect of a well-known

lightly and concentrate on creating
strong characters, a powerful plot
and narrative drive. Remember that
whatever the type of fiction, it is
action and conflict that move the plot
2
relevant to your story. Allowing your
characters to question and explore
their place in society not only fills in
details of the larger political, social
and cultural context of the time but
historical period.
In dialogue, it’s best to avoid ‘methinks, gadzooks
and zounds’ or words to that effect. Using archaic
language doesn’t add to the authenticity so much

forwards. Writing historical fiction is all
about giving a reader your character’s
experience of walking through another
time, and seeing and feeling it live
and breathe. You may be writing
about events where a reader knows
the outcome but your characters will
not. No one knows what will happen
3
also reveals the person to the reader.
Look at the way they treat other
classes – and how they feel about their
place in the world they inhabit.
Finally, be prepared for this to be a
long process. When I changed from
writing Regency historicals to writing
timeslip mysteries I anticipated that it
as look stilted and a bit silly.
The internet can be a great tool for research.
There are many wonderful interactive maps,
images, videos, and historical documents.
When I was researching House of Shadows
I discovered I could virtually walk around a
recreation of a long-lost palace. It gave me a
sense of geography and place that I could not

tomorrow or next week or next year.
People only ever see part of a picture
and their interpretation is limited by
their hopes, feelings, backgrounds and
beliefs. Remember that your characters
4
would take me about a year to write have gained in any other way.
my first one. In fact it took me eighteen
months, because the need to weave The internet can be a terrible tool for research.
together three different time strands There is a lot of flawed information that
masquerades as historical ‘fact’. Always check
was a great deal more difficult than

can’t see the future (unless they, and
your book, possesses supernatural
elements!) They can only experience
their present.
Watch your language
Voice is also very important in a
historical novel. You don’t want to sound
too archaic or readers won’t be able to
understand the story. Some authors,
such as Susannah Dunn, deliberately
5
your sources.
following only one, plus I was writing
in an unfamiliar – to-me – period, my Read and love historical fiction.
research was deeper and I kept getting Be proud to be a history geek.
sidetracked. That’s another point. Don’t
get swallowed up in your research. You
need to know when to stop! If you find The Phantom Tree by Nicola
n
something interesting make a note of it Re a d a t Cornick is out now (£7.99,
t a
to come back to another day. Above all, extrac .rs/ HQ Stories, HarperCollins)
w ri t
though, enjoy the process. I love writing http:// n17
historical fiction and I hope you derive wm j a
huge pleasure from it too.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 25

p24 Historical fiction.indd 25 22/11/2016 09:30

 I N S P I R I N G WO R D S

How I got
published
Author James Silvester, whose debut
Escape to Perdition is a contemporary thriller
set in Prague, shares his path to publication
with Dolores Gordon-Smith

‘Y
ou should be a writer,’ they said. It became a kind of running
joke whenever I’d catch up with old mates and the subject
turned to the hatred we harboured for our various jobs.
‘A writer?’ I’d answer, ‘Yeah, right.’
Okay, it was what I’d always wanted to do (well, that or be the next
Doctor Who), but life just isn’t like that is it? There are bills to pay, an
extortionate mortgage to fret about and two small kids to feed. Dreams are
all very well but they can wait until real life is through with me, right?
Wrong. To paraphrase someone wiser than I, if you wait until the
perfect time to do something, you’ll never do it. And it was after one
particularly bad day at said hated job that I sat down in front of my
laptop and just said, ‘Why not?’
After that, Escape to Perdition, the Cold War-style thriller I’d always wanted
to write, began pouring out of me, whenever and wherever it could. On lunch
breaks at my desk, on cramped train seats, under the blanket in the depths of
the night, any chance I had, I’d busily shape my affection of those old political
thrillers of the past, mixed with my love of Prague and the blues and a twist of
angst into something tangible, something (hopefully) readable, something…
me. I had no agent, I had no publisher, so just enjoyed the process of crafting
my book they way I wanted it crafted. I wrote for myself first.
And that was when I started to worry. The internet is full of people eager
to tell you the horror stories of publishing: your work will never be published
if it doesn’t tick the right boxes, if it written in this style, or that manner
etc, etc, and I began to worry they were right. I’d sent a number of pitches
off and hadn’t heard anything and, while tempted, I didn’t think that self-
publishing was for me. It began to feel like I’d accelerated towards a dead
end. Little did I know at the time, there was a third option.
Via Twitter, I’d got in touch with Matthew Smith of indie publisher
Urbane Publications. Immediately Matthew’s approach felt different; he
engaged with readers and writers, making everyone feel a genuine part of the
process, and he stressed the importance of collaboration between publisher
and author. What’s more, he was enthusiastic about my work, and we
worked hand in hand on everything, from title, to cover design, to marketing
strategies – this was a joint project from end to end. And I’m thrilled that
as Urbane has grown, attracting new and well-known names, Matthew’s
commitment to me and my work remains as strong as ever as we work
together on my forthcoming second book – The Prague Ultimatum.
Matthew Smith -
Urbane Publications
‘In an increasingly crowded – and risk-
averse – marketplace, there seem to be
very few books that attempt to break the
mould rather than fit rather hackneyed
thriller themes. And even fewer publishers
willing to take a risk on a debut author
trying to carve a space in a very competitive genre. Urbane
invested in James and Escape to Perdition not simply because
of the obvious strength and quality of his writing, but his
willingness to take the traditional political thriller genre in an
exciting new direction, while remaining true to its authorial
inspirations, from Conrad to le Carré.
Herbert Biely, aged hero of the Prague Spring, stands on
the brink of an historic victory, poised to reunite the Czech
and Slovak Republics 26 years after the Velvet Revolution.
The imminent Czech elections are the final stage in realising
his dream of reunification, but other parties have their own
agendas and plans for the fate of the region. A shadowy
collective, masked as an innocuous European Union Institute,
will do anything to preserve the status quo.
Set in the beautiful – and historically significant – Prague,
James has managed to tackle exciting and topical themes (the
break-up of Europe, political power, corruption, the impact
of history) with carefully weighted suspense, timely doses of
action, and some wonderful characterisation, particularly with
our antihero who sits comfortably (and uncomfortably) at the
heart of the novel. It’s an assured debut. But we’re even more
excited about the sequel – The Prague Ultimatum – which
publishes next spring. In short, James is a writer to read, not
just to watch, and we’re proud to have brought him to the
attention of an ever-growing group of readers.’

JAMES’ TOP TIPS:

• As Bernard Cornwell once told this shy and frustrated wannabe
writer – if at first you struggle to find the time, with everyday
pressures getting in the way, just set aside an hour a week for
writing. Start off this way and you can prepare for that moment
in a focused manner, getting the most out of your time.

• Write for yourself first, not an agent, a publisher or even

26a reader,
AUGUSTand
2016your work will always be honest.

p26 HIGP.indd 26 22/11/2016 09:31


I N !
W
A BOOK DEAL
PLUS £1,000
Want to see your book in print, and net a
tasty advance too? We’re giving one lucky
WM reader the chance to win just that in
this exclusive competition.
The winning author will see their book
published in 2017 by our friends at The Book
Guild, and get £1,000 cash, courtesy of the
David St John Thomas Charitable Trust.
Paste each of the five required texts into
a single document (see right) and enter
through our website:
www.writ.rs/
winabookdeal
p27 Competition.indd 21
HOW TO ENTER
To enter, you must have
a novel manuscript of
60,000-100,000 words
finished and ready to go.
We need to see:
• The first chapter
• A one-line elevator pitch
or tagline
• A 500-word synopsis
of the entire story
• A brief account of your
publishing and writing
experience to date
• A 500-word plan of any
promotional opportunities
and how you see your book
fitting into the marketplace
The closing date is
31 January 2017. Entry is £5
Writing Magazine and The Book
Guild will pick one winning
book, which will be published by
The Book Guild later in the year,
subject to the winner signing a
contract with The Book Guild.
The Book Guild will provide
a copyedit, cover design, full
text design and layout, one set
of proofs for author to check,
ISBN allocation, bookshop sales
representation, marketing to the
trade and media and distribution
to the book trade for one year.
Good luck!
22/11/2016 09:32
 DS
WRITING LIFE
WO R e from th
Writing advice from the ancient Greeks stands the test of time,
as author and lecturer James McCreet explains
T
he Greek thinkers
tended to design
holistic philosophies.
Their systems
demanded naturally
interconnected ideas
on physics, ethics and logic so that
every aspect of their lives could be
practically consistent. Good writing
was no different.
Indeed, the Stoic philosophers drew
up five categories of excellence by
which to judge quality of expression.
It was no use having fine thoughts if
they risked being mangled by barbaric
language. Today, their ideas still seem
as eminently sensible as they were 25
centuries past. It’s worth looking at
them in some detail for lessons that
have certainly stood the test of time.
Correctness of expression
Good language, said the Stoics,
was primarily faultless grammar
and absence of careless vulgarity.
By stressing this, they wanted to be
clear that the rules of writing come
before all else. It’s futile to embark on
any linguistic endeavour without a
grounding in the basics.
28 DECEMBER 2016
p28 Ancient advice.indd 28
WISE
This might seem quite obvious,
and yet the evidence shows repeatedly
that too many writers put their desire
to write above their desire to
get it right. If the grammar
is woolly (eg supernumerary
or tangled clauses) and if the
punctuation is improvised
(eg commas used as full
stops) the subject being
because they have
expressed is compromised.
Grammar and punctuation
should actually be invisible
to the reader. Only their
effect should be felt.
And what of ‘careless
vulgarity’? We should
remember that there are many
different uses of language. At
one level, we use language
to order a kebab or buy a bus ticket.
At another, we write finely judged
description or pacey dialogue. Prose
is a state of mind and a purer form
of language – though, admittedly, we
might sometimes want a character
to speak vulgarly. In writing prose,
we’re automatically held to a higher
standard because there’s a reader. We’re
carelessly vulgar when we forget this.
www.writers-online.co.uk
The mystery of lucidity
The Stoics believed that lucidity was
a style that presented the thought in
a way most easily understood.
This doesn’t necessarily mean
being concise. Indeed, lucidity
“”
Wise men speak
implies two not entirely
synonymous concepts: light
and transparency.
Transparent language – as
suggested above – is a form
something to say; of prose that the reader barely
fools because notices. They see through
they have to say it as a crystal pane and
perceive only the thing being
something. elucidated. It doesn’t matter
PLATO whether this is a business
contract, a set of instructions
or a character description –
transparency translates into
effective perception because
the language perfectly expresses
without being distracting.
Illumination is something different.
It suggests that the prose has a power
and incandescence of its own. The
subject appears to shine out of it
rather than being read into it. This is
partly an effect of transparency, but
also an effect of perspectival clarity. In
22/11/2016 09:35

choosing the most suitable narrative
frame (eg first-person, imperative,
third-person past etc) the writer
puts his reader inside the text, where
everything is clear.
We might imagine that conciseness
is a necessary corollary of lucidity,
but this isn’t always true. As we’ll see
below, different effects require different
techniques. As an example, take a
look at the opening pages of Charles
Dickens’s Bleak House, which are
nothing like concise, but nevertheless
highly lucid in what they portray.
Just enough words
Conciseness, said the Stoics, meant
a style that employs no more words
than necessary for setting forth the
subject. Note, however, that they
didn’t specify the minimum words
necessary – only no more than
necessary. What’s the difference?
Consider the instructions on a fire
extinguisher. I’m looking at one now.
‘Pull pin. Hold unit upright. Aim
at base of fire. Press button.’ That’s
pretty concise. It has to be because
my kitchen is on fire as I peruse the
text. The instructions for assembling a
wardrobe may be wordier, but will be
similarly targeted to avoid confusion
(or so you’d think).
But let’s say you’re writing a
paragraph of description about a
dirty old street in Victorian London.
How much is ‘no more words than
necessary’? Is there some kind of test to
discern this? I believe there is, and the
key to it is in understanding what the
stoics called ‘setting forth the subject’.
Setting forth means explaining it
to the reader in a way that makes
it clearest and most compelling. It
means, therefore, understanding the
reader and what impression needs to
be made upon them. Thus, we may
want the reader to perceive our grim
Victorian street in all of its manifold
horrors: the smells, the textures, the
light, the sounds and the mood. A
great writer might do this in a single
sentence. A long paragraph would
also be sufficient. Yet the point when
the reader becomes aware that he is
reading a piece of description is the
point when conciseness ends. It’s not
p28 Ancient advice.indd 29
a matter of how few words, but of
how relevant and effective the chosen
words are. Dickens took over a page to
describe London fog in Bleak House.
Form and function
The previous point feeds into the
next, though this time the point is the
kind of words rather than the amount.
The stoics defined appropriateness as
a style akin to the subject. In other
words: selecting a form of expression
based not only on the subject, form
and genre, but also on the
target readership.
This wasn’t the same as
setting strict rules for different
kinds of work. In fact, it’s
virtually the opposite. The
‘rule’ is that each piece of
writing sets its own rules
according to its audience and
intended effect. A philosophical
treatise could be serious or
amusing, concise or extended,
epigrammatic or dialectic – it
didn’t matter as long as the
form matched the function and
transmitted the meaning effectively.
It’s the same with fiction. There’s
no ‘right’ way to write dialogue,
but the dialogue you write should
match the overall style of your book.
It should also match the characters
engaged in it and the kind of book it
is. Hard-bitten cowboys are unlikely
to discourse like Oscar Wilde... unless
it’s a parody of the Wild West.
That said, there are innumerable
wrong ways to go about it. Too
often, the style is at odds with the
subject. It happens that many MA
students firmly believe they are writing
literature when in fact their books are
clearly generic pieces. There’s nothing
wrong with genre, but the prose
cannot be schizophrenic.
New and individual
The Stoics seemed to have praised
various models of aesthetic correctness,
but they also put great value on
something we recognise and reward
today. They called it distinction, or the
avoidance of colloquialism.
Put simply, this means avoiding
cliché and formulaic language. The
WRITING STYLE
kind of language we use as short-cuts in
speech, or we see in tabloid headlines, or
even hear on TV and radio is functional
language. We’re talking about the words
and phrases that leap immediately to
mind as we write... but which don’t
really mean anything anymore. It’s
‘placeholder’ language for something
more interesting we couldn’t think of.
Look at the end of my second intro
paragraph above for an example. ‘Test of
time’! What a horribly lazy expression.
We might also be wary of emulating
our heroes, whether consciously
or unconsciously. It’s possible to
“”
find the whiff of homage in the
work of many aspiring writers
(and also in some established
If you wish writers) and it doesn’t work. It
to be a writer, means the writing will never be
write free of its influences. The only
solution is to read more, and
EPICTETUS more widely.
Good writing is, above all,
distinctive writing: writing that
could come from you alone. It
has the stamp of your unique
personality. At every step, you’ve
considered the most fitting phrase and
word, the best sentence structure and
the right amount of prose to express
what your reader needs to hear. It’s a
skill, and it’s really the essence of style.
Putting it all together
For the ancient Greeks, philosophy
wasn’t just something to talk about.
They lived and died according to the
systems they made. Their philosophies
dictated how they dressed, what they
ate and how they lived. As writers,
we might consider taking writing so
seriously if it’s to be more than a hobby.
These five hallmarks of good
language – correct, lucid, concise,
appropriate and distinct – haven’t
changed since the golden age of
Athens. They are no secret. But they
do take years to master, and they
must all work together. This means
that each piece of writing is subject to
dozens of decisions made before, and
during, its execution. The single aim
is to achieve the most powerful effect
on the reader... which might explain
why we’re still reading the Stoics
2,500 years after they wrote.
DECEMBER 2016 29
22/11/2016 09:35
 The style and
technique of
JOHN
BRAINETony Rossiter looks at a writer whose first novel propelled
him into the stratosphere of bestselling, high-earning authors
H
e shot to fame as
one of the Angry
Young Men of the
fifties with his first
novel Room at the
Top (1957). It sold 35,000 hardback
copies in the UK in its first year. For
a debut novel that was an unheard-of
achievement at the time. Within a
year of the book’s publication, Braine’s
earnings went from the £13 a week
he earned as an assistant librarian to
an estimated £1,000 a week, enabling
him to buy a large house in Bingley
for cash. A hugely successful film,
starring Laurence Harvey and Simone
Signoret, boosted paperback sales and
in the 1960s the book became one
of Penguin’s few million-selling titles.
Braine went on to write a further
eleven novels, but none of them made
the same impact as Room.
Angry Young Men
The phrase the Angry Young Men
was applied to a group of mostly
working and middle-class novelists and
playwrights who came to the fore in
the 1950s. Often associated with the
assertion of provincialism and antipathy
to the London-based Establishment,
their main characteristics were
disillusionment with traditional British
society, impatience with the status quo,
and a desire to escape to a better world.
Those generally regarded as belonging
to this group included, in addition
to Braine, novelists Alan Sillitoe,
Stan Barstow, Keith Waterhouse and
John Wain, and the playwrights John
30 JANUARY 2017
p30 beat the best.indd 30
Osborne, Arnold Wesker and Harold
Pinter. The term, always imprecise, had
less meaning over time as these writers
became more divergent and their
writing developed in different ways.
How he began
John Braine was born into a working-
class family in Bradford in 1922. After
leaving grammar school at sixteen he
worked in a shop, a laboratory and
a factory before becoming a library
assistant in Bingley. His interest in
books and literature came from his
mother: of Irish Catholic origin, she
worked in a library near Shipley.
During the war he was a wireless
operator in the Royal Navy, but his
service was cut short by tuberculosis.
After the war he returned to work
at Bingley Library, which he later
described as his university. He left in
1951 to attempt to earn a living as
a writer in London. He sold a few
articles to the New Statesman, Tribune
and other periodicals, but failed to
establish himself as a journalist and
returned north. Braine’s first synopsis
for what was to become Room at the
Top was completed in 1951 and the
book was written in 1953-54 while he anti-hero, because he’s a rather selfish
was being treated for TB at Grassington and fairly unpleasant individual –
Sanatorium. Rejected by four Joe Lampton, who looks back, ten
publishers, it was eventually accepted years or so later, on his life and the
by Eyre & Spottiswoode in London circumstances in the immediate post-
and Houghton Mifflin in Boston. war years which have made him what
he is today – a well-to-do executive.
Room at the Top The first chapter records Joe’s move
The novel is a first-person narrative from his dismal home town, Dufton,
by the hero – or, more accurately, ‘where the snow seemed to turn black
www.writers-online.co.uk
22/11/2016 09:36
 almost before it hit the ground,’ to
the livelier, more salubrious town of
Warley. Dufton was probably based
partly on Thackley, a grim industrial
satellite of Bradford to which his
parents moved when he was very
young, and partly on Darton, near
Barnsley, where Braine lived with his
wife and young son. Warley is clearly
a fictionalised version of Bingley. Joe
spells out his ambition: ‘I was going to
the top, into a world that even from
my first brief glimpse filled me with
excitement: big houses with drives and
orchards and manicured hedges.’
Joe Lampton is a handsome,
clever, ambitious, virile and canny
young man, of humble working-
class origins, who wants to get on in
life. Imprisoned during the war, we
meet him in the 1940s when he’s an
accountant in local government. If
the dialogue occasionally seems a little
stilted, we must remember that the
novel is set in the immediate post-war
years, when oral communication, not
only between office-workers and their
superiors, but also between people at
the same level, was much more formal
than it is today.
Joe ridicules local government
bureaucrats as ‘zombies’ for their
rigidity and conformity and their
lack of enjoyment of red-blooded life,
dubbing Dufton’s Chief Treasurer
‘the efficient Zombie’. Intelligent but
‘not officer material’, he knows that
his cleverness and his ability to do his
job extremely well will only take him
so far. He sees sex and ruthless social
climbing as the way to attain both
affluence and social respect. Joining
Warley’s set of amateur thespians
propels Joe into a world where slightly
bohemian society exists alongside the
world inhabited by local bureaucrats
and mill owners.
Published in an era of full
employment and increasing prosperity,
when those born into the working
class could realistically aspire to join
the middle classes, Room at the Top
must have resonated with many
who shared Joe Lampton’s desire to
break through the old social barriers
and get on in life. What makes Joe
stand out from the crowd is his
chippiness, his single-mindedness and
his cynicism. Three years before the
Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial opened the
door to more explicit descriptions of
p30 beat the best.indd 31
sex, Braine’s frank depiction
of Joe’s randiness and sexual
shenanigans must also have
heightened the novel’s impact.
Room at the Top can be seen
as a direct commentary on the
1950s and a portrayal of British
society’s obsession with social
class. It’s a re-telling of the age-
old story of the man who sells
his soul for riches. Joe’s true love
– and the path he should have
followed to find his real, authentic
self – is his mistress, Alice Aisgill,
the unhappily married woman
who kills herself when Joe abandons
her. Instead, he marries Susan, the
pregnant (by Joe) daughter of a
wealthy mill-owner. Lampton the
narrator seems to look back on
his young self with a mixture of
admiration and contempt.
The novel’s climax sees Joe
abandoning Alice, who then gets
drunk and, deliberately crashing her
car, kills herself. Hearing of her death,
Joe is devastated and full of remorse:
‘“Oh, God,” I said, “I did kill her. I
wasn’t there, but I killed her.”’
A friend tried to console him: ‘“It
was all for the best. She’d have ruined
your whole life. Nobody blames you,
love. Nobody blames you.” “Oh my
God.” I said, “that’s the trouble.”’ And
that is the book’s final, memorable line.
Other novels
In Braine’s second novel, The Vodi
(1959), the hero, Dick Corvey,
is being treated for advanced
tuberculosis in a provincial
sanatorium. Confined to bed 24-hours
a day, he meditates on his earlier
life, including his relationships with
women and his friendship with Tom.
A recurring theme is that of the Vodi,
a malevolent race of small creatures
invented by Tom when at school. The
Vodi had mixed reviews and was
not a commercial success. It was
described by one critic as ‘kitchen sink
gothic,’ but for another it was a ‘more
interesting and imaginative work than
Room at the Top’.
Life at the Top (1962), the sequel
to his bestselling debut novel, sees
Joe Lampton with everything he’d
ever wanted – a well-paid executive
job, a wife from the boss’s class, two
cars and two children. Yet he’s a
dissatisfied man. He reverts to his old
www.writers-online.co.uk
philandering ways and towards
the novel’s end he’s drawn back to
his life in Warley.
The Jealous God (1964),
set among the Irish Catholic
community in a small Yorkshire
town, is about the attempts of
a young schoolmaster, Vincent
Durgarven, to liberate himself
from his domineering mother. The
title refers to Vincent’s censorious
conscience and his mother’s wish
that her ‘favourite son’ should
become a clergyman. Everything
changes for Vincent when he meets
black-haired Laura in Charbury Public
Library; his obsession with her soon
dominates his life. The Jealous God
and The Vodi were said to be Braine’s
personal favourites of his twelve novels.
How he wrote
Speaking on a BBC2 documentary in
1971, Braine made a passionate defence
of the ordinary and the suburban. He
said that he wanted to give his readers a
true picture of life and to show people
as they really were: to create characters
who were ‘believable human beings,
rooted in the living soul of England.’
He stressed the importance of accurate
detail and his belief in, and attachment
to, ‘the here and now’. ‘That’s where the
magic is,’ he said. ‘Ordinary people are
the most extraordinary.’
Braine’s own life experiences
informed his work. The writing
style is smooth, frank and vigorous.
He handles his subject-matter with
gusto, and he has significant narrative
power and compassionate insights
into human suffering. ‘Let this be my
epitaph,’ he said in an interview in
the 1970s: ‘As a writer, I never tried to
please anybody but myself.’
JANUARY 2017 31
22/11/2016 09:36
 Away from your desk
Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit

Back soon!
Brontës on the box
Watch out for To Walk Invisible,
Sally Wainwright’s one-off Brontë
drama, which is one of the
highlights of this year’s festive
TV programme.

Open house
birthday, and
Celebrate Jane Austen’s
about the
look for ward to hearing
iversary of
plans for the 200th ann
h free entry
her death next year, wit
Museum
to The Jane Austen House
on 16 December.
ens-
, the Website: www.jane-aust
If you’re in London
s’ M us eu m’s house-museum.org.uk
Charles Dicken
ts in clu de an
Christmas even
Ev e pr od uc tion
intimate Christmas rol :
tm as Ca
of Another Chris
Equapoise
Christmas Eve from
Theatre Co m pa ny.
tp :// wr it.rs/
Website: ht
hr ist m as ca rol
anotherc The Ghosts of Christmas Past will be prowling
the lower reaches of St George’s Hall in Liverpool
in a series of Dickens-themed promenade
performances from theatre company LoveHistory
between 12 and 18 December.
Website: http://writ.rs/ghostsofchristmaspast

Spooks on screen
Tove’s Picturehouse is running A Warning
treasure trove to the Curious: Ghost Stories at Christmas,
a short season of spooky films inspired by
Visit the enchanting world of the MR James and Charles Dickens, which
Moomins and their creator Tove includes a rare screening of The Signalman
Jansson at Adventures in Moominland, and Whistle and I’ll Come to You from the
a major exhibition at the Southbank BBC’s Ghost Story for Christmas strand
Centre that starts on 16 December and (selected cinemas, 21 Dec).
goes through to 23 April. Website: http://writ.rs/
Website: http://writ.rs/ awarningtothecurious
adventuresinmoominland

p32 What's on.indd 32 22/11/2016 09:37

 The 5th Self-Publishing
Conference
Saturday April 22nd, 2017, 9am-6pm • University of Leicester
This conference offers a unique opportunity to meet and interact with influential individuals and companies
working within the self-publishing sector. It is the perfect day for authors thinking about, or already involved in,
self-publishing their work. Whether you are going it alone or using a self-publishing company, this conference
offers multiple sessions on a wide variety of topics.

This year’s event is sponsored by Writing Magazine, Nielsen Book, Writers&Artists, Matador, The Book Guild,
TJ International Printers and others. The keynote speaker is Angus Phillips (Director, Oxford International
Centre for Publishing), with sessions on topics as wide-ranging as copyright, audio books, cover design,
marketing to retailers and media, the author’s ‘digital profile’... and much more. A full programme and
registration details are available on the conference website.

Registration is £65 per person; this includes a delegate’s pack, morning coffee, buffet lunch, afternoon tea,
a drinks reception and a choice from more than sixteen sessions on different aspects of self-publishing.

www.selfpublishingconference.org.uk
“ I cannot think of very much wrong with the event and can recommend it to aspiring writers and indie/self publishers. Richard Denning
I just wanted to thank you for the excellent Conference I attended on Sunday. It was well organised, well presented, full of helpful, friendly
people and a joy to attend. Sandra Smith
That was an absolutely first rate conference - from the speakers to the catering and the venue. A great overal atmosphere and so many
nuggets of info and ideas they wouldn't all fit onto the notepads you kindly provided! Tony Boullemier ”

Short Memoir Prize €1,000

2nd Prize: Week on Writers Retreat - Casa Ana, Andalusia, Spain

• Judge: Horatio Clare

h
• Word Limit: 4,000 m eac
fro
• Closes: 31 Jan ’17
mis
si ons
d in t
he Professional Self-Publishing
• Entry fee: £16 sub li she y.
b est ub o log
10 lb ep A nth Self-publishing services
wil F ish
017
Editing and proofreading
2
Book cover design
Flash Fiction Prize €1,000 Paperbacks and ebooks
Wholesale distribution
• Judge: Chris Stewart Book marketing
• Word Limit: 300 Worldwide Amazon listing
• Closes: 28 Feb ’17 Author websites and
social media
pap

• Entry fee: £14

erb

One-to-one support
ack
, ki on)
(am
ndl
az
e

Discuss your next book with Publishing Director Helen Hart:

E: helen@silverwoodbooks.co.uk T: +44 (0)117 910 5829

www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 33

p033_wmagjan17.indd 33 22/11/2016 12:43

 TA L K I T OV E R

Read to write Don’t be afraid of other books influencing your

writing style, urges Jane Wenham-Jones

Y
ou often recommend that would-be novelists read a lot and I
know this is standard advice. However, I wonder what you think
about the risks of sub-consciously absorbing another writer’s
style or – worse still – their content. I am writing my first novel
and I do find that I seem to be emulating the voice of whoever I last
read, or even using their characters’ names. As I am intending to
write a trilogy I shall always have a manuscript on the go for some
time. I don’t want to give up reading other novels for years on end.
How do other writers avoid this pitfall?
Roz Clark, London

Y
ou certainly should not
give up reading novels,
Roz – not even for a
short time, let alone
years – if you hope to
write three yourself. Quite apart
from missing out on the joy of
good fiction you will also be losing
the valuable lessons in structure,
shape, plot, pace, character and
dialogue that we absorb when we
read the works of other successfully
published authors.
Your concern is one shared by
many writers particularly when
they are starting out. It will become
much less of a problem as your
individual voice and style emerge
and strengthen.
Having said that, even established
authors often choose to read novels
in a different genre from their own,
stick to non-fiction or even restrict
themselves to newspapers and
magazines, while they have a work-
in-progress.
Anne Stenhouse, who has
published four historical romances,
says she tends to ‘overdose’ on
crosswords and codewords.
I find I tend to read crime or
psychological thrillers when I am
attempting romantic comedy and
when I threw this question out to
some of my fellow members of the
Romantic Novelists’ Association, I
found many of them also avoid this
kind of fiction when grappling with
a plot of their own.
Sarah Mallory – who has written
more romances for Mills & Boon
Historical than you can shake a stick
at – says: ‘I still worry about reading
books similar to my WIP, even after
being published for decades. I prefer

34 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p34 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 34 22/11/2016 09:39


to read non-fiction or something very
different such as contemporary crime.’
Janet Gover, who has published
eight novels she describes as ‘Aussie
outback romance’, turns to cyber sci-
fi or horror, and AnneMarie Brear,
fifteen novels and counting, limits her
reading to non-fiction research books.
We may, of course, all be fretting
unnecessarily, as it is pretty difficult to
genuinely copy another’s voice – try it
as an exercise and see! – but it often
boils down to one’s perceptions and
levels of faith.
‘I used to worry in my early days of
writing as I could see myself copying
style,’ says Liz Fenwick, author of
Under a Cornish Sky (Orion) and
three previous ‘Cornish’ novels.
‘But now it’s not a problem as my
own voice is defined and I have
confidence in it.’ She still finds
she prefers to read biographies and
histories when writing a first draft.
Rosemary Dunn, whose debut novel
The Trouble with Love (Sphere) was
published in August, has also left these
fears behind. ‘I used to worry that I
might be influenced by other authors,’
she says. ‘Now, I just think I should
be so lucky. If anything, I read more.’
Rosemary has also discovered
a downside to switching reading
material, explaining that sometimes ‘a
mood can creep in’. She might then
feel the need to go back to her own
genre. ‘If I’ve had a glut of reading
psychological thrillers whilst writing
a novel, I might steady my head –
before I burst out and murder one of
my rom-com characters – with a good
Jill Mansell or Julie Cohen and I’m
good to go again.’
Alison May, who has published three
novellas and two novels – the latest
Christmas Kisses (Choc Lit) is out now
– finds it difficult to read any sort of
fiction when working on a first draft.
‘It’s as if my brain won’t hold both
stories at the same time,’ she says.
I do know exactly what she means.
When deeply into a really good book,
the characters often stay with you
all through the ironing and round
Waitrose. Which can be unhelpful
when you are desperate to plot
chapter 27 and should be living and
breathing your own.
Other novelists have other reasons
for avoiding books in their own genre.
‘I always think they’ve done it
p34 Talk it over /novel ideas.indd 35
so much better than I ever could!’
says Sharon Booth, whose Baxter’s
Christmas Wish (Fabrian Books), is the
latest of five books.
Gritty crime novelist Bernadine
Kennedy has deeper concerns. ‘I never
read my own genre while writing for
fear of unconscious plagiarism,’ she says.
‘I can channel someone else’s
writing style in a heartbeat,’ quips
Catherine Jones, author of a string of
novels, the most recent of which are
set in the army, under the pen name
of Fiona Field. ‘I can hear the lawyers
beating a path to my door as soon as I
pick up a romance.’
‘But aren’t we all magpies?’ reasons
Jenni Kreer, member of the RNA’s
New Writers’ Scheme.
‘From the moment we wake up,
every conversation we have, group of
people we pass, television programme
we watch has the potential to
influence us – even if we don’t realise
it at the time.’
Jenni does read her own genre –
‘romantic comedy with a twist’ when
writing ‘because I enjoy it and to
check that I’m doing it right.’
Paula Martin, the independently
published author of Irish Secrets,
has similar motives. ‘Reading does
sometimes remind me of some of
the pitfalls that I try to avoid in my
novels, eg loose ends not tied up,
unbelievable events or coincidences,
stilted dialogue etc. I think reading
can often teach you more about what
you shouldn’t do.’
It is also worth remembering that
even if you do sub-consciously drop
into a different style, you do have a
delete button.
Novelist Penny Grubb is
philosophical. ‘If it does happen, it’ll
all get ironed out in the editing.’
This is also true of picking up
character names that can easily be
changed later – although unless they
are totally unique or very unusual, I
wouldn’t overly worry about that one.
Elaine Everest, author of The
Woolworths Girls (Pan), makes a
positive choice, saying she ‘avidly’
reads books in her genre. ‘I’d hate
to duplicate a topic or setting,’ she
explains. ‘I call it research.’
Whatever we call it, I think we are
all agreed that reading is crucial.
So please don’t stop – and good luck
with your novel.
www.writers-online.co.uk
TA L K I T OV E R
Novel
Ideas
TO DO
Don’t let the ominous old To Do
list get you down. Lynne Hackles
has an alternative suggestion
H
How about a change of name? I don’t
mean changing your own name,
though many writers do use a pen
name. No. What I’m talking about is the
dreaded To Do list. We’ve all got one, whether it
be in our heads or written down.
Long ago my To Do list became a To Do
book. Some days I’d look at what was awaiting
my attention and panic. How could I manage
all those jobs? I’d be listing writing jobs on one
page and other jobs like shopping, telephone
calls, on the opposite one.
Where to even begin? It was scary and worse
still, there were jobs listed that had been moved
from page to page and were never getting done.
Then, in one of my inspired moments, I
decided on a change of name. Instead of a To
Do list, I’d rename it and call it my To Enjoy
list and I’d smile when I looked at it knowing a
smile is far preferable to palpitations.
I took my To Do book and ripped out all the
pages where everything was actually crossed off
and completed. That cheered me no end as there
were far more finished pages than I’d expected.
The book looked skinnier. Next I looked at all
those tasks that had been moved from page to
page. Some of them were about competitions
whose deadlines had passed long ago. I put a
line through them. Others were projects which
had seemed like a good idea at the time but
which now held no compulsion for me to write.
I put a line through them. There were now even
more pages to tear out and shred.
I ended up with something which looked, and
felt, manageable and now I am working through
my To Enjoy list and I’m smiling. (Reminding
myself to smile.)
JANUARY 2017 35
22/11/2016 09:39
 T R A I N YO U R B R A I N

!? PEN PUSHERS
Say it with letters
Experiment with the epistolary form with Lizzie Enfield’s exercises

A
n epistolary novel is written as a series of
Exercise two: Corresponding points of view
documents. These often take the form of
letters, diary entries, newspaper cuttings and, 1 Using the same novel extract translate the events into a series of letters between
more recently, emails and blogs. one of the characters and a third party.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula was written
through letters, diaries, dictations and newspaper 2 Keep in mind that what has happened might not be something your
accounts. Carrie by Stephen King is a traditional characters would tell each other.
narrative fused with articles, interviews, reports, and
court transcripts, while Lionel Shriver’s We Need to 3 Think about what the correspondents might leave out and why.
Talk about Kevin is a series of letters written by a high
school killer’s mother to her husband. 4 Don’t forget that these are letters, not diary entries; they are more personal and
Bridget Jones’ Diary is what it says on the tin! written with a specific reader in mind.
In the 18th century letter and diary writing was
almost an art form in itself. People recorded their lives 5Try to make each letter adhere to a narrative arc. An epistolary novel still
and wrote correspondence rich with personality and needs to have this arc, and like a chapter, each letter must advance the
sentiment, which authors like Jane Austen incorporated plot in some way.
into their fictional work. As a narrative form the
epistolary novel allows for differing accounts and points
of view, without the need for an omniscient narrator. Exercise three: Multimedia storytelling
But even if you are writing a regular narrative work of
fiction, you might want to consider some use of the These days letters and documents take a variety of forms
epistolary devices to allow characters that might not and we communicate with each other by all sorts of means.
otherwise have one a voice and to present alternative Try
views of your fictional world. your hand 1 Using the same extract or another one try to tell the story
with the epistolary using contemporary forms of communication: emails, texts,
format for tweets, Facebook updates and comments on posts.
this month’s
subscriber-only 2 Now move the action on a little to a later date. Are your
g action competition. characters still talking about the same event or have things
ne: Diarisin
Exercise o See p61 moved on? If the latter, what traces of the event are seen in
written in their communications?
le ct an ex tr act of a novel at least
1 Se e are
in which ther
third person 3 Finally put the incident in context. Think of it as a
rs.
two characte Facebook post that has been revisited a year on. What
aracter, do the characters have to say about it with the benefit
the main ch
2 Writing as yo u were of hindsight?
events as if
describe the at the time.
ti n g h is o r her diary
wri
might
ut how you
3 Think abo speech into
y extracts of NOW TRY THIS
transpose an
versation.
recorded con
, write the Experiment with different epistolary forms.
yo u h ave finished
4O n ce but from How many ways can you find to tell a story?
ev en ts in diary form Think about including images, photographs or, as
sa m e secondar y
view of the
the point of r point of vi
ew Jennifer Egan did in her bestselling A Visit from
ow does thei the Goon Squad, a PowerPoint presentation…
character. H go n is t?
e main prota
differ from th

p36 pen pushers.indd 36 22/11/2016 09:42

 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 benefit from
some careful use of your red editing pen. As writers, and regular readers
of Writing Magazine, you should not find any of these too difficult. But if
you would welcome a little help, you can always check out Richard Bell’s
suggested solutions below.

Here are this month’s sentences:

1 The magazine short story was far-fetched and barely creditable, even
though the author had clearly researched registry office records to ensure
its accuracy. And the editor still thought that parts of it were slanderous.

2 As an agent, Arnold preferred working with writers who were well-

known and with whom he would work for ten years’ or more, building
up an amiable relationship.

3 Some blocks of flats were raised to the ground to allow for the new
development where Stephen precipatively decided to locate his new
company – a decision typical of his restless character.

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

1 Our first problem in example 1 is the use of creditable

– or should it be ‘credible’? Creditable means deserving
of praise whilst credible means believable (and incredible
means unbelievable). Clearly it is ‘credible’ we should be
using in this context.
The use of the term registry office is used frequently,
but to be correct we should be describing such a place as
a ‘register office’, which is the expression we should be
using here.
Finally in our first example we have the word slanderous.
However, we are talking here about publication in a
magazine, and slander is all about spoken defamation. Here
we are talking about printed defamation which should be
described as libellous.
when you are describing a duration of time. So in our
example sentence we should have ten years or more
without an apostrophe.
The final problem in example two is the use of amiable
relationship. The words amiable and amicable are close in
meaning: amiable being about friendliness and amicable
about things being friendly and lacking discord.
However, there is a simple rule to follow: amiable is used
in regard to people, while amicable is used to describe
arrangements such as an agreement, a deal, a meeting and
(in this context) a relationship.
3 The first problem in our example three is the expression
raised to the ground. To raise is to uplift something or
someone. However in this context the flats, far from being

2 The first question raised by our second example is

whether we should be hyphenating well-known. The best
working rule is that expressions should be hyphenated when
they are used before the noun they are describing, but should
not be hyphenated when they are used after the noun. So
you can have a well-known writer (hyphenated) but should
have ‘a writer who was well known’ (not hyphenated). The
authors with whom Arnold preferred to work should therefore
be described as ‘well known’ (without a hyphen).
Later we have a small apostrophe problem when we
come to the clause could work for ten years’ or more.
Certainly we would need an apostrophe if we were
expressing units of time (in this case, years); so we would
correctly have he had ten years’ service.
However, the possessive apostrophe is not required
uplifted, were being knocked down. The correct verb to use in
this situation is razed to the ground.
A little later, we find Stephen acting precipatively.
Unfortunately, there is no such word as precipatively. But
there is such a word as precipitately, and this would be a
much better description to apply to Stephen.
A debatable point occurs towards the end of this example
with the use of restless – or should it be restive? The word
restless is an opposite of restful and is therefore used
to suggest an inability to rest – therefore we talk about a
restless night when someone cannot sleep, rather than a
restive night. But restive is perhaps the word we should be
using here in that it suggests an unwillingness to submit to
control of any kind – which arguably is the thought that we
are aiming at here.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 37

p37 Red ed pen.indd 37 22/11/2016 09:43

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p038_wmagjan17.indd 38 22/11/2016 09:49

 WIN! £500 IN CASH PRIZES
& PUBLICATION
DIALOGUE-ONLY
SHORT STORY COMPETITION £25B0
We’re often told to keep dialogue flowing in our fiction, TOE
to break up the text and avoid showing rather than WON
telling, but we’re taking it to its logical extreme with a
fun challenge this month – your story must contain only
dialogue. Just let the characters do the talking. STILL TIME TO ENTER
Your story should be the usual 1,500-1,700 words and the With its closing date of
closing date is 15 February. 16 January, there’s still
time to enter last month’s
The winner will receive £200, with £50 for the runner-up, Annual Open Short Story
and both stories will be published in Writing Magazine. Competition. Length and
prizes are as above.
See p107 for entry details, full rules and entry forms. See p107 for more details.

£250
TO BE
WON
TAP
HERE
TO ENT
E R

p39 comp.indd 39 22/11/2016 14:48

 1 , 0 0 0 - WO R D S H O R T S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N
1,000-word
short story
competition
Cool or what?
Winners Eleanor Patrick, Elsdon,
Northumberland, has been
writing for many years and
loves pitching to magazines and
newspapers and selling articles,
but has become too busy editing
“L
ewis!’
Mr Morton’s
voice breaks into
the division sum
I’m working on.
I wish people wouldn’t shout at me.
They never remember that a hundred
and twenty decibels damages your ears.
I look up, but I’m careful not to stare
at his eyes. I don’t like him looking
inside me. And I don’t like green.
‘Lewis, I asked you to put your books
away, so why are you still working?’
Connor Martin giggles. I hear
whispers of ‘Loopy’, but I’m used
to it now.
‘It isn’t the end of the lesson,’ I tell
Mr Morton. ‘Maths finishes at half
past two.’
‘Not today it doesn’t. It stops when
I say.’
When he’s angry, he looks a bit like a
horse. But not like our thoroughbreds,
more like a Welsh cob––
‘NOW!’ thunders Mr Morton.
I feel a volcano rise in my throat
and I know I’ll explode any minute.
I just want to do my maths till half
past. But I suddenly notice the new
girl, Beth. She’s staring at me.
I turn away so she won’t see my
anger trying to get out. I don’t want
to frighten her. She has a kind face.
When she arrived this morning, I
thought maybe this new girl can be a
friend. I’d like a friend.
Everyone calls me Loopy Lewis
because I tell them interesting things,
like how long they’ve taken to eat their
lunch. Ben was fastest today at eight
minutes fifteen seconds. Like a wolf
protecting its prey from the enemy.
Ahmed took as long as the cormorant
I saw in Whitby harbour trying to
swallow an eel. The whole dinner hour
– sixty minutes exactly.
Beth doesn’t know any of this
because she was with the girls. So
she doesn’t call me Loopy. But there’s
something in her face now that I don’t
40 JANUARY 2017
p40 comp winner.indd 40
a journal and proofreading
for various clients to do any
pitching. She has completed
two novels that await a home
and has several picture book
manuscripts on the go.
understand. It isn’t like the way most
kids look. It isn’t cross, sad, funny
or scared. I’ve learnt those faces and
know what to do back.
So I watch Beth secretly for the
rest of the afternoon, worrying about
what sort of stare it is. She’s looking
at me but not seeing me, even though
I try waving. I want her to see me so
I can smile at her. That’s how Mum
says you make friends.
When the bell goes, I decide to
follow her and find out where she lives.
Perhaps talk to her. She looks back
once and says, ‘You following me?’
Beth walks faster now. I have to
run to keep up.
She goes past the wood yard, where
the sparrows fly in and out of the
stacks of timber, catching insects.
‘Sparrows can live for thirteen years,’
I tell her. But she doesn’t hear. Maybe
someone has told her I’m Loopy.
We pass along by Yardley’s farm,
which has six-hundred acres, five-
hundred-and-fifty sheep and some
horses. She turns in at the house
after the farm. I follow her right
down her drive. She doesn’t seem to
mind. I keep following as she pushes
through a rickety gate into the farm
meadow behind the house. It’s not
her land, but I know the farmer
allows people in.
Someone has cut down one of the
twelve trees since I last came. I feel the
volcano rise inside me again – eleven is
my unlucky number. And it’s prime. But
you shouldn’t cut trees down anyway.
I’m still looking at the tree lying
there with its cut edge showing all its
growth rings, when Beth suddenly cries
out, ‘Mum! What’s wrong?’ and starts
to sprint over the grass towards her.
Even from here, I can see
immediately what’s wrong. A horse is
standing right beside a wet foal, newly
born and not moving. The mare is
nudging it, but it doesn’t respond.
Mum and I once saved a foal
www.writers-online.co.uk
by Eleanor
Patrick
when it was slow to suckle, so I dart
over to the horse.
1st prize My hands flap because I’m too upset
to control them. The look on Beth’s
Winner face changes to scared, but I know
scared, so I quickly say, ‘Help me get
the foal on its feet. We have to make it
suckle.’ And she doesn’t argue.
Her mum says, ‘Thank goodness
someone knows about horses. We
haven’t met the farmer yet but we
saw the horse in labour this morning.
Beth didn’t want to go to school.
I’m glad she’s brought a friend who
knows what to do!’
I tell her mum to take the foal’s
weight – new-borns are usually about
one hundredth of the mare’s weight,
so it’s lucky this horse is not eighteen
hands like ours.
‘Hold the mother still,’ I say to
Beth. She doesn’t argue or ignore me
like the other kids do when I suggest
something. But her face has the funny
look on it again. I think she might be
worried. I’ll ask someone later.
Runners-up in the
1,000-word short
Her mum holds the foal up, and I
story competition open its mouth and talk to it gently.
were: Tracy- I clamp its tongue and lips onto its
Ann Neville, mother’s teat and stroke its throat to
Comberton, make it swallow.
Cambridgeshire; While we are trying to save its life, I
Daniel Tuck, hear two blackbirds singing and a lorry
Quedgeley,
and a bus going down the main road.
Gloucester; Jill
But what I notice most is Beth’s voice
Mirza, Canvey
Island, Essex; as she keeps saying, ‘Go for it, Lewis.
Angela Walmsley, You can do it.’ I don’t know why she
Blaenffynnon, wants me to go when I need to be here,
Pembrokeshire; but I like the sound of her words – and
Margaret Wood, suddenly we see the foal pull hard on
Wick, Caithness; the teat and draw milk. It splatters over
Keith Willey,
my hands but I don’t care.
Redhill, Surrey;
Actually it’s not milk, it’s
Merry Ashby,
Sheringham, colostrum, but I remember, just in
Norfolk; Joan time, how the boys laugh at me for
El Faghloumi, knowing things they’re not interested
Seaford, East in, so I don’t tell Beth. I just grin
Sussex; Martin and say, ‘Cool,’ because that’s what
Strike, Newbury, the other kids do when something
Berkshire. fantastic happens.
22/11/2016 09:50
 The B r e a k
Julie lives with her husband in
Pembrokeshire, overlooking
the Preseli Hills, and a sense
of place inspires much of
her writing. She has been
a lecturer, smallholder and
H
e’s left his fish-
gutting knife, ready,
on the work surface.
I run a finger along
its edge, wince
as I draw a nick of blood. By the
window, I turn my bare arms slowly.
Their bruises bloom beneath the
fading light. I shiver, tell myself
it’s getting chilly, and pull on my
cardigan to make them disappear.
I pour wine, berry-bright, into one
of the chunky, crystal glasses we bought
on our way up through Lidkoping. A
good day. Coffee and cake by the old
hunting lodge in the market square –
then on through fields yellow with rape
flowers and sunlight, the speckling
of rust-red farmhouses, horizons
pierced by pine. We sang along as
Springsteen belted Born to Run on
the radio. There’s nowhere to run to
here. Rocks beyond the cottage field
make you stumble and blueberry
spines shred your ankles.
I carry my wine out onto the
veranda. He’ll be angry that I’ve
unwrapped the new glasses but
I’m beyond caring. I want to enjoy
this last moment of the day. The
early evenings are quiet here. Just a
reed-rustle that only sounds like his
footsteps approaching me – so slow
and soft – across our sanded floors.
Distant voices from other islands EXPERT
fade to murmurings across the lake. analysis
e’s
No-one would hear you if you To read the judg
m en ts go to:
called. We’ve not hoisted a flag to com
ht tp://w rit.rs /
show our presence and no-one
visits. I watch as the sun pools to a wmjan16
slick of crimson beyond the reed-
bed. There’s no sign of him. No
throb of a boat engine. But then, he
seldom uses the outboard and any
p40 comp winner.indd 41
by Julie Rainsbury
has an MA in creative writing.
Her published works include a
collection of poetry Night Lines
(Gomer) and several children’s
books. Some of her short stories
have been read on Radio 4.
dip and suck of oars is lost in the
lap of water around the jetty.
The nights are growing colder. I
hang a hurricane lamp on the veranda
to guide him home if darkness falls.
He’s late. I go in and close the shutters
to each room, put a match to the tall,
enamel stove, ignite the comforting
glow of oil-lamps. I take a large platter
from the cupboard ready for the fish
he’ll bring. I won’t make a salad yet
– he likes it to be fresh – but I mix
the dressing ready. I lay out cutlery,
napkins and candles across the table.
It’s habit. He likes me to make an
effort, to do things properly.
Yesterday morning we saw an osprey
hunting near the headland. We shared
the binoculars and watched it soar on
wide-spread wings above the lake. It
was the first time I had seen one and
he laughed at my excitement.
‘Osprey, sea eagle, raptor,
fish hawk,’ he told me. ‘They
mate for life...’
He smiled and gently kissed the
cut along my left cheekbone. I
flinched. He noticed. He put his
arm around my waist and pulled me
in close beside him.
‘They can spot a fish underwater
from 130 feet up – it’s uncanny. I
wish I could track like that, my prey
totally unaware.’
I watched the bird swoop higher,
pause in a momentary hover and
then plunge, feet first, into the lake.
The plummet was so sudden, it took
my breath away.
‘There,’ he said, passing me the
binoculars. ‘He’s caught one. They
have sharp spikes hidden beneath
their toes and backward-facing scales
on their talons that act as barbs to
www.writers-online.co.uk
2nd prize
Winner
hold the fish tight. People used to
believe that the fish were mesmerised
by the osprey that they just turned,
belly-up, in surrender.’
He laughed again and tightened
his arm around me as we walked on.
I had been thinking the bird so fine,
so magnificent, but now I shuddered.
My skin felt cold but slick with
sweat. Things can alter in a moment.
Yesterday afternoon, we
sunbathed and read our books down
on the jetty. Everything was perfect.
Not a cloud in the hot, blue sky.
Within minutes, out of nowhere,
hailstones the size of golf balls were
battering our bodies, hammering
against the rocks and bouncing off
the jetty. We left everything and
ran, swearing and battered by ice.
By the time we reached the veranda,
the storm had passed and the
sky was cloudless again – a calm,
peaceful, perfect summer’s day.
The speed of the change was such a
shock, unbelievable.
I hear the click-click of the screen
door – opening, closing. Then
a... shush... shush... as his quiet
footsteps move across the floor. He’s
right behind me now. I turn smiling
– as I’ve taught myself to do. His
hands are full of fish. Grey, belly-up,
their gaped mouths bleeding. His
eyes swerve from my face towards
the half-full wine glass on the
draining board. He flings the fish
towards the sink. A shattered scatter
of silver scales and broken glass
flashes, momentarily, in the lamp-
light. A lurid red – blood or wine –
streaks the waiting platter. He lunges
and, right there, on the surface, the
knife glints between us.
JANUARY 2017 41
22/11/2016 09:50
 1 ,O0E0T0RY
P - WO
CRODM S
PHE TOI TRITOSNTO
WRY
I N NCEO
RMS PETITION
’s
Children oety
as p
Christm tition
compe
Winner
Judge Alison Chisholm highlights the winning entries
from our Christmas Poetry for Children competition
S
itting down to write a
Christmas poem before the
schools have broken up for
summer may seem to be a
crazy idea, but it’s a good
discipline for the writer who needs to
keep on top of deadlines and lead times.
Much seasonal thought must have
been flying around when the Writing
Magazine poets submitted scores of
entries for the competition for children’s
poetry on the theme of Christmas.
Whenever writing for children,
it’s essential to aim the work towards
the appropriate age group. On this
occasion the 7-11 age range was set,
and while many poems were perfect
for that spread, some suffered from
appearing to be targeted at much
younger or older readers. If you
don’t know any children in the age
range it can be difficult to get into
their mindset. The next best thing
is to study their culture and levels
by looking at the TV programmes
they watch, magazines they read,
and games they play, alongside the
demands of the national curriculum
that they’re learning at school.
It helps teachers enormously if the
texts with which they work display
the same standards of grammar, syntax
and punctuation as they promote
42 JANUARY 2017
p42 poetry winner.indd 42
HollyJol
W i n n e r s
in school. So while these elements
enhance any poem, they are especially
important for young readers.
Poets have been writing about
Christmas for centuries. A new twist,
an unexpected avenue or a fresh
insight can turn a predictable poem
into an exciting adventure. But no
matter how clever the poem is, it
needs to be written with precision
of technique if it is to be successful.
Problems with rhyme and/or metre,
unwanted repetition and awkwardness
of wording will detract from the
poem’s quality. Uninspiring titles
will not tempt the reader in. Writing
a poem that is far too long for its
content creates a boring read.
FIRST PLACE
The winning poem is written in the
form of a letter to Santa, established
from the start as the title is the
address on the envelope. MR. S.
CLAUS, CHRISTMAS COTTAGE,
NORTH POLE is by Samantha
Newbury of Luton, Bedfordshire.
The idea of a Christmas letter
is not new, but the twist that fuels
this one is superb. We are presented
with a catalogue of fanciful ideas
that tease the imagination. The
narrator – or letter writer – signals
www.writers-online.co.uk
ly
the joke by rescinding the requests
in the final stanza. The actual ‘wants’
on the list are the simple books or
a game; while Santa is reminded
that he might have enjoyed seeing
something different in one of the
many letters he receives.
This little hint of consideration
coupled with the modest request
signposts to the reader that the
letter writer is a well-behaved child,
and not greedy, but with enough
spirit to produce the fun element
of the earlier lines – in other words,
pleasant but not sickeningly pious.
One of the really clever aspects
of the fantasy list is that there are
things in it to appeal to readers
across the target age range. We have
the simplest references to a rainbow
and a whistling frog that conjure
pictures in the mind of the youngest
readers, the sand from the Island of
Dreams and scarf made of moonbeams
to appeal to the middle range, and
the rather more sophisticated meteor
marbles, firebird who lives in the sun
and necklace of snow for the older
ones. The merging together of these,
however, crosses the ages beautifully
and melds into a glorious collection
of imaginative ideas.
There’s a neat juxtaposition of
22/11/2016 11:01

the immediately recognisable with
the fantastic, too. The thimble is
common to everyone’s experience; the
fact that it’s filled with stardust adds
the magic. Everyone recognises sea
green, but it moves into a different
dimension when it shows the colour
of a dragon’s scales.
The rhythm of this piece is a
romp, and there’s a simple rhyme/
slant rhyme in the second and fourth
lines of each quatrain stanza. This is
augmented by plenty of examples of
slant rhyme appearing throughout
the poem. There is neat assonance
in sea green, quite like and glittering
quill. The alliteration of some sand,
made of moonbeams and maybe …
meteor marbles adds to the effect, as
does the consonance of Christmas,
please and big hug.
One suggestion made when
the competition was set was that
seasonal poems could be intended
for performance. This is a perfect
example of a poem that lends itself
to recital. The rhythm and rhymes
make it easy to memorise, and the
list of potential gifts can hardly
fail to inspire the imagination of
the audience.
SECOND PLACE
The second prizewinner is
another poem that lends itself to
performance, and, incidentally,
another take on Santa. This is
purely coincidental. Every aspect of
Christmas, religious and secular, was
covered by poets; it just happens that
the ones that appealed most on this
occasion touched on the same theme.
Waiting for Santa by Joyce Reed
of Marple, Stockport is the vivid
narrative of a common experience,
and a beautifully executed piece in
ballad stanza. Here, then, we have
another poem written in quatrains,
but with the pattern of full rhyme
in the shorter lines, the second and
fourth of each stanza.
One pleasing facet of this poem
is its attention to detail. It’s easy
to describe watching out for Santa
in a generalised aside, but in this
poem the narrator goes a lot further.
There is a build-up of suppressed
excitement in the second line, where
we see the child watching in secret
from my bed. This helps the narrator
to collude with the reader, so drawing
the reader into the poem.
The images here are sharp and
direct. The night was clear and starry
is a straightforward description that
paints an immediate picture. The
same can be said of presents stuffed
my bulging sack – plain, but giving a
strong visual image. Snuggled tightly
down is an equally effective image
based on the sense of touch.
There’s just a hint of nostalgia here,
too. The use of sled rather than the
more usual sleigh, the earlier plural
version of rooves rather than roofs
and the one small peep all work
perfectly for today’s reader, but have
the tiniest hint of expressions of time
past about them. Even the p’raps, an
abbreviation that fits the vocabulary
of the child reader, somehow adds to
the sense of period.
This poem seems to be aimed at
readers in the younger end of the
target age range – but there are a few
elements to catch the imagination
of older readers. The use of transport
in the first stanza, description of the
view as the best in town and the music
of the penultimate line, with its
wait and watch and wait. extend the
poem’s appeal.
Whether you took part in this
competition or not, do set time aside
as Christmas approaches to look
again at the poems enthralling young
readers at this time of year. There’s
some fascinating work about.
MR S CLAUS, CHRISTMAS
COTTAGE, NORTH POLE
by Samantha Newbury
1st prize
Dear Santa, for Christmas, please may I Winner
have a dragon with scales of sea green,
a thimble of stardust, a necklace of snow
or some sand from the Island of Dreams.
I’d quite like a scarf made of moonbeams,
or a rainbow to hang in my room,
some marshmallow cloud puffs with peppermint frost
or a frog that can whistle a tune.
Or maybe some meteor marbles;
a big-hug-in-a-box would be fun;
or a jar of night ink and glittering quill
from the firebird who lives in the sun.
Dear Santa, you know I’m just joking.
I’d be happy with books or a game,
but, I thought that, for once, you might like to read
a ‘different’ list for a change.
WAITING FOR SANTA
by Joyce Reed
Last year I watched for Santa Claus 2nd prize
in secret from my bed
to see his flying reindeer team Winner
transport his magic sled.
The night was clear and starry
and the moon was beaming down.
My bedroom window gave a view
that was the best in town.
I scanned the rooves, I watched the skies
but he did not appear.
And then I was afraid that p’raps
he wouldn’t come this year!
And so I snuggled tightly down
and soon fell fast asleep.
I never did see Santa Claus –
not even one small peep.

Also shortlisted were: Jill Bennett, Glenrothes, Fife; But in the morning I just knew
Joyce Burgess, Rossendale, Lancashire; Jessamy Corob Cook,
that Santa Claus had been,
London; Tracy Davidson, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire;
for presents stuffed my bulging sack,
Jessica Hemming, Pinner, Middlesex; Elizabeth Horrocks,
the most I’d ever seen.
Wilmslow, Cheshire; Claire Kneale, Barrow-in-Furness,
Cumbria; Sheila Mayo, Rotherham, South Yorkshire; Sue Oxley,
Glastonbury, Somerset; Chris Pearson, Sherwood, Nottingham; So this year I shall watch again
Alison Proom, Camberley, Surrey; Sim Smailes, Braintree, Essex when I have gone to bed,
and I shall wait and watch and wait
for Santa and his sled.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 43

p42 poetry winner.indd 43 22/11/2016 09:53

 I N T E RV I E W

Shelf life:
KATE
FURNIVALL
Historical novelist Kate Furnivall shares her five
favourite books with Judith Spelman

©Sam Har;ey
K
ate Furnivall has written nine books that are packed with colourful
incidents. Her first book, The Russian Concubine, is based on the
life of her mother, a refugee from the Russian revolution.
After university where she studied English, Kate joined a
non-fiction publisher and then went on to work in advertising
where she met her future husband, a crime writer who writes under the
name of Neville Steed.
Her ninth book, The Liberation, was published in November 2016, and
depicts the life of an Italian girl following the end of World War II as she tries
to clear her father’s name of treason.
‘I was quite surprised that I didn’t find it difficult to choose these five books
because I had read them so many times,’ says Kate.

GONE WITH
THE WIND
Margaret Mitchell
TINPLATE
‘My first book is Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell. I think it’s a
Neville Steed
very powerful anti-war novel. I read ‘My second book is Tinplate by Neville
it in my early teens and for me it Steed and I love this book because it
was the effects of war on countries was written by my husband! It’s a crime
and on people. Years ago it was novel and it’s about a person, Peter
only through books and newspapers Marklin, who owns an antique toy
that you learnt about these things. emporium in Dorset and he gets caught
People say it’s a glorious love story up in all sorts of skulduggery that
but it’s far more than that. The book is more about personal goes on. He agrees to buy a group of
survival and the struggle for independence and there is this vintage toys for a rich client, but they
woman, Scarlett O’Hara, who is deeply flawed but has courage are stolen and when he tries to find the
and a wonderful disregard for the restrictions society placed thieves he becomes involved in murder.
on women then. I think anyone who reads the book falls in It won the Crime Writers’ Association
love with Rhett Butler. You cannot help it. I think that book John Creasey Award. The novel always
inspired me to write more than any other book I’ve read. I makes me laugh – it’s funny, it’s charming and it’s full of wit and
admired the way Margaret Mitchell told the story and her skill packed full of interesting stuff about vintage toys. That was the
as a storyteller. My last two books – The Italian Wife and The first book he wrote and he has written ten in total as well as a
Liberation – were both stories about the aftermath of war.’ further seven in the Peter Marklin mystery books series.’

44 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p44 SHELF LIFE.indd 44 22/11/2016 09:54

 WRITER’S BOOKSHELF

K
ate didn’t really plan to become
THE ROMANOVS a writer until prompted by a

Simon Sebag Montefiore

‘The third one is a non-fiction book. It’s The Romanovs by
Simon Sebag Montefiore. This is about a Russian dynasty
that lasted 300 years, from 1613 to 1918, and who ruled
a sixth of the world. I wrote four books about Russia. The
reason I am fascinated by the subject is because I found out
when I was in my thirties that my mother was half Russian.
She was a White Russian who fled from St Petersburg at
the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution. When I found
out what had happened to her, I just had to know what it
was like to be Russian so I studied the language and the literature and the music
and the history. The Romanovs is dazzlingly written and the portrait of the power
struggles is absolutely fascinating. I would always want this book with me because I
feel I am reading about my own ancestors.’
©Sam Har;ey
competition, she says.
‘My husband was a writer and
at the time I had young children
and one day one of the newspapers had a
competition to write the first 100 words of a
novel. That night I remember lying in bed not
being able to sleep and wondering what would
my first 100 words be. I was not like some
authors who had written all their lives. Despite
doing English at university, I had never written
creatively at all. I thought of the first 100
words because every one of them had to count
and over the next couple of weeks I wrote and
then, when we went out for our anniversary
dinner, I showed my husband and I remember
him saying, ‘‘I didn’t know you could write!’’’
Kate went on to write five books which she

dismisses, saying she doesn’t want to talk about

JANE EYRE
Charlotte Brontë
‘The fourth book has got to be Jane Eyre by Charlotte
Bronte. It is not only the language and the imagery
that is totally beguiling but it is again, like Gone with
the Wind, a portrait of a woman who is desperate to
escape from a male-dominated world. Again it is the
intensity of the emotions I can see that I channel
into my own books. It is beautifully structured.
It was one of the books I studied at university
for understanding structure. You can see the
development of the character through the structure of the novel.
So I keep it not only for the content but also for what you can learn
about how to write a book. No matter how many times you read it,
there is always something new to discover.’
THE BIG SLEEP
Raymond Chandler
‘Finally, the fifth book I have chosen is a Raymond
Chandler, The Big Sleep. I chose it because it is a
masterclass in writing. I remember the first time I
read it I was completely bowled over. I had never
read anything like it. It’s American and it’s fast with
clever language and I found it thrilling. This is the
first of Chandler’s books to feature his detective,
Philip Marlow. I think that the story is very
comprehensive and convoluted. The book is set in
Los Angeles and is complex, with characters double-crossing each
other and new secrets appearing throughout. You are looking at a different world
and this book opened my eyes to the way writing can be. I had been brought up
on the classics in England which are so different. But these are wonderful stories
and the dialogue is superb. I try to apply it to my own writing, and I try to bear
in mind the needle-sharp insight that Chandler had.’
them, and prefers to say she has written nine
historical novels and is working on her tenth,
which is about Paris. Her latest published book
is The Liberation. ‘When I was writing the
previous book, The Italian Wife, I did a lot of
research into the war in Italy and the people
and what they faced. I always start with the
country to get the feel of it. The Italian Wife
is about Mussolini’s rule and his army of Black
Shirts. The heroine is a young architect who is
widowed and lives with her father, a doctor.’
When she was researching The Liberation
she went to the area, to Naples and Sorrento.
‘I was absolutely entranced and I knew I had
to set a story there,’ she says. ‘It just totally
took me over. They are so different. Sorrento
is so beautiful but Naples has this history of
violence and criminality. I didn’t realise until I
went there that the main industry in Sorrento
is beautiful woodworking and the craft is
passed from father to son.’
The book she is writing now is about Paris
in 1938. ‘It is immediately pre-war and the
involvement of the Spanish Civil War that was
going on at the time. My main character this
time is an aviatrix.’
LISTEN
TAP HERE
to listen to an extract
from The Italian Wife
TAP HERE to buy the book from Audible

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 45

p44 SHELF LIFE.indd 45 22/11/2016 14:53

 WRITING LIFE
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
T
here’s no such thing as writer’s
block. For those of us in this
business of writing, we can’t
afford the luxury of writer’s block.
That’s what I’ve always told
creative writing students and budding
writers. But recently, I’ve been hit by a
range of health symptoms, including
extreme tiredness, memory problems
and a brain fog. There were times when
I couldn’t think straight, if at all. I’d sit
down at my desk and stare at a blank
screen, wondering what to do. I didn’t
know where to start, or what to write.
Then, one thought kept circulating in
my mind. After years of denying its
existence, could I have writer’s block?
No. After several blood tests and
investigations I was diagnosed with
a food intolerance. Within a week of
eliminating that food-type from my diet
my energy levels returned and the brain
fog disappeared. Clarity ruled once
again. I could think. I could write.
When it comes to our physical health,
most of us understand that what we
eat is important. Too much wine and
chocolate (a typical staple diet for many
writers) and we fall foul of what Jane
Wenham-Jones calls Writer’s Bottom.
Yet how many of us consider the effect
food has on our most important creative
muscle: our brain? Our writing business
and our creativity is dependent upon
good mental health. So why do we
rarely consider the part our diet has in
putting us in a good, creative mood?
There’s still lots of research to be
done, but in 2010 the mental
health charity Mind produced
a report called The Mind
Guide to Food and
Mood (http://writ.rs/
mindfoodmood)
which explores
how food and
nutrition can
affect our
mental
health.
p46 Business of Writing.indd 46
Don’t let festive overindulgence
leave you feeling creatively sluggish.
Simon Whaley explores how diet
can influence our creativity.
Bad food, bad mood
Much of this we instinctively know
already. How many of us grab several
cups of coffee or tea, in order to kick start
our brains, when we’re facing an early
morning or late evening writing session?
Caffeine is a stimulant, so small doses can
make us feel more alert and responsive to
our surroundings. But its effect doesn’t
last for long… which is why we then
grab another cup. And another cup. And
another. Eventually, that stimulating
boost crashes to a slump. That’s because
too much caffeine can cause the complete
opposite of what we’re trying to achieve,
leading to anxiety and depression. And
neither of those are helpful when we’re
faced with a deadline.
To run a writing business we need
a positive frame of mind. We’re more
creative when we’re in a good mood.
That’s when the ideas flow. That’s
when we produce our best work. Bad
moods and depression are creatively
debilitating. There are many factors that
can cause depression, but scientists are
now studying how different foods can
be used to encourage a good mood.
Finding a balance
Chemicals in our brains, such as
serotonin and endorphins, positively
influence our mood and the way we feel.
Any physical exercise can help with this,
one of the easiest of which is walking,
and may explain why many writers are
keen walkers. I’ve always referred to
my daily walk as great thinking time.
It’s when I have my best ideas. Charles
Dickens frequently walked twelve
miles a day, often searching for
settings to use in his novels,
and he was certainly a
prolific writer.
But the food we
consume also
plays a role in
how those
chemicals and
nutrients get
to the brain.
Tryptophan
is an essential
amino acid
found in
22/11/2016 09:56

foods like eggs, red meat, poultry,
fish, dairy products and some
seeds, which the body converts into
serotonin in the brain. However, it’s
the carbohydrates in our diet that
help transport that tryptophan to our
creative muscle.
But those carbohydrates need to
be the right sort. Our bodies prefer
a stable supply of sugar to the blood,
which is why nutritionists recommend
complex carbohydrates (such as peas,
beans, whole grains and some starchy
vegetables) in our diet. These foodstuffs
release their vitamins, minerals and
sugars slowly, providing energy to
our body and brain over a prolonged
period. This slow-released energy can
keep us mentally alert for several hours
between meals: perfect for a morning or
afternoon’s writing session.
Diet your way
Studies have also shown that low
levels of vitamins, minerals, essential
fatty acids, and omega-3 oils can
influence our mood negatively. When
we’re feeling low and despondent,
this bad mood influences our food
choices detrimentally. We reach for
the bar of chocolate, the glass of
wine, the packet of crisps or biscuits,
or the bag of sweets. That refined
sugar-rush gives us a quick feel-good
feeling, but it doesn’t last, which is
why we then crave more of the same.
Consuming too much alcohol,
caffeine, sugar and chocolate can affect
our mood and creativity negatively.
Some people may find other foods, like
wheat-based products (bread, cakes,
pasta, biscuits) and dairy produce
lead to similar problems too. But it’s
important to remember that we’re all
individuals, which means there’s no
one-diet-fits-all solution. Too much
caffeine for one person may cause no
problems for another person’s body.
If your creativity has taken a
knock recently, it might be worth
taking a closer look at what you’ve
been eating and drinking. However,
never drastically change your diet
without consulting your GP, and
if you’re experiencing symptoms
always seek medical advice. Lethargy,
forgetfulness and difficulty thinking
are symptoms of many other illnesses,
some of which can be serious, so it’s
vital you get yourself checked out.
There are some basic steps we can
p46 Business of Writing.indd 47
all take to give our brains and our
writing business a creative boost.
• Break your fast
Don’t skip breakfast. It’s the most
important meal of the day. It the
body’s first opportunity to fuel itself.
Even if you rise early to get a couple
of hours of writing in before the rest
of the household wakes up, avoid the
temptation to force your brain into action
with some coffee. Instead, put something
substantial in your stomach. Porridge oats
release energy slowly, which are ideal for
a long-haul writing session. A breakfast
that includes some protein, like eggs, fish
or meat, will give you a steady release
of energy throughout the morning, and
make you feel full too, reducing the
temptation to snack on something sugary
mid-morning.
• Lunch something
With a deadline looming, don’t be
tempted to skip lunch. Your brain
will thank you for taking time out,
and your creativity will be there to
support you afterwards. Lunch
should be a top-up to the energy
levels created by your breakfast.
In a recent review of 28 studies,
scientists concluded that the old
adage of breakfast like a king, lunch
like a prince and dine like a pauper
still carries merit today. Modern
living encourages us to grab a quick
breakfast, if we have one at all, sneak
a bite to eat at lunchtime while we
continue working at our desks, and
then have our main meal, and biggest
energy/calorie intake, at the end of the
day. Yet making breakfast our biggest
meal, and then topping up with smaller
meals of fewer calories at lunchtime
and dinner, is much better for
managing our blood-sugar levels and
giving our creative muscle the steady
supply of thinking energy it needs.
Therefore, lunches and dinners
should be lighter and smaller (unless
a publisher is paying!). Top up with
more protein, found in lean meats,
fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds,
peas, beans and lentils, because it
contains the amino acids the brain
requires to regulate our mood. And
the five-a-day recommend portions
of fruit and vegetables give us the
important minerals and vitamins that
we need to maintain a healthy body
and brain.
www.writers-online.co.uk
WRITING LIFE
• Water, water, everywhere
The biggest step we can take to clearer
thinking and longer periods of deeper
concentration is to drink plenty of
water. The brain needs hydration.
Dehydration impacts our short-term
memory, and our ability to concentrate
and think. Our brain is between 75%
and 80% water, so as soon as we feel
thirsty it means our brains are not as
hydrated as they should be.
Instead of having a cafetière on the
desk, opt for a glass of water. Not only
do tea and coffee contain caffeine, they
are both diuretics. So although we may
feel as though we’re drinking, we’re not
rehydrating our brains. Sipping water
regularly gives our creative muscle the
real fuel it needs to thrive.
• Log it!
Keep a food diary if you’re having
trouble thinking, or being creative.
Record what you eat and drink, when
you consume them, and how you feel
afterwards. Keep this for two weeks,
and see if you spot any trends. It helped
me when I was working with my GP to
resolve some of my symptoms.
At this time of year we’re encouraged
to eat and drink excessively. If you’ve
ever wondered if there’s a link between
what we consume and our creativity,
ask yourself how creative you feel when
you’ve just finished the three-hour
marathon that is Christmas dinner.
That doesn’t mean we should avoid
all the naughty things we eat and
drink. Moderation is the key. But
I take much more care over what I
tuck into, now that I have a clearer
understanding of how the food and
drink I consume affects my writing
business. Bon appétit!
FOOD PARCELS
Always discuss symptoms with your GP, and tell
them if you plan making big changes to your diet.
These changes may adversely interact with any
existing medication you’re taking.
If you’re concerned about your diet, or want further
dietary advice, go to www.freelancedietician.org for
dieticians in your area. All dieticians (freelance and
those working for the NHS) are fully regulated by
the Health Professional Council (HPC).
For a mind-boosting meal, check out the three-dish
menu from Mind at http://writ.rs/mind3dish
JANUARY 2017 47
22/11/2016 09:55
 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Under the
microscope
Author and lecturer James McCreet puts a reader’s first 300 words
under the forensic lens of his criticism
Not Human
Grace lay on the basement floor, 1 trying to slow
her breathing, 2 before Luke finished locking
up for the night, 3 so that he would think she
was asleep. 4 It seemed like overkill, 5 since they
might just be 6 in the most secure place in
Wolverhampto n, 7 possibly even in the whole
of the UK, 8 barring any secure government
facilities. 9 Luke had become the king of
overkill though,10 ever since the two of them had
locked themselves away in the house, which had
previously belonged to someone Grace knew.11
She had killed him, but it hadn’t been him.12 He
had turned and wasn’t human anymore.13 That’s
how Grace had to think, to deal with everything
she had to do to survive.14 That was three months
ago.15 Grace was starting to get claustrophobic,
even during the day when she and Luke spent
time upstairs in the rest of the house.16
‘Grace,’ Luke whispered warily.17
Grace’s eyes remained shut,18 but Luke whispered
her name again, knowing she was awake.19
‘What?’ Grace snapped.20
‘I just miss you,’ he responded sadly, 21
before taking his sleeping bag to the other side
of the basement. 22
‘I miss you too,’ Grace whispered23 low
enough for him not to make out what she said.
24
a stolen car,
Ever since Mark bled to death in
Grace was torn25 between blaming herself for not
taking him straight to a hospital, or laying the
blame on Luke.26 Surely as a doctor,27 he must
have known how serious Mark’s injuries were.28
Even so, he didn’t speak up until it was too late.
‘Did you say something?’ Luke asked.29
Grace shook her head, but Luke couldn’t see
her in the dark, from where he stood.30
‘Luke,’ Grace said.31
‘Yes,’ he replied cautiously, hoping that this
wouldn’t turn into another argument.32 He wasn’t
even sure what all the arguments were about.33
48 JANUARY 2017
p48 microscope.indd 48
Amanda Steel is originally from Yorkshire but now
lives in Manchester. After studying Open University
creative writing courses, she was inspired to pursue
her lifelong love of writing. She has published
various work on Amazon, including the short novel,
After The Zombies, of which Not Human, which
begins with this passage, follows.
1 So far so good. We know
immediately who our character
is and where.
9 And another comma, another
clause. The rhythm is very
jerky. Plus, there must be banks and
underground facilities and any number
2 Why the comma? There’s more
pace without it and it’s not
of locations equally as secure.
grammatically essential. Her rapid
breathing adds tension. 10 I don’t mind the repetition of
‘overkill’ for emphasis, but I
question the usefulness of ‘though’ –
3 The second comma is as
unnecessary as the first and
perhaps because the pattern so far is
one of disruptive interpolations.
fractures the sentence into bits.
Why would her breathing be related
to locking up? It isn’t, but the clause
order implies it.
11 Clauses upon clauses! The
sentences are overloaded
with information that struggles for
supremacy. It’s hard to read. The flow
4
Another unnecessary comma. stutters. And wait – this is just a house?
In fact this sentence is We were told it might be one of the
dangerously overloaded with clauses UK’s most secure locations!
to the extent that it challenges sense.
The information is shuffled like
a deck of cards. I fear that many
agents or publishers would stop
12 Too many ‘hims’. The
grammar of the last sentence
suggests that she killed Luke,
reading right now. who appears to be the subject of
that sentence. Then there’s the
5 Due to that shuffling effect,
we now have to work out what
‘It’ represents as overkill. Slowing her
immediate contradiction, which
further confuses matters. Who did
she kill? And did she?
breathing? Locking up? Pretending to
be asleep? See what I mean?
13 There’s some potential
clarity here and a lifebuoy
6 The ‘might just be’ is interesting.
Who’s using this language? Grace,
of information. We assume that
the dead person is the house-owner
or the author? who’d become zombified.
7 So now we know where the action
is taking place. Good. 14 Until now, the narration
could have been from Grace’s
perspective. This sentence suggests
8 Although this seems like an
overstatement.
someone else is telling her story and
it’s a slightly jarring switch. Easily
www.writers-online.co.uk
22/11/2016 10:00
 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

fixed though – just change ‘Grace’ to

‘she’. It’s an interesting insight into the
character – something we really need to
hook the reader.
15 A useful bit of information that
may prove relevant. Moreover,
it’s clear and simply expressed.
24 But the rest of the sentence
is a wordy formulation that’s TAP HERE
mostly redundant. We already know to read James McCreet’s
she whispered. To stress it further, just
add ‘inaudibly’.
suggested rewrite of
this extract
25 A problem with tenses here.
This looks American. British
grammar would suggest, ‘Ever since

16 It’d be easy to quibble

here about the nature of
claustrophobia and whether this is
literally true or shorthand for general
anxiety. But we’ll let it go. Overall, it’s
been a challenging and not especially
gripping first paragraph. It’s all tied up
in grammatical convolution.
Mark had bled... Grace had been torn.’
26 I’ve read this sentence a
number of times now.
I know what’s meant from the
following context but the grammar is
ambiguous. Is she torn for blaming
Luke, or for not blaming Luke? It
needs cleaning up.
IN SUMMARY
The concept of this scene is good: a couple
in a house that’s probably surrounded by
zombies. They have history together. They
share a tragic past. It should be tense
and the reader should feel that tension.

17 Dialogue is what we need to bring

us back to the immediate place
and time. The alliteration is unfortunate
(what does it add?) and the combination
of the reporting verb and an adverb do
too much work for the reader. Let the
dialogue speak for itself: “Grace...?”
27 Luke’s a doctor? Good to
know.
Unfortunately, the grammar sabotages the
piece by dissipating the tension in over-
complicated sentences with unnecessary
clauses and an excess of punctuation. The
28 This is undoubtedly true,
which makes the sentence
look suspiciously like some gratuitous
writing gets in the way of the subject.
Dialogue is affected in the same way:
with too many pointers from the author
information sharing from the author in on how to read it, and with interjections

18 This phrasing puts the

emphasis on the eyes rather
than on Grace – like saying ‘My mouth
ate a sandwich.’
the middle of the dialogue.
29 If there’s a question mark,
you don’t need ‘asked’. Also,
Luke’s words draws attention to the
that disrupt the flow and pace. These could
come later. First, we need to know where
we are and what’s happening. There are
thousands of words spare for backstory
later. The priority is hooking the reader

19 Why report it? Just have him

repeat it. The golden rule with
dialogue is for the author to stay out of
interruption in what promised to be
some interesting dialogue.
with a scene that unfolds in real time
before our eyes.
The issue of the narrative perspective
it. Let the characters speak.
30 Why would Grace shake
her head if he can’t see?
is less critical, but no less important to
the larger work. At present, it seems

20 Again, don’t rely on the verb

to do all the work. Make the
reader infer: ‘What!’ Also, you don’t
need to use her name – she’s the only
other person present.
This authorial perspective introduces
a false note and removes us from the
immediacy of the space between them.
I don’t believe that ‘from where he
stood’ adds anything useful.
torn between Grace’s point of view and
authorial omniscience. Both can co-exist,
but the reader shouldn’t be aware of
transitions between them. A further
complication is the last line, in which
Luke’s perspective creeps in. This all needs

21 Again with the conspicuous

reporting verb and adverb that
draw attention to the language rather
than to the situation. Show his sadness
through his words: ‘I... I just miss you.’
31 But this is great. Simple,
unadorned. Add an ellipsis and
a question mark to show the hesitation
in her voice.
to be sorted out.
If this critique seems harsh, it’s because
writing of this sort frustrates a reader. We
want so desperately to get into the story,
but the prose won’t let us. Would an agent

22 Though it’s unclear why

he misses her if they’re in
32 But again, you overplay it
by weighing in as the author
with added info. Don’t tell us this stuff;
or publisher read beyond this?

the same room. Why does he take
his sleeping bag away? Is it a sexual
thing? If she misses him too, what’s
the problem? This is confusing rather
than intriguing.
let it unfold in front of us.
33 The arguments are about
Mark, right? If not, I’m
not sure what this is supposed to tell
• If you would like to submit an
extract of your work in progress,
us. But if it is about Mark, I’d expect send it by email, with synopsis

23 We can allow ‘whispered’ Luke (as a doctor and as someone and a brief biog, to:
here because the volume intimately involved in Mark’s death) jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk
is significant. to be less dense.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 49

p48 microscope.indd 49 22/11/2016 14:54

 FICTION FOCUS
Staying POWER
Keep readers on the hook for your next book and enjoy expanding
your fictional world with a novel series, says Margaret James
A
couple of months ago (Nov 16) this column discussed
writing epic novels, and this month we’re going to look at
writing novels in series.
What’s the difference between epics and series – is there any?
I’d suggest that although a series novel can sometimes
leave a few incidental questions unanswered at the end of each
individual story, it is usually complete in itself, rather than part
of a continuous narrative journey developing over one huge or
several smaller volumes.
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories, for example, definitely
form a series in which her charismatic hero has a range of
adventures that engage the reader enough to want to meet this
central character again and again.
Or perhaps to meet a character’s friends and relations as well, as
in the case of many multi-volume family sagas, which are just one
example of this kind of successive-generation baton-passing, giving
children and grandchildren the chance to tell their stories, too.
Or maybe readers might like to revisit a fascinating location.
What about secondary characters: can series novels
accommodate them? Certainly – Anne Rice’s Lestat was a
secondary character in Interview with the Vampire but is the main
character in The Vampire Lestat.
50 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk
p50 Fiction Focus.indd 50
Series author Kirsty Ferry says that
as a reader she finds finishing a great
novel can be somewhat frustrating.
‘You’ve cheered as the central
characters tied up all the loose ends and maybe even found their
happy-ever-after,’ she says. ‘So you can’t help hoping that one day
there might be a series about them. As an author, writing a linked
series is my favourite way of working.
‘I knew I wanted my debut mystery novel Some Veil Did Fall to
be part of a series. I loved my central characters Jon and Becky and I
realised it would be easy to take them on another journey. So, for the
second story in my Rosetti Mysteries series, The Girl in the Painting,
I used a minor character – Lissy, Jon’s sister and Becky’s best friend
– as the link between the two books. Lissy is also a friend of Simon
and Cori, the second book’s hero and heroine.
‘This second book is set two years after Some Veil Did Fall,
so I had to remember to move everyone’s lives on
in order to match that timeline. Then I began to
wonder what might happen to Lissy next, which
was my starting point for the third book.’
Clare Chase writes the London and Cambridge
mysteries and each story has two strands, one set in
22/11/2016 10:02
 FICTION FOCUS

each city. ‘I’ve always loved reading series I wish

I’d known…
fiction and this made me want to write it
myself,’ says Clare. ‘My own stories are about
ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances.
They start with the women getting caught up in
a mystery by pure chance, and then these women
are thrown straight into the action.
‘I introduce leading men who get involved
in solving the mysteries, too. I’m a big fan of Novelists tell us what
crime-solving partnerships, from Tommy and they wished they’d
Tuppence to Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli, known right at the
so perhaps this element was bound to become a start of their careers.
feature in my own books!
‘I find it very satisfying to focus on a new crime and a new motive in each
with Terri Nixon
book while also getting more deeply involved with my familiar protagonists.
There’s something very comforting about revisiting characters I like, both in
my own books and in other people’s, and I find this revisiting helps to offset

the darker side of crime fiction.
‘Setting my novels You Think You Know Me and A Stranger’s House in
London and Cambridge allowed me to dig deeply into the essence of
those two cities. I love series in which the locations give a very distinct
flavour to the books, as is the case with Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh and
Donna Leon’s Venice.’
Alison May writes contemporary romantic comedies and has had lots of
success with her Christmas Kisses series. ‘But I didn’t set out to write a series,’
she says. ‘I intended Holly’s Christmas Kiss to be a standalone novella. But, as
soon as I’d finished the first draft, I realised there was a secondary character –
Cora – whose story I wanted to tell.
‘Cora appears in the first book as the hero’s evil ex-wife. I’ve always thought
ex-wives get a bad deal in romantic fiction, so I was keen to look at Cora from
her own perspective. As I was plotting Cora’s Christmas Kiss I could see that the
story I had in mind would give me an opportunity to write a third story featuring
another secondary character from the first book: Holly’s best mate, Jessica.
‘Since I hadn’t originally planned to write books two and three, one plot
strand for Jessica’s Christmas Kiss had to be abandoned because of a two-line
throwaway comment in the first book. But I feel giving secondary characters
their moment in the spotlight is worthwhile because it’s fascinating to revisit a
group of people or a set of situations over time and see how things pan out.
‘I was also able to see characters from different points of view. There are five
characters who appear in all three books, and seeing and describing them from
lots of different viewpoints was really good fun.
‘The best thing about writing a series has been seeing reviews in which
people talk about waiting for the next book to come out or about the books
becoming part of their Christmas reading routine.’
We read series fiction because we want to know what a character (or
even a range of characters) we’ve met before did next, or because we want
to revisit a fascinating location, or both. So, if you can bring to life a
character (or characters) who you believe will
have staying power, or think of a location
that has long-term reader-friendly prospects,
perhaps series fiction is for you?
‘W
hen I was seven, I wrote this epic
poem, which I still have:
Rhubarb Crumble, nice for tea.
I had missed it thoroughly.
For I went on a ship, and took a long trip,
And fell right into the sea! Yo Ho!
‘So, I knew I wanted to write (and definitely to write
fiction, because I’ve always loathed rhubarb crumble).
It didn’t matter if no one saw it: just writing was
enough. Or so I thought…
‘Ever since I made that decision, I’ve been my own
worst enemy and I’ve moved the goal posts at every stage
of my writing career. Writing was wonderful, but then
I found I had to show it to someone. I had some short
stories published, and that still wasn’t enough, so I wrote a
novel. Several, in fact, until I finished one I thought worth
pursuing down the rocky path to possible publication.
‘Next, I was desperate for an agent at least to look
at it. After that nothing would matter. A request for a
full typescript? Oh, that means I can write. I should
be happy now, some kind of validation at last! Oh, but
what if they don’t want it? I’ll die if they don’t want it…
‘An offer of ebook publication followed: the absolutely
the pinnacle of my ambition, surely? But then I shifted
those posts again. I wanted paperback. That was the
ultimate goal. Done. Here you are, Terri, you’re in
Waterstones and WH Smith, two of your lifelong
favourite shops. Great. A new book deal next – straight
to paperback this time – and still I’m digging and
shifting, and aiming further, but for what?
‘Richard and Judy Book
Club? Jacket endorsement
from someone amazing? BBC/
ITV/C4 drama? A spot on

Now try this: Graham Norton’s couch? If

only I’d known I’d never be
satisfied! But that’s what
Do you have a character in mind who keeps us pushing on, after all,
has lots of friends, or who could have so I’m learning to embrace
lots of adventures, or both? Maybe my own greed, and I can
this person could feature in a series only wonder where it will
of stories? take me next.’

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 51

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

SH A RE
SUBSCRIBER
SPOTLIGHT
O Y Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and
Y

R
U R STO would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

Romance clicks Writing from life

‘I have always been fond of a good romance (which I
believe outsells all other genres), and have read many,’
writes subscriber Anna Aysgarth.
‘Over the years, I tried to write contemporary romantic
fiction but couldn’t seem to find the right voice.
‘Being a huge fan of Jane Austen, the Regency period and
Christmas, once I had decided to put the three ingredients
together, A Bride for Christmas emerged. I particularly
enjoyed researching the manners and etiquette, which seem
far more complicated than they are now. Although manners and fashions change,
human behaviour does not, and I believe a love story has a timeless quality.
‘When I finished the book, I almost left it at that. Fortunately, I was leafing
through a copy of Writing Magazine and noticed a short article about an
American publisher, Melange, which was accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I
hesitated before clicking send, but click I did, and then put it firmly out of my
mind. I was prepared for rejection, it had happened before, but I decided I had
enjoyed writing the book and anything else would be a bonus (though I always
wanted to know if I was good enough).
‘The reply came through remarkably quickly; they would like to publish. Never
usually lost for words, apart from a squeak, I was speechless. My editor at Melange
was fantastic at getting the book into shape and the attention to detail from all the
team was tremendous.
‘I hadn’t told most of my friends or family about writing a book because they
can sometime burst the bubble of enthusiasm by pointing out the reasons why
things might not work out. They do it kindly to manage expectations, but it can
lead to loss of confidence. If I was a fairy godmother, that is the gift I would give,
especially to new writers.’
‘I have been writing for about three
to four years with limited success,’
writes subscriber Pam Corsie.
‘I won a Writing Magazine
competition with the theme of
Lost Love, a tale of my lifelong
friendship with Sue, who has now
sadly passed away. I have also had
a couple of shortlisting/runners-
up mentions with short fiction
stories in writing competitions.
‘Recently, I “interviewed” my brother, Nigel, who is
a cyclist but who also has Parkinson’s Disease, and from
our conversations wrote an article about his cycling
achievements which was published in the July edition of
Cycling Plus Magazine as part of their Real Riders series.
‘Flushed with success, I contacted www.parkinsons.
org.uk and asked them if they would, with the blessing
of Cycling Plus, be interested in Nigel’s story. The article
and photograph was listed on their site and Facebook
this morning and has, already, received a wonderfully
positive response.
‘I wonder if my writing improves when I am writing
about topics that I have a vested interest in? Should
I persevere with the fictional short stories or should
I find more people with interesting stories to tell and
concentrate of them? Any answers gratefully received.’

Laying ghosts to rest

‘I started writing Run Rabbit Run in 1997 and finished in 2013 at the
age of 72,’ writes subscriber Sara Adams.
‘It has had several edits and rewrites and also a couple of title changes,
and it is now finally ready for reprinting in 2016. It’s been reborn.
‘It was originally named in 2013 The Wrong Kind of Love and posted
on Amazon but I was not happy with the outcome, sales or the title.
‘I have rewritten some parts, added additional material to the
manuscript and I think it is better; it has now been christened
Run Rabbit Run.
‘The story is in part, my true-life story of abusive domestic violence
woven around a story of fiction with a happy ending. Writing this
book was a catalyst, I was trying to lay to rest the ghosts of my past
and to slay my nightmare demons.
‘On the journey over the years of writing this book, I sent the first
three chapters to various publishers and agents but nobody fancied
taking it on. At the same time, I was working
as a self-employed book keeper for four days a
week and babysitter to a new granddaughter
when mum went back to work.
‘The only letters to plop through my letter
box were my returned manuscript with
rejection slips attached and bills.
‘So I decided when I had at last finished my manuscript for the
second time to approach another self-publishing company with my
book and I have done so, in book form from Createspace and as an
ebook on Amazon. The original company was PublishNation, helpful,
friendly and I was pleased with them but felt I needed a change.
‘One of the comments that were posted on Amazon, by a young
lady after reading my book, lifted my heart and made my day. “A
beautiful love story.” What more could you ask for?’

52 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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

Trouble on the tour bus Bowled over

‘The fourth Fiona Mason Mystery, Blood Hits the Wall, was published
earlier this year,’ writes subscriber Judith Cranswick.
‘Fiona is a tour manager for a coach company and each book
in the series takes place in a different country. The latest novel
is set in Berlin and the Elbe Valley. The tour gets off to a bad
start when their local Berlin guide is murdered and the police
are convinced that one of Fiona’s party is responsible. An MI6
officer posing as one of her passengers, a missing Ukrainian
politician, a zealous reporter eager for a story and a sick
grandchild all add to the mix, making this one of Fiona’s most
challenging tours to date.
‘Travel is a great inspiration, and one of the best things
about setting my Fiona Mason Mysteries in popular tourist
destinations is that I have the perfect excuse to revisit all the
wonderful places mentioned in the books. The itinerary of Blood
Hits the Wall follows the same one my husband and I took on
our superb holiday from Berlin through the beautiful towns of
Wittenberg, Meissen and Dresden, each steeped in history, to
the dramatic scenery of the mountainous region close to the
Czech border known as Saxon Switzerland. Much of what we
saw and did helped to colour the story and also proved me with
valuable ideas for the various subplots and red herrings.
‘Researching the background for
the mission that occupies my MI6
agent, Peter Montgomery-Jones,
though, always proves challenging,
frequently taking me into areas I
know little about, but the research
is fascinating. As in each of the
previous novels, Fiona’s attempts
to uncover the murder involving
one of her party, clash with
Peter’s mission and once again
the two characters are at odds.
Nonetheless, they will have to
work together if either of them is
to achieve their goal.’
Website: www.judithcranswick.co.uk
‘I was born in India, where my father was serving with the
Army,’ writes subscriber Hannah Dewiss.
‘On the family’s return to England, he was posted to North
Wales, where I spent the remainder of my young life in a
picturesque village. I attended the local grammar school, where I
hate to say my reports always said “Could do better”.
‘After various jobs in my younger years (too many to mention)
I unintentionally “slipped” into retail which surprisingly was very
enjoyable. Having led such a busy life, on my retirement friends
would often say “you won’t know what to do with yourself ” –
but now there are not enough hours in the day for me.
‘With nothing to do but please myself, I struggled to learn
the demon computer. Unfortunately, there is still much to
learn. On a whim, my two sisters and I decided to record our
childhood memories of family life in the army, and by the time
we’d finished I was completely hooked on writing, and that is
how my writing career began. Who would have thought that
writing stories could be such fun? I have written a further five
novels, all waiting to be edited!
‘The Sunnit-on-Sea Snuffit Club was kindly edited by Jeff
Gardiner and published as an ebook by Crooked Cat Publishers.
‘Sam Harvey’s wife and daughter are murdered and he suffers
a nervous breakdown, so is compulsorily retired from the police
force on ill-health grounds. He retires to Sunnit-on-Sea where
he joins the Bowling Club, and subsequently The Snuffit Club.
Then, one by one, his friends are murdered, and although Sam
suspects their deaths have something to do with him, he does not
know why and starts to follow the trail.’

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

Major win for WM contributor Boy to man

‘I was thrilled to win Bloomsbury Publishing’s Writers
and Artists’ International Sonnet Competition
mounted in association with the Royal Society ‘Shortly after my ninth birthday my
of Literature and judged by Ruth Padel,’ writes mother was taken into hospital and my
contributor and WM course tutor Jan Moran Neil. brother and I were packed off to an aunt’s
‘I want to thank WM’s Tina Jackson. I originally house,’ writes subscriber Chris Sullivan.
emailed Tina to ask if I could enter WM’s ‘Seven days later my father appeared
Shakespearian poetry competition. That brief and took us into an empty room. He
was to address in some way A Midsummer Night’s knelt, put his arms around us and
Dream. She quite rightly pointed out that I was a issued the following words. “God
WM course tutor and contributor and had just has decided to take your mother to
published two features on how helpful Shakespeare’s heaven. She passed away last week.”
plots and characters could be to our own writing. My elder brother cried. I stood, cold,
This might make me ineligible to enter! Tina then disorientated, unsure of what to do. I
found and sent me the link to Bloomsbury’s Sonnet looked at Dad hoping he’d take back the
Competition which asked for a sonnet inspired words but his bloodshot, watery eyes
by one of Shakespeare’s very own. I chose to write a sonnet called Silver Surfing inspired told me that was not an option.
by sonnet 30, When to the sessions of sweet silent thought. It was free entry so I suggested ‘The reality of that short statement
the competition to my students. It just goes to show that if you throw enough pasta floated precariously above my head for a
submissions at the wall then sometimes some might stick. The words won’t do it if they frozen moment. My tears then came out
sit in that desk drawer or in your docs file. So thank you Will, Tina and Ruth and rock of confusion as much as the hollow feeling
on all silver surfers. of loss. I was a young child but I knew the
‘My sonnet can be found here: http://writ.rs/jansonnet and is published in the RSL’s meaning of the word death. What I didn’t
December Review. My collection Red Lipstick and Revelations will be published by Indigo understand were the consequences – how
Dreams in 2017.’ that three-minute passage of time was
Website: www.janmoranneil.co.uk about to change the course of my life in
such momentous fashion.
‘Mum died of a primary brain
tumour. She was thirty-four.
Time for fiction ‘A few years later, with my brother
and Dad working evenings in a pub,
‘I was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1928,’ writes I was putting myself to bed at the
subscriber Beryl Armstrong. age of twelve. At times the electricity
‘Although my parents reluctantly returned to England when I would “run out” throwing the flat into
was three, I have retained a lifelong interest in all things Pacific. darkness. Stumbling around on my
Following my husband’s two year tour of duty in New Delhi – own looking for shillings for the meter
1959-61, I had my first inspiration to become a writer. or borrowing one from a neighbour,
‘For the next thirty years I was an enthusiastic award-winning initiated a fear of intruders that, even
amateur film maker. Amateurs wear all hats from script to now, still creeps into the odd bad dream.
screen and writing helpful or entertaining articles about your It was impossible to share my insecurities
hobby is rewarding. and jumbled emotions with anyone so,
‘After video arrived I changed hobbies and started creating historic dolls’ houses. I as an outlet, I began writing short stories
wrote for the magazines and had two books published which are still in print. and poems. It served me well.
‘In between these non-fiction years I wrote twelve novels ‘In my crime thriller Reasonable
merely for light relief but I had neither experience nor Force young husband Nick Summers
confidence to seriously consider publication. Now confronts an intruder in his house late
practical hobbies have ended I have time and reconsider at night. The consequences of Nick’s
my novels. actions and those of a local police
‘I regard my first three as teething rings but seven officer cast a dark shadow over their
had true potential. After so many years I could view home, threatening the couple’s safety
them objectively, and with experience, bring them and their relationship.
up to publication standard. Two were published ‘When Pegasus published my book last
commercially and are now on Kindle along with the year it was a cathartic and exhilarating
third in this four-book New Zealand family saga experience. The heartening reviews on
series plus two romance. All have had enthusiastic Amazon and Goodreads have, somehow,
feedback from readers who constantly say they given value to my writing as a young boy.
couldn’t put them down. I aim to write page- Proof that good can come out of bad.’
turners because I believe novels should be written Website: www.ctsullivan.co.uk
to give pleasure.’

54 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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

Job’s worth it
Have a gander
‘I’ve always written since I was a child,’
‘Three decades back I was hatching plots for writes subscriber Amanda Steel.
stories with twist endings like those of Roald ‘I finished my first novel when I
Dahl,’ writes subscriber Malcolm Welshman. was in my early twenties, or at least
‘And failing miserably. My writing tutor that’s what I thought at the time.
Margaret May extolled the virtues of writing It was only when I started studying
about what you know. “You’re a vet aren’t you?’ towards a criminology degree, then
she said. “Well then get cracking and write some animal stories.” realised it wasn’t for me and switched
‘Her advice landed the same day a goose flew into my life. A “thank to an Open degree instead, that
you” present from a grateful farmer. An Emden. A breed that apparently I discovered what I really wanted
fattened up nicely for the Christmas table. Only it wasn’t to be. Gertie to do with my life.
the goose’s cackling one night warned us of burglars about to break into ‘Two writing modules towards
our cottage. She saved our skins. So the least we could do was save hers. my degree was more than enough
“An excellent story,” declared Margaret. “Write it up and send it off as to convince me that I wanted to be
a Christmas tale.” I did as I was told. My Weekly’s editor fell for it and a writer, as a job, rather than just a
Gertie was billed in its Christmas Special. So now I had a beak in the door. hobby. I also know now, my first novel
“Follow it up,” exorted Margaret. Would My Weekly consider some regular wasn’t finished, not even close. Maybe I will come
vet stories? Excellent idea. I became the My Weekly vet for fifteen years, back to it someday.
constantly egged on by Margaret. ‘My first (really) finished novel is called While I Was
‘“What are you going to do with all these stories you’ve written?” she asked Gone. It’s about a young woman who was kidnapped as
me years later. Er… I hadn’t thought about it. “I see a book in the offing,” a child, then brought up by a wealthy couple, who she
she said. Pets in a Pickle was the result. The first six months of a young vet in believed were her parents. It’s only when she is reunited
practice in West Sussex. Gertie played a star role in helping the book reach with her real family that she starts to understand that the
number two on Kindle’s bestsellers’ list. There followed Pets on Parade. Then dreams about another family weren’t really dreams. She
Pets Aplenty, a People’s Book Prize finalist last year – the third in the series of has to try to fit in with her birth family, coming to terms
Paul Mitchell’s exploits in the vet hospital, Prospect House. with everything she has missed, while dealing all the lies
‘Ideas from them were poached to produce a series of thirty tales for her fake parents told her.
The People’s Friend last year. A flap of wings from the magazine’s editor, ‘I did go for the self-publishing option, but through trial
Shirley Blair. More please. So just starting to hatch another clutch of and error I’ve begun to learn what works and what doesn’t.
tales. All thanks to Gertie the goose, egged on by Margaret, my writing My book is starting to bring in a steady flow of readers.
tutor. Between them they laid the foundation for my writing career.’ I may not be able to call writing a full-time paid job yet,
Website: www.malcolmwelshman.co.uk but slowly I’m getting there.’

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 AU T H O R E X P E R I E N C E S
Hospital
notes
A sudden, life-threatening illness had a transformative effect on a work in
progress writes subscriber K A Hitchins
I
didn’t expect to be rushed into
hospital on 24 March 2016. I
should have spent the day on
social media posting and tweeting
about my debut novel, The Girl at the
End of the Road, which was officially
released that day in bookshops and
through online retailers.
But the previous night I’d gone
to bed with some unpleasant blood
blisters in my mouth. I must be really
run down, I thought, with the pressure
of editing my first book, organising
a mini book tour for the following
months, and beginning my next novel.
When I awoke on the day of the big
launch, I noticed a strange rash of red
spots on my throat and arms which
didn’t blanch when pressed. I was
queuing at the receptionist’s desk at my
local surgery at nine o’clock sharp and
was shown straight in.
As soon as the doctor saw me,
he telephoned the hospital and told
them to be ready to receive me.
Once in Accident and Emergency,
I was fast-tracked through the system.
When asked to change into a hospital
gown, I was shocked to see that my
legs were covered in a livid non-
blanching rash and purple bruises. I
must be very ill indeed!
I’ve often speculated what it would
be like if I was suddenly faced with a
potentially life-threatening condition.
I’d seen my own father die from cancer
a few years previously, and had sat by
his side as he slowly slipped away. I’d
wondered if he’d been able to hear me,
and whether he was afraid or peaceful
as he faced the end.
56 JANUARY 2017
p52 Subscriber news.indd 56
With doctors coming and going
from my little cubicle, I felt surprisingly
calm. When a registrar from the
Haematology Department sat next to
my bed about three hours later, I knew
from his face that he had discovered
what was wrong. He explained that
normal platelet readings were between
150 and 400 per microliter of blood. A
life-threatening reading was anything
below twenty. My platelet levels
were three. My immune system was
destroying my platelets and my blood
could no longer clot.
I was given medication and taken
to the Critical Dependency Unit to
be observed overnight in case I was
bleeding internally or into my brain.
I was told I probably wouldn’t sleep
because of the drugs I’d been given. I
lay in the dark listening to the sounds
of the hospital, and the cries of the
elderly lady opposite who kept asking
where she was and if anyone was there.
The irony of my situation didn’t escape
me. I was halfway through the first draft
of my next novel, a book about a woman
in a critical condition in hospital. As
she lies in bed, she desperately tries to
remember what happened to her and
questions the beliefs she’s built her life
upon. Now I was lying in a hospital bed
thinking about the meaning and purpose
of my own life.
By the next morning the ulcers in
my mouth had stopped bleeding. My
blood pressure was stable and I was
sent home with high-dosage steroids
to switch off my faulty immune
system. During the days that followed
I spent most of my time in bed. But
www.writers-online.co.uk
sleep eluded me. The insomnia was
chronic and I was surviving on a
couple of hours of sleep a night at
most. Although physically exhausted,
my mind was wide awake. I decided
to continue writing my manuscript,
tapping away on my laptop during
the night while everyone else was
asleep. Having just experienced my
own life-threatening moment and spell
in hospital, ideas poured out of me.
Within a week I’d completed 30,000
words and finished the first draft.
The Key of All Unknown (£8.99,
Instant Apostle) is the story of brilliant
scientific researcher, Tilda Moss, who
wakes up in hospital unable to speak
or move and with no recollection of
what happened to her.
Determined to find answers and
prove to her family and doctors that
she’s not in a persistent vegetative state,
she travels back through her fractured
memories looking for clues. A debt-
ridden younger brother, an over-helpful
flatmate, jealous colleagues and a
missing lover. Everyone has a motive.
On the edge of death, and questioning
the value of her life, Tilda’s only hope is
to find the key of all unknown.
I’m delighted to say that I’ve made
an amazing recovery. There’s a one
in three chance that the idiopathic
thrombocytopenia could return in
future. Like all of us, I walk the
fragile path between life and death,
but now I’m more aware of my own
mortality. The experience has been
transformative, both for myself and for
my heroine, as we journeyed together
in search of the key of all unknown.
22/11/2016 10:04
QB 297 x 210 5mm -NewQuotes_Layout 1 31/10/2016 10:10 Page 1

How To Work From

Home As A Writer!
What our students say:
“I won the 2015 Flirty Fiction Prima
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and the chance to work with Mills and
Boon on my book. Also I have three stories
in three anthologies with other authors – we’ve raised
almost £2,000 for cancer charities”
Rachael Dove, West Yorkshire.
“My total earnings so far are
£2,500.”
Victor Wright, West Midlands
“I have been publishing my own niche
website for circus critique. This work
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work offers ranging from writing book
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payments in kind in the form of review copy books.”
Katherine Kavanagh, West Midlands
“As a result of my cricket articles, I
have been elected into The Cricket
Writers Club – an organisation that
counts experienced journalists among
its members. One of the perks of this
membership is a press card that gives me entry into
all of England’s cricket stadium press boxes.”
Martin Read, West Sussex
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p112_wmagjan16.indd 112 21/11/2016 09:11

 WRITERS’ CIRCLES
CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP
If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event
to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
ASA
SPOTLIGHT ON…
A dream fulfilled
in memory of a
writing friend
Gill Hutchison died unexpectedly days before Xmas 2015;
she had just received a 1st in her MA in creative writing
and was beginning to get real interest in her stories, writes
Linda Nicklin. Gill was a treasured member of our children’s
writing group.
Once the shock had passed, we decided to help Gill to
fulfill her dream by publishing her favourite story: Littlest
Magpie and the Star. It is a lovely Christmas tale of growing
up, friendship and following your heart.
Since that decision we have created an Indiegogo funding
appeal, developed perks, designed and circulated posters,
flyers, and spread the word through every contact, group,
friend and organisation that we can think of. We have
reached as far afield as Europe, America and Australia. Work
with an illustrator and a designer is underway and we are on
target for publication.
People who loved Gill have supported us wholeheartedly;
and there are many of them. We are now moving into the
next phase of promoting the book to the wider public, for
its own beauty.
Gill’s book was published in November. We launched it
in Gill’s second home; Lincoln Bowling Club.
‘Please support us on Facebook, Twitter and Indiegogo
(http://writ.rs/littlestmagpie). You can donate, order a
book, buy perks, meet us by watching our video appeal and
listen to Gill’s granddaughter read the story. Please spread
the word within your own friends
and contact groups.
Proceeds will be used to publish
Gill’s book, to support the
National Literacy Trust, and to
start a press of our own:
http://themagpiepress.com
We are making Gill’s dream come
true and learning more than we
could ever have imagined.’
58 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk
p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 58
The Montpellier
Writers’ Group
On 4 October, a group of Cheltenham writers celebrated a decade
of literary success, writes Kim Fleet. The Montpellier Writers’ Group,
founded in 2006, hosted a gala evening showcasing their talents at the
Queen’s Hotel, in front of family, friends, and local VIPs.
The group was the brainchild of Liggy Webb, herself a bestselling
author. ‘I wanted to create a fun, friendly group for writers to
meet, share their work, and support each other,’ Liggy says. ‘What
makes Montpellier Writers different to other writing groups is
that we welcome writers working in different genres. We’ve got
poets, novelists, short story writers and scriptwriters amongst our
members.’ Over the past ten years, Montpellier Writers has been
home to writers at all stages of their writing journey, from those
who write purely for pleasure to writers with literary ambitions,
and the group has nurtured a number of writers who have achieved
literary success, including bestselling authors, published writers
and literary prize winners. The tenth birthday celebration included
readings showcasing the diversity of writing interests amongst the
group, and members’ books were on sale. There was also a raffle in
support of the Mayor’s Charity.
And what about the next ten years? ‘We’re always open to new
members,’ says Liggy. ‘I’m constantly amazed and impressed by the
writing talent in Cheltenham, and I’d say to anyone who’s thinking they’d
like to be a writer, come along and give it a go. We’d love to meet you.’
Website: www.montpellierwriters.co.nr
Three’s company
On I June three members of Sea
Scribes held a joint book launch in
Worthing, Sussex.
Julie C Round’s latest novel is
a 1960s romance, A Lesson for the
Teacher. Elaine Hankin was promoting
her book Frost on Barbed Wire and
Angela Petch had copies of Tuscan Roots.
22/11/2016 11:02
 GET CRACKING
WRITER’S CIRCLES

Warm up your logical faculties and look at

writing problems in new ways with code-cracking
exercises from Julie Phillips

S
ince the earliest history of mankind
we have been keeping secrets. Kids do
it in the playground or when passing
notes around the classroom, trying to
keep under teacher’s radar. During WWII Alan
Turing’s team built a machine to crack German
Enigma codes. Code cracking is big business.
Even authors in their works of fiction have
included codes that their heroes and heroines
have to face grave danger in order to try and
crack the codes and save the world; think Dan
Brown’s novels and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five
be to assign each letter of the alphabet with a
number and writing the words of the code in the
corresponding numbers. Another idea is to use
symbols to represent words, rather like the earliest the obvious and try something new.
forms of writing such as hieroglyphics.
Try this one for size: 10.15.14.1.20.8.1.14
/ 20.5.12.6.5.18 / 9.19 / 1 /
2.18.9.12.12.9.1.14.20 / 5.4.9.20.15.18.
[3.18.1.3.11.9.14.7 / 3.15.4.5 /
20.8.1.14.11.19 / 10.21.12.9.5 - 5.4]
Once they have had a practice, ask
them to split into pairs or small
plot holes and getting stuck, unable to see the
way forward. But by making up and cracking
codes we are teaching our brains to look past
Once they have come up with their codes
they swap them with other groups and try to
decode them. Ask them to think about what
the code is made up of and what techniques
the inventors of the code have used to make
it effective. They should also think about how
easy or hard they find the process of trying
to break the code – if they found it

stories to name a couple. The speed by which
the popularity of many puzzles has risen gives
you some clue, if you’ll pardon the pun, as to
how much people like a good problem to solve.
There is sudoku, good for practising your maths
skills; crossword puzzles – especially the sadistic
‘cryptic’ variety, guaranteed to frustrate the
unsuspecting, and the mind-boggling ‘real life’
puzzles – like how far does a train travel in one
day and if twenty passengers get on at station A,
three get off at station B but another thirty get
on, etc. Whether you love to have a go at them
or they make you break out into a cold sweat,
codes are all around us and they really can help
the analytical part of our brain to keep limber –
which will do our writing the power of good.
It takes a certain level of creativity and logic
to make and break codes. There are many skills
involved that your writing group can use to
improve their writing. The idea of this workshop
is to encourage your group to think about what
makes a good code and the strategies that can be
employed to make and break codes.
To begin the workshop, start off by giving the
group information on the history of codes and
the purpose of them. You could then give them a
couple of simple codes to crack: such codes might
“”
groups and design their own too easy, how would they have
code which the other modified it in order to make
groups are going to try it more difficult? If they
to decipher. They need By making up and struggled to crack it, why
to think of what the cracking codes we did they think that was?
message they want Once all codes have
to convey is and how
are teaching our been cracked, discuss the
simple or complicated brains to look past findings. What qualities
a code they are going to the obvious and try do they now think a good
invent. Too simple and code should have and
the groups will break the something new. did any of the groups that
code with minimal effort. invented the codes achieve that?
Too hard, and they might become Ask them for their opinions on how
frustrated and never break the code. the code making and breaking session will
The skills the groups will be honing and that help their writing.
will help their writing are working together to Code making and breaking is a fun workshop
devise a strategy to try and fool the other teams. that will get your group thinking and talking and,
What makes a good code? The teams need to hopefully, when they get home, writing!
think about this. This skill will help when they
are plotting their stories, helping them to think • Many of you may have ruined Christmas
of all the possible alternatives and choosing the for yourselves last year with the fiendishly
one that gives them the advantage. If there is to difficult GCHQ Christmas quiz. They’ve gone
be a twist in the tale or a killer to be identified, one step further this year, publishing a whole
practising code cracking and other puzzles will book of ciphers and challenges, The GCHQ
aid the writer in improving their skills. Puzzle Book, with another multi-stage open
Problem solving forms a big part of the competition to launch it. Find out about both
writers’ life. We are always coming up against here: http://writ.rs/gchqpuzzle

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 59

p58-59 Circles/Roundup.indd 59 22/11/2016 10:09

 Give the gift of
light this Christmas
A Serious Readers
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p060_wmagjan17.indd 60 22/11/2016 12:43

 SUBSCRIBER-ONLY COMPETITIONS

W I N ! £125
£250
IN CASH PRIZES
& PUBLICATION
TO BE

Epistolary
WON

Short Story Competition

Send us a story in epistolary form – as letters
or other documents – for this month’s
competition. For more details on the form,
see Pen Pushers, p36

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

STILL TIME TO ENTER

words and the closing date is 15 February.

The winner will receive £100 and publication in

Writing Magazine, with £25 and publication on
www.writers-online.co.uk for the runner-up.
See p107 for entry details,
full rules and entry forms
With its closing date of 16 January,
there’s still time to enter last month’s
Goodbye Short Story Competition
Length and prize details are as above.
See p107 for more details

£12B5
E
TO
WON

TAP
HERE
TO ENTER

p61 subs comps.indd 61 22/11/2016 14:49


J
acob Stanley, who, at the age
of just six, is not yet aware
that his name is actually
made up of two different first
names, stands at the front of
the bus, and drives. It’s his favourite
part of coming into town with his
mum. From his vantage point – top
deck, front of the bus, right hand
side – he can hold out his hands to
hold an imaginary steering wheel
(except to him it’s not imaginary, not
at all) and steer the bus wherever he
likes. He is vaguely aware that he is
being watched by almost everybody
else on the top deck. His travelling
companions at this hour are usually
small white-haired women in heavy
coats, scarves and gloves. They coo
over him and remark on what a good
boy he is. He and his mum take this
journey three times a week, and many
of the women’s faces are familiar to
him, even if he is too shy to respond
when they speak to him. As well as
being six, he is small for his age, and
this attracts a great deal of attention.
Usually, it’s the unwanted kind –
bullying, that sort of thing – but
recently that has eased off slightly.
Jacob knows that he is not completely
invisible to the other kids at school,
but they have started to treat him like
he is. He prefers it this way, being
allowed to move around undisturbed
62 JANUARY 2017
p62 comp winner.indd 62
Trav l
short se
compettor y
ition
Winner
Jacob
Stanley by Andrew Allen
Andrew lives in Brighton and is a playwright, actor
and director. He runs improvisation workshops and
curates regular short story nights and ten minute
play evenings at the DukeBox Theatre in Hove. His
most recent play, Year Without Summer, for this
year’s Brighton Fringe, explored the life of Mary
Shelley, two hundred years after she had the dream
that led to her writing Frankenstein. This is his first
published short story.
in his own little space, much like now. big blue eyes. The second woman at
He knows that his mum is the stall always tells him that he’ll
sitting about two seats behind him, be a heartbreaker when he’s older.
watching carefully. This usually He adjusts his mime of the steering
annoys him, but only a little. He wheel to accommodate the change
knows it would be easy for her to sit of direction and looks, as he always
right next to him, not letting him out does, at the cars coming up the road
of her sight at all, her hand resting in the opposite direction. From where
gently but firmly on his shoulder. He he’s standing, it looks like each car
is, after all, only six. What he really is being swallowed up by the bus
wants, of course, is to be left to drive itself. He imagines the front of the
the bus on his own, to have his mum bus being filled with lots of teeth,
sitting on the bottom deck. But he devouring every car it sees. The image
realises why she keeps him in sight, first delights, then horrifies him, in a
and he is glad that she is there. matter of seconds. He shakes his head
The bus swings violently to the left, as if the awful pictures will fall away
and Jacob is momentarily confused with each flick of his hair.
before he remembers that it’s Friday, The bus pulls into the depot and
and on Fridays the bus goes directly comes to a stop. Everyone gathers
to the depot without going up the their bags and begins to leave, chatting
high street first. It’s actually the reason comfortably. His mum calls to him,
they’ve come into town today – the and he takes a moment to reassure
farmer’s market. His mum comes to himself that the bus has indeed come
get some meat for Sunday’s lunch, to a full stop. He mimes taking his
while Jacob hopes he’ll get some hands off the steering wheel, and joins
chocolate from the ladies at the his mum as they both climb down
sweet stall. Apparently he has very the stairs to the lower level of the bus.
www.writers-online.co.uk
22/11/2016 10:18
 S H O R T S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N E R S

They are the last two to get off. As he
and his mum hop off the bus, his hand
feels strangely empty, and he doesn’t
really know why. About a year ago
(actually, it is only eight months, but to
Jacob it feels longer), he has begun to
wrestle his hand impatiently out of his
mum’s whenever they crossed the road
together. He told her that he was a big
boy now. She protested, but not for
long, seeming defeated. He suspected
that he’d upset her somehow, but he
couldn’t work out why. After all, it
wasn’t her feelings that were being hurt,
but his – he didn’t want to be treated
like a baby anymore.
Of course, that was at the beginning
of the year, before the summer. Now,
he finds that sometimes, he actually
wants his mum to take his hand,
and in fact he misses holding it as
they cross the road. On a couple
of occasions recently, he has held
up his mittened hand to her gloved
one – but she seems not to notice.
He almost does this now, but as he
steps off the bus, directly behind his
mother, he stops, looking at his hand.
There’s nothing in it. For some reason,
a reason that he can’t quite make
sense of, this looks wrong, or at least
unusual. He even pats himself, trying
to work out what he’s missing. If any
of the other passengers looked over at
him right now, he would look to them
like a miniature version of an elderly
gent who’s misplaced his house keys.
Jacob freezes, suddenly realising
what it is that he has forgotten. He
leaps back onto the bus (the doors
are still open, not that it has even
occurred to him that they might have
shut) and he climbs the stairs with
quiet determination. Nobody notices
his journey – the driver is writing
something in a battered old file, and
his mum has bumped into a friend
just outside the bus, and has fallen
into the same quiet conversation.
These days, it’s always the same quiet
conversation. The friend asks how
she is, a hand on her arm. His mum
always gives the same answer, which
is a lie. They ask if there’s any news.
She always gives the same answer,
which they already know. They offer
to make a meal and bring it over. On
this last point, this last promise, they
never deliver.
Jacob doesn’t hear any of this. He
has realised what it was that was
missing from his hand, and he knows
where he needs to go to find it again.
The doll is exactly where he left her,
on the front seat of the bus. She sat
watching while he drove. He stole it
from his sister’s bedroom last week,
although he isn’t precisely sure that
‘stolen’ is the correct word, all things
considered. Ever since his sister was
born, he has been told how lucky
he is to have his own bedroom.
He supposes this is true,
although in the past couple
of weeks, he has woken in the
middle of the night, and felt
unable to sleep until he creeps
into his sister’s bedroom.
He never sleeps in her bed,
of course. Sleeping on
the floor is enough. He
wakes up again early each
morning, and goes back to
his own bedroom. It never
occurs to him to wonder if his
mum knows what he’s doing.
She probably does. EXPERT
analysis
The doll is not his sister’s
e’s
favourite. She prefers the To read the judg
to:
more lifelike one, with hair comments go
you can brush. He hasn’t http://writ.rs /
taken that one. He thinks that wmjan17
his sister would shout at him if
she ever caught him touching it.
Recently, he has begun to think that
that would be an excellent reason to
pick up the more lifelike doll. He
doesn’t think he would mind being
shouted at by his sister. But, for now,
he has taken this doll, which he seems
to remember is called a rag doll. He
doesn’t know why, because it seems to
be all straight lines – no ragged edges
at all. He took it because it looks – a
little – like his sister. Not completely,
of course: his sister, like Jacob himself,
has very blonde hair, and this doll’s
hair is the colour of rust. But the
length of the hair is about the same
– it hits the shoulders – and more
importantly, the doll has a dress that
looks almost exactly like the one his
sister wore every day this summer.
Runner-up in the Travel Short Story Competition, whose story is published on www.
writers-online.co.uk, was David Woodfine, South Milford, West Yorkshire. Also shortlisted
were: Dominic Bell, Hull, Humberside. Dianne Bown-Wilson, Drewsteignton, Devon;
Colette Coen, Newton Mearns, Glasgow; Holly Hall, London SE16; Andrew Hutchcraft,
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire; Pauline Massey, Osney, Oxfordshire; Linda Pottinger,
Northchurch, Hertfordshire; Julie Shackman, Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.
It has blue stripes crossing over each
other, creating little white squares
between them. Where each blue line
crosses over another, it darkens to a
much smaller square, a slightly darker
blue. Jacob will sometimes stare at
these dark blue squares for ages,
hoping to see something hidden there.
Something everyone else has missed.
‘JACOB!’ His mother’s voice slams
into his day-dreaming like a slap.
She’s standing at the top of the
stairs, swaying slightly, and
looking like she has been crying.
Jacob is completely confused.
He has lost all sense of where he
is. He holds up the doll to his
mum, thinking that this might
explain everything. It appears
to make everything even
worse, because his mum’s face
crumples into uncontrollable
sobs. At first, this scares Jacob,
and then, when it seems
that nothing bad is going to
happen, he begins to cry too, still
holding the doll that reminds him
of his sister. His mum comes over
to him very quickly. She is there
so suddenly that Jacob thinks she
must have run, but she has always
told him not to run on the bus. He
thinks for a moment that she is angry,
and that she is about to take the doll
back, ripping it out of his hands. This
somehow scares more than her crying
and he grips onto the doll even more
tightly. His mum doesn’t take the doll
back. She simply drops to her knees and
wraps her arms around him, doll and
all. Her tears wet his cheeks, already
clammy with his own tears.
She holds him very tight, and says
the same words over and over again,
very firmly, but unable to finish
whatever sentence she is trying to say.
‘I thought... I thought... I thought... ’
She breathes in his hair. Jacob thinks
that perhaps his mum might say his
sister’s name. That would be nice.
Nobody has said his sister’s name out
loud in a very long time.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 63

p62 comp winner.indd 63 22/11/2016 10:18

 Lure of the
Lighthouse
S
ometimes the idea that will
become your next poem
presents itself to you in a rush
of tumbling phrases and images
that need to be picked through before
any kind of order can emerge. On
other occasions one specific part of the
poem arrives and tells you how it is to
be used. This was the experience of Jill
Stanton-Huxton of Buckingham when
she wrote The Lighthouse.
Jill was visiting Strumble Head
lighthouse in Pembrokeshire when
a line insinuated itself into her
thoughts and would not let go.
She describes: ‘We arrived at dusk
when the automatic beacon had just
been turned on – it created an eerie
atmosphere as the spotlight scanned
the coastline and the sea.
‘As I was watching it and listening to
the waves crashing on the rocks below
the words “watching and waiting,
waiting and watching” came into
my mind – and that was the starting
point for the poem. I knew, almost
immediately, that I wanted to use
these words between the stanzas of the
poem. I liked the rhythm of the words
which reminded me of the repetitive
ebb and flow of the tide.’
The presentation of these lines makes
three points. First, they confirm that
they are destined to be part of a poem.
That may sound blindingly obvious,
but to put the point into context, the
writer has moved into poetry from a
background in short stories, non-fiction
articles and a children’s book. The choice
of poetry as a medium is not necessarily
64 JANUARY 2017
p64 poetry workshop.indd 64
A memorable poem began its life with a
haunting phrase, says Alison Chisholm
automatic… but the incantatory quality
of the phrase reflects its meaning in the
idiom and voice of poetry.
Right from the start, the poet
acknowledges that these lines will
appear between stanzas, dividing the
text of the poem as it moves through
the content. So their placing and
purpose is established.
Thirdly, the mood of the poem has
been set down by the lines’ cadence
and the onomatopoeic sound of the
murmuring tide. The stage is set for a
lingering, thoughtful treatment. The
slant rhyme devices of repetition, full
consonance in the w and ng sounds at
the beginning and end of the key words,
and the persistence of the unaccented
rhyme -ing, all add up to sound qualities
that will underpin the poem’s message.
With the refrain in place, the writer
needs to establish stanzas between its
repeats; and it’s logical to mould these to
present a different angle on the scene in
each, presenting packages of information
to surprise, delight or inform the reader.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Around some twisted corner
Banked up to the coastline
I can see you winking at me
Your one eyed pupil like a
Cyclops, dilating, hypnotising
Watching and waiting
Waiting and watching
How I long to be like you
Alone and free, solid in your
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Solitude, as the wind wraps itself around
Your whitewashed face and a hundred
Thousand stars fall from the night sky
Watching and waiting
Waiting and watching
And on summer days when the
Horizon mingles sea and land a
Feint line with no tear and
The seabirds circle overhead
I will lose myself in the nothingness
Watching and waiting
Waiting and watching
Then sometime when the mist is clear
I will dive into the salted waves and
Wash myself like driftwood on the shore line
I will have no fear of being shipwrecked
I know you will be there
Watching and waiting
Waiting and watching
We move on from the first stanza of
description to a second that brings the
narrator’s thoughts into the scene. The
third focuses description in a different
direction, and introduces a surprise at
the end. The longing of stanza two has
become reality, with the narrator moving
forward in the determination of I will
rather than the dreaming of How I long.
The final stanza shows the narrator
testing the lighthouse, imperilled by that
dive to embrace the sea’s purification
with total confidence, expressing no fear
because I know you will be there.
22/11/2016 10:19

Jill Stanton-Huxton identifies two
phrases in the poem that she herself
particularly likes. One is a hundred
thousand stars fall from the night sky, an
image that came to her a few evenings
after getting the original idea for the
poem. This demonstrates the importance
of remaining open to fresh ideas that
flood into the mind while a poem is still
in embryo form. It’s as if the subconscious
continues the hard work even while
the conscious mind has moved on.
She also likes the wording and message
of alone and free, solid in your solitude.
The wordplay of the second phrase is
delightful, and the juxtaposition of free
and solid is also pleasing.
The poet questions, however, her
use of the Cyclops image, wondering
whether it might be too obvious a
simile. A simple way of giving a new
flavour to the device is to turn the
simile into a metaphor, so that the
lighthouse is not like a Cyclops, but
is one. A tweak to the wording would
make the adjustment very simply:
I can see you – my Cyclops –
winking at me
Your pupil dilating, hypnotising
This version is offered in a
Poetry in practice
Let your senses suggest themes for your poems, advises Doris Corti
I
n the fast pace of life today it is
easy to think that we experience
the world primarily through our
eyes. But poets in particular need
to bring our other senses into play, for
example our sense of hearing.
It is well known that the sound of
a ship’s fog horn evokes feelings of a
lonely, haunting quality.
If you are currently stuck for
something to write about think of a
number of sounds and consider the
emotions that each of these evoke. The
regular ticking of a clock, hiss of car
windscreen wipers, a baby’s cry. Each
of these can bring a memory to mind
– something for you to start writing
about. Consider the sounds made by
ordinary things.
A ticking clock – does this make a
p64 poetry workshop.indd 65
punctuated form, whereas the poet has
made the decision to write the piece
without punctuation. This is a bold
move, as a lack of punctuation seldom
helps a poem. There is, however, a
case for the omission here. The whole
theme of seas and tides is steeped in
the concept of continuity, and the
regular winking of the lighthouse
hints at thoughts of perpetual
motion. In the final revision, Jill
may even choose to omit the two
commas from the first stanza (or
re-worked version of it) to produce a
harmony of approach, and possibly to
dispense with the use of capital letters,
which seem a little awkward in an
unpunctuated poem.
The one aspect of this poem that
would benefit from some further
attention is its lineation. Jill has,
perhaps, missed an opportunity
here. The beauty of writing in free
verse is that there are no line length
restrictions, and so you can enhance
the reading of the poem by using line
breaks as a way of making sense of
the phrasing. A bonus is that there is
always a fraction of extra emphasis on
the last word of a line in poetry. This
loud noise or a quiet one? This ‘tick’
can be the title of a new poem, or a
repetitive line.
Next time you are in a car on a rainy
day concentrate on the sounds those
windscreen wipers make – is it annoying
or just repetitive? It might bring an idea
for the opening line of a poem or a
reaction of some sort that enables you to
put a memory or an emotion into words.
Our olfactory sense can also be useful.
The scent of flowers can be inspiring,
with weddings and funerals brought to
mind as well as certain gardens. A whiff
of disinfectant might produce ideas
about a hospital or other institution.
Our gustatory sense (taste) can be
strong enough to induce an image
which can be the start of a poem. Bite
into an apple and ask whether it is sour
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P O E T RY WO R K S H O P
is brought about by the tiny pause,
the hiatus between the eye reaching
the end of one line and moving to
the start of the next, or the voice
establishing a suspensory pause
when the poem is read aloud,
indicating the enjambment. You can
Perfect your capitalise on this phenomenon by
poetry with ensuring that a rich, significant word
a WM Creative is placed at the line end.
Writing course. Adjusting the lineation is a simple
See p74 task. See how easily it can be worked,
using the example of the opening lines
of the third stanza:
And on summer days
when the horizon mingles sea
and land
a feint line with no tear
and the seabirds circle overhead
All at once the advantage of
emphasis is given to days/land/tear
rather than the/a/and.
The Lighthouse is a haunting piece.
Its captivating refrain and fascinating
stanzas create a rich network of images
to fascinate the reader, producing a
truly memorable poem.
or sweet? Perhaps the taste of it reminds
you of something from childhood?
Something you liked or disliked –
whatever your reaction it could be the
basis for a new poem.
Think of the words you can use in
such a poem: ‘biting’, ‘munching’,
‘savouring’.
EXERCISE I have mentioned that the device of
Select an object repetition may well be part of any poem
from where you you write, especially if you write about
live or work and that ‘ticking clock’ or ‘windscreen wipers’
use one of the with their continual movements. This
senses (see/hear/ device would become irksome if used too
touch/smell/taste)
to describe it. Use
often but placed on certain lines or on
any style or form. line endings it can strengthen a poem.
Observing an object or person
Now try the same
exercise using a
might give you the basis of a poem
different sense. but using any or all of the senses help
to bring its description to life.
JANUARY 2017 65
22/11/2016 10:19
 P O E T RY P R I M E R
Poetry from
Poet Alison Chisholm guides you through the language of poetry
A METAPHOR is a powerful device
of poetry that expresses one thing
as though it were another, such as
the political – but not literal – iron
curtain, the more poetic the mask of
night which Juliet uses to indicate
darkness, or the expression her hair
was spun gold. The literal part of a
metaphor may be referred to as the
tenor, and the figurative comparison
as the vehicle. So in the last
example, hair would be the tenor
and spun gold the vehicle.
Metaphors tend to be more
striking than similes, where one
thing is compared with another
rather than actually becoming it.
The like or as of the simile does not
appear in a metaphor.
A sustained or extended metaphor
runs with the original suggestion
to create a longer passage and more
in-depth links. In James Reeves’
children’s poem, he describes how
The sea is a hungry dog, and goes on
to say that He rolls on the beach all
day and later that he bounds to his
feet and snuffs and sniffs, / shaking
his wet sides over the cliffs. So the
original idea of the sea is there, but
its description is given a fresh angle
by repeated allusions to the dog
and canine behaviour in general.
A famous example of an extended
metaphor is in As You Like It, where
Shakespeare writes of the seven ages
of man in the passage beginning All
the world’s a stage.
Mixed metaphors occur when two
incompatible or muddled images –
metaphors or idioms – are presented
in close proximity, such as He had
egg on his face – didn’t have a leg
to stand on. These can be used for
comic effect.
66 JANUARY 2017
p66 Poetry know-how/alphabet.indd 66
EXERCISE: Write a poem in any
form using an extended metaphor for
a family member, with the character
as the tenor and a fresh element as the
vehicle. You may have something like
My baby brother is a tornado or My
Aunt is a giant spider. If you intend
to go public with this one, think
carefully about the risk of alienating
your nearest and dearest.
METAPHYSICAL POETRY is
the term given to work of the early
seventeenth century, characterised
by demonstrations of the poets’
cleverness via complex subject matter,
often focusing on the new science
and with references to religion and
romantic and erotic love, difficult
metaphors and extended metaphors,
a broad range of vocabulary,
again featuring contemporary
scientific terminology, intellectual
experimentation, and laboured wit.
John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew
Marvell and Henry Vaughan were
among the poets practising this style
of writing.
METONYMY is the substitution of
an associated idea rather than a direct
naming of the person/object, such as
the purse instead of the treasurer, or the
cellar when you are talking about a
selection of wines.
METRE will be dealt with in detail in
the next issue of Writing Magazine.
A 20th century form, the MINUTE,
was devised by American poet
Verna Lee Hinegardner, and has an
interesting set of requirements. It has
just sixty syllables, and consists of
twelve lines – so the ‘minute’ dynamic
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A to Z
is apparent. The first, fifth and ninth
lines have eight syllables each, and
all the others have four. The poem
is written in strict iambic pattern,
so throughout the text every second
syllable is stressed. Although not all
the lines are the same length, the
rhyme scheme is rhymed couplets.
One of the demands of the form
is that it should use correct grammar
Perfect your and syntax, and that punctuation
poetry with should be applied as it would be in a
a WM Creative prose passage. Capital letters are used
Writing course. only to start a new sentence.
See p74 Perhaps the most challenging
aspect of the poem is that its contents
should describe something that
happens within the space of a minute
in time, as this example suggests:
PARTING
We kiss and share one last embrace -
the clock’s wide face
demands you leave;
and as you weave
through crowds and platforms, board the train,
I hide my pain.
I force a smile
and wave; meanwhile
the engine gathers speed. I know
you have to go,
that I can’t win.
The tears begin.
EXERCISE: Write a minute, starting
the process by listing a number of
different things that each happen
within a minute in time. When
you have selected a good example
from your list, devise the poem
paying particular attention to the
metrical, rhyming and grammatical
constraints of the form.
22/11/2016 10:20
 www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 67

p067_wmagjan16.indd 67 21/11/2016 09:27

 You can
trust me
F
rom Amy in Gone Girl to
Rachel in The Girl On The
Train, unreliable narrators
have proved very popular
over the last few years. But
in this article I want to look back a bit
further and examine what writers can
learn about the use of an unreliable
narrator from the authors of some
classic short stories.
The stories I have chosen this
time are The Cask of Amontillado
by Edgar Allan Poe, Daniel Keyes’
novella Flowers For Algernon, and The
Friends Of The Friends (originally called
The Way It Came) by Henry James. As
usual, you will get the most out of the
article if you read the stories for yourself
(Read the short stories here, http://writ.
rs/wmjan17), and if you don’t, beware
spoilers ahead.
Unreliable can mean useful
Before we begin to look at the stories in
detail let’s have a think about the issues
raised by the use of unreliable narrators.
Firstly, why would you want to use an
unreliable narrator?
Well, they can be a good way of
misleading readers if you want to pull
off a twist. If the reader only knows
what the narrator is telling them, and
it is flawed, then the writer can pull off
some clever tricks and surprises.
It can also be a useful device if
you want to leave some ambiguity
about what is going on in a story.
For example, in a ghost story, the
writer might want to leave the reader
questioning whether what has happened
is really supernatural, or if it could have
a more rational explanation.
Unreliable narrators fall into two main
68 MARCH 2012
JANUARY 2017
p68 Short stories.indd 68
Whip unreliable narrators into line by studying
the masters with Helen M Walters
categories – deliberate and accidental.
Into the deliberate category would fall
narrators who are consciously trying to
cover up for something they have done
that they know to be wrong. They are
deliberate liars. This may be because they
want the reader to sympathise with them
or they are attempting self-justification.
It also includes those who deliberately
TAP HERE embellish a story to make their
to read the part in it appear more important
or interesting.
stories featured The second category comprises
in this article those who may not be misleading
deliberately, or even aware that they
are doing so. This covers narrators
who have a different understanding
of events because they are children,
or because they lack key cultural
knowledge or have a learning disability.
It also covers characters whose brains
may not be processing information in
usually accepted ways due to alcohol,
drugs, insomnia, trauma or mental
illness of various kinds.
Poe’s liar
One example of a deliberately
unreliable narrator can be found
in A Cask Of Amontillado by Edgar
Allan Poe. Notice how the character
of Montresor begins his narration
by confiding in the reader that the
other main character, Fortunato, has
wronged him. He quite firmly places
himself in the right and his rival in the
wrong from the very beginning.
As well as dealing falsely with the
reader, we see him dealing falsely
with Fortunato. He greets him with
enthusiasm and declares himself
delighted to see him – a statement at
odds with both the beginning of the
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story and what will ultimately transpire.
He uses flattery to lure the unfortunate
Fortunato into his trap – a deserted
wine vault. He is overly solicitous to his
friend’s health and welfare, whilst at the
same time putting him in a position
where he can’t refuse to comply with
him, despite the obvious risks. He drinks
to his friend’s ‘long life’ even though we
know he is plotting his downfall.
Most chilling of all is the end when,
having condemned his friend to a
horrible death by bricking him up
in part of the wine cellar, Montresor
refers to himself as being sick at heart,
but attributes this to the damp. He is
still justifying his own actions, and his
appraisal of himself as virtuous remains
unchallenged despite the dreadful act
he has carried out. While the reader
is aware that Montresor is a wholly
reprehensible murderer, he remains
unaware of it himself.
Notice that because we only have the
perspective of the unreliable Montresor,
we never get to hear Fortunato’s side
of the story. Is he really guilty of such
a huge wrong that he deserves the fate
his supposed friend inflicts on him? The
reader will never know.
Keyes’ simpleton
In Flowers For Algernon we find a
narrator who has not set out to deceive
but is nevertheless unreliable. In this
story the protagonist, Charlie Gordon, is
initially an unreliable narrator as a result
of having a low IQ. The premise of the
story is that Charlie is about to undergo
an operation to increase his intelligence,
the effects of which will be reversed
at the end of the story. Thus Charlie’s
perception of what is going on around
22/11/2016 14:55

him, and therefore his narration of it,
changes throughout the story.
The story is written in the form of
Charlie’s diary or case notes, and we
can see in his spelling, grammar and
sentence construction that he lacks
intellectual sophistication. He also tells
us that his memory isn’t good, that he
doesn’t understand what is going on
around him and that he gets mixed
up – all signs that the narrator is one
that can’t be relied on. Charlie does
however tell us that he doesn’t tell
deliberate lies any more, because he
always got caught.
Notice how Charlie doesn’t have a
realistic perception of characters around
him. He thinks his work colleagues are
his friends when it is obvious to the
reader that they are making fun of him.
Charlie’s perception, and therefore
his narration, changes after the
operation to increase his IQ. At first
the change is slight, as very slowly his
use of language and his understanding
are shown to change. Then the
breakthrough comes when he beats the
laboratory mouse, Algernon, at a maze
game, something he was completely
unable to do beforehand.
The downside of his increased
intelligence is that he now realises that
other people are making fun of him. His
perception of their actions now matches
the reader’s perception.
Tragically, this clarity of intellect in
Charlie is short lived. The first sign
that Charlie’s new life won’t last is
when Algernon, the lab mouse, who
has undergone the same operation
shows signs of regressing. Charlie,
with his new intellectual clarity and
scientific knowledge, is well aware of
what this means for him.
His written notes revert to simple
language and begin to be filled
with errors again. Once more, he is
struggling to understand things and
notes that he is becoming forgetful and
absentminded. In a sense the story has
come full circle, except that Charlie is
now aware of what he has lost.
The use of unreliable narration
in Flowers For Algernon allows the
author to explore some important
themes. What is the nature of IQ and
is it meaningful as a measure? What
are the ethics of trying to change
someone’s intelligence? And do we
treat people with mental impairment
with enough respect?
p68 Short stories.indd 69
SHORT STORY MASTERCLASS
James’ manipulator
The third story I have chosen uses the
technique of unreliable narration in a
slightly different way. The Friends Of
The Friends (also known as The Way
It Came) is a story that is open to a
number of interpretations. Which
interpretation the reader feels most
likely is largely dependent on the
extent to which the narration can be
considered reliable.
The premise of the story is that
an unnamed female narrator has two
friends, one male and one female (also
unnamed), both of whom have had
the experience of seeing the ghost of
a loved one when they are on the
point of death. This introduces a
supernatural element to the story
that the reader may or may not
choose to buy into.
To what extent can we trust the
narrator of this story? As the story
continues, she comes across as
manipulative and jealous, so should
we believe anything she says? Notice
also that from the beginning of her
account she admits she is trying to
give herself comfort by imagining
that things had happened differently.
She claims that she wants her two
friends to meet, but that over a period
of years this proves impossible. This
aspect of the plot seems somewhat
farfetched, leading the reader to wonder
if something else is going on. Is the
narrator preventing the two from
meeting because she is concerned they
will get on too well?
The narrator also has a habit of
accusing other people of faults she
herself is guilty of. She accuses her
female friend of being touchy, accuses a
witness to events crucial to the story of
giving a muddled account and accuses
her male friend of making things up.
This projection of her faults onto others
is part of a process of self-justification.
Although she does admit she has
done wrong at one point after lying
both to her female friend, and to
her male friend to whom she is now
engaged, even then she tries to absolve
herself of blame. She refers to herself
as being as unhappy as if she had
committed a wrong when it is clear
to the reader that a wrong is exactly
what she’s done.
The story hinges on whether a visit
from the narrator’s female friend to her
fiancé takes place before or after the
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woman’s death. Did she visit him in
the flesh or as a ghost?
In a confrontation between the
narrator and her fiancé she insists the
woman was a ghost, her own vanity and
jealousy not wanting to accept that the
meeting could actually have taken place,
particularly when she sees the effect it
has had on her fiancé. In the end the
narrator, through her jealousy, brings
about her own destruction.
Ultimately she sends her fiancé
away and later, on hearing of his
death, she convinces herself, and
attempts to convince the reader, that
he has died at his own hand as a result
of the previous events. The reader is
left unsure of the trustworthiness of
her appraisal. Here, and throughout
the story, the use of unreliable
narration is effective because it leaves
a question in the reader’s mind about
what is really going on.
Now you
When you come to experiment with
unreliable narrators in your own fiction,
think first about what effect you are
trying to achieve.
Do you want the reader to know
straight away that your narrator is
unreliable? If so, how are you going
to flag that up to them? Or do you
want to keep it up your sleeve so that
you can pull off a big surprise at the
end? If you’re going to do that, how
will you make sure the reader doesn’t
feel cheated?
Also, think about whether you
want your reader to think kindly
of your narrator or not. They are
more likely to warm to an unreliable
narrator like Charlie who isn’t to
blame for his misconceptions than
a deliberately manipulative and self-
justifying character like Montresor.
And if you don’t want the reader to
empathise with your main character,
what do you want? Arguably, in The
Cask Of Amontillado the unreliable
narration makes the story even more
chilling. If you know what emotional
reaction you are trying to achieve in
the reader you’ll be better placed to
make the right decisions about your
unreliable narrator.
Finally, as you write your own
stories, and read those written by
others, it might be a useful exercise to
ask yourself if ultimately all narrators
are at least a little bit unreliable.
JANUARY
JULY 2015
2017 69
22/11/2016 14:55
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Friends of Kin

o stand any chance of sections of the magazine. There are identified by them having a writer’s
having your non-fiction often several pages of smaller adverts name associated with them. Regular
article published in a grouped there. Consider first, the sort staff-written features often don’t have
magazine, you need of products being advertised, and try a byline. You can further check by
to become a detective to identify what sort of age group looking at the contents page. Staff
and painstakingly comb your target they’re aimed at. Latest fashions, writers’ names will appear there.
publication for hidden clues to what music or technology, for example, What features seem to be written
the editor is likely to be looking for. often indicate a younger age group, by freelances? These are the sorts
But how do you go about it? Well, whereas adverts for reclining chairs, of pieces you could contribute. Ask
that’s what this guide is all about. hearing aids and stairlifts tend to yourself whether the content of the
indicate an older readership. articles reinforces what you’ve deduced
Assembling your suspects Now peruse the adverts again, this about the readership. If your magazine
The first thing to do is search out time thinking in terms of affluence. sleuthing has been successful so far,
some magazines that you believe may Are the products expensive or luxury then it should do.
be interested in the sort of articles you items, or are they low-cost and Now, begin studying the
feel that you could write. The place to affordable? Or somewhere in the supporting photography. Does it
start used to be The Writers’ & Artists’ middle? Next, study whether the tie-in with what you’ve deduced
Yearbook. However, now there are adverts are targeting mainly women, so far? What sort of ‘feel’ do
alternatives. My preferred method is men or an equal combination of both. the pictures create? Often the
to look online at the large magazine The results of this initial investigation photography across the whole
subscription sites such as www. should enable you to build up a sort magazine has a particular look
magazine.co.uk. Information about of photofit picture of who the typical that gives the publication a certain
hundreds of magazines can be found reader of the magazine is — the target ‘vibe’. For example, my autumn
there, together with photographs market that the editor is aiming at. copy of Landscape magazine (which
of recent covers. The available The game is now afoot: I’ll return to and analyse in detail
publications are also usefully broken Having deduced the probable age, later) has a variety of diverse
down into genres and sub-genres. affluence and sex of the typical reader, articles in the issue, but they’re
Having identified potential suspects, browse the magazine again, this time all brought together through the
one can visit the magazine’s individual taking in the articles themselves. What carefully chosen photography which
website to glean more information. else can you glean about the target overall, creates a mellow, golden
This further narrows the focus. reader? Are the articles themselves and pensive quality to the magazine
Having identified likely markets, it’s aimed at fit, active lifestyles or those which is in accord with the similar
now time to buy several sample copies of a more sedentary nature? What sort ‘feel’ of the autumn season. I know
of each publication. This remains the of terminology is used in the writing? that my article pitch (and sample
ONLY way of fully understanding Is it complicated and thus aimed at photography) will need to dovetail
what will required. Armed with these, an expert readership, or is the writing carefully into this to be successful.
the real detective work can commence. aimed at beginners? Looking more carefully, I
notice that some of the pictures
Advertising analysis Examining editorial have been sourced from picture
Looking at the adverts in a magazine The regular features will invariably libraries (these always require a
provides a reliable method of deducing be written by staff writers or long- credit in the publication, and will
who the target reader is and ensuring standing freelances. The chance of often say something like ‘Alamy’
that your article ideas are written with pitching ideas at these successfully or ‘Shutterstock’). Others have
the right reader firmly in mind. is very slim. Look instead for one- the photographer’s name, usually
Begin by turning to the rear off features. These can often be printed very small and vertically on

70 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p70 Features.indd 70 22/11/2016 10:19

 ee
d phase thr
rec ords.
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en Tovey sa
ds are really
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on the PD F
pilot the photograph itself. The use of
on this
, read more library photos can be expensive for
magazines, thus editors often look
favourably on contributors who
can provide a complete package of
words and photos. I recommend
that you consider buying a camera
and becoming capable of producing
good photographs. This is perhaps
for a different article, but becoming
a writer/photographer will give you
a much better chance of success with
rd on behalf of
your non-fiction article queries, and
it’s easier than you might think.
aders
ily history
with UK fam
The articles – length
There’s no need to count every single
word. Simply count the words in a few
different lines to get an average per line,
then count the amount of lines in the
complete article and multiply by your
average words per line. This will give
you a quick and fairly accurate estimate.
Next, estimate the average
paragraph length across several
articles, then the sentence length. Are
sentences short, or do they extend
on with lots of subordinate clauses?
You’ll need to mirror whatever
you find in your own writing, to
dovetail into the house style and
tone. Occasionally you’ll find a useful
‘Contributor’s Guidelines’ document
on the magazine’s website which will
further aid deduction. While you’re
online searching one of these out, see
if there’s a ‘Media Pack’ available to
download. This is a marketing tool
created for potential advertisers and,
if available, will have useful reader
demographic information contained in
it. Before spending money, advertisers
want to know about the magazine’s
readership — conveniently, this is
useful information for us writers too!
Finally, consider the overall articles
themselves. You should find that they
reflect the lifestyle, aspirations and
interests of the core readership that
you’ve identified. Your job is now
to come up with compatible and
compelling ideas to pitch to the editor.
This magazine sleuthing process
may initially seem rather arduous,
but once you’ve investigated a few
magazines, it becomes quick and easy.
I can do it these days in about fifteen
minutes. Having done so, I’m always
much more confident in pitching ideas
to the editor that are well-targeted and
relevant. When I subsequently come
to write the commissioned article,
I’m able to ensure that my work
dovetails into the requirements of the
publication. I’ve always found that it’s
worth the time and effort.
I’ll conclude this guide with the
results of one of my own recent
magazine sleuthing projects. The
Landscape Magazine
Landscape is a bimonthly glossy. The
strapline indicator, ‘life at nature’s pace’ gives
me an initial idea of the intention for the
publication. It has 148 pages. 25 of these are
given over to advertisements.
ADVERTISING
There are 55 adverts for ‘holiday retreats’,
indicating that the readership aspires to a
rural, quiet existence but may not currently
possess it. A dozen adverts offer garden-
related products like seeds, bulbs, flowers,
log stores and garden woodwork items. There
are also adverts for expensive conservatories
and orangeries, plus wood-burning stoves.
Outdoor clothing also features strongly.
Additionally, I found adverts for earrings,
pincushions, cosmetics and a full page
Women’s Institute advertorial. From this I
conclude that the magazine’s core readership
is female, fairly affluent and aspiring to a
quieter, rural lifestyle.
ILLUSTRATIONS
The photography throughout the magazine
seems to bear this out. It is all full colour and
a particular feature of the publication. Most
are of rural subjects and farmhouse-style
food. Many illustrations run to full or even
double-page spreads and look spectacular.
ARTICLE CONTENT
There are six different sections; In the Garden,
In the Kitchen, Craft, Country Matters, History
and Heritage and finally, Regulars. Most
sections have four articles within them with
a typical word length of 1,500 words and are
supported by up to twenty evocative colour
photographs. Some are sourced from photo
magazine I’ve chosen to present is not
the best magazine for a beginner to try
to write for — I’ve selected an initially
unsuitable magazine deliberately,
because I want to encourage you
to conduct your own private
investigations, into which I wish you
every success. Here goes...
libraries, but credits show that at least have
half been supplied by photographers or writer/
photographers. Based on my interests, the
Country Matters and History and Heritage
sections seem to offer the best scope for
possible contributions.
Whilst the core buyers are women, the
magazine carries articles that would appeal to
men as well. For example, there was a major
illustrated piece on horse-drawn ploughing.
On sleuthing the copy, I deduced a narrow
focus to articles, which are all factual,
in-depth and explain processes and historical
information in great detail. The writing is
precise too, with confidently presented
facts. Interviewee quotes are only used to
pass on useful first-hand information and
knowledge, and thus never seem ‘gushy’ or
superfluous. The writing style favours short
sentences, with paragraphs of around 100
words. Separately positioned quotations from
historical or literary figures are used too. They
seem to add a touch of class.
Overall, I concluded that Landscape has
been positioned in the market as a more
colourful, accessible version of Country Life
and aimed at people with rural aspirations
and intentions but who don’t currently live
— or perhaps even actually intend to live
— deep in the countryside, but do like the
overall ‘cultural idea’ of it.
To see how accurate my sleuthing was,
I contacted editor Hilary Scott. She was
able to add that Landscape tends to go into
greater depth than many other magazines,
and concentrates on just one particular
topic or artisan per article, rather than
interviewing or discussing several. She
pointed out too, that features are always
written in the third person and never include
opinion from the writer.

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 71

p70 Features.indd 71 22/11/2016 10:19

 W in t e r’ s Tal
A e Set the scene for a magical children’s
winter’s tale with Amy Sparkes
S
ilent snow falls unseen Setting
behind the curtains and The best setting is one which has
house lights warm the the potential to enhance both the
darkness. Flickering flame wintery and magical elements of
sends you drifting off to another your story. Think about how and
place and delicate ice patterns are a where you should set your tale.
morning gift from the frost fairies… Here are some suggestions:
There is something special about
winter; perhaps the ever-stretching Remote locations
nights add mystery to the world, or If you are writing for older children,
the coldness reminds us of magical settings which are isolated or remote
childhood Christmases. The coldest could add an extra kick to your
season is a wonderful time for story. For example, imagine your
reading and writing magical stories, story is set in an old Scottish castle
especially those set in winter. So on a small, uninhabited island
what ingredients do you need for a which has become your protagonist’s
magical winter’s tale? Christmas holiday home. How does
this setting work well?
• Firstly, this particular location
could be prone to harsh weather
conditions, which allows scope for
wintery description and mood.
• Secondly, Celtic lands are
steeped in legend, which provides a
magical realm of ‘otherness’ for your
story to tap into.
• Thirdly, the potential
inaccessibility of the island allows
infrequent contact with the
outside world, which adds to the
believability of a magical story. It’s
a reasonable assumption that magic
would survive, even thrive, in the
RECOMMENDED READING
Foxes in the Snow, Jonathan Emmett and Rebecca Harry (Macmillan)
Northern Lights, Philip Pullman (Scholastic)
One Winter’s Night, Claire Freedman and Simon Mendez (Little Tiger Press)
Snow Spider, Jenny Nimmo (Egmont)
The Cry of the Icemark, Stuart Hill (Chicken House)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia), CS Lewis
The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings, Kevin Crossley-Holland (Penguin)
The Storm Whale in Winter, Benji Davies (Simon & Schuster)
The Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen
Winter Magic (short stories by various authors, curated by Abi Elphinstone; Simon & Schuster)
72 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk
p72 children.indd 72
quieter, hidden places of the world.
It can also raise the stakes if supplies
or assistance are not just a phone
call away.
Interesting features
and creatures
Choosing a setting with challenging
or interesting terrain will also
add extra fuel for your story. You
could also create your own magical
explanations or legends behind some
of the geographical features. What
animals live there? Native wildlife
can also lead to interesting character
interactions or plot developments.
For example:
• The northern lands of our world
are colder and so naturally lend
themselves to a tale of winter magic.
Locations such as Scandinavia or
the Arctic Circle provide stunning
settings and wildlife, with a wealth
of fascinating geographical features
(such as glaciers, fjords, geysers and
volcanoes) and creatures (such as
whales, reindeer, wolves and other
arctic animals).
• Winter woodland also works
particularly well. Consider those
iconic scenes from CS Lewis’
The Lion, The Witch and the
Wardrobe where the children enter
22/11/2016 11:00

complete with fantastical creatures
such as werewolves and ice trolls. The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is
another example. Although it begins
in our world, the majority of the
story takes place in a fantastical land.
Magic realism
This is where the fantastical and the
mundane happily co-exist and are
not in conflict with each other. It
could be set in our world or another.
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials
trilogy would fit into this category.
For example, it is normal and
accepted that people have ‘daemons’,
external manifestations of a human’s
Now try this
As an exercise to generate ideas, try linking
characters and scenarios below in your chosen book
category, think of a winter-friendly setting and see if
you can create a basic storyline:
inner self in the form of an animal.
However your magic manifests Picture books Older readers
itself, make sure it sticks to the rules Character suggestions Character suggestions
and is consistent. Anything-goes Father Christmas Lonely child
magic doesn’t often result in good Frost goblin Child who discovers his/
storytelling and your readers will Arctic hare her true identity
spot mistakes or inconsistencies a Little child Ice Princess
mile off. The second this happens, Snow fox
the spell is broken. Instead, weave Scenarios/topics
a magical web around your reader, Making a new friend Scenarios/topics
helping them to suspend disbelief Finding a magical object Magical object
and become fully emerged in your Preparing for a special Discovering a magical
magical (consistent!) world. event creature
So pour a hot chocolate, grab a Snowflake Winter woodland
blanket, and dream awhile by the fire. Crystal cave
Perhaps this winter will inspire your
very own magical winter’s tale.

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RSL Writing Magazine ad.indd 1 09/11/2016 13:24:47

74 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk
CWC Listing.indd 1 19/10/2015 16:46

p72 children.indd 74 22/11/2016 11:01

 CRIME FILE
Michael Koryta draws on his journalistic background
for his punchy thrillers, he tell Chris High
I
n 2015, Michael Koryta introduced his army of fans not only
to Markus Novak in Last Words, but also to the deepest darkest
caves of America. Now Markus is back, on the trail of his
wife’s murderer, in Rise The Dark (Hodder & Stoughton). A novel
guaranteed to keep its readers electrified.
‘For better or worse I decided early on in the process of Last Words
that I was not going to answer or even come close to answering the
question of who murdered Lauren Novak,’ Michael explains. ‘I wanted
to make Mark embark on a deeper journey to get there. I kept saying
to myself: “this is a saga, not a series.” Now, leaving that question
unanswered seemed to anger a lot of readers. I get it, and I understand
that it seemed to violate a traditional pact with mystery readers… but
you also are going to get my best work only when I’m pushing to break
new ground for myself, pushing at fresh challenges. I won’t always
succeed, but I’m always going to give you that effort. It’s the only way I
know to go about it.’
A home-grown terrorist group in the USA is determined to bring
chaos by plunging the country into a deep darkness by destroying the
country’s electrical supply. Tight writing allows what might in the hands
of some authors become bogged down with detail. This is never the case
here though, as Michael provides just enough information without ever
going into jargon overload. ‘I always worry that I’m going to overload
the reader. My former editor, Michael Pietsch, and also the former
CEO of Hachette USA, David Young, were both very encouraging of
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Hilary Johnson July UPDATED.indd 1
p75 Crimefile/ex.indd 75
my desire to bring some of my journalist
background to bear in the novels; to deliver
thrillers that teach something about a
unique world or profession or skill. This is
a particular passion of mine, and it is what I miss about being a reporter.
‘The encouragement from those two not to avoid it, but rather to
hone it and use it well, is very important to me. David retired a few
years ago, but it meant the world to me when he reached out with an
email and told me how much he enjoyed learning about the Faraday
suit that high-voltage workers wear. That note meant a lot. That’s just
the sort of detail I fall in love with, but I want it to serve the plot. If
I’m giving you details about this suit that allows contact with massive
amounts of live current, I damn well better make it critical to a scene
later in the book. In this way, it is like the “Shotgun Rule” – if you
mention the shotgun on the mantle in the first act, you better actually
use the gun in the third. That’s my approach to including technical
detail. I am glad to hear you did not think it was too much.’
And through his research, Michael became more than a little
troubled at what he discovered. ‘The most alarming discovery was
one I didn’t use in the book, which was an assessment of what an
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack could do to the grid. That is
some really scary stuff: makes my fiction look like a warm-hearted
children’s story.’
Website: www.michaelkoryta.com
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1 16/11/2016 09:29
E-mail: hilary@hilaryjohnson.com
Website: www.hilaryjohnson.com
JANUARY 2017 75
12/05/2015 15:35
22/11/2016 11:03
 WHAT’S
IN A
NAME?
Finding plausible names for your characters and settings can be tricky for fantasy
and science fiction authors, but Alex Davis helps you get it on track
T
here’s no doubt that getting your
names right is important for any
kind of story – literary, western,
romance, comedy – we’ve all
been there, settling for any old
thing at first before getting just
the right moniker later on. The
characters in any story can be defined
by their names, especially in the mind
of the author, and there is some sort
of intangible quality that reassures us
those names are right for the people
inhabiting the story. On top of that,
a great character name can help to
make something truly iconic – literary
history is riddled with names that are
immediately recognisable. Would Harry
Potter, Bridget Jones, Sherlock Holmes,
Frankenstein or Tarzan have enjoyed
the same success with a different name?
It’s hard to know, but sometimes that
honorific can just help things stick.
But the point is even more prevalent
in fantasy fiction and science fiction,
where names have fewer rules and
far fewer limitations than stories
set in the world as we know it. The
possibilities, really, are endless – not
always a nice problem to have. Add
76 JANUARY 2017
p76 Fantasy.indd 76
into that equation the fact that you’re
likely to need to develop names for
not just characters but also things like
countries, planets, cities, maybe even
other creatures or species – everything
that comes with the sort of great
worldbuilding that we have discussed
here before – and this goes from a
minor annoyance to potentially a
major consideration for genre fiction
authors. Nothing in any book happens
by accident, and this is every bit as true
here. Inconsistent or absurd naming
can genuinely dent a fantastical tale
– so how do you go about getting it
just right and making sure your titling
is adding to the story rather than
detracting from it?
PICK A STRUCTURE AND STICK TO IT
Those of you who may not read the
genre regularly might think that many
fantasy and SF names are created simply
by shaking up a Boggle or Scrabble
board and committing the results to
paper. However, much thought goes
into it, as many titles do follow an
internal logic – which is an important
thing to look at in some point in your
www.writers-online.co.uk
worldbuilding, or at least in the early
stages of your writing process.
For human characters, fantasy fiction
very often draws on a historical tradition
of some kind to add flavour to the story.
You could adopt names in the Roman
vein, the Viking tradition (something
often applied to that old fantasy
archetype, the dwarf), a Germanic or
Latin style... it will make the names
feel fairly realistic and also make them
recognisable to some extent for readers.
If your world also draws some kind
of comparison with a particular time
period, it can be great to simply fit the
two together hand in glove. People like
to have a feel of how the names might
sound and to be able to talk about them
to their friends!
Even if you have creatures from
other species or races, you can set your
own shape and style for those names.
It could be that people are named
after their skills, their homeland, their
resident city or town, or that more
simply they are dominated by vowels
or certain consonant sounds. Equally
it’s not uncommon to see punctuation
featured within names – apostrophes
22/11/2016 10:15

and hyphens – which can also help
to add flavour when used. Once you
have set these internal rules, there is a
great chance to use your own shapes
and forms in names as a way to make
your world and location feel much
more believable.
This can also be a huge help with
place names, with so many of our
locations following a set formation
based on where they are. You can of
course call them whatever you want,
but it can be worth looking at how
towns and cities around the world
are name. Just here in the UK, for
example, we have Burghs (Edinburgh),
Hams (Nottingham), Hampton
(Southampton), Port (Newport) – you
could use any of these, or follow similar
patterns, to create names for settlements
that sound perfectly plausible to readers.
But of course, if you have based your
fantasy world on a particular part of the
world as we know it, again it can pay
to simply match the two together to
add a further layer of plausibility and is
doubtless a logical approach.
A TOUCH OF CLASS
Now, like it or not, there are
moments in life where we can make
a judgement based on a name. Of
course we shouldn’t, and in an ideal
world we wouldn’t, but in real life
there are names that are perceived as
being more prestigious and others that
are viewed as being less so. And the
same could – and probably should
– apply to an any science-fiction or
fantasy setting. The names of royals,
lords and higher-uppers may be
different or formed in another way
to distinguish them from the wider
population. Equally, those more in
the middle or lower classes in your
setting may have their names laid out
a certain way to signify that.
On top of that, fantasy and SF can
also be filled with an absolute slew of
titles and honours that people may be
bestowed with. This could apply to
any kind of military arrangement, any
royal families or groups you might
have – a particular title to go with a
role, job or particular lineage of family
history is something often deployed as
a technique in genre fiction, and can
be well worth considering. It can also
be a useful indicator for some of the
tensions that can bubble away in a sci-
fi or fantasy series...
p76 Fantasy.indd 77
WE ARE FAMILY
Fantasy and SF, as we have seen
previously, often run to series and
feature larger casts of characters. There’s
a lot of story to maintain and a handful
of protagonists often doesn’t cut it.
This can often result in many members
of one family featuring in a story and
all playing a role in the longer-term
plotline. As such, it can be important
for you to think whether there is a
connection between family names, or
even if your feel your characters would
be inclined to name their children a
certain way. There may be conventions
that you want to set up within your
“”
world, with family
members being Bill The
First, Bill The Second,
Bill The Third (not a
name I am suggesting, I In fantasy and
hasten to add) or using science fiction,
the suffix -son or -sson,
which is the root of names have
many names that we fewer rules and far
know of. If it’s a family
matter, what can you fewer limitations
do with the names to than stories set in
denote that it is all about
the family? the world as we
know it.
HOW DOES IT SOUND
Now admittedly, for the
most part, your names
are going to live in paper
and in books rather than necessarily
being read or spoken aloud, but readers
are still liable to become confused
by names they struggle to create
phonetically in their heads.
And again, we do have a whole
world of audio books, podcasts, movies
and television that might just come
knocking one day. So if you put it
on paper it’s very important that you
have a sense of how it’s pronounced,
so you can talk about it when you’re at
your events and book launches. And,
on top of that, do try to think about
how it actually sounds – of course you
wouldn’t do this on purpose but it could
sound like a joke, or a swear word, or
something utterly inappropriate for
the setting. Even worse, you may have
plumped for something completely and
utterly unpronounceable. Get them
right in your own mind and get used to
saying them!
There are a few basics you might
want to avoid – long runs of consonants
won’t help (Mcrthau or Dzrsen) nor
www.writers-online.co.uk
FA N TA S T I C R E A L M S
will passages of vowels (Aeounysios
or Eriauon) whilst the use of speech
inflections such as umlauts can also
make pronunciation confusing for
readers. It’s also worth bearing in mind
the shorter the better in this respect –
Hariunatherich and Palantrucavalen
and the like are not liable to trip off
the tongue!
A QUICK NOTE ON SPELLING...
As someone who does a lot of
proofreading and editing, one thing that
does often go awry in science fiction and
fantasy is how people spell their created
names. You might consider it obvious,
and surely you know how
to spell your lead’s name.
But there are any number
of other things we know
how to spell that we can
get wrong in a manuscript,
so I would advise to
try to keep your names
relatively simple to head
off any possibility of errors
there. Having seen some
characters with three of
four different spellings in
one manuscript, it is worth
thinking about!
As you can see, there’s
plenty to think about and
take into account before
giving your fantasy or
science-fiction characters names. It’s a
real shame for any great story to be held
back by names that are overly difficult,
strange sounding, unpronounceable or
laughable, and as you can see through
the history of fiction there are names
that go beyond being functional to
iconic and resonant over time. There is
always going to be a certain amount that
you just have to trust to your gut and
your own feeling of what fits the story,
the setting and the book itself.
But even simpler than that, one of
the ways to make sure you’ve got it
about right is to have somebody read
it for you. A beta reader – or group
of beta readers – is incredibly useful
in any respect, but even if you don’t
have a person you trust to give you
impartial or reliable feedback you can
always ask someone you know what
they think of your names. A second
pair of eyes and ears in that respect
can be invaluable, and hopefully a
good indicator of what the reaction
will be from wider readers.
JANUARY 2017 77
22/11/2016 10:15
 DITCH THE
REJECTIONS
Dig out your rejected manuscripts. Chris Glithero highlights alternative ways to put them to use
R
emember that novel
manuscript you worked
tirelessly on, the one you
pumped countless ions of
mental energy and buckets
of perspiration into? The one you
slaved over for months and even
years, reluctantly brushing family
members and social occasions away
to toil on? The one you believed in
and boldly cast into the unknowing
void of agents and publishers, only
to see it returned, unloved and
unpublished? The one that now
sits in a drawer gathering dust, or
clinging to the lonely digital echoes
of the keyboard’s chatter in a long
forgotten corner of your hard drive?
Yeah that one. Rejections suck,
there’s no denying it, but they are
also par for the course for any writer
determined to make a go of it.
Fortunately there are a few things you
can do to unearth your manuscript
and bring it flailing into the light,
and that’s what we’re going to look
at today.
Some of these avenues will lead to
the possibility of financial gain, while
others will bring only the satisfaction
of finding a readership. All, though,
are arguably better than leaving it
in that drawer as dead words lying
silently in a darkened world.
78 JANUARY 2017
p78 Tech.indd 78
#1 Self-publish as an ebook
Just because you were rejected by
publishers and agents, doesn’t mean
that your book is not worth reading.
What it may mean is that they can’t
see any strong commercial potential in
it – ie they’re not convinced that they
can generate a certain amount of profit
from your work. There are a number of
reasons why this might be the case:
• Your novel doesn’t sit easily within
an established genre
• The theme or subject matter of your
book may not have a track record of
generating interest
• You’re an unknown author and
quantity, and they may not be in a
position currently to take risks
• It may be in a similar genre or style to
another book they already committed to
Of course it’s worth remembering
that it’s also possible that your book is
terrible, or at least uninspired, but that’s
for you to determine.
Fortunately though, today you can
easily thrust your book into the light
without the backing of a traditional
publisher, and at virtually no cost. As I’ve
looked at in previous articles, creating and
distributing an ebook is a relatively simple
task, and will allow you to sell your novel
around the world instantaneously.
Here is one streamlined method
for publishing your book online
www.writers-online.co.uk
with minimal effort:
1) Create a cover. People generally
do judge a book by its cover, so make
your cover as attractive and professional
as possible, and hire an illustrator if
needs be. You’ll also need to create title
and copyright pages.
2) Remove extra spaces from your
document. Ebooks flow continuously
rather than having set pages, so avoid
formatting errors by removing additional
space or line breaks that denoted pages.
3) Publish and distribute. There are
various methods that you can use to
turn your manuscript into an ebook,
but Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing
platform (https://kdp.amazon.com/) is
perhaps the easiest and quickest. Once
you’ve created an account, you’ll be
walked through the process of uploading
and converting your manuscript into
an ebook, and you’ll then be able to
choose how much you want to sell
it for and where. You can also apply
different promotions, such as free book
giveaways, to drum up interest. At the
end of this short process, your book will
be available to anyone with a Kindle
reader, or a laptop or phone with the
Kindle app installed.
#2 Serialise your novel online
In the past, some popular novels first
began life as regular serials, as was the
22/11/2016 09:57

case with Hunter S Thompson’s Fear
and Loathing in Las Vegas, which was
first a series in Rolling Stone magazine.
Today this too is possible independently
via the internet. To do so, all you need
do is set up a blog or website using a
popular platform such as Blogger or
Wordpress, and then regularly publish
segments of your novel on there,
perhaps weekly.
Of course, just because you publish it
online doesn’t mean that anyone’s going
to read it, but there are things you can
do to try to find a readership. You can
for example promote it via social media
networks such as Facebook or Twitter,
use paid advertising such as Google
Adwords, and of course tell everyone
you know in person and via any online
forums you may frequent.
Publishing it online in this way of
course means that you are giving it away
for free, but you might try to monetise
it by selling advertising on your site via
a programme such as Google Adsense.
You won’t make much unless you get
some serious traffic coming in, but for
every click on an ad you’ll gain a little
more money.
Another option is to offer part of
the novel for free and then charge for
the rest, but if you do, make sure that
you make your intention clear to avoid
angering and driving away your readers.
Things to remember:
• Make it easy and logical for
existing and new readers to find the
chapter/page they want to read.
• Consider creating an email list to
notify readers when a new chapter
is published.
• Make sure you include clear
copyright notices on any content you
publish online.
#3 Self-publishing in print
If you’re quite attached to the idea of
your novel as a physical papery thing
that you can touch and hold, maybe
even stroke a little, then this is also
entirely possible, but will be far more
costly than its digital alternative. Here
are the main options for doing so:
1) Print run. With this method, you
simply finance a print run of your books
via a reputable printer. One downside of
this is that because the number of books
you can afford is probably relatively low,
p78 Tech.indd 79
T E C H N O LO G Y F O R W R I T E R S
you’ll pay a much higher cost-per-unit
than traditional publishers, meaning
either that you have to sell at relatively
prices or you have very small profit
margins. The other major issue to be
aware of is that if they don’t sell, you’re
considerably out of pocket with a massive
pile of books clogging up your wardrobe.
2) Print on demand. Print on
demand (POD) services such as
Createspace and IngramSpark simply
print and despatch a single copy of
your book as and when it is purchased.
This means that you don’t have the
financial burden or risk of doing a
print run yourself. In return, the POD
company takes a cut of the sale.
A word of warning: Beware of ‘vanity
publishing’, in which you pay money
up-front to have your book ‘published’.
Though the idea of being published
might give you a warm feeling
momentarily, such operations often
result in poorly printed books, and
books which are difficult to distribute
due to the reputation that such
companies have for having no editorial
processes or standards when publishing
an author’s work. Hidden costs are
commonplace, and there is a very
real risk of ending up with a stack of
unsellable books and several thousand
pounds of debt.
ISBN numbers: If you wish to sell
your book in bookstores or online
you’ll need an ISBN number, which
is used for stock control and other
processes. You can acquire one in the
UK from the Nielsen ISBN agency.
Some printers will offer you a free
ISBN, but be aware that they will then
be listed as the publisher and you won’t
be able to use this ISBN to print or
publish your book elsewhere.
#4 Transform your manuscript
If you feel that the story or idea
you’ve come up with is a winner,
but you perhaps haven’t executed it
so well as a novel, it may be worth
considering transplanting it into
another form. If the story is very
cinematic in nature for example, it
might lend itself well to a film script.
If your novel feels very fragmented
and has myriad characters and sub-
plots, perhaps it would work better
as a collection of short stories with
a common theme. Or perhaps if it’s
reflective and philosophical, it might
inspire a series of poems or essay.
www.writers-online.co.uk
#5 Cast your rod once more
How many times did you send your
beloved manuscript off to agents or
publishers? If you can count it with
both hands then it’s definitely still worth
sending off again. It’s a well-known and
now boring fact that JK Rowling’s Harry
Potter was rejected at least a dozen times
before getting a deal with Bloomsbury.
But it’s also worth noting that this
was not an isolated incident. William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies was rejected
twenty times before finding a publisher,
and Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected
23 times. Stephen King received thirty
rejections for Carrie, and, as far as is
known, did not seek bloody revenge on
the unbelievers.
You can read about more famously
rejected authors in Buzzfeed’s article,
’20 brilliant authors whose work
was initially rejected’ (http://writ.rs/
famousrejections), but the point is,
just because the first ten rejected your
manuscript, that doesn’t mean that
number eleven won’t be the charm. You
may or may not wish to revisit your story
at this point to see if there is anything that
could be improved which would tip the
balance in your favour.
So grab yourself a recent copy of the
Writers & Artist’s Yearbook, take a pencil
out and circle every single agent and
publisher that publishes or works with
the kind of book you have created. In
relation to the latter point, it’s worth
bearing in mind that your chances of
acceptance slide to zero if the person you
send it to simply does not take on the
kind of book you have written.
Make a list of these with relevant
contact details, and for each note down
what they want you to send (this will
usually be found on the ‘submissions’
section of their website). If they ask for a
synopsis, send a synopsis, if they ask for
sample chapters, send sample chapters
– you get the idea. A well thought
out query that shows that you’ve paid
attention to their requirements will
improve your chances of at least being
taken seriously as a professional author.
Once you’ve made your list, start
sending and don’t stop sending queries
until you reach the bottom.
Here we’ve looked at some things
that you can do with your forgotten
manuscript. Some may appeal, some
may not, but any one of them is surely
better than your hard-written novel
never seeing the light of day?
JANUARY 2017 79
22/11/2016 09:57
 WRITERSʼ WEB WATCH
Write on the go with our roundup of writing apps
I
t’s December now so it’s quite
likely that many of you have
taken advantage of Black
Friday and upgraded to a new
smartphone or tablet (if you haven’t,
visit comparison check site www.
uswitch.com to see the best current
deals). As a writer, you doubtless
integrate your device into your creative
life, and as everyone’s so pressed for
time these days, it’s good practice to
take advantage of any tiny window of
time to get a few words down. With
this in mind we’ve picked out a few
writer-friendly apps that will enable
you to use the occasional spot of
downtime to write on the go.
At the end of last year, Samsung
was the number one-selling vendor.
Apple iOS users have always been
better served than Andoid users
when it comes to writing apps, but
that’s changing.
Android users can turn their screen
into a clean writing interface with
JotterPad, which is free to download
from Google’s PlayStore but offers
in-app purchase of the creative version.
It’s simple and elegant, creating a
clean, enticing writing environment
with custom fonts and day and night
versions. It works offline as well as
online, so you don’t have to gobble up
your data allowance, which means you
can park yourself on a public bench
and use it there if that’s when the
muse strikes. And you can save files
as text only, which means there won’t
be any formatting issues across your
80 JANUARY 2017
p80 Webbo.indd 80
for your smartphone or tablet
devices/word processing software.
iA Writer is another app that creates
a minimal editing environment. Long
available for iOS devices, an Android
version was released last year,
making one of the world’s
favourite plain text editors
even more accessible. The
main point is to offer
users a straightforward
writing experience,
but it’s also extremely
sophisticated, with
features including live sync
to iOS, Mac and Android,
live sync to Dropbox and
iCloud, html export, Medium
and Wordpress integration, Word
import and export, night mode
and most recently, custom
templates. Effectively, for £2.99
iA Writer lets you carry your
entire writing life around with
you within a single app.
Another useful app for
Android users, ColorNote isn’t
specifically aimed at writers but
is perfect for those moments
when you think of something
and need to get it noted so
you can go back to it. Think
Post-it notes for your phone
(colour-coded for people whose
brains compartmentalise things
that way) – you can use it to
jot down random scraps of
inspiration, overheard snippets of
conversation etc on your phone,
rather than wait for the chance to
www.writers-online.co.uk
sit down with a notebook and pen.
Whether we like it or not,
Microsoft Word is the industry
standard word processing software for
writers, but for a long time it wasn’t
“”
available on Android. It is now
though, and the free Microsoft
Word app provides a core
version of the world’s most
As a writer, you ubiquitous writing software
doubtless integrate that’s specially designed
for writing on the go on
your device into screens up to 10.1 inches;
your creative life. you can read documents
ebook style, with swiping.
Documents are saved to the
cloud and synced across devices.
For the full Word experience
you need to have an Office
365 subscription.
If you want an alternative to
Word, try the AndrOpen Office
app, which is a forked project
from the Apache OpenOffice
project and lets Android users
access the full features of the
free-source Open Office writing
software on their tablets and
smartphones. It’s free and
although reviewers comment
that it’s not as easy to use on
a smartphone as the desktop
version, if you’re familiar with
Open Office and want to use
free-source software across all
your devices, it’s the writing
app that will make you feel as
if you’re working for yourself,
not The Man.
22/11/2016 09:56

STAYING IN THE GAME
Which online skills do writers need to hone to keep up in the fast-moving
world of modern multimedia? PC trainer Greta Powell helps out
I Q
n a fast-moving multimedia world, it can be difficult to work out
exactly what skills you need to compete. The world of text has
changed drastically over the years and new and different skills are
needed. Two examples that spring to mind are the increasing need to
edit images and getting to grips with the technicalities of self-publishing
and ebook publishing. So this month’s column is a bit of a pick‘n’mix,
as we look at a couple of writers’ queries and then move on to some
recent software upgrades and new features.
Q Writing is not as straightforward as it once was and it is becoming
evident that I need to use more intensive software these days to
keep up with the times. I use the Windows picture editor and Paint to
achieve most of my photo edits but looking at other work I think they
could be better. I don’t do any overly complex editing and wondered if
you had any suggestions for someone on quite a tight budget as to the
best one for basic use.
A Photoshop is the best image editor in the world and I would
recommend it wholeheartedly except I think it might be overkill
for what you need to do. You could always download a free trial of
Photoshop CC 2017 from www.adobe.com for thirty days and take a
look at it. The current subscription is around £10 per month. Another
alternative is the cost-effective younger brother Photoshop Elements.
However, a new kid has appeared on the block. Well, it’s new
for Windows users but Serif Affinity has been available on the
Mac for quite some time. This is a powerful piece of image editing
software which does everything a light user would need and much
more. Another advantage is its very gentle easy-learning curve. The
tools are clearly marked and the menus and panels uncluttered and
straightforward. The software is jam-packed with tutorials and online
guides and even for seasoned users it is pleasant to work with.
It is currently in beta mode which is free to sign up for, although
by the time you read this you may have to pay for it. If the Mac
prices are anything to go by then it should retail at around £35 to
£40 approximately. Visit Serif at https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/
windows/ to find out more or to sign up for the beta or purchase.
*Also known as Affinity Design, Serif also has its own full suite of
design, art and layout tools available at https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/
ADOBE CC 2017
Adobe released its latest version of Creative Cloud recently,
which is now known as CC 2017. Those subscribing to the
full suite can take a brief overview of some of its new features
at: http://writ.rs/cc2017newfeatures
Those users who subscribe only to Photoshop might find
this latest Terry White video interesting. In it he covers five
of the major feature upgrades plus several handy quick tips at:
http://writ.rs/terrywhitephotoshop
www.writers-online.co.uk
p81 tech text.indd 81
COMPUTER CLINIC
After being used to Microsoft Word for years, moving
across to Adobe InDesign was something of a shock. Over
time I have got used to it but I now need to write and publish
a book for print and digital sale. This looks quite complex and
I do not think I have the skills to work with it. Could you
suggest any book templates I could download and use? The
ones I have found so far have been very hit and miss.
A Quite often it can be more difficult to work with other
people’s templates than it is to work from scratch. It would
be hard to recommend a free template off the ‘internet shelf ’
because as you have already found out it would probably still be
hit and miss. This company specialises in selling book templates
that have a professional look and are straightforward to work
with. Their prices seem quite steep but they do
have a large range of templates to choose from and this would
be something you could work with. For more information
and pricing pop along to www.bookdesigntemplates.com/
indesign-gallery
The other possible option is to have another look at
designing the book yourself. Once you get a few things in
place, such as the document setup, master pages and styles,
then apart from the words the book should write itself (pun
intended). Although this is quite an old tutorial it is very
practical and walks you straightforwardly through the steps
involved in setting up a layout template for yourself:
http://writ.rs/indesignbooktemplate
BLURB PLUGIN FOR INDESIGN
For anyone using InDesign with the intention of having a
small run of print books, it could be worth looking at the
Blurb plugin for InDesign. The plugin aids in the layout
of a book which is going to be uploaded to the Blurb
website for print output.
Blurb has several different options for its print runs, so
writers looking for a large volume of books may find it
could prove to be an expensive option. Look through their
services and offerings on their website at
www.blurb.co.uk or download the plugin from:
www.blurb.co.uk/indesign-plugin
GET CONNECTED!
If you have a technical query for Greta,
please email: info@curveandlearn.com,
or contact her via www.curveandlearn.com
JANUARY 2017 81
22/11/2016 09:55
 HELPLINE

Helpline Your writing problems

solved with advice from
Diana Cambridge

Email your queries to Diana (please include home-town details) at: diana@dianacambridge.co.uk or send them to: Helpline,
Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. She will answer as many letters as
she can on the page, but regrets that she cannot enter into individual correspondence. Publication of answers may take several months. Helpline
cannot personally answer queries such as where to offer work, or comment on manuscripts, which you are asked not to send.

Q I went to a talk at
Waterstones by a writer Q When I’m anxious about something – as I am
about my health at the moment – I do find it
difficult to write. I can’t seem to concentrate. I am
I admired, and I did ask a
question. I was disappointed by really getting nothing done, just worrying.
ANNETTE HAYDON, Radstock
the answer, as he did not seem
much interested in my work
or in the problems I have had
finding a publisher or an agent.
SIMON LEOPOLD, Cheltenham A Keeping a writing journal can be a useful strategy. You
can start each day by logging your thoughts into the
journal – that way you can ‘defuse’ thoughts or worries which

A This can happen at bookstore talks. The trouble is, we can

expect a lot from our favourite writers when we see them in
the flesh! I imagine there were a lot of people there who wanted
threaten to sabotage your writing. Just write, without thinking
too much about the words. Just let them come. It’s also good
to try and begin at the same time each day – and to take at
questions answered, and it would have been hard for him to give least one entire day off. As a writer, you need changes of scene
you a lot of personal advice at a public event. Most writers steer to keep your mind refreshed.
clear of recommending publishers or agents, which is often asked of
them. It’s really up to you to research and find your own. Use the
Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook.

Q How long should I wait before contacting a

publisher for the third time?
I’m trying to get my non-fiction work on
managing woodland published – it’s in a
t lift work from
Is it really possible to jus
Q another novelist and cut
make your own successfu
and paste it – to
l novel?
question and answer form, mainly. The first
publisher I approached said they did not dislike
the content, although it needed severe editing,
am
HANIF REEL, Birmingh but did not like the Q&A style. However this is
not something I wish to dispense with. I contacted a second
publisher and two emails and one phone call later they still say
that it is in ‘the queue’ for assessment. So the process has taken

A This has been done, ap

a bit like cannibalisin
verses to make your ow
parently. I suppose it’s
g a lot of greeting car
d
ten months now.
SIM VERHOEF, Newcastle
n. Personally I think

A
pointless, even distastef it’s a bit Yes, it’s a waiting game. Remember that publishing
ul. Yet it must be true
every writers uses oth that offices may have only one or two members of staff to
er work for inspiration
that’s not the same as . But deal with an avalanche of submissions. Stick with it for a year,
cut and paste. Certainl
academic essay – and y in an then approach others.
if it was identified – it
considered plagiarism. would be

Q I’m a retired lecturer in zoology, and am

trying some articles for wildlife magazines.
The one comment I received from an editor was
A That’s because your students were using
the same vocabulary that you were
– a specialist, academic one. For a popular
that the language I used was ‘too complicated’ readership you need layman’s language and
for the readership. It’s true it is not an academic simple words. A short
journal. However I slightly resent this – I have word will express your
given literally hundreds of lectures without meaning as well as a
complaints from students. longer word, and will
JAMES BRYANT, Combe Down, Bath usually be preferable.

82 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p82 helpline.indd 82 22/11/2016 09:55

 GGOOI N
I NGGTO
TOMMAARRKKE ET T

Q My novel has the same title as another one just out – does this matter?
MARIANNE KERNEK, Dover

A No. There’s no copyright on book titles. But it can be confusing to the

book buyer. If at all possible, don’t have the same title as an existing book.
Of course, you can’t always know!

Q I have had pen pals from all over the world from when I was a teenager
and since losing my wonderful mother/best friend/mentor/soul mate earlier This month,
this year have found them an invaluable source of comfort and strength.
As a subscriber to your magazine it occurred to me that it might be an idea to have
a pen pal section for the aspiring writers who read the publication – to encourage,
next month…
share ideas, problems and sources on a more personal level.
Might you consider it for future issues? 
Patrick Forsyth suggests
ANDREA YARNELLE DAKIN, London that communication long term
can be worthwhile

A An intriguing query! Social media is so widespread now that many people use

W
forum members as a sort of ‘penpal’ – though on most forums the comments e see the Sun as it was eight
bear no resemblance to real letters. Try WM’s Talkback forum (http://writ.rs/ minutes ago. If scientists
wmtalkback) for a friendly welcome from writers worldwide. communicate with a robot rover
There’s a school of thought that says we still prefer personal snailmail rather than crawling across the surface of Mars then it
email. There’s a certain pleasure in opening a letter containing handwriting and takes some 26 minutes for radio messages,
maybe a card – a sensual pleasure you won’t get from an email. I would like to know travelling at the speed of light (that’s c186,000
if readers have any views on this. miles per second) to get there and back. Space
is truly huge and away from the solar system
the numbers increase enormously.

Q I live abroad and would really love to connect with writers at my age and stage
(thirties, beginner).
There are no groups that meet where I live, and I’m a little daunted by the size of
What has this to do with writing? Let me
tell you what put this in my mind. One of
my chosen genres is travel writing and I sent
online circles where hundreds of more experienced writers might see your work. a query letter to a publisher describing a
Where can I find a smaller group of like-minded writers online? particular book idea. I heard nothing. Then,
PHILIP CHARTER, Pamplona, Spain about five months later, I received an email,
which began with a polite apology for the

A I think you could use the WM site too (http://writ.rs/wmtalkback) – you will
find writers just like you, and once you’ve forged a few connections you can
soon create a splinter group to share work in a smaller forum.
delay, and (as is so often the way) declined my
idea. Now I could simply have filed this away
or, perhaps more satisfyingly, torn it up and
Another possibility is to set up your own site and invite other writers to join. It forgotten it. But a comment in the editor’s note
could be as simple as starting a blog and inviting comments, then replying to them made me pose another question and – what do
and in that way building up a ‘club’. Bear in mind that anything online also carries you know – after another five months I got a
a small risk that ‘unwanted’ people may post. So using an established group, like the reply. This again contained a note of sufficient
Writing Magazine one, is a good way to meet writers online. encouragement for me to reply again. There is
almost a dialogue going on here, albeit one
that seems set to take many months (years?)
to conclude.
Now I can’t tell you that this will result in a
commission, but if this is the way a publisher
operates then maybe it is worth pursuing. I
remember following up a publisher that I had
done work for and sending a note of some sort
about every four months for three years with
very little acknowledgement – until they gave
me what was financially the
largest commission I have ever
received before or since.
Moral: Whatever else
writing success demands,
patience and perseverance
are high on the list.
www.writers-online.co.uk NOVEMBER 2016 83

p82 helpline.indd 83 22/11/2016 09:54

 Subscriptions
start at just
£24.75
www.mslexia.co.uk
postbag@mslexia.co.uk
0191 204 8860

astute, invigorating,
the magazine
for women
and an excellent read
Helen Dunmore

who write
What’s new in creativity and publishing,
expert advice and inspiration, debate and
opinion, extraordinary poetry and prose,
plus monthly email supplement with jobs,
competitions, writing prompts, news and fun

84 JANUARY 2017 max www.writers-online.co.uk

Mslexia colour palette

p084_wmagjan16.indd 84 21/11/2016 09:26


controversial or unconventional,
it might be an idea to get
in touch and explore his/
her views in more depth.
Ask the
Anecdotes, comments or
direct quotes from an
expert can also add value
experts
and prestige to your
writing – and make it
more interesting.
Where to find experts?
There are different ways to
find experts, depending on what
type of person you’re looking for.
If you’re after academic
knowledge, it’s worth checking out
university staff. You can find a list of
and links to UK university websites on
http://writ.rs/ukunis. Virtually every
Find the right sources to back up your story UK research institution lists its staff,
with advice from Tarja Moles their interests and publications online.
F
Another way to track down academic
inding information in this experts includes finding relevant
day and age is usually quite material (eg books and journal articles),
straightforward as there is so jotting down the names of the authors
much information available on and then approaching them. For
the internet alone. However, you may some obscure topics you may not find
come across topics or particular details much relevant material, and if that’s
within a subject area that you struggle the case, consider exploring theses on
to research. This is the time to explore EThOS (http://ethos.bl.uk). These
whether taking advantage of expert usually contain highly specialised
knowledge might be the way forward. research which hasn’t necessarily been
When the word ‘expert’ is published. You may then be able to
mentioned, it often brings to mind track down the author, for instance, by
someone who is highly educated, but doing online searches.
this doesn’t necessarily have to be so. Professional associations, societies,
An expert can broadly speaking be institutes and other organisations are
anyone who has knowledge, skills or full of people who are experts in their
experience about a specific topic. In a respective fields. Although there are
way, we could all be said to be experts, directories that list various associations
at the very least in our own lives. and organisations (eg the Internet
Public Library’s list of over 2,000
Why use experts? associations on http://writ.rs/iplassoc
There are several reasons to take and Wikipedia’s list of professional
advantage of expert knowledge. For UK associations on http://writ.rs/
example, the information you’re ukprofs), browsing through them can
after is so new that it hasn’t been be more time-consuming than doing a
published yet or the subject quick online search. By combining the
area is so obscure that not keyword(s) of your subject area with
A WORD
many people know about the term ‘association’, ‘society’
it. People’s biographical OF CAUTION and/or ‘organisation’ you
details, life experiences Although experts are knowledgeable may be able to find suitable
and family history are about their respective fields, always organisations in a flash.
often topics that benefit remember that they are still human Not all experts can be
from expert knowledge beings and have their own agendas found through organisations.
and interviewing these and biases. Don’t take anyone’s word If you’re looking for people
people or those who at face value just because they are with certain life experiences
know/knew them closely experts. Keep your critical-thinking or are in the process of
can be invaluable. hat on at all times. uncovering your family history,
If an expert’s take on a topic is you may have to get more inventive
www.writers-online.co.uk
p85 research.indd 85
RESEARCH TIPS
in how you track down those who can
answer your questions.
In some cases, your family and/
or friends may be able to put you in
touch with experts. Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn are also potential
gateways for finding suitable people.
You could even post a YouTube video
and ask your friends to spread it via
their social media networks. You
never know, if it goes viral (more
likely if you make a funny video),
you’ll be guaranteed to have people
get in touch with you.
Approaching experts
Before you approach any experts, make
sure you look into anything that they’ve
written previously. If you’re able to
find the information you need from
a publication that they have written,
you don’t necessarily have to contact
them. However, if you do, prepare
your questions in a way that you don’t
ask obvious questions to which you
could have found the answers yourself.
People are busy these days and experts
are no exception. They won’t appreciate
you wasting their time by asking self-
evident questions.
Also, don’t expect them to do your
research for you. This may seem like
an obvious statement, but you’d be
surprised how often this happens.
Genuine queries, however, are
usually welcome, and if the expert’s
topic is very obscure, s/he may well
be keen to talk to you about his/her
passion at length.
When you’re about to make
contact with an expert, you need to
decide how you want to ‘extract’ the
information from him/her. Although
interviews face-to-face, over the phone
or via email are common, there are
other ways to get answers.
Sometimes observing an expert at
work can be more illuminating than
asking him/her to describe how s/he
does her work. There are clearly limits
to this as it wouldn’t be advisable, say,
to join a burglar when he is on the
job, even if you really needed to find
out more in order to make your crime
novel authentic.
Once the expert has given you the
information you need, send a thank-
you note or email afterwards. It’s
only polite, and you never know if
you need to contact the person again
in the future.
JANUARY 2017 85
22/11/2016 09:53
 N E W AU T H O R P R O F I L E

SU BRISTOW
Margaret James meets the debut author
bringing new life to an old legend

W
hat is it about ‘I love the medium of myth and
our favourite fantasy: the way it frees you to play
myths and with different reflections of reality,
legends such and to deal with big issues without
as The Snow going at them head on.’
Queen, Beauty and the Beast and There are certainly no easy
Cinderella that makes us love to hear answers to be found in Su’s
these stories again and again both in beautifully written and imaginative
their original and in re-imagined forms? story in which a selkie becomes the
Debut novelist Su Bristow, whose wife of a mortal man.
compelling take on the myth of the When I first read this story, which invented and inhabited a whole
selkie – a creature who is human on won the inaugural Exeter Novel series of alternative worlds.
land but also lives as a seal in the Prize back in 2014, I guessed the ‘My love of the selkie legends
water – is published by Orenda Books, author must come from a family of inspired me to write Sealskin. We
thinks it is because the best legends writers and/or creative people who find variations of this story about
have a special resonance for us all. had fired her childhood imagination seals who can take off their skins and
‘These stories get told and retold by telling her lots of stories and who become human for a time, and of the
because they deal with the big had encouraged her to become a men and women with whom they
questions in life, to which there are writer of fiction. engage, all along the coasts of Ireland,
no easy answers,’ says Su. ‘Over the But I couldn’t have been more Scotland and Scandinavia.
centuries, and through all the voices wrong. ‘My father worked in a ‘When I was younger, I identified
that tell these stories, they acquire new factory and my mother was a with the selkie woman who is trapped
layers of meaning for the people who depressed housewife,’ she says. ‘They in a marriage which, on becoming
read or hear them. didn’t read books at all. But, once I a wife, forces her to give up her
‘When I was about eight years old, could read – which was before I went wildness, and I am sure plenty of
for example, I read The Snow Queen. to school – I never stopped.’ women struggling with difficult
The image of Kay getting a chip of Did all this reading help to turn marriages will identify with that! As I
ice lodged in his heart, so he looked Su into a storyteller? grew older, however, I became more
the same but didn’t care for Gerda ‘As a child, I was always making interested in the man’s point of view.
any more, spoke to me very strongly things up, but I was never conscious There are plenty of stories about
about getting bullied at school, and of being a storyteller myself,’ she says. coercive, controlling husbands, but I
learning not to trust people who ‘The big creative splurge came in wanted to tell a different one: about a
pretended to be friendly. my teens when my best friend and I man who makes a terrible mistake and
who tries to put things right.
‘Donald is a fisherman living with
SU’S TOP TIPS his widowed mother. His father was
lost at sea and Donald grows up to
• When I first started writing fiction, I knew what I liked reading, but that be an awkward, isolated young man,
was all. I had no idea how to get published, how to present my work to struggling with – as he sees it – an
literary agents and publishers or how to promote it to readers. So one unkind world and also with the
of my top tips would be to get yourself some writing friends: people eczema that makes working on boats
who are at various stages along the way and who will challenge and a torment to him. One night, when
encourage and teach you by example, while you do the same for them. he sees the selkies come ashore and
• Just write: make mistakes, play with genres, do stream-of- take off their skins to become young
consciousness, keep and diaries, write rubbish, but make sure you women, he begins a journey that
keep writing. takes him further than he could
ever have imagined.
• Finally – read and read and read!
‘Mairhi, the selkie woman who
becomes Donald’s wife, is mute

86 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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

throughout the story. So she had into everyday life, and in how terrible a consultant medical herbalist. This
to speak in other ways: through experiences when we are young can means I see patients, talk to them on
her actions, her body language and become a source of wisdom and can the phone and make up prescriptions
the various other sounds she made. deepen our characters in later life. for them. It’s how I make my living.

“”
This lack of verbal communication The story I’m working on I also have Airbnb guests and I’ve
meant Mairhi remained now is about a child who recently become a grandmother, so my
mysterious. It’s never clear encounters fairies, but life can be a bit of a juggling act.
if she could have talked if I love the medium these are not gauzy- ‘My breakthrough moment as a
she’d wished, and this is of myth and fantasy: winged Edwardian novelist was winning the first Exeter
part of her “otherness”. sprites: they are Novel Prize. Although most members
‘As I wrote the novel, I
the way it frees you much older and of the audience at the award ceremony
certainly identified with to play with different potentially more didn’t know me, when the judge
Donald in his striving to
do the right thing, and in
reflections of reality, and dangerous beings.
The child is given a
announced the winner I was given a
huge cheer because I was the only writer
his learning to put aside to deal with big issues magic gift that will on the shortlist who came from Exeter.
his own selfish wishes as he without going at shape her life in ways ‘I had a big hug from our lovely
becomes a husband and then she can’t predict.’ local MP Ben Bradshaw, who
a father. All this definitely comes them head on. How long does it take presented the prize, and I also received
from my own experience (as a wife Su to write a novel? affirmation that my work was worth
and as a mother in my case, obviously) ‘How long is a piece of string? reading from the competition judge
and also from the experience of several Sealskin took me about seven years, off Broo Doherty of the DHH Literary
men I’ve known.’ and on. I don’t think the next one will Agency, who at that stage didn’t know
Does Su have any identifiable or take as long because nowadays I have the identity of the writer whose entry
recurring themes in her fiction? a literary agent, a publisher, a wealth she had chosen. Broo’s endorsement
‘Ask me after novel number ten!’ of experience which I didn’t have back of my writing encouraged me to finish
she says. ‘But yes, I’m interested in then, and also lots of writing friends the novel, to work on the revisions
how we bring the outside inside, if who keep asking how it’s going! she suggested, and ultimately I signed
that makes sense, in how we try to ‘I don’t have typical writing days a publishing contract with Karen
bring magic or wildness or romance because as well as a novelist I’m also Sullivan of Orenda Books.’

‘The OCA student forums and

Facebook groups are a great place
to meet-up, and I’ve found the
tutor guidance invaluable.’
Deborah Riccio

Open
College
of the Arts

LIVE | LEARN | CREATE oca.ac.uk/wm

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 87

p86 Author Profile.indd 87 22/11/2016 09:52

 WRITERS’ NEWS

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

opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.

Join the dots Go on a writing adventure

BY TINA JACKSON
The new Nine Dots Prize
is for creative thinking
that tackles contemporary
societal issues and offers the
winner the grand sum of
$100,000 to write a short
book of between 25,000 and 40,000 words.
The Nine Dots Prize is awarded by the Kadas Foundation
with support from Cambridge University Press, the
University of Cambridge and CRASSH. The prize’s name
references the nine dots puzzle and is for innovative thinking
that addresses problems facing the modern world. The
question for the inaugural Nine Dots Prize is: Are digital
technologies making politics impossible?
To enter, writers should submit a 3,000-word response
to the question and outline for the proposed book, and a
justification for their ability to complete the proposed book
in nine months. Responses that draw on all disciplines
are welcomed, and may be sent by new voices as well as
experienced authors. Entries may be by single or multiple
authors, and may be fiction or non-fiction, but in either
cases the judges will be looking for original thinking, a strong
argument, depth of analysis, rigorous but accessible content,
and insightful engagement with the question. Research and
evidence may be drawn from a wide variety of sources and
not restricted to social sciences.
Entries are accepted from writers all over the world. Entry
is free. Only one entry per person is accepted.
Submit all entries through the online submission system by
the closing date of 31 January.
Details: emails: questions@ninedotsprize.org;
website: https://ninedotsprize.org/
The Wilbur and Niso
Smith Foundation is inviting
entries to the Wilbur Smith
Adventure Writing Prize
and the Author of
Tomorrow Award.
• The Wilbur Smith
Adventure Writing Prize is in
two categories. The winner of the best published novel will receive
£10,000 and the winner of the best unpublished manuscript will
be offered the opportunity of a creative writing residency at a
university and editorial advice from Wilbur’s literary agents, Tibor
Jones & Associates.
Published novels must have been published between 1 January
2016 and 1 January 2017 by a recognised trade publisher. Entrants
must submit two copies by post and a letter explaining why the work
qualifies as adventure writing.
Unpublished writers should send two copies of their completed
manuscript (minimum length 50,000 words) with a synopsis, a CV
and a covering letter explaining why the work qualifies as adventure
writing. Self-published ebooks are eligible to be entered in this
category. Unpublished writers must submit by email.
• The Author of Tomorrow Award is for adventure writers
between 12 and 21 years old. The winner will receive £1,000 and a
framed certificate. Enter short adventure fiction between 1,500 and
5,000 words, a synopsis and a scanned copy of your birth certificate.
Entry is free. The closing date to enter the Wilbur Smith
Adventure Writing Prize and the Author of Tomorrow Award
is 23 January.
Details: The Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation,
2-6 Atlantic Road, 2nd Floor, London SW9 8HY; email:
submissions@wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org;
website: www.wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org/

Live like Robert Louis

The Scottish Book Trust is inviting
applications for the Robert Louis
Stevenson Fellowship.
The Fellowship is an annual
award that offers four
professional writers living
in Scotland the chance of
a month-long residency
at the Hotel Chevillon
International Arts Centre at
Grez-sur-Loing in France,
which was a favoured
destination of the Dr Jekyll
and Mr Hyde author. Each of
the four selected writers receives
self-catering accommodation in a
studio apartment, travel costs to and from
France and a stipend of £1,200.
Applicants must be practicing
professional writers living
in Scotland who meet the
requirements of the Live
Literature database.
To enter, download and
complete an entry form,
including detailed information
about your writing experience
and achievements, 200 words
on the work you plan to carry
out during the Fellowship and 300
words on how the Fellowship would
further your development as a writer. Also
include a writing sample, preferably from
a project you would work on during the
residency, which may be 2,500 words of
prose (fiction or non-fiction), ten pages
of script, or ninety lines of poetry. If the
sample is an extract from a longer work,
include a synopsis. Poets should include a
commentary up to 500 words about their
proposed project.
The closing date to apply is 1 February.
Details: Robert Louis Stevenson
Fellowship 2017, Scottish Book Trust,
Sandeman House, Trunk’s Close,
55 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR;
email: rlsfellowship@gmail.com;
website: http://writ.rs/rlsfellowship

88 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p88 News.indd 88 22/11/2016 09:51

 WRITERS’ NEWS
t of giving
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UK MAGAZINE MARKET 21 OCTOBer

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The Lady magazine is the John Lewis, probably listens to The Archers.
UK’s longest-running weekly Almost certainly she has a dog.’ GUNG-HO
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42
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women in their fifties. ‘Our
9 770023 7 1 6 1 7 2
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‘My father was a milkman
‘Downton fans may be
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average reader is around 52 always room for Knit Your Own Mr Darcy.’
I’m a murderer’
RAYMOND BRIGGS

43
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although you’re not banned As editor, Sam wants the reader to find FC Oct28 FINAL.indd 1

25/10/2016 10:18

from reading it if you haven’t reached that age
yet!’ said Sam.
The Lady’s feature content includes
humour, human interest, craft, pets, fashion,
letters. ‘We do very good columns, have a
very strong review section, we do interviews,
both lengthy and Q&A.’
Readers are not bound by stereotype. ‘I’d be
hard-pressed to say what a typical reader is – it’s
easier to say what a typical reader isn’t,’ said
Sam. ‘She’s not self-obsessed, she’s not celebrity-
driven. She’s not wholly interested in hair and
makeup, though that doesn’t mean she looks a
state. She’s not wholly for herself. She’s part of a
bigger community – she almost certainly would
volunteer, do fundraising, charity work. She puts
in as much as she gets out. She loves a trip to
enough in each week’s issue to interest her until
the next one comes out. ‘I care about the way
it looks, that it delivers what it says on the tin.
That there are enough good reads, beautiful
things and entertainment in it to last a week. I
hope it’s a well-thought-out buffet.’
A dps in The Lady is usually around 1,000
words. ‘It sounds short, but I like the dialogue
between the visuals and the words.’
Sam is delighted to hear from writers with
good feature ideas. ‘We do absolutely accept
freelance contributions. I’m not looking
for reviewers, but I’m always looking for
feature ideas. I’d advise people to look at the
magazine and see what we’re doing - history,
heritage, glamour, pets, humour. Anything
with an original story – VG Lee writes about
becoming a stand-up comedian at sixty. It
helps, too, if you can write very well. As with
any magazine, read it first. Have an idea of the
flavour of it. It’s slightly irritating when people
send in an idea who haven’t looked at the
magazine. Our regular freelances all subscribe so
they’re part of the dialogue of the magazine.’
Send succinct ideas – brief but to the
point, with suggestions of a beginning,
middle and end, and suggestions for
supporting material, ie visuals.
Payment is £200 per 900 words. ‘We’re posh
but poor! And if they want to come to the office
they can have a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria
sponge cake as well!’
Details: email: editors@thelady.co.uk;
website: www.thelady.co.uk

Win £20 per word

Comp for new voices in SF
An annual short story
competition in memory of one
of Ireland’s most successful
science fiction authors, the
James White Award is open to
non professional writers of any
age and nationality and is free
to enter. There is a first prize of £200 for the winner plus
publication in Interzone magazine.
As the aim of the competition is to highlight new
writers it is not open to professional writers, defined as ‘a
writer with three short stories sales to qualifying markets
or one novel sale to a qualifying market’. A list of
qualifying markets can be found on the Science Fiction
Writers of America website: http://writ.rs/sfwareqs
Submissions are otherwise welcome from writers
around the world, should be original, be unpublished
and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Stories should be 1,000-6,000 words long and as judging
will be anonymous, your name and contact details must
appear on the entry form only and not your work.
Submissions must not feature setting or characters
from copyrighted work and if you would like to know
more about what judges might be looking for in a
winning story there is quite a lengthy ‘Advice for Writers’
section on the website.
The closing date is 20 January 2017.
Website: www.jameswhiteaward.com
The Reader’s Digest 100-word-story Competition 2016 offers a prize of
£2,000 for a 100-word work of fiction in the free-to-enter contest.
All entries must be original, unpublished short stories of exactly 100 words.
Running for the seventh year, the competition is in three categories.
• In the adult category, the first prize is £2,000 and two runners up will
each win £200.
• In the 12-18s category, the winner will receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2,
a Samsung Gear S2 watch and £150 for their school. Two runners up will
each receive £100.
• In the under-12s category, the winner will receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab
S2 and £100 for their school. Two runners up will each win £75.
The winning entries will be published in Reader’s Digest. Reader’s Digest
editor-in-chief Tom Browne told WM that Reader’s Digest has copyright for
any stories it chooses to publish, but in those cases wouldn’t have an issue
with the writers reprinting them elsewhere, as long as it was flagged up.
Enter by email or through the online submission system. The closing date
is 20 February.
Details: email: 100wordstory@readersdigest.co.uk; website:
www.readersdigest.co.uk/100-word-story-competition-2016
Funny women win
Winners of the Women in Comedy Festival competition were Rachel
Johnston, Manchester, and Olga Wojtas, Edinburgh.
Rachel won the three-minute monologue or sketch category with Pushing
the Envelope. She has started a stand-up comedy course and was appreciative
of the chance to get in front of a microphone at the Festival wrap party.
Olga won the 1,000-word short story category for The Mystery of the Second Olga.
Website: www.womenincomedy.co.uk

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 89

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 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES
Your Life is the GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
magazine from
Schär, producer
of gluten-free
New home for new talent
products. Hints,
tips and relevant BY GARY DALKIN
stories are invited.
Details: email: LitMag is a major US print and online journal of once in each category.
share@schar.co.uk; fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The editorial team Do not resubmit in that
website: www. require work that moves and amazes them and are category until you have
schar.co.uk drawn to big minds, large hearts and sharp pens. received a response for
There are no restrictions on style or form. In practical your previous submission.
In the year of victory terms this means the editors will consider any high Multiple submissions are
for Trump and
quality original, unpublished fiction and non-fiction acceptable, but please
Brexit, post-truth
has become the
of up to 15,000 words for the print edition and up to notify if accepted elsewhere.
Oxford Dictionaries 4,000 words for online publication. Follow the full guidelines at:
2016 International Submit one story or essay at a time, or up to five https://litmag.com/submit/
Word of the Year. poems. Payment is a flat rate of $1,000 for fiction or All submissions must be made via the online form
Usage of the word non-fiction for the print magazine, or $250 per poem. at: https://litmag.submittable.com/submit
increased 2,000% $250 per piece for online publication. Payment covers Details: LitMag, Greeley Square Station,
since 2015. It has first North American serial rights. PO Box 20091, New York, NY 10001, USA;
been particularly Submissions are open all year round except for two email: Info@Litmag.com;
associated with weeks from 15 August-1 September. You may submit website: https://litmag.com
the phrase
‘post-truth politics’.

Hisham Matar
has won the
Biographers’ Club
Chip away at your story for this comp
Slightly Foxed The second ChipLitFest Short Story Competition story title and word
Prize Best First is now inviting entries. count. A separate
Biography Prize, The competition, which is sponsored by short cover sheet is not
worth £3,500, story site www.pennyshorts.com and judged by needed for online
for The Return:
Martyn Waites, pictured, is for short stories up entrants. The
Fathers, Sons
and the Land
to 5,000 words. There is a first prize of £500, a filename for online
in Between, his second prize of £100 and a third prize of £50, and entrants should be
memoir of a the top ten stories will have an opportunity to the exact story title.
journey to Libya feature on www.pennyshorts.com. The entry fee for
22 years after All entries should be original, unpublished short stories up to 2,500
his father was stories aimed at adult readers. Stories may be in words is £5. For stories up to 5,000 words, the entry
kidnapped and any genre, on any subject and in any style. fee is £8. Writers may enter by post or online, and
imprisoned by the Send manuscripts as Word docs of pdfs typed the entry fee may be paid by cheques made out to
Gaddafi regime. in 12pt font with 1.5 or double spacing with ChipLitFest or by PayPal.
Mike McCormack
numbered pages. Add the title and word count on The closing date is 20 February.
has won the first page. The writer’s name must not appear Details: CLF (PSSSC), Cleevestones,
the £10,000 on the manuscript. Postal entrants should include Main Street, Chipping Norton OX7 5PH; website:
Goldsmiths’ Prize a cover sheet with name, address, email address, www.chiplitfest.com/short-story-competition
for Solar Bones, a
novel written in a
single sentence.
He is the third Irish
novelist to win the Food for thought for new writers
prize, given for
Nottingham Writers’ Club is is for new and less experienced via the website between 1 and
books that ‘break
the mould’, in its
inviting entries for its National writers, each entrant will receive 28 February.
four-year existence. Short Story Competition 2017. a few lines of feedback on their There is an entry fee of £5/£6
To celebrate the club’s ninetieth story. The top three stories will be (online entries) for one story,
Poet Doireann anniversary, the competition is published on the NWC website. £12/£10 for two and £4/£5
Ní Ghríofa was for stories up to 2,000 words on All entries must be original each for three or more. Pay this
awarded the the theme of ‘food and drink’. and unpublished. The writer’s by cheques payable to
€10,000 Rooney Because the competition aims name must not appear on the Nottingham Writers’ Club or
Prize for Irish to encourage new writing talent, manuscript. Format entries in a by PayPal, credit or debit card.
Literature. writers who have earned £300 or clear font (12pt) on single sides of The closing date is 28 February.
‘Writing is
more from short story writing up A5 with a margin of 2.5cm. Pages Details: NWC, c/o 29 Redwood
probably the to and including 2016 are politely should be numbered and include Avenue, Wollaton, Nottingham
closest you can asked not to enter. a footer with the title. Include a NG8 2SG; email:
get to joy in life.’ There are prizes of £200, £100 separate cover sheet with the title, info@nottinghamwritersclub.org.
Irish author and £50, and five runners-up a pseudonym and the wordcount. uk; website: www.nottingham
Eimear McBride prizes. Because the competition Writers may enter by post, or writersclub.org.uk

90 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p90 News/FOW.indd 90 22/11/2016 09:48


UK NON-FICTION MARKET
Mirror mirror on the wall...
BY TINA JACKSON
Mirror Books is a new non-fiction publishing
company from Trinity Mirror.
‘We’re looking to publish across a broad
area of non-fiction,’ said executive editor Jo
Sollis. ‘Real-life stories, memoirs, nostalgia,
true crime and self-improvement. We wouldn’t
rule out anything as a consideration, but it
helps enormously if it fits with a Mirror reader
demographic, as our newspaper titles can lend
a powerful hand in support marketing for our
books and authors. The company publishes
over 150 newspapers around the UK, from
national titles The Daily Mirror and Sunday
Mirror to regional papers including The
Manchester Evening News, Bristol Post, Liverpool
Echo and Nottingham Post. All of these titles can offer title promotion.’
Mirror Books’ first title, Anni Dewani: A Father’s Story, was released
in February 2015. ‘We cover news and celebrity stories every day
on the newspapers, so it has been a natural progression for us, from
following up initial features to building relationships with the people
behind the stories,’ said Jo. ‘Some of those grow naturally into a book
format. Other times we have been approached and spotted the potential
ourselves. After the huge success of our third book, Finding Tipperary
Mary, which became an international and Sunday Times bestseller, and
had the film rights sold, we are now looking to grow and expand the
range of our portfolio.’
A good title for Mirror Books is: ‘Anything that connects,’ said Jo.
‘We love human dramas. Ordinary people with extraordinary lives. It’s
what we do so well in our papers. The brief is very broad. Heartbreak,
triumph, mystery, animals – love and sex! We’re also open to celebrity
autobiographies and true crime is, or course, a major strength – for
obvious reasons.’ In the future, Jo hopes that Mirror Books will
develop rapidly. ‘We want to be a champion of first-time authors,
but also want to see some of those writers going on to become repeat
authors with us.’ Jo also wants to develop more titles along the route
to TV, film and multimedia.
Mirror Books’ ambition is to publish between twelve and eighteen
titles in 2017, and more in 2018. Jo is happy to receive proposals. ‘We
want to see strong, engaging stories sent in to us with a short synopsis,
an outline of how the writer sees the flow of the book unfolding
and some samples of the writer’s style. Preferably a couple of sample
chapters. Keep the pitch simple and succinct. Give us an idea of who
you think the potential reader will be.’
Mirror Books publishes in all formats, including audio. Fees vary
according to the title. ‘As we do have the huge marketing machine of
Mirror titles to help with promotion, the return on sales potential is
excellent with us.’
Submit directly to Jo, preferably by email.
Details: Jo Sollis, Mirror Books, 1 Canada Square,
London E14 5AP; email: Jo.sollis@trinitymirror.com;
website; www.mirrorbooks.co.uk
www.writers-online.co.uk
p90 News/FOW.indd 91
WRITERS’ NEWS
It’s a Funny
Old World
A
jump in culinary book sales is expected
when instructions for preparing frog
pasties and other recipes are made
available again with the reissuing of Salvador
Dali’s cookbook by Taschen.
Esther Addley and Alison Flood said in the
Guardian that it was likely to feature thousand-
year-old eggs, conger eel ‘of the rising sun’, as
well as frog pasties, ‘all washed down with a
cocktail of brandy, ginger and cayenne pepper’.
They added that the ‘fantastical cookbook
Les Diners de Gala, was first published in 1973,
featuring 136 recipes compiled by the painter and his wife Gala.
• The Hidden Life Of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
— Discoveries From A Secret World, by Peter Wohlleben,
£16.99, offers ‘increasing evidence to show that trees are able
to communicate with each other’. Dr Suzanne Simard of the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver ‘has discovered that
they can also send warnings using chemical signals and electrical
impulses through the fungal networks that stretch under the soil
between sets of roots-networks known as the “wood wide web”.’
• Academic Dr Todd Gray researched Britain’s swearing history,
Mark Duell reported for Mailonline.
‘You would probably get a confused look in today’s world if you
called someone “tarse” or “nippy”, but it would have caused plenty
of trouble centuries ago’.
Todd, a research fellow at Exeter University, trawled through
40,000 documents from the 1500s and 1600s.
His research resulted in Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name
calling in Devon, 1540-1640, and How to Swear Like an
Elizabethan in Devon.
• Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed
with Time by Simon Garfield (Canongate) was
reviewed by Christopher Hart, who enjoyed
stories about the French having ‘mucked around
with time more than most’.
He wrote: ‘After the Revolution they tried to
decimalise the 24 hours day, and renamed the
months and days.
‘October became Brumaire (Foggy), October 24
because the Poire of Brumaire (the Pear of Foggy).
‘The English immediately mocked them for it, translating
their new months as Wheezy, Sneezy and Freezy, etc. Happily the
wretched man who thought up the idea “the flamboyant poet and
playwright Fabre de’Eglantine”, was guillotined soon afterwards,
He died on the Day of the Lettuce.’
• We’ll be as tasteful as we can here, and
no we’re not trying to rattle your chain:
The National Poo Museum is going on
tour, helped along by local libraries.
Tom Smurthwaite reported in
The Mirror that the museum, based at the Isle of Wight Zoo,
features ‘twenty different types of poo displayed in resin spheres’.
The tour will start at the Isle of Wight Library, and then move to
the mainland where Dorking Library, Surrey, has offered to host the
exhibition. It could become quite a business.
JANUARY 2017 91
22/11/2016 09:48
 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
The Burton &
Bransgore Bulletin, a
sister publication to
Celebrate beautiful music
The Mudeford Mag,
BY TINA JACKSON
is a comprehensive
local community
magazine hand The world’s best-selling classical
delivered to the music magazine, BBC Music
villages of Burton, Magazine is for anyone with an
Bransgore and interest in beautiful music.
Winkton in Dorset. ‘We’re read by beginners, but
Julie Smith, editor, is also by experts – people who
happy to accept local know a lot, but want to know
contributions.
more,’ says Oliver Condy, who Oliver wants the magazine to be as enticing a
Details: email:
julie@themudeford
has edited BBC Music Magazine read as possible. ‘I like writers to be able to combine
mag.co.uk; website: since 2004. ‘Classical music is serious journalism with colour. I want people to find
www.themudeford a bottomless pit so we try to the unexpected in a piece, so readers will go “wow! I
mag.co.uk include slightly obscure music and composers as well didn’t know that”. A feature has got to have a killer
as the classics. It’s a constant journey for us.’ introduction and narrative drive. There’s got to be
Harbour Times, The bulk of the magazine’s content is classical but surprises. Real insights you can’t get anywhere else. I
a relatively new Oliver is broadminded about what’s covered. ‘It’s want that element of originality.’
magazine, now important, when you like classical music, which some He also wants to give BBC Music Magazine readers
incorporates people see as elitist, to let people know that you listen a sufficiently high-quality product that they want
Leisure Times in
its third edition.
to all sorts of bits and pieces. We do includes bits of to buy the print magazine (all the online content is
It covers an area jazz, and some world music.’ generated in-house specifically for the website). ‘Print
in Dorset around Reflecting the BBC’s classical music coverage, the is really hard at the moment but there’s a lot of dross
Bournemouth, magazine is aimed at anyone who loves classical music that’s disseminated on the internet. You’ve got to be
Poole, Swanage and and wants to get into it. ‘We’re a broad church, so careful when you go online and look at facts. We pride
the Purbecks. Photos we’ll talk about music past and present, and its future ourselves on stuff being rigorously fact-checked.’
and feedback are as well – how will it change? Our remit, or licence, The main feature averages 2,200 words, and other
appreciated. is to go hand in hand with the BBC’s classical music features are around 1,600/1,700 words. ‘They’re pieces
Website: coverage and excite people about what’s being covered.’ to be read over a cup of coffee. We’re about giving
www.cnmags.co.uk/
Readers vary. ‘The average age is slightly older, mid- people a really enjoyable reading experience that
publications/
harbour-times/
50s, and we do have a predominantly male readership, combines education and entertainment.’
although more women readers than our nearest BBC Music Magazine uses freelance writers, and
Whitby Advertiser, competitor – we do cover a lot more than recordings Oliver is always happy to hear from writers with
a free A5 monthly, and record collecting. Our readers are ABCs, educated inspired ideas. ‘We rely on people who know the
is edited by Stephen people who can afford to go to concerts and buy CDs subject backwards. I need people who know composers
Ault and distributes – but we have a healthy helping of students.’ and their works inside out. And who not only know
23,000 copies BBC Music Magazine’s coverage is as comprehensive the subject backwards, but understand our house style
each month. as possible. ‘We talk about recordings – we have a big – informed, entertaining, relaxed, well-structured. Like
Details: email: review section, about 25 pages, and each month we the BBC! And people like to be challenged – like to
info@whitby
advertiser.co.uk;
review about 110 CDs, DVDs and books – we get go on a journey, and learn about something. We like
website: www. around 300 a month!’ said Oliver. ‘Then we have a challenging people and making them think.’
whitbyadvertiser. composer of the month, a great or someone slightly His advice to writers is to study the magazine. ‘It’s
co.uk less known, so people can really start on their journey. vital to know the magazine backwards. Tailor the ideas
We have “building a library” which takes people to us. Know the subject, and be passionate about
The Luke Bitmead through the best recordings. We have slightly quirkier your subject matter – that leaps off the page. We’re a
Bursary, worth £2,500 features, like the story of how stereo was invented, or specialist title but we’re always looking for fascinating
and a publishing our forthcoming feature about the exploits of 19th ideas we’ve never covered before. I’m always happy to
contract with Legend century British opera singers. We like to show classical hear from people if they’ve got ideas.’
Press, has been won
music in a human light – to show musicians and Contact him by email. Payment varies.
by Dan Mooney
for his debut novel
composers as people: their struggles, vulnerabilities, Details: email: oliver.condy@immediate.co.uk;
Me Myself and behaviour – normal people doing their job brilliantly.’ website: www.classical-music.com
Them, which will be
published in 2017.

Michael Morpurgo
Pageturner please
has won the JM The biennial Tibor Jones Association literary agency. and a covering letter
Barrie award for Pageturner Prize is open for entries The competition is open to about yourself.
his contribution to for the 2017 competition. unrepresented debut novelists with Entry is free.
children’s literature.
The Pageturner Prize, which was a complete or nearly completed Only one entry may be
‘The only reason I established in 2011, is dedicated novel manuscript. Novels may submitted per writer.
wrote was to make to discovering exciting new work be in any genre of adult, YA or The closing date is 16 January.
sense of what went by unpublished novelists. The crossover literature. Details: email:
on in my past.’ winner will receive £1,000 and To enter, send the complete pageturner@tiborjones.com;
Beryl Bainbridge representation by Tibor Jones & manuscript, a one-page synopsis website: www.tiborjones.com

92 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITERS’ NEWS

UK ARTS MARKET
A sense of Wundor
BY TINA JACKSON

Wundor
Editions
is a new
independent
publishing
company
with a boutique
aesthetic
launched by
poet, writer
and designer
Matthew
Smith.
‘The idea was to start a company that
would publish literature and visual work,
photography and illustration – key interests of
mine – I thought combining them under one
banner would be interesting,’ said Matt.
Wundor Editions launches this month and
the first book is the Wundor Guide to Tokyo.
‘Coming up, we’ve got a really interesting
first collection and we’ve just agreed terms
with a prize-winning European novelist. We’re
looking at a mix – but also trying to find
mew people, new writers that haven’t been
published before.’
Wundor Editions will publish three
strands of work: literature, travel and
photography. ‘The literature we’ll publish
will be fiction and poetry. We’re aiming
to start publishing photography at the
beginning of 2018. With travel, we’ve got
these innovative travel guides with long-form
writing, photography and illustrations, and
recommendations on where to go.’
Matt brings a writer’s eye to Wundor’s
publishing plans. ‘I’m a poet and I read
English at Oxford. I’ve recently completed
a novel and a poetry collection and I came
at the idea of Wundor from a writer’s
perspective. I liked the idea of looking at
novellas and shorter work, and taking risks
with the kind of writing we do publish – I
think a lot of literary writers struggle to get
their books published. We feel we’re able to
help writers at an earlier stage; we’re looking
for potential – not everything has to be in a
polished state. I think it’s important to work
with writers with potential who can’t quite
cross the line by themselves.’
Wundor books will have a literary slant.
‘With fiction, we’re looking for literary
fiction: work that has originality and is
entertaining but challenging,’ said Matt.
‘With poetry, good poetry is always that,
really. That falls into that literary quality as
well. The guidebooks? We’re trying to put
in longer pieces of writing that go into the
culture of a city and give deeper impressions
than you might get in a guidebook. But
they are fun as well.
Wundor is aiming to publish eight to ten
titles in year one, and in year two the same
if not more.
Matt’s actively looking for submissions:
‘I’d love to see as many as possible! If it’s
a novel, send the first three chapters, up
to about fifty pages. We’re open to seeing
early chapters if a book’s not finished, but
it helps if its on its way. With poetry, send
a selection of six to ten poems – it’s always
helpful if someone has a collection on
the way to being ready. As long as work’s
engaging, it would be good to see it.’
His advice is to get work to him as soon as
you’re happy with it. ‘If writers think its really
great and they believe in it, send it in. It’s a
great time to send something to us because
we’re a new company, and open-minded.’
Fiction and poetry will be published in
high-quality paperback and ebook formats.
The guidebooks will be in art book formats
with a dust jacket. Contracts are individually
negotiated and royalty-based.
Details:
email: submissions@wundoreditions.com;
website: www.wundoreditions.com

Pen something Pre-Raphaelite
The Pre-Raphaelite Society
has two competitions open
for entries: the John Pickard
Essay Prize 2016 and the
Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Prize 2016.
• The John Pickard Essay Prize is for a monograph of
not more than 2,000 words on any individual related to
the Pre-Raphaelite circle. The winner will receive £100
and their essay will be published in the Spring 2017
Review. Email entries by the closing date of 31 December
• The Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Prize is for
original, unpublished poems up to 100 lines that relate
in some way to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood or their
wider circle. Poems should be accompanied by a brief
(100-word) explanation of how they relate to the Pre-
Raphaelites. The winner will receive £50. The three
winning and two commended poems will be published
in Review. Entry is £2 per poem, or £5 for three. The
poet’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Include
a separate sheet with contact details and poem titles. Send
two copies of each poem by post.
The closing date is 31 December.
Details: The Competition Secretary, 21 Shaw Lane,
Stoke Prior, Worcestershire B60 4DP;
email: serena.trowbridge@bcu.ac.uk;
website: www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org
A fresher approach
to writing prizes
The Fresher Writing Prize 2017 from Bournemouth University’s
Fresher Publishing imprint is open for entries from unpublished,
emerging writers of fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. The
winners’ prizes emphasize writer development.
There are various entry categories and prizes: short story (win
feedback and advice on a sample of work from Picador editorial director
Francesca Main; creative non-fiction (win a one-to-one with Ed Peppit
of Balloon Publishing and Getpublished.tv); poetry and flash fiction (in
both categories, win a professionally produced podcast of your work),
and the first 500 words of a novel (win a one-to-one with literary
agent Madeleine Milburn). All winners will have the opportunity to be
published in Fresher Writing Volume 3.
Short story and creative non-fiction entries may be up to 3,000
words. Poetry may be up to 42 lines. The first 500 words of a novel
should be from a completed or nearly completed manuscript.
Flash fiction may be up to 500 words. All entries must be original
and unpublished. Enter online or by post. There are no specific
formatting requirements but the writer’s name must not appear
on the manuscript. Entry in all categories is £6 (entry is free for
Bournemouth University staff and students), payable by credit or
debit card, or cheques made out to Bournemouth University.
The closing date is 5 January.
Details: Fresher Writing Prize, Bournemouth
University, Weymouth House, Fern Barrow BH12 5BB;
email: competitions@fresherpublishing.co.uk;
website: www.fresherpublishing.co.uk

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 93

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 WRITERS’ NEWS
FLASHES
Japanese
photojournalism
magazine Days Japan
has an international
competition for
photo essays open
to amateurs and
professionals. The
closing date is 15
January. In 2016,
the first prize was 1
million Yen.
Website: www.
daysjapan.net
Notebook lifestyle
magazine is free with
the Sunday Mirror.
Details: email:
notebook@sunday
mirror.co.uk; website:
www.mirror.
co.uk/3am/style/
Cecilia Ekbäck has
won the 2016 HWA
Goldsboro Debut
Crown for her novel
Wolf Winter, and
Philippa Gregory has
won the Outstanding
Contribution to
Historical Fiction
Award. Both awards
were presented
at the Harrogate
History Festival.
To encourage
international
publishers to
translate works by
Scottish writers, the
Publishing Scotland
Translation Fund
has allocated over
£13,000 to overseas
publishing houses
from a variety of
locations including
Finland, the
Netherlands
and Slovenia.
The Vintage
division of Penguin
Random House has
welcomed a new
member of
the editorial team,
Alex Russell,
who becomes
assistant editor.
‘Think about how
people reveal
themselves through
behaviour, and
focus on the
externals of gesture,
expression, dialogue
and settings.’
Philip Hensher
94 JANUARY 2017
p94 News/ And another thing.indd 94
GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET
Zombies Need Brains
needs writers
BY GARY DALKIN
Publisher and editor Joshua B
Palmatier is reading for three science
fiction and fantasy anthologies to be
published in 2017 by US small press
Zombies Need Brains.
• Submerged will feature science
fiction or fantasy stories that are
set underwater at some point.
The entire story does not have to
take place underwater, but being
underwater must be integral in some
way. Stories which could easily be
rewritten to take place entirely on land will not be accepted.
Creative, unusual stories preferred, in other words, avoid
clichéd settings such as Atlantis.
• All Hail Our Robot Conquerors! will be devoted to
stories about 1950s/60s-style robots. Stories can be
set in any time or place, but in some imaginative way
must incorporate a robot which harks back to robots
as imagined in the 50s/60s. The more ingeniously your
robot is used and woven into your story, the greater the
chance of acceptance.
• The Death Of All Things is an anthology in which
Death is a character in the story. It must, however,
be your unique imaginative vision of the character of
Death. Let your imagination run wild, considering the
many ways Death has been conceived throughout history
and by different cultures.
For all three anthologies submissions should be original
stories no longer than 7,500 words, ranging in tone
from dark to humorous. Stories must be submitted as
doc or docx attachments to an email sent to Joshua@
zombiesneedbrains.com. Include the name of the
anthology the submission is intended for along with the
story title. You may submit to more than one anthology,
but please send each submission separately.
Deadline for all three books is 31 December. Payment
is 6¢ per word for world anthology rights, including
electronic rights, for one year.
Joshua B Palmatier is a science fiction and fantasy
novelist and has edited six previous anthologies, including
Alien Artifacts, which included such leading authors as
David Farland and Juliet E McKenna.
For full guidelines see: http://writ.rs/zombiesbrains
Play time for Drip Action
Drip Action Theatre’s writing competition invites
entries of short plays for next year’s Arundel Festival
Theatre Trail.
During the eight days of the Festival, eight
selected short plays will be performed at different
venues in Arundel. In the past, these have included
a restaurant, a community hall, a football club and
Arundel Jailhouse. Each selected playwright will
receive a £150 writer’s fee, and the best submitted
script will win the Joy Goun Award of £250.
www.writers-online.co.uk
A selfish story for
Jane Austen 200
2017 marks the 200th anniversary
of Jane Austen’s death and
to celebrate he great writer’s
creativity and talent, Hampshire
Cultural Trust in association with
Jane Austen’s House Museum is
running a short story competition as
part of its commemorative events.
The competition is for short stories of 2017
words or fewer that respond to this quote from
Mansfield Park: ‘Selfishness must always be forgiven
you know because there is no hope of a cure.’
There is a first prize of £1,000 and a second
prize of £500. The winning stories will be
published on the Jane Austen 200 website.
Stories must be original and unpublished.
They must use the title provided but may be on
any subject. The writer’s name must not appear
on the manuscript.
Enter stories through the online submission
system. There is an entry fee of £5 per story.
The closing date is 28 February.
Website: http://janeausten200.co.uk/
competitions
Get creative for
Bridgend Writers
Bridgend Writers’ Circle invites entries for its Short
Story Open Competition 2017.
The competition is for original, unpublished short
stories on any theme. Stories may be between 1,500 and
1,800 words. Writers may submit up to two stories.
The first prize is £200, and there are second and
third prizes of £50 and £30.
Type manuscripts in 12pt Times New Roman,
double spaced on single sides of A4. Insert page
numbers and story title at the bottom of each
page. The writer’s name must not appear on the
manuscript. Enter by post, including a downloaded
and completed entry form.
The entry fee is £5, or £7.50 for two, payable by
cheques made out to Bridgend Writers’ Circle.
The closing date is 1 March.
Details: BWC Open Competition,
7, Coed Derw, Bridgend CF31 5HA;
website: http://bridgendwriters.webplus.net/
Plays should be between thirty and forty minutes
and have practicable casting, props and effects.
Plays should be sent by post as hard copies, Only
one entry per writer is accepted. There is no entry
fee. The closing date is 31 January.
Details: Drip Action Theatre Trail 2017,
c/o Arundel Festival, Town Hall, Maltravers
Street, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9AP;
website: www.dripaction.com/
writers-competition
22/11/2016 09:45
 WRITERS’ NEWS

And
UK CHILDREN’S MARKET another
A tree of many colours
BY TINA JACKSON
thing...
Independent children’s publishing company
Firetree Books is the brainchild of author
and publisher Verna Wilkins, who has ‘When someone says to me, “I’ve got this great
dedicated her lifetime in publishing to idea for a novel/film/play/TV series” and then
championing diversity and producing outlines the (usually pretty good) opening,
multicultural books. I say: “So – how does it end?”. Ninety-nine
‘In 1987, I set up the publishing times out of a hundred the answer is: “I
company Tamarind and ran it for nearly haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
25 years,’ said Verna. ‘Tamarind was an ©David Sandison/ ‘Therefore my default response to all
Writer Pictures
enormous emotional investment. I refer to myself as a reluctant publisher “great” ideas in the writing business is to do
because publishing was not on my “to-do” list. I was a lecturer with two with the ending. A good ending can redeem
young sons, living in Surrey. Then, my first son, nearly five, came home a mediocre idea. A bad ending can sink a really good idea.
after a few weeks at school with a little booklet he had made. This is As soon as you know how your narrative ends – in whatever
Me, it said on the cover. Below that was a large circle. His face. He had medium – then a huge percentage of the problematic issues
coloured it a peachy white. that arise in the writing will be solved.
‘I was shocked and offered to find a brown crayon to put it right. He quickly ‘If you have a clear sense of how your story will end then
retrieved the booklet saying, “It has to be that colour, Mum. It’s for a book!”’ you can, as it were, rewind to the beginning and plot any
Verna knew she had to do something. ‘It number of various routes that will allow you to arrive at that
was the late 1970s and even though there was desired ending – with its attendant catharsis, of course.’
discussion about multiculturalism and diversity William Boyd, in the Guardian
then, the delivery was negligible or tokenistic
– because the books at my sons’ school,
playgroup, local library and bookshop did not ‘Creepiness – Unheimlichkeit, as Sigmund
include children of colour as the main Freud called it – definitely stands apart from
protagonists. With no experience whatever other kinds of fear. Human beings have
in the field, I set up Tamarind in an effort been preoccupied with creepy beings such as
to redress the balance by giving a high, monsters and demons since the beginning of
positive profile to children of colour.’ recorded history, and probably long before. Even
As Tamarind grew the books began to today in the developed world where science has banished the
win prizes. ‘From the start, I piloted all nightmarish beings that kept our ancestors awake at night,
the books in schools. For me, this was zombies, vampires and other menacing entities retain their grip
a no-brainer. Primary classrooms held a on the human imagination in tales of horror, one of the most
captive audience of thousands of children. popular genres in film and TV.’
I did workshops in schools and this brought in much-needed Professor David Livingstone Smith, New England
funds. I was also able to see the growing cultural diversity as I visited University, in Aeon, ‘a digital magazine of ideas and culture’
the schools in many cities. Our books were chosen among the Children’s
Books of the Year, on BBC Children’s TV, on National Curriculum Key
Stages. Among the many awards over the ensuing years came the Decibel ‘Writing poetry is all about the edit. It’s why
Award for Multicultural Publishing in 2008.’ poets’ manuscripts are so oddly gripping,
After 25 years in the hot seat, Verna was headhunted by Random because you can watch the masters at
House Children’s Books, now Penguin Random House. But after she work, earning their reputation, honing
retired, rather than take a back seat, she set up Firetree. ‘Here I am, back the quotidian and the predictable into
at work, publishing. Why? Diversity. It is on everyone’s lips. Again. The the — well this is the idea, anyway —
conferences, the training, the initiatives on diversity and inclusion are unimprovable. Learning a poem is a good way
starting all over again. I hope this time the message is loud and clear and of experiencing this creative process because, like the poet,
that delivering diversity in publishing becomes a way of life. Children you’re compelled to weigh each word.
should be seen. No child should have to qualify for entry into a book ‘This is especially true when you’re older and you find the
market aimed exclusively at children.’ learning process harder, which means you repeatedly find
Firetree Books will continue to publish children’s books that give a yourself having to correct words you’ve misremembered.’
high, positive profile to children and families of colour. ‘With a pilot James Delingpole, The Spectator
grant from the Arts Council, Simona Sideri and I have produced an
initially small list, which will grow in
the near future. Our plan is to focus ‘Publishers too often fail to give their authors
on picture books, readers and non- full information on sales and exploitation
fiction biography up to age twelve.’ of their work. Many more gain an unfair
Verna and Simona are interested in windfall when a work is an unexpected
hearing from interesting new authors success but do not share any of that gain with
and illustrators with inspiring, relevant authors. This unfairness leads to many authors
ideas for diverse children’s books. no longer being able to make a living from
Details: email: writing and, if unchecked, threatens the creative
firetreebooks@gmail.com; excellence of our publishing industries.’
website: www.firetreebooks.co.uk Society of Authors chief executive Nicola Solomon

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 95

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 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES
GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET
The Cadet Review, a
quarterly magazine
for sea, land and air
Unearthing history
cadets in Yorkshire BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON
and Humberside,
is edited by Col
David Fisher. Photos DIG Into History is one of the American children’s 700 words,
and contributions magazines from Cricket Media. The Cricket Media can include
are welcomed. group ‘believe that challenging children’s minds and ‘crafts, recipes,
Details: email: connecting kids to learn together does wonders for woodworking,
784fulle@armymail. their confidence, creativity and curiosity.’ It produces a or any other interesting projects.’ Include sketches
mod.uk; website: number of quality children’s and young teen magazines. and a description of how the activity relates to theme.
www.rfca-yorkshire. DIG Into History ‘focuses on world history with a 10 Puzzles and games based on the vocabulary of the
org.uk
to 14-page section that focuses on an archaeological edition’s theme and mazes and picture puzzles that relate
Pendle Harte is the
discovery or topic related to the issue’s theme’ and to the theme are also wanted.
editor-in-chief of the accuracy is essential. Themes to the end of 2018 are Submit a query for each idea, not a multiple query,
Absolutely luxury up on the website on the guidelines page, including and no complete manuscripts. The query should be
magazine portfolio ‘What’s What with Eclipses?’, ‘The Ganges: A Journey a brief cover letter explaining what the subject is and
published by Zest. along India’s Sacred River’, ‘Parallel Lives, based on its proposed length, plus a detailed one-page outline
Details: email: info@ Plutarch’s Lives’, ‘Augustus, Rome’s First Emperor’, explaining the information to be used in the article,
zest-media.com; ‘The Year AD 800’, ‘The Lure of Gold’. and an extensive bibliography of materials the author
website: http://zest. The magazine needs feature articles, 750-900 words, intends to use. The team prefers primary resources and
london/what-we-do/ and a feature article may be ‘in-depth non-fiction, up-to-date scholarly resources to be used. Also include a
magazines/
plays, and biographies.’ Supplemental non-fiction, writing sample. Always include full contact details in all
The winners of the between 250 and 500 words, should be on ‘subjects correspondence, that means postal and email contacts,
inaugural Betty Box directly and indirectly related to the theme.’ Fiction, and don’t forget a 2 or 3-line bio.
and Peter Rogers 750-1,000 words, should be ‘authentic historical and Response time can be slow as the magazine plans
Comedy Writing biographical fiction, adventure, and retold legends several months ahead. Rights and payment are
Programme are relating to the theme’. negotiated at contract time but are pro rates.
Christine Robertson, A wide range of activities, well described and that Details:
Laura Kirwan- can be done either by children alone or with adult email: dig@cricketmedia.com.
Ashman, Meryl supervision, are always wanted. The project, around website: www.cricketmedia.com
O’Rourke and Sasha
Collington. Each win
£10,000 to support a
six-month period of
script development. A right royal affair
The December The Katherine Swynford Society runs contemporaries of John of Gaunt Both competitions are free to
issue of fashion quarterly writing competitions for and his three wives, Blanche of enter. Send entries by email (to both
magazine Instyle is short stories and biographical articles. Lancaster, Constance of Castile and addresses) as Word docs or pdfs.
its last print edition. The writers of the winning story Katherine Swynford. Stories may The next closing date is
It will be relaunching be fiction or faction but must be 31 December.
entry and article entry in each
as a digital-first
publication.
quarter each receive £75. historically accurate. Details: email: roger.
Website: www. The Short Story Competition is Entries for the Biographical Article joy34@outlook.com and
instyle.co.uk for stories up to 2,500 words relating Competition should be no longer thekatherinewheeljournal@
to the late medieval period and than 2,500 words and should include hotmail.com; website: www.
The Handy Mag is featuring ancestors, descendants or references and footnotes. katherineswynfordsociety.org.uk
the free A5 monthly
community magazine
delivered in York and

Mithila goes
Ryedale. The editor is
Marianne Long.
Reborn reborn
quarterly
Details: tel:
01653 690859;
website: www. While comics and graphic novels
thehandymag.co.uk are often made into films, and Originally published monthly,
graphic novels and comics are globally minded speculative
A new £1,000 award routinely spun-off from movies, arts and culture magazine
named in honour Sarah Lotz will break new Mithila Review is becoming a
of the crime writer ground by writing a novel to be quarterly title with occasional
William McIlvanney published in hardcover based essays, interviews and reviews published online
has been won
on the comic Reborn by writer Mark Millar and in-between. Editor Isha Karki has joined the
by author Chris
Brookmyre for his
artist Greg Capullo. The comic series launched editorial team, and new rates are $10 for poetry and
novel Black Widow. in October, and Lotz, who wrote the bestselling flash fiction, non-fiction and reprints, and $50 for
fantasy novels The Three and Day Four, is original stories up to 8,000 words.
‘Be prepared to work writing a standalone fantasy novel inspired by To submit send one story, essay, film or book
hard to be a writer.’ the comic to be published by Penguin Random review or up to three poems in a single document at
Sandra Brown House next autumn. a time to submissions@mithilareview.com
Website: http://mithilareview.com

96 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of military publishers currently accepting
contributions. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with their guidelines
Combat + Survival
Magazine, edited by
Bob Morrison, is an
authoritative specialist
publication covering
military and survival
subjects, with feature
topics including
battle tactics, kit
advice, trouble-zone
news and weapons
and kit advice. Coverage is international,
and Bob uses freelances based in locations
worldwide. He welcomes approaches of
ideas from freelance military and survival
specialists, and notes that it is essential
that prospective contributors are able to
provide high-quality original-source features
illustrated with contemporary images
captured by themselves. Payment varies.
Details: email: info@hitmedialtd; website:
www.combatandsurvival.com
Classic Military
Vehicle, edited by Ian
Cushway, is the UK’s
bestselling publication
dedicated to historic
military vehicles and
hardware used in
conflicts worldwide,
from the beginning
of the 20th century
onwards. Readers are
historians and more general enthusiasts,
and CMV articles, which also cover the
shows and individuals in the historic
military vehicle scene, are detailed and
informative. Ian is happy to accept pitches
for vehicle restoration stories and general
historic pieces relating to military vehicles
accompanied by original archive images.
Payment varies.
Details: email: ian.cushway@
keypublishing.com; website: www.
cmvmag.co.uk
Military Modelling, edited by Martyn
Chorlton, has been going since 1971.
Rather than focusing simply on modelling,
its content aims to give balanced
coverage to the military subjects from
which modellers can draw inspiration.
Martyn welcomes freelance contributions
from writer/modellers who can provide
accompanying photographs on all military
p96 News/Introductions.indd 97
before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission details.
modelling topics and
military subjects from
Ancient Rome to the
present day. Illustrated
features may be up to
eight pages. Payment
is £30 per page.
Contact Martyn with
ideas and sample
images by email.
Details: email:
contribeditor@militarymodelling.com;
website: www.militarymodelling.com
Edited by Andy
Saunders, Britain
at War is the UK’s
bestselling military
history monthly,
covering Britain’s wars
from 1914. It’s aimed
at a general readership
and includes war-
related human interest
features as much as
coverage of the history of war. Features
relating to the personal experience of war
are of interest to Andy, and freelances
with fresh, original stories and newly-
discovered material (letters, diaries,
research etc) are welcome to send ideas.
A typical feature would be around 3,000
words and involve personal stories and
15-25 photographs. Payment is generally
£35 per 1,000 words, £20 per colour
image and £10 per b/w image.
Details: email:
andy.saunders@britainatwar.com;
website: www.britainatwar.com
Osprey Publishing is an independent,
specialist publisher of military history titles
covering all historical periods, from ancient
times to present day. Books are aimed
at specialist military history enthusiasts
and also at re-enactors, modellers and
wargamers. Osprey runs a programme of
series titles on military and military aviation
history, which include Battle Orders,
Campaign, Combat, Command, Duel,
Essential Histories, Men at Arms, Raid,
www.writers-online.co.uk
WRITERS’ NEWS
Warrior and Weapon. Proposals
are welcomed for new titles in an
established series. Send a short synopsis
of no more than 2,000 words including
an overview, a breakdown of chapters
and content, a list of available source
material for your research, sample copies
of illustrations and details of where
illustrations will be sourced.
Details: email:
editorial@ospreypublishing.com;
website: https://ospreypublishing.com/
World War ll
magazine is
published by World
History Group, and
accepts international
contributions from
freelance writers for
this magazine and for
stablemate Military
History. Familiarity
with the magazine
is vital. Send double-spaced one-page
proposals for features and the Time Travel
section outlining how you would treat the
subject and including writing credentials
and background. Full manuscripts sent on
spec are not accepted. Payment varies.
Details: email:
worldwar2@weiderhistorygroup.com;
website: www.historynet.com
Independent publisher Pen & Sword
Books is one of the UK’s leading
military history publishers, with
imprints dedicated to military history,
(pre-WWI, WWI, WWII and modern
warfare), naval and maritime history
and aviation as well as series of local and
general interest titles. More than 350 Pen
& Sword titles are published each year,
and proposals for new ones are welcomed.
All initial proposals should be made
through the website, and Pen & Sword
will request further material if it’s
interested in taking the proposal to
the next stage.
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
JANUARY 2017 97
22/11/2016 09:43
 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
The editor of Yours
magazine, Sharon
Reid, invites readers’ Get fired up for AGNI
stories of childhood
and why they were BY GARY DALKIN
so special.
Details: Blast From Founded in 1972 and published by to the Fiction Editor,
the Past, Yours Boston University, AGNI magazine has Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction
Magazine, Media featured work by six writers who went Editor. Translations and
House, Peterborough on to become Nobel Prize in Literature essays are welcomed. Submit
Business Park, winners, including Seamus Heaney online via the form at: www.
Peterborough and Derek Walcott. Each print issue bu.edu/dbin/agni/ or by post
PE2 6EA; website: includes at least forty writers and artists only to AGNI Magazine, Boston
www.yours.co.uk
from around the world, and the title University, 236 Bay State Road,
The John
has a reputation for publishing major Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Masefield Society writers earlier in their careers. Submit no more than one story, one
(membership £5 per The magazine accepts short fiction, essay, or five poems at a time. There
annum) publishes an essays and poetry for both the original are no word limits, but generally the
annual journal and print magazine (published twice a year) longer a piece is, the better it will
frequent newsletters and for the accompanying website, need to be. Standalone novel extracts
to promote the life which is updated fortnightly. will be considered and simultaneous
and work of the AGNI will accept original, previously submissions are acceptable, though
poet. The chairman is unpublished submissions up to the end please notify if accepted elsewhere.
Peter RJ Carter.
Details: Peter
of the current reading period, 31 May Manuscripts received between 1 June
RJ Carter, The 2017. Payment is $20 per page for and 31 August will not be read.
Frith, Ledbury, prose, $40 page for poetry, up to $300. Follow the full guidelines at:
Herefordshire HR8 Address your submission as applicable www.bu.edu/agni/submit.html
1LW; tel: 01531
633800; email:
carter-p@btconnect. Think BLYNKT and submissions are wanted individual and society.
com; website: from ‘authors, poets, people with For non-fiction pieces, articles,
www.ies.sas.ac.uk/ Blynkt is a new first-hand experiences and essays and opinion pieces, limit the
node/496
website, magazine and accounts, philosophers, word count to 3,000-5,000 words;
Director of the
podcast multimedia political scientists and more’. for fiction, 1,500-3,500 words; for
Alliance of market. The editors It features ‘articles, academic poetry, no more than 4 poems.
Independent Authors hope to provide a essays, opinion pieces, Submit doc, docx or
Orna Ross has platform for ‘critical photographs, short stories, pdf attachments by email:
won the inaugural thinking, discussion reviews and poetry’. submissions@blynkt.com with
Carousel-Aware Prize and debate’. The theme for the second ‘Issue 2 Submission’ in the subject
for self-published Each issue of the issue is ‘The individual’. line. The deadline is 31 December.
Irish authors with quarterly digital Writers are invited to think Payment is ‘uncertain’.
her novel Her about all aspects of the
publication is themed, Website: www.blynkt.com
Secret Rose.

Anna Smaill’s debut

novel The Chimes
has won the 2016 Writers’ production line Charity wins at
World Fantasy non-fiction prizegiving
Award for best Fiction Factory is
novel. Previous inviting entries for The 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize (formerly the
winners include a new short story Samuel Johnson Prize), given for the best non-
David Mitchell and competition judged by fiction published in the UK by authors of any
Haruki Murakami.
Tim Symonds, left. nationality, was awarded to human rights
New Forester is a The competition lawyer Philippe Sands for East West Street: On
free monthly local is for short fiction up the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against
community magazine to 3,000 words for adult readers. There is a Humanity. The other titles on the shortlist were: Second-hand
for Hampshire. first prize of £150, a second prize of £50 and Time, Svetlana Alexievich, translated by Bela Shayevich; Negroland:
Reader feedback two merit prizes of £25. The winners will be A Memoir, Margo Jefferson and The Return: Fathers, Sons and The
is welcomed. published online and possibility in an anthology. Land In Between, Hisham Matar.
Details: email: info@ Entries may be in any genre, but must be Philippe has donated his £30,000 prize to
newforester.com; original and unpublished. The writer’s name a refugee charity. He told the audience at the
website: www.
must not appear on the manuscript. Submit prizegiving ceremony that he and fellow shortlisted
newforester.com
by email, including name, email address, author Hisham Matar had decided that if either
‘Poetry is just the story title and word count in the body of the of them were to win, they would share the prize
evidence of your life. submission email. and donate it to an appropriate refugee charity.
If your life is burning Pay the entry fee of £6 per story by PayPal. Several Baillie Gifford directors have matched
well, poetry is just The closing date is 31 December. the sum from their personal funds, and chair
the ash.’ Details: email: words@fiction-factory.biz; of judges Stephanie Flanders has donated her
Leonard Cohen website: http://fiction-factory.biz/ honorarium for judging the prize.

98 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITERS’ NEWS

Fantastical poetry wanted

UK FICTION MARKET
Poetry magazine
A dark cloud with a silver lining Goblin Fruit is looking
for poetry that
for daring writers approaches, ‘mythic,
fantasy, folklore and
other themes in a
BY TINA JACKSON fantastical way,’ and
this could include
Cloud Lodge Books is a new ‘rewriting a fairy tale, pondering an old story
independent publishing company set or considering history from an unusual
up with the intention of publishing perspective’. Not of interest is, ‘science fiction
diverse, daring literary fiction and poetry, horror for horror’s sake and poetry that
speculative fiction. is self consciously gothic’.
Cloud Lodge Books is the brainchild Submissions will be considered between 9
of a group of friends with experience January and 3 March and during three other
in business and publishing. Managing director William Campos is periods during the year. See website for further
experienced as the business director of a law firm, and directs CLB information and any changes.
with support from a team of advisors in the UK book industry. Payment is $15 per poem on publication for
‘Commissioning, artwork, and production, are collectively original unpublished poems.
addressed by the company’s editorial team, which includes both a Submit your poetry in the body of the email as
literary fiction editor and a science fiction editor,’ said William. plain text with any italics indicated by an underscore
‘We’re trying to find a niche within the publishing industry (_like this_) and include your name, address and
for imaginative, risk-taking books, in terms of both writing and poem title/s. Include ‘Poetry Submission’ in the
content.’ Cloud Lodge Books’ first title, Jerusalem Ablaze: Stories subject line. Send no more than three poems per
of Love and Other Obsessions by Orlando Ortega-Medina, sets email and a maximum of five poems per reading
out CLB’s stall. ‘It pretty much fits the profile!’ said William. period. Simultaneous submissions will be considered
‘It illustrates what we’re aiming for. The thirteen stories are but let the magazine know if it then becomes
eclectic and daring in the topics. The characters have very diverse accepted elsewhere.
backgrounds and subjects are often on the dark side. It’s also quite Email to: goblin.fruit@gmail.com
brave to publish short stories as an initial title!’ The collection will Website: www.goblinfruit.net
be published at the end of January.
CLB wants to create an identity as
a publisher of books that are prepared
to take risks. ‘And we want writers and
characters who cross all boundaries of race,
religion,nationality, sexuality and gender,’
On the buses
said William. ‘We want very creative Entries are invited
work that does not shy way from difficult for the Guernsey
or controversial topics and we’re very International Poetry
supportive of that kind of diversity.’ Competition 2017.
Although the initial focus of CLB There are three
is literary fiction, the company also categories: open,
embraces the possibilities speculative Channel Islands’
fiction offers. ‘Diversity is vitally important to science fiction as it poetry and young
grounds the genre in reality and allows under-represented groups people’s poetry. In the open category, there are
to imagine their own future.’ Spec-fic for CLB should be original prizes of £600, £400 and £200. 33 winning entries
and thought-provoking, with plots based in sound scientific or will be posted on the sides of Guernsey buses as
social foundations. part of Poems on the Move and Poems on the
Cloud Lodge Books will focus on publishing full-length novels, Buses. Twelve of these will form a larger display in
initially hoping to publish four titles per year in print and Guernsey airport.
digital formats. Although only agented All entries must be original, unpublished poems up to
submissions are accepted from debut fourteen lines. Poems may be on any subject or theme.
authors, previously published writers may Enter by post or email. Each poem should be
send submissions directly. Send a query typed on a separate sheet of A4. The poet’s name
letter, a 1,000-word synopsis and the first must not appear on the manuscript. Include
three chapters of the novel in a single a separate sheet with details of name, address,
Word file, double spaced in 12pt Times telephone, email address and poem titles. Entry
New Roman. Include a wordcount, forms may be downloaded from the website.
genre and target audience and relevant There is an entry fee of £4 per poem, or £10 for
biographical information. Only email three poems. Pay this by cheques made out to GLF
submissions are accepted. Poems on the Move or by PayPal.
Cloud Lodge Books pays a The closing date is 15 January 2017.
modest advance and royalties. Details: Poems on the Move 2017, Guernsey
Details: email: Literary Festival, PO Box 174, St Peter Port,
info@cloudlodgebooks.com; website: Guernsey GY1 3LG; email: poetry@cwgsy.net;
http://cloudlodgebooks.com/ website: www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 99

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 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES UK FICTION MARKET The bureau of

Nick Trott is the
new editor of
Fiction Desk opens spooky stories
Motor Sport the money drawer The Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition 2017
magazine. Nick was
previously editor of
is open for entries.
BY TINA JACKSON There is a first prize of £500, a second prize of
Evo magazine.
Details; email: 250 and a third prize of £100. The winning and
editorial@ The Fiction Desk now pays writers whose short stories are shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology.
motorsport accepted for publication in its anthology series. The competition will be judged by Fiction Desk
magazine.co.uk; The Fiction Desk accepts original, unpublished short founder Rob Redman.
website: www. fiction between 1,000 and 20,000 words, and pays £20 The competition is for ghost stories between 1,000
motorsport per 1,000 words. Most of the stories it publishes are and 7,000 words. Writers may respond to the idea of
magazine.com between 2,000 and 7,000 words, and it prefers stories ‘ghost stories’ in any way they like, but The Fiction
about people and places rather than stories where the Desk prefers psychological chills to gore.
The People’s Friend
weekly story
emphasis is on a quirky writing style. All entries must be original and unpublished.
magazine awards Format all stories as a doc or docx file, in 12pt Times Enter all stories through the online submission
prizes for star letter New Roman, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and system. Stories should be formatted as Word docs or
and other letter page numbers. Upload all submissions through the online docxs, double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman. The
writers. Write to form. Submissions require a title, a word count, a brief document should have a header including your real
Between Friends. synopsis and author biography as well as the story file. name, pen name (if used), story title and email address.
Details: Between There is a rolling deadline for submissions, as The There is an entry fee of £8 per story, which may be
Friends, The People’s Fiction Desk starts work on each new anthology paid by credit or debit card or PayPal.
Friend, 80 Kingsway once the last one has been filled. The closing date is 31 January.
East, Dundee
DD4 8SL; email:
Website: www.thefictiondesk.com Website: www.thefictiondesk.com
betweenfriends@
dcthomson.co.uk;
website:
www.thepeoples Wisdom on wit and reported features.’ They Humour Section, submit the work
friend.co.uk also like features on ‘fascinating directly to editor Brian Boone:
A gift for writers with a comic comedic obscurities, current trends splitsiderhumorsection@gmail.com
David Cameron bent, Splitsider is a website ‘about in comedy, comedy history that’s No reprints or sim subs.
is reported to comedy and the people who create tied to today, and new forms of Multiple pitches are allowed.
have signed a
it’. Work published there ‘covers comedy.’ Show the editors that Submit by email to the appropriate
contract worth
up to £800,000
movies, TV shows, web videos, the feature is the result of good addresses. Writers are expected
with publishers books and any other format that research, interviews with sources, to send well-edited and correctly
HarperCollins for exists to make you laugh.’ ‘and backing up assertions with formatted work. Read what’s at
his memoirs. The The joint editors welcome facts’. Opinion pieces need to be the website and be professional.
book will appear in submissions of pitches for features. current and ‘have a very strong Payment and rights are discussed
2018 and contain Make sure the pitch is clear, angle’. Email non-fiction subs to: when a query is accepted and
a frank account of concise and to the point and will adam@splitsider.com finalised if the final piece of
his successes and run over 700 words. What the If you’re looking to submit a writing is accepted for publication.
failures at No 10 piece of humour writing to The
team want is ‘in-depth researched Website: http://splitsider.com
Downing Street.

The Haymarket
Media Group is The Story of a New Name
to sell its portfolio
of motorsports The true identity of international bestselling author Gatti defended his work, stating
titles, which Elena Ferrante (The Neapolitan Quartet) has perhaps that Ferrante forfeited her right
includes Autosport, been uncovered by Italian investigative journalist Claudio to anonymity when she published
F1 Racing and Gatti. In October in The New York Review of Books Gatti a supposedly autobiographical
Motorsport News, revealed that he believes the famously pseudonymous essay, Frantumaglia, in which she
to Motorsport
author to really be the Rome-based translator Anita Raja. quoted Italo Calvino saying: ‘Ask
Network, a
specialist online US Reportedly in the 1990s Raja worked as a translator me what you want to know, but
motor racing and for German publisher Edizione E/O, specifically for I won’t tell you the truth, of that
events company. the imprint Collana degli Azzurri, which at the time you can be sure.’
published Ferrante’s debut novel, L’amore molesto In an email to the Guardian
‘I was sorry to (published in English as Troubling Love). Gatti wrote: ‘I believe that by
hear my name Gatti used as evidence payments made by Edizione announcing that she would lie
mentioned as one E/O to Raja far in excess of what would be expected on her own “autobiographical” essay, Ferrante has
of the great authors, for her official role with the publisher. He also noted in a way relinquished her right to disappear behind her
because they have
that Italian real estate records show Raja purchasing books and let them live and grow while their author
a sad habit of dying
off. Chaucer is dead,
millions of euros worth of property in Rome at the remained unknown.’
so is Milton, so is time Elena Ferrante first became an internationally In The New York Review of Books Gatti wrote ‘...she
Shakespeare, and I bestselling author. and her publisher seemed not only to have fed public
am not feeling very Following the article there was considerable criticism of interest in her true identity but to have challenged critics
well myself.’ Gatti for invading the privacy of Ferrante, who famously and journalists to go behind the lies. She told us that she
Mark Twain argues that anonymity is a precondition of her writing, finds them “healthy”. As a journalist, I don’t. In fact it is
and that she would cease publishing if it were violated. my job to expose them.’

100 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p100 News/ Zine.indd 100 22/11/2016 09:41


50-Word Story is a
Canadian zine publishing
fifty-word flash fiction.
There are two new stories
every day, a story of the
week on Saturdays and
the story chosen as the
best of the month receives a small payment.
Editor Tim Sevenhuysen wants fiction in
exactly a fifty-word story, with ‘a beginning
and an end, a plot and character development
(even if they are only implied), and a theme,
meaning, or purpose of some sort.’
Submissions are open each month from the
1st to the 15th. Paste your story into the body
of an email. If the story relates to a specific
date or holiday, please put that in the email
subject line. Response time is ‘a few weeks’.
The story of the month receives Can$10.
Details:
email: Tim@FiftyWordStories.com;
website: http://fiftywordstories.com
Freeze Frame Fiction
is another digital flash
fiction publication, open
to any idea, any genre,
with a maximum word
count of 1,000. Fiction
is published online for
three months, then in illustrated ebooks the
following quarter. Some issues are themed.
It wants ‘a snapshot of a real story about
real characters’; no vignettes or scenes. Check
the themes and dates before submitting.
Response time is one or two months.
Payment is $10 per story.
Website: https://freezeframefiction.com
Inside The Bell
Jar is a new UK
literary journal
‘dedicated to
providing an honest
insight into the
complexity of mental illness’.
The editors seek work written by authors
and poets who ‘may have a direct link to a
mental illness (either because of their own
A godly endeavour
Pantheon Magazine publishes fiction, art,
photography, arts reviews and poetry,
covering ‘everything’.
And they do mean everything,
mentioning: ‘SF horror, literary,
bizarro, slipstream, noir, fantasy, sci-bi,
horrterary, litstream, noirror and any
p100 News/ Zine.indd 101
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE
struggles or those of a family member), or
at the very least show a deep, unique and
compassionate understanding of what it
means to be stuck inside a bell jar’. Stories
and poems should tell of the darkness in
which they are living.
The editorial team seeks poetry, short
stories and flash fiction ‘of absolutely any
genre.’ The only real requirement is that the
piece is ‘related to mental illness in some
way; through a character, the general theme,
something about the setting.’
Submit by email: poetry under 40 lines;
short stories, 1,500-5,000 word; flash fiction,
200-1,500 words.
Response time is ‘within 45 days’.
Payment is £15 for a short story and £10
for a poem paid via PayPal on publication for
first serial and electronic rights.
Details:
email: hello@insidethebelljar.com;
website: www.insidethebelljar.com
Psychopomp Magazine likes
fiction ‘that dares to redefine
traditional storytelling and
genre borders’, exploring
passages, transitions and
crossovers. The quarterly is
open to work in any genre
and theme, under 5,000
words or up to three pieces of under 1,000
words. Submission openings are irregular and
there is sometimes a fee to submit, so check
the website and submit online.
Response time is ‘within 2-3 months’.
Payment is only for competition winners.
Website: https://psychopompmag.com
Empyreome is a quarterly
zine publishing speculative
fiction from new and
established writers.
It needs fiction, under
10,000 words, 5,000-7,000
preferred; flash fiction,
under 1,000 words.
Submit by email in standard format, with
‘Submission: story title’ and the word count
other combination of the genres’, but
submissions must relate to each
issue’s theme. See upcoming themes on
the website. Fiction can be any length,
but brevity is preferred; reviews can cover
music, films and books, up to 1,000
words; poetry, up to three poems, should
‘explode with meaning and beauty’.
www.writers-online.co.uk
WRITERS’ NEWS
BY PDR
LINDSAY-SALMON
in the subject line and your details and bio in
the body, as an rtf, doc or docx attachment.
Response time is ‘within two weeks, but
it can sometimes take longer’. Payment is a
quarter cent per word.
Details:
email: empyreome@gmail.com;
website: http://empyreome.com
Qu is a literary journal,
published by the MFA
program at Queens University
of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Its guidelines are brief so the
work published online gives a
better idea of what is accepted.
The editorial team,
students on the MFA, seeks fiction, poetry,
essays and script excerpts. Submit no more
than 8,000 words of prose, or three poems.
Response time is reasonable. Payment upon
publication is $100 per prose piece and $50
per poem, for one-time, non-exclusive rights.
Website: www.qulitmag.com
Obra/Artifact is the new
graduate literary journal edited
and published by the Stetson
University, Florida, MFA of the
Americas programme. Obra is
the quarterly online journal,
publishing fiction, non-fiction and poetry ‘in
the expanded field’ (see below), focusing on
language, culture, art and travel. Artifact is
the print wing, publishing literary postcards
that readers can order to keep or send to
bring a spark of art to friends’ mailboxes.
Artifact cards are printed twice a year, once
in January and once in June.
The postcards feature prose of up to
750 words; Obra publishes prose of
750-4,000 words. Poetry submissions may
include visuals, multimedia, gifs, slide
shows, and audio-visual works. Submit up
to five at a time.
Response time is ‘reasonable’ and
payment is two copies.
Submit through the website:
https://obraartifact.com
Include a single-sentence explanation
with each submission of how it relates
to the theme.
Response time is ‘quick’.
Payment, via PayPal, is $5 per poem
and 1¢ a word for prose for print and
electronic rights.
Website: https://pantheonmag.com
JANUARY 2017 101
22/11/2016 09:41
 WRITERS’ NEWS

FLASHES UK BOOK MARKET

Spain’s Premio
Planeta de Novela,
Get ready to Impress
the single most BY TINA JACKSON
valuable literary
award in the world
given for a single Impress Books is an independent publisher that focuses on
book, has been previously unpublished writers of fiction and non-fiction.
won by Dolores ‘We mainly specialise in crime, historical and
Redondo for her contemporary fiction,’ said publisher Rachel Singleton.
novel Todo esto te ‘We do also have a non-fiction list which is mainly
daré. The award is about churches near us and biographies. We also have
valued at €600,000. WatchWord, a digital-first imprint, and that’s got a
Redondo has found mix: short stories, YA, thrillers. We’re moving from the marketing plan as I’m reading, I know it’s a good idea.
fame internationally
experimental side of things towards work with a commercial I like books that reflect cultural conversations people
with her Baztan
Trilogy, with the
edge because it’s hard to tell if the experimental stuff is good are having – but you have to join those conversations
first volume, The or not – it’s much more of a risk.’ at the right time.’
Invisible Guardian, Impress Books’ first title was the non-fiction Being Impress is moving more into commercial work because
published in English Luis, published in 2005. ‘It was supposed to be a non- that’s what sells. ‘I’m always looking for new crime
by HarperCollins fiction publisher but we started to move into fiction writing, and new historical fiction as well – to find
this year. – we wanted to represent new voices and find new something that has a new angle. I’d like to see some YA
authors,’ said Rachel. The annual Impress Prize is given fiction – it’s a very high seller. But it would have to be
Tom Oxtoby, a for an unpublished debut novel. ‘The Impress Prize gives really good. Contemporary fiction is harder to sell. We’re
former editor of really good unagented authors a chance for publication. looking for readers’ interest and engaging in conversations
the Woking News
and Mail, has
We’ve kept with the idea of publishing debut authors – and books that provoke those conversations.’
helped to launch and that started with us from the prize. It’s very much Submit via the website, including sample material or
a new hyperlocal about finding and nurturing new talent.’ a whole manuscript. Rachel advices writers wanting to
title covering the Impress Books is looking to publish 6-10 print titles submit to Impress Books to be certain about where they
City of London, this year. ‘All Impress Books are digital and we’re looking see themselves in a competitive marketplace. ‘I’d say be
called City Matters, for three new WW titles at the moment, but as the very clear about what you think your market readership
‘the brainchild imprint grows, that will increase.’ is and what your genre is. The reader needs to know
of publisher Rachel is looking for unputdownable stories. ‘I look at what they’re reading. Writers need to show that they can
Roy Court, a whether a book can seduce me and get me so involved market themselves as well – they need to be prepared to
former proprietor
with it I don’t want to put it down. I want good writing, do some work.’
of the City of
Islington News,’
strong characterisation and a good idea. Sometimes Contracts are individually negotiated. Impress Books pays
holdthefrontpage you do compromise and I’d usually go for the idea standard industry royalties and sometimes an advance.
website reported. rather than the writing. If I can think of a cover and a Website: www.impress-books.co.uk

Athens will be the

World Book Capital
for 2018 hosting
a programme to
include events for
Poems for Prole
writers, translators,
illustrators,
concerts,
exhibitions as well
as the promotion of
poetry via readings
and workshops.
Maria McGeoghan,
a former editor of
the Manchester
Evening News, has
been appointed
editor of the north
west edition of BQ
business magazine.
‘Most writers do
have one book
they’re known for
and it can
The Prole Laureate Poetry Competition is open
for entries for the 2016 contest. This year’s judge
is Macdara Woods.
The competition is for poems written in the
spirit of Prole magazine: engaging, accessible,
entertaining and challenging. The winner will
receive £200. Two runners up will each receive
£50. The three winners will be published in Prole
22 in April 2017, and online.
There are no restrictions on length, style,
or content. All poems must be original and
unpublished. Entries will be anonymised before
being sent to the judge.
Enter poems by post or by email. There is
an entry fee of £3 for the first poem and £2 for
any subsequent poems. Pay this by PayPal or by
cheques payable to P Robertson. Email entrants
should include the PayPal transaction number in
the submission email.
Fantastic Beasts ubiquitous
The Harry Potter prequel Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them, which
opened on 17 November, will become
a trilogy, at least, of its own.
JK Rowling, who wrote the
screenplay, said: ‘We always knew
it was going to be more than one
movie, and we said a trilogy as a
place holder. But I’ve done the
plotting properly and I’m pretty sure
it’s going to be five movies.’
The film is set in New York,
seventy years before the Harry Potter series and is very
loosely based on the spin-off book of the same title
which Rowling wrote in 2001. Harry himself reads the
book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt
Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne in the film).
Rowling recently co-wrote the stage play Harry Potter and
the Cursed Child, but the new film marks both the author’s
screenwriting debut and her first solo-penned return to the
© 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

be annoying at
times because it
doesn’t allow you
to move on.’
Louis de Bernieres,
author of Captain
Coreilli’s Mandolin
The closing date is 31 January. Potter universe since The Deathly Hallows in 2007.
Details: Prole Laureate Poetry Competition,
Brett Evans, 15 Maes-Y-Dre, Abergele, Conwy
LL22 7HW; email: poetrycompetition@
prolebooks.co.uk;
website: http://prolebooks.co.uk/

102 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

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 WRITEW
RS’ NEWS
L RI
VE T

IN
TR
UK TRAVEL MARKET

G
A destination for special
interest travel
N

W
K
BY JENNY ROCHE O W-H O

Chicken or egg?
If you are an experienced journalist, guide
book author or travel expert then you
have the best chance of being published in
Wanderlust magazine. If however you can
demonstrate writing flair and professionalism
you will still be in with a good chance. Should you arrange the trip first, or try
Published ten times a year, the to get the commission? Advice on timing
magazine aims to cover ‘all aspects of
independent, semi-independent and from Patrick Forsyth
special interest travel’ whilst leaving ‘the
crampons and adrenalin stuff to other
magazines’. Readership is 50% well- good deal of travel writing is what might be

A
educated females of all ages who are called information writing. It presents factual
fairly affluent and are active travellers. information about something: a place, a
Readers are mostly British although hotel, an airline or flight, though it may well
there are readers in over eighty countries worldwide. Wildlife, trekking do it in the form of a review, something that
and photography are the major interests of the readers. necessarily demands a subjective element –
The magazine content consists of destination features of 1,800-2,200 your view and experience.
words and topical ‘Dispatches’ of 700-1,200 words. If you have in-depth Consider an example: a hotel say. One way of going
and regional or global knowledge on a travel-relevant subject and can about this is simply to turn up, for a meal, a night’s stay or
write with authority then ‘Special Interest’ features are for you. There are even a holiday. You can then, if you wish, contact someone
also ‘Consumer’ articles offering a practical guide of value to travellers. like a public relations department and get a tour arranged
Articles on activity holidays, luxury hotels, resorts or spas, family travel, and see more (behind the scenes) than you would on a
one-off expeditions and trips to war or disaster zones are not wanted, and ‘blind’ visit. Or you can contact them ahead of your visit.
nor are ‘Big Trip’ diaries and previously published articles. Sometimes, of course, this may have the effect of arranging
It is advised you make yourself familiar a cost-free ‘inspection’ visit. And of course, on occasions,
with the style, tone and content of the this can be a delight: I must confess that normally staying
magazine and to help determine this, somewhere like the iconic Raffles Hotel in Singapore is
most of the articles from last five years beyond my budget; the only time I have stayed there it
are archived on the website and can be cost me nothing. Very nice too, but my visit also gave me a
searched by destination. On the website healthy amount of material.
you will also find general tips and advice But there is a dilemma here. Can you ask for a special
for aspiring travel writers. inspection visit only if you have an actual commission to
Payment rates for most magazine write something? Certainly this, which was the case with my
features is £220 per 1,000 words and £90 Raffles visit, makes obtaining agreement and cooperation
for 650-word ‘Fact’ pages. Fees for other easier. They may never have heard of you, but be impressed
pieces are agreed on commissioning. by whoever you will write for after the visit. The level of
Ideas rather than completed cost incurred, or not, may be affected by this too. On the
manuscripts are wanted in the first other hand being able to say to an editor that you have a
instance and these can be emailed or posted. special visit set up and that you will have access to things and
If you have completed a trip, are about to undertake a trip or have places not available to a regular traveller may well help get a
an idea for a different kind of feature, submit a paragraph outlining commission. It is a dilemma.
the story and the proposed first paragraph. Include details of any One thing that may make it easier to make an
tour operators which have been, or will be, used. If the journey has arrangement ahead of receiving a firm commission is
already been taken include up to five low-res pictures if available. the timing. There are moments when almost anyone is
With all proposals, include a note of any welcome; perhaps I exaggerate, you still need to make an
relevant experience you might have and approach professionally. But if a hotel has just undergone a
links to or cuttings of any previously refurbishment, if they are to host a major event or just are to
published work. Submit ideas by email: open a new facility of some sort, then they may well be more
submissions@wanderlust.co.uk open to approaches. The same is true of more than hotels:
Ideas can also be submitted for the for example, local (and national) tourist bodies have periods
magazine website. Narrative travel and events that mean for a spell they are actively encouraging
features are not used very often but blogs, writers to visit. Keeping an eye out for such can be useful
© 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

inspirational round-ups, guides and advice (and bodies like the International Travel Writers Alliance can
pieces are used. Send website ideas by provide regular information of this sort). All this is simplest
email: website@wanderlust.co.uk locally. If you know something special is scheduled at a local
Details: Wanderlust, PO Box 1832, attraction that may give you something manageable to go for.
Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1YT; website: However you go about this, the extra information you
www.wanderlust.co.uk/aboutus/writers get with some sort of arranged visit can be useful, and such
arrangements may just allow you to go somewhere cost
would otherwise preclude.
www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY 2017 103

p102 News/Travel writing.indd 103 22/11/2016 09:40

 WRITERS’ NEWS

Book Talk BY JOHN JENSEN

FLASHES GLOBAL FICTION MARKET
Bognor Regis Post
is a free weekly
A new light in the dark
independent BY GARY DALKIN
newspaper edited
by Adam Cunard.
Readers’ feedback Darkfuse Magazine is a new digital
is welcomed, as are magazine from leading US dark fiction
recipes with photos publisher Darkfuse. Editor Shane Staley
and news. is looking for original, well-crafted
Details: email: fiction in the horror, thriller, suspense,
tarryn.fellick@ crime, science fiction and bizarre genres,
sussexpost.co.uk; and will essentially consider anything with a dark slant.
website: www. Stories should be 1,000-15,000 words, with payment 5¢ per word,
bognorregispost.
capped at $100, for one-time web publication rights, non-exclusive
co.uk
archive rights and first English-language anthology rights. No
Frederick Forsyth, simultaneous or multiple submissions. No specific content guidelines,
78, after a dozen though avoid gratuitous sex, violence and strong language. Submissions
novels and 70m must be made via the online form at: http://writ.rs/darkfusesubs
book sales, said he To see the sort of stories required explore the Darkfuse website at:
was giving up on www.darkfusemagazine.com
thrillers because
his wife told him he

Excellence for Exeter

can no longer travel
to adventurous
places, the
Guardian reported. Exeter Writers Short Story address, phone number, email
Competition 2017 is open address, how you found out
The Times revived for entries. about the competition, story
its quarterly The competition is for title and word count and PayPal
lifestyle magazine all writers, published and reference number. The subject
Luxx with former unpublished, writing in any line should read SSC – your
Esquire editor genre except children’s. There story name – your name – your
Jeremy Langmead is a first prize of £500, a payment reference number.
as editor.
second prize of £250 and a Postal entrants should format
Academic
third prize of £100. There is their stories as above, and staple
Book Week also a £100 prize for the best the pages together. Pay the
(#AcBookWeek), entry by a Devon writer. entry fee by cheques made out
a week-long Enter original, unpublished to Exeter Writers.
celebration of short stories up to 3,000 words. The entry fee is £6 per story.
the diversity, Writers may enter by post The closing date is
innovation and or by email. Email entrants 28 February.
influence of should send their stories as Details: Exeter Writers
academic books Word docs or pdfs, double or Short Story Competition,
throughout history
is returning for a
1.5 spaced, with a clear font 202 Manstone Avenue,
second year from and the story title and page Sidmouth EX10 9TL; email:
23-28 January number at the top of each exeterwriters@gmail.com;
2017 following the page. The submission email website:
success of 2015. should include details of name, www.exeterwriters.org.uk

Simon Keegan,
a former weekly
newspaper editor, is
now editor of North
Double Daggers for Bill Beverly
West Business
Insider magazine. The Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold
Dagger for the best crime novel of the year
A Fleet Street-based has been won by debut American author Bill
digital agency has Beverly for his book Dodgers. Beverly was also
launched a free print awarded the John Creasey New Blood Dagger,
magazine called which is given for the best debut crime novel.
Faraday covering Peter James was honoured with the
technology news. Diamond Dagger, for
‘a career’s outstanding
‘The secret of
writing is knowing
contribution to crime fiction’, while The Cartel
when to stop by Don Winslow was the recipient of the Ian
because you Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the
don’t want to year. The International Dagger, for crime
bore readers.’ fiction translated into English, went to The
Anthony Horowitz Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaître, translated by
Frank Wynne.

104 JANUARY 2017 www.writers-online.co.uk

p104 News.indd 104 22/11/2016 09:38

 WRITERS’ NEWS

List-en to this Baen exploring?

Compose a top ten list on a particular Leading US science fiction publisher
topic and you could earn yourself $100 Baen Books has launched the 2017
with Listverse. According to guidelines, Jim Baen Memorial Short Story
‘you don’t need to be an expert, you just Award contest. Co-sponsored
need to have English equal to that of a by the National Space Society,
native speaker, a sense of humour and a the contest focuses on realistic
love for things unusual or interesting’. science-based stories of near-future
The readership of the site is 50% space exploration.
aged 18-34 years, 40% aged over 34 The grand prize includes Last year’s winner
and 10% aged under eighteen years. publication on the Baen website at Aimee Ogden
Lists most likely to be used are those that are offbeat, look professional rates, an engraved award,
at something in a unexpected way, have hidden knowledge and an assortment of Baen books, free admission to the 2017
show a good general knowledge about a topic. Popular topics are International Space Development Conference, a year’s
lists concerned with mysteries, secrets, facts or misconceptions, membership in the National Space Society, and National
history and the dark side of mankind. Anything that has Space Society merchandise. The winners, including second
uniqueness, simplicity, is remarkable and maybe has a touch and third places, will be honoured at the International
of humour will always be welcome. Not wanted are lists on Space Development Conference in May in St Louis, USA.
sports, television, films, music, the latest technology, self help, Submissions should be no more than 8,000 words and
personal stories or gaming. Original articles, infographics, depict the near future, no more than sixty years from
slideshows or ‘re-blogged’ content are also not wanted and now, of manned space exploration. There is no entry
neither are lists of an adult nature. fee, but you may only enter one story, which much be
Each item on a minimum ten item list should have at least original and previously unpublished. No reprints. No
one or two paragraphs and the whole list must be 1,200-1,500 poetry, novel excerpts or screenplays. Suitable elements
words long inclusive of an introduction. There should be at least include moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats,
three new facts in a list that are not common knowledge and it space elevators, asteroid mining, artificial intelligence,
is essential that every fact is backed up with links to reputable nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice,
sources which can be checked. It is advised you don’t use tabloid adventure. No fantastical elements, galactic empires,
newspapers and definitely not Wikipedia as sources. UFO abductions, or depictions of space travel or
Payment for all published lists is made by PayPal. If you technology as intrinsically bad.
mention when completing the online submission form that Payment is 7¢ per word. Email submissions as rtf
you have a blog, Twitter account or a book you would like attachments to: baen.nss.contest@gmail.com. Put
to promote this can be included at the bottom of your list SUBMISSION in the subject line, or QUESTION if
when published. sending an enquiry. In the body of your email include
Website: http://listverse.com/write-get-paid story title, full contact details and approximate word
count. Use standard manuscript format. Title and number
each page but do not include your name on the story file.
Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2017. Winners
Try your luck for Teignmouth will be notified by 8 March.
Website: www.baen.com/baenmemorialaward
Teignmouth Poetry of A4. The poet’s name
Festival Competition must not appear on the
2017 is open for manuscript. Online
entries. The open entrants should submit
competition which
will be judged by
their poems as a single
doc, docx, rtf or pdf
Write it BlÆkk
Mario Petrucci. All files, with each poem East London independent
entries from TQ12, on a separate page. Blyant Publishing needs short
TQ14 and EX7 Postal entrants should fiction for its latest anthology
will automatically be send two copies of each in the blÆkk series.
entered in the local poem, and accompany their blÆkk is Swedish for ink and
contest, which will be entry with a downloaded and the anthology is a hand-bound
judged by Ruth Gethin. completed entry form. quarterly which the editors
In the open category, there is The online entry fee is hope delivers ‘quality writing
a first prize of £500, a second £4.50 per poem, payable by accompanied by beautiful
prize of £250 and a third prize of PayPal. For postal entrants, the illustrations’. Each edition is
£100. The local category prizes fee is £4 for the first poem and themed, with the current call being on ‘Utopia’.
are £100, £50 and £25. Winning £3 for any subsequent poems, Submit short fiction, 1,000-2,500 words, of any
and shortlisted poets will be payable by cheques made out genre, with no limits on how you interpret the theme.
invited to read their poems at to Poetry Teignmouth. Submit by email, hedvig@blyantpublishing.com,
Teignmouth Poetry Festival The closing date is 31 January. by 2 January 2017.
on 17 March. Details: Poetry Teignmouth, Response time is reasonable. Payment is £10
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should be typed on single sides www.poetryteignmouth.com

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

Competition rules and forms

Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk or by post, with the ref code in the address, to:
Sally Bridgewater (Ref Code xxxxx), Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications,
31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. Remember to add a front sheet with full contact details (see Rule 3)
To enter:
• Dialogue-only Short Story Competition (see p39)
For short stories, 1,500-1,700 words, told entirely through dialogue; entry fee £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 15 February;
Ref Code: Jan17/Dialogue

• Open Short Story Competition (see p39)

No theme, 1,500-1,700 words; entry fee £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 16 January; Ref Code: Dec16/OpenSS

• Open Poetry Competition

No theme, 40-line limit; entry fee £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 16 January; Ref Code: Dec16/Openpoetry

• Subscriber-only Epistolary Story Competition (see p61)

For short stories, 1,500-1,700 words, in epistolary format; free entry; subscribers only; closing date, 15 February;
Ref Code: Jan17/Epistolary

• Subscriber-only Goodbye Competition (see p61)

‘Goodbye’ theme; 1,500-1,700 words; free entry, subscribers only; closing date, 16 January; Ref Code: Dec16/Goodbye

How to enter Poetry Competition

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

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

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

4 Competition Judging VALID FROM........................EXPIRY DATE ..................... VALID FROM........................EXPIRY DATE .....................
Competition judges will be appointed by Writing Magazine and the
judges’ decision will be final with no correspondence being entered into.
ISSUE NUMBER ................................................................. ISSUE NUMBER .................................................................

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

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

www.writers-online.co.uk JANUARY
JULY 2015
2017 107

p107 comp rules.indd 107 22/11/2016 09:37

 M Y W R I T I N G DAY
Writing MARSALI
My
day
TAYLOR
Shetland crime writer
Marsali Taylor shares
her writing routine with
Lynne Hackles
C
rime writer Marsali
Taylor needs to
structure her day well,
partly because her
husband is a composer,
also working from home.
‘We have to work at each getting the
time we need to be creative,’ she says.
‘We both work from 9-11, in separate
rooms – that’s my best writing time,
and his scales and limbering-up time,
which I’ve got used to ignoring. We
meet for coffee, then from 11.30 until
lunch time I take myself elsewhere, so
that he can do composerly things like
singing or clapping out rhythms. I’ll
walk up the hill, take a swim at the
leisure centre, work in the garden, give
our two ponies a brush or take the boat
out. We meet for lunch, then disappear
into our separate rooms. The afternoon
is for admin. I’m creative again in the
early evening but, as concentration
wanes I mess about putting pictures on
my Facebook page and researching my
father’s family tree.
‘When writing, my main source
of interruptions is my cats. Miss
Matty will spend time sitting on the
windowsill before walking on my
keyboard and then snuggling in the
crook of my arm. I can just about
type with her like that. I presume
she’s checking that my word count
will continue to keep her in Gourmet.
While this is going on, I print and
then re-read yesterday’s efforts,
scribbling better ideas in the margin.
My evening slot is enlivened by Miss
Matty’s daughter, Mademoiselle
Genie, who sits directly in front of the
screen at 7.59 precisely, waiting for her
8.30 Dreamies to be thrown down the
stairs for her to chase.
‘I promote my work as much as
possible. One recent gig was to thirty
bus enthusiasts in a beautifully restored
1960s coach. One of the enthusiasts
was my cousin Donald, so I offered
to guide them around Shetland (I’ve
got my green badge). Several people
108 JANUARY 2017
p108 My Writing Day.indd 108
asked if I’d take books and I ‘I find planning hard. It
sold the whole box. Another feels like wasting writing
was a recent “Meet our local time and if I over-plan, the
author” session in the Shetland writing isn’t as much fun. I
Times Bookshop, deliberately like being surprised too! I’ve
set for a day when three huge often changed the perp half
cruise ships were in town. I way through and then have to
had a lovely time talking to go back and rewrite.
delightful strangers. ‘I visit my settings,
‘Since I began writing preferably by water, as Cass
I’ve produced two historical does, and take photos which
romances and three detectives, I use as screensaver and
all unpublished, then four desktop while I write. One
published crime novels, with bit of planning I didn’t try
a fifth due out in November. for real was Cass’s voyage to
I’ve also written a history Scotland and back, at the start
of women’s suffrage in of The Body in the Bracken,
Shetland. It was meant to be but I had a lot of fun with
a pamphlet and ended up a charts and pilot books, tide
320-page epic. I transcribed tables, and internet pictures.
the diary of an old lady I knew as When I actually did that voyage, on a
a child in Forgotten Heroines
– she was an ambulance
driver with an all-women
“”
I find planning hard.
tall ship, it felt very strange, as if
I’d already been there.
‘I’m currently working
hospital unit on the It feels like wasting writing on The Tall Ship Murders.
Russian front in The research for this
1916. It’s a wonderful time and if I over-plan, the was really tough – a
read, switching from writing isn’t as much fun. I voyage aboard one of
dogged endurance the Norwegian three-
to flirting with like being surprised too! I’ve mast sailing ships from
handsome officers often changed the perp half Kristiansand to Belfast. I
at staff balls. I love loved it. I climbed up the
history, and self-
way through and then have mast, and set sail, slept in
published a half-length to go back and a hammock and stood at the
detective story set in Norse rewrite. helm – my husband was lucky
Shetland, Footsteps in the Dew. to get me home.’
I’ve also written a huge number of
plays for all ages of children (some are Website: www.marsalitaylor.co.uk
published by Dramaworks) as well as
adult murder mystery evenings. MY WRITING PLACE
‘My latest novel, Ghosts of the
‘I write in the far corner of our manse, away from my
Vikings, has my intrepid sailing
husband’s studio. Family stuff surrounds me – my mother-in-
heroine, Cass Lynch, dealing with the
law’s desk, grandfather’s cabinet holding remnants of great
hothouse world of opera singers. Her
grandmother’s wedding-present tea-set. Two bookcases
mother’s company is in Shetland on are filled with reference books and one wall has my clothes
tour – but naturally all is not sweetness rail and a shelf of hat-boxes, which is where Miss Matty
and light. Added to that, Norse and Genie sleep, to keep me company. It’s very light having
treasure has been found nearby and the two windows, with a lovely view down past the marina.
metal detector folk are out in force – Everything I need is within reach to save me from having to
luckily the site seems to be protected unwupple myself from my anti-draughts sleeping bag.’
by a mysterious Viking.
www.writers-online.co.uk
22/11/2016 09:36
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April 2016 - Writing Magazine 109

p109 next month.indd 109 22/11/2016 09:35

 n d m a ,
N OT E S F R O M T H E M A R G I N
Gra
WHAT BAD
BOOKS YOU
WRITE!
Lorraine Mace became a Wicked Stepmother
when her family started reading her crime novels
I
had an email last week that was
both pleasing and disturbing.
My step-grandson (Derek’s eldest
grandson) contacted me to say
he had read the first in my crime
series and loved it. He downloaded the
next three books before he’d even finished
Bad Moon Rising. He is spreading the
word around his university friends, so
I am expecting a small boost in sales.
Obviously, this is all good news and I
appreciated him letting me know.
The only problem is that I’m not sure
I want to be responsible for introducing
him to the kind of monsters I feature
as my villains – a serial killer with a
perverted Oedipus complex, a people
trafficker who supplies a paedophile ring,
a revenge murderer (at least that one
doesn’t have any perversions!) and a rapist
who enjoys torturing men.
I’ve known Connor since the hour
of his birth. I wrote funny poems for
him when he was seven. He was one
of the first readers of Vlad the Inhaler
at the age of eight. I helped him with
his English homework as he got older
and polished his letters of application
to university. I was the kindly figure he
turned to in times of trouble – not the
author of psychopaths.
My daughter won’t read my books
and my sister (who does read them)
won’t tell anyone I’m her sibling.
It’s bad enough that my son-in-law
boasts to his friends he has a mother-
in-law like no other. ‘After all,’ he says,
110 JANUARY 2017
p110 Notes from the Margin.indd 110
‘you’ve only got to read the opening
page of her first book to know she
doesn’t think like your average mother-
in-law!’ But do I really want Connor
to be known as the one with the ultra-
wicked step-granny?
I’ve been a stepmother for thirty
years and never once produced a
poisoned apple, a talking mirror, or
sent anyone to clean cinders, but now
I feel as if I’ve made up for all the good
years in one fell swoop. I’ve introduced
an innocent to the depraved world of
hard-boiled crime fiction.
That’s not the worst of it, though.
Connor has two younger brothers. What
if they, too, read the novels of Frances di
Plino? Mika is at the same university as
Connor, so it’s a fairly safe bet to assume
he’ll at least know about the books. I’m
hoping sibling rivalry will come into
play and Mika will avoid them simply
because his big brother thinks they are
great. The youngest brother is still at
school, so I won’t need to worry about
corrupting his morals just yet.
Hard on that thought came another
worrying one. I have grandsons of my
own. Tegan, the eldest, is twelve this year.
What if he discovers the type of book
Granny writes under a pen name? I sent
an email to my son forbidding him from
ever mentioning Frances di Plino. The
response wasn’t quite what I’d expected.
‘Mum,’ David wrote back, ‘is it time for
Michelle and I to find a nice home for
you with padded walls to keep you safe?’
www.writers-online.co.uk
Michelle! I should send her an
email, but then Jacob is only three and
obsessed with PAW Patrol. No need to
worry about him for a few years yet!
I’ve very nearly finished book five
and the villain in that one... well, if I
tell you the working title you might
get the idea. It’s called Love Hearts
and that’s because DI Paolo Storey is
hunting down a killer who removes his
victims’ hearts and cooks them. But he
only does it because he loves them, so
that’s okay, isn’t it?
You see my dilemma? I don’t want
to stop writing the crime novels, but I
need to prevent the younger members
of my family from reading them.
I thought I’d better contact my
stepdaughter and apologise. I went
through the whole gamut of emotions
before making the call. We’d always
got on well and I really didn’t want
to jeopardise that, but I had to let her
know her son now knew about my alter
ego. With trembling fingers, I picked up
the phone and blurted out the contents
of Connor’s email before she’d even
finished saying hello.
Silence greeted my words.
‘Say something, Fi,’ I begged. ‘Are
you mad at me?’
A burst of laughter nearly shattered
my eardrum.
‘How can I be mad at you?’ she said. ‘I
was the one who gave Connor your pen
name and told him to try your books.’
As the kids say: wicked!
22/11/2016 09:32
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