the new writer issue 117

What does a literary agent actually do?

January/February/March 2014Issue 117

Write a synopsisPrepare a manuscript

Create a character collageStructure sentences

Write for the ‘How to’ market

PLUS ALEXANDERMcCALL SMITH

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH

‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they m

ake as they go by.’ Douglas A

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January/February/March 2014 | Issue 117

Creative Writing Residential Courseswith Alice Oswald and guestsA wonderful opportunity to develop your creative writing with acclaimed poet Alice Oswald and her guest writers in the inspiring setting of Sharpham House and gardens in South Devon.Come and join us in a spirit of exploration to create new works on the theme of ‘Myth and the Natural World’.Enjoy the opportunity to experience creative writing as co-enquiry. Within a supportive atmosphere, you will be encouraged to give and receive feedback about your own work and others.Suitable for anyone interested in developing their creative writing from those just starting out to more experienced writers.

Alice’s six poetry collections include Memorial, Dart, (winner of the T S Eliot Prize for Poetry), and Weeds and Wildflowers, which won the inaugural Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.

In Sept 2013, she won the £25,000 Warwick Prize for Writing 2013 for Memorial (Faber and Faber), her “glitteringly original” poem, which is a reworking of Homer’s ‘Iliad’.

Book online at www.sharphamtrust.org or tel: 01803 732542

Dates10 – 13 April 201412 – 15 June 201418 – 21 Sept 2014

Cost £395 residential Some limited non-residential places @ £290 Limited bursaries are also available.Courses can be booked individually or as a series.

con t en t s

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Regulars

PublisherGuy Pringle

EditorsAlison GlinnMadelaine Smith

Guest Poetry EditorAnne Caldwell

SubscriptionsMel [email protected]

DesignPark Corner Design Ltd

Editorial ConsultantMerric Davidson

Digital ConsultantNathan Davidsonwww.digitaldavidson.co.uk

The New Writer 1 Vicarage laneStubbington, Hampshire PO14 2JUTelephone 01329 311419

All raw materials used in the production of this magazine are harvested from sustainable managed forests.

Every effort has been made to trace ownership of copyright material, but in a few cases this has proved impossible. Should any question arise about the use of any material, do please let us know.







‘All xxxxx.’ X

xxxxJanuary/February/M

arch 2014 | Issue 117

Cover photo © James Polley

Fiction & poetryK I TSU N E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2A short story by Simone Davy

P OE T RY SE L EC T ION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

P OE M ON A P O STC A R D . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

DIEBACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4A Readers’ Challenge response by John Bainbridge

SIL LY BIL LY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58A piece of micro-fi ction by Paula Fusco

W H AT ’S N E W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A round up of writing news and information

P OE T RY P ROM P T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

W R I T E R S’ B O OK SH E L F . . . . . . . . . . . . 47A round up of writing book reviews

W R I T E R S’ P ROM P T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 8

W R I T E R S’ GROU P T H E R A P Y . . . . . . 56Simon Whaley – Taking turns

W R I T E ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Your letters and comments

SU B SC R I P T IONS A N D SP EC I A L OF F E R S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

GE T W R I T I NG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

F I V E B O OK S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Author Alexander McCall Smith picks out the fi ve books that made him a writer

FeaturesA R E YOU A B OR N W R I T E R ? . . . . . . . . 8A Quiz by Glynis Scrivens

I SAW A H AW K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Caroline Beaton is inspired at the Pembroke College Summer School

M E E T T H E AGE N T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Madeleine Milburn tells us what Agents actually do

W R I T I NG GROU P P ROF I L E . . . . . . . .20Pencils & What-Nots

W I NC H E ST E R W R I T E R S’ F E ST I VA L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Judith Heneghan tells us of plans for the future

P OE T RY I N FO C US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Anne Caldwell – On Self Publishing with a Twist

How toW R I T I NG T O GE T H E R , W R I T I NG A L ON E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Character Collages

F I N DI NG A ST RUC T U R E . . . . . . . . . . . 16Jacqui Lofthouse provides useful hints

F I N DI NG T H E VOIC E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Jacqui Lofthouse explores this tricky issue

P I TC H P E R F EC T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Fiona Shoop looks at non-fi ction proposals

WAY S I N T O P U BL IC AT ION . . . . . . . .29Zoe Fairbairns provides a handy list.

T H E T Y P E W R I T E R IS DE A D . . . . . . . . 42Andy Key shares tips for preparing a digital manuscript

T H E R E A R E NO RU L E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Nick Asbury on doing it.

I N T R AY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \ 52Suzanne Ruthven looks at writing for the ‘How to’ market

W R I T E R S’ GROU P T H E R A P Y . . . . . . 56Simon Whaley – Too Scared to Go

OF F SC HO OL T H AT \ DAY . . . . . . . . . . 19Zoe Fairbairns looks at ‘sentence structures’

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W H AT ’ SN E W ?

Our regular column of news snippets and insights into the world of writing

Dreaming Spires

The Oxford Literary Festival takes place from 22–30 March 2014. The line-up and venue details are still in the process of being fi nalised and will be added to the festival website as they are confi rmed. The Festival features a week-long creative writing course.www.oxfordliteraryfestival.org

Dreaming Spires

New Poet in Residence at Dove CottageThe Wordsworth Trust has just announced that their new Poet in Residence for 2014 is Zaffar Kunial. Zaffar was born in Birmingham and currently lives in Sheffi eld. He was placed third in the National Poetry Competition in 2011 and was awarded a Northern Writers’ Awards in 2013. At the Wordsworth Trust he will engage with the thriving contemporary poetry programme, giving readings, taking over the monthly group the Dove Cottage Poets, and gaining inspiration from the visiting poets who regularly go to Dove Cottage. He will also be given plenty of time and space to work on his long-awaited fi rst collection.

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Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

Plans for the 2014 Festival are already well underway and for any fan of the Crime genre this is the occasion to put on your calendar now. Taking place at the Swan Hotel the Festival will run between 17th – 20th July. Confi rmed authors include Ann Cleeves, Peter May, Gillian Flynn, Sophie Hannah, S J Watson and Mark Billingham.For more information and to book email [email protected]

w h at ’s n e w ?

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Readers’ ChallengeUsing the theme of Summer Holiday we encourage you to produce a piece of micro-fi ction of no more than 500 words and to send it to [email protected] with the email header ‘Readers’ Challenge 117’. A selection of the best will be published in a future issue of The New Writer. Usual rules of submission apply and only one story per subscriber.










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10 New Year Resolutions for writers1. Read more2. Write every day 3. No time is no excuse4. Always carry a notebook5. Try something new6. Walk in someone else’s shoes7. Trust someone to read your work8. Give honest feedback to others

when they ask9. Get that writing out of the drawer

and off into the world10. Remember you ARE a writer…

Oh yes and…11. Renew your subscription to

The New Writer

Spotted!Send us a photo of you or a writing buddie reading The New Writer.

(Awaiting image – if all else fails we can use a British Museum image from Morguefi le))

Poetry at the MuseumThe Mary Ward Centre in Queen Square, London is running from April a poetry course with a difference. Each week the class will go to the British Museum and look at one particular object. With the notes students have taken in the museum, and the tutors background material, students write a poem at each session.

The course lasts 6 weeks from 29 April and costs just £45. There are concessions available.www.marywardcentre.ac.uk

Pure Bliss The theme for The Independent Bath Literature Festival 2014 is bliss: the feeling of pure joy and inspiration we get from the written and spoken word.

The festival takes place between 28 February and 9 March and will have more than 150 separate events during this period. Prepare to be inspired, cheered, challenged, moved and uplifted.www.bathfestivals.org.uk

newbooks Readers’ Day – a date for your diarySaturday 28 June 2014Join the newbooks team in Winchester for the third newbooks Readers’ day. Publisher Guy Pringle has run successful author events for the past ten years and newbooks readers look forward to the readers’ day which has become a regular in the calendar.

Alongside their fl agship shop on Charing Cross Road, Foyles have been steadily expanding across London since they opened their fi rst new branch in 2005 at the Royal Festival Hall. They now have branches in St Pancras International, Westfi eld London, Westfi eld Stratford City and Bristol.

In January 2014 Foyles will be opening a new store at Waterloo Station. Watch this space for more news later this year.

Author Jennie Rooney at newbooks Readers’ Day 2013

C H A R A C T E R C O L L A G E

w r i t i ng t o ge t h er , w r i t i ng a l on eCharacter collage


Writing together,writing alone

This is an exercise that I fi rst came across at one of our Writing Group’s Christmas Jollies. We had agreed to meet at a local hostelry for a few hours, intending to share some exercises before lunch. Most members turned up with notebook and pens, but one brave soul lugged in a heavy box, with promises to reveal all later. She was a primary school teacher so we awaited revelation with mixed feelings.

Get WritingDo try this exercise, either alone or with your writing group, and remember to send us the results, as they may be included in a future issue…

Also we’d love to hear of exercises that went down well with your group, or that you found particularly helpful as a starting place for yourself.

w r i t i ng t o ge t h er , w r i t i ng a l on eCharacter collage

thenewwriter.com 7

CON T E N T S OF B OX ( FOR A GROU P )Paper – preferably A3 and plain whiteScissors – several pairs, including children’s craft scissors as they produce zigzags and wavy lines when cuttingGlue – several sticks are best but a pot of glue with several brushes works tooMagazines – try to make it a good mixture, use fashion and home magazines, catalogues, in-house magazines, theatre publicity leafl ets – in fact anything with interesting images that you don’t mind being destroyed

L O C AT IONFor a group this works best around a big table.

M E T HODEach person has a sheet of paper and access to the scissors, glue and magazines.

I N T E N T IONThe idea behind this exercise is to try to bring one of your characters to life using only cut out images. It may surprise you; after all your character is well known to you, you’ve been writing about her for ages, but then you need to choose which shoes she’d wear, which bowl she had her porridge in, which chair she chooses for reading…

It’s amazing how often a character that lives in your head lacks any physicality. This exercise helps. You do not need to add in your writing that she wears brogues and listens to Classic FM while peeling potatoes, but if you know this about her it will help to create a more rounded person.

I found it particularly helpful when I was working on a story about four women. They had begun to merge together in my mind, and making a collage for each one helped to clarify their individuality. I stuck the collages on the wall while I was working on the story.

I L LUST R AT IONSThe images used to illustrate this page include collages about being a teenager, a woman unexpectedly falling in love with a vicar and a character who is at a crossroads in her life.

CONC LUSIONIt may seem childish, but it works. Have fun!

The images to create these collages were cut from a number of magazines over a number of years. No breach of copyright is intended by their use

a r e you a bor n w r i t er ?Glynis Scrivens


Are you aborn writer?Perhaps you’re not sure whether you can honestly describe yourself as a writer? Let’s face it; it’s quite an admission, it’s not like saying you’re an accountant or a teacher. They don’t have to produce a ledger or a classroom of students to support their claim, but you? If you haven’t had anything published there’s an onus on you to prove it. Even if the pressure is just coming from within yourself.

Answer the following questions, as truthfully as you dare, then see how you score. Once and for all, you’ll know whether or not you’re a born writer.

Here goes. Be honest!

To find out take this quiz devised by Glynis Scrivens

1�When�you�were�a�child,�did�you�regularly�lose�yourself�in�books,�wishing�you�could�stay�in�their�secret�world�rather�than�having�to�inhabit�the�more�mundane�one�your�family�occupied?�Did�you�check�your�wardrobe,�hoping�to�find�a�secret�panel�at�the�back?�Did�you�yearn�for�a�pet�monkey,�despite�never�having�known�a�real�person�with�one,�just�like�Barney�from�Enid�Blyton’s�Famous�Five?�When�a�cowboy�rode�his�horse�into�the�sunset,�did�you�wonder�what�lay�beyond?

2

Did you get into trouble at school for looking out the window? Were there times when the teacher asked a question and called your name, and you suddenly realized your mind was miles away? You had absolutely no idea what they’d asked you, and had to rely on the friend sitting beside you to whisper something or write a surreptitious note.

3 When you got your first job, did you keep thinking is this it? Bored even when you were doing everything that was expected of you? Wondering what job to apply for next? Knowing part of you would probably always be unfulfilled in a nine to five job.

4

Do you find yourself attracted to people who are creative, finding others a bit dull?

8

When someone asks what you do, do you hesitate? Your nine to five job is what you do, but it doesn’t really define you, does it?

6 Is your idea of torture spending a weekend watching golf or Indie car racing?

7 When you visit a new friend for the first time, do you check out their bookshelf to see what they read? Do you feel pleased if a new friend loves similar authors to yourself? Would you doubt your choice of friend if you found they didn’t have a bookshelf?

5 Do�your�friends�hate�watching�whodunits�with�you�because�you�always�work�out�who�the�killer�is?�Do�you�ruin�dramas�for�them�by�predicting�what�will�happen�next?�Even�if�you’re�wrong,�your�suggestion�is�plausible,�and�they�accuse�you�of�having�watched�it�before.

9 When�you�idly�ponder�who�you’d�most�like�to�meet�in�the�afterlife,�do�you�find�most�of�the�people�on�your�list�are�writers?

10Do you keep a personal diary? Have you kept one for years?

A�born�writer

a r e you a bor n w r i t er ?Glynis Scrivens

thenewwriter.com 9

How did you score? For every Yes give yourself 10 pointsFor every Sometimes, 5 pointsFor every Never, 0 pointsAdd up your total points.

Score of 100 – 170Let’s face it you were born to write. There’s no longer any doubt about it. Admit it from now on to anyone who asks what you do. Stop asking yourself if you are one just get on with it. You should be the one writing these quizzes not reading them.

Score of 80 – 100Secretly you know you’re born to write but are afraid to mention it out loud in case anyone makes fun of you or doesn’t realise how seriously you feel about it. You’re in the category of Uncertain. My advice to you is the same as above. Forget what others think; just write what is in you to write. The rest will follow.

Score of 0 – 80You should keep your day job and allow yourself to dabble to your heart’s content in your spare time. Seek like-minded folk, buy some writing magazines, and start keeping a notebook and pen with you at all times.

ST OP ! T H I N K AGA I NYou’ve answered the questions and added up your scores. Probably read the advice too, but there’s a problem, quite a large one. Why did you bother to answer these questions? These particular ones simply refl ect aspects of me and some of my own writing friends, our personal tastes and idiosyncrasies and habits. Someone else could have compiled a list of questions that didn’t include any of mine, but which still covered plenty of other writers. This isn’t a one size fi ts all vocation and never will be. Each of us is just the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that absolutely anyone can be a writer. You don’t have to be an absent-minded clutter bug. You could be a top sportsman and write sci-fi in your spare time, possibly a kitchen goddess like Nigella and draft notes for vampire stories between courses. There really is only one criterion for being a writer; that you write. It’s as simple as that. Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise, or tries to impose a defi nition. These quizzes are fun to complete – and to compile. But never let anyone tell you you’re not a born writer.

T I M E T O AC TIt’s time to stop dilly-dallying. Writing magazines aren’t an end in themselves, and quizzes like this are fun but shouldn’t be taken seriously. They’re simply a catalyst. Something to stir the creative juices. So pick up your pen and start writing. JUST DO IT.

Writing�chick-lit?

12

When someone is speaking to you, have you ever thought ‘I’ve got to use that line’?

16 When you read a magazine article or a story, do you sometimes stop and say to yourself, ‘I could’ve written that’?

17 Do�you�keep�magazines�and�books�beside�your�bed,�and�always�have�pen�and�paper�handy?�Are�other�things�more�important�to�you�than�being�tidy?

14 At�moments�of�crisis�or�high�intensity,�does�a�part�of�you�remain�detached,�observing�what�is�happening?�Not�something�you�can�confess�to�your�nearest�and�dearest,�or�they�might�consider�you�heartless.�But�something�you’ve�noticed�happening�on�more�than�one�occasion?

15 Have you ever accidentally eavesdropped, and then found the conversation so interesting you couldn’t walk away?

11 If you had to spend ten days on a desert island, and were allowed to take ten items, would one of them be a pen and another a large notebook? Would this be an automatic choice, one you didn’t need to think about?

13 Do you sometimes – secretly – relish the plot of some of your dreams? Wondered how your brain devised something so complex and intricate and so utterly unrelated to your everyday life? Do you close your eyes in the hopes of re-entering the wonderful scenario your mind has created?

pe m brok e col l ege w r i t i ng su m m er sc ho olI saw a hawk!


A HAWK!I SAW

businessman, Derek, and they were shopping for a dog as a companion for Lucy. My inner vision was this: Lucy picks out the perfect puppy, Derek buys it and then accidently runs over it and kills it. Lucy decides to divorce him.

My supervisor, Australian novelist Peter Salmon, emphasized the importance of asking the right questions about these characters—to know them well enough to presume to know what happened to them. I understood the concept. But that afternoon Peter had asked, “Does Lucy wear slippers?”

Irrelevant!!!

During my last week at the National Academy of Writing’s three-week summer Creative Writing program, I saw a hawk atop the grey wall bordering one

of Pembroke College’s fi ne lawns. I was writing in Pembroke’s coffee shop with my new friend Pam. I said, “Pam! Look!” She got really excited and went outside to investigate. I stayed inside to write. After all, I knew what it was. Defi nitely a hawk.

I ignored the hawk and wrote about a puppy getting run over by a car. My protagonist, Lucy, was a stay-at-home-wife married to a loving but boring

B Y C A R O L I N E B E AT O N

pe m brok e col l ege w r i t i ng su m m er sc ho olI saw a hawk!

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But that was before I saw the hawk. I was well on my way to killing the dog and destroying Lucy’s marriage when I looked again. The bird was a steel blue colour with penetrating black eyes. And despite my (artistic) compulsion to squash Lucy’s puppy, I stared at the bird, the fl at sky behind it and the immense stones in the wall, glued together with what seemed to be nothing but time.

Pam stood outside, squinting with her head cocked. The hawk preened itself. Beyond a wrought-iron gate, outside the College, tourists passed by. None of them saw the hawk, but tourists miss the most essential things. Like Pembroke College’s library, which reeks of timeworn books and resonates with archaic after-hours meet ups; the high-ceilinged fourteenth-century rooms above the coffee shop where my supervisions were held and Ted Hughes lived while studying at Pembroke; the carriage lot, the glorious six-foot thistle outside my dorm staircase, the magnifi cent birds—

I was pondering whether a hawk could kill the dog when Pam returned and reported, “It’s a pigeon.”

“No it’s not,” I told her. She laughed and said, “Yep, it is.”“Biggest pigeon I’ve ever seen”“I think the perspective is just weird,” she said. Looking again I saw that the bird was absolutely

a pigeon. “Maybe it’s an owl,” I said. “It’s a pigeon,” she said. Just then another pigeon

landed next to the fi rst, and both of us knew that was a pigeon.

I started writing again. I was elaborating on my clever symbol of the puppy when I remembered that my other supervisor, Director of the National Academy of Writing Richard Beard, had recommended deciding one’s “theme” last—or, better, never. More important are the story’s objects, people, places and events, he said; the theme assembles itself from these foundations. What he was getting at, I refl ected, is the art of capturing something as it is, not as you imagine, want, or create it to be: when the idea is forced, it’s fake (and nobody buys it).

I watched, with newfound fascination, the pigeons peck around and ruffl e their feathers. What a tourist I’d been! In frantic search of the exotic, we miss the familiar reality of what is common.

Yes of course Lucy wears slippers, I realized. She is scrupulous and defensive. Her slippers are yellow Kate Spades. She seeks to instill harmony in her home and her marriage and subconsciously understands that a new dog would disrupt both. Then I recognized what Peter and Richard had waited patiently, like mother ducks, for me to encounter myself: the puppy’s death wouldn’t destroy the marriage; its

In 2013 The National Academy of Writing designed a residential Creative Writing Programme hosted in the beautiful surroundings of Pembroke College Cambridge.

Students have full use of the facilities of the College while following a world-class course of study involving leading fi gures from the UK literary world.

In 2013 the programme welcomed Sir Michael Holroyd and Ion Trewin, Literary Director of the Man Booker prize, among the plenary lecturers. Alongside the lecture series, students participate in seminars, classes and small group workshops modeled on Cambridge University supervisions.

In 2014 the plenary lecturers will include Carnegie Medal winner David Almond, former literary editor of the Times Erica Wagner, Costa Book of the Year Winner A.L.Kennedy and Oscar nominated novelist and screenwriter Deborah Moggach.

Supervisions will be taught by award-winning writers Kerry Hudson, Christie Watson, Nick Hogg and Francesca Brill. The course convenor is the Director of the National Academy of Writing Richard Beard.

This course is suitable for writers of fi ction and narrative non-fi ction of all levels, and those with an interest in screenwriting.

A three-week programme (27 July – 15 August 2014) with an optional fourth week (15–22 August 2014).

www.thenationalacademyofwriting.org.ukwww.pem.cam.ac.uk/creativewriting2014

death was necessary to save the marriage!

Thus Cambridge taught me to revel in, and ultimately creatively communicate, the ordinary. The divorce drama I craved was not consistent with my characters—ordinary people trying to get by, to make a marriage work. I had learnt to stay true, as writers ought, to human experience.

When I recommend this program, as I frequently do, I emphasize not Cambridge’s world-renowned reputation, beautiful buildings, or name-brand instructors (all of which it of course has, making it both high-calibre and cool), but rather my personal transformation in how I see and write the world. What I remember from Cambridge is feeling both comfortable and humbled, I remember my peers with their playful passion for understanding and language, and I remember my nurturing yet demanding supervisors who encouraged me to persist as a writer.

In the end, Lucy forgives Derek for running over the dog. Their dog shopping mission has failed, but their marriage has not. While my writing still has far to go, the National Academy of Writing course at Pembroke College provided the components I needed to move my work from novice invention to full-fl edged reality.

All photography © Tim Rawle

short st oryKitsune by Simone Davy

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B Y S I M O N E D AV Y

KITSUNE

S H O R T S T O R Y

Reminiscent of old folklore, we liked the touch of magic realism in this story. The growing sense of mystery leads the reader through the story.


thenewwriter.com 13

lashes brushing her face. ‘I don’t know how you can walk around without

shoes.’ He looked at the soles of her feet as if they would tell him a story. ‘There’s a thorn, didn’t you notice?’

‘No.’‘How can you do this to yourself?’ His voice was

loud and impatient. He bit his bottom lip.Carefully he pulled out the thorn with a pair of

silver tweezers and smoothed the skin with cocoa butter. He looked up at her face, but there was no sign of pain. She opened her eyes. They startled him, as always, with their greenness.

‘I wish you’d stay,’ he said without thinking. ‘It’s not fair on Alice.’ He saw her wince.

‘I found a key ring for you last night.’ She took it out of her pocket. ‘Do you like it?’ A small jenny wren hung from a silver chain.

She often brought gifts; white and red berries in winter, apples, pears and blackberries in late summer. He’d find them scattered on the kitchen table or sitting in china bowls at the end of the bed. Recently the gifts had changed; rings, gold watches and tiny silver charms.

‘Where did you find it?’ he asked her.She took her feet from his lap and swung them

onto the sheepskin rug.‘Oh, along the road, someone must have dropped

it… I think I’ll take a shower.’ She dropped the wren into his lap.

‘I don’t want Alice to see them; I don’t want her to be like you,’ he said as he picked up the key ring and put it in the box where he’d been hiding her other gifts.

‘She’ll never be quite like me.’ Michael sighed and curled into the space where

she had been. With eyes closed and the sound of the shower near, he nestled behind the heavy cloak of a waterfall. Most nights he lay awake waiting for her to leave, and then to return. His days at the office were always tinged with tiredness.

She climbed into bed with damp hair, wearing only by a slight silky gown. He felt desperate to touch her, but she had not come to be with him or sleep.

In the past she had stayed the whole night. At those times he would wrap himself around her, taking in her scent; wood, moss and fern. But it was rare now. Tonight Freya was ready to flee from their bed at his merest movement. He kept as still as he could and wondered for the thousandth time why she had chosen him. The night they had met she’d lost her keys in the multi-storey car park, and without hesitation she had trusted him to take her home. As the car had spiralled down from level ten to one he knew that he had lost his way.

He woke up to the sound of Alice crying out for him. As he jumped out of bed to go to her, he saw that Freya was gone.

‘I was flying above a forest. It was really dark. I couldn’t get out,’ Alice said, shivering. Michael sat beside his daughter and wrapped his arms around her. ‘Where’s mum?’

Michael peered through the crack in the door and watched as his wife cleared up the chicken carcass from supper. He saw her pull out the wishbone, bite off

the sweet meat with her sharp teeth, and then lick the bone quickly with her tongue. He shuddered and let the door swing open into the kitchen – he wanted to distract her from her foraging.

Freya turned around, wiped her mouth quickly with her long slender fingers, and let her hands fall to her sides.

‘Are you coming to bed?’ he asked. ‘It’s late.’‘I’ve just carved up the bird to make a stock. I won’t

be long,’ she replied.She tiptoed lightly to the fridge with a bag of bones

in her hands - she never seemed to walk. He moved forward and circled her waist with one arm. He couldn’t resist stroking the back of her neck; downy and red. He had always been entranced by her height.

‘My hands are too greasy for that.’ She pushed him off gently, her chestnut eyebrows slanting downwards in gentle annoyance.

On the landing he glanced in at Alice. The nightlight placed her in a circle of pale gold. Her duvet was twisted as always in a heap at the end of the bed. Freya slept under a cotton sheet even on the coldest night. He let the duvet billow out over the bed until it was smooth and enveloped her as though he were placing the shell back onto a freshly cracked walnut. He pulled out her long red plaits and let them curl around her shoulder and lie undisturbed on top of the quilt.

Their bedroom unsettled him more than usual. His side was sparse, a spot light and a crime novel on the table with the book mark in the right place. Her side looked as though she had created a wilderness of scarves, jewellery and silver hair brushes, all tangled up with red strands of hair. A half-drunk glass of milk had turned sour on the bookshelf. He bent down, picked up some dirty clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket. The heavy velvet curtains were slightly open as if she’d peered out to check how dark it was and forgotten to close them. He threw open the window to rid the room of the scent and was startled to see his wife standing in the centre of the grass looking as though she were about to run.

‘Freya!’ His voice was a barbed wire fence, keeping her captive.

‘I’m coming,’ she said looking up at him, resigned. She shook her head, irritated at being disturbed again. She offered him no reason for being outside.

‘Shall I wash your feet for you?’ he asked as she came into the room. She never wore slippers or Crocs like other women.

‘There’s no need,’ she said. ‘I can do it myself.’But she came and sat down at the head of the bed.

She leaned against soft white goose down pillows, long legs stretched out towards his hands. He rolled up her jeans and rubbed the crevices and meandering streams that mapped her feet. She closed her eyes, her

KITSUNE



‘Sleeping, like you should be.’ He pulled himself away and tucked the duvet around her as she lay back down onto the cotton sheet.

‘Are you sure she’s here?’ He looked at his daughter’s rosy complexion and red hair, and felt cold. While her friends took street dancing lessons and turned decimals into fractions she danced around the playground and talked in rhymes. ‘Will she make me crumpets for breakfast?’

‘Of course. She’ll make you anything you want.’ But as he spoke he saw just the two of them standing at the hob, perplexed at how to make the holes appear as the doughy mixture spread unevenly across the pan.

They said goodnight and blew kisses to one another; a habit he hoped they would never lose.

Wide awake, he knew he wouldn’t sleep. The light from the neighbours’ landing sent shadows across the stairs. He tried to convince himself that Freya would be in the kitchen eating honey on toast. She had such a sweet tooth he would often catch her with her tongue around the honey dipper.

But she was not there. His anxiety grew as he noticed that the back door was wide open. The warm July air welcomed him and he sat down on the step, taking in a deep breath and peering into the darkness. He could hear the hum of traffic on the bypass and the quiet tapping of his neighbour’s cat flap. The conifers needed lopping; they stopped the moon from lighting up the garden. His head spun as if it were he that was running away.

‘Freya.’ He spoke too quietly for his wife to hear, but the bushes rustled as she emerged onto the lawn. A neighbour’s night light transformed the garden into a stage. He felt some relief at the sight of her, though this soon dissolved. She stood, transfixed, staring at him; those eyes told him everything he didn’t want to know. Then she danced; in the darkness her tail thrilled him as she turned it into a rainbow of bronze, copper and gold. Her smooth and gleaming body pranced and spiralled above the grass. It was hard to imagine her anywhere else but out with the company of the night.

‘Come back in,’ he whispered. He knew how easy it was to startle her, to scare her away. She stopped, poked her nose into the air, seemed to smell a heady scent, maybe spiced meat, and ran. It was as if he had stood up and promised to chase, catch and keep her forever.

‘I’m sorry.’ He listened to the sound of trees and bushes rustling as she ran along the back of the gardens.

He waited a while hoping that she would return. The dew settled on his slippered feet and a chill rose up and wrapped itself around his shoulders. Cold, he went back inside and left the back door ajar.

He looked in on his daughter. She was asleep now. He always checked on Alice when Freya was not there. He had read stories in the papers of men who woke in the middle of the night to find their wives and children gone. Then there were men who beat their wives to make them stay; he swore he wouldn’t become one of them.

Michael woke alone in the morning to find the sheets on Freya’s side smooth and cold to touch. There were no gifts at the end of the bed, no strands of red hair on the pillow and the room smelt of freshly cut grass.

He called her name as he went downstairs. He hoped to find her curled up on the sofa, but just a green angora cardigan lay on the arm of the chair. In the kitchen, the door had swung open in the early morning breeze. He could hear the sound of the refuse collectors dividing up bottles and tins. He hoped they wouldn’t wake up Alice.

Freya had not returned. He wanted to find her, tell her he could no longer live like this and then secretly slip sleeping pills into her camomile tea before she went to bed at night. He ran to the front door and opened it wide, hoping she would walk straight into his arms. The street looked as though it were moving; a milkman delivered groceries to an elderly woman and a girl skated by with headphones mouthing the words of a song. He wanted to shout at everyone to stop, tell them his wife was missing, and insist that until she returned the day could not begin.

As he stepped out of the house a neighbour, Jonathon, came towards him.

‘Morning, mate.’ Michael hated that expression. Jonathon wore a smart suit and looked as though he had something stuck to his tongue. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Fine,’ said Michael. What was he meant to say? ‘Took Tanya a while to get off. She was worrying

about Freya.’‘Why?’ As soon as he asked the question he wished

he could swallow it, and not hear the reply. He half listened as he watched to see if Freya would wander down the street. She might have just popped out to the bakery for a baguette wrapped up in a brown paper bag. It would still be warm as she broke off a chunk and gave it to him to eat.

‘Are you listening mate?’‘Yes, I was just…’ He held back the words ‘looking for

my wife’.‘Tanya saw her outside again last night. She was

looking in through our window. It was late.’Michael hesitated as he never usually lied, but for

Freya he’d say anything. ‘You’re wrong. She was with me.’

But she was not there. His anxiety grew as he noticed that the back

door was wide open. The warm July air welcomed him and he sat down on the step, taking in a deep breath

and peering into the darkness.


thenewwriter.com 15

Jonathon’s face puffed up and reddened. ‘Well, I’m just telling you. Anything could happen to her out at night on her own.’

‘I just told you it couldn’t have been Freya.’They stood looking at one another, shocked by the

sound of their rising voices. Michael was relieved to feel a warm hand slip into his own. His daughter leaned against him sleepily in her Mickey Mouse pyjamas.

‘Morning, Dad.’ He smiled down at her.Brakes screeched. There was a loud thud followed

by a piercing cry. His chest tightened until he could barely breathe.

‘Come on,’ he grabbed Alice’s hand. Together they ran down the road, his feet heavy – if only he could fly.

The fox’s green eyes were wide open, its fur deeply gashed, and blood flowed across the tarmac. Michael looked for a movement in her body, but there was none. The car window opened and he recognised the driver as one of the mothers at Alice’s school.

‘I didn’t see it, it ran straight out,’ she said.‘Doesn’t matter. Foxes are a bloody nuisance

anyway, aren’t they?’ Jonathon said, as he caught up with them.

Michael’s knees folded beneath him. He found himself crouched down close to her. His hand touched that delicate place between the eyes where the fur is

the softest. He breathed in her musky scent. He was no longer aware of his neighbour, or the woman who had killed her.

‘Is she dead?’ Alice asked. Her voice broke into his thoughts as he turned from the fox.

‘Yes, she’s gone. She couldn’t stay any longer.’ As he spoke Michael noticed that there were small white pearls scattered all over the road. He leant over and carefully collected them up in the palms of his hands. He was surprised by their warmth; they seemed to glow. He passed them one by one to his daughter until her hands were full.

‘You keep these,’ he said. ‘They were meant for you.’His daughter’s shadow sheltered him as he knelt

there, hollow with loss.

Kitsune: Fox (Japanese)Japanese folklore tells of vixens that are transformed into women. Their husbands, whom they entrance, have to live with the understanding that they will be left on their own.

Simone Davy won the 2013 Sophie King Prize for romantic fiction with her story New Flavours. Simone lives in Surrey with her family where she works by day as a Social Sciences tutor and by night she is writing a novel.

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t h e w r i t i ng coac hFinding a structure


Finding a structure

BR E A K I NG I T D OW N I N T O STAGE SSometimes the idea of coming up with an entire structure for one’s book can seem overwhelming, so I suggest breaking the process down into manageable chunks.

The tasks that might appear on your structural ‘to-do’ list might look something like this:

• Readthroughmanuscriptwrittentodatetoensureyou’refullyfamiliarwithwhatstructureisalreadyinplace

• Takenotesaboutthatstructureandaskyourselfwhatisalreadyworkingandwhatislackinginyourcurrentstructure

• Readotherbooksinyourgenre(whereappropriate)–orgenre-specificbooksaboutthewritingprocess–andtakenotesonwhatyou’velearnt.

• Readbooksonthesubjectofplotting–suchasSydField’sScreenplay(onecanlearnahugeamountfromHollywoodstructure)orRobertJ.Ray’sThe Weekend Novelist.

• Takesomefirmdecisionsaboutnarrativevoice.Howwillthenarrativevoiceworkoverthebookasawhole?Ifthereismorethanonevoice,howwillthevoicesbespacedacrossthebook?

• Getahugesheetofpaperonthefloorandscribbleabigmind-mapofideasfortheplotorspreadpost-itsoutacrossthefloor–anythingthatwillgiveyouavisualsenseofyourstructure

• Askyourselfthequestions(below)aboutyourwork

• Makeafulllistofscenesorchapters,includingthoseyouhavealreadywrittenandthoseyouhaveyettowrite

• Journalaroundthe‘holes’thatyoucurrentlyperceiveinyourstructure–howmightyoumendthem?

• Goforalongwalkandletitallfilterthrough…

Whilst I often write about the necessity for allowing a plot/structure to grow organically, it is also true that there are times in the writing process

when it becomes vital to think structurally. Indeed, there are no hard and fast rules about whether one should plot/structure a book in advance or during the process; it is all a matter of opinion. Whilst I would argue that if one plans an entire novel in advance - before one has even begun to explore the characters – one runs the risk of ending up with cardboard characters in an overly plotted world – at the same time, this risk can be overcome if one is willing to work hard on characterisation during the process of writing and also be open to plot changes that occur as one gets to know the characters better.

As there are no fi rm rules for ‘when’ to structure a book, let us assume that you have simply reached a point in your writing when your instinct tells you that it is time to get some structure in place. This might be your initial rough outline on a piece of paper, prior to even beginning or it might be something that you don’t develop until you’ve written an entire fi rst draft. This article is simply to give you a few tools to use if you are ready to put a structure in place for your novel.

InanewseriesofarticlesWritingCoachJacquiLofthouseexploresstructuresinFiction

Finding a structureFinding a structureFinding a

t h e w r i t i ng coac hFinding a structure

thenewwriter.com 17

QU E ST IONS T O A SK YOU R SE L FThese questions have links to traditional Hollywood narrative, so are not relevant to more experimental fiction, but most writers can gain something plot-wise from answering these simple questions.

1. DoIknowwherethisbooksitsinthemarketplace?Whoismyaudience?WhatgenreamIwritingin?

2. Whoismyprotagonist?Istheremorethanoneprotagonist?

3. Whatisthemainstoryarcoftheprotagonist–whatisthenatureofhisorherjourney?Whatchangesforhim/herduringthecourseofthebook?

4. Whatishis/herconsciousdesirethatdrivesthenarrative?

5. Whatishis/herunconsciousdesirethatisrevealedduringthecourseofthestory?

6. Whatistheincitingincidentthatspinsthestoryintoactioninthefirstplace?

7. Whatobstaclesgetinthewayofthecharacter’sconsciousdesireandhowdoesthecharacterovercomethese?

8. Whatarethemainplotpoints?(Aplotpointissomethingthathappensalongthewaythatchangesthecourseofthenarrative,forbetterorforworsefortheprotagonist–thisprovidesthestorywithupsanddownsalongthewayandmakesuswanttoreadon…)

9. Writealistofscenesthatyouenvisageinthenovel.Doeseverysceneyouhavewrittentodatehaveapurposewithintheplot?

10.Whatisthesub-plot?Isasub-plotnecessary?(Whereamoreminorgroupofcharactersplayoutasmallerdramathatechoinsomewaythethemesofthemainplot).

11. Howdoesthenarrativevoicefunction?Doesthereaderknowmoreorlessthanthecharacters?Isthisanunreliablenarrator?(OnelikethebutlerinThe Remains of the Day whocannotseethathelovesMissKenton,whereasthereadercan).Howdoestheunravellingoftheplotlinktothenarrativevoice?

12.Whatistheclimaxofthestory?Willtherebeananti-climax(whereyouthinkit’sgoingtoendoneway,butinfact,it’sgoingtoendanotherwayentirely…)

13.Whatwillbetheoutcomefortheprotagonist–willheorshegetwhats/hedesires?

See also Jacqui’s article on Finding the Voice on page 22 and her website thewritingcoach.co.uk

These are simply starting points for your story and in any individual story there will be many, many more areas for you to resolve.

Remember: the story is all the events that have ever happened to the characters, but the plot is how you order those events within the book. Anything that happens before the main plot begins is backstory and it is never a good idea to have huge chunks of backstory at the beginning of a novel. At the beginning, it is best to focus on current action and to allow backstory to filter in slowly at appropriate moments for the character.

For more advanced writers, some of the advice here may seem simplistic. The questions are simply a starting point for getting clear on your story. Of course, more complex story-models may include more than one plot strand or huge jumps in time or a specific plot device or rule such as ‘this novel takes place in the space of a single day’ or ‘the first half of this novel takes place in WW2 and the second half takes place in modern-day Tuscany – one story echoes the other and there are thematic links’. This point, in essence, leads to a few final questions:

1. Whatarethespecificrulesofyourplotthatlendyourworkoriginality?

2. Howdoestimeworkwithinyourplot?Isitchronological?Ordoesitworkinauniqueway(forexample,MartinAmis’sTime’s Arrow isthestoryoftheHolocausttoldbackwards).

3. Howwillyoushapeyourstorymasssothattheeventsfollowfromoneanotherinamannerthatislogicalwithintheframeworkoftherulesyousetup?

4. Whataspectsofyourplotwillmakethereaderwanttoturnthepage?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ with plot but if you have a clear sense of your intention, you are more likely to produce a work that is fully realised and immensely readable.

‘Ibettermaketheplotgood.Iwantedtomakeitgrippeopleonthefirstpageandhaveabigturningpoint

inthemiddle,asthereis,andconstructthewholethinglikearollercoasterride.’MarkHaddon

m ee t t h e agen t


What does a literary agent do?

character edit before submitting to publishers, and this process can involve a number of revisions. I won’t submit anything unless I am confi dent I can sell it. There can be times that are more challenging than others, for instance when a writer is out of contract or has just delivered the fi rst draft of a new book. I need to ensure that their work is at its best and support them through times when the market is tough or responding to a different trend. I also anticipate future trends and can gently steer some authors in a particular direction to ensure success. I carefully monitor the publisher’s edition of my authors’ work and act as a mediator between the two parties, discussing book covers, marketing and publicity efforts, always pushing for more. Publicity, particularly online activity and social media, is a team effort in this digital age so I like to work together in this respect.

N E T WOR K I NG Throughout the year, I meet editors from all the major UK and US publishing houses to discuss the latest trends, imprints, industry moves, what is working on a list and what editors are looking for. This means that when I am reading a manuscript, I will automatically have editors in mind for it.

A literary agent is a business manager. Aside from the day-to-day running of the agency, I would say there are four main aspects to being a successful agent: talent

spotting, author management, networking and deal making.

TA L E N T SP O T T I NGAn agent has to fi nd new talent to sell. This will keep an Agency growing and expanding. I love this part of the job and have found 99% of my authors in the ‘slush pile.’ I get around 50 submissions a day via email which I read on my Blackberry fi rst thing in the morning and last thing at night. Business hours are spent nurturing and doing deals for my current authors, so talent spotting has to happen outside these hours. That’s why I like to see a professional and concise introductory email where every word is relevant to the book being pitched. I attend writing events throughout the year and give talks explaining what I’m looking for and how to submit successfully. I also keep a blog on my agency website (www.mmla.co.uk) for helpful tips and news about my authors and their books. I want writers to ‘know’ me before they submit their work as I believe an author should have a sort of affi nity with their agent – it’s such a close working relationship, and you really need to be on the same page. A lot of writers feel very despondent when they get rejected, but most of the time it’s because they haven’t targeted the right agent for their work. I am also looking for writers who are equally ambitious and want to write long-term. In so many cases you only see success after four or fi ve books down the line, for instance Gillian Flynn and David Nicholls had published lots of books before their success with GONE GIRL and ONE DAY.

AU T HOR M A NAGE M E N TI handle my authors’ business affairs so that they can concentrate on writing. I also act creatively as a sounding board, editor and guide for all their work. This guidance happens throughout a writing career – a manuscript usually needs a good structural and

Madeleine Milburn tells us about the four key aspects of an agents work.

m ee t t h e agen t

thenewwriter.com 19

The key is to fi nd the most passionate editor for the book so that we can work as a team and do everything to ensure successful publications year after year. Foreign publishers receive so many great publishable books too, so I have to maintain my strong relationships at every major book fair (London, Bologna, BookExpo and Frankfurt), making sure my authors’ work goes to the top of their pile. It’s all about keeping up-to-date with international trends and what is working. I also meet with literary scouts who keep foreign publishers informed about exciting new talent, and I meet with fi lm producers and TV companies. I believe I am far more passionate about my authors’ work than anyone else, so this ‘direct’ selling can lead to great results. I also make regular trips to America to liaise with all the US publishers as I work directly in this market – it’s all about creating a huge buzz for each title.

DE A L M A K I NG I negotiate deals and publishing contracts, carefully strategizing which rights to include in each submission. For instance, I might only offer the UK & Commonwealth rights to a UK publisher so I can keep back the remaining rights and contract them to other companies around the world. I might retain US rights, translation rights, audio, fi lm and TV and merchandising as I fi nd that doing direct deals with each company gives me and my authors greater control over each edition. I have excellent contract precedents (‘boilerplates’) that have been negotiated over the years so I can ensure the best possible terms for each author including royalties, high discount rates, ebook rates and subright splits. Drawing up contracts, tracking and invoicing payments on signature, delivery and publication, checking royalty statements, arranging double tax exemption forms, reverting and re-selling rights, offering legal advice are all part of my daily activity. I am also exploring digital publishing platforms for my authors given the exciting opportunities now available in our digital age.

The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency was founded at the beginning of March 2012 and currently represents 30 published authors. Madeleine is always looking for new writers of literary and bestselling genre fi ction including crime, thrillers, mystery, historical, women’s, romance, humour, New Adult, YA, children’s and crossover. The Agency also represents memoirs and popular non-fi ction.

For instructions on how to submit to the agency, please go to the submissions page on the website (www.mmla.co.uk). We only accept email submissions: [email protected]

Madeleine Milburn has a reputation for launching new writers internationally. Further to graduating from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Madeleine has worked at the oldest literary agency in the UK and the most commercial agency, handling the translation rights to three No.1 bestselling authors. She has been a Rights Director, Deputy MD of Children’s Books and a Primary Agent

w r i t ers’ grou p prof i l ePencils and What-Not


Pencils and What-Not

OU R M E E T I NG SChaired by Carole Hastings, we get together on the third Tuesday of each month to share our writings.

The agenda usually includes a ‘Spotlight’ session where members give feedback on work that has been circulated during the month. We also all share what we have learnt on individual workshops and courses since the last meeting. We decided this was important so that everyone could contribute to our group learning. Another regular feature is the technical writing segment, set by Hilary Gregory.

The technical writing segments are both thought-provoking and informative, with subjects ranging from innovative ways to harness metaphor, so that the reader is involved in working out the story from subtle clues within the prose, to using the subconscious mind to steer the development of plot outline and form. This technique frees the imagination, inspiring creative ideas, whilst delaying the critical voice, so that the more whimsical right-side brain can be heard.

Our competitions advisor, Kirsty Whittle, provides a list of places where our writing can be sent, from magazines and online sites to well-known nationwide and global competitions.

A ‘buddying’ system, with a change-around every four months, was introduced so that we could work in smaller, more intimate groups. The buddy groups are chosen at random by a draw, so that we can benefit from a range of viewpoints. At each meeting the Buddy Group leaders report back, keeping us all up-to-date with progress.

During the Personal Development sessions, our host Anne Ponsonby inspires us with her invaluable

Writing can be a solitary occupation. It can be challenging. A writer knows this and understands another writer, like no other can. Days might be

spent living in other worlds, conjuring the perfect sentence. When writers unite, they instinctively bond and as mutual trust and respect grow, the writer’s group evolves.

Pencils and What-not is such a group.The name of the group was chosen from a line in

A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh:“This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-

rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.” EeyoreAs Eeyore casts his gloomy eye over Winnie the

Pooh’s little instruction book, he beautifully captures the understated nature of writing, where writing is, in truth, the universal medium from which we make so many discoveries.

Perhaps there are some days when the Eeyore in all of us presides over our endeavours, but for the most part our perseverance is rewarded.

Probably the most ‘organised’ Writing Group ever!

‘… as with all goodmeetings there is alwaystime for discussion andmost importantly, tea…and sometimes cake!’

w r i t ers’ grou p prof i l ePencils and What-Not


insights into fulfi lling our aspirations and developing our talent – for example, a brilliant way to plan and proceed with any project in life is to start with a mind map. ‘Mind Mapping’ is a visual method of recording knowledge as it fl ows. It can be used during moments of writer’s block to brainstorm and locate specifi c areas in life which are prohibitive to progression. It’s also useful for evolving plots or writing a synopsis.

Finally, as with all good meetings there is always time for discussion and most importantly, tea… and sometimes cake!

T H E A I M S OF OU R GROU P• To provide a fair and resourceful environment for

the mutual exchange of constructive criticism.• To glean honest appraisal, which recognises

the authentic style of each individual, whilst encouraging their growth.

• To fi nd direction and focus when experiencing blocks and test out ideas for different material.

• To support one another and encourage individual projects and goals.

• To write.

T H E B O OK S In 2011 the What-Nots published an anthology of their work Writing and What-Not. This book was a celebration of the group’s united passion for writing and was so successful locally that they decided to do it all again and in 2012 produced Journeys and What-Not.

At the moment the What-Nots are saying ‘never again’ when anyone asks if they will be producing a third anthology, but I suspect that it won’t be long before their thoughts turn to ‘just one more’ publication.

www.pencilsandwhat-not.com@PencilsWhat

Try thisThe What-Nots share an exercise that has worked for them:

Each meeting we do a spontaneous piece of writing using a quote pulled from biscuit time [appropriate for us!] which gets everyone into writing something fresh from scratch then and there.

Sometimes members develop these into short stories or poems while others just enjoy the challenge and the fl exing of their writing muscles.

OUR GOALS

‘We write for ourselves andeach other, for our familiesand friends and, for some… to reach a wider audience.’

Try this

t h e w r i t i ng coac hFinding the voice


Finding the voıce

the way of our authentic voice. If we're telling rather than showing, if we're writing stilted dialogue, if our descriptions are laden with clichés, if we are writing fl at characters - or if we are writing a business book littered with dry facts - then our voice can't shine. Voice, in other words, is something that we do have to work to develop. It can only develop through reading, through immersing ourselves in books and in experience. We're often told 'you are what you eat'. Perhaps as a writer 'you are what you read' and 'you are what you experience' and 'you are what you imagine'. But you can experience and imagine all you like - if you don't read widely, how will you develop a voice that will allow your own authentic expression to emerge? Am I saying that 'you already have an amazing authentic voice that will emerge automatically if you can just access it' and also 'you need to read widely and study and get a grip on technique and get some feedback if you're going to have a decent writing voice'? Yes, I am.

Finding your voice is, in effect, a two-fold process. It comes from your own unique perspective on the world and on your story. It also comes from a fi rm grip of technique, which in turn comes from wide reading and your own instinctive responses to what you read. To fi nd your own voice, you do also need to ‘read like a writer’. You need to be able to read another author’s work with an awareness of how they are achieving a particular effect in the reader. Ask yourself questions as you read such as: ‘how does this author achieve such closeness to the character within a third person narration? Is it by using a deeply effective “free indirect style” (or what I would call a “close third person narrative” – the former phrase is used by James Wood in the excellent How Fiction Works) and if so – how does that work at an individual sentence level?”

Yet when you are writing, it is also key that you do not obsess about technique. When you are in the

When we speak about ‘fi nding the voice’ in our writing, we are talking about many aspects of our work. Whilst individual writers are often

known for a characteristic style – you’d recognise a Salman Rushdie from a Margaret Atwood for example – at the same time, writers also develop the ‘voice’ for a single book. That voice might be a particular fi rst person narrative voice or else it might be a third person narrative that is in a style distinctive to that work alone.

If we look, for example, at the recent Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad, the author Jennifer Egan utilises different narrative voices (based around interlinked characters within the book) for different chapters. It is a brilliant example of a melding of a traditional narrative voice with a fragmented, more modernist structure. The author has mastered both her story and her style. Yet we still recognise every chapter as fi tting with the last – partly because of story cohesion, but also because of a cohesion of style. We recognise the voice of Jennifer Egan, beneath it all.

How do we develop a voice that is uniquely our own, yet also right for an individual book? To an extent, voice is organic. For example, in my own work, I might not always be immediately aware of links between my own books – yet a reader might say ‘yes, I recognise this as yours’. That reader might recognise a coherence of theme (for example, my fi rst three books all dealt with people obsessed by their past, even though the subject matter of the books were entirely different from each other) or a turn of phrase or a choice of character-type. Much of this may go on sub-consciously. But what we are interested in here is how we develop voice and get it right in our work.

It is not possible to give precise technical rules about ‘fi nding voice’, however bad technique gets in

Jacqui Lofthouse on fi nding voice for your fi ction

t h e w r i t i ng coac hFinding the voice

thenewwriter.com 23

process of discovering your characters and your world, what matters more is your own immersion in the world of the novel. You need to believe it, to see it, to smell it, if you are to take us to that place. When you are using your right-brain, when you are freely creative, you want to avoid technique-obsession at all costs. It’s important that you live and breathe your story. Later, in editing mode, you can fine-tune the voice. You can look at what you have written in a more objective manner and say ‘What am I doing with technique here? Does it work? Can I improve upon it?’

When I’m writing any individual novel, I always say that ‘finding the voice’ of that work is one of the most essential tasks in the early part of the writing. Depending on whether you’re more of an organic writer or a planner, you might want to let the voice emerge naturally or take decisions in advance about the voice. For example, one can plan ‘a first person narrative from the priest’s perspective’, but early in the writing process, you might realise that the priest was brought up in a small Cornish village and his father was a keen birdwatcher – and that was something you hadn’t planned for, but it has an impact upon the voice, because he might use frequent bird metaphors or he might be terribly shy because he spent so much time in nature but was rarely around people… We are talking characterisation here, but character affects voice, especially where we have a first person narrative. So it is important to be open to change in the process of writing, even if you are a natural planner.

In the end, your voice is ‘who’ you are as a writer and the voice of an individual book is how you choose to use that ‘who’ in this single work – what aspects of yourself and your writerly skill you draw on. The following exercise aims to encourage you to look at your own developing voice as a writer.

Jacqui Lofthouse has taught creative writing in a broad variety of settings, and in 2005 founded The Writing Coach (www.thewritingcoach.co.uk) Her aim was to create a mentoring and consulting service that was personal and took account of the needs of the individual writer. Her mission was to help writers to produce their best work and get it into print.

Exercise • Find a piece of work that you have written

in the past – say a year or so ago – and read it, focussing on the ‘voice’ that emerges. What do you notice?

• Now read an extract from your current work – something you wrote, say, a month ago.

• Do you notice any similarities of voice? Themes that emerge? Techniques that are repeated?

• Does this teach you anything about yourself as a writer? How can you develop your instinctive voice?

‘A writer’s voice is not character alone, it is not style alone; it is far more. A writer’s voice… is the thumbprint of her whole person – her idea, wit, humour, passions, rhythms.’ Patricia Lee Gauch

w i nc h est er w r i t ers’ f est i va lJudith Heneghan


Winchester Writers’ Festival

year. Founded by Barbara Large, MBE, its aims are to nurture and inspire writers from all walks of life to produce work of the highest quality, fi nd the best route to publication and so reach those all-important readers and audiences. Over 60 literary agents, commissioning editors, best-selling authors and other industry experts are on hand to help writers develop their craft in a wide range of workshops, day-long masters’ courses and 45 separate talks as well as hundreds of one-to-one appointments.

This year the Festival takes place over three days from 20–22 June. It is also my fi rst as Director and I am

Every June, after students have departed for the summer, the University of Winchester throws open its doors to several hundred emerging writers from the UK and overseas.

The lecture rooms, the bar, the cafés and the dining hall buzz with writing talk. Delegates sit on the steps in the sun or stroll about the bright open spaces, discussing their writing, thinking about writing and, as you might expect, actually writing.

The University of Winchester Writers’ Festival (previously known as the Winchester Writers’ Conference) is, rather wonderfully, now in its 34th

B Y J U D I T H H E N E G H A N

Newly appointed Festival Director Judith Heneghan tells us about her plans for the recently renamed Winchester Writers’ Festival.

Writers’ Festival

w i nc h est er w r i t ers’ f est i va lJudith Heneghan

thenewwriter.com 25

hugely excited to be shaping its future, working with Festival Manager Sara Gangai, our speakers and our hard-working volunteers. Nevertheless, I can’t deny experiencing the odd butterfl y.

‘You’ll be fi ne,’ remarked one editor as we chatted over coffee. ‘You’re a writer!’

Certainly, when I think about the Festival delegates, often sharing precious work for the fi rst time, I know how it feels. Writing can be an isolating experience. I’ve witnessed the process from various angles: fi rst as a commissioning editor with Hodder, then more recently as a lecturer in creative writing and a children’s author. When I’m writing, I’m locked inside my head, dealing with the unknown in a very private space yet we all need the support and encouragement of others.

So I reached for my notebook and asked people what they looked for in the Festival. Their thoughtful responses refl ect its warm, nurturing ethos. Delegates value constructive feedback and targeted advice but they also hope to leave enthused and energised with new ideas, strategies and contacts. The Festival sustains them through the months of writing ahead.

The range of options means delegates can tailor their own programme. All genres and forms of writing are represented across the Festival’s three days: literary fi ction and fantasy, crime and horror, historical and romance. Poets, script and nonfi ction writers mingle with the novelists, children’s writers and ‘fl ash’ specialists. Some are taking charge of their own publishing while others seek representation by an agent. Increasingly, delegates and speakers advocating independent publishing are refi ning a portfolio approach that complements more traditional routes.

This year, the format enables delegates to attend on any single day as well as the whole weekend. Friday masters’ courses such as ‘The Perfect Pitch: how to pitch your book and fi nd an agent’ with Madeleine Milburn of the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency (see page 26) and ‘Take Risks With Your Writing’ with best-selling novelist Jasper Fforde are designed with the more experienced writer in mind and can be combined with a couple of one-to-one appointments. Sunday workshops are geared towards specifi c genres and are suitable for less experienced writers, while the Saturday talks and one-to-ones offer a huge range of options with agents, authors, editors, marketing and social media experts. This year sees plenty of new faces including Anne Clark

of the Anne Clark Literary Agency, award-winning YA novelist Mark Lowery, blogger and author Emily Benet, contemporary romance novelist Julia Williams and Sallyanne Sweeney from Mulcahy Associates.

Everyone is energised by good news when it follows. A writer fi nds an agent. An editor requests a full manuscript. A book is published or a fresh idea takes root. With the latter in mind, we are introducing ‘writing rooms’ where delegates can respond to a series of writing prompts in a quiet space.

The Scholarship Programme is another new development for 2014. This initiative is designed to support young writers who might not otherwise be able to take advantage of all that the Festival has to offer. This year we are awarding 10 scholarship places to emerging writers aged between 18 and 25 to cover attendance fees (excluding travel and accommodation). Young writers are encouraged to apply by email to [email protected] before the deadline of 31 March with a short statement of up to 250 words outlining writing interests and experience, as well as what you would hope to get out of the Festival. Do insert ‘Festival Scholarship Application’ as the message title and include details such as postal address, telephone number and date of birth. The smaller bursaries for those in need will also continue.

For those unable to attend the Festival in person, there are other ways to participate and get their writing noticed. Our ten competitions draw hundreds of applicants from across the UK and are open to everyone, including non-delegates, for a small fee to cover administration costs. Every entrant receives valuable written feedback from a highly experienced adjudicator. Prize winners see their entries published in The Best of… Festival anthology.

It’s not all work, of course. Many delegates take time out of their busy schedule to refl ect and relax. The book fair is full of tempting treats, often signed by our guest speakers. Author talks and an open mic on the Friday evening provide an occasion to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ endeavours. There’s a celebratory dinner on the Saturday night and of course Winchester itself is the most inspirational of settings. From my window on campus I can see the imposing roof of the Cathedral with the backdrop of the South Downs behind. On a warm day it’s not unusual to fi nd delegates, notebooks in hand, sitting amongst the daisies and the angels in St James Cemetery as they admire the view. The gardens of the local pubs aren’t half bad, either.

The Festival brings writers together to share the joys and challenges of creative endeavour, hone their craft and make those vital connections with the publishing world in a supportive environment. It’s stimulating, it’s intense and it’s great fun. Never mind the butterfl ies – I can’t wait!

For more information please visit our website at www.writersfestival.co.uk or contact the Festival Manager at [email protected] if you would like to be added to our mailing list. You can also follow us on Twitter @UniWinFest

fa l l en a ngel sJo Carroll


B Y J O C A R R O L L

Winner of our Life Writing Competition ‘And then I Laughed’

FALLENANGELS

fa l l en a ngel sJo Carroll


Three days in a boat, my daughter said. Most people sleep in hammocks at the foot of Angel Falls, but there are beds for the aging. She meant me.

A cruise to the highest waterfall in the world. A restful introduction to Venezuela, I thought. Surely my daughter, resident in Caracas, would not take her mother to unruly places. She presumed I would read a Lonely Planet before leaving home. Had I read the guidebook I’d have known that Conan Doyle was suffi ciently entranced by the area to make it his setting for The Lost World.

We gathered, an assortment of travellers, by the tea-brown water of Laguna de Canaima – a peaceful stretch where birds paddled and ripples kissed the shore. It was too hot for introductions. In the stupor of early afternoon our guide, a lithe Guyanan, with the unlikely name of Kevin, gave brisk instructions.

‘You might get wet,’ he said. ‘Pack what you need for three days; leave the rest here.’ I looked at Tessa. She nodded at me. As if I should have known.

He gave us two black plastic bags. Would we need towels? Toilet paper? Books?

We were led down a sandy track to fi nd, not a luxury boat, but a dug-out canoe. Kevin handed out life-jackets and we climbed in to sit, two in each row, low enough to dangle fi ngers in the water. I glanced at Tessa; she shrugged her reply.

He yanked the engine into life; the canoe lurched from its moorings and instantly tipped. We sped across the lake and up the Catoni river with cascades of water swimming around our feet. My shoes – comfortable sandals, bought for the occasion – were drowned. I grabbed my plastic bag, cuddled it, to protect it from the water. Kevin gave us an “I did warn you” look. Every change of direction threw water over the sides; every rapid (the river is full of rapids) brought sheets of water over our heads. Then it rained: tropical rain, hammering on our hoods and almost burying the roar of the engine. Hours collapsed in a puddle of discomfort.

We stopped as night fell. The relief of unfurling cramped legs, sloshing into camp and rifl ing through plastic bags for – a miracle – dry clothes! We found beds in a hut with no door. There was hot coffee, pungent and reviving, and then supper (rice and fried fi sh).

For the fi rst time we talked, my fellow-travellers and I. There was a couple from Lithuania, in matching t-shirts. A young Venezuelan had brought his German girlfriend. A Frenchman cleared our plates and lined up paper cups. We drank rum and slept unexpectedly well.

We were woken by a fl ock of birds shrieking across the campsite. The sun peeked through the trees as we gathered for breakfast: omelette and maize cakes. Ballast, I decided. The coffee was thick and bitter, and dealt with a lingering headache from the night before.

Jo Carroll gave up work in her mid-50s to go round the world, setting off with little but optimism and a notebook. She returned with more stories than people to listen to them. Her adventures are told in Over the Hill and Far Away. With that book launched, she set off again… and again. Details of her travels can be found at www.jocarroll.co.uk

Winner of our Life Writing Competition ‘And then I Laughed’

Clad in clammy clothes we returned to the canoe. The rain had stopped, but the challenges of the river ensured that we stayed soggy. Only now did I become aware of the bruises on my bottom. I shuffl ed from buttock to buttock to ease the discomfort. Kevin scowled. At least the lack of rain made this journey less miserable than yesterday’s. We could raise our heads and gaze at the jungle. We passed mile after mile of dense forest, with occasional clearings for native villages – wooden huts on poles driven deep into the mud along the riverbank.

Two hours later we arrived at a camp near the foot of the falls. Kevin cooked lunch (rice and fried fi sh). The river burbled, like Radio Four talking quietly; a green kingfi sher darted across the water. But our attention was elsewhere: on the other side of the valley we could see Angel Falls, rising from the forest and hiding its head in the clouds. It was oddly hypnotic – and precious, for being so remote and majestic and beautiful.

It was time to explore the Falls. As the clouds on the mountain-top began to dissipate we set off to climb through the rainforest to the river. There was the rank smell of mud and dripping trees, an orchestra of insects and the steady drone of puffi ng.

Our fi rst encounter with the Falls came in a tiny clearing where we jostled for space to take photographs. My well-read companions were disappointed that the “double rainbow” promised in their guidebooks was not shining today. I concentrated on my camera, needing to prove I’d made it this far. For we were still half a mile away from the water – and even here the roar of the Falls was so loud it drowned talking.

Kevin rushed us on. When we reached a second clearing his urgency made sense. Angel Falls has an uninterrupted drop of eight hundred metres, then smashes onto rocks and tumbles over boulders to reach the valley fl oor. Hidden among the roaring, foaming water is a pool, fi fty metres wide, where we could swim. Had we arrived later, we’d have had to turn round to get back to our camp before dark. Had we left earlier the top of the Falls would be hidden in morning clouds. And then I laughed. Forget the soggy clothes, the rice and fried fi sh: for this is why Tessa brought me here – to swim in the pool at the foot of Angel Falls.

We discarded clothes in unseemly haste and threw ourselves into the peat-stained river, gasping from the shock of the cold as we battled against the force of water fl inging itself down the mountainside. We slithered on mossy rocks and clutched each other in the struggle to stay upright. We shrieked with exhilaration and alarm, drowning in the sheer joy of being in the noise and the water. We grabbed the brawn of Kevin and stood, the full force of Angel Falls hammering on our backs, gazing across the lost world of Conan Doyle.

FALLENANGELS

Jo Carroll really entered into the spirit of our Life Writing competition and has given us a piece of writing that not only records her experience and memories, but also has the additional spark of the writer being able to step outside herself and see her adventures as another might.

pi t c h per f ec tHow to submit a non-fi ction book proposal


In theory, it’s easier to publish a non-fi ction book than a novel and that’s because of two main factors:• You don’t always need an agent • You’re selling yourself

Agents are very useful, especially as they have an ‘in’ with publishers and they’re great at wringing the very best deal out of a book contract but, unlike novels, you can approach most publishers direct with your idea for a non-fi ction title without immediately being told to go away and get an agent.

What you’re selling isn’t just a book, it’s your expertise – and no one knows that better than you. I started out as a journalist and used my reputation in my fi eld (antiques) to get my fi rst book deal and that led to TV and radio shows, more articles and more book deals. All because I knew that the most important aspect of my book proposal was my own experience.

T H E T OP T E N P OI N T S T H AT NON -F IC T ION P U BL ISH E R S WA N T T O H E A RDepending on your subject area and publisher, you will probably know your market better than the publisher and what we want is for an author to talk themselves into a book deal, not out of it. It’s surprisingly easy when you know what we want from you:

1 Tell us who you are – What makes you the right person to write this book e.g. years of experience/expertise, reputation, fame or even passion, that’s important. We want you to love your subject.

2 That you have a track record as a writer – Magazine or newspaper articles count, not just book deals, as we want to know you’re serious about writing and have a searchable reputation for book buyers.

3 What’s your market – Who will buy your book? Never say ‘everyone’, give specifi cs (e.g. specialist groups, shops, websites, events etc). Publishers exist to make money so stress that your book is commercial.

4 What’s your USP – The Unique Selling Point that differentiates your book from everyone else’s.

5 Is there a hook – Have you discovered something ground-breaking or are there fi lms, events or anniversaries coming up? Be realistic, it takes 12-18 months between commissioning and publication and it can even take up to a year to get commissioned so plan ahead. If you want to publish a book on the 1916 Easter Rising, get researching now.

6 Why you chose us – Be honest but tell us why you wrote to us particularly e.g. we’re a good fi t, you know or like other authors or titles on our list. It’s not that we want to feel special (okay, so it is) but we want to know that you’ve done your research and aren’t just submitting your book to everyone.

7 Word count – Bottomline, is there enough information to create a book or is it just a long article? We’re also looking for commercial viability so anything too long (150,000+ words) will cost too much to be practical. Publishers have to think of printing costs when commissioning and anything too big will cost a lot but might also look too cumbersome for the majority of buyers. 608+-page books are too hefty to be readable for many of us. Stick to 60-100,000 words if possible. Don’t forget to add an image count if your book is illustrated.

8 Confi dence – If you’re confi dent about your project, we’re more likely to be. Think of a book proposal as a job application, sell yourself.

9 Get our name right – Yes, it’s that basic. Address yourself to a different publisher by mistake or don’t bother to fi nd out our name and we’ll question your research skills.

10 Spell check – Nothing will lose you a book deal faster than bad spelling. Well, almost nothing, the ‘Deer Sir/Madam’ double mistake will beat it every time.

Pitch Perfect: How to submit a non-fi ction book proposalFiona Shoop, publisher at Golden Guides Press and author of ‘How to Write and Publish Non-fi ction’ gives tips on submitting a non-fi ction proposal in the fi rst of a new series.

– The Unique Selling Point that

t en t i p sGetting published

thenewwriter.com 29

1 Publishing is a commercial enterprise. The publisher invests money in the possibility that enough people will buy your novel, or tickets to see your play, or the magazine or book that contains your poem or short story, to make it fi nancially viable. Alternatively the publisher may hope that people will advertise on the website that contains your work, or click on it in suffi cient numbers, to generate income and so cover the costs of publication/production, and perhaps make a profi t.

This is equally true whether it's a small community press or theatre, or a huge corporation. Even idealists have bills to pay. That doesn’t mean you should be cynically market-driven; the best publishers/producers combine a passion for good writing with strong business skills. It is a reason to be professional about your work – and not to take rejection too personally.

2 Get an agent if you can. But how?, you may be wondering. This will be the subject of a future article. In the meantime, concentrate on trying to build up a good portfolio of published work, not only for its own sake, but to impress potential agents. One of the best routes towards publication for new writers, including those without agents, is by entering your stories, plays or poems for competitions. The New Writer carries information about these, as do publications such as MsLexia and Writers’ Forum. For online information on writing competitions, visit www.writershub.co.uk www.fi shpublishing.com www.booktrust.org.uk and www.bridportprize.org.uk

3 Always read the competition rules carefully. If you are asked to submit work of a particular length, in a particular format, on a particular theme or for a particular deadline, follow these instructions.

4 Watch out for rules which say “copyright in all entries belongs to the competition organisers.” This is a rip-off, as it means that even if you don’t win a prize, you lose ownership of your work. They can republish it, you can’t. Fair-minded competition organisers will say something like this: “Copyright in all entries remains with their authors, but the competition organisers reserve the right to publish the winning entries.”

5 Some magazines – in print and online – consider short fi ction, non-fi ction and poetry from new writers. You will fi nd information about them in the Writers' and Artists’ Yearbook and the Writers' Handbook, which you can buy from your local independent bookshop. Your public library may have copies in their reference section. Alternatively you can buy it online. You can also fi nd information on the Book Trust website (see above.)

6 If you think a magazine looks suitable for your story, article or poem, get hold of several copies of the magazine and read them. Try to form an impression of what the editors are looking for, and how your work would fi t in. Before entering a competition, fi nd out if they published last year’s winners. Read them. Don’t copy or imitate, but get a sense of what the judges liked, and ask yourself what you can learn from that.

7 Most magazines have websites, with a button to click on that says something like “information for contributors” or “submissions”. These will tell you what these publications are looking for. They may even tell you that they are not looking for anything at the moment from freelance writers, which is disappointing, but saves you from wasting your time.

8 Get out more. If you live near London, Leeds, Leicester or New York City, go to the short story reading events organised by Liars’ League. www.liarsleague.com Does your local library or bookshop organise author events? Go along, listen to the visiting speaker and learn what you can. How did they get started? Chat with others in the audience - they must share at least some of your interests and ambitions or they wouldn’t be there. They may know of new opportunities. Is there a poetry café near you? (There’s one in London at 22 Betterton Street near Covent Garden.) Do you live anywhere near a venue for a literary festival? Be there. Ask questions. Look at the magazines and anthologies on sale. Are they looking for new contributors?

9 If your ambition is to write for the theatre, go to the theatre. Often. Go to local theatres and the west end. Ask if they offer opportunities to attend rehearsals, or if they hold workshops for new writers. Join groups such as Actors & Writers London (AWL): they organise rehearsed readings of new plays, with feedback from an audience of actors and fellow-writers. http://www.hawguk.org/

10 Be resilient. Kingsley Amis said, “A bad review should spoil your breakfast, but not your lunch.” The same applies to rejection slips.

Zoë Fairbairns teaches Ways Into Creative Writing and other writing courses at City Lit, London.

B Y Z O Ë F A I R B A I R N S

Publish: verb: to make public

p oe t ry i n fo c usSelf-publishing with a visual twist


Getting poetry published these days is challenging to say the least. Many small presses have lost their Arts Council funding and closed, and there seems to be more

writers chasing the same opportunities. At the same time, I think we are in a period of new developments. Social media has enabled poets to connect with each other internationally and the internet provides exciting platforms for work and for developing audiences. Sometimes I think it is tricky fi nding good quality work when there is so much out there!

Self-publishing with a visual twist

P O E T R Y I N F O C U S

So, for my latest writing project, I decided to go in a very different direction. I wanted to produce a book that was a gift: a precious object that people would want to buy and keep. I have already had three books published via more traditional routes, so this time I decided to explore self publishing and the idea of producing something handmade.

I had been asked to take part in a visual arts exhibition in Berlin during this summer at The Emerson Gallery. The exhibition was called ‘The UK meets Berlin’ and I did a guest poetry reading as part of this project.

B Y A N N E C A L D W E L L

p oe t ry i n fo c usSelf-publishing with a visual twist

thenewwriter.com 31

(http://www.emerson-gallery.de). Producing a limited edition book of my work for this event was a great focus to have, and meant that my writing had a longer life than a single reading.

The whole process from start to fi nish was enjoyable and creative; particularly because it was collaborative in nature. I worked alongside an artist and bookmaker called Jack Wright who designed and produced the book for me. We met regularly to discuss materials, bindings, production and printing.

My book featured two sequences of poems based on photographs. My family have an archive of Fujifi lm slides that my father took from the nineteen fi fties to the late sixties that have informed my writing in recent years. My dad died of cancer when I was eleven and so this set of images is very precious. Three years ago, I travelled back to Aberdeen, the city where he was born, and went in search of the locations for some of these photographs. The ones I chose were taken in the early sixties. I also remembered the city well from my own early childhood, and from visiting grandparents.

Most of my poems were written in situ, outside, like a visual artist taking a sketch book into the fi eld. I was surprised how much of my own memory fl ooded back when exploring the city of Aberdeen, but also how the poems became a framework for a poetic language that I have kept locked up for years. Certain images re-occur throughout this sequence and have become key elements of a re-imaging process. Apple trees, the art gallery, granite buildings and the sea, shaped the metaphors in my work and provided me with a set of touchstones with which to explore the past, and the current nature of the city today. At times I felt like I was observing the city in heightened ‘Technicolor’ palette of my dad’s prints with its bright blues, reds and oranges.

The second sequence of poems was written in the spring of 2013. They chart a visit I made to Berlin last summer. I took with me a collection of photographs my father took of the city on a business trip in 1963. It was the same year Kennedy visited Berlin and made his famous speech. I mapped out the locations of his images and re-photographed the views from where my father stood. I also wrote extensive ‘fi eld notes’ in these places and these pieces of writing began to form a diary or blog of my walking through the city. Walking and remembering became intertwined. Through a process of ekphrasis and re-imaging, one art form has informed another. This was the fi rst time I had visited Berlin. I felt closer to my father, but also felt the delight and surprise of a fi rst encounter with the rich, layered history of the city and its current landscapes.

I am delighted with the book we produced, called ‘After Image’, which has a print run of thirty copies. The book is riveted and bound in leather, with a hand-stamped letter tile in lead. Jack printed the book on a mixture of handmade paper and vintage paper. He interleaved my poems with acetate prints of my father’s photographs. Jack also brought in a number of helpers to put the book together and work on layout. It

has sold very well so far through the gallery in Berlin, a local bookshop here in Yorkshire, and through my own networks, family and friends. I have covered my production costs, but not the time that Jack and I put into the project. This was never the point.

The advice I would give to another writer wanting to set up a similar project is to pick an artist with the right skills, who you can connect with. I would be prepared to put in plenty of time to talk and plan the work. I would suggest coming up with a plan in advance of how and where to sell the fi nished product. On refl ection, I think my book is priced a little low, but this is a learning curve.

I think my next project may be digital. I would like to explore writing for a larger audience and continue to collaborate with other art forms. I recently attended a day showcasing poetry/fi lm organised by Comma Press http://www.commafi lm.co.uk/challenges in Manchester and this is an area I am really interested in developing.

Biography Anne Caldwell is a poet, short fi ction writer, lecturer and Programme Director for NAWE. She is based in Yorkshire and teaches at the University of Bolton and for the Open University. Her full length collection Talking with the Dead is published by Cinnamon, 2011).

You can follow her blog at www.annecaldwell.net

p oe t ry i n fo c us


Dandelion This Circular stasis symmetry of seed pollination, so delicate and self-contained, let it exist just a fewmore seconds before soft wind-blown lover’s breath, child’s game of aged time – a sugar, a kiss, a dying wish bursts into air forever.

Julian Colton

Shakespeare’s Wife (FYI)FYI, Shakespeare knew the value of a wifeweighed her estimate in emotional salt.Once blinding comet love has long since fledsomething tangible remains, abidesmore than reflex memory or safe sex wordsthe assured metre of stress and un-stressbecomes an ingrained deeper love, ABW,which others call accustomed convenienceas if love is just an overcoat oversightremoved and worn as one suits. Ha.Whatever, it’s hard to shake it offand those whose pale third finger wagsdivorced with book club principlesnever dipped Achilles heel in commitment Styxhad bound fast ties of love and children.Trouble and strife: Love and wife XX :)

Julian Colton

The Big PictureI tried to document a thunderstorm today.

Tried to count the curves in the clouds.But they always swirledAnd broke apartBecoming something differentFrom the start.

Tried to record all the booms.But the wind was too strongAnd all I could hearWas a howl, howl, howlSo nothing was clear.

Tried to single out each patch of grey.But there was black there too,And white and purple and blueAnd my chart wasn't big enoughSo there was nothing I could do.

So I went homeAnd sulked for a whileUntil I saw my windowAnd suddenly realised.

A single drop of rainCan sketch the entire sky.

Scott Payling


PoetThe smell of a poetonly comes to mewhen I make coffee.

It is the vapourwith its espresso words – self-deprecations

and the vaguestdrop of sugar,a dousing of milk.

I bring it to my bedroom.I will smell of him too.

Sophie Fletcher


thenewwriter.com 33 thenewwriter.com 33


Paper Girl If I were a tree,gnarled and shrunken with misery,you would have felled me long ago,slicing me into your paper girl, my rings of beautylost in the monotony of this:

a blank page.

When was it that love became a mere noun,reiteratedtime and time againin the branchesof a treebearing no fruit?

Kate Weston

September 1939Wife up in Oxford,cooked breakfast with fried bread,eaten alone instead of the usual Sunday atonement.The others are at church.Cat curled in wicker chair,seats are empty, roomto spare; spirit of house on holiday, sunlit beamsplay among the crackling static, illuminating the fadingacacia, while futures are decidedin absentia.

Stars still glimmerin milky blue sky; mid-day moon? Must confess,I can't remember.Fed bacon rind to the cat, gave him half my second egg,"Is this it?" I said to no-one.Picked up hat and coat, left the house, still holding piece of toast.

The whole of Englandlay unfurled, spread beneath a glorious start of September day; from faraway, a siren sounded.

Maxim Holt

1962Far above my head,on a ladder propped against clouds,father proudly painted guttersbetween placing bread and butteron the table, and putty in the cracks of family life. Mother, his wife, held ontohis shoe as he flew round the roof,she gripped tight; in love with our brandnew house. Crikey! Electric cooker and fridge full of food, 1962, not one cloudsettled in a bright blue sky while a Beatles tune"Love Me Do", crackled the airways.I swear on a clear day I can see myselfwaving from miles away.

Maxim Holt

OctoberBurning, bloomingLike spring flowersAll tree leavesGiggle, guffawing With the west windIn their fierce defiance Against the elegy of the landRecited aloud In blood-throated voices

Changming Yuan

IntimateA stranger Passed me by in tears

Couldn’t resist I greeted him

The sadness That I knew

Raphael Gancz

SwayTo let the pen stand still on the page andwrite the sway of the train.

Raphael Gancz




The pitchWinter-layered in the spring sunshineunder the brim of his battered hat, he rubbed his stubbled chin and peered, in that vacant way he made his own,up and down the teeming street.His dog lay on a blanket next to bronze coins scattered in a rusty Roses tin,fivers secreted inside his coat,waterproofing long washed away. From the outer pocket stared his coup de grace, a whiskered ferret, one eye open, like the dog.

This morning Jim was found under The Big Issues and tin-foiled sheet.The dog blanketed and warm guarding his body.No one has seen the ferret.

R S Skellington

JigsawFirst find the cornersa piece of skya pavementa splinter of glassa Nike heelhoodshelmetsshieldsbatons

a union flag flaps fanning the flamesblue lights flash in shadowsan old man searches for the missing piece.

R S Skellington

FootballWe wait for Saturday with bated breathSo anger and stress build up insideA sense of frustration we take out on the ref.

Collective clans collide in the coliseumEach mob donning their respective coloursThe Romans are here, and not just in the museums.

Heroes rise and villains falls.The field is damp with their inspiration and perspirationOnly the greatest warriors we recall.

The crowd try to tempt, torment and terrifyThe warriors listen with bated breath.Finally, they collapse and look to the sky

The sporting spirit is alive and well.But look into any modern coliseum Is it hell or the sporting spirit of which they tell?

Chris Callaghan

Enough SunsetsI remember last nighthow the fiery end of my cigar looked just like a sunset throughashy gray rain clouds.

When I mentioned this to the old man I was smoking witha friend, my friend, he tapped his cigar and the ash fell off leavingonly the smoldering orange.

He said it looked like a sunrisebecause “rain clouds are darker than ash and in the eveningthe sun is brighter than fire.”

The glow of his cigarilluminated the linesin his face to look like dark canyonsand I knew thenhe’d seen enoughsunsets to know the difference.

Lee Douglas

thenewwriter.com 35



The Centerpiece still SmilesI washaving a conversation with my wife.

But we sat ourplump butts down atthe mahogany table. I on one end, she on the other, hand on her belly, andthis massive statuecenterpieceblocking her face.

The statue, the centerpiece,is a nucleus of bronze Cherubs chuckling and holdinghandfuls of poinsettias. (I can’t smell them, but she says she can.)

She’ll change them when Springarrives, birthing silverbells and daffodils along with bloodroots and dead nettles.

I glance around one wayand she looks around the other. We lurch back andforth like this before I give up and say“There’s only a small chancethat it’ll be retarded.”

And she stares at thecenterpiece,gazing at the Cherubs. They’re chortling now.Like simple-minded sucklings with wings. And she says“I don’t care.”

And I say“Fine.”

And when Spring camethere were no flowersin thecenterpiece.

Instead it looked likethe Cherubs were reaching their small fists up,searching for a reason whythey were smiling.

Lee Douglas

Syzygy and TriangleI saw Buckminster Fuller demonstrate(with Tinker Toys®) the endurance of the tri-angle, its firm form unadultered by

shaking or waving, and how it bore weightbetter than any square or beam-and-lin-tel. But we three aren’t dowels joined at in-

tersections with pre-manufactured holes. With our alignment, one of us must lie in the middle. Were we but loving souls,

not two planets bound to a hungry star between, in a celestial syzygy,lasting a moment, you and you and me,

Time—and Motion, her dresser—would not be the ravager of this, the enemyof Us. Notwithstanding that what we are

is heaven, and I love you equally,as I know you, as you have said, love meand each other: but this is for now;

I would that it could last, but don’t know how,other than in this note, left, that one daysome future race might read, and point the way.

James B Nicola

HospitalIf you’re happy and you show itSmack your hands. If you’re happy and you show itThey let you know they know it.When you’re happy but don’t know it.

I don’t know anymore.It is like a playgroundIn here.I could be friendsWith you.

Natalie Crick




Those were the daysGood summer daysGlengarrif taking bloomThe splendor from rocksSporing the shores erosion

The sea taking and givingNo memory, no memory

Rain springing iron from your stanceGirls,girls with hips dancingThe curiosity in smilingBlackberries ink dripping on nails

My heart taking heatlife by music seemed kissed

It's sugar glistening in head-sweepsRunning up hillsYour breath sharpening as pencilsHead forward through Olympian feats

102 in the shadeThe leather is coolStiff little fingers glued to the headphonesThe wearing of jeans their codeIn dreams echoed

Days lying in the grassThe dogs but a muffleDown with the insects legging it nowhereStung by our foolery.

Terence Doyle

Wall-penny FreckleI had a soft nose and you would squidge itAgainst your tongue, lips sliding mouth over mouthAnd I was only ten Your name was AlisonI used to pay you a penny for you to kiss me and in sunshine.Up until youI played football and wheezedPhantom sprains, ingrown toe-nails,Gallybanders across my back garden blazed.There wasn't much growing at tenBut we got there.How many lives did we collect?In our faded jeans at the kneesArmies we led, matchbox spiders we bled.

All we did was kiss.My wallpenny freckle and I went back homeYour face in front of meGrowing and growing.

Terence Doyle

N.B. A gallybander was (is?) slang for a catapult in Waterford. Squidge I just made up!

Every Boy’s HeroThey kept it a major secret like buriedCuban missiles or the true value of gold,Never told us that you were just like us.

Even when they paraded you in pinstripes Or gave you some lucky numberOr put your portrait on corn flakes,

You were every boy’s hero.We didn’t care about your drinking Or what went on off the field

Like your illness that ran in the familyOr how you neglected your childrenBut only cared if you were in the lineup

Because you were a legend our idolAnd idols make perfect statuesLike yours they placed in center field.

Clinton van Inman




Jackdaws reprieved by sun when the black-cap becomes purples & then one cloud pilfering lightturns caddows, college-birds, sea-crows back to night - with napes & half crowns of silver

old glitter-thief: that’s giving you our greed, for the white eye alone loves easily - the dance of facets, the shine on stone set next to the twigs in the chimney

little money bird’s a true crow, & legal to trap; classified, codified,it’s a house’s ruin: a mishap waiting to fall, twigs & all, down flue to fire

& daws of legend in the Greek’s old tales caught claws in a fleece or famished sawhow the green figs failed to ripen, like endings, when the fox taught natural law

yet with bills up real clatterings escape story, live high with rooks & tell(we cannot know) in jacks & caws, quick & slow, their complex calls of hidden glory?

Charles Wilkinson

A-walking RainHome has shown a lasting roof & lack of leaks proclaims repairs: walls have dried wet charts of grief & shutters are secure; the tiles are tight in waves of slate that should not break on shore; each pane is fast in wooden frames – glass strong against the storm; & bright in grates inside warm rooms the fires assure.

Yet clouds collect, from white-ocean flowers, the floods that bloom again; & though the house looks weather-proof the wet has soaked the plaster; & there‘s one slate that soon will crack to let in shafts of water; hear the rain come walking, a-walking down the stairs.

Charles Wilkinson

Grounded Swallowed by a hammockI hide on the paperback floor of Santiago’s skiff,green finches wheezing in the cork trees -an escape from my escape.

We’d arrived on the terracotta roadpassed sleeping dogs and lime white chapels,learnt the narrow Moorish streetsand trod the brittle foothills;

I watched your skin olive as we bathed like lizards on rocksin full pelt of the mountain sunbefore sultry evenings behind shuttered windows,

and me, broken in transit,sleeping off my Latin temperamentto the white noise of crickets.

Dan Strathers




RunawayOf the little I remember the cold creeping into my bones on arrival, the slow creak of a door opening on the musk of forgotten furniture. Raising our voices to make ourselves at home we stacked the fridge with cider and vodka, lit a fire and let night fall through the conservatory at the back where we stole for quiet smokes. Back inside, ancient stories rolled off our tongues as if we’d been waiting for our shadows to mix intimately before plying the final truth. This is the way it is for those of us still alive. Those who died left a trail in us like snow the next morning where, red-eyed as if from crying, we climbed a hill we hadn’t known was there.

Kevin Graham

Time and Place Something about the market being over – buckets of water emptying over cobbles, evening light streaming down a building. The faint odour of fish dampening the air, mixing with yeast and smoke. A van driver leaning on his horn as he reverses to load up remnants of stock. Birds stitching the air, searching for scraps. Something about the freshness of how over the thing is: the ringing echo of market babble fading, transactions done by people whose lives have led them through this square like old times, crisscrossing happily among the stalls. Both lost and found.

Kevin Graham

Scattering the ParentsMother’s ashes take the windon the levee, in back of a plantationwhere she’d love to have playedthe lady of the manor, a nouveau-Scarlett, with her long hair trailing like moss through the live oaks.Her bones mist the air over the spiral staircase of her dreams.

Father's dust mingles with herson the Mississippi shoreline,cast from the high earthen borderbuilt to withstand wind and water,but, in fact, fallible.

Dad, as in life, is hesitant, circumspect.The wind dies down at our backs, and clumps that were oncehis dark hair, full mouth, and tennis elbow,hit the shoreline with a thud, driftingafter mother’s white magnolia gown,with water lapping what used to betheir toes.

Donna Pucciani

LuggageOne never knows how to pack.England will be rainy and chill, its bluster blowing across the Channelto Italy, where snow-capped Dolomitessmile at their reflection in the lakeand await breathless touristswho divest of their coatsin the unexpected heat.

Outside the window, squirrelsdart with a vigor left over from summer's bountiful ease,stuffing pouched cheekswith provisions for the winter,the threshold of present and future disappearing in the long-shadowed sun.

Perhaps one can learn to shiver or sweat with grace, to relinquish the extra sweater,to carry only one coat for the journey,and one pair of shoes.

Donna Pucciani

I am very interested in voice within poetry, and writing from different points of view. I have explored tuning in to voices that are unheard in my writing or voices that are on the margins of

stories, places, and familiar settings. The poem I have included in this issue takes a well known nursery rhyme and then writes from the voice of a blackbird. You could try the same thing in your own writing.

List a number of fairy tales, nursery rhymes, myths or stories that you remember well from your own childhood.

Pick a marginal character from one of these stories.

Write a poem in this voice. You may be surprised where it takes you! I did not expect the blackbird in my work to be quite so angry, or revolutionary.

p oe t ry prom p tAnne Caldwell

thenewwriter.com 39

Blackbirds All that winter she scattered corn at our feetand we grew fat and lazy as dormice in the hedge.One morning she clucked us close, then threw a net, fi ne as a spider’s web.

We fi xed her with our yellow eyesI swear I saw her fl inch but, quick as a blade,she pegged our wings, stuffed us in a sack that smelt of cats, carried us over her shoulder.

The great iron spit was turning: all manner of beasts chopped, mangled, the air laced with fat and the sickly smell of mead.

Her pretty face was red as a side of pork, arms dusted with fl our. A great slap of pastry rested on the dresser. She thrust us in together, twenty four – packed in like slaves in a ship.

I clawed my way to the edge of the crust, shuddered as the oven slammed shut, the temperature beginning to climb. We sang to keep our spirits high.

Just as I began to doze, I felt a breath of airthrough a slit in the lid, then the jostlingas we were held up through endless corridorsto the great hall itself.

All that king cares for is gold, taxing his subjects till they squeal like rats cornered in a midden, and his wife stuffs her face: honey drizzlingdown her well-oiled bosom.

Candlelight and music made us blink, we raised our beaks and, drunk with air, we felt the pull of freedom in our wings,darted for a casement window in the roof.

There she was in the courtyard, with an armful of sheets and a mouthful of pegs that had pinioned my brothers and sisters.

I fl ew at her: pecked hard at her nose. She shrieked like a ravencrying for her mate, bleeding all the way to the castle keep.

Anne Caldwell

First published, ‘Talking with the Dead’ – poetry collection, Cinnamon Press (2011)

Our Guest Poetry Editor Anne Caldwell shares a writing exercise that has proved successful for her.

POET

RY P

ROM

PT

If you would like to buy a copy of Anne’s book, please email her at [email protected]

t h e t y pe w r i t er i s de a dAndy Key


The typewriter is dead

specifi cations for font, margins and layout, then print the whole thing out onto A4 paper, then post the paper copy to them so that they could put it through a scanner page-by-page and convert it into… a Microsoft Word document. I shan’t tell you the name of the publisher but if this sounds familiar to you then run away from them. Very quickly. Now.

But I digress. When you send a manuscript to a magazine, somewhere behind the scenes there is a designer or a production editor who has to transfer your masterpiece into a page of their publication. If you expect to be a regular contributor, it’s in your interests to make their lives easier.

It’s now more than two years since the last typewriter factory in the world closed. Yet many writers are still sticking to habits that belong to a bygone age.

Let’s face it, most of us do our writing on computers these days. Not all of us, I admit, but most. That means that most contributions to magazine and book publishers are submitted in digital form, either instead of or as well as printed manuscripts. There are exceptions, of course: a few years back I helped an academic author whose publisher had instructed that he must produce his manuscript in Microsoft Word using very precise

B Y A N D Y K E Y

Or: fi ve tips for preparing a digital manuscript

t h e t y pe w r i t er i s de a dAndy Key


There is a lot of received wisdom floating around the writing community about how to type your manuscript. Unfortunately some of it dates from the age of mechanical typewriters and paper manuscripts, and it doesn’t really apply any more. If you’re still following that wisdom, you are not only doing yourself a disservice, you’re contributing in your own small way to the nervous breakdown of a graphic designer. And I’m sure you don’t want that. So here are my five top tips for making life easier for your publishers.

I’m assuming here that you’re writing in Microsoft Word, but all these tips apply to just about all other word processors as well. The functions mentioned here may appear in different menus, but every word processor will have them.

D ON ’ T P U T T WO SPAC E S A F T E R A F U L L ST OP. E V E R .If you had formal typing courses in the 20th century, this was something they used to tell you to do. You don’t need to do it any more. Word processors and desktop publishing programs are clever: they automatically add extra space after a full stop, and have done since at least the 1990s. If you type two spaces then the program will add even more space and it just looks weird. Someone has to go through your document taking all those double-spaces out again.

WOR D’S PA R AGR A P H SE T T I NG S A R E YOU R F R I E N DSSome publications still ask for double-spaced lines on a paper manuscript. If you have to provide this, do it by using the ‘Paragraph’ settings in your word processor. Don’t just type a line of text then hit the <Return> key twice. Instead, go into the paragraph settings and change ‘Line Spacing’ to ‘Double’ That way, when they ask for the digital version, you’ll be able to give them something they can use straight away. (Exactly how to do this will depend on which version of Word – or other word processor – you have. Use the program’s built-in help facility or just search on Google.)

While I’m on this subject, don’t indent the first line of a paragraph by typing three ‘space’ characters. Again, this might have worked on a typewriter but it’s another thing your designer has to go through deleting. If you want each paragraph to start with an indented line, use the paragraph settings in Word to do it. (Google for ‘how to indent a paragraph in Word’.)

Another thing (I’m on a roll now): If you want to start a new page, use Word’s ‘Insert page break’ function. Do NOT just hit <Return> again and again until you reach the bottom of the page. That might work for you while you’re writing, but as soon as you revise an earlier part of the document – or the designer re-formats the text – the article ends up with an enormous lump of empty space at a random point somewhere in the middle.

D ON ’ T T Y P E YOU R H E A DI NG S I N C A P I TA L SLook through a few magazines. How many headings are in capitals? Not many. If you type your headings in capitals, the designer will just have to re-type them him- or herself. It may not take that long but it all adds to the workload. (Word does have a feature that converts capitals to ‘initial capitals’, but it’s not very clever: You End Up With American-Style Headlines Where Every Word Is Capitalised.)

D ON ’ T E M BE D P IC T U R E S I N YOU R WOR D D O C UM E N TIf you’re able to provide pictures to go with your article, that’s great. Just don’t stick them into the Word document. It really, really doesn’t help. Provide them as separate files in a standard format – which for photographs usually means JPEG (.jpg) files. If you embed them in the document itself, the designer will have trouble extracting them again and they may not be of good enough quality. If the picture needs to go at a certain point in the text, add a note to the designer to say so, for example:

[Image PARAGLIDINGFERRET.JPG goes here]

Talking of which, make sure any pictures are of high enough resolution to be published professionally. There are many ways of measuring this, but the simplest is this: Look at the properties of the picture and find out its height and width in ‘pixels’. The minimum acceptable level of detail for a professionally-printed publication is usually 300 dots (or pixels) per inch. So if your picture is 600 pixels wide, it’s good enough quality to be printed in a magazine at up to 2 inches wide – perhaps 3 inches at a stretch, but no more. As a general rule, pictures and logos copied-and-pasted from web pages are not good enough quality to go into a printed magazine unless they’re going to be printed at a very small size.

K E E P I T SI M P L EThis is possibly the most important thing to bear in mind. Your manuscript should be clear and readable, but nobody cares about its exact appearance. If it’s published, it will be changed to fit into the magazine’s house style. That means font style and size, line spacing and everything except the actual words themselves may be altered. You can make this task easier by keeping to a single font and style. If possible, don’t use any fancy effects beyond bold and italic. Do not try and lay out your piece the way you think it will appear in the magazine: it won’t help and will probably make things more difficult. For instance, if the magazine has two-column pages, it does not mean your Word document needs to be laid out in two columns: the designer will sort that out. Just make sure you provide a nice simple document that can easily be copied-and-pasted into whatever software the designer is using. It might just increase your chances of being asked to contribute again.

p oe m on a p o st c a r dResults


Our Poem on a Postcard competition received a terrifi c response and postcards arrived almost every day throughout the summer. Our new postman was very impressed with how many postcards we received. It was a very enjoyable task judging these poems but we all agreed that Val Booler’s response to the postcard of Anne Boleyn’s Lute from Hever Castle was the outstanding winner. Congratulations Val.

Lute

Music bewitched us:a thread of melodyto bind our souls.We could live in harmonyif you danced to my tune.I plucked your heartstringsuntil they snapped.Such a ‘little neck’, my lute and I.Come – one last song before I die.Val Booler

Such a ‘little neck’, my lute and I.Come – one last song before I die.

postman was very impressed with how many postcards we received. It

Val Booler’s response to the postcard of Anne Boleyn’s Lute from Hever

We loved the way that Val used the image to conjure a poem about a well-known subject, but to explore it with such clever use of words.

Poem on a Postcard

p oe m on a p o st c a r dResults


Birdsong

Pigeons knock on wooden morningthen slap the afternoons.They are wet shirts, fl apping their sleevesas they rise from the garden.Five syllable coos, soft as scrunched paper,are the sound of tree shadows,of leafy peace, of dark shelter.Catherine Ayres

Guilt

I hear the musicI hold it in my heartFearful it will fadeLeaving me with only its echoAnd the lingering doubtThat the songWas never mine to hear.Lesley J Fuller

And we couldn’t resist sharing a couple more of our favourite entries.

Leaving me with only its echoAnd the lingering doubt

Five syllable coos, soft as scrunched paper,

Writers often forget to evoke the sense of sound in their writing, but for Catherine it was central to this delightful piece about a familiar bird.

We can all relate to this enigmatic little poem.

Thank you to Hever Castle for their

kind permission to reproduce this image

Poem on a Postcard

w r i t ers’ & a r t i st s y e a r bo ok 2013Writing a synopsis


the reader what happens when they have fi nished reading them. This will help inform the publisher/literary agent whether they think it is worth their while to read more. Then, if they want to read more, they will ask you.

So, the bottom line is this – if you want to have your manuscript read in its entirety you must invest time in getting your cover letter and book synopsis right. I know from my experiences at The Literary Consultancy (TLC) that many writers can get disconcerted and nervous by having to produce a synopsis and there are usually two reasons why.

First, a writer might have an unwieldy story that they themselves are not 100% convinced by, or a non-fi ction project that they do not really know enough about. If this is so, summarising can be diffi cult because the thinking through and planning of the project has not been thorough in the fi rst place.

The dictionary defi nition of ‘synopsis’ (derived from the Ancient Greek meaning) is ‘a brief description of the contents of something’. The purpose of a synopsis is

to inform a literary agent or publisher of the type of book you are writing/have written in a concise, appealing fashion, conveying that you are in command of your subject matter. If you want your manuscript to be given serious consideration, a good synopsis is a crucial part of your submission.

This Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook will inform you that most publishing houses no longer accept direct submissions but those that do (usually the smaller houses) will most often ask for a cover letter, synopsis and sample chapters rather than a whole work in the fi rst instance. The same applies to literary agents. To put it simply, the sample chapters are to show how you write, and the synopsis is to tell

Writing a synopsisWhen publishers and literary agents ask for a synopsis to be submitted, writers often misunderstand what is required. Rebecca Swift provides clarifi cation.

w r i t ers’ & a rt i st s y e a r bo ok 2013Writing a synopsis

thenewwriter.com 45

In this instance, I would urge the writer to question why this process is so difficult. If it is because the story is insufficiently clear, persuasive or gripping, then more work needs to be done to get the manuscript into the kind of shape that would persuade an agent or editor to consider it further.

Second, a writer might genuinely be able to write a good book but not be experienced in the art of summarising a work in an effective manner. A few might even consider the act of doing so demeaning. If this is the case, I would urge you to think not of yourself, but of the reader, and treat the project as a literary exercise which you should try to enjoy: a challenge and opportunity to show your work off in its essential form. It might help to refer to book blurbs, or plot summaries in reference books such as The Oxford Companion to English Literature, or online, for example in Wikipedia.

In addition to letting a professional reader know what happens in your manuscript, the synopsis will also let them know at a glance if you have thought about how your work fits into the market. This is critical in non-fiction, less so with fiction, although with fiction awareness of what genre you have written in is vital. Also, if what you are writing coincides with any major anniversaries, for example, or might have a marketing ‘hook’ of any other kind, this is important to mention if not within the synopsis itself, then within a cover letter (see below).

F IC T ION SY NOP SE SA fiction synopsis should comprise a brief summary followed by a more detailed synopsis. But before writing either of these, you must clarify which genre your work fits into.

The most important thing to realise about fiction in respect of how you present it to representatives of the publishing industry is that it breaks down into different types, or genres. For those who think that the obsession with genres is a modern phenomenon, the lines from Polonius’ famous speech in Hamlet might serve to prove the opposite. He describes the actors who have come to court as ‘The best actors in the world… for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited’. Some of these dramatic forms are familiar and others not. There are always more genres being invented or cross-fertilised. It can be difficult to keep up!

The most popular genres today are, broadly speaking: crime, thriller, psychological thriller, detective, sci-fi, horror, comic, chick lit, lad’s lit, historical, saga, literary, graphic, experimental, erotic, fantasy, romantic, women’s commercial fiction and literary–commercial crossover – or, as it’s becoming more widely coined, ‘lit lite’.

Classifying your novel within a genre can be a challenge. This is largely because when most people start to write a novel they do so without having studied the genre they are writing for. Although when you start to write you may feel free to explore, practise and experiment without thinking in terms

of the defining limits of a genre, by the time you come to submitting your work to be published it is very important to know which genre your work fits into. In all art forms there are rule breakers, but almost inevitably – as in the cases of Picasso, Virginia Woolf and, more recently, the US writer Michael Cunningham – even the greatest ‘artists’ have studied the traditional forms/genres before taking any risks.

A good starting point is to read books you consider similar to the one you are writing that are already published, and note how they are classified on the back cover. By reading, and sometimes studying literature and writing through other routes, you will also learn the possibilities and limits offered by your chosen genre. The bad news is if you don’t clarify what kind of book you have written, the chances are it will reflect in the text. If you don’t clearly inform the agent or editor what your book is about and which category it falls into, it may all too quickly be labelled as a work which ‘falls between two stools’, is impossible to market and so doesn’t get considered any further.

W R I T I NG A BR I E F SUM M A RYHaving made it your top priority to identify what type of novel you have written, you can make a start on your all-important synopsis. All good synopses should begin with a brief summary of 30–75 words, the sort of thing which appears on a book’s back cover. For example, had you written Pride and Prejudice today:

Pride and Prejudice is a contemporary, literary romance about a woman who falls in love with a man she thinks she hates.

Or,

Pride and Prejudice, a contemporary, literary novel, tells the story of Elizabeth Bennett, a proud, intelligent woman, one of five sisters, whose mother is committed to marrying her children off as a matter of urgency. Elizabeth meets Darcy, owner of a grand estate, but considers him overly proud, arrogant and undesirable. In time, she learns that he is not all that he appears to be, and revises her prejudice, before they fall deeply in love.

Both these examples, one short, one longer, serve to whet the appetite for more detail to follow.

An example of an ostensibly weak synopsis, which rambles and fails to emphasise the most important points quickly enough, might be:

Set at some point in the 19th century, five sisters are looking for husbands. Or is Mary, really? Anyway, their mother is a real fusspot and annoys everybody. Outside their house there are lots of fields and it is sometimes raining. The girls’ father is gentle and kind, with grey hair but not good at standing up to his wife always. Mr Bingley is an important character who is very handsome, but is he as handsome as Mr Darcy? It is hard to tell!…

Hopefully you can see the clear differences between the two.

w r i t ers’ & a r t i st s y e a r bo ok 2013Writing a synopsis


This extract is used with kind permission from Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2013You can buy a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2013 at the reduced price of £12.99. See page 64

Rebecca Swift worked as an editor at Virago Press and writer, before co-founding The Literary Consultancy (www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk) with Hannah Griffi ths in 1996. She has edited two books for Chatto & Windus, published poetry in Staple, Vintage New Writing and Virago New Poets, written an opera libretto, Spirit Child, and Poetic Lives: Dickinson (Hesperus Press 2011).

W R I T I NG A DE TA I L E D SY NOP SISFollowing the brief summary should be a more detailed synopsis of 350–450 words. Literary agents do not want a detailed chapter-by-chapter breakdown (if they do, they’ll ask for one) as reading them can be tiresome and diffi cult to follow. The main aim of the longer synopsis is to give a detailed overview which clearly and concisely conveys how the story fl ows and unfolds, and (very importantly) what is interesting about it. The longer synopsis should also reconfi rm when the story is set (i.e. is it contemporary or historical?); the setting or background (e.g. is it Thatcher’s government in its last throes or are we in a quiet Devonshire village where nothing ever happens, but there is a sense of impending doom?); inform the reader about the central character (i.e. what is interesting about them and what happens on their journey), as well as giving brief reference to other characters that are directly pivotal to the plot. The longer synopsis should also highlight the dramatic turning points and tell the reader of any other salient information which will help convey what kind of work it is, how well imagined are the characters involved and how well thought through and alluring is the plot.

COV E R L E T T E RAlongside the synopsis should also be an excellent, economically written and confi dent sounding cover letter. This should simply address a well-researched literary agent by name (never put a generic ‘Dear Sir/Madam’).

In this you should say that you are enclosing a novel called ‘X’, which is a thriller/literary/coming-of-age/horror novel (identify genre). It does not matter if this is repeated on the synopsis page. You may also wish to refer to writers you feel you are similar too, although do be careful not to have misplaced arrogance in this. You might say, ‘I write in the genre of John Grisham because he is a writer I read and hugely admire’ or you might say, ‘This is a novel in which To Kill a Mockingbird meets Crash’ or ‘Harper Lee meets J.G. Ballard’ – but do be sure that you have the talent to match claims like these. Otherwise, let the agent decide and they will help market you to the publisher, and the publisher will then help market you to the public. If you admire an agent for a particular reason, such as they publish a hero or heroine of yours, let them know.

BIO GR A P H IC A L NO T EIf you have something interesting to say about yourself, such as that you have won a writing competition or have been published before in relevant publications, do include this briefl y in the cover letter. It is for you to judge what is of particular interest about you, and how much to say, but you should also provide a fuller biographical note which sits well at the bottom of the synopsis page. As a guide, this should be 50–200 words. If you have been published, provide a summarised list of publications here. If you have not, or are trying to hide a career you think has gone off track and want to appear fresh, keep it brief and mention what you

do, your age and anything that makes you sound interesting. If your career is related to your subject matter, then do say this. For example, ‘I worked as a miner for 20 years’ if your book is set in a mining community. Avoid listing technical publications as evidence of writing ability if you are submitting fi ction. There is an enormous difference between writing technically and writing fi ction, and if you don’t seem to know this it is not impressive. This is different for non-fi ction. As a rule, err on the side of brevity if necessary. If the reader loves your work they will be in touch to fi nd out more about you. For help with learning how to self-market read Marketing Your Book: An Author's Guide by Alison Baverstock (A&C Black 2007, 2nd edn).

It should be noted that if the work is literary, there may be less emphasis on plot and more on the quality of the prose. Due to current climates and publishing trends, this is a diffi cult time to publish literary fi ction without strong plots, although things undoubtedly will change.

CONC LUSIONWhilst it is worth spending time ensuring you have a good, short, confi dent cover letter and synopsis, it is important to stress that there is nothing as important to an editor than the quality of your writing and your ability to sustain the interest of a reader in the main body of the text. A synopsis is not a magic wand that will infl uence the real standard of a work. I have seen perfectly polished synopses followed by poor writing. The net result of this is that one feels excited, only to be let down, which is off-putting in itself. If you have the skill to write a gripping synopsis, use your energies wisely in advance of submitting to make sure that the book itself is as good as it can be. Focus, particularly, on fi ne-tuning the opening 50 pages. Your synopsis and summary should generally serve as a fl ag to indicate to the reader at what point the extract begins and a guide to the story beyond it. If the agent or publisher likes what they see well enough to ask for more… well done! Oh and good luck.

You can buy a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2013 at the reduced price of £12.99. See page 64

I NSI DE ST OR I E S FOR W R I T E R S A N D R E A DE R S Trish NicholsonPublisher: CollcaTrish Nicholson offers up her thoughts and experience on aspects of writing here, sharing

her love of storytelling, and she does something different than a lot of writing books; she also includes her own short stories alongside the topics so that she can illustrate the thoughts she is sharing with the prospective writer using her own creative works. In so doing, this book becomes one for writers and for readers, too; as the author states, ‘this is a book of ‘show and share’ rather than ‘tell and teach’.’

There are sections on inspiration, characters, themes and titles, structures and plots, voice, language and dialogue, critiquing and editing, and maintaining momentum. This guide is structured well and is a nice size and weight too; I am using it at home but it is light enough to take along if you were writing away from home or using it at a writing group.

The author suggests using the book ‘as a supportive, inspiring friend you can visit any time for a quick cuppa and a word of encouragement’, and goes on to say that the resources contained within are also useful for writing groups and workshops as well as for working alone.

Also included (in the print edition) is From Apes to Apps, an essay by the same author discussing the development and importance of stories and storytelling in the lives of humans.

Trish Nicholson is an inspiring author and there is a wealth of useful, honest advice shared in a friendly manner here about the process of writing. This is defi nitely a rewarding and encouraging book for anyone looking to write, and I will be returning to it again and again. Lyndsay Healy, Cambridge

BECOM E A F R E E L A NC E W R I T E RRachael OkuAvailable as a Kindle e-bookDelivering exactly as it says on the packet – Your Complete Guide to the Business of

Writing this little book imparts all the information a writer requires to build a successful business, your own brand, from freelance writing. Submission letters to keeping records of published work, all components of a writer̀ s life are covered within these 52 pages.

Common sense, often overlooked, is at the core of the advice. Discovering the time and place when you are most ‘creative’ appears simple but could contribute to improving the standard or writing. Rachael encourages writers to utilise strengths, skills and knowledge as a fi rm base on which to build a ‘business’. Self promotion is recommended publicising any praise or commendations received. This very experienced author has not overlooked the importance of budgeting your time and your money so that neither is wasted. Despite not being a guide to writing skills she has stressed the importance of presentation, editing, accuracy and minute attention to detail that the book itself is an inspiration.

With the inclusion of dozens of websites and links to sources associated with the art of writing this handbook is a necessary addition to the library of writers, novice or experienced. I will certainly be recommending it to the members of my writing club. Sheila A. Grant, Kilmarnock

T H E K I NG’S E NGL ISHHW Fowler & FG FowlerPublisher: Hardpress PublishingWhen aged sixteen I had occasion to write a letter to my

grandfather. I happily ‘chatted’ away using dashes and many exclamation marks in my writing. His response was to send me Fowler & Fowler ‘The King’s English’. I dutifully wrote back to thank him, using correct grammar and punctuation. After all, I did know how to write properly, I had just chosen not to do so. It became a bit of a family joke.

Now in my fi fties, my grandfather long dead, Fowler is still on my shelf of reference books. My edition is the OUP Oxford Paperbacks third edition and has on the cover a severe looking king in the style of a playing card. I cannot use it without thinking of my grandfather; a Scot by birth, he fi rmly believed that a good education was the best gift for a child.Gayle Mayes, London

T H E W R I T E R S ’ B O O K S H E L F

t h e w r i t ers’ bo ok sh el f

thenewwriter.com 47

Common sense, often overlooked, is at the

core of the advice. Discovering the time and place when you

are most ‘creative’ appears simple but could contribute to

improving the… writing.


w r i t ers’ prom p t

Next summer the Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow with cycling very much on the agenda. Cycling is an adrenaline-packed mix of tactics, speed and endurance. Challenge yourself to capture these qualities in your writing in a story or piece of microfiction inspired by the photo above.

Send your responses, prose or poetry, to [email protected] and we will print a selection of the best in a future issue.

© Ja

mes

Pol

ley

WRI

TERS

’ PRO

MPT

A few suggestions to get you going…

1 A young man spends more time fixing his bike than noticing his girlfriend.

3 A father is keen for his daughter to ride but he buys her a bike far too big.

4 Having had his bike stolen a widower remembers all the times in his life that the bike was important.

thenewwriter.com 49

w r i t ers’ prom p tr esp onse

WRI

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’ PRO

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Once again two very different poetic responses to our photo prompt. We were also pleased to read short stories and a piece of very short fi ction.

We aim to publish at least one response from Writers’ Prompt and Readers’ Challenge each issue. Do use these prompts to inspire your own writing or as an exercise with your Writing Group.

See pages 7 and 48 for new inspirations.

All ChangesThey weren’t here yesterday,Those vivid scarlet poppies,Nestling in the tawny corn.A short a time ago, in spring,This fi eld was green as grass,Soaring skylarks sang sweetly,Enchanting the spring morn,Then swooped down to nestsconcealed in sprouting corn,Feeding their new generation.

Now fl edglings join the choir,Singing against a cobalt sky.But on the distant horizon,Inky-black storm clouds gather,Portent of a violent storm. On return, a few days later The corn is gone, mowed down,The scarlet poppies, obliterated.The like will not be seen again,That is – not until next year!

Julie Freeborn

PoppiesRed eyes amongst the gold,Demonic eyes,Burning rubies,The farmers' curse.Splashes of bloodEnrich the soilThat enriches the crop.Life bloodTo staff of life,Fragile beautyCarries such a weight of woe.

Ruth Cargill©

Andy Key

It was lovely to receive some responses that were not the clichéd WWI response that may be expected from an image of poppies in a fi eld. Both of the published entries examined fragility and endurance, but in very different ways.

t h er e a r e no ru l esNick Asbury


Nick Asbury implores writers to get on and practice their art

t h er e a r e no ru l esNick Asbury


The only necessity is practice. Writing, in whatever capacity, is communication and therefore is an art form. As an Art, it is a craft that must be worked on constantly to improve.

Then it can be sold. The craft is what people pay for.I am a professional actor, musician and writer. To

me, the hours that I spent as a teenager practicing the piano; or the hours at Drama School and the subsequent years on stage; or the days, months and years writing my last book are all working towards being an Artist. They are exactly the same thing.

In order to communicate, one must fi nd an audience. As a young musician I would practice and practice for something – whether it be an exam or a concert, and then I fi nally joined a band and we would just play – for each other and eventually for other people. What came out was us. Raw certainly, but it was us. (Yes, there was the important joy of just sitting down and playing for oneself – which nowadays is a meditation – but most often I learnt by knowing I was to be listened to.) As an actor, the audience is obviously a given. The very medium requires it. At College we once spent a tortured afternoon discussing whether art/theatre was Art if no one saw it and didn’t know it existed. The whole discussion was masturbatory in more ways than one, but it highlights the plight of the lone writer, sitting at their desk churning out words for a potential audience of none.

The solution, then, is fi nd an audience. This, happily, is much easier in these days of blogspots and baloney, which can serve as a useful focus for the writer. Just put it out there and get better because of it. I became published as a writer because I unwittingly found a platform. I was performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a particularly pressure cooker environment, staging eight of Shakespeare’s History Plays for nearly three years. It was an extraordinary time for me as an actor/artist, and I

felt that this experience was enhanced by the interaction with the audience over the course of such a long time. I started a ‘blog’ on the RSC website to strengthen that communication and bond still further, which was eventually published as a book. I am very lucky a) to have had that platform and b) to have had such a thing to write about – writing about what I knew was never so easy: it was my life.

However, there is a point in that fi rst book, Exit Pursued by a Badger (Oberon 2009), where I become a writer. I will leave you to fi nd out where it is, but to me it is fairly obvious. Up until that point I had been writing and writing and not really thinking of who might be reading it, just writing. I was practicing, basically. I had thought about some of the tenets of writing – get a beginning, middle and end etc – but I was just rejoicing in fi nally being able to say something about this amazing time. Then, after about 9 months of this, I began to realise that people were actually reading this stuff, and that not only did I have a platform, I had a duty to make it readable. Suddenly, my brain started formulating, planning and delighting. Art. It was that instinct – to think of my audience, to communicate and to play – that, I think, fi nally saw whatever I was writing into print. I also learnt a hell of a lot in a very short space of time – I was working incredibly hard as an actor, and had no real time to write, therefore I had to communicate with speed and brevity. It teaches one to edit – to think of the audience – very quickly.

So, plenty of others can tell aspiring writers how to get published, how to fi nd a literary agent, how to structure an article, a story, a book. All I can say is that writing is an Art and it depends on the life that you lead. Do it, think of your audience, do it again. Being an artist is about life, and how you live it. Breathe it.

There are no rules.

White Hart Red Lion by Nick Asbury is published in paperback by Oberon Books, price £14.99.

I also learnt a hell of a lot in a very short space of time – I was working incredibly hard as an actor, and had no real time to write, therefore I had to communicate with speed and brevity. It teaches one to edit – to think of the audience – very quickly.

B Y S U Z A N N E R U T H V E N

how t o w r i t e for t h e how- t o m a r k e tSuzanne Ruthven


Everyone, at some time in their lives, needs to learn how to do something they have never attempted before. Planning a wedding, preparing an after dinner

speech, considering a career change, writing a stage play, taking up a new hobby, organising a holiday, improving a life-style, joining a horseracing syndicate, making a WWII Woolton pie, downsizing a home… the list is endless. And if anyone has ever asked how we managed to achieve any of these things, then we have something to write about.

How-To writing can run from readers’ letters and magazine fi llers on how to organise a successful car boot sale to a full-length self-help book on, for example, Exploring Spirituality. Or as one interviewee commented in a Daily Telegraph article: “A lot of us have expertise without realising it. Put a question about something you know well into an on-line search engine and you’ll be surprised how many people have asked the same question before. If other people don’t know how to do something and you do – then you could write about your expertise.” It goes without saying, of course, that to write convincingly on a subject and be able to impart the appropriate information means that we are following the old adage of ‘writing about what we know’ for the benefi t of our readership.

How-To topics can cover every aspect of Life – family, hobbies, career, lifestyle – and, needless to say, our expertise is drawn from our own experiences, or

for theHow to write

how-to market

I N T R AY

the experiences of those close to us. The particular hook (or spin) that we put on the narrative to cater for a specifi c target market, however, will depend on where we see ourselves fi tting into the picture. It’s not enough to write on a subject with mere enthusiasm because all How-To, Self-Help and Self-Improvement topics need to refl ect ‘life as it is lived’ by those who have already lived it. And imparted to the reader in a way that will encourage them to follow our guidelines or example.

The informal, inclusive style of using ‘we’ and ‘our’ also lends itself perfectly to Self-Help and Self-Improvement books, because we are implying that we’ve been there and are now using the t-shirt for dusters. We are identifying with the reader in their present situation, and they with us. We’re settling down for a cosy chat rather than a lecture because the patronising, exclusive style that uses ‘you’ all the time, often comes across as smug, school-marmy and unsympathetic. In true writing tutorial tradition, we are showing, not telling.

How-To and Self-Help titles are possibly among the easiest of books to write and sell, because we are writing from personal experience, and will already have the necessary contacts to embellish the text with the experiences of a wide variety of other people to provide depth, corroboration, humour and anecdote. We don’t need to write the chapters in strict sequence because each one has a slightly different slant or approach. We may have suffi cient research

guisegifts.comNOW LIVE! guisegifts.com is the new online shop for newbooks and The New Writer.

guisegifts.com went live in early May with lots of highly desirable gifts for writers and readers – more than we have space to include in the magazines. So as well as Sarah Hough and Moleskine; Instead of a Card and 100 Must Reads we’re bringing back the Penguin mugs and adding new items as fast as we can.

Why not check us out – you’ll be surprised at what we’ve found!

guisegifts.comPerfect gifts for passionate readers and aspiring writers

com guisegifts.com is the new online shop

guisegifts.com went live in early May with lots of

how t o w r i t e for t h e how- t o m a r k e tSuzanne Ruthven

thenewwriter.com 53

material to hand to fi nish one chapter, while another takes much longer because of the need to obtain more material or permissions. By rule of thumb, we’ll know if we have enough material for a full-length book on our chosen subject if we can comfortably write 45,000 words, broken down into approximately 10 separate chapters; divided by approximately 10 sub-headings for each chapter. This means each chapter will contain around 4,500 words.

Once our How-To book has been published there are various spin-offs that will help promote sales and earn higher royalties. Magazine and newspaper editors will be keener to accept article proposals from an author whose book has just been, (or is about to be) released, because the publisher’s acceptance is an endorsement of our writing ability. This can be a feature in the form of an extract from the book, or a shorter article adapted from a single chapter. Needless to say, an editor is hardly likely to make any payment for the piece since it is an extract and not ‘previously unpublished’. Nevertheless, it is well worth the lack of fee in order to get our name (and book title) out there amongst the reading public, especially in specialist magazines where there will be a higher proportion of interest in our subject.

Short, sharp snippets of How-To information can provide valuable fi llers and most magazines and

newspapers are eager for such material. Handy hints and tips can be drawn from all kinds of gardening and kitchen craft, while simple health and beauty fi llers can be aimed at women’s magazines and the women’s pages in newspapers. Any magazine or newspaper, in fact, can be the target for How-To fi llers and ‘Letters to the Editor’.

There are also online websites in the UK and the USA that specialise in How-To material, such as eHow.com or wikihow.com – trawl the internet for ‘How-To sites’. Others include www.websearch.about.com, www.lifehack.com and www.makeuseof.com. Make sure the company really will pay for any material they use – some make tempting promises but move the goalposts if contributors appear to be reaching the targets too easily. Choose your site carefully and the potential earnings are ongoing, since the more pages you write, the more money you can earn from advertising revenue. Log on and have a look at how easy it is…

Suzanne Ruthven is the author of How To Write for the How-To Market published by Compass Books ISBN 978-1-78099-722-3 UK£11.99/ Paperback or ISBN 978-1-78099-721-6 UK£6.99/E-book

r e a ders’ c h a l l enge r esp onseDieback by John Bainbridge

5 4 twitter.com/thenewwritermag | facebook.com/TheNewWriterMagazinetwitter.com/thenewwritermag | facebook.com/TheNewWriterMagazine

DIE

BAC

KThe tree was bare. Last year the branches had

been heavy with lush green leaves. Now there were only gaunt twigs and sterile black buds. And yet I could see none of the lesions on the

bark that would have confi rmed its condition.‘What are you looking at?’I had not seen her approach nor heard her footsteps

in the grass.‘This tree,’ I said. I think it might have the disease –

ash dieback.’‘I saw that on the telly,’ she said. ‘Don’t you have to

report it or something?’‘Yes, I think so. Only I’m not sure if that’s what it is.’She was one of the newer girls – in her mid-

twenties, maybe. I had seen her a few times but I didn’t know her name. Her dark hair was tied back. She was small and slim but with an attractive fi gure outlined by the green overall. She held a half-burnt cigarette in her right hand. I noticed a small tattoo on her wrist.

‘You’re Mary Lomax’s son, aren’t you?’ she said.‘Yes, I am. Ben.’‘I’m Maxine. It’s my break. I’ve come out for a

smoke. It’s one of my vices, I’m afraid.’ She smiled.I smiled back at her. I didn’t like to see her smoking

– I didn’t like the tattoo either – but it wasn’t my place to say anything.

‘Maybe it’s the fl ood,’ she said.‘The fl ood?’‘Killing the tree. The water all runs down from the

fi elds. The drains don’t work properly. Maybe that’s what’s killing it.’

It was true that the ditch beyond the hawthorn hedge was full and it was overfl owing into the grass but the other trees seemed healthy enough. Is ash more susceptible to waterlogging, I wondered?

‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘But I still think it might be dieback.’‘They’ll have to cut it down, won’t they?’‘I expect so.’She fi nished her cigarette and ground the stub into

a tobacco tin that she then slipped into the pocket of her overall.

‘She’s nice, your mum,’ she said. ‘I get her dressed in the mornings sometimes. She’s really sweet.’

‘I know,’ I said.She asked if I was ready to go inside and we walked

together to the front door. She keyed in the security code and we went into the cool hallway. I signed the visitors’ book and thanked her for letting me in.

‘See you later,’ she said.

In TNW115 we asked subscribers to write a short story of no more than 1500 words starting with the line ‘The tree was bare…’

BY

JO

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BA

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r e a ders’ c h a l l enge r esp onseDieback by John Bainbridge

thenewwriter.com 55

I spotted my mother by the window at the end of the long conservatory. To reach her I had to walk along a gauntlet of other old women – some sleeping, some muttering, some swearing, others grasping with reaching hands.

‘Hello, Mum,’ I said.She looked at me in bewilderment. Then there was

a moment of recognition.‘What are you doing here?’‘I’ve come to visit you, Mum.’‘It’s Charlie, isn’t it?’‘No, Mum, it’s Ben.’Charlie is my brother. He lives down south. He

doesn’t come. I pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. She looked worried, almost afraid. Her face was deeply lined and she had lost weight recently. The blue cardigan that had once fi tted so well hung loosely from her thin shoulders.

‘Have you come to take me home?’ she said.‘No, Mum, I’ve come to visit you.’This was her home now. She had to sell her house

to pay her care fees. Only in her mind does she go back there.

‘Is it going to rain?’ she asked. ‘I don’t think I brought my coat.’

‘You won’t need your coat.’Her pale eyes gazed at me through her spectacles.

Her hair was white and thin. I remembered all those photographs of when she was young with long dark hair. I remembered when she actually looked like that. I thought of her taking us to school – Charlie and me – holding both our hands. Our own children must now be older than she was then.

‘I’ll need my coat to go home,’ she said. ‘I can’t go without my coat.’

What could I say? Her coat was, of course, upstairs in the wardrobe of her en-suite bedroom. But telling her that would be meaningless. She did not understand that this was now her home. Where she slept last night was already a mystery to her.

One of the women brought her medication. After a lot of persuasion she swallowed the tablets one at a time. She did not understand what they were. She takes a handful every day. They are to lower her blood pressure, keep her blood fl owing, control her heart beat and strengthen her bones. In other words they are to keep her alive.

‘It’s Charlie, isn’t it?’ she said again.I told her that Charlie lives a long way off. He can’t

come very often. I’m Ben, her other son. She’d have to make do with me instead. Once she would have laughed but her sense of humour has long deserted her.

Maxine arrived with a clipboard. She stopped to talk to each of the other women and at last reached us at the end of the room.

‘Hello again,’ she said and, turning to my mother: ‘Mary, what would you like for your tea?’

My mother looked at her. She did not understand what she was being asked. She was once headmistress of a large village primary school. She infl uenced the lives of generations of children. She was respected

and admired. She was used to making big decisions. Now she can’t decide between spam and sausages because she can’t remember what either of them is.

‘Would you like spam?’ Maxine asked. She held her pen poised in her right hand. The tattoo just showed below the cuff of her overall. ‘Shall I put you down for spam?’

I suspect my mother doesn’t like spam – certainly I don’t remember her ever giving it to us to eat at home – but it is a word that is vaguely familiar to her so she nodded her head just long enough for Maxine to tick the box on her form that said “spam”.

‘Spam it is,’ the girl said.And I’m sure Maxine ticking boxes on her form

enables the manager to tick a box on another form that says “we give the residents a choice at mealtimes” and this will improve the home’s rating when the inspectors come.

‘Who was that?’ Mother said.‘Maxine,’ I said. ‘She’s one of the carers.’‘What did she want?’‘She came to ask what you wanted for your tea.’‘Did I tell her?’‘Yes.’‘I don’t remember telling her.’‘You said you wanted spam.’ Well, she hadn’t

actually said she didn’t want spam.‘What for?’‘For your tea.’‘But, Charlie, I won’t be here for my tea. I’m

going home.’Maxine walked past collecting the empty teacups

from the little side tables. She smiled at me.‘Pity about the tree,’ she said.‘I know.’I thought about how young she looked. My mother

has been retired for longer than Maxine has been alive. Children she taught have become grandparents. Children too young to know her have grown up. To Maxine she is just a sweet old lady. If she had known her before she was old she might not have thought her so sweet.

‘Have I brought my coat?’ Mother said, becoming agitated. ‘I’ll need my coat!’

‘It’s all right, Mum,’ I said. ‘It’s all right.’I held her hand. The veins were large and blue

and there were bruises where things had touched her. She looked at me for a while and then her eyes began to close.

She wakened with a start but, although I still held her hand, she had forgotten I was there.

‘It’s all right,’ I said.She turned her eyes to the window and I followed

her gaze out towards the garden.I have no idea what she saw there, nor what sense

she made of it. But I saw the long expanse of lawn leading to the overfl owing ditch at the edge of the fi eld. I saw the hawthorn hedge splattered with blossom. And I saw the trees – the green, healthy poplars and willows, the tall silver birch – and, among them, the dying ash that would soon be gone.

We liked the way that John used the image of a healthy-looking but dying tree to illustrate and enrich the story of an old lady in a care home.


w r i t ers’ grou p t h er a p ySimon Whaley

Too scared to goB Y S I M O N W H A L E Y

W R I T E R S’ G R O U P T H E R A P Y

In TNW116, Susan Craig from West London, asked on the letters page (Write On, page 62) if any readers had experienced something similar to her dilemma. She’s recently moved to a new area, and is looking for a new writers’ group. “I did a quick search on the Internet,” she writes, “and found a couple of groups that are fairly local, but they both look really professional. One focuses on writing for the screen, so it’s not really me anyway, but the other one does look interesting, meets once a month and is within walking distance – I’ve been here two months and I’m too scared to contact them, let alone go! I did think about trying to set up a new group, maybe some ads in the local bookshop and the pub, but what if nobody came?”

Firstly, Susan, your dilemma is quite understandable! Every member of a writers’ group has had to walk through the door for the fi rst time, and it can feel daunting, can’t

it? However, before you go to all that effort of starting up a new group, try to pluck up the courage and visit the existing group, especially as it’s within walking distance. It may be the perfect group for you, but until you go and have a look, you’ll never know!

Trisha Scott, Joint Secretary of the Broadstairs Writers’ Circle (www.broadstairswriterscircle.blogspot.co.uk), has the following advice. “If there’s a contact number, or email, for the group, contact them before you go and ask them if they would kindly look out for you – and say you’re a bit nervous.”

This is great advice. Firstly, making contact by phone or email is not as intimidating as walking into a room full of strangers. You can do it from the comfort of your own sofa! It also gives you the opportunity to fi nd out more about the group, to see if it really is right for you. Spend a few minutes jotting down some questions that you can ask either by phone or by email. Things to consider include:

• How big is the group? How many members attend most meetings? This may help settle your nerves, if you know how many people are likely to be at your fi rst meeting.

• How does the group operate? What happens in a typical meeting? Are sections of the meeting set aside for criticism of members’ work? Are meetings themed in any way? Knowing what to expect from your fi rst meeting will make it less daunting.

• Are members expected to read something out? Many groups re-assure you that you don’t have to read anything out if you don’t want to.

• Does the group accept all writers, or just those with an interest in a specifi c genre, or area of writing, such as poetry, romance, or crime? Having writers who share your interest in writing means there’s more chance of sharing and exchanging knowledge and ideas.

• What writing experience do group members have? If the group includes writers who’ve been published, or won competitions, it’s a good sign that some of them know what they’re talking about!


w r i t ers’ grou p t h er a p ySimon Whaley

If you have a writers’ group query that you’d like answered, please email Simon at [email protected] or write to him c/o TNW. If requested, queries will not be attributed to specifi c groups or members, to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed!


If you have a writers’ group query that you’d like answered, please email Simon at [email protected] c/o TNW. If requested, queries will not be attributed to specifi c groups or members, to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed!

It’s worth writing down a few points about yourself before you get in touch, so you’re prepared for any questions you may get asked on the phone, or might want to include in your approach email:

• What sort of writing are you interested in?• What writing successes have you had, if any?• What sort of support are you looking for?

If the responses to your questions are positive, ask if you can go along to the next meeting, and check the correct date, time and venue. Most groups will look out for a new face. If you can, arrive early, when there are fewer people around. If entering the room on your own worries you, or if fi nding the right room at the venue isn’t easy, ask if you can meet the person you’re liaising with outside the main entrance at a specifi c time, before the meeting. That way, you won’t be walking into the venue on your own.

Remember that going to the meeting does not commit you to membership for life! It’s vital you fi nd the right group for you, and if it transpires that this local group isn’t what you’re looking for, at least you know. Walk away and look for another group, or consider setting up your own circle. However, as Trisha says, don’t base your judgement on that fi rst meeting alone. “You need to go more than once. Different people often go on different occasions, so you can’t tell from just one visit. You will like and get on with some people at the group and not others, like in a class environment. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get on with everybody. It’s not obligatory!”

Make the most of any free time at the meeting, such as coffee breaks, because this is ideal for getting to know the other members. “Join in general chit-chat with people around you,” recommends Trish. “You learn a lot or get offers of help.”

Some groups have a relaxed membership. “You don’t have to go to every meeting,” suggests Trish, “if you prefer to go less frequently. Just keep in touch with the meeting schedule on the writers’ circle blog or website.”

After two or three meetings you’ll soon have a feel as to whether the group is right for you. If a membership fee applies, some groups don’t charge for the fi rst few meetings, whilst you try them out to see if

they’re right for you. Make the most of these options.Carol Warham, from Yorkshire makes the point

that most groups are friendly. “I have joined courses and a local writing group over the years and have always been welcomed at any.” However, being based in a rural location she recently set up a group in her own village. “This was a diffi cult decision to do and intimidating,” she says. “I advertised in the local library and on the fi rst session three came. The following session we boosted our numbers to about fi ve or six, and now, although there are about nine of us, it can be anything from two to six coming along.”

One of the benefi ts of starting a new group is that everyone who comes along is therefore new to the group at the start. “All seem to have been relaxed at coming along,” says Carol, “possibly because it was a new venture and everyone was new. It was very, very scary for me!” Despite being the originator of that group, Carol says that she still feels scared at times. “I feel a sense of responsibility for organising it and keeping it going.”

And it’s worth remembering that. Starting your own group may avoid that moment of walking into an existing group for the fi rst time, but it does have other implications. And if you do set up your own group, you have no control over who walks through that door and wants to join.

So, pluck up the courage Susan, and get in touch with that local group. You’ll probably fi nd all of your initial fears are completely unfounded!

m ic rof ic t ionSilly Billy by Paula Fusco


Billy parks himself on the edge of the bed, careful not to crease the good candlewick bedspread. A wedding present from Gracie’s Aunt Bea, he thinks he remembers. You wouldn’t get a present like that nowadays. Young people today, only interested in things that last fi ve minutes. Mind, that’s how long most marriages last now and all.

Next door seems to be out. All quiet on the western front. The stripped carcass of a child’s bike lies disregarded in their garden.

Reaching under the bed, Billy can just about get hold of the Globe-Trotter suitcase they had used that one time they went to the Continent.

“Silly Billy, we need to buy one of them ones with wheels,” Gracie had said. But they never did.

The case isn’t too heavy though a bit harder to lift than last time.

Gracie had always called him “Silly Billy”. Used to give him the pip in the early

days. Somehow, he can’t remember when he stopped noticing.

The case smells of Victory V’s and a chemically, petrolly tang from that groundsheet he bought before and put away.

“What do you want with that, Silly Billy?” Gracie had asked, but got no answer.

Billy spreads the sheet across the bed; just the right size. The PVC is cold and slides under his fi ngers as he smoothes it out, top to bottom, side to side. Billy likes to keep their bed nice, the way Gracie used to, pillows plump, bedspread taut, tidy.

He ought to take his shoes off really, before he lies down. No point in going to all this trouble if he puts a hole in the blasted sheet.

In the war, Billy recalls, the dead began to leak after three days.

Better safe than sorry, Silly Billy.

Silly BillyB Y PA U L A F U S C O

Paula Fusco was born in Belfast and now lives in Surrey, where it’s warmer. Many years of staying in, watching television are to blame for the characters she creates in her short stories and she hopes that her readers will share her passion for the absurd.

Silly Billy

of f sc ho ol t h at daySentence structures

thenewwriter.com 59

that day?Off schoolS E N T E N C E S T R U C T U R E S

Being damp and dilapidated, Peter decided not to buy the house.

Common sense tells us that the house is more likely than Peter to be damp and dilapidated; but the structure of the sentence, suggests that it is he who is in this unfortunate condition. The phrase is adjacent to him, not the house.

It’s called a dangling modifi er – the modifi er, or descriptive phrase, dangles because it is not properly attached. This can be funny, but it can also be confusing.

I caught a burglar in my pyjamas.

After blocking Oxford Street for three hours, the police dispersed the demonstrators.

To make things clear, rearrange the sentence.

The house was damp and dilapidated so Peter did not buy it.

Demonstrators blocked Oxford Street for three hours before the police dispersed them.

Besides not letting your modifi ers dangle, how else can you make your sentences clear, and as easy and pleasant to read as your

material allows?Remember what a sentence is: a group

of words that contains at least one verb, and makes sense. A sentence may be a statement, a question or a command, and it may be short or long. The fi rst 62 words of John le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor form a single sentence. The word Stop! may also be a single sentence,

Sentences may be simple, compound or complex.

SI M P L E SE N T E NC E SA simple sentence consists of one statement (or question, or command) about one subject.

The burglar looked good in my pyjamas.

Don’t buy that house, Peter.

Is Oxford Street still closed?

Some new writers fear that simple sentences may make their work look simple-minded, or insuffi ciently literary. They shouldn’t worry: some of the most powerful, resonant statements in our language have been simple sentences.

Reader, I married him.

We shall never surrender.

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

Don’t try this at home.

COM P OU N D SE N T E NC E SA compound sentence combines two or more simple sentences into one. This allows you to vary the rhythm of your prose, and make clear which actions go together.

He drank two pints of beer and smoked three cigarettes.

When combining simple sentences into a compound sentence, be sure that they really belong together; don’t just string them together and hope for the best. Your reader will soon get tired of reading this sort of thing:

He drank two pints of beer and smoked three cigarettes and he wondered where

Were you off school on the day they did sentence structures? Zoë Fairbairns on what you missed.

his wife was, it was raining outside and he closed the windows and his phone rang.

Instead, combine the sentences in a way that shows connections.

He drank two pints of beer, smoked three cigarettes and wondered where his wife was. It was raining outside so he closed the windows.

His phone rang.

COM P L E X SE N T E NC E SA complex sentence contains within itself other partial sentences, known as subordinate clauses.

These bonds, which are set to double in value, are perfect for pensioners.

The words ‘which are set to double in value’ would make no sense on their own, but their meaning is clear in the context of the longer complex sentence.

When using subordinate clauses, be careful with your commas. In the following two sentences, the fi rst suggests a rather sweeping judgement; the second is more selective in its disapproval.

All bankers, who prey on gullible investors, should be locked up.

All bankers who prey on gullible investors should be locked up.

There are other sentence structures, and, once you know what you are doing, you are free to innovate and improvise. That is how language develops, and even people who know the rules of sentence structure don’t necessarily follow them all the time. But it is important to be aware of them, and use them to identify what has gone wrong if you start losing your way in your own writing – or anyone else’s.

Do you have particular problems with grammar, punctuation or syntax? Let us know.

WR

ITE

ON

As a new subscriber I’ve got nothing to compare the last three issues to but my thoughts for what they are worth… First, I like the look of the magazine very much. The presentation is clear and unfussy and so encourages me to read on. Too many contemporary magazines try to be too clever in their presentation, which ultimately puts me off as the simple act of reading becomes a chore. As for content, my approach is similar to the one I have for all magazines and newspapers i.e. I quickly come to recognise the 30% of the content that I know will interest me. I do not write or read poetry and so those pages are quickly passed over, although I think it is to your credit that poetry features to the extent that it does. I am however interested in the short story and so read those and any articles of a ‘how to’ nature.

If I had a criticism it is that there are too many articles that come across to me as fi llers. Instead I would prefer to see more content giving advice/suggestions to new writers.Mick Finn

I just wanted to say the thing I love the most is the positivity of the whole magazine. Not the constant – ‘How to be published; Top mistakes being published and rejection; How I got published; When I got published; How to present your work to be published.’ These articles are helpful (don’t get me wrong) but too much of it…gets tedious.

Now I’m not saying I don’t want help or advice, I do. I've done courses and you can never stop learning from others and it’s a writers dream to be published (and any writer who says otherwise I feel maybe kidding themselves). What I’m trying to say is your magazine is so refreshing and celebrates writing and it suggests rather than dictates. Suggestions such as authors to read, and helpful books, good websites.

The amount of poetry for me is perfect, I write poetry and its nice to see it throughout the magazine without being tucked away on one page. On the other-hand too much can get in your face. The whole mixture of all writing is beautifully balanced.

As for the stories they are a nice length and not too many either, you have remembered this is a magazine which is lovely to read with a coffee or quick spare moment :-)

As for advice? Once again great. Just the mention of Anton Chekhov’s quote ‘don’t tell me the moon is shining: show me the glint of light through broken glass’. Wow, how much did I learn in one sentence!

Love the prompts – I’m a lazy writer and need to be kicked and given incentive. The competitions I normally enter are themed because I love the challenge. I have written many poems inspired by paintings both famous and local artists. If a painting talks to me then words fl ow, hence your photo prompts work for me too.

Things I’d like to see? Articles on how to write different forms of poetry. Or any such advice like the quote. Good informative websites, or fun sites or good blogs to follow.

In a nutshell my feedback is: I love the magazine, it’s a great balance, full of life and refreshing. Thank you. Gosh, I have gone on a bit haven’t I! Nicollette Foreman

Writ

e, e

mai

l, Fac

eboo

k or

Twee

t us

– w

e lo

ve to

hea

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m yo

u


Tweet WiseEach issue we will put a question to the world of Twitter and gain quick feedback on a topic of interest.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting a Writing Group, what would it be?

Katrina Naomi Agree ground rules on how to give feedback and stick to these. Buy a timer so no arguments on how long each person has.

Jane Riddell Have the right balance of structure and time to mingle with other participants.

Christine HoweIt’s about writing, so be focused. Suggest no talk of generalities until the end of the meeting.

Trish NicholsonShare the organising & moderating during meetings (don’t have ‘bosses’) within the loosest workable structure.

alex and judeMake sure everyone has fun and feels safe to play.

Chris LewisEnsure a ready supply of coffee, alcohol and chips and useful it is to have a good wi-fi connection at your group venue.

alex and jude We always have biscuits. Nice posh ones. I did bring seaweed once for a taste/writing exercise… Sarah M Stuart Ensure members write! Set ‘homework’ piece for next session. Don’t need to be an epics & great starters to build on later.

Anita Butler Actually do some writing. I went to a group once where people just talked about it.

Flugel Meister Read.

Trish NicholsonBest advice to writers is to read – widely, globally, hear as many voices as you can.

w r i t e on

thenewwriter.com 61

After a break of a few years, I started once more with my subscription to The New Writer, just prior to you taking over. When I started writing many years ago, I was advised by a literary friend to subscribe, and so I did. At that time I was delighted to fi nd a magazine that could help ‘get me started’ and I looked forward to each copy arriving, and the competitions especially gave me a target to go forward. The reason I stopped subscribing was because I became involved in a rather large writing project and now that it will shortly, (hopefully) be completed, I decided I wanted to get back to my literary roots, which was writing short stories. Another subject close to my literary heart is encouraging new writers to fi nd a way forward, in what can be a very lonely and expensive journey towards publication. I now run courses to help people with North East writer and poet, Roger Harvey.

So what do I think so far? – here goes then – the magazine certainly looks very inviting, and is a classy, value for money, production. No worries there…As for the content, I am delighted that writing groups are getting good coverage and I very much enjoy reading about individuals who tell their story, be they publishers or writers. I particularly enjoyed the piece about Slightly Foxed in this month’s edition – I love the fact that they are independents who have worked so hard to provide an alternative to the corporate and mass produced markets.

That is the good, there is certainly nothing bad or ugly. If I have to give a criticism it is that there seems to be an awful lot of poetry but that is just a personal view as that genre has never been my thing. Otherwise no complaints at all. As for suggestions as a reader – I believe that The New Writer – by it’s very name – should perhaps have more regular updates and encouragement to new writers who want to move forward with their writing but feel awkward and timid. They need to know that there are many other readers who are in exactly the same boat. Also many don’t have the sort of income to attend expensive courses, and I think the gap needs to be bridged somehow so that no one feels they have to be ‘well off’ to write good stories and achieve publication.

All in all though, I am very pleased to be receiving the magazine again. So much so, that when I host my next Write beside the Sea course I will be advising the attendees to subscribe.

Angie Stanger-Leathes www.limelightclassics.com

COM PE TITI O N S

CO N G R ATU L ATI O N SLife Writing Competition Winner: Jo Carroll – Fallen AngelsSee Jo’s winning entry on page 26

Runners-Up (each winning a copy of Writing from Life by Lynne Hackles)

Wendy Ogden – Close enough to smell the Lemons

Michael Springford – And then I LaughedCathy White – Mooning by Moonlight

Poem on a PostcardVal Booler – Lute (inspired by a postcard Anne Bolyen’s Lute picked up when she visited Hever Castle) see page 42

Choc Lit CompetitionThe prize for the Choc Lit competition was for three opening chapters to be forwarded to Choc Lit for their tasting panel. After our long deliberations and much discussion over the excellent entries we would like to say ‘Congratulations’ to the following writers:

Christina Garbutt for So This is Love

Sallie Durham for Love in Idleness

Carrie Brady for Bound to the Billionaire

Congratulations to all the writers who rose to the challenge of this competition. We will have more news to report on this competition in a future issue.

A Question of Writing You still have time to enter our ‘A Question of Writing’ Competition. Write an article for The New Writer on any writing-related or literary theme.

Word Count: Up to 2000 words.More details and to enter visit

www.thenewwriter.com/a-question-of-writing-competitionEntry fee: £5.00 per entry

Closing Date: 1 February 2014

Inspired by a PoemT.S. Eliot’s poem Four Quartets is the plot inspiration and integral to the action in Grace McCleen’s novel The

Professor of Poetry. For this competition write a short story of no more than 2000 words inspired by a well-known poem.

First prize £30 and publication. Three Runners-up will receive copies of

The Professor of Poetry by Grace McCleen courtesy of publisher Sceptre

Entry fee: £5.00 per entryClosing Date: 1 May 2014

Unfettered: Free Verse CompetitionFree verse is an open form of poetry sometimes known as vers libre. It does not does not use consistent meter patterns or rhyme, though you can impose your own patterns if you wish. For

this competition you have no restraints, you can write on any theme or topic. The only limitation we ask is that you remain within 40 lines.

First prize £30 and publication.Entry fee: £5.00 per entryClosing Date: 1 May 2014

The New Writer Prose & Poetry Prizes The 2013 New Writer Prose & Poetry Prizes closed on 30 November 2013 and since then the whole judging process has swung into action. Results will be announced in March on www.thenewwriter.com and the winning entries will be published in the Summer issue.

Competitions from

CO N G R ATU L ATI O N S

See Jo’s winning entry on page 26

writing-related or literary theme.

www.thenewwriter.com/a-question-of-writing-competition

Inspired by a PoemT.S. Eliot’s poem is the plot inspiration and integral to the action in Grace McCleen’s novel

Professor of Poetry

The prize for the Choc Lit competition was for three

The Professor of Poetry

Unfettered: Free Verse CompetitionFree verse is an open form of poetry sometimes

consistent meter patterns or rhyme, though you can impose your own patterns if you wish. For

this competition you have no restraints, you can write


OVER 40NEW BOOKS REVIEWED INSIDE

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dams


What does a literary agent actually do?actually do?











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What does a literary agent a literary agent actually do?actually do?actually do?actually do?

January/February/March 2014January/February/March 2014January/February/March 2014January/February/March 2014Issue 117Issue 117

Write a synopsisWrite a synopsisWrite a synopsisWrite a synopsisWrite a synopsisPrepare a manuscriptPrepare a manuscriptPrepare a manuscriptPrepare a manuscript

Create a character collageCreate a character collageCreate a character collageCreate a character collageCreate a character collageStructure sentencesStructure sentencesStructure sentencesStructure sentences

Write for the ‘How to’ marketWrite for the ‘How to’ marketWrite for the ‘How to’ marketWrite for the ‘How to’ marketWrite for the ‘How to’ market











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Dana Stabenowt h e y say, w e say

William Landay

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ConnellyAn upward trajectory

Michael

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ith developing speed reading skills is that by the time you realise a book is boring you’ve already fi nished it.’ Franklin P. Jones

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ugustine BirrellJanuary / February 2014 | Issue 79


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McDermidDepth of character

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Ten Poems about Love (PLov) – £4.95

Ten Poems about Mothers (PMot) – £4.95

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Ten Poems about Puddings (PPud) – £4.95

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thenewwriter.com 65

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G E T W R I T I N G

In every issue of The New Writer we aim to have a number of writing opportunities for our readers. These will vary from exercises for you to try alone to articles which we would like to receive from you. There will also be competitions, showcase opportunities, reports and more.

See below for an index of the opportunities in this issue

Readers’ Challenge – page 5Entries now being accepted until 13 March.

Writing Together, Writing Alone – page 6Try the exercise for yourself and send us the results.

Writers’ Bookshelf – page 47Send us a book review of your favourite writing guide.

Writers’ Prompt – page 49Respond to our picture prompt.

Write On: Letters page – page 60We love to hear from you.

Tweetwise – page 61Follow us on Twitter and share your handy hints with fellow writers.

Competitions – page 62

Competitions have their own submission guidelines and deadlines, for all other writing opportunities please send us your copy by 9 February 2014. As always we prefer email submissions.* Please send to [email protected] unless otherwise stated.

* If you do not have access to internet/email at all we will accept entries by snail mail. [If this is the case please send well in advance of deadlines as we do not work in the same offi ce]

f i v e bo ok sAlexander McCall Smith


I was a keen reader as a boy. I read my way through a great deal of the usual children’s literature. I loved school stories. I loved books about boys who had adventures, and yearned

for adventures myself. One story, though, that I knew more or less by heart at a very early age was Rudyard Kipling’s Rikki Tikii Tavi. I think that is what helped me to understand the power of storytelling. Then, when I was a young teenager, I read John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps which taught me about plot and pace and the possibilities of the fi rst person narrative.

In my mid-twenties I took my fi rst job, which was at the Queen’s University of Belfast. It was a rather dramatic time to be in Northern Ireland: the Troubles were at their height and bombs and occasional gunfi re were the order of the day. Two books stand out from that period of my life: W.H. Auden’s Collected Shorter Poems, and Nadine Gordimer’s The Conservationist. I remember the precise moment I took the Auden collection from the library shelf – I had been browsing and came across it by accident. I had heard of Auden and had read one or two of his poems, but this was my fi rst proper discovery of his work. I had no idea at the time that this would lead to a literary enthusiasm that has lasted my lifetime.

Auden is a marvellously humane poet. His breadth is quite extraordinary: he writes about limestone, about streams, about psychoanalysis, about myth, and the bugs that live on one’s skin. He also writes very beautifully about the central mysteries of life, including love. Lullaby is possibly one the fi nest love poems in the English language; certainly it is one of the gentlest and most moving.

Auden infl uenced the way I look at the world, and therefore the way I write about it. Because he concerns himself with our personal response to the world, there is an intimacy about his work that I think has affected my novels. I like to write about the small-scale events of life – about the little details of everyday life that can be so important to us. I like to write about the local – about how people, feel about their surroundings, their things, the people about them. A lot of that I owe, I think, to Auden’s infl uence. Mma Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana has an approach to life that I think Auden would have liked. She likes to celebrate the ordinary features of her day-to-day life – and that is certainly what Auden did with domestic life, particularly in his later poems.

Nadine Gordimer’s novel, The Conservationist, is very beautifully written. I read that book several times and I think I learned a great deal from it about the structure of fi ction. There is a grave sparseness to the prose, but at the same time it conveys atmosphere beautifully. I read it at a time that I was beginning to write, and I think it infl uenced me a great deal.

Lastly, there is R.K. Narayan, the Indian writer admired and encouraged by Graham Greene. He wrote a whole series of novels set in an Indian town called Malgudi. I have read them all, but one that stands out for me is Swami and Friends. This, and the other novels in the series, were important for me because without having read them I am sure that I could not have written The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Narayan showed me how to describe the daily life of a small town and how to make small things big. I owe him an immense debt of gratitude.

very beautifully about the central mysteries of life,

the gentlest and most moving.

BOOKSAlexander McCall Smith, one of the world’s most prolifi c and popular authors tells us about fi ve books that made him the writer he is today.

STOP PRESSWe are delighted to host the return of Alexander McCall Smith to Winchester Guildhall at 7.00pm for 7.30pm on Thursday 6 February 2014. To book places see page 64.

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the new writer issue 117

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