Leaf Writers' Magazine Edition 2 by Cecilia Morreau

GUIDING WRITERS AND ARTISTS FOR OVER 100 YEARS

‘... much, much better than luck’ TERRY PRATCHETT ‘Essential reading ... how to survive in publishing’ KATE MOSSE ‘Full of useful stuff. It answered my every question’ J.K. ROWLING ‘... the book which magically contains all other books ... an entrance ticket to the world you long for’ FAY WELDON ‘... set right to it, with the Yearbook your shining armour, your sword!’ ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH ‘Think of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook as your sherpa’ IAN RANKIN ‘... like a magic carpet that would carry the writer anywhere’ MAEVE BINCHY ‘Every possible scrap of information needed by the upcoming or established writer’ EOIN COLFER SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING PUBLISHED? For top tips, advice and feedback from industry specialists, book a place on one of our writing conferences or masterclasses. Visit www.writersandartists.co.uk for further details.

Introduction Leaf Writers’ Magazine Leaf Books Ltd GTi Suite Valleys Innovation Centre Navigation Park Abercynon Rhondda Cynon Taf CF45 4SN www.leafbooks.co.uk contact@leafbooks.co.uk EDITORIAL TEAM Cecilia Morreau

cecilia@leafbooks.co.uk

Sarah Edmonds

sarah@leafbooks.co.uk

Sam Burns

sam@leafbooks.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION RATES (3 issues per year) UK and Europe – £15 inc. p&p Rest of world – £21 inc. p&p © All rights reserved. Copyright remains with the individual contributors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission from the publishers. The views expressed in the Leaf Writers’ Magazine are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its editors.

The publisher acknowledges the financial support of the Welsh Books Council

So, the second edition already! Many debates have occurred ‘twixt first and second: mostly about punctuation, the nature of paper and why typesetting, fun though it is, exists in a parallel universe of foreshortened time. We concluded many of these debates with – well, it depends upon your point of view. Which is the theme of this edition of the magazine. Point of view. Not the many-worlds interpretation of quantam mechanics. Size was another topic up for discussion in the office. I got a new handbag for my birthday, from my daughter, who is also my stylist. It is red, is covered in circles that resemble overenthusiastic fish scales and has a handle with black beads that I suspect have escaped from a clown’s rosary. It is smaller than my previous handbag. In a not immediately obviously connected event we had a lovely review of the magazine in Mslexia. The kind reviewer (I hope you’re reading this) said that the magazine was handbag-sized. She obviously had my old handbag. For, woe is me, the first edition of the magazine doesn’t fit into my new red bag. As you may notice, this magazine is just a tad smaller than your previous one. Draw your own conclusions. Finally, we are waiting with bated breath (whatever that is) to know whether our application for funding from the Welsh Books Council for this magazine has been accepted. If it has, we may come in for some money (a rare and thrilling experience for us) and we’ll be able to do extravagant things like paying the printers, paying our contributors, and even – although I don’t want to get carried away – paying ourselves. Fingers and all exterior appendages crossed. STOP PRESS – We have it! Although in a smaller and amended form due to the current economic climate. Thanks to all the good people at the WBC: may your lives be long and literary. Cecilia.

Contents Introduction

page 1

News From Leaf Books page 4

Write about Writing Competition Results pg 4 Rhys Davies Competition anthology: Getting Up pg 4 Foresight with Hindsight and More Memoirs pg 5

Literary News

page 6

What’s Hot in the Valley: Emily Hinshelwood pg 6 Haiti still needs our help: 100 Stories for Haiti pg 7

Writing Your Life — Memoirs

page 8

All About the Memoir Competition pg 8 ‘Piano Pieces’ Diana Mitchener pg 10 Commentary from Diana Mitchener pg 10 ‘Foresight with Hindsight’ Jane Common pg 12 Commentary from Jane Common pg 14 Things your word processor can do that your typewriter can’t pg 15

Interesting Articles

page 16

Publisher profiles: Poetry Collections Book Profile: Writing Your Self – Transforming Personal Material by John Killick & Myra Schneider How to Get the Most out of Writers’ Workshops Paul Cooper Writing Successes and Failures Norma Meacock Making your Own Luck Bobbie Darbyshire

Where I Write

Leaf Writers tell us about their favourite writing locations

Eleri Evans Sheila Hamilton Mary Sheehan Clare Hayes Sue Moules Debra Llewellyn

pg 22 pg 23 pg 23 pg 24 pg 24 pg 24

Karen Fleming Bruce Barnes Kate Ball Trish Hill Angela Sherlock Rachel Carter

pg 16 pg 17 pg 18 pg 20 pg 21 page 22 pg 25 pg 25 pg 26 pg 26 pg 27 pg 27

Interviews

page 28

Joanne Harris page 28 Gillian Clarke page 32 On Writing

page 36

An Introduction to Point of View in Prose Fiction Michael Stewart Part One: Perils and Pitfalls pg 36 Copyediting: a seat at the cutting room table Clare Sturges pg 39 The e-Writing Revolution Alastair Stewart pg 42 Novel Beginnings David Grubb pg 46

Best of Leaf

A selection of some of the best poems and micro-fictions published by Leaf Books with commentaries from the authors ‘Love’ Charles Evans ‘Initiation’ Helen Pizzey ‘Signalling’ Amy Sackville

pg 48 pg 50 pg 52

page 48

‘The Welfare’ Kate Noakes pg 54 ‘Bee Dazzled’ Sue Anderson pg 56 ‘Imagine Coal’ Mary Cookson pg 58

The Essential Guide to Writers’ Groups

page 61 A little give and take: ways to do criticism in a workshop Starting your own writers’ group Writers’ Groups: Directory Editing Sue Moules

pg 62 pg 66 pg 67 pg 68

Creative Writing Course Reviews

page 88 Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning pg 88 Roselle Angwin pg 92 University of Glasgow pg 95

Central St Martins Sophie King Teeside University

The Final Bits page 99

Listings Current and Forthcoming Leaf Competitions Creative Writing Workshop Entry Form and Vouchers

pg 99 pg 102 pg 104 pg107

pg 96 pg 97 pg 98

News from Leaf Books Write about Writing Competition Results Winner: ‘Writing Successes and Failures’ by Norma Meacock Commended: ‘Write a Novel in Twenty-Five Minutes’ by Sarah Fraser ‘Making your Own Luck’ by Bobbie Darbyshire ‘Editing’ by Sue Moules ‘Where I Write’ by Sue Moules ‘Where I Write’ by Debra Llewellyn ‘Where I Write’ by Trish Hill ‘Where I Write’ by Sheila Hamilton ‘Where I Write’ by Kate Ball ‘Where I Write’ by Rachel Carter ‘Where I Write’ by Angela Sherlock ‘Where I Write’ by Mary Sheehan ‘Where I Write’ by Clare Hayes ‘Where I Write’ by Eleri Evans ‘Where I Write’ by Karen Fleming

Getting Up: An anthology of winning stories from the Academi Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. Selected by Stevie Davies and Niall Griffiths. ‘What impresses us most vividly as we stand back to consider the tales we have pondered as judges of this year’s competition is the sheer diversity and vitality of the short story: an open, improvisational form which, to judge by this year’s submissions, is going from strength to strength in Wales.’ – Stevie Davies and Niall Griffiths

Leaf Books is publishing the anthology of winning entries from the 2010 Academi Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. Further details about Congratulations to all of the above. this publication will be available on our The winning entries can be found on website in due course. pages 20-27 and 68, and find details For more information about the about the next Write About Writing winning stories: Competition on page 105. www.academi.org/rhysdavies/

Foresight with Hindsight and More Memoirs – out now!

Hindsight and More Memoirs contains the winning entries from Leaf Books’ first Mini-Memoir Competition.

This anthology is now available for ... what happens purchase. It costs £9.99 plus £1 p&p in the music is that per copy (discount available to featured everyone is woken authors). Order it today from www. up by bombs and leafbooks.co.uk; alternatively, pop a cannons and they cheque in the post and we’ll send it to run to the walls of the you pronto. town and see enemy soldiers attacking Featuring: Diana Mitchener, Jane them. So all the men hurry to put on Common, Jo Austen, Trina Beckett, battle clothes over their pyjamas and the Pascale Bientot, P. de Burlet, Tracy ladies help them to pull on heavy army Burton, Dolly Carter, Wendy Craig, boots. Then the men run out and fight. Jane Croft, Ian Cundell, Sylvia They keep fighting until the ladies say, Sanderson, Frank J. Ferrie, Lesley Fuller, ‘Never mind. We’ll make you a nice pot Sue Gill, Margaret Greenwood, David of tea.’ When the ladies take the tea to the Grubb, Tamara Guhrs, Ursula Hurley, men and see the enemy throwing bombs Paul Jenkins, Freda Love Smith, Liz at the walls they get very angry. They fetch Martinez, Alison McNaught, Moira everything they can and throw down McPartlin, Suzanne Moorhouse, Eithne chairs and books and chamber pots full of Nightingale, Amy O’Neil, Clarissa wee until in the end the enemy can’t stand Pattern, Karen Phillips, Clare Potter, it anymore and gallop away and everyone Brenda Ray, Joyce Reed, Claire Riviere, jumps up and down and says, ‘Hurrah! Nick Robinson, David Craig Smith, Meic Stephens, Christine Tennent, We’ve beaten you!’ And that is how Daddy plays the war Jennie Tripp, Jayne Walter, Lauren Williamson and Georgina Wilson. on the piano. Extract from winning entry ‘Piano Pieces’ by Diana Mitchener Tarot cards and camping trips, ack-ack guns and a virtual romance, teenage runaways, crows in the toilet and a mortal fear of Tony Benn. Foresight with

Contact Leaf Books Email: contact@leafbooks.co.uk Post: Leaf Books Ltd, GTi Suite, Valleys Innovation Centre, Navigation Park, Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taf CF45 4SN www.leafbooks.co.uk

iterary News

What’s Hot in the Valley

wel Aman Tawe – a charity committed to local engagement in energy issues – is all set to deliver an exciting programme of arts activities specifically themed around climate change. ReCreation embraces a range of arts genres as a way to explore our personal relationships with some of the most critical environmental issues facing us today – dwindling resources, catastrophic weather patterns, food security, environmental refugees and so on. We are constantly bombarded with news and facts about climate change and the environment. There is very little disagreement among scientists that the planet is hotting up at an unsustainably high rate, but while there is a lot of excellent reporting on the issues, it can come across as abstract, impersonal, and far removed from our daily lives. Apart from ‘letters to the editor’, there are very few public opportunities for people to put across their personal views on the issues. In many circles, climate change has become a dirty phrase, and while we are encouraging people to switch off their lights, many people are switching off from the entire debate. Creating a sustainable community requires major shifts in thinking, behavioural patterns and consumer spending. The arts are, and always have been, a medium through which to represent and argue new technologies, political ideas and social

upheavals. Awel Aman Tawe has raised funding from the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Awards for All, Environment Wales and Academi to deliver an arts programme that encourages people to make a personal, creative response to the complex problem of climate change. ReCreation integrates literature, film, theatre, animation, graphic design and other genres to approach climate change issues from a creative angle. It aims to engage people in a fun, non-threatening way. As Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan recently said, ‘it doesn’t help if you badger people’. He chose a comic angle to address the issues of climate change in his new novel Solar. ‘I have been surprised,’ he said, ‘that there aren’t more novels about [climate change]. It’s clearly begun to have an impact on our lives already and it has huge human consequences, on a small scale, on a private level and on a geopolitical level.’ Philip Pullman agrees that ‘the degradation of the environment, in all sorts of ways, is the biggest thing we’ll find ourselves having to deal with for the next hundred years, whether we want to or not’ – but there are not many writers actively tackling the subject of climate change. So why not enter a Climate Change poetry competition? Awel Aman Tawe is delighted to announce that Gillian Clarke and Menna Elfyn will be judging their poetry competition. English and Welsh entries are welcome and the closing date is 30th November 2010. Check out www. awelamantawe.org.uk. For more information on ReCreation contact Emily Hinshelwood on ehinshelwood@awelamantawe.co.uk Emily Hinshelwood

Haiti still needs our help: 100 Stories for Haiti

ne week after the Haiti earthquake, Greg McQueen, a UK writer based in Denmark, woke up and decided he wanted to help. He posted a message on the internet asking writers to send him stories for an anthology to raise money for relief efforts: 100 Stories for Haiti. ‘The project was a spontaneous idea,’ Greg admits. ‘I really thought I’d struggle to get people interested.’ Greg was inundated with submissions and offers of help within a day of posting his message. By the end of the second day, he was fielding calls from publishers, and by the end of that week the project had over 500 submissions. Best-selling author Nick Harkaway had agreed to include a story and write the book’s introduction. 100 Stories for Haiti was published within eight weeks of the Haiti earthquake, on March 4th, 2010. As the title suggests, the book features a hundred stories by previously published and unpublished authors alike. ‘It’s one of the things I love about the book,’ says Greg. ‘It contains a huge range of stories from many different writers – it’s an anthology that anyone can pick up and enjoy.’ The paperback is available online and in bookshops, but the book’s success doesn’t end there. BBC Audiobooks America picked up

on the project shortly after publication and produced twenty stories as an audiobook, Stories for Haiti. Greg has also started a podcast in which he talks about different aspects of publishing the book, including interviews with some of the writers and volunteers involved: ‘With the 100 Stories Podcast I saw a great way to publicise the book, and it’s also a brilliant excuse to chat with some of the fantastic people who helped to make the project happen.’ The first episode of the 100 Stories Podcast features an interview with Lorraine Mace, co-author of the Writer’s ABC Checklist. Lorraine was one of twenty volunteers who helped edit the book. Other episodes of the podcast include interviews with authors Nick Harkaway, Vanessa Gebbie and Tania Hershman. Mark Coker, founder of ebook publishing platform Smashwords, also features in an episode for his role in helping publish 100 Stories for Haiti as an ebook. The 100 Stories Podcast is bi-weekly and free to download from iTunes or via the project’s website. The book itself, 100 Stories for Haiti, is available online directly from the publisher, or through online retailers and bookshops. The audiobook version, Stories for Haiti, is available from iTunes and Audible.com. ‘It’s been months since the earthquake,’ says Greg. ‘It’s faded from the news, but Haiti will need our help for a long time to come, so I’ll keep banging on about this book for as long as people will listen.’ 100 Stories for Haiti has raised over £2000 for the Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Appeal. You can find out more about the project at the book’s website: www.100storiesforhaiti.org

Writing Your Life – All About the Memoir Competition

ver the winter of 2009/2010, Leaf Books held its first ever MiniMemoir competition. We invited our entrants to submit ‘an extract from your own life in 1,000 words or fewer’, and we suggested and duly received work on several topics including childhood, war, travel writing, family, school, work, community projects, political activism and allotments. The competition was a resounding success: we received hundreds of entries from novice writers and established authors alike. A new competition is always a bit of a gamble as we never quite know what the uptake will be, but suffice to say we were quietly astonished at the number of entries we received to this one, and we spent a while pondering why it proved so popular. We guessed that the broad list of possible topics, and the emphasis on writing from experience, made people who perhaps felt daunted by the notion of penning a piece of creative writing from scratch realise that they did indeed have a story to tell. Indeed, one thing we became aware of this time around was that many of these authors, including some of the successful ones, were relatively new and sometimes even first-time writers. There was, on occasion, a slight, wholly understandable and frankly rather

charming lack of polish to these more novice pieces that did not affect our judgement to the extent it might’ve done in a different sort of competition. Writing style is hugely important but content even more so, and that seemed truer still in the case of these very personal memoirs; the rawness of the writing was, in many cases, inherently touching. Certainly the sense that an author was feeling his or her way a little tentatively along the first few steps of the writing process did not really diminish the impact of many of these stories: in fact, knowing from the writing style that this was the first time an author had put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) helped to convey the compulsion that author felt to tell this one important story. One of the most impressive pieces from a novice writer was ‘Precious Years with Mother’ by Dolly Carter, a reminiscence of a childhood in India from an author now in her late seventies. This memoir, as her biography states, is her first attempt at writing, and to have inspired such an attempt is very gratifying for us as publishers. And it’s an astonishingly accomplished piece of work from a beginner – it’s written in the second person, which is no mean feat, the detail in the writing is hugely evocative (‘The red you coughed up was

assumed to be blood. My sister, a doctor in later years, told me that it was chilli dust...’) and the sense of place is crystal clear – ‘we would feast, eating off large banana leaves; masala fish wrapped in a fragrant coriander chutney’ – one sense skilfully employed to trigger countless others.

‘Writing style is hugely important but content even more so, and that seemed truer still in the case of these very personal memoirs; the rawness of the writing was, in many cases, inherently touching.’ The range of topics covered by the entries was extensive, and made for an interesting and varied judging experience. The more unusual experiences always leapt out at us ... from Jane Common’s ‘Foresight with Hindsight’ (after which the competition anthology is named), detailing the narrator’s surprisingly responsibilityfilled stint as a telephonic tarot-card reader, to David Craig Smith’s ‘Strange Fruits’ about the narrator’s pharmacistfather’s wondrous rainbow-coloured and everything-flavoured creations (‘What other boy had a magician for a father who could charm him back to health with green raspberry tonic, red lemon linctus or blue banana syrup?’), to David Grubb’s haunting, devastating, ultimately hopeful description of the Rwandan refugee camps in ‘The Silence of the Children’ (‘Here is a boy in one of the classrooms who is telling the

class about how he loved his parents, the animals they kept, the school he attended, the way the soldiers came, how the soldiers cut his hands off ... Then others tell their stories to prove they are still alive’). There was, of course, no one topic more likely to win the top prize than any other but we all thought it fitting, in the end, when a war story proved to be the overall winner: war stories, alongside school stories, (also well represented in the anthology) made up the largest category and it pleased us to be able to reflect that in our choices. ‘Piano Pieces’ by Diana Mitchener was our favourite example of the genre: complete in itself and packed with evocative detail, emotionally deep, narratively uncomplicated, and stylistically very accomplished. Mitchener perfectly captures the innocent, excited, poignantly hopeful voice of its youthful narrator, rendering the story enormously touching without ever being sentimental. The metaphor of the narrator’s father ‘playing the war on the piano’ is what holds the piece together – its internal cohesion is striking. ‘Piano Pieces’ is printed overleaf, along with the runner-up ‘Foresight with Hindsight’ by Jane Common. Our thanks to everyone who entered our first ever memoir competition ... and to those who were inspired to write for the very first time, we very much hope you continue. SB

‘Piano Pieces’ by Diana Mitchener won first prize in the Leaf Books Memoir Competition. With commentary from the author.

pstairs at 17 Britannia Road there is a bedroom for Mummy and Daddy, a bedroom for Anne (not Anne and Pat because Pat has gone to heaven), a bedroom for me and Isobel and a play room. But at night when the sirens go Daddy carries us downstairs to sleep on mattresses under the staircase. Then the bombs start falling. And what happens is that you hear a very thin whistle that gets louder and louder until you have to cover your ears and then there is a huge crash and the house shakes. If it shakes a lot the grown-ups say, ‘That was very close,’ and later Daddy goes out to see whose house has been hit. Sometimes he brings us shrapnel for our collection. On very noisy nights Daddy plays Chopin’s Bump-de Bump very loudly on the piano. And what happens in the music is that everyone is woken up by bombs and cannons and they run to the walls of the town and see enemy soldiers attacking them. So all the men hurry to put on battle clothes over their pyjamas and the ladies help them to pull on heavy army boots. Then the men run out and fight. They keep fighting until the ladies say, ‘Never mind. We’ll make you a nice pot of tea.’ When the ladies take the tea to the men and see the enemy throwing bombs at the walls they get very angry. They fetch everything they can and throw down chairs and books and chamber pots full of wee until in the end the enemy can’t stand it anymore and gallop away and everyone jumps up and down and says, ‘Hurrah! We’ve beaten you!’ And that is how Daddy plays the war on the piano. One day I come home and there is a policeman at the door. I have to go next door to Mrs Dodds for tea. Isobel is already there, crying, her mouth pulled wide like a letter box. Mrs Dodds cuts bread with strawberry jam but Isobel won’t eat. Daddy comes home in a taxi and runs in through the front door without waving to us. That night I am put in bed with Daddy. He is crying into his pillow and I wake up and say, ‘Why are you crying?’ He says, ‘Mummy’s gone to Pat.’ But I say, ‘Perhaps she has just gone to Grandma Filkin’s.’ I wait for her to come home and give us a hug like last time but she never does. All over the house, people are crying; sobs from Anne, wails from Isobel, tears and sniffs from Daddy and long whispered ‘Oh! Oh!’s from Grandma Apple who has

come to look after us. Now it is Daddy who shuts himself in the front room. He plays high, quiet melodies like Mummy singing with lower notes creeping sadly in and swelling up underneath. That Sunday after we have been put to bed I hear the piano music begin in a deep blue sky. The Evening Star comes out smiling. Then other little stars peep out on high notes and sprinkle light across the purple. Big families like The Plough and Orion with the belt of three sisters say, ‘We’re here now,’ and stand out boldly. It is like looking out of the bedroom window before the blackout closed out the stars, when you felt safely tucked up in bed and Mummy and Daddy told you fairy stories. Then one of the stars slips. And another. I get up and listen at the top of the stairs. More stars slip and tumble and the rising chords are too weak to push them up again. I run downstairs to warn ‘Piano Pieces’ is from the opening section Daddy before Orion snaps and hangs of Holding the Line (unpublished). These broken in the sky. I open the door, memoirs explore the formative events in my which I am not supposed to do, childhood that affected choices and attitudes and see Daddy at the piano letting in later life. the stars crash down in juddering For me, the past presents itself in vivid chords. His face is rubbery with detail: sights, sounds, smells, the physical presence of people moving round me. Now tears and his hands are fat and red. ‘Daddy!’ I run to him and he retired, I have time to re-live experiences turns to feel for me and holds me such as the death of my mother during the close. bombing and subsequent evacuation with a sister (1941–45). ‘Where’s Mummy?’ I ask him and It is true that my father played Chopin almost he says: obsessively in my early childhood. I have only ‘She’s dead. Mummy’s dead.’ to hear ‘Bump-de-Bump’ (Polonnaise in A Major) to feel connected to my seven-year-old The sirens start up with a low moan self. The more I sink into the music, the more then a wail. German planes drone details emerge – scuffles with my older sisters, sheltering under the stairs during an air-raid, in the sky. Ack-ack guns go BANG! standing at the piano as my father told me of BANG! BANG! and waves of bombs my mother’s death. The seeming collapse of whistle down. We huddle tightly together the structure of Chopin’s ‘Tristesse’ (Etude in E Major) still triggers an anxiety which I under the stairs in our siren suits believe to be genuine, though the writing is and sleeping bags: Anne, Isobel, a conscious attempt to capture a seven-yearDaddy, and the empty space which old’s perception of catastrophic loss through is Mummy. music. – Diana Mitchener

‘Foresight with Hindsight’ by Jane Common was the runner-up in the Leaf Books Memoir Competition. With commentary from the author.

can’t recall now, nearly two decades on, which stop on the Underground I alighted at to get there but I do remember that the area had a gloomy end of the line feel to it, even though there is no end of the line on that particular stretch of tube – it’s a circle. In my memory, it was always raining – damp drizzle – as I crossed the busy road and then turned left at the corner shop down the dark alley and then left again to the wooden door to the shed that housed the place. I wished I was in my basement flat, smoking roll-up cigarettes and drinking weak tea with my friends. They treated me with a sort of awe as I left the flat every day to go there. I was like a soldier, off to the trenches, to return six months later with stories of the terrible but beautiful things I’d seen. The interior of the shed was panelled with dark wood, heavy with cigarette smoke, redolent of a bookmakers in a hard-up part of town. We, the employees, sat at desks arranged in one large bank in the centre, cordoned off from each other by panels of plywood. I sat next to John, a wiry chain smoker. When neither of us was on the phone, John told me about his time in prison and, middle-class young lady that I was, I listened, excited. My favourite part of the working day was when the city-trader rang John and, through the plywood, I’d hear him barking out instructions like gun-fire. ‘Buy the sugar’; ‘sell the tin’. It seemed incredible that some high-flying banker man in the city phoned our little shed for advice on his day’s trading. But then we were, according to the adverts in the backs of magazines, the country’s best tarot card readers – pay £1 a minute for the privilege of phoning us. If I wasn’t on the phone when John was talking to the trader – and if we were on the phone for fewer than forty minutes an hour we were in trouble – I’d peer round the plywood to see if John had actually laid out the cards. He never had. I always laid out the cards – I’m a stickler for instruction – as I’d been taught in my three-hour training session. I’d tell the person on the other end of the phone to stop me when some sort of vibration echoed, from my hand, down the phone line, to their subconscious. And then I’d ask them what they wanted to know about. Invariably they wanted to know about love. That wasn’t what our scruffy Glaswegian colleague with the clothes pegs in her hair wanted to talk about though.

‘You’re going to be hit by a bus, hen,’ she shrieked down the phone one day at an unlucky caller. ‘Dinnae leave the house tomorrow.’ ‘Yer man’s hae-ing an affair,’ she informed another. She was warned not to tell the truth – the grim bits anyway. But she wouldn’t cease her dire outpourings and, a few weeks after I’d started, she was sacked. I don’t know if I had the gift. I like to think I did, a little. ‘A blonde-haired woman is making trouble in your life,’ I told one woman. ‘My husband has just left me for my best friend,’ she gasped. ‘She’s blonde.’ Most people, I hoped, would put the phone down after a conversation with me, and feel, in some way, better about their lives. One woman – a posh sort of lady – who had recently been diagnosed with cancer would phone and ask to be put through to me. I’d go through the motions of reading her cards but really we both knew that all she wanted was to chat. About how terrified she was – about the long, dark nights she spent, fear seeping through her as insidiously as the cancer itself. She couldn’t express that fear to any of her loved ones because it would frighten them. But to me, someone who existed only out there in the ether, she could say anything. But there was one man I couldn’t help and it was shortly after my conversation with him that I gave the job up. ‘You’re going through a bad time,’ I told him. He was pretty mono-syllabic but he sounded miserable. ‘I can see, from the cards, that in four weeks things are going to improve.’ ‘I won’t be here in four weeks,’ he said. ‘Where will you be?’ I said coolly, as if he might be off travelling around India, even though I knew what he meant. Try to pretend it’s not happening .... ‘I’ll be dead,’ he said and then the blood pumped fast and hot through my body as he detailed, exactly, what he was going to do. ‘Suicide,’ I scribbled on a bit of paper, which I waved at one of the supervisors. She rushed into the glass booth in the corner of the room where the manager sat, listening in to calls to see who was performing properly. I watched as he pushed some buttons to listen in to my call and pressed record. All calls like this had to be recorded .... The supervisor handed a post-it note to me. ‘Samaritans,’ it read, and there was a phone number next to it. ‘You should phone the Samaritans,’ I said, as calmly as I could. I don’t think the man wrote the number down. There was just silence – as if, by mentioning the Samaritans, I’d let him down somehow, put him in a box and passed him on. ‘The cards really do show me that your life is going to turn around,’ I told him, panicking.

The line went dead. And even now, all these years later, I still wonder what happened to him – whether he did wait for a month until life improved.

My time spent working as a telephone tarot card reader, just after I’d graduated from university, is a period I have often thought would be rich in story-telling potential – the cast of characters, both my colleagues and the people who rang us, were eclectic and eccentric yet there was something very human about them. When I read about the Leaf Books Memoir Competition I realised that this was the perfect forum to tell the story in. In the past I have entered occasional short story competitions, labouring for hours over my literary efforts before sending them, nerves crackling, to my patient friend Apricot for criticism and encouragement. Writing about my memories of my time as a tarot card reader was far easier – I cut into the essence of the memories like a knife through butter and, within a couple of hours of settling myself at my laptop with a cup of tea, had produced a version that I felt confident enough to send straight off. My day job is as a writer for women’s magazines so my working life is spent telling other people’s stories. My interviewees provide me with the plot and the emotion and off I go. In creative writing-terms, while I find the characterisation and the emotional side of the writing straightforward and involving, I struggle with plotting – perhaps because I’m normally so well provided for in the real life stories I write for work. So the Memoir Competition was perfect for me: I had a plot and the opportunity to tell a story that had bubbled around inside me for years. To be chosen as runner-up is a real honour. I might have read tarot cards a decade and a half ago but I could never have predicted that! – Jane Common

Underbelly of Writing by Ara Eden Lee

Things your word processor can do that your typewriter can’t

ow, don’t take this for a sneaky piece of mind-control written by a publishing company that wants to cut down its workload (why would you think such a thing?), but if you’re making your paragraph indents with the aid of the spacebar and double-spacing your short stories courtesy of the Enter key, you’re creating a lot of extra work for yourself – what’s more, your work is likely to come out looking a tad peculiar when transferred to your publisher’s typesetting programme. So here follows a couple of handy hints that’ll help you get a bit more out of your word-processing software. Paragraph Indents

Spacing

Paragraphs should always be indented from the left margin unless they open a piece of writing or a new section within a piece of writing (marked by a single blank line). 0.5 cm is pretty standard, though you’ll find that Word defaults to 1.27 cm. Some writers create these indents by hitting the spacebar the desired number of times, but if you want your indents to carry across to your publisher’s typesetting software it’s far better to use the tab key – if you’ve never been introduced, that’s the one to the left of the Q with the two little arrows pointing in different directions. In Word, you can set the size of the indent by going into the ‘Paragraph’ menu: click the ‘tabs’ button in the bottom left corner of the pop-out box and change the ‘default tab stops’ setting to your chosen figure (we favour 0.5 cm). It’ll save your editor a lot of RSI-inducing deleting.

At Leaf we ask that all work sent to our competitions is single-spaced. But if you do want to double-space your work, you should do this via settings – not by hitting enter twice at the end of each line. In Word, go into the ‘Paragraph’ menu and select ‘double’ in the drop-down menu under ‘linespacing’: alternatively, there’s usually a shortcut button in the toolbar. As a side note, if you’ve set your line-spacing to single and it’s still looking determinedly 1.5-ish, you may need to set the figures in the ‘before’ and ‘after’ boxes (just to the left of the line-spacing drop-down menu) to 0. And if that doesn’t work you’ll have to tick and untick those various boxes that we shan’t pretend to understand until your document looks more or less as it’s meant to, or maybe consult a technical manual and/or personage. Actually do the latter. That’s our responsible suggestion.

Publisher profiles: Poetry Collections

oetry collections are difficult to place: many publishers in the UK have filled their books for the next few years. Magazines, small press pamphlets and competitions are better options for placing single poems or a handful thereof, and until you’ve had work accepted in these media there’s little point in approaching a book publisher, but there are still a few publishing houses open to submissions if you’re ready to try your luck with a full collection. Here are three examples: Anvil Press Poetry will consider submissions sent by mail in typescript form.

They do not consider emailed submissions. You should expect to wait three months for a response and they advise you to study their catalogue in order to familiarise yourself with their interests and editorial priorities. www.anvilpoetrypress.com

Bloodaxe Books publishes over 300 poets and is unable to take on many new

authors, but they do publish one or two new collections a year. Send a sample of up to a dozen poems from a book-length collection (you must have a book’s worth of poems to your name) with return postage. They do not accept submissions by email and they explicitly state that there’s no point in your sending a submission unless you have a track record of publication in magazines or pamphlets. www.bloodaxebooks.com

Carcanet considers submissions and book proposals submitted in hard copy

form only. No electronic submissions will be considered. Writers wishing to submit poetry should familiarise themselves with Carcanet’s books and then, in the first instance, send between six and ten pages of work (poetry or translations) and a stamped and self-addressed return envelope. Writers wishing to propose other projects should send a full synopsis and covering letter, with sample pages, having first ascertained from the website that the kind of book proposed is suitable for the Carcanet programme. www.carcanet.co.uk

Please check these organisations’ websites before submitting for full up-to-date advice and guidelines: submissions procedures change frequently.

ook Profile: riting Your Self – Transforming Personal Material by John Killick & Myra Schneider

published by Continuum Books, 272 pages, £16.99 ISBN 978-1-8470-6252-9 Paperback

From two respected authors and personal tutors comes a comprehensive resource bringing fresh ideas and inspirational practical advice for unlocking, working with and transforming personal material. Writing Your Self is composed of two parts. The first comprises eleven chapters arranged as a general progression through life experience, starting with Childhood and Relationships with Parents through to chapters on Loss, Facing Death and Spirituality. Also within this section are chapters on areas often tricky to grapple with, such as Abuse, Displacement and Disability, and Mental Illness. The authors candidly offer advice from their own experience and are joined by other contributors (including Penelope Shuttle and Pascale Petit) who also give first-hand accounts of how they set about tackling their own subject matter. Part II sets out practical exercises and examples, from tips on getting started

to chapters on accessing personal detail and how to fictionalise, transform and build this into a completed work. Particularly helpful is the distinction made between raw and finished writing, the validity of each stage being discussed with suggestions on how to progress. Many different approaches are exhibited by writers – those who are more experienced as well as new writers working with their own material for the first time. Writing Your Self is dynamic and participatory. It engages and stimulates in its discussion and treatment of subjective experience and is a book designed to inspire and expand writers’ thoughts in subtle and challenging ways. Focussed on encouraging self-discovery and the different forms of expression this might ultimately take (memoirs, poems, journals, stories or eventual novels), it’s a valuable and rewarding resource, sensitive as it is thorough in the nurturing of evolutionary personal work. Helen Pizzey

How to Get the Most out of Writers’ Workshops Paul Cooper ‘Remember: if someone tells you that something is wrong, they are almost always right. If they tell you what you should do to make it better, they are almost always wrong.’

s part of a Creative Writing degree course, students will probably attend some form of peer review writing groups or seminars, and it’s important to get the most out of these sessions. Everyone wants to learn, and nobody wants to make enemies. So how can you walk the workshop tightrope in a university environment? The first rule of a writers’ workshop is to leave your ego at the door. People who find they are dissatisfied with a writers’ group often do so because they attended it for the wrong reasons in the first place, and the same applies in university seminars. It’s an unfortunate reality of workshops that a minority consider it a showcase for their work. They arrive believing their work to be finished and perfect, and use the group as a means of sharing it with the world rather than a forum for suggestion and improvement. Of course, pride in your work is no cardinal sin, but believing it to be beyond criticism by the lowly underlings in your workshop will hinder

your development as a writer. People with this attitude are often surprised and hurt when the group inevitably offers criticism and suggestions for their piece, so it’s important to foster a student mentality, if only for your own sanity. Practitioners of martial arts will recognise the phrase ‘keep your head down and your eyes up’. Having a student mentality means accepting criticism gracefully and thoughtfully. Remember: if someone tells you that something is wrong, they are almost always right. If they tell you what you should do to make it better, they are almost always wrong. In a university seminar, more than in any other workshop environment, you can guarantee that attendants will be avid readers, with a keen sense of the rhythms of language. While they may not be Nobel Prize-winning writers themselves, they can at least tell immediately when something in your writing jars, and you ignore their advice at your peril. It’s sometimes difficult to keep

focused during sessions, especially if someone reads a long passage of dense, overly experimental or simply bad prose. Switching off while others are reading is all too easy, and the temptation to use the time to rehearse or read through your own work is difficult to resist. It’s important to remember that you can learn as much from other people’s mistakes as from your own. What are they doing wrong? Why is it wrong? Do you ever do the same? A writing seminar in university is a trickier prospect than any other writer’s group for one reason: in a normal workshop environment, you are likely to be surrounded by people you know only through the workshop. While you should always be kind, having someone react badly to your suggestions is not the end of the world: if you are uncomfortable in that setting, there are always other evening classes and writers’ groups you could attend. At University, piling on the criticism in the first seminar could earn you a threeyear grudge from a sensitive writer. While overly-sensitive writers shouldn’t be indulged, you should still be wary. A widely-used tactic is the ‘praise sandwich’. Observe: ‘I loved the way you dealt with X. I thought Y jarred terribly, but Z was just great.’ Don’t lie. Even terrible work will have redeeming qualities, and identifying what a writer did right is as important for their development as identifying

‘Even terrible work will have redeeming qualities, and identifying what a writer did right is as important for their development as identifying what they did wrong.’ what they did wrong. The initial praise relaxes them, dispelling their fear that their work is just awful. A kindly-worded and helpful critique can then follow without destroying their confidence or hurting their feelings, and finishing off with another compliment leaves them feeling good about their work, if mindful of your suggestions. Work hard to get the most out of your seminars, keep focused and don’t take criticism personally. While people who don’t suffer from any great degree of shyness or sensitivity might find it difficult to empathise with those who do, in a university seminar it’s important to be conscious of people who take criticism as a personal affront. Especially when it’s your turn to read next.

Paul Cooper is studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick.

riting Successes and Failures

orma Meacock shares the most notable highs and lows from her writing career. This piece won first prize in Leaf Books’ second Write about Writing competition.

posted my first short story to a distinguished literary magazine. I wrote it by hand in blue ink and tied the pages together with green ribbon. Needless to say, it came back by return. And the magazine had folded years ago. Writers, do your homework. My next venture was more successful. I typed the story on my second-hand Olivetti. It was accepted! O joy! When Issue 6 dropped on the doormat I would be a published writer! It didn’t Write a Novel in Twenty-Five Minutes happen. The magazine went bankrupt after Issue 5. wenty-five minute is all it takes. My In 1968 I had my fifteen timer is the plastic green pepper from the minutes of fame at last. In kitchen. I like the way it ticks away the seconds, the usual clichés the ‘60s were a metronome helping me focus. In one round one long groove, all drugs, of twenty-five minutes I can produce 500 sex, rock‘n’roll and if you can words. Two rounds means 1,000 words. When remember them you weren’t there. the buzzer breaks my concentration I stop, midBut for many, playwrights, poets, sentence, mid-thought. I know ending in the novelists, artists, homosexuals, middle makes it so much easier to start again. The half-finished sentence draws me back and publishers, booksellers, they were invites me to continue apace. Between rounds years of struggle to change social I always takes a break of at least five minutes. It attitudes and institutions. may be coffee, a stretch or a quick watering of When Penguin Books were the pot plants. And then I do another round of tried at the Old Bailey for twenty-five minutes. The half-finished sentence publishing the unexpurgated Lady draws me back and invites me into a rapid start. Chatterley’s Lover, prosecuting Then I keep going until the buzzer goes. And I counsel, Mervyn Griffith Jones, stop mid-sentence. asked the jury, ‘Is it a book you When the buzzer rings even the dog has would want your wife or servants worked out that is a good time to interrupt me. I try for six rounds a day. They do not have to be to read?’ That was in 1960. sequenced. I know that six rounds means 3,000 In 1966 Calder & Boyars were words. Do this every day for thirty days and I prosecuted for publishing Hubert have an organic draft of a novel completed. Selby’s Last Exit to Brooklyn. Judge I’ve finished this piece in under twenty-five Graham Rigers insisted on an all minutes, so I’m waiting for the buzzer to go. male jury, as ‘women might be Sarah Fraser

embarrassed at having to read a book which dealt with homosexuality, prostitution, drug-taking and sexual perversion’. So it was no surprise when my publisher-to-be, Neville Spearman, received a letter from his printer about my typescript. ‘If Calder loses I think this work is very dangerous to publish. The climate is getting tough. I don’t want a prosecution any more than you do .…’ Calder was found guilty after nine days but the judgment was reversed on appeal. And my first novel was published, though W.H. Smith refused to stock it.

aking your Own Luck

obbie Darbyshire on what to do when the conventional routes to literary success are closed for roadworks.

haven’t given up on agents (I’ve had three; two were excellent) nor on big publishers (their rejections have been educational) but the agent to big-publisher route hasn’t worked for me yet. I’m not tempted to self-publish because I’m the worst judge of my writing. Yet today I have two novels in print, I’m doing Waterstone’s signings, and my sales and visibility, although small, are growing. How come? People say in today’s market an unknown new writer has to be thick-skinned, persevering and above all lucky. Is that it, though – end of message? Are we just salmon battling upstream, most of us doomed to die in the attempt? In the shallows at the edge of the torrent of rejection, are there ways to slip through? I belong to writing groups and reading groups, and my contacts include many booklovers. Benefits include frank feedback and news about opportunities like competitions. I was long-listed in a small press’s competition, shortlisted the following year, then one more rewrite saw me accepted: Truth Games, Cinnamon Press 2009. I joined Facebook to publicise Truth Games. Networking writers and publishers, I stumbled across a press based in Scotland where another book of mine is set. Twelve days later came my second deal: Love, Revenge & Buttered Scones, Sandstone Press 2010. Then I self-marketed, pestering Waterstone’s branches, offering to come in and hand-sell, squashing my fear, honing my sales-pitch. One pleased branch manager tells his region, and I’m on a roll. Sound easy? Not really. I’m out of pocket so far, it has taken me years, and many things I’ve tried got me nowhere. But one thing leads to another. I give out bookmarks with my email address. Today there’s an email from a Waterstone’s customer. Her reading group is discussing my book. Will I come along? You bet.

Where I Write

Leaf Writers tell us about their favourite writing locations

Crumpled Paper Mountain by Jojo Norris

K Rowling did it in a cafe, Joanna Trollope on a kitchen table and Alan Titchmarsh in a shed at the top of his garden. But as every aspiring writer knows it’s not where you do it that matters but how. Like making the perfect soufflé, writing takes practice. A lot of practice. The first step is to sit down. Although children’s writer Michael Murpurgo, in a bid to overcome aches in his arm and shoulder, did try to do it standing up. He says it used to work for his friend and neighbour the poet laureate Ted Hughes who wrote standing at a lectern. But it didn’t work for Murpurgo – it just made his feet hurt. The second step is vital to anyone distracted by the washing up or the sudden need to put up shelves. Tie your leg to your desk or table: this is what chick-lit writer Carole Matthews tells Jane Wenham-Jones she used to do in her book Wannabe a Writer? When she started writing she was still working full-time and unless she tied her leg to the desk she would wander about and suddenly find her outstanding pile of ironing looking very attractive. The third step is to write. The more you write the better you get. Romantic comedy writer Lynne Barrett-Lee, who runs creative writing classes in Cardiff, says almost everyone she knows who has been successful didn’t get there because they were lucky but because they wrote more often than similarly talented writers, so their chances of getting lucky were hugely increased. And getting lucky brings us back to soufflés. It’s not where you do it that brings success but how. And, like all good things in life, there is no substitute for practice. – Eleri Evans

ruidic bards used to write after three days in the dark. They would sit in a dark hut and simply be open to the promptings of the imagination. During those three days they could walk about or lie down, and they could even sleep, but what they did not do was actually commit anything to paper. They wrote only after emerging into light. The understanding was that dark itself, and the disorientation it causes, sends the mind off in all sorts of directions that more ‘normal’ situations might not. I don’t sit in the dark, but I do sit on trains. The motion of trains both lulls and stimulates me. When I am sitting on a train I am between places, not attached to family, or routine, or landlines, emails, the Internet, the telephone. I sit on trains and I write on trains. I might re-draft a poem that had its beginning elsewhere. I might jot down the first hesitancies of a poem-odd words, a phrase, an image. An article that creaks uncertainly, rheumatically, might gain in vigour between Ludlow and Abergavenny. I don’t usually write about the landscape glimpsed through the train-window but the various sights – sheep on a hillside, a farmhouse, wood-yards, derelict warehouses, flocks of birds over water – all feed into an exhilaration best summed up by Louis Mc’Neice in his poem ‘Snow’ when he celebrates ‘the drunkenness of things being various’. My fellow-passengers also contribute to this good drunkenness: the man reading Ian McEwan opposite, the elderly couple remembering the Blitz, the dreadlocked teenagers in the corner, the migrant-worker talking over her mobile in what might be Lithuanian though I can’t be sure. Three days on a train? I could manage that. – Sheila Hamilton

y favourite spot for writing is the couch. Legs tucked up, cushion on lap and laptop on cushion. Classic rock on low or just blissful silence and most importantly of all cat snuggled up asleep beside me. The latter is important because I’ll often ignore the temptation to get up and do something else for fear of disturbing the cat. Besides, if he’s not asleep he’s probably pestering me for food by walking all over the keyboard. Let sleeping cats lie! Right now I already spend eight hours a day at my desk at work, so I really need to change the scene at home and hopefully tap into the creative energies. The great thing about the laptop is that it, the cushion and cat can be transported to the garden, bedroom or anywhere else in the house, battery willing. For years I struggled to start writing, getting not much further than a scribbled second draft. There are numerous illegible notepads lurking in the drawers to prove it. I couldn’t read my writing and hadn’t the energy to re-write a story ten times until I got it just right. So I went out and bought the cheapest Laptop I could find. It’s got quite a basic spec and is not connected to the internet, so there’s no temptation to spend time surfing: it’s purely for writing. I have it three years now and I’ve had six short stories published since I got it. – Mary Sheehan

write in Hayes’ House, and my desk is the eye of the storm; the storm being five children and a child-like husband. The chaos theory rules here. One of the children can fart at the bottom of the garden, and consequently another, who is sat on the toilet, will fall off it. When my five-year-old son comes into my domain for the eighth time in as many minutes to demand that I put the wings back on his dragon, I resist the urge to beat him to death with it, and I write about it instead. Surely someone somewhere can relate to this misery? Writing should not be an exercise in multi-tasking, and yet somewhere between cooking a roast, applying plasters to injured knees, and drinking myself into oblivion, there is that blissful ten-minute window of just me and a blank screen. Here I get to vent, paint my family in a particularly unfavourable light, and feel satisfied that I’ve wreaked my revenge in doing so. I’d love to say that I write in a haven of peace, where I can hear the birds sing on spring mornings and sunlight streams in through French windows. But in reality I have the living, breathing inspiration of family life, without which my writing would be meaningless. Having said that; whoever said that we should suffer for our art needs a plastic dragon shoving where the proverbial sun doesn’t shine. – Clare Hayes

like to write in my chair in my front room with the sun streaming in through the window. I can write anywhere, but prefer to write in my book. I used to write on scraps of paper, and have boxes of them gathering dust. Now I have boxes of books gathering dust, but at least the pages are contained. I try to keep my writing book neat, but invariably it becomes untidy, stained with tea, and often gets lost. I should have a set place for it, but I don’t, so then I’m reduced to scribbling ideas on scraps of paper again. Often I’ll write something in my book and never type it up. I don’t like the typing part, and will edit in my book: I like to see the letters form on the page, and even with untidy handwriting I feel closer to the creation process than in type. When a piece is typed it looks finished, so typing is always the last thing I do. I suppose as a poet I deal with only a few words. It probably wouldn’t work if I were a novelist. – Sue Moules

lways, in medical waiting rooms, I have a pen and paper to hand. I write a bit, then put the work away only to bring it back out again as I think of something else. I realise that I must look psychotic but to Hell with what anyone thinks! I will not suffer their criticism for the sake of my art. Often, I will drive to a nearby lake and, although the weather may be hot, I will sit writing in my car with all its windows firmly closed. I like the view of the lake and to get away from the confines of the house at times but I have to block out the noise of barking dogs or screaming kids. Otherwise, I’d get nothing done. – Debra Llewellyn

live on one of Scotland’s remote islands and like to write as I take the two hour ferry journey between home and the mainland. These ferries are lifeline services, subsidised by the Scottish government and, other than basic upgrades to comply with new regulations, they mostly sit decades in the past. The lifeboat instructions portray a 1950’s post war mother with her well behaved children, the safety announcement has the same tone as one would hear from radio fifty years ago and the staff still chatter away in Gaelic. The feeling of stepping back in time when I board the ferry means that stressing or rushing is pointless and it is difficult to take my seat in the canteen with anything other than a peaceful disposition and a mind that is calm and ready to create. There is always a steady source of inspiration too; be that the weather, which is sometimes stormy, sometimes calm and sometimes nothing; or the characters that come and go on this journey; first time visitors to the area, the old man who has never left the highlands or the students returning home for a weekend. The tea, cakes and chips are always good and the staff and passengers are usually cheery and without apparent troubles. Like me, I suspect they have been unable to bring them aboard. I sometimes feel like travelling backwards and forwards on the ferry for no other reason than to write but there is usually a purpose to the trip. All too soon the journey ends, the thoughts go back in my head and my stresses are reabsorbed. Sometimes if I try hard enough I can take myself back there, even when far away, and feel the waves of calmness that I need to let the words flow. - Karen Fleming

n the second hand furniture shop was a rutted dining table with pull-out leaves that had finger trapping potential. I liked the danger and took it home to be a writing desk; this didn’t work. Pens and paper would slips into joints or the cracked varnish, unless I put down a large sized table mat. I still keep one underneath the keyboard. My last keyboard packed up after I tried to clean the keys. I bought a mackintosh to protect them. The keyboard didn’t feel right: there was no sensation of fingers transmitting thoughts. The mac is now in the ‘handy’ cupboard behind where I sit, but I shake out the keyboard regularly for bread and biscuit crumbs. I write sitting on a Balens chair, designed to transfer weight to the knees rather than the base of the spine. To the uninitiated, it’s hard to see how to get on or off; sometimes writing takes me that way. It’s a cluttered desk, three times removed, but likely to stay at the top of the house, where the light from the skylight suits the eyes. Once a week, I park the litter bin by my feet and empty the writing area and the in-tray of surplus stuff. On top of the PC screen is a permanent show: three chop stick rests, two holed coins from Palestine, pebbles from beachcombing, a carved bird on a plinth, and a fir cone fixed to a rough wooden base. Around the PC is a changing exhibition that includes: a ceramic plant holder with a crop of pens, a lacquerware tub with a packet of address labels on top, and a teak statue of an African fish woman balancing on her tail. She reminds me of the ridiculous capacity of writing. – Bruce Barnes

ea. There has to be tea where I write and an endless supply of inspiration to be garnered from a hubbub of passing strangers. Armed with a pen and funky notebook, this nomadic writer prefers the company of shoppers to the peace and tranquillity of home. Enticed into the café by the aromatic charms of a full English breakfast, I’m snug inside this huge, blue cathedral perched on a windy Nottinghamshire hillside, dedicated to efficient kitchen fittings, stylish bedrooms and all things Swedish. I’m here collecting settings for my latest novel: weaving dialogue out of throws and fabrics, filling rooms with Klubbo or Billy and browsing amongst the bold, brash sofas. It’s perfect grist for the writer’s mill. I may not know my Ektorp from my elbow but I’ll happily envisage slaughter on a tasteful Vitten rug. Could the yellow-suited assistant be plotting revenge with a sharp set of Slitbar knives? Or is the limping man planning murder by pouring cyanide instead of sugar into his companion’s cup? And why is that tubby girl swinging a castiron pan like a tennis racket? Assessing each face, I’m like a detective peering through a book of photo-fit pictures, searching for my next hero or villain, and finding just the right cold-eyed stare on a woman from Mansfield. Could I be so inspired when the vacuum calls from its hiding place, and the list of chores grows ever longer? No, because my mind is free in Ikea – and so is the tea. – Kate Ball

anger lurks in my writing corner. I’ve made it the perfect place for a proper writer, with my pot of pens and my desk lamp, my notebooks and the shelves on the wall piled high with books from which I hope to glean the secrets of successful authorship. On the desk are stones and shells, to add a calming effect, and a paperweight made from a rock. It looks like a cat, painted a long time ago by someone I loved but who has since died, and I often stroke it with my fingers when I am working out the plot. Maybe I hope inspiration will be drawn from the spirit world via the rock and into my imagination. The chair, a cast off from a friend’s office, slithers sideways on wonky casters, because the flat is built into a hillside and seems to follow the contours of the land, so that I am forever gripping the edge of the desk and pulling myself back to centre. And in pride of place is the laptop. It glows encouragement, and urges me to sit down and write. Once I’ve thought about it for a bit, made a cup of tea, checked what’s on television and other equally important things, I do as I am bid and make a good effort at getting down to business. But then danger strikes – all it takes is a glance at the window. Wide skies, an orange sun ducking behind dark hills, clusters of houses, twinkling lights at dusk. Such a panorama would spur any artist into a frenzy of creativity. Why then do I find it impossible to write until I reach out for the cord and pull down the roller blind? – Trish Hill

n trains. I’ve got a desk, of course, only you can’t see most of it because of the books and papers that have slid from their once tidy heaps and now clutter the surface. Pens are difficult to find because they get buried in the layers of paper. Those that sit neatly in the pen pot tend to lack ink and, by some oversight, have not yet made it into the wastepaper basket. Neither has the wastepaper. Trains are much tidier. The table seat is inviting, though here I have room to spread out and can, in the course of the journey, go a fair way to reproducing the chaos of my desk. Those pull down flaps on the back of the seat in front are better because they force me to bring some degree of order to the arrangement of my notebook and my ideas. Here I have written thousands of words. The depression for the coffee cup does not always work, so it is unwise to write until I have drunk most of it. That’s okay though. There is usually a view outside and quite often some very eccentric passengers inside. So I steal them. Novelists are thieves, of course, and make use of any material to hand, even their nearest and dearest, so fellow travellers come in useful. – Angela Sherlock

n my bathroom with its south-facing skylight that lets in bright light at different angles throughout the day I have knelt on the floor or sat on the toilet scribbling the jumble of words that tumble into my head like lottery balls. I have noted comments from the radio, people’s powerful thoughts on their life experiences from listening to Woman’s Hour, recorded poignant lines that may otherwise have been forgotten. This is my ideas room – my imagination factory. Downstairs I have a cool, west-facing study with thick shrubbery directly outside the window. It is a dark, uninviting room and the only one where no one else in our family spends any time. It is a room to work in. Here I type, edit and research. But it is not a private room. It is near the front door, the stairs and the toilet. Noise from the sitting room and kitchen are heard and I am never completely alone with my thoughts. People come and go and I am repeatedly disturbed. Here, in the thick of family life, the flow of creativity risks being impeded constantly. Teenagers play guitar, the phone rings, a TV is always on and there are always questions. Even when the children are at school, I write amid reminders that I have other duties and responsibilities. – Rachel Carter

These articles were all successful entrants in the Leaf Books’ Write About Writing Competition.

Interview: Joanne Harris ‘Most real-life narrators are unreliable, whether or not they mean to be. I think that you can tell as much about someone by the lies they tell as you can when they tell the truth.’ Acclaimed author Joanne Harris talks to Sarah Edmonds about the writing routine, unreliable narrators and how best to get into a character’s head. Tell us about your experience of getting published – how long were you a writer before your first book was accepted? I’d been writing recreationally all my life. My first full-length attempt at a novel was never submitted, but my next try, The Evil Seed, was published about three years after its completion. It wasn’t an easy process; I spent most of that time looking for an agent, after realizing that unsolicited manuscripts are seldom read.

Do you have a writing routine, and is there a certain place where you write? I tend to work best at home, but I can work almost anywhere. I’m very light-sensitive, so I work best where the light is good and during the spring and summer months. I have a big greenhouse at home, where I like to sit with my laptop; otherwise I have a library, which serves as my study. I like to write early rather than late in the day, so I’m usually done by mid-afternoon, although when I’m working away from home (on tour, for example) my routine can vary accordingly.

Photograph by Takazumi Uemura: web.me.com/takazumi.uemura

Your stories are often told from multiple perspectives. Can you suggest a creative writing exercise, or any advice, for writers wishing to experiment with multiple narrators? I’m not sure how useful it is to experiment with styles that don’t come naturally. I use this technique because it seems natural to me. I’ve never done a creative writing exercise, but when I want to get into a narrator’s voice I try to work out what’s important to them, where they come from, what kind of idiom they use and the kind of things they are likely to notice. Sometimes, a first-person description of one of a character’s early memories can help in this. Why does point of view writing appeal to you? It’s a good way of really exploring a character’s thought processes, of finding out where the character has come from and what has made them the person they are. It’s also useful to create unreliable narrators when working on a mystery story in which revelation and obfuscation are key elements. Do you have a particular character or relationship that you like to explore, and do you ever re-use characters? I like to look at the various relationships within families, especially parents and

children. Sometimes my characters appear in more than one story, but most of the time I find that I prefer to introduce new faces to illustrate new ideas. You seem to have a fondness for the Unreliable Narrator device. How do you feel an unreliable narrator contributes to the reader’s experience and to the story told? I don’t really think in terms of tricks and devices. I like to concentrate on characters and their motivations. Most real-life narrators are unreliable, whether or not they mean to be. I think that you can tell as much about someone by the lies they tell as you can when they tell the truth. What are the key influences for your writing? (In terms of narrative inspiration and personal history) I’m not sure that I can quantify my influences. Authors that I have admired include: Mervyn Peake; Vladimir Nabokov; P.G. Wodehouse; Iain Banks; Cormac McCarthy; Edgar Rice Burroughs; Emily Brontë; John Mortimer; Stephen King; Gustave Flaubert; Guy de Maupassant; Angela Carter; Haruki Murakami.

Joanne Harris, June 2010

Joanne Harris was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She attended Wakefield Girls’ High School and Barnsley Sixth Form College before going on to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge to study modern and medieval languages. For fifteen years she taught modern languages at Leeds Grammar School, during which time she published three novels; The Evil Seed (1992), Sleep, Pale Sister (1993) and Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. In 2000 she finally gave up teaching to become a full time writer. Since then, she has written eight more novels; Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Gentlemen and Players, The Lollipop Shoes, Runemarks and blueeyedboy, plus Jigs & Reels, which is a collection of short stories and, with cookery writer Fran Warde, two cookbooks; The French Kitchen and The French Market. Her books are now published in over forty countries and have won a number of British and international awards. Her hobbies are listed in Who’s Who as: ‘mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion of the system’, although she also enjoys obfuscation, sleaze, rebellion, witchcraft, tea and biscuits. She is not above bribery and would not necessarily refuse an offer involving exotic travel, champagne or yellow diamonds from Graff. She also plays bass guitar in a band first formed when she was sixteen, and lives with her husband Kevin and her 16-year-old daughter Anouchka, about fifteen miles from the place she was born.

blueeyedboy, a dark psychological thriller set in the world of the internet, where no-one is quite what they seem to be, and every taste is catered for, even the ones to which we dare not confess. blueeyedboy was published earlier this year by Doubleday. ISBN 9780385609500

Interview: Gillian Clarke ‘I love and fear for the planet more and more, and I think if poets can contribute to saving it, love might be more effective than either fear or rage.’ Sarah Edmonds interviews Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales Tell us about your role as National Poet of Wales. What does this entail, and what activities have you been involved in with the project? Every six months I send the Academi a half-term report on my work as NPW. I include two lists – commissions for new poems, and activities. The latter might be readings, broadcasts, talks, visits, workshops, and those who invite me are usually festival organisers, schools, universities, local writers groups, the BBC. To date, since April 2008, I have written 40 commissioned poems, and in the first six months added 49 various activities to the list. The average number of ‘gigs’ is increasing year by year, so by now I have done over 200 events. Most invitations come from Wales and England, some from Scotland, and one was from the Smithsonian Institute to spend two

weeks in Washington last summer. Some are Academi-arranged events. Some would have happened anyway, but are billed ‘National Poet of Wales’, which is good because it places not just me, but Wales into the public consciousness. What are your writing habits – do you write every day? Has your national poet status changed the way you write? I do as I always have: I keep a journal, and many notebooks, writing something every day in longhand. Poets don’t take to the study and write for several hours as novelists do. Like most poets I spend more time thinking than writing, and the poem comes or it doesn’t, like a spell out of the air. Or maybe it’s more like a dream, and with luck you remember it, and the words arrive too. Of course, the more you write the more you get used to being ready for

poems. They often come from reading something beautifully written, inspiring, and from a profound concentration. I’ve said a lot more about this in my prose book, At the Source.

you belong.

Do you have any advice to writers – poets, in particular, who are wishing to get published?

I research. Now we have the internet it’s so easy to learn about new subjects. A strange new vocabulary and fresh imagery may spark the poem. I read great poems to get me going. So far, with the NPS commissions, this has worked, sometimes more successfully than others of course.

Just get on with the writing, and when you feel excited by something you’ve written, send it to a literary journal and hope they like it too. Of course, you have to keep up with the magazines by subscribing to those you like, and becoming part of that world as a reader. Then you get to know where

When asked to write a poem on a specific subject – be it to do with politics, nature, history – how do you approach the task?

What are you working on at the moment,

Photograph courtesy of Poetry Live

and do you have any exciting writing plans for the second half of 2010? More poems, my own, as well as commissions. I love and fear for the planet more and more, and I think if poets can contribute to saving it, love might be more effective than either fear or rage. I write a book one poem at a time and a theme emerges. The Earth is exciting me at the moment, as it manifests itself in, for example, the husk of a greenfly. You’ve done a lot of work with schools and young writers’ squads. Could you tell us a bit about these and the benefits writing can bring to young people? Have you a favourite workshop exercise that you return to? I have, but it’s the turn of other people now. I rarely agree to do one-off, one-day workshops. The Ty Newydd model, four days, five nights, sixteen students, two tutors, is the perfect equation where poetry and the relationships of trust between poettutor and students have time and space

to flourish. The encouraging company of like minds can be life-changing. As for exercises: you must continue to find new ways to teach the basic components that make a poem: music, and imagery. Hence the Metaphor Game, and a hundred other tricks. What most inspires you to write? Language. Reading and listening. Being alive. Did you ever attend a writers’ group when you were starting out as a writer? No. I never heard of any, and had they existed I don’t think I would have attended. I am not a joiner. For me writing is a solitary pleasure. I shouldn’t say that, should I!

Gillian Clarke, June 2010

Gillian Clarke has held the post of National Poet for Wales since 2008. She is also President of Ty Newydd and a tutor on the MPhil in Creative Writing, University of Glamorgan. Recent books: A Recipe for Water, and a prose collection, At the Source, Carcanet.

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An Introduction to Point of View in Prose Fiction M i c h a e l St e w a r t

Part One: Perils and Pitfalls ‘The choice of the point(s) of view from which the story is told is arguably the most important single decision that the novelist has to make, for it fundamentally affects the way the readers will respond, emotionally and morally, to the fictional characters and their actions.’ – David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, Penguin, 1994

lmost every story is told from someone’s perspective. The play Macbeth from Macbeth’s point of view can only be described as a tragedy, a journey from lightness into darkness; but from Malcolm’s point of view, the story has been one of overcoming a monster. Macbeth is a play and therefore constructed of dialogue and stage directions – the author’s voice, in its explicit sense, is absent. With prose, it is harder for the author to expunge himself from the narrative; indeed it is not always desirable. After the show/tell debate, probably the hottest craft issue in Creative Writing is that of point of view (commonly shortened to POV). In subsequent issues I’m going to be looking at point of view in prose fiction, taking a practical approach, incorporating

the three general narrative modes: first, second and third person, as well as the various sub-categories within those modes. I’ll be looking at some of the common beginner writer pitfalls and how you can avoid them. Let me begin by clarifying what I mean by point of view and narrative modes. I feel it is important to make the distinction here, between the protagonist of the story and the point of view of the narrative. They are sometimes, but not always, one and the same. With first person narrative the job is comparatively simple. The story is told by the protagonist or by an observer of the protagonist in the world of the story. We see this in Angela Carter’s Wise Children (1991), which fully exploits first person narrative subjectivity. Everything Dora (the protagonist) says is uniquely her

viewpoint. With third person narrative this relationship is more difficult to negotiate. Third person narrative gives the writer omniscience over the characters and the story, but as with any power we have to be careful how we wield it: if we write without any bias then the reader may find it difficult to relate to any one particular character. And if we flit from one character’s interiority to another’s willy-nilly, without discrimination, our reader may become confused. Therefore, a limited omniscience is often adopted by the writer to aid the reader’s identification with the principle characters as the story unfolds. Third person narrative has another advantage: authority. Unlike first person (where we are constantly aware of the subjectivity, even fallibility, of the teller), third person is more likely to convince the reader that what we are told is the objective truth. This is a trick, and a trick we’ll explore in the next issue. Point of view refers to the perspective from which the story is being told, whereas narrative modes refer to the method the

Recap: person: the narrator as a character – ‘I opened the door’ nd person: addressing the reader directly – ‘You open the door’ rd person: the omniscient narrator – ‘She opened the door’

1 2 3

(Please note that there are more interesting narrative subjects than the opening of doors.)

writer uses to convey that point of view: first, second or third person. We’ll examine the nuances of these later but to start us off, have a look at this: Karen felt slightly better and slightly calmer having told Dave what was going on. She looked at the clock, it was nearly quarter past eleven. Where was he? Scott stormed away from his mum. He knew that his mum would find out that he had taken money from her purse. He made no attempt to hide it. Serve her right, nagging old bitch. As he walked he could see a girl in the distance. Bloody hell. Carly Thomas on the game. As he approached her he could tell that she recognised him as well. ‘How’s business?’ he said. Carly was unsure what to say. She had known this kid at school. He was a few years younger than her. All that shit seemed years ago now. This is an extract of a short story submitted by a first year student on a degree course I teach. I use it because it exemplifies one of the most common pitfalls, that of an inconsistency in point of view. The writer has chosen third person limited omniscience (you can spot this from her use of free indirect style – where the third person narrative voice takes on the voice of the character: ‘where was he?’). Earlier on in the passage this is restricted to the point of view of Karen but then drifts away from its centre, as we see here. The first question the writer should ask themselves is, whose story is it? If you are unsure of the answer there should be alarm bells ringing in your head. You can usually

work it out by asking another question: who changes the most? I’ve read the story and I know that this should be Karen’s story but we quickly lose focus of this as we leap out of Karen’s head and into her son Scott’s, and then again into the head of Carly, a friend from school. Carly is an incidental character and plays no significant role in the narrative. In fact, she is never mentioned again. As a writer you should be asking of all your characters, are they necessary to convey the story? If the answer is no, you can probably lose them. The story is about Karen and how she attempts to deal with her wayward son Scott, but it is impossible to know where our allegiances should lie here. Are we following Karen, Scott or Carly? This is what is meant when an editor, agent, publisher or critic says a story lacks focus. I chose this not to pick on one particular student but to illustrate the perils of this approach. As a writer you are free to choose and this freedom is seductive. How like a god you feel. You have the power to read the minds of your characters. But as Uncle Ben (almost) says to Peter Parker in the Spider-Man stories, with power comes responsibility. Your responsibility should always be towards the reader. Consider your reader, pity your reader, and in so doing, curb your tendency to exercise your omnipotence. Let me leave you with a practical exercise. Go back to the student extract above and re-write it from Karen’s point of view. You’ll run into difficulties almost immediately. How do you write Scott’s experience from Karen’s point of view? Perhaps you can cut some of this. If so, what? Do you need Carly in there at all? You might decide she

adds colour, or you are going to bring her in later so want to introduce her here, but if so, again, how do you write about her from Karen’s POV? You’ll be left with a shorter piece of writing, but one that hopefully creates a stronger identification between your reader and your protagonist.

Next issue: Third person narrative – a default story setting?

Michael Stewart is a multi-award winning writer. He has written several full length stage plays, one of which, Karry Owky, was joint winner of the King’s Cross Award for New Writing. He was the winner of the BBC Alfred Bradley Award in 2003 and his plays have been performed in Bradford, Leeds, Manchester, London, and extensively throughout the country. His radio play Excluded was shortlisted for the Imison Award 2008. He is senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Huddersfield, where he is the director of the Huddersfield Literature Festival and the editor of Grist Books. His fiction has been published widely in anthologies and magazines, including Route, Leaf Books, Brand Magazine and Aesthetica. His debut novel, King Crow, will be published in January 2011 by Bluemoose Books. www.michael-stewart.org.uk

Copyediting:

a seat at the cutting room table It’s not going to hurt. It’s just a little red pen: a nip here, a tuck there and your work will shine like a wet pebble. Clare Sturges reveals the secrets of the copyediting process.

rofessional copyeditors are a specialist breed of hyphen-hungry, dictionaryconscious grammarphiles, keen to make every sentence of every work ever published polished and correct. We toil away day after day to preserve the English language in its finest form. We’re brave with strikethrough and bold with our decisions on punctuation. It’s a thorough, precise process that tidies up the parts of a writer’s work that are too close to be seen clearly.

What a copyeditor is not Much as we may aspire to be, copyeditors are not God. We don’t hold control over the meaning of your work and we never tinker with text without having good reason. Our relationship with your work is professional and we don’t assume to know it as you do. Have you ever been reading a novel, caught up in the charm of a particular passage, when a typo catches your eye? Perhaps it’s a peculiarly copyediting preoccupation, but when these unnecessary errors get into print they interrupt the enjoyment of a work and disturb your audience’s literary sensibilities. The role of the copyeditor is that of a benevolent gardener – patiently weeding out the errors and inconsistencies in your work, and planting the seeds of new ideas where

conditions for growth are best. It’s about creating a better product for your reader, so that petty distractions don’t spoil their reading experience.

Four eyes are better than two What copyeditors bring to the writing process is a finely tuned focus on language and consistency of expression. We can approach a piece without the preconceptions and bias of a friend or associate who is close to the author. Quite apart from polishing a work before publication, copyeditors are very handy when preparing a work before it is sent to publishers. By the time a manuscript reaches us, a great deal of thought and time has gone into its production. It may be at an early draft stage or close to finished – the copyeditor adds the value of his or her literary experience to create a stronger piece. The intention is always to develop the writer’s original work and nurture their talent. Copyediting is not about pointing out mistakes without offering solutions. A good copyeditor will annotate a text with notes that suggest concrete ways of improving the text, developing a character or maintaining consistency of tone. If a writer is able to open up and allow this feedback to influence their thinking, the

copyediting process can provide useful insights. It can lead to a greater awareness of how the fundamentals of language can support good writing. So what does it take? Most copyeditors come from a writing background. They may have worked in journalism or editorial; they may also be writers themselves or teachers of writing. The job requires a sound, unshakeable knowledge of grammar, a great deal of confidence in punctuation and spellchecking skills to rival Word. More than this, a good copyeditor will have experience applying their skills within a range of written environments. Editing technical copy for a scientific publication is a very different job to giving feedback on an aspiring author’s first short story. But both involve dealing with writers, who are usually proud and protective of their work. So a good copyeditor needs to be adaptable.

They’ll be familiar with all the common errors excellent writers make – the creative process is not about crossing t’s and dotting i’s – and how to solve them. And they’ll be diplomatic and understanding, recognising when their personal feelings interfere with their professional opinion. The process in practice If all this sounds like surgery without scalpels, you’ll be reassured to know that your work is safe. Professional copyeditors work in slightly different ways, but all follow a similar process, looking for weak areas, structural and organisational inconsistencies and devils languishing in the detail. When you’re so close to the story, your brain plays tricks – letting you read what you want to see instead of what’s really there. It happens to all writers. It’s inevitable. And it means us copyeditors have plenty to do.

Clare recommends: Handy books for bathroom reading… 1. Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. London: Profile Books, 2003 2. George Orwell, Politics and the English Language. 1946. 3. William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style (1918). Fourth edition:WLC Books, 2009

…and with a question in mind 1. Henry Watson Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2009. For all your grammar grumbles. 2. The Economist, Guardian and Associated Press stylebooks – pick one and stick to it. 3. The trusty Roget’s Thesaurus and Oxford Dictionary.

Step 1: the skim-read Clare’s suggestions for tactful editorial When a story or manuscript is sent to a copyeditor for review, responses the first thing we read for is sense and flow. This means o I am returning this otherwise good paper to you because glancing through each page someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your and quickly understanding name at the top. the gist of the story. o Since your last submission, you seem to have reached rock bottom and started to dig. Step 2: the juicy bits Once the meaning of a piece o The fact that no-one understands you doesn’t mean has been established, it’s you’re a great writer. time to read more closely – paying particular attention o I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had to the way chapters start and about your writing abilities. finish, character and plot development, continuity and Top 5 pitfalls of tidy writing whether it all adds up. At this stage, we will start 1. Rambling sentences – The greats are guilty of it but your annotating the text, adding readers tend not to appreciate a sentence of great length notes for consideration and that moves from subject to subject meandering along the pointers for how to improve. stream of your consciousness without consideration for Step 3: the proof of the punctuation or the slightest hope of ending …. 2. Broken continuity – Keeping the fine detail of your parsing The magnifying glass characters, locations and plot in check means reading comes out and a forensic as if watching a film of the story unfolding, and a great examination ensues. This is memory! when we analyse the piece 3. Dangling participles – These are the bane of meaningful at a paragraph and sentence writing and can confuse your reader. For example, level, suggesting areas that ‘walking down George Street, the trees were beautiful’ may need more work. It’s also is missing a subject for the sentence – the person doing when common misspellings the walking has clean disappeared. ‘Reaching the marina, and questionable punctuation the sun came out’ fails because the participle clause has is dealt with. Red pen time. become attached to an entirely inappropriate noun: the sun. It’s better written, ‘As he reached the marina, the sun Clare Sturges is a professional came out.’ copyeditor and copywriter, 4. Incorrect use of words – We’re all at risk of using infer, with a degree in English affect and lend when really we mean imply, effect and literature and certificate in borrow. teaching English to speakers 5. Losing the flow – The literary equivalent of walking of other languages. into a room and forgetting why you are there.

The e-Writing Revolution

Alastair Stewart Investigates

here’s a whole new writing world opening up online, filled with eBooks, blogs, hyperlinks and the like. The modern writer will have to become au fait with all of it, because that world will certainly change the future of writing for readers, publishers and writers. Over the next twenty years or so, paper books – ‘dead tree editions’ as they’re known online – could become rarities, and the majority of reading may be done on a screen. This will be a natural development for people who grow up doing little else. This change began with the advent of the World Wide Web, and with the arrival onto the market of dedicated eBook readers like Amazon’s Kindle, and mobile phones such as the iPhone, the concept’s really beginning to take flight. The eBook market in the UK grew 27% since 2007, and Apple’s iBookstore will strap booster rockets to sales. The music world has been going through a similar story. It was the iPod and iTunes, along with Apple’s loyal fanbase, that halted a near-terminal profit slide in

the music industry due to illegal music sharing online. iTunes introduced a new business model whereby individual songs became affordable and easily available. While each artist/company received less money per purchase because each listener tended to buy a song rather than an album, iTunes offered an incredibly wide choice including older works unavailable elsewhere, so more artists received some kind of return. The arrival of the iPad and iBookstore in January 2010 saw the start of a similar change in writing. Six major US publishers signed up before the launch, in part because they see eBooks as the future but mostly because they wanted competition for Amazon/Kindle, the market leader. That competition should increase the profits from eBooks, and that increase may stem the flood of redundancies and slashed budgets at publishers due to falling sales. So what are the consequences of this upheaval for writers? What will the successful writer of the future be doing? We will need to produce work that

reads well on a screen, and we will have to promote our work ourselves in the new world. Work will be more varied, including marketing and business, but for potentially less gain. AL Kennedy was right when she wrote that ‘it is possible that published writers will no longer ever leave whatever other employment they use to subsidise themselves’.

family, and two, you’re a marketer. If you don’t want to become a selfpublisher, most publishers have an online presence, some engaging with the technology more than others. Authonomy.com is a reader controlled website: new works chosen by the readers are reviewed by HarperCollins’ editors. Tor.com showcases new writing as well as advertising new books. But there is also good news. Online bookshops – iBookstore, Amazon, etc – sell eBooks, paper books It has never been easier to get your words and PoD books from self-publishers in front of an audience wider than your and publishing houses. But, following family and friends. Set up a website or the music analogy, sales may evolve to blog, publish your split whole books into eBook on it, and any chapters or articles and With a bit of searching, may even include rights one of 1.73 billion internet users can read access online content you can engage with a to it. (If they can find it such as blog posts. This – as of December 2009, community that will approach has worked there were an estimated well in the past for 126 million blogs and be interested in your writers such as Dickens 234 million websites.) and Conan Doyle. writing. Or you could selfpublish a real book. PoD But even with all this – print on demand – is a realistic business help, sales depend on marketing. proposition because you can print a single Blogs and websites are essential. You copy of a book when you need it rather can easily develop your own or guest than shelling out for hundreds of copies. on another on the same topic. Online Vanity publishing is losing its stigma, in networking sites such as Facebook or part because most publishers expect books MySpace can also help you to advertise to come pretty much ready to publish, your work. having been edited by freelancers. And You can more easily find markets if you’re going to do that, why not selfinterested in your work, especially niche publish a few and see what you can do on markets. Early in the life of the web, it your own? The self-publishing approach was said that if you asked a search engine can even lead to a book deal. Selling about sites on having sex with flaming hundreds of copies of your own book goats, it would ask you to clarify the sex of tells the industry two things – one, your the goat. Joking apart, all human interests book is of wider interest than just your are online, and with a bit of searching,

you can engage with a community that will be interested in your writing. Finally, the Web is a treasure trove of information. In my time I’ve researched marine boilers, Nazi technologies, the Church of Scotland and small modern cars. The only problem is that you have no way of knowing who wrote what, or how reliable it is. But you can develop accurate information by comparing notes from different sites. It doesn’t replace first-hand research, but articles and photographs found online can provide good background information to flesh out your writing.

There’s also lots of advice and support on writing, such as markets, info on what other writers are doing, reviews and critiques. There are writers’ forums you can join; most offer the opportunity for critiquing your work on a you-scratchmy-back-we’ll-scratch-yours basis. So, there’s a new world waiting online. But it’s not as bad as you think, and, with all the power in your hands, maybe, just maybe, it could help you.

Getting started: a few useful websites www.wikipedia.com – a good place to start research, but be wary: anyone can write anything on any subject, so it’s best to double-check facts before using them. www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com – popular sites for creating blogs. (There are so many sites to help you create websites, and there’s so little between them, it’s best to Google personal web hosting and look at a few web-hosting companies.) www.mywriterscircle.com – writers’ discussion forum including markets, reviews and friendly advice. www.squidoo.com, www.hubpages.com – sites that allow you to easily create pseudoweb pages on topics you know about, and which can generate an income. www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/index.html – Jakob Nielsen is a leading expert on web usability, and this page indexes his papers on writing for the Web and how people read on the Web. www.jasperfforde.com – author Jasper Fforde’s website for all his books. An excellent example of how to use websites to promote and engage an audience.

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Novel Beginnings

David Grubb

he opening of the novel – take the first three chapters – has to set the mind on fire. Just like the telling of any good story, or joke, or opening of a speech, there has to be something with immediate appeal. Literary agents, publishers and editors report that time and again the opening pages they see are flat: merely scenesetting, broad brush strokes on a canvas that might later radiate ... but a typical reader will not wait that long. Compare the opening of your novel with the opening scenes of a film, a stage play, music ... and, in particular, radio. The writer’s only tool is language: no background music, no well-known actors, and in the case of a first novel not even a reputation. The writer has a title and a book cover design and a book blurb and a story to tell. So tell the story. Ask yourself the most basic questions: what is this novel for? And who is it for? Those who read chick lit, Aga sagas, lads’ lit, historical romance, science fiction, fantasy, fable, mystery, literary fiction, adventure, magic realism, erotic fiction, etc, etc, etc? And remember that, while awareness of audience and genre is very important, you should avoid writing to your idea of a genre formula: make it new.

•The first chapter has to attract and captivate the reader. •The second chapter has to do more than maintain reader loyalty; it must build on the expectations created in the opening chapter. •The third chapter must broaden, deepen, enrich – and often chapter three provides something unexpected, even challenging, a change agent. Published novelists sometimes state that chapter three’s the one to convince them their idea has legs.

What an opening needs: •An appealing title. •A mind-catching way of saying things on the page. •Something actually being said at the very beginning. •An event that drives the narrative. •The ability to create the expectation of a deepening story. • Voices, places, people.

FIRE CHILD

Fiction

by David Grubb

Published by Root Creations ÂŁ 9.00 per copy + P&P ÂŁ 2 ISBN- 978 - 1-90559957-8 FIRE CHILD is set in a small West Country town where normal life is dramatically transformed by acts of arson. A farmer is forced to abandon his farm, an aid worker is haunted by memories of war zones, the lens of a camera captures images of the past, at the school yobs challenge traditional values, the vicar has to deal with local poverty and bullying and the threat of more fires. The church becomes a focal point as the tapestry of community life is licked by flames. David Grubb has published novels, poetry and short stories. The opening chapter of FIRE CHILD was a prize winner in the 2007 Bridport Competition. Much of his writing has been founded on an understanding of rural life, the cultures of small communities, the relentless challenge of poverty. His most recent poetry collection, The Man Who Spoke To Owls, was published by Shearsman. He contributed to Short Circuit, a guide to writing short fiction, published by Salt. To order signed copies send details and cheque to the author at 25 Belle Vue Road, Henley on Thames, Oxon RG9 1JQ England UK.

Best of Leaf

A selection of some of the best poems and micro-fictions published by Leaf Books Charles Evans’ ‘Love’ was originally published in Razzamatazz and Other Poems.

‘Love’ by Charles Evans To find me, follow the main B road out of The city centre. You come to a roundabout Which you leave at whatever exit. Take the Path of least resistance, and keep off the Beaten track. Disregard local signs. Beware Dangerous loads and expect a roundabout Route. Allow for delays and diversions. Take a bearing on the furthest point and Go past the spot where the birds sing. You Should see a cow in the field on your left. Turn into the hidden drive, and look for The old door with no key. Let yourself in. I may be there, or possibly not. Make yourself At home. You’re not expected.

The Author’s Commentary There are poems that take time and trouble, and others that drop ready-made from God Knows Where. ‘Love’ definitely belongs to the latter category. Some years ago I made a long car journey, carefully following directions I had been given. As I drove, I was fretting about a family relationship problem. The next morning, ‘Love’ wrote itself. It was only much later that I came to see what it was about.

About the Author Charles Evans was educated at Keele, London and Oxford. He served in colonial Borneo before entering the Royal Navy. He lectured at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, specialising in Communism and Russian life and culture, and was a Royal Navy-sponsored graduate of the British Theatre Association’s drama course. He has travelled widely in Russia on Leverhulme and British Academy Travelling Fellowships. In 2005 he was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship to complete a narrative of travels in the (then) Soviet Union and the new Russia. His poems have appeared in a variety of journals. He won second place in the 2008 National Poetry Competition.

The Book The Leaf Books Short Poetry Competition 2006 invited entrants to submit poems up to sixteen lines in length on any topic imaginable. 525 poems were received on subjects as diverse as love, jazz, the internal monologue of a captive orang-utan and, in the first-prize winning ‘Tundra’, the plight of an obscurely-realised and unnamed refugee. The competition was judged by prize-winning poet Sheenagh Pugh. This eminently readable anthology houses thirty-seven selected entries by both previously published and first-time poets.

Best of Leaf Helen Pizzey’s ‘Initiation’ was originally published in The Final Theory and Other Stories.

‘Initiation’ by Helen Pizzey My brother hadn’t noticed the adder approaching, slithering along the stone ledge of the cattle trough, when he threw me in. Laughing he left me drowning, battling water and a snake. On the day I started convent school, I stood shivering in grey serge and swamped in a felt hat I wished would float off my head. Learning about evil and baptism, it came as no great surprise to hear a serpent would always be out to get me.

The Author’s Commentary This short fiction (or prose poem) was written as part of a sequence I put together while enrolled on the MA Creative Writing course at Bath Spa University College in 2004-5. I took personal childhood memories as my subject as it seemed this was where my voicing was at its most authentic and strong. Some of these poems, although genuine experiences, were ‘massaged’ a little in order to produce a strong result or interesting point of view; but ‘Initiation’ came together factually from first image to last, the recurring themes a result of feelings triggered by memories from a previous parallel (though wholly different!) episode. A kind of ‘hall-of-mirrors’ effect: the adult looking back on the child relating to an earlier experience. I prefer to write narrative as prose rather than line poetry; I like its ‘blocky’ look, giving the signal that the content should stand strong and succinct. Many of the poems in the sequence of which ‘Initiation’ forms a part are cameos that circle round an idea or image without losing touch; ‘Initiation’ was a gift as it was a straightforward linkage of symbols carried by memory from one situation to the next, the water and snake being obvious representations of fear and vulnerability, and the title itself indicative of an infant moving from ‘care-free’ (!) days of play into the strait-jacketed and, at first, often uncomfortable routine of school. Punishment, also, something perhaps never too far from a child’s mind – especially as to whether it’s deserved or unfair! All-in-all, it formed quite a neat package, readily delivered in just seventy-nine words. I wish all ideas were as tidy or have the potential to be as deftly written out but, sadly, this is usually not the case!

About the Author Helen Pizzey holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University College. She has had poems published in several UK anthologies and magazines, including Mslexia and The Interpreter’s House, as well as in The Orange Coast Review in America. Another of her poems has just been set for a large-scale choral and orchestral work commissioned under the Per Cent for Art Scheme in Ireland. Her short-fiction appears in two anthologies previously published by Leaf Books.

The Book The Leaf Books Short Short Story Competition 2006 invited entrants to submit ultra-short stories on any conceivable topic. The upper word limit was 300. There was no lower word limit: entrants were free to submit a single paragraph or even one or two lines if they felt that constituted a story. This anthology contains all forty-two of the winning, highly commended and commended entries selected by the Leaf Team.

Best of Leaf Amy Sackville’s ‘Signalling’ was originally published in Derek and More Micro-Fiction.

‘Signalling’ by Amy Sackville Sandra stares at the road ahead, determinedly speechless, feeling lightheaded and tired and irritable. Beside her Richard drives with just one finger on the wheel as if to annoy her on purpose. Occasionally clicking his tongue against his teeth, barely audible. Wishing he was home with a beer, in front of the TV, not stuck here watching line after line swallowed up by the bonnet. He’s going to miss the news now. Wanted to leave earlier but couldn’t drag her away, sick of an afternoon with tipsy aunts and leering uncles and trying not to stare at Sandra’s cousin, who is far too provocative to be convincingly seventeen. He knows his driving is lazy and a little too fast. He veers out to overtake and can hear Sandra not saying anything. Steals a glance and sees the little pucker at the corner of her mouth. Her lipstick’s rubbed off on all those champagne glasses that her mother will be washing in the morning to take back to the supermarket. And Roberta and James will be in their hotel room already, she’ll be squeaking away by now no doubt, the first of a life’s nights of tedious conjugal bliss. Those hips of hers are worryingly child-bearing. He is not feeling very avuncular. Clicks his tongue against his teeth. Checking the rearview he sees Jack gazing, needy, at his mother. There’s raspberry coulis crusting on his cheek. Christ. Jack is considering, carefully, if there is something he might do that would make them all laugh, that would make them pleased with him, that his father won’t call showing off. He flushes again at the memory of being told to settle down, in front of his uncle, his cousins. He shifts uncomfortably under his father’s glance. Before getting into the car they tried to persuade him to take off his tie, jacket and waistcoat, and now, having refused, he must keep them on all the way home. Sweaty, hot, itchy, and tight. He can feel his belly pushing against the buttons. He ate a lot of something called Coronation Chicken, and potato salad, and profiteroles and two helpings of pavlova, and everyone said what a little gentleman he was and his uncle gave him a glass of champagne. And now he thinks he might like to be sick or go to the toilet but the silence has lasted so long and he doesn’t want to ask. He looks out of the window. Close by, he counts seven cranes, black against the deep sky, the sky almost violet, almost orange, almost black but the cranes are blacker, their red lights blinking at the tips. Tall and identical and impossibly high, impossibly far above them. ‘Look, Jack, cranes,’ says Sandra, the sudden sound of her own voice surprising her, before she turns to see that her son is already gazing at them, eyes wide and shining. He doesn’t hear her; he is terrified, but he doesn’t cry.

The Author’s Commentary Riding home one evening on the back of my boyfriend’s motorbike, I looked up to see a host of cranes, black against the deep violet, city-orange sky, and was overcome by a sense of inexplicable dread. It passed; the image remained, and I began to wonder how I could use it. I found an echo of the horror I felt, as a small child, of the bank of huge bare trees that clawed out of the darkness at the end of our road, which I would peer at from the back seat of the car if we should ever be out driving in winter, past my bedtime. It was that same feeling of displacement, a moment of speechless awe. And in recalling it as an adult, and as a writer, I wondered if I might take this rather distilled image and write something suitably compressed, an attempt to hint at a sensation that couldn’t be articulated. I don’t have a strict working method, as such, but my work usually begins in this way, working outwards from a single image or sentence, prodding it, pulling it, writing around it. So I thought of a little boy, in unfamiliar clothes, on an unfamiliar road, overtired and overexcited, up unusually late in the back seat of the car; and wanted to juxtapose this vision of the cranes, the intimation of some terrible, inaccessible meaning, with the peculiar atmosphere that occurs when families drive home late at night, boxed in by darkness and silence. That sense of estrangement, which becomes associated in some way that Jack cannot understand with the cranes impossibly high above him. I’m interested, in general, in the ways in which we understand the world, ourselves, and each other; and the ways in which we fail to do so.

About the Author Amy Sackville was educated at Leeds and Oxford and now lives in West London, where she is currently working on her first novel. She came second in Fish Publishing’s short story competition in 2006 with ‘Beach’, and has previously had reviews and articles published in various magazines, journals and papers. She is interested in the way that identities are built out of language, and its fracture and failure.

The Book The Leaf Books Micro-Fiction Competition 2007 was Leaf ’s second stab at a micro-fiction competition and it proved no less successful than the first. The thirtyseven stories in this collection represent the pick of the litter. The subjects on which they discourse range from imaginary footballs to Viking funerals to naked astralprojection. The stories are brief and brisk and pointed and thirst-quenching, and reading them is kind of like being smacked in the face with a moistened sprig of mint. We trust you like that sort of thing.

Best of Leaf Kate Noakes’ ‘The Welfare’ was originally published in Ukraine and Other Poems.

‘The Welfare’ by Kate Noakes Long after her friends are called in, Sally turns on the paint-chipped merry-go-round, or kicks tiny stones off the tarmac, the kind always ingrained in her knees. She’s the one with Shirley Temple ringlets and bruises inside and it’s better at the Welfare than the pantry in the dark. She twists on a swing, entwining its chains, then pushes the opposite way free, forgetting every time that she’ll be brought up short. She catches and jerks the swing to a halt for her son to jump barefoot from its warm seat into the sand. But when he turns to her, he sees she’s not smiling quite like the other mothers.

The Author’s Commentary The poem’s protagonist is a women who had a neglected, even abused, upbringing and is finding it hard to be a parent herself; a not uncommon scenario now or in the past and so I decided to set the first part of the poem in the 1930s (hence the reference to Shirley Temple). The second part of the poem, the time-shift physically signalled on the page by the stanza break, is sometime in the 50s or 60s, my own childhood. By this time there was sand under swings, although I do remember falling off a swing onto concrete once, so perhaps this was not always the case or my memory is faulty, but I don’t think it matters; the point being that the physical environment has improved, but the emotional one may not have. The title, ‘The Welfare’, has a double meaning – emotional and physical wellbeing – plus a friend of the right age tells me that the playground at the end of her street was called the welfare. I don’t know how typical this was for Wales or elsewhere at the time. The poem is a bit of a one off as a lot of my writing over the last few years has focussed on art or the environment. My recent book, The Wall Menders, is a collection of eco-poetry, for example. However, I do write on a number of women’s/feminist topics and I suppose this poem would fit into that group of work, but it is not part of a sequence per se. I write whenever and where-ever I can: trains, traffic jams, in work at lunchtime, but sadly not every day as I have a full time, demanding day job. Sunday mornings are sacrosanct and woe-betide anyone who tries to disturb me then!

About the Author Kate Noakes lives in Caversham, Berks. She is presently studying for an MPhil in Creative Writing at the University of Glamorgan. Her work has appeared in a number of small press magazines including Mslexia, Cadenza, Iota, Other Poetry, Tears in the Fence, Citizen 32 and The Wolf. Her work has been anthologised by Cinnamon Press and Leaf Books. She was a prize-winner in the 2006 Poetry London competition and the 2007 Iota competition. She won the Cheshire Poetry Competition in 2007. Her first collection, Ocean to Interior, was published in 2007 by Mighty Erudite Press (www.mighty-erudite.co.uk). Her second book, The Wall Menders, was published by Two Rivers Press in May 2009. She can be contacted via her website www.boomslangpoetry.co.uk

The Book Ukraine and Other Poems contains the winning entries from the Leaf Books’ Spring 2007 Poetry Competition. No fewer that twenty-nine triumphant verses about elderly fruit pickers and disappointing aunts, stolen daffodils and red dresses and every other topic in between nestle within its covers.

Best of Leaf Sue Anderson’s ‘Bee Dazzled’ was originally published in Outbox and Other Poems.

‘Bee Dazzled’ by Sue Anderson The house is vulnerable. Light streams in through walls. I open the back door, breathe in seed-speckled air They seeupstairs me watching them. The building is old. ‘Rickety,’ I hear a woman say in andnever retreat passing. falls like overgrown flakes of snow from the ceiling. The yellows plague to restPlaster my senses. my eyes now that I am getting to be so old. The draughts in the building are spiteful. Suspended above thewhine floor, on the the damp rises like mist from their clothes. The outer garment There is an angry landing. drips water onto the floor. I shiver and cough in silence. Some arrive as if covered in coal A bumble bee blocks my way. dust but withand thatrugby-striped faint iridescent inky sheen that he pointed out to me in our final starry Thick-set sky.he has drilled a path ‘Imagine coallight-soaked as shards oftunnels disfigured diamonds.’ through the of this strange nest. INow never saw a diamond. he batters his head against the glass, These women speak in a strange tongue. They stare at the chair as if they buzzingmen likeand a chain-saw. had toothache. The sunflowers he kept, the fields of golden ripening corn, the rippling landscape, and his palette, his red beard and short stubble of hair. I fetch a the cupblue and smock ease him The Woman with a Coffee gently, gently onto paper, Pot opposite me is so ugly with her work-a-day blue dress. Without rest quick. I have to stare into her large, thick, round face, so like my own mother: the cover him stern gaze, the bulboushigher nose. She is admired. Cezanne kept her. I am a working girl fresh His whine notches from thebee-hysteria, fields, so blotted out.quiet, with then he’s ‘You are the invisible form of my composition,’ he said. ticking over, Up and down, for hours on end, first sitting in the chair and then squatting on the a silent battery of insect energy. unswept floor, while he daubed and sweated with his smelly oils onto an old canvas. The paint suffocated me as the brushstrokes fell on my face. My living form was sent home at I carry him carefully midnight. Leaving down the stairs, my ghost beneath his painting.

‘Imagine Coal’ by Mary Cookson

through the hall, and launch him into summer.

The Author’s Commentary I don’t really think of myself as a poet, but recently I’ve been attending more and more poetry readings and workshops as well as spending time with friends who give me inspiration and feedback. There’s no doubt that sometimes a poem is the best way to express an idea. This one was based on a real event. Our rickety house has always been vulnerable to invading wild-life. I love bumble bees, but I get nervous when I get too close – hence the cup and paper. The small creature made such an impact on me I had to try and capture its energy in words. The idea was a simple one – just try to record the memory. The imagery wasn’t fancy: a bumble bee is such a sturdy, workmanlike thing, I didn’t want to use complicated or ‘poetic’ words (I don’t feel comfortable with them anyway). For the same reason, I chose free verse with, I hope, some sense of rhythm. Leaf editors suggested punctuating the poem like prose, instead of using capitals at the beginning of lines. My computer didn’t like that, but I thought it was a good idea.

About the Author Sue Anderson lives in Monmouth. She thinks of herself as a short story writer, but sometimes has an irresistible urge to write poetry. This tendency has recently been encouraged by the emergence of a small poetry group, Poets in Progress, which meets monthly for lots of lively criticism, inspiration, and, most important of all, coffee and biscuits.

The Book Outbox and Other Poems contains the winning entries from the Leaf Books Open Poetry Competition that ran during the winter of 2006. The thirty poems within cover such diverse subjects as love and hate, boat-building and ghostly rats, dreamfishers, funerals and science classes. What unites them is their brilliance.

Best of Leaf Mary Cookson’s ‘Imagine Coal’ was originally published in Imagine Coal and More Micro-Fiction. It won first prize in a Leaf Books micro-fiction competition.

‘Imagine Coal’ by Mary Cookson They never see me watching them. The building is old. ‘Rickety,’ I hear a woman say in passing. Plaster falls like overgrown flakes of snow from the ceiling. The yellows plague my eyes now that I am getting to be so old. The draughts in the building are spiteful. Suspended above the floor, the damp rises like mist from their clothes. The outer garment drips water onto the floor. I shiver and cough in silence. Some arrive as if covered in coal dust but with that faint iridescent inky sheen that he pointed out to me in our final starry sky. ‘Imagine coal as shards of disfigured diamonds.’ I never saw a diamond. These men and women speak in a strange tongue. They stare at the chair as if they had toothache. The sunflowers he kept, the fields of golden ripening corn, the rippling landscape, the blue smock and his palette, his red beard and short stubble of hair. The Woman with a Coffee Pot opposite me is so ugly with her work-a-day blue dress. Without rest I have to stare into her large, thick, round face, so like my own mother: the stern gaze, the bulbous nose. She is admired. Cezanne kept her. I am a working girl fresh from the fields, so blotted out. ‘You are the invisible form of my composition,’ he said. Up and down, for hours on end, first sitting in the chair and then squatting on the unswept floor, while he daubed and sweated with his smelly oils onto an old canvas. The paint suffocated me as the brushstrokes fell on my face. My living form was sent home at midnight. Leaving my ghost beneath his painting.

The Author’s Commentary I have always been fascinated by Van Gogh’s work and the painting of the battered chair has a peculiar pull on my imagination. Like a writer, an artist directs the eye towards a specific area and hopes that the viewer will extend the vision to beyond the frame. As for Van Gogh’s painting – the chair was alive with the possibility of a story that needed to be told. It was as if the brushstrokes obscured not just the canvas but what had happened in the room. Questions – the writer’s appeal to the imagination – made me explore the idea of the past occupants of the chair. One question inevitably led to another. Why was the painter fascinated by an inanimate object? Does it still exist? The shabby condition pointed to years, if not decades, of use. The thought perplexed me and nagged at me. Why was the chair empty? Human figures are restless, difficult to restrain. Somehow the chair was a suggestion of something obscured and from that the figure of a servant came vividly to life. Paintings end their life in a gallery and are static while life flows around them. This thought brought me to the Art Gallery itself and the people who either passed by or stopped to explore the painting. I write in a room surrounded by a higgledy piggledy pile of bookshelves, crammed inbetween a desk and computer. Writing is squeezed in between the cracks of a normal working day but ‘Imagine Coal’ has been the springboard to a selection of short pieces on paintings that appear, as slight as a sketch, and then become a lived reality.

About the Author Mary Cookson was born in Birmingham but is now resident in the North West of England. In 1997 she did an undergraduate course at Edge Hill University and then an MA in Writing Studies. Medieval history is an all-consuming passion for Mary – at the drop of a hat she will compare the advantages of phlebotomy over leeches as a prevention and cure for illness to the medieval mind. She has completed a novel set in the fifteenth century. Her second novel, set in the 1970s, is at the stage where she is itching to return to the middle ages. She has had poetry, short pieces and stories published in small press magazines, newspapers and Mslexia.

The Book Imagine Coal and More Micro-Fiction contains the winning entries from Leaf Books’ second micro-fiction competition of 2007. The thirty-one tiny fragments of wonderfulness within very concisely discourse on a fantastic variety of subjects, from artists’ models to attempted matricide via alien invasions, dancing GIs and elderly men with aphasia.

“Feedback is always honest and constructive, self-deprecation is forbidden and a high level of mutual trust prevails.” -Hartland Writers’ Circle, Devon

What is a writers’ group? “A long, leisurely, incremental voyage of discovery of the writer’s craft and the business of being and becoming a writer.” -Writers together

Illustration: Growing by Joanne D. Norris

the essential guide to

Writers’ Groups

A bunch of like-minded folk who gather to practise and polish the art of creative writing. The Leaf Writers’ Magazine looks at what’s involved, locates over 40 active groups across the UK and beyond, and provides valuable advice for beginning and organising your own group. Read on!

e asked writers’ groups from across the UK to tell us a little about themselves for issue two of the mag, and they did. Thanks for that. We were going to write a little introduction here about what a writers’ group essentially is, but having read the huge diversity of answers, we admit to being a tad flummoxed. All we can say is that, amidst all that tasty variety, there are three common themes: there are writers involved, sometimes they group together and they seem to have a bally good time. We’ve come across writers gathering online, in cafés, in rooms in houses, in libraries, in pubs and even a few nomadic groups. There are poets, prose

people and even a group of carers who gather when they can to write about their experiences. There are groups who’ve published anthologies of their work and groups who’ve established their own imprints. There are new groups, middleaged groups and a pensioner group that was established in 1935. Many groups house writers who are just starting out while others are graced with published authors. Which goes to show – you are never too inexperienced nor too grand not to benefit from being in a writers’ group.

A Little Give and Take: Ways to do criticism in a workshop.

’m sure we’ve all been there – sitting in a writing workshop being torn to pieces and wondering if we’ll ever write again, or being told we’re brilliant and wondering why, if we are so good, Penguin isn’t knocking at the door. Here’s a short guide on how to give helpful criticism and how to listen in turn for the constructive message.

Giving Criticism If you are given the chance, always read your fellow writers’ work beforehand and make notes on what you want to say: ask the group to post or email their work to one other. Read and think about other people’s work in the same way that you would like people to consider yours, but don’t simply say what you think the writer wants to hear. ‘That was lovely’ is a useless assessment on its own – it does nothing to improve a person’s writing. Say why you felt the piece was lovely – pick out particular passages or sentences. Comment on the choice of words, the phrasing and, if appropriate, the plotting.

Neither should you simply say ‘that was rubbish’ – again, that’s not going to improve the person’s writing. Constructive criticism is important. Tell the person why you didn’t like the piece: it’s okay not to like it but you have to be specific. It’s always a good idea to look at a piece from both sides: hardly anything is entirely lovely or utterly abysmal. Even if you adore a piece of writing you can usually come up with some suggestions as to how it might be tweaked for the better; and if you didn’t think much of it, it’s still worth coming up with a couple of positives so the writer doesn’t go away utterly deflated. Even if you think that specific piece is not worth developing – and it’s okay to gently point that out – also point out the good things in order to make it clear that you don’t think the writer is a lost cause. If you have a printed copy of the work, annotate it with your notes: give the feedback verbally in the workshop then hand the person your annotated version. Don’t tell the person about the typos, grammar and spelling mistakes: just let them pick that up from your notes. It wastes the group’s time and comes over as picky and pedantic.

Taking Criticism In any group there will always be a mixture of very harsh critics and, hopefully, fans. After a while you get to know who is who. You also get to know who you trust to give you the kind of constructive feedback you want and who, conversely, has such wildly

different tastes to yours that there’s little in the way of common ground. That said, all opinions should be heard with an open mind. It’s important to maintain some degree of artistic integrity and to know when you need to stick to your guns; it’s fine to politely thank the speaker for their feedback and to choose not to follow their advice. But it’s equally important to carefully consider everything that’s said, even if you don’t initially agree with it – especially if the same point comes up again and again. If there are specific parts of your work that you feel unsure of and which you’d like the group to focus on, contact them beforehand so they have time to consider (if you are wondering whether or not a certain character’s actions are credible, for example, then note that question on your manuscript before sharing it with the group). Workshopping is an amazing tool in an otherwise potentially isolating business, so ensure you make the most of the opportunity. Remember: any writing placed before the group is a work in progress, and the point of the workshop is to improve and polish the work. It is always the piece of work on the table that is up for criticism, not the author. Don’t be personal and don’t take things personally: our writing is our brainchild, but you do want the child to grow.

Giving Feedback: a checklist •Point of View – has the author chosen the best point of view from which to write the piece? Is it worth considering an alternative viewpoint? Is the chosen point of view consistent? Is it believable, considering what that character would know and how they would process that information? •Length – is the piece overlong and flabby and in need of some judicious editing, or is it underdeveloped and full of plot-holes? Or just right, even. Things are allowed to be just right. •Style and imagery – does the language come off the page? Do the images evoke what the writer intends them to evoke? Does the writing make us think or is it clichéd? •Clarity – do we understand what the writer is talking about? It’s easy for a writer to assume a piece is coherent and a theme is clearly delivered simply because they know what they’re getting at and it’s hard to be objective, so it’s important to say when you just don’t understand what’s going on. If you don’t ‘get’ a piece of writing, that isn’t your fault: the writer has not achieved their goal of conveying ideas through writing. •Character – are the characters believable and consistent? Are they sufficiently developed? Has the writer chosen the most appropriate and interesting protagonist? If there is dialogue, does it differ from character to character?

Taking feedback: a checklist • Take notes: you’ll never remember everything that’s said on the day, and it’s good to go over the feedback at your leisure … and with greater objectivity. • Ask for clarification if you don’t understand what’s being said. • Don’t argue. You don’t have to agree with every opinion but by coming to the group you pledged your willingness to listen to other people’s points of view. Arguing only wastes everyone’s time. • Take several pinches of salt. It’s important to be open-minded but it’s also important to maintain artistic integrity. It’s ultimately up to you to decide which opinions you choose to act on. • Ask specific questions to help focus the feedback on the areas you feel need the most work. • Thank people for their feedback (whether or not you agree with it) and for taking the time to read and consider your writing.

Leading a workshop Some groups have a set leader; some take turns; some have no leader at all. Every group is unique and requires a unique approach, but here are some general guidelines that may help a prospective workshop leader. Workshop leaders are like chairs in a meeting: it’s their job to make sure the agenda is adhered to and that everything is covered in the allotted time. Every writer who has submitted a piece should be given an equal time in which to hear their criticism and ask questions. So before a session begins, check how much time you

have, do a headcount and divide the session up equally. Some groups, however, have lots of folk and very little time. It can be fairer in this case to have a rota of sorts to ensure everyone gets a chance to hear and be heard. Every group has its own format; the important thing is that people agree on what the rules are to start with. As the leader, you’ll need to gently steer people away from extraneous gossip, arguing and anything that doesn’t focus on the writing under discussion. If this seems overly formal, make sure you start and end the session with five minutes of chatting and socialising to create a friendly atmosphere without detracting from the

job in hand. Finally, remember to ask your group how they felt the session went and if they feel any changes need to be made to the format. Constructive criticism is as useful for a workshop leader as it is for a writer.

Formatting a session: a basic structure • A week or so before the group meets, make sure everyone gets a copy of the material you’re planning to workshop so they have a chance to familiarise themselves with the work. • Set a realistic word limit – don’t let people bring entire novels! • In the meeting, each member of the group reads part of their work out loud (or the entire piece if it’s short enough). • That piece then receives feedback: go around the room person by person to make sure everyone gets a chance to air their views. • Attention should then move on to the next piece of work: make sure individual sessions don’t overrun.

Illustration: Imagination by Joanne D. Norris

continues overleaf: starting your own group

Starting your own writers’ group: Top tips and handy hints from our experts

ecide what sort of group you want to be, for example mutual critique and feedback, subject specific or writing workshops

dvertise!

heck if there are any existing groups in your area, to avoid duplication. If there is another group, why not link up?

et in touch with local literature and Tell people what arts organisations for you’re doing, via word advice and contacts. Also see how you could get of mouth, posters in involved with events and your local library, festivals in your area.

bookshop, pub post office, shop,

community centre. The internet is a great publicity tool: make a facebook group, a blog, use myspace, twitter: get the message out there!

eep admin to a minimum – though some larger groups appoint a chairperson or secretary to send out emails. Keep notes in the first few meetings.

ind a venue for the first meeting, then make a time and date. Just do it! small number of

dedicated members

is important, and groups take a while to grow. Be patient!

Keep it fresh & fun – at the beginning keep changing, evolving & try out new ideas and formats until you find what works for you.

ork f rom tay focussed: have your a clear idea of structure and schedule m e m b e r s ’ s t r e n g t h s and interests for each session.

ocate a local publisher who

will produce or publish a book for the group.

efreshments: Don’t forget the tea and cake!

Writers’ Groups:

Directory

Word got out that we were doing a feature on Writers’ Groups - and so many creative writing collectives, groups and societies got in touch to tell us what they do. Over 40 writers groups across the UK and online are listed here: perhaps you’d like to join one or even start your own? Alpha Writers (Online) Aims: An email only group for those who could not take advantage of attending groups in the locality for reasons such as disability, remoteness and family commitments. Membership: Limit of 18 members at beginning of season (September). Newcomers who have entered competitions or submitted work for publication are welcomed. When/where: ‘Alpha Days’ take place every three weeks. Typical meeting: An Alpha Day features a Circular from the group leader, a 300 word writing ‘challenge’ to be completed by the following Alpha Day and the set of anonymously numbered entries from the previous ‘challenge’ to assess. A Writers’ Log is also circulated, recording members’ writing activity outside of formal Alpha activities. Benefits: Members benefit especially by reading other people’s entries. The discipline of being expected to participate in all challenges is a powerful incentive. Alpha members don’t meet socially, but I think we have established supportive friendships every bit as much as in

conventional groups. Online: www.alphawriters.net

Bealtaine Writers’ Group Began: May 1999 as part of May (Bealtaine) Festival, celebrating creativity. Aims: to write, workshop, improve our poems. Work in partnership with National, Hugh Lane Galleries, IWC, Poetry Ireland, Dublin City Arts Council and Dublin City Library on research projects leading to writing and performing poems. We are also proud to be part of above arts activities particularly as poets in residence at Hugh Lane and participants in the Bealtaine Festivals every year. Membership: Currently 6-10 members, open to newcomers who have some experience of writing poetry. When/where: Once a month at the Irish Writers’ centre. Typical meeting: Free writing or exercise as warm up. Take turns to read poems then reread and workshop around the table. We also discuss activities, and leaders from these organisations plan projects with us. We then have lunch and chat together. Genres: Poetry, free writing. Benefits: Keeps us writing, critiques our work, periodic work with established writers over 6 or 8 weeks, contact with arts orgs., friendships over 11 years of work together. Developments: We are exploring Dublin City Archives located in Pearse St Library, records of civic govt of Dublin from 1171 to late C20th. Group will explore all forms of writing and create own to present as part of Culture Night on 24th Sept 2010. Online: http://www.writerscentre.ie/ Contact: info@writerscentre.ie

Blue Gate Poets (Swindon) Began: September 2008. Aims: To support and develop poetry writers.

68 Membership: Open. Where: Richard Jefferies Museum, Coate Water, Marlborough Road. Typical meeting: Readings, workshops and feedback. Genre: Poetry. Benefits: Opportunities for development and education through workshops, readings and reading work out loud. Developments: Many of our members have been invited to read in other towns at other writers’ groups. Have organised readings from poets such as Daljit Nagra, Wendy Klein and Sue Boyle. Online: www.bluegatepoets.com Contact: bluegatepoets@yahoo.co.uk

Borders Writers Forum Began: 2002. Aims: To raise the profile of contemporary local writers and provide a focus for writer related events in the Scottish borders. We provide networking opportunities and professional development by establishing a regular series of readings and workshops. Membership: 10-20 people attend each meeting, open to newcomers. When/where: Monthly. St Cuthberts RC Church Hall, Melrose. Genres: Poetry, novels, plays. Benefits: Networking and support. Developments: Poetry Events (Simon Armitage); Launch of BWF Antholgy; Mini Bookfest in Kelso. Online: www.borderswritersforum.com

Cardiff Ready Writers Began: March 2010, associated with other Ready Writers’ groups across South Wales. Aims: To explore and express Christian faith through creative writing. Membership: 6-8 members per meeting, welcome all Christian writers, especially those

who are new to writing. When/ where: First Thursday of each month at Bethel Presbyterian Church, Michaelston Road, Cardiff. CF5 4SX. Typical meeting: We try to have regular speakers but usually our meetings are comprised of members, to keep each other up to date with their writing projects and achievements. An exercise is set each week as ‘homework’ and people are encouraged to read their piece out at the next meeting. Members are also encouraged to bring along examples of other work that they have written and read a short extract, and feedback is given. Genres: Prose, poetry. Benefits: The benefits of our group are that, firstly, we enjoy fellowship with other Christian writers who would perhaps not otherwise meet and to welcome beginners who may feel nervous about reading out their work and submitting pieces for publication. Developments: Christian Writers’ Day at The Rest, Porthcawl on 9th October 2010. Contact: patricia.stowell@sky.com

Sue Moules on editing Editing usually improves a poem, but occasionally it can make it worse. This is where a writing buddy or a writers’ group comes in very useful. Other people are not close to the work and can read it objectively. We know we must ‘kill our darlings’: the words and phrases that don’t carry any weight even if the word susurration was the poem’s inspiration. It could become the title, but it might be better taken out all together. Real writing is the editing: having the patience to put the work to one side and to look over it later when you are able to see it with fresh eyes. Then it becomes obvious that susurration is a word too many. You can be told all this, read it all in ‘How to Write’ manuals, but you need to discover how to do it yourself. When you are able to edit your own work you are able to write well. It all comes with practice and experience, which comes from critiquing your own and others’ work in a supportive writing group.

Focus: Crichton Writers Began: 2003 as a follow-on activity to a Creative Writing course led by poet Tom Pow at the Crichton Campus (Dumfries) of the University of Glasgow. To date they have published five anthologies, given performance readings in south west Scotland, Edinburgh and Cumbria, worked in collaboration with artists and musicians and are currently working on a memoirs project which will have a publication and performances in 2010. Aims: To nurture and encourage members in writing and presenting work for publication and performance in all and any genre. Provide professional tuition in specific disciplines. To create an inclusive annual creative project, sometimes in collaboration with artists of other disciplines. Membership: Open across Dumfries and Galloway and north Cumbria. 10-20 people per meeting. When/where: Monthly at premises provided by the University of the West of Scotland in Dumfries. Typical meeting: We have a number of published/award-winning writers in the group who are able to offer tutored sessions, so we do a lot of peer-led activity. The Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature scheme pays half the fee for invited professionals. Genres: Poetry: formal and informal, quite a few dramatists and a smidge of travel writers. No novelists yet. Benefits: A trusted environment in which to share their new work, doubts and developments. Members become friends over time. Developments: Each year we have an inclusive creative project that finishes in September, when it is launched at Wigtown Book Festival. This year we are producing a book of memoirs, and it is also our first year with our own website. Online: www.crichtonwriters.ukwriters.net and a well established, monthly e-newsletter Contact: Visit website.

Cwrtnewydd Scribblers, Llanybydder, Ceredigion Began: Founded in 2002 by our founder member, Brenda Old. I don’t think she had any idea at the time how much literary talent was lurking in our tiny farming community. Membership: At present there are six members, but we welcome more. Some are published, some aiming at publication and some write for pleasure only. When/where: Monday afternoons at each other’s houses where we share coffee, cake and literary interest. Most weeks all members are

present because we all hate to miss a meeting. During school holidays well-behaved children are welcome Typical meeting: We share news, consult one another on any writing problems, read and critique our writing and work together to increase skills and confidence. We are a very supportive collection of women (men are welcome too) and offer a warm welcome to new members who quickly settle in and in no time at all feel they have a part of it for years. During the meeting we do a writing exercise and often these small things grow into something bigger. The class is kept fresh and challenging, always

open to suggestion. Occasionally we invite speakers in or go on group outings but it is more usual to just meet and write as that is what we, as writers, love to do. Development: At the moment we are forming our own small publishing business and working on an anthology, due for publication at the end of the summer. It is an eclectic mix of poetry, prose and memoir and the wide age range and diversity of the members should find favour with most age groups. Online: www.freewebs.com/ cwrtnewyddscribblers - includes member profiles and excerpts of our work. Contact: Anybody wishing to join should contact Brenda on 01570 434507 or Rachael on 01570 434461.

“When I joined Cwrtnewydd Scribblers I was as yet unpublished and half way through my third novel. With their encouragement and knowledge I had self-published by the end of my first year with them. I would never have found the courage to go it alone without the group. The greatest thing a writing group provides is confidence in your own abilities.” group member, Cwrtnewydd Scribblers

Focus: Dudley Carers Writers’ Group Began: Three years ago, as part of Carers Week, when it became apparent that there were a number of carers interested in writing. A workshop was arranged in Dudley, a tutor was provided and as a result a number of carers in the Borough enrolled for the longer courses offered by the college. The group has continued to meet following that beginning. Aims: To provide an outlet for carers to take a break from their caring role and through writing, relax from the stress of everyday life. To provide an opportunity for carers to write about their experiences in caring and by publication, show to other carers that they are not alone and to pass on information which might help them in their duties. Membership: Open to all carers in the borough and surrounding area. When/where: There is a regular monthly meeting from 10am-3pm either in one of our libraries, a community centre or from time to time at in interesting location away from the Borough. We have visited botanical gardens, a National Trust premises and a number of museums. Typical meeting: a workshop is led by our resident tutor who is also a member, or our guest tutor who may be a local poet, someone involved with the venue where we are meeting, or on one occasion, a BBC script editor. The content is a mixture of writing from the last session (homework), group work and writing exercises. We always enjoy a good lunch, as it is often the only day in a month when someone is not caring. Genres: Usually it is prose, fiction in short story or flash mode, non fiction and occasionally poetry. continues opposite >

Benefits: A break from the caring role for a few hours, and the opportunity to escape into whichever world they wish and experience it through writing. To hear the ideas and work of others including experienced poets, teachers and writers. The opportunity to receive comments on their work. To work as a group and pool ideas. To learn and improve their own work. Developments: In 2009 we published an anthology of art and writing by 31 carers aged from 10 years upwards, with a grant from the local authority. Since its publication we have regularly presented readings from the book to various groups in the area. We have also sold copies of the book and amassed an amount of money to finance a second book, publishing work from even more carers themed around childhood memories. Online: www.dudleycarerswritersgroup.com Contact: Jane Martin – Chairman – 01384 458537 Jane Grainger – Treasurer – 01384 340269 Denise Smith – Secretary - 01902 678324

East Dulwich Writers’ Group Began: 1999, when a bedraggled young man in a voodoo trance placed an unassuming, yet powerfully enchanted, postcard in a south London newsagent’s window. Several innocent passers-by fell under its influence and within weeks the first East Dulwich Writers’ Group was convened. Aims: Support writers at all levels to improve their work. Membership: Open to newcomers from the catchment area. When/where: The Saturday group meets fortnightly (evenings), and the weekday meetings happen monthly. Despite having a mailing list of over two-hundred, the meetings are limited to a maximum of twelve. Meetings are held at each others’ houses. We find this more intimate and convenient. Typical meeting: Read and feedback on work. Encourage members to keep writing and discuss blocks, plotting issues, writing styles, character development, etc. Genres: Novels, short stories and poetry, also speeches, biography and polemic. Benefits: In a word - encouragement. We

work hard to create a friendly and positive environment where writers can present their work without fear and be open to receive the feedback offered. Developments: We established our own publishing imprint in 2009, Earwig Press, to print our first anthology, Hoovering The Roof, which is now in its second print run. The next anthology is currently in production, and the group are considering using Earwig Press to publish some of our authors’ novels soon. Online: www.edwg.co.uk Contact: Via website.

Fylde Brighter Writers Began: 2004 following an evening class, So, you want to write a bestseller? By the time it had ended, a dedicated core of scribblers had met, read aloud, laughed, read and listened and laughed some more. Aims: To write, and to have some fun doing it. Membership: Open. New imput is vital to energise and inspire our writing. What endures, however, is a friendship, a strong feeling that we are in this together.

When/where: Every Thursday, for two hours, in the back of a local pub. Typical meeting: Spontaneous writing, and the stimulus or source material for this exercise varies week to week. Sometimes, if there has been plenty of personal writing or homework done (in our own time) we listen to these contributions first, and writing time is necessarily shortened. We always try to make time to write and to read aloud what we’ve written. Genres: Everyone brings along the writing they are working on at the time, be it poetry, short stories or extracts from longer projects. Benefits: We all profit from the shared experience of reading, listening and discussing ways of redrafting. Developments: New ideas are always being put forward, and we have undertaken some exciting projects including hosting two very successful writing competitions, publishing a collaborative story and an anthology of our writing. Another anthology Out of Season, which will include the winning entries is due to be published later this year. Online: www.brighterwriters.org.uk We have found the internet to be absolutely brilliant for all aspects of running our competitions and staying in touch with the newest developments in the world of writing. Contact: Steve, via the website.

‘Igniting the spark’, Dean Clough, Halifax. Began: Initially in the 1990s, then relaunched as weekly ‘Igniting the spark’ creative writing workshops in April 2010. Aims: To generate writing, to ‘ignite the creative spark’. Membership: Open to new people. When/where: We meet every Tuesday from 5.30-7.00 in room D258, D Mill, Dean Clough, Halifax. Between 6 and 20 people

attend. Typical meeting: The sessions are always workshop based. We usually do 1 or 2 exercises a week and, if there’s time, read back what’s been produced.

“New imput is vital to energise and inspire our writing.” Fylde Brighter Writers

Hartland (Devon) Writers Circle Began: in 1999 when writer Marian Van Eyk McCain put up in a notice in the Post Office window, several people contacted her as a result and the group was born. Membership: Free of charge; newcomers welcome. When/where: Meetings take place one evening a month at Marian’s house. A few members live in the village; but most travel some distance to attend. Members bring edible treats to share! Typical meeting: The group’s preferred way of working is to divide the time available by the number of members present (which ranges from 4-8) and each person uses that time in whatever way s/he deems most valuable, e.g. to get feedback on a specific piece of writing, to share ideas about future projects, plotting of novels, getting published, book promotion. Short pieces, such as poems, are always read aloud but longer pieces are often shared by email ahead of time to leave more time for the critique. Feedback is always honest and constructive, self-deprecation is forbidden and a high level of mutual trust prevails. Genres: Non-fiction, poetry and more. Most members have published something, but this is by no means a requirement. Online presence: Hartland Writers Circle is listed with Devon County Council and with the National Association of Writers Groups. http://www.elderwoman.org/HWC.htm

Focus: Hookers’ Pen: The Amman Valley, South Wales Hookers’ Pen is an eclectic group of women writers – prolific, ambitious and highly successful. Established in 2001 by four women from the Amman Valley, its remit has always been to support and encourage writing. Democratic. Altruistic. Honest. We rigorously critique each others’ work. We are not there to be ‘nice.’ The group – now seven-strong – has reached a level of trust and confidence that is hard to achieve in open fora. In spite of our differences of opinion, of style, of approach, we make a commitment to support each writer on her own terms, to nurture her in her own direction. We are able to be critical about the writing while being sensitive to the needs of the writer. This is vital. Creation comes from places deep within us, and sharing work that is still forming can expose our vulnerabilities. We need to trust those who are critiquing our work. We come from diverse backgrounds – from building to nursing, from teaching to beekeeping, from café management to office management to air stewarding. We all bring different perspectives and experiences to the discussions. This makes it an exciting group to be part of and we complement each other by bringing a range of important skills: editing, networking, workshop facilitation, teaching, marketing, desk-top publishing, design and so on. We meet every two weeks. All jobs are rotated. A diary is put together at the start of each year allocating slots for distributing work, for hosting meetings and for preparing writing exercises. One member’s work is given out in advance of the meeting and all members prepare a constructive review of the work for discussion in the meeting. But in spite of this formality, and this rigour, the group maintains a flexibility and a raucous humour. Close friendship, birthday dinners, and book launches. Perhaps these tight bonds are inevitable. After all, we are sharing ‘our babies’. Members: Emily Hinshelwood, www.emily-hinshelwood.co.uk Sandra Mackness,www.tonisands.co.uk Beth Morgan, Marion Preece, www.marionpreece.com Anna Smith Sally Spedding, www.sallyspedding.com Hillary Wickers

“In spite of our differences of opinion, of style, of approach, we make a commitment to support each writer on her own terms, to nurture her in her own direction”

Focus: the oldest group in this guide Huddersfield Authors’ Circle Began: in 1935 by a group of Journalists from the Huddersfield Examiner Newspaper (which is also still running 75 years later). Aims: To encourage writers to improve and also to publish their work if they wish to. Membership: Open to new people who can prove their writing ability. When/where: We meet twice a month, and between 8-15 people attend any one meeting. Typical meeting: One meeting is a workshop and the next meeting is typically a reading group. We also have guest readers, competitions and occasional readings to the public. Genres: Novelists: romance, crime, literary fiction, science fiction. We also have poets, journalists, short story writers and people who work in multi-media work and spoken word. Benefits: The group is an open platform for testing out work that would otherwise remain between the sheets. Being in a group means that ideas can be exchanged, people can work together or simply have a captive audience to get encouragement and feedback from. Developments: 2010 is the year we celebrate 75 years of our group. We hope to do a few reading events, a competition launching later in the year and some our members are taking part in events further afield, including launching their latest published novels. Online: http://huddersfieldauthorscircle. wordpress.com/ Contact: Dawn Rodgers (President) either by emailing dawnrodgers@fmail. co.uk, by phone; 07813 462922 or via the website above.

Lampeter Writers’ Group Began: Founded in 1984 by Gillian Clarke, Kathy Miles and Sue Moules. Aims: To provide a forum for writing, to discuss the work of the members, and to learn the techniques of writing in various genres. Membership: All newcomers welcome. Meetings can number from 5-20 people. When/where: Weekly on Tuesday evenings, 7.00-9.00 pm, University of Wales Lampeter (term times only). Typical meeting: Meetings are generally split into three distinct parts. In the first half hour, a member of the group will present a piece of writing by someone else: either a ‘favourite’ author, or someone whose work they find difficult, and discussion takes place around that piece. We then have an hour where one member of the group presents pieces of work for critical appraisal and workshop discussion. The last half hour is a ‘read-round’ of any work written since the last meeting that members wish to share with the group. However, the format often alters, and we occasionally do writing exercises or have in-depth discussions about various aspects of writing. Genres: We generally concentrate on poetry, but have workshopped novels, plays, essays, and any other type of writing that members want to bring to the table. Benefits: We are lucky to have Gillian Clarke to lead the discussions, and her input is much valued by everyone in the group. Most of the members of the group have published work since attending, and several members have published more than one book. It is invaluable to have external evaluation of one’s writing, particularly by such an experienced writer as Gillian, and it provides both professional help and a social meetingplace for everyone.

Developments: We have brought writers to Lampeter who include Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, the late UA Fanthorpe and Simon Armitage, and we are currently investigating the possibility of having more writers in the future. Contact: Kathy Miles on kathym27@hotmail. com, or Gillian Clarke (via her website).

A Bunch of Like-Minded Folk: Leicester Writers’ Club Began: Around fifty years ago when some students of The Writing School in Leicester wanted to stay together after their studies had finished. Aims: To exist as a community of writers, much as it was fifty years ago. Club members have access to library facilities, an online forum, weekend workshops, the annual awards dinner and the Cotswold retreat, as well as guidance from established authors and first bite at the huge range of opportunities that come the way of a high profile club. Membership: Currently 50 members, open to newcomers. It is a tradition for Leicester Writer’s Club to open its manuscript evenings to non-members throughout the summer for a nominal door fee. These no-pressure taster sessions are very attractive to shy writers who will often become members. When/where: Thursdays (except Christmas) at the Adult Education College , Wellington Street , Leicester, 7 - 9pm. Usually 20 - 30 members attend. Typical meeting: A typical Thursday is a manuscript night. Members read their work and receive comments and critiques. Often the work is of such a polished standard that it is easy to forget to critique, then we just listen and are blissfully entertained. At our regular ‘Retreat’ in the Cotswolds we have learned about digital media and synopsis writing. At the ‘Writers’ Day Out’ we have looked at ways to beat writer’s block and how to project our

voices to an audience. Genres: There is a huge diversity. With around fifty members, we have poets as well as performance poets, we have novelists of every genre, journalists and e-journalists, scriptwriters, screen-writers, lyricists and an awardwinning blogger! Benefits: The creative benefits of attending such a Club are far greater, and more subtle, than you could ever plan for or expect. There is the inspiration of those around you, the self-imposed deadlines of a Thursday or an upcoming competition. There is the challenge of a subject that is ‘not really your field’ but you try it for a giggle and discover a passion. There is the confidence you’ve built, so that when you chance across a literary agent in the ladies room at a London theatre, you know just how to talk to her to sell yourself and your book. There is the comfort of being with people who understand you, opportunities to perform and sell your work, the chance to build a reputation. Leicester Writers’ Club is regularly invited to events, like the ‘States of Independence’ book fair at De Montfort University and the literary section of Leicester ’s St Georges Day celebration. Alternatively, the ‘Writers on the Road’ show at the Richard Attenborough Centre was a showcase opportunity that we created ourselves. Developments: This year we have a presence at Lowdham Book Festival. We have a stall to stock, as well as members reading from their published works and making up a discussion panel. Online: www.leicesterwriters.org.uk. Members can join the forum, where work is put up for critique, members socialize and pass on news of successes. Contact: Anyone interested in joining can contact the secretary via the website. Or just come along to a meeting and hang out with a bunch of like-minded folk.

Llandudno Writers Began: 9 years ago. Aims: To encourage those with an interest in all aspects of writing, from poetry to articles, biography, short stories, novels (fact and fiction). Membership: Open to newcomers. When/where: Llandudno Library, second Wednesday of each month. Typical meeting: News of competitions, any courses conferences (including those I’ve attended). We try and have a leader on a topic. These can come from our members but we have the funds to invite published authors. We suggest if members want feedback on work, then bring several copies for willing members to critique. The inhouse competition is very popular. Benefits: Gain confidence from the exercises. Developments: More visiting authors, visits to printers, areas to stimulate stories/novels, and-possibly- a competition open to nonmembers. Online: www.llandudnowriters.org.uk Contact: Brian Lux (Chairman) 49 Abbey Rd, Llandudno, LL30 2EH Tel: 01492 860156 brian@luxb.freeserve.co.uk

Llanelli Writers’ Circle / Cylch Awduron Llanelli Began: Twenty years ago our Circle was started from a group studying on a WEA Creative Writing course, tutored by the writer Phil Carradice. Aims: To encourage and support writers in their craft and to raise the profile of writing in the Llanelli area. There is a range of experience within the group from hobby to published writers. We share our skills and help each other towards publication, offering ideas for markets and ways to improve our work. Membership: New members are welcome, can attend a couple of taster sessions. Full

membership is £12 per year / £1 per meeting. When/where: At a local chapel vestry on the last Wednesday afternoon of the month, except December when we hold our annual dinner and prize-giving. There are four awards in the categories: poetry, light verse, short fiction and writing on travel/place. Typical meeting: Members read their work, either on the monthly set theme or the writer’s work in progress – all genres – poetry, short story, an extract from a novel, a piece on local history, autobiography, a story for children or a play. Feedback is positively encouraged. Eileen Kerr said, ‘the standard of my writing has improved considerably since I joined the Circle. When other members’ work is read out and commented on, I often become aware of pitfalls to be avoided in my own writing.’ Benefits: Companionship, encouragement, new ideas, information on competitions and markets, advice and support. Val Reay said: ‘The chief benefit is that a new writer with access to a writing group can grow in confidence – more so than if plodding on in isolation.’ Developments: A presence at Llanelli festival in Aug. For our 20th anniversary this year we joined NAWG (National Association of Writers’ Groups), and have entered our latest anthology for their annual competition. Contact: For further information please contact the secretary Carole Ann Smith on 01792 891679 or e-mail: cazleucarum@tesco.net

“There is the confidence you’ve built, so that when you chance across a literary agent in the ladies room at a London theatre, you know just how to talk to her to sell yourself and your book.” Leicester Writers’ Club

Focus: London Writers’ Cafe

the largest group in this guide

Began: Set up by aspiring author Ben Lovejoy in 2006. Aims: By its very definition, writing is a very solitary activity. From devising characters, formulating plots to produce a piece of original and compelling fiction; and then having it all going straight from your own imagination onto the page. That’s where London Writers’ Cafe comes in. It aims to give writers the opportunity to bring their work, struggles and inspirations out in the open and actively share them with others on the same path. Membership: Free and open to anyone with an interest in writing. We have writers who have completed manuscripts all the way back to those who are yet to put pen to paper but want to start. We welcome writers of all kinds: currently we have more than 800 members! When/where: Monthly at a pub near Liverpool Street. Typical meeting: The meeting takes roughly two hours and are split into six reading slots of twenty minutes. These can be requested beforehand or by any attendees who bring work to share with the group. We have writers of all kinds so you never know what each slot will hold; from chapters of a work-in-progress novel to short stories to plays or poetry. But each slot follows the same format – ten minutes for reading and ten minutes for the rest of the group to offer feedback. We are always supportive of anyone who reads their work. In fact, the group is always very eager to help each other with suggestions. Genres: Normally short stories, chapters of novels, screenplays, poems and blog extracts. Benefits: One of the biggest benefits to anyone joining LWC has to be this opportunity to bravely expose your written work outside your own head. Many inexperienced writers can be very hard on their own work, or are too close to it to see where improvements could be made, so when there’s a really positive response from the group, that’s a huge ego boost. Secondly, the more often you read, the more confidence in your writing grows so it motivates members to write more. LWC also builds a sense of community that we’re all in this together – going through exactly the same thoughts, feelings and frustrations. Developments: Organising writing workshops by professional writing tutors, having published authors come and talk at the group about getting published, and many more. Online: http://www.meetup.com/londonwriterscafe/about/ Contact: Visit website, or come along to a meeting.

Margins Writers’ Group Began: 2004. Aims: To encourage writers to develop their creativity and get their work published. Membership: Open to new people. When: Monthly. Typical meeting: Workshopping and writing

exercises. Genres: Poetry, short stories. Benefits: A focussed opportunity to concentrate on writing which may lead on to something more substantial later. Developments: We have published a new issue of our writers magazine Margins in Print. Online: http://www.dartmoorcam.co.uk/

Contact: Dr. Ann Pulsford, A.pulsford@axiom. eclipse.co.uk

The New Writers’ Group Began: Spring 2007. Aims: To provide an outlet for writers to talk with each other and learn about the layout and structure of different genres, how to edit, submit and perform work. Membership: Because we write to publish, a newcomer will benefit by starting in February or March. If they join any time after that they will be doing catch-up. When/where: Twice a month for 2 hour sessions in The Multi-purpose room, Vancouver Island Public Library on James Street, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada. Typical meeting: We discuss the publishing successes of the writers, their competition wins, etc; any other problems arising from edits, meetings with publishers and magazine owners, etc. A topic is also quickly presented. The remaining time is taken with editing each other’s in-progress manuscripts. Every once in a while an invited speaker: writer, publisher, book printer, lawyer etc, gives a talk in place of the regular meeting. Genres: The group focus is on literary fiction, short stories and novellas, 5,000-20,000 words. We also discuss some script writing for film and stage and some newspaper writing, but mostly as examples of presentation. Benefits: In a group, writers can go over new ideas, new ways of writing the same story but in a different way, a way to grab the attention of a publisher. Often, there is a catch 22 with larger publishers that in order to be published a writer has to have been already published. In this group the writers can move past this. Developments: Arts Angels Publishing publishes one book a year which includes the best of the writing in the group, plus one short story from solicited submissions via the website, plus one or two pieces from invited successful writers of short stories. Online presence:

www.elizahemingway.com Contact: Eliza Hemingway www.elizahemingway.com artsangels@shaw.ca +250-416-0363

Nibs writers’ group. We’re a small group of reasonably experienced London writers who meet once a week on Mondays (6:00-8:00, near Holborn tube). Each week we aim to have four readers each of whom will read up to 2,000 words from their short story / novel after which the rest provide constructive feedback. We’ve been going for 3 years now - before that several of us met at an organised class which gave us the idea to set up on our own. We’re currently looking for new members and would be very pleased to hear from anyone interested in finding out more. Please contact Sarah: nibswritingclass@live.com.

Nomads Writers’ Group Central London Began: 2008, by ten Birkbeck MA Creative Writing Students. Aims: To help each other to improve upon any piece of work that is presented to the group and we are incredibly fortunate to be able to boast a genuine concern by and for all our members. Membership: Not open to newcomers at the moment. When/where: We meet once a week at an ever changing venue – hence our name – but always somewhere in Central London. At the moment we get together on Wednesday evenings between 6.30 and 8pm. Typical meeting: Every week two of us get show our work by submitting a piece of writing of writing between 2,000 and 5,000 words, by email, to the rest of the group by the preceding Monday evening. We are expected to have read and critiqued both pieces so that we can discuss

the two works separately. Between four and ten members usually turn up. If we can’t make it then we let each other know as soon as we can. Usually, members who can’t come along give their thoughts on paper to the writer. Genres: Currently, most of our members are working on novels, one of us is working on a screenplay, and the occasional short story . Benefits: This way of working has been incredibly successful for us. Since we have been working together four members are now published and one of our members has written a screenplay that has been made into a 10 minute film starring Richard E Grant.

OWLS

The Online Writers’ Circle

(Ormskirk Writers and Literary Society)

Began: Formed from The Sorcerer’s Circle, an on-line circle formed from an OU Creative Fiction writing course. The maximum number is 12 per circle. If numbers grow and remain stable a new circle will be formed. Aims: Provide positive constructive feedback. Membership: Open to new people. There are currently members from England, Wales, S. Africa, Belgium and the USA. When/where: An online monthly cycle where members submit work in turn to the circle and comments are given. Typical meeting: Give feedback on each others’ work; members may discuss news, developments and skills. Genres: Mainstream literary and commercial fiction, short stories. Does not include children’s, erotica or fantasy fiction. Contact: E-mail ABACAN@BayChambers.com with: * Penname and writing experience including any courses attended, publications or competition entries. * Writing genre and ambitions * 50 words on why you’d like to join * 1,000 word example of writing * Be willing to share e-mail address in confidence with other circle members

Began: The Group began in the early 60s started by a small group of people who enjoyed writing and who did get certain material published. Aims: To encourage members to enjoy writing, to help them extend into different writing forms and to give positive critique to any writings shared. Membership: Newcomers are allowed 3 free meetings to decide whether they would like to join or not. When/where: First and third Mondays of every month in the local Ormskirk Parish Church Meeting rooms. Typical attendance per meeting is 10-15 people. Typical meeting: Our meetings vary between work in Progress meetings to themed workshops, invited guest speakers and literary evenings. Genres Short stories, parts of novels, plays, poetry, articles. Benefits: Members get a wide experience of writing and ideas for publishing and great support and critiques for their work. Developments: We have held special events and readings and published more than one anthology. Also attend a Northern network meeting involving 5 to 6 writing groups representing Cheshire, Lancashire and

Merseyside. This year we have linked with the editor of the local Multiple Sclerosis magazine and held a 500 word competition, where they presented a book token to the winner and will be printing the entered stories over the next few months in their magazine. Contact: judy.ingman@googlemail.com

Peacock Vein’s Script Café

@Pontardawe Art Centre, Herbert Street, Pontardawe, Swansea Began: 2004, in response to a need for scriptwriters to ‘see’ their work in progress rather than simply reading it out loud to their computers at home. Scripts are such dynamic creatures – they are as visual as they are verbal. Membership: The script café is open to anyone. It is an informal, friendly night – and the bar is open. Do come along, and be prepared to contribute to discussions and reviews and do a bit of acting as well! When/where: Peacock Vein runs an open forum for scriptwriters at Pontardawe Arts Centre on the third Tuesday of the month, starts at 7.30pm Typical meeting: We come together to review, critique, write, devise and perform scripts primarily for the stage. Each month we invite a professional writer or director to lead a discussion focused around a member’s short script. The second half of the evening is an open mic slot in which we see 5-minute excerpts/ monologues, sketches that

people bring to the evening. We also do a community play in the summer. Developments: This year we devised a play exploring the issue of food security in the light of climate change: ‘Nine Meals from Anarchy.’ Contact: Emily at ehinshelwood@yahoo.co.uk

Phoenix Writing Group Horwich, Lancashire. Aim: To provide a welcoming and supportive arena for writers, those either starting out or wanting to improve their techniques in any genre. When/where: Our meetings are held once a week on Thursday 10-12 at Horwich Resource Centre and we are open to new members. We offer constructive criticism and humour in equal amounts, and also provide an information exchange on festivals, competition, workshops etc. Contact: Graham Chadwick: 07880818641 Anne Lawson: 07790556582 Claire Yates: 07793529283

The Poetry Society’s Worcester and Droitwich Stanza Began: About two years ago. We have had quite a few new members join, though we’re still small enough to make meetings easy. Aims: To enjoy poetry! Generally we tend to share info about poetry events/contests, go to events together and feedback on each other’s work. Membership: Open to new people. When/where: We have ‘official’ stanza meetings around once a month. But smaller groups of us often meet up in between at open mics, workshops etc. Typical meeting: We catch up on news, usually share a poem or two each, get feedback and plan/arrange forthcoming events. Benefits: We’re friendly, we give honest but constructive feedback and we’ve lots of energy

for planning/going together to events like workshops, readings open mics. Developments: Members have launched collections of poetry, and we also have plans as a stanza to be involved in a project to stage a literary festival (Worcester Literature Festival 2011). Online: We use Facebook to keep in touch and post news and event details. We also use email for forwarding submission/competition and event details and also as a means of workshopping/giving feedback on poems in between stanza meetings. Contact: Sarah Leavesley (pen name Sarah James) at lifeislikeacherrytree@yahoo.com

Redcar Writers Began: 1985. Aims: To help and enthuse the writers and put Redcar on the literary map. Membership: Open to new people. When/where: Monthly meetings, 2nd Wednesday of the month. Typical meeting: Talk a lot, read from samples of our work and discuss our progress and potential. Occasionally we do writing exercises. Genres: Poetry and Short Stories. Benefits: Friendly supportive group. Developments: Developing association with local magazine. Online presence: http://www.communigate. co.uk/ne/redcarwritersgroup/index.phtml Contact: Brian Morton: brian.morton2@ ntlworld.com

St. Helens Writers’ Club. We are a small, friendly group of local-based writers who meet fortnightly in the Central Library, St. Helens , Merseyside. Come along! Contact: Norman Weston, St. Helens Writers’ Club 28 Hawthorn Drive St Helens WA10 5EF

Save As Writers’ Group Began: 2002, when creative writing students were unhappy with the lack of feedback we were getting from our tutors so we decided to supplement our studies by starting a writers’ group. Aims: To help everyone to improve by giving constructive feedback. Membership: Open to new people. Meeting attendance ranges from 6-20 people. When/where: We meet monthly, usually on the third Monday of the month in the evening. The meetings are at the University of Kent. Typical meeting: The meetings last for two and a half hours which consist of 5 half hour ‘slots’. These slots are booked in advance by writers. This time is theirs to what they want with. Normally they will bring along copies of a piece of work they have written or are working on for the rest of the group to share. Feedback can get quite intensive – imagine 15 or so people taking to pieces your work! It certainly isn’t for those with a delicate disposition but that is the point: to improve one must be prepared to take criticism. You may not agree but as long as someone gives a reason why something is not working then this can be good for the writer. It is then up to the individual to make any changes they see fit. However the writer may want to use their time differently-they could run a half hour writing exercise, or read out someone else’s work to share. It’s entirely up to them. Genres: All. Benefits: An environment where their work is judged strictly on its merits. If they want a group where they just read a piece and everyone says its brilliant and then move on to the next person, this won’t be for them. Honesty is always the best policy. Of course opinions are going to differ – all art is subjective but members must be prepared to be open-minded and listen if they don’t agree. Online: We have attracted many new members

by merely having a website. http://www.saveaswriters.co.uk/index.htm Contact: Chairman Luigi Marchini - saveas@ hotmail.co.uk or luigimarchini@hotmail.com

Save As Writers are currently running two creative writing competitions. Turn to page 100 in the listings section for further details.

Tamworth Writers, Staffs Began: As a follow up to a creative writing course at Keele University, 1995. Aims: To support each other as writers, by reading and critiquing each other’s work, organising workshops, holding competitions etc. Membership: Open to newcomers, both beginners and experienced writers. When/where: Weekly in Tamworth town hall. Typical meeting: Following half an hour of catching up, tea and exchanging writing news, they get down to the readings of last week’s ‘homework’. There’s a weekly theme to kickstart creativity and it’s surprising how varied the results can be. Members can request ‘no comments’ or go all the way when it comes to critiquing. Then people read out un-themed work they may have brought along, and the session concludes with a writing exercise, usually writing for 5-10 minutes on a prompt drawn from a hat. Genres: Poetry, novels, more experimental forms. All kinds – we tend towards the more traditional forms: short stories, articles poems etc, but are open to more experimental stuff if anyone wants to bring it. Benefits: Support and feedback. Developments: Produce anthology this year. Online: http://tamworthwriters.webs.com/ showcases the members’ work; we also have Tamworth Writers Online, for those who do not have Wednesday afternoons free, with a forum for online members to post and receive

feedback. Contact: Moya at moya_green@yahoo.co.uk - or just come along to a meeting.

Verulam Writers’ Circle Began: 1954, a core group from an evening writing course went on to set up the group. Aims: To promote the interests of writers in St Albans and the surrounding area. To offer support and encouragement to writers whatever their level of ability or training, and to provide a variety of events, competitions and services in furtherance of these aims. Membership: Open to new people, although some of our meetings are very popular so you might have to squeeze up a bit! We also have an online membership where space isn’t an issue and members who have moved out of the area stay involved in this way. When/where: Fortnightly on Wednesday evenings from 8-10pm in St Michael’s Community Hall next to St Michael’s church in St Albans. We also have informal manuscript readings on alternate Wednesday evenings at the same time in the Six Bells pub. Typical meeting: A full programme of events is published on VWC’s website at www.vwc. org.uk and includes guest speakers (authors, agents, etc.) and writing workshops. However, experience has taught us that our members are particularly keen to receive feedback on their written work, and listen to other members’ writing, so manuscript evenings are always at the forefront of our business. Genres: From contemporary to children’s fiction, romance to sci-fi, narrative non-fiction to feature articles, VWC boasts an impressive range of creative writing amongst its members. Benefits: VWC prides itself on offering constructive critique. Writers who want 100% praise for their work should turn to their friends and relatives. Writers who want friendly yet incisive and constructive feedback to improve their work should turn to VWC. We’re also a friendly and hugely supportive bunch of people

who share an overriding passion and love of the written and spoken word. Developments: VWC’s ‘Get Writing’ one day conference is now a recognised annual event. Partnered with the University of Hertfordshire’s Humanities department and usually held on the third Saturday in February, this year’s conference was based at the de Havilland Campus in Hatfield and attracted leading publishers, agents and authors as speakers to an audience of 150+ attendees. ‘Get Writing 2011’ is already in the diary for 19th February, 2011 and will host a similarly stellar line up of speakers, along with the opportunity for attendees to meet, and pitch their work to, agents and publishers. Online: www.vwc.org.uk, members can sign up to post their work securely for critique. Also bi-monthly e-newsletter, Veracity. Contact: Email us via our website www.vwc. org.uk or directly via info@vwc.org.uk or telephone Kevin on 0771 351 5868.

Wayward Writers Began: Summer 1998 by the merging of two Creative Writing Classes. When/where: Meet twice monthly at Mynydd Isa, Flintshire. At present we have eighteen members, five being founder members. Typical meeting: Each term, usually of six sessions, a list of topics, suggested by the members is drawn up, and at each meeting, those present have the opportunity to read out their own work, in any genre. Occasionally we have talks and workshops by visiting authors. Achievements: To date we have published six books of combined work, with part of the sales’ proceeds going to charity. Individuals have also had work published, read their work on the radio, written and produced plays for local drama groups and succeeded in winning awards and commendations in written and vocal poetry competitions. In spite of our diverse backgrounds and an age range spanning eight decades, our common interest in creative

writing allows us to gel as a group.

The Word Counts Aims: To give and get inspiration and to promote our writing skills. Membership: Not open to new members at the moment. When/where: We meet once a fortnight, for two hours, in one another’s homes. There is no leader. On average there will be 5 people at a meeting. Typical meeting: Reading recent work, doing a short exercise eg using random words, and sharing our experiences, including publishing successes, of which we have had a few! Genres: Mostly members of our group are working on short stories, including nanofiction. Leaf has been an inspiration to us in this! A local community magazine, The Abergavenny Focus, publishes a 100-word story from a member of our group in each issue, and we take it in terms to submit our work. Benefits: Among the benefits of the group for the writers who attend are mental stimulation, good company, being kept spurred on to write and learning more about writing technique from one another. Developments: We are gradually (helped by the publication of our stories in The Abergavenny Focus) getting in touch with other local writers. We are hoping to organise a half-day event later this year, open to all, broadly along the lines of the events held in Portsmouth by the WriteInvite group (see www.write-invite.com). Online: We don’t have an online presence, but we individually make use of on-line writing sites. For example, two of us have used Lulu to prepare our own publications; others of us take part in WriteInvite’s ‘WriteOnSite’ competitions. Duotrope has proved a tremendous resource in pointing us to writing sites and publications.

“We are experimenting with Writing Buddies where writers pair up to see what they can produce together.”

Warehouse Writers Workshop

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Walsall Writers’ Circle Began: 1966. Aims: To encourage professional standards in our writing. Membership: Open to new people. When/where: 11 times a year on the 2nd Thursday of each month (except August) at Park Hall Community Association, Park Hall Road, Walsall WS3 5HF. We usually have around 20 people at a meeting. Typical meeting: We have a varied programme which includes workshops, manuscript readings; talks by published writers and/or people whose job could help someone in their writing i.e. clinical psychologist, police inspector, medieval armourer etc. We also run two competitions a year – one non-fiction and one fiction. Genres: Novels, short stories, non-fiction books and articles. Benefits: To meet like-minded people – as we all know, writing can be a very lonely occupation! With our manuscript evenings, we give instant feedback on short pieces of work and this can be very encouraging for new writers; for more established writers it will give them a different perspective on their writing. Developments: We are experimenting with Writing Buddies where writers pair up to see what they can produce together. Online presence: www.wwc.mereed.co.uk Contact: Alison Reed on 01922 458595 or by email through the link on the website.

Began: 2006. Membership: 25 at present; open to new members. When/where: Meetings take place the Warehouse Café, the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal, on alternate Wednesdays throughout the year, except during August. Typical meeting: Warehouse Writers is a workshop, not a class. Our aim is to critique each other’s work in a rigorous but supportive manner. Work is circulated before the meeting by email. Very occasionally this work is the result of setting a theme or title, but mostly it is what the writer happens to be engaged with at the time. We are also addressing ourselves to writing synopses; learning how to pitch to an agent; and how to perform in public. Genres: Most of our work is traditional in form – poetry, novel, short fiction, creative non-fiction, essay – but we welcome more experimental forms, such as word video. Benefits: For those of us who have taken on board the comments, both positive and negative, it has increased our confidence, it has improved our writing and for some of us it has helped lead to publication, which is after all the point. Online: Want to join? We are on the web through the Warehouse Writers Workshop at WordPress.com site which contains information about our method of working; time and place; biographies of our writers; plus links to their blogs. Contact: acbanks.22@btinternet.com or carolinemoir78@gmail.com

The Word Cloud (online) Began: We’d been helping a lot of writers through The Writers’ Workshop, by getting professional authors to teach first-timers, but at the beginning of 2009 we came to realise that there was a lot to be gained from letting people

interact in a more casual way - not just with professionals, but with publishers, agents, and other first-timers. Aims: Create a sense of community among writers of all kinds. The Word Cloud is a free social network where writers can read each other’s work, offer comments and get feedback. It’s also a place where you can socialize with fellow writers, enter regular competitions, and much more. Membership: Open and free. When/where: We have no scheduled physical meetings, but a lot of us couldn’t go to bed at night without our daily fix of The Word Cloud, and a bunch of us met up at The Festival of Writing in York last April and intend to do so again next year. Benefits: It’s all about feeling like there are other people out there who understand where you’re coming from, and share a passion for writing. Writing is a lonely task, and it’s easy to go mad if you don’t get some perspective and interaction with others. Beyond that, of course, there’s getting straightforward advice from sophisticated readers who are keen to help you develop your skills. You can read other’s work, offer comments, and get feedback. You can also socialize with fellow writers, and enter regular competitions. Developments: We’re always growing, and we’re seeing more agents and publishers joining than before, which makes for an interesting mix. Contact: http://www.thewordcloud.org

Write Now Began: Autumn 2004. Aims: To help members achieve publication (if publication is what they are working toward); and to help members improve their writing. Membership: Open to new people. Attendance per meeting, 10-15 people. When/where: Every Tuesday fortnight. Typical meeting: After introductions of

new members, if any, collection of subs and members’ news, the main focus of the group is on readings, usually to a theme set at the previous meeting. This is often linked to upcoming competitions. Work is read aloud, and constructive criticism is received. Genres: Wide ranging. Benefits: All members who have stuck with us have improved their writing by the regular reading aloud and criticism of their work. We have some very knowledgeable members on all aspects of writing and publishing. Developments: Producing our first Anthology of members’ work, and are running our third short story competition. Contact: George Wicker: Tel 01284 767734, email george@wickerswork.co.uk

Writers Abroad (Online community) Began: 2007. Aims: Writers Abroad is a place where the sun is setting or rising somewhere, where the development of the craft is the driving force and where success is something to be celebrated. Membership: 15, from Australia, America, Thailand, Brussels, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the UK. The group is for expats who are living abroad for whatever reason – our members in the UK were originally from New Zealand and Norway . We do keep a waiting list for interested new members and we do have plans to offer other services. But at the moment small is beautiful. When/where: Meetings take place fortnightly, via Windows messenger. Typical meeting: We have monthly writing challenges, which can be a themed piece for a competition, or a project that we are working on – we try to be as flexible as possible. We also have a monthly writing exercise which concentrates on developing a particular element of the writing craft – for e.g. show don’t tell, characterisation, dialogue and we have a weekly

writing prompt. Genres: We have a very diverse experience between us. Two of our members have had novels, or eBooks published. Some are into science fiction, werewolves and shape shifters. Others have concentrated on non-fiction but enjoying experimenting with fiction. Benefits: A structure to encourage members to write out of their comfort zones and to perhaps try things they may not have done. To market published work and share experiences. Developments: We’re planning to take part in the National Short Story Week as so many of us write short stories of all kinds of genres. Online: www.writersabroad.spruz.com Contact: Jo Lamb at jolamb@writingpad. co.uk

creative non-fiction, synopses, screenplay. Occasionally a member will use their half hour not to read but to seek others’ thoughts on a writing problem they have. Benefits: Constructive, critical feedback. Development of our listening and critical skills. Inspiration to keep writing. Cross-fertilisation. Support and fellow feeling through the tough times of writer’s block or rejection. Experience of public reading and exposure. Less subjective attachment to our improvable drafts. A long, leisurely, incremental voyage of discovery of the writer’s craft and the business of being and becoming a writer. Friendship. Contact: Bobbie at writers.together@ntlworld. com

Writers Together Began: April 2005. Aims: Face-to-face group feedback, to provide support and constructive criticism to writers who seriously aim to be published commercially. To help each other by email when other pressures permit. Membership: We keep a waiting list and from time to time invite a guest to attend for up to four meetings with no obligation. We look for talent and potential, ability to give/take/ benefit from honest constructive criticism, and commitment to getting published. We try to keep a balance of ages (20s to 60s) and of men and women. When/where: Fortnightly, from 7-10pm in the organiser’s home in Clapham. Attendance currently varies between 3 and 6. Typical meeting: We divide time into halfhour spots so that up to five can read and hear comments from each listener in turn, plus comeback and further discussion if time allows. The evening ends with more chat over a glass of wine or beer. Genres: Any prose work aimed at publication. Mostly novels (literary, general fiction, crime, children’s), some short stories. Occasionally

We hope you’ve managed to find some ideas and inspiration from this list of writers’ groups. If you’re already part of a group, it’s always refreshing to see how other collections of writers work - who knows, writers’ groups might even start phoning one another to collaborate and compare notes! If you don’t have access to the internet but would like to find out more about a group that doesn’t provide a number or address, please contact us at Leaf Books and we can put you in touch. If your group isn’t listed here, let us know and we’ll list it in the next issue of the magazine. SE

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Creative Writing

Course Reviews

Writing can be an isolating process, and everyone can benefit from a little tuition, so we’ve gathered together a selection of reviews of creative writing courses from across the UK. From weekend residencies to online courses and basic introductions to PhDs, there’s something here to suit every style and standard.

Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning various courses

www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/humanities Tel: +44(0)29 2087 0000 learn@cardiff.ac.uk

Creative Writing at the Museum I attended this creative writing course at the beginning of the year. It was organised by Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning and based at the National Museum of Wales. The course appealed to me as it was a chance to explore new subjects whilst encouraging me to write. Students met in a tiny room, deep in the bowels of the Museum and then returned to the main exhibits of the Museum, which would, it was hoped, fill us with inspiration. The theme for the course was ‘numbers’ and we were encouraged to include facts and figures and numbers in our writing. We visited the Archaeology Gallery and particular interest was given to Bryn Celli Ddu, a prehistoric site on Anglesey. One week was dedicated to mosses! What a fantastic life breathes beneath pools, at the roots of trees and, of course, on garage roofs. I did attempt

a poem but this was based on the curator who gave us the life history of sporophytes, a man totally dedicated to his work. I loved the visits to the art galleries, particularly as this was the time that Rembrandt’s masterpiece ‘Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet’ was on display and it was fascinating to hear the curator give the history of the painting. Overall, I enjoyed the course. It was different from any other course that I had attended but there did not seem to be sufficient time devoted to actual writing and listening to other students’ work. The class was too big, a result of cuts made in the Creative Writing department by the University and students were put at a disadvantage because of this. Despite this, I managed to pass my module at the end of the course, thanks to a very good tutor. – Patricia Stowell

Writing from Experience with Professor John Greaves The class became ‘I gradually realised that experienced midlife crises and the highlight of my the like. We were, however, working week. It there was a great wealth of essentially free to write on typically started with any subject for around twenty the tutor returning experience and inspiration minutes. Everyone was then any work that we had to share their to be gained from listening encouraged handed in. There work with the class. I never would always be to other people.’ felt comfortable doing so handouts to stimulate but I gradually realised that discussion. We were there was a great wealth of also given prompts arranged thematically. experience and inspiration to be gained from Given that the class encouraged us to draw listening to other people. Some weeks there on our own experiences, these began with was a lot of laughter and other weeks some childhood, then progresseed chronologically. tears but together we bonded over shared There were alternative options for younger experiences and our desire to write. students such as myself who have not yet – Amy Angharad Jones

Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning cont... various courses

www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/humanities Tel: +44(0)29 2087 0000 learn@cardiff.ac.uk

Writing Mass-Market Fiction with Lynne Barrett-Lee and Creative Writing with Amanda Rackstraw For the past twenty years, I have been writing on any and every surface either stationary or electronic that I could get my hands on, banging out unsatisfactory novels on a dot matrix printer and lacking the confidence and education to make them even remotely satisfying. Through the Centre for Lifelong Learning’s affordable courses at Cardiff University I was able to find both, giving me a shove in the right direction towards success as a writer and storyteller. The midsize classes and passionate teachers were inspiring and made me feel appreciated and part of a group of like-minded individuals; a rare thing when you are middle-aged, set in your ways and scared to try new things. I took part in two different ten week accredited writing courses in the spring of 2010: Writing Mass-Market Fiction with Lynne Barrett-Lee and Creative Writing

with Amanda Rackstraw. The format of both classes were similar in that there were no more than 16 students in either and everyone was able to share their work and contribute feedback as well as hear feedback from the tutor. I enjoyed every minute of both classes and came away seeing my writing and indeed my world through new eyes and with a drive to be the writer I’ve always aspired to be. The first thing I did on the day following the end of the courses was to send out two stories to competitions and begin rewriting one of my completed novels with an arsenal of new and fantastic information under my belt. In the autumn I will be taking another course with Lynne Barrett-Lee called ‘Telling Tales’ that I hope will improve my short story writing. I will be first in line to sign the register when the new ‘Choices’ comes out. – Tammy S. Davies

Creative Writing at the Museum I have been writing for a living for nearly fifty years since a first, paid-by-the-word article appeared in Teen Scene in the 1960s. Feeling insufficiently creative, I attended the University of Cardiff Creative Writing at the Museum Course, where I was to spend ten weeks focusing my pen on every conceivable aspect of the Seven Estuary. I was to discover one of the world’s most important tidal

reaches, rich in biodiversity, archaeological remains, myths and historical occurrences. There was altogether an abundance, even a superfluity of resources, with lectures from scholarly, witty and erudite members of staff, plus objects from the National Museum itself. I’m signed up for the Autumn. – Peter D Cox

Writing Mass-Market Fiction with Lynne Barrett-Lee I chose Writing Mass-Market Fiction by Lynne Barrett-Lee because she has published 100 short stories in various magazines, bestselling novels, ghost writing and non-fiction. Such a teacher knows what today’s publishers and readers want. Lynne is a qualified teacher. Her approach is positive, perceptive and encouraging. Lynne’s course notes are brief and precise. Her course books are amongst best I have read. Sharing coursework with fellow students is great fun. Writing is a solitary task. It is immense fun playing with characters in our heads but it

can be lonely spending long hours stuck to a keyboard. The advantage of a course is the recognition that we are not alone. Writing a novel is a daunting task. When feeling lost, it is worth taking a course to get back on track. I now feel increasingly confident I am learning the skills to write a story that agents, publishers and readers will want. – Jack Dance (Jack is convenor of the Online Writer’s Circle. See Academi’s website for details.)

Chapter One by Catherine Edmunds

Roselle Angwin, Fire in the Head various courses

www.fire-in-the-head.co.uk

Tel:01548 821004

Elements of Poetry ‘Elements of Poetry’ is a six-month correspondence course. A topic is explored each month, with suggested reading and associated exercises. Work is sent in (by email or mail) and is returned with feedback. As a newcomer to a creative writing course, I found that the work gave my writing a sense of reality: ‘this is what I do – I write’. I found that the guidance and suggestions were constructive and helpful. For me, one of the major learning points of the course was how to review and edit. I now do not assume that every word I write is golden. I am brave enough to cut, cut, cut to reshape and hone a poem. At the start of the course I wanted to find my voice, to feel good about my writing, to be able to say ‘I am a poet’. At the end of the course I felt that I had achieved this. – Annie Maclean

This course (‘Elements of Poetry’) is beautifully planned with six modules, each one covering a month of work, followed by detailed feedback and recommendations for further reading and approaches. An integral part of each module is the chance to reflect on previous activities – what has been helpful, what has worked, what was difficult. The focus of the course is on poetry as discovery, both as a personal journey and in the wider context of the whole creative process. This involves reflection and assessment but also a wide variety of practical assignments such as sound patterning, rhythm, poetic devices, formal vs free verse, drafting and editing. – Mandy Pannett

Storymaking

Personalising Characters

I was struggling to finish writing an ambitious novel without much professional or writing support. ‘Storymaking: a new approach to writing the novel’ consisted of six modules, which covered stories and story web, themes, plots and plot dynamics, character, dialogue, scenes and setting. The course was thorough and intense. I liked the combination of writing, reading, and thinking about the process of completing a novel. – Marg Roberts

I found the exercises on personalising characters illuminating. (For example, writing a diary entry for a character. It sounds simplistic, but something actually happens to the writer’s relationship with the character when you do this.) Her comments were always truthful and to the point, but never discouraging. This is definitely a course for the writer who wants to go further, to grow, as a storymaker and as a human. – Veronica Balfour Paul

Distance Learning

Roselle forces the writer to find their own way through the process. There are Pregnant, and with three children under contemporary novels to look at, and look five years old, I wanted a writing course at again and again, as she that wasn’t just going to cover demonstrates the skills a writer the technical basics. Perfectly needs to read well. structured for anyone who The feedback on the written can’t attend regular meetings, ‘Perfectly structured sections of the course was Roselle’s course runs over six for anyone who always encouraging, direct months and can be completed can’t attend regular and thoughtful. She forced me by post or by e-mail. (sometimes reluctantly) to look Beautifully researched, the meetings’ underneath my plot and behind tone of each of the six modules my characters, identify their is friendly and accessible. The flaws, and my own. Roselle, reading list is fairly extensive, more than any other creative writing tutor but sometimes it’s nice to be told what to I have worked with, understands the link read and I found some new favourite authors between the writer and the writing. to explore later. – Sarah Armstrong

Roselle Angwin, Fire in the Head cont... various courses www.fire-in-the-head.co.uk Tel:01548 821004 A typical day usually starts with Roselle in her students which in turn means we all

reading poetry and prose aloud, sometimes support each other with honesty; many of followed by discussion. Words are her stock her students go back to her again and again. in trade. She is a generous facilitator sharing Her understanding of the writing process and much that the beautiful English language the way writers work, her love of her subject offers, in the shape of poetry and prose. She and her ability to bring out the best in her may then encourage students to allow their students make her an inspiring tutor, whose own words to flow in an unconscious way on workshops and courses are always informative to the page. This free flow writing is a well- and fun. – Amanda Cuthbert known way to relax before moving into more constructive writing time. Roselle’s feedback The course was set up to encourage experienced is thorough, rigorous and constructive, and less experienced writers to settle down insisting on the ‘show not tell’ principle for and commit to a long piece of fiction, but was instance, or the use of dialogue; just some elastic enough to accommodate a diversity of the tricks of the trade, which she shares of voices and approaches. I didn’t feel as self conscious taking part in an online with her students. Peppered with a course as I have done in a group, lively sense of humour and a good ‘Students go when work is read aloud. Perhaps pinch of fun, she concocts a mix of medicine well worth swallowing. back to her this was because I was – and still am – experimenting and finding – Maggie Clark again and again’ my way. Having clear deadlines which were very realistic, helped I have been on several of Roselle me to concentrate on my writing Angwin’s poetry short courses at South in among my other everyday commitments. Hooe. I find that the way Roselle works, I never missed a deadline, and always looked and the way she uses the beautiful natural forward to handing in my assignments. environment on the Tamar, help to open up The entire process was nurturing, but also new areas of the imagination and stimulate gently steered me towards developing new me to access a deeper dimension and new awarenesses about the craft of fiction and the perspectives in my poetry. Poetry, at its best, challenges it holds. – Lisa Holden draws on the subconscious, and Roselle offers signposts to routes into this inner world together with methods to hone technique I have been to at least half a dozen of Roselle’s and explore forms. She works holistically, poetry courses. She has an amazing talent encouraging writers to draw both on their for eliciting the very best from each writer, sensory experiences and on their emotional however experienced or inexperienced. She and spiritual awareness. I would recommend makes it possible to uncover and develop that her courses to beginners and experienced soul and passion hidden in the dark corners, and to bring forth work that celebrates the writers alike. – Jennie Osborne wildness so many of us have lost sight of. There is always a wonderful atmosphere in – Susie Burns her sessions and she manages to inspire trust

PhD in Creative Writing, University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)141 330 5296

enquiries@englit.arts.gla.ac.uk

I am currently studying towards my PhD and alternative critical approach to the writing in Creative Writing at the University of process encourages new ways of thinking Glasgow. It is the only Creative Writing about teaching practice, important as many PhD programme in the UK writers also run workshops. ‘Creativity in both that incorporates a taught There are also (optional) practical element and there is a large seminars exploring the essay approach and community of postgraduate form and students can attend writers at Glasgow. This the university’s Research Training form is greatly appeals to me, as it removes Programmes. PhD candidates the sense of isolation that can attend any of the events encouraged.’ can be felt by a PhD writing and lectures that are organised student! primarily for Creative Writing The Creative Writing PhD is a critical and MLitt students and visiting speakers such as creative qualification: during the first two publishers, agents and writers come to the years, PhD candidates attend weekly literature university throughout the academic year. seminars and writers’ workshops and the final – Emma Hardy year is the ‘writing-up’ year. Students have regular meetings with their two supervisors throughout. Creativity in both approach and form is greatly encouraged. The course seminars encourage students to read, probe and respond to the work of a wide variety of writers, with the weekly sessions being either student or tutor led. On a Creative Writing programme, reading as a writer rather than as a literary critic is essential – this is the approach of the PhD at Glasgow – and gaining new knowledge at this advanced level encourages a sense of personal credibility and confidence. As an academic or freelance writer, knowledge of the major literary canons and how writers have influenced literary history is vital. The writers’ workshops adopt familiar and new models for workshopping. This intensive

Creative Writing: Fact or Fiction? Central St Martins, University of the Arts http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 7015

shortcourse@csm.arts.ac.uk

If you’ve taken a writing course before, Elise has a rare knack of delivering you’re probably comfortable with the constructive criticism with kindness and basics: characterisation, plot and so on. The humour. As the course progressed, the class intermediate course is the next step: a chance learnt from her techniques and offered to hone your unique voice. valuable feedback on each other’s work. Her The classes are guided by the gentle killer question: ‘So, as an editor, how would but firm hand of published novelist Elise you fix that?’ The group also provided some Valmorbida. Our group varied from first- crucial common sense: ‘Why didn’t she time novelists to students with just phone the police?’ a few short stories under their if painful. ‘The intermediate Essential, belts. The first class began Varied assignments by defining what we wanted course is the next were set, but there from the course: we identified was no pressure to our personal objectives and step: a chance to hone complete them as long the course was shaped around your unique voice.’ as you wrote something. them. Assignments often drew Unlike a beginner’s course, on issues discussed in there were no lectures, in-class exercises class. It became clear that many of us tended or word games. Instead, the two and a towards wordiness. The cure: we were tasked half hours was divided by the number of to write a story for adults in the simple style attendants. Those 20 minutes or so were of a children’s book. Very effective. yours to use however you wanted. Some read I finished the course with a renewed work-in-progress. Others asked for help with confidence in my work, my first truly brainstorming plots. Some just talked about polished short story; and, even better, our seeds of ideas and, by talking, began to grow class has formed its own writing group. them into narratives. – Melissa Byrd

Have you attended a creative writing course? Would you like to tell us about your experiences, good or bad? Send a short review (no more than 300 words) to contact@leafbooks.co.uk (see page 5 for postal address) and it could appear in a future edition of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine.

Online Creative Writing Course by Sophie King

http://www.sophieking.info I took an online course run by Sophie King to improve my short stories. I came across her after I read her book, Writing Short Stories for Magazines. Sophie emailed me the module: each module lasted a few pages and was a detailed account of a particular aspect of writing. At the end was an example of one of her own stories and it would show how she had used that technique. Then I completed an exercise. Sophie encouraged me to come out my rut. Before doing this course I only wrote ghost stories. That’s all I thought I could do. However I was encouraged to try something different and I did. Now I write short stories in various different genres. Before, I didn’t know what a plot was. Now I plot out my stories in a lot of detail before I even begin. It took me three months to complete and in that time

janebidder@btinternet.com

period I suffered a flash of inspiration and wrote a short story. Even though it was not part of the course, Sophie critiqued it for me, without any further cost and I followed her advice to change the ending. It’s the first story that I have sent out to a national magazine for consideration. I thought that if an author who has published so many books thinks it’s good, then maybe a magazine editor will too. There were a few exercises that I just couldn’t understand. Sophie didn’t force me into doing them: instead she provided me with alternatives. I found that the feedback I received from her was always very detailed. The course cost £150. It is a lot of money but it has really helped me improve my writing technique. – Uzma Chaudry

‘Sophie encouraged me to come out of my rut’

Writing by Diana Real-Lage

MA in Creative Writing, Teesside University

www.tees.ac.uk Admission enquiries: 01642 384019 Application forms: 01642 384019 arts@tees.ac.uk The course consists of two core and three optional modules followed by a final 20,000 word project. These can be completed over a period of between ‘Even though it two and five is hard work, the years. Even though it is course is both hard work, inspiring and the course is both rewarding’ inspiring and rewarding, as well as an opportunity to write with like-minded people. The core modules of Creative Writing Skills & Techniques and Writing for Personal Development have opened my mind up to new ways of writing including prose, poetry, script and life writing. They have also focussed my attention on the craft of writing. I understand more about the processes and have developed as a result. I now take more time to muse over and plan a piece of work. I also appreciate the importance and ‘I understand purpose of redrafting, honing my words more about the to create a polished processes and piece. My research and critical reading have developed skills have developed as a result’ as a by-product of the process and I have more confidence in myself as a writer.

A typical session begins with a presentation of the topic for discussion. This is led by either the tutor or the student(s) who researched the material. The theory is then put into practice with creative exercises and followup sharing/discussion of writing, which may be developed into work for submission or publication. While studying writing this way is demanding and requires temporary sacrifices, it is a worthwhile method for improving one’s craft and informing one’s art. – Judith Lesley Marshall Have you thought of training as a freelance proofreader or copy-editor? • Our distance learning courses will give you the skills to find flexible work. • Our courses will be valued by your potential employers as we have been the recognised training provider for the UK book and journal publishing industry for 30 years. • We are accredited by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council and recommended by the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. • Other courses offered by The Publishing Training Centre include: -

more than 70 short, vocational courses

Picture Research by Distance Learning

Editorial Project Management by Distance Learning

Successful Editorial Freelancing

Editing on Screen by Distance Learning

Grammar at Work online course

Understanding Book Publishing online course

Call: 020 8874 2718 Visit: www.train4publishing.co.uk Email: publishing.training@bookhouse.co.uk

Literary Listings Courses, Workshops, Conferences and Retreats Winning Writing Competitions Do you write a story, post it and keep your fingers crossed? This full-day workshop in Bristol on 25th September lets you work on new or completed stories in a safe environment with Nina Milton, writer, tutor, judge and winner of writing competitions. www.bristolfolkhouse.co.uk Creative Writes Workshops 2010 North Bank, Muswell Hill, N10 We have three workshops running this autumn; two five week courses Wednesday evenings from 15th October 7.30-9.30pm and Sunday afternoons from 17th October 2-pm. £100 per block of 5. We also feature an intensive weekend course; 25th-26th September 2-6pm. £80 www.creativewrites.co.uk Gardoussel Retreat Let your writing come to life in this peaceful mountain setting in southern France. We offer residential creative writing courses throughout the year include Finding Your Voice in Writing with Crysse Morrison, 1724 Sep 2010 (£535 all-incl). Alternatively, use our rooms and gîtes for your own writing retreat. www.gardoussel.com WEA Creative Writing Class The Meeting Room, Watson Hall, Barton Street, Tewkesbury, Glos.: 5 weeks starting 6th October, 1.30 pm - 3.30pm and North Nibley Village Hall, Dursley, Gloucester: 6 weeks starting 7th October, 1.30 pm 3.00pm. All levels welcome.

For more information, call 07929731598. www.wea.org.uk Write in the Wilds This hands-on course set up by author Dr John Yeoman shows writers at every level how to take their work to publishing stardom. The series of five half-day workshops at College Lake, Bulbourne, Tring, Herts starts Saturday September 4. It covers every aspect of story telling, from creating suspenseful plots and powerful characters to building a persuasive fictive world. John has a PhD in creative writing and his novel The Apothecary’s Tales was short-listed in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2009. Sessions are £29 each or all five classes can be booked together at a £25 discount for £120. www.Writers-Village.org/courses

Advice The Writer’s Toolkit Sue Johnson offers her own brand of writing workshops at Number 8 Community Arts Centre, Pershore and at Farncombe Estate, Broadway, Worcestershire www. FarncombeEstate.co.uk. Sue also offers a critique service. www.writers-toolkit.co.uk

continued overleaf

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Books and Magazines Into the Yell is prize-winning poet Sarah James’ first full-length collection, published by Circaidy Gregory Press. Already described by reviewers as “wonderfully mature and ambitious”, “varied, thought-provoking and enjoyable” and showing “an imagination that can surprise and delight”, it can be ordered online. ISBN 978-1906451240 www.circaidygregory.co.uk

The Lampeter Review As the online magazine for the Lampeter Creative Writing Centre our aim is to provide a platform for the best new writing from both emerging and established authors. The magazine is free to download and submissions are welcome from everyone. This first issue focuses on work from within the writing centre and includes an exclusive short story by its director, the internationally acclaimed playwright Dic Edwards. www.lampeter-review.com

Competitions and Submissions The Grist Anthology Of New Writing Stories up to 3,500 words and poems up to 40 lines. Results will be announced at the Huddersfield Literature Festival in March 2011 and shortlisted winners will be published. There is also a £500, £250, and £100 prize. The deadline is 30 November 2010 and entry is £5 per submission. www.hud.ac.uk/grist/competitions/shortstory.htm SaveAs Writers - open poetry and prose competitions 2010 (any subject) Prose: maximum 4000 words Entry fee: £3 per piece, £8 for 3 entries Poetry: maximum 50 lines Entry fee: £2 per poem, £5 for 3 entries Prizes (both competitions): 1st prize= £35, 2nd = £20 3rd = £10 Entries can be sent via post or email Post: Save As Writers, 35 Spillet Close Faversham, Kent, ME13 8QP Email: saveas@hotmail.co.uk Cheques payable to ‘Save As Writers’ Closing date: 31 October 2010 http://www.saveaswriters.co.uk/

Speakeasy Open Creative Writing Competition 2010 For poetry up to 60 lines and short stories with 2,100 words maximum. Prizes in each catagory are £100, £50 and £25. Entry: Poetry £3 each (£10 for 4 poems) and Short Story = £4 each (£10 for 3 stories). Closing date 31 October 2010. www.mkweb.co.uk/speakeasy WinningWriters.com Competitions We award over US$25,000 annually to poetry and prose competition winners. Prizes exist for the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest, Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, War Poetry Contest, Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse and more. www.winningwriters.com The Writer’s Toolkit Flash Fiction Competition Closing date: 30th November 2010 Word count: 150 (not including title) Theme: STARS Prizes: £50, £25, £15 Entry fee: £3.00 - £5.00 for two Cheques payable: S Johnson Post to: 10 Woodward Close, Pershore, Worcs WR10 1LP www.writers-toolkit.co.uk

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Writing and Reading Groups WEA tutor-led Reading Groups Cirencester: read, discuss and enjoy as we put Tom Jones and his writing into historical context, as well as exploring our responses to the text. 6 weeks, starting 5 October, 10.15am - 11.45am. Cheltenham: read and discuss selected stories from Oxford Book of English Short Stories. Learn more about the art of story from some of the best 20th Century writers. 6 weeks, starting 5 October 19.30 - 21.00. For more info, phone 07929731598 www.wea.org.uk Write Invite WriteInvite is a website devoted to the short story, it’s initiative to invite absolutely anyone to write. Everyone likes to hear a story, and tell one too. We welcome

writers of all ages, experiences and styles. The relaxed, informal vibe we try to create is intended to encourage you to be free in your writing, to enjoy competing against others and ultimately to have fun!! www.write-invite.com/index.php Incandescent Sharing published poems through reading aloud. Relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Stimulating thought and poetry awareness. We meet at 5.45pm - 6.45pm every 3rd Thursday of month at Cardiff Central Library in Meeting Room 4 on Level 4. New members welcome, just come along! www.juliettellewellyn.blogspot. com/2010/02/incandescent-s-haringpublished-poems.html

Events Carrie Etter on Titles & Conclusions A day seminar tackling the difficulties of poems’ titles and endings. 6 November, Bath. 20 November, London. The Poetry School. www.poetryschool.com Poetry Bites Tuesday, September 28, 7.30pm: prizewinning poet Sarah James reads from her collection Into the Yell (Circaidy Gregory Press) as a guest poet in an up-and-comingwomen evening at the Kitchen Garden Café, Birmingham (17 York Road, Kings Heath, B14 7SA) £5 (£4 concessions) and includes floor spots. www.sarah-james.co.uk

What’s On Wales / Golwg ar Gymru Your essential guide to Wales’ best arts events and entertainment Yr unig safle am gelfyddydau ac adloniant yn eich ardal chi www.whatsonwales.co.uk www.golwgargymru.co.uk South Wales Writers’ Day 10.00 - 4.00 pm Saturday 9th October at The Rest, Porthcawl. CF36 3UP. ‘Learning How to Fly!’ with Louise Morse, former journalist and Media and Communications Manager for The Pilgrims’ Friend Society, author of three published books on Dementia. Cost £15 to include teas/coffees and cooked lunch. patricia.stowell@sky.com

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Current and Forthcoming

Leaf Competitions

For all competitions, you can enter online or by post:

To enter online, visit our competitions page at www.leafbooks.co.uk, where you can download an entry form, pay your entry fee via PayPal (they take credit cards too) and then email your work as an attachment to contact@leafbooks.co.uk. Include your contact details in the body of the email and state the name of the competition you’re entering in the subject line. We will acknowledge receipt of entry within a week (or at least we very much try to). Alternatively, you can post your work, along with a completed entry form (or just your contact details) and cheque made payable to ‘Leaf Books’ to the address below. Please note: we are unable to return submissions.

Leaf Books, GTi Suite, Valleys Innovation Centre, Navigation Park, Abercynon, RCT. CF45 4SN Wales, UK

Memoir

Closes 30th November 2010

Send us an extract from your own life in 1,000 words or fewer. Your mini-memoir can be on any subject – childhood, war, travel writing, family, school, work, community projects, political activism, the story of your allotment or anything else you can think of that’s happened to you in your life. It can be as dramatic or as low-key as you like: just make sure that it grabs our interest and that it stands alone as a narrative. The previous competition anthology Foresight with Hindsight is now available on the website to buy either as a hard copy or a downloadable pdf e-book, so if you want to see what really caught our attention last time then have a

look at this publication. Prizes: Winner will receive £150, a free copy of the anthology and a year’s subscription to the Leaf Writers’ Magazine (or a refund if you already subscribe). Runner-up will receive a free copy of the anthology and a full set of Leaf mini-books. All selected pieces will be published in the anthology and the winner and runner-ups will be published in the Leaf Writers’ Magazine. Entry Fee: £4 per submission, 3 submissions for £10.

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Tiny Weeny We invite you to send us EITHER writing that is no longer than 140 characters (including letters, spaces and punctuation – not the title, but please don’t make that any longer than 30 characters) OR a piece of black and white art no bigger than half a postcard. You can use any form – a petit poem, a short short short story, a playlet, your best ever tweet: anything you like. Drawings must be

Write about Writing

We invite you to send us up to 300 words on one of the following themes: How I started writing Why I write How other authors influenced me Advice to a new writer My writing routine Please state your chosen category on your entry form/in your email.

Closes 31st October 2010 in black and white: if you send them online attach them to your email as a .jpeg or a .gif. Prizes: The best of the pieces will be published in the Leaf Writers’ Magazine and the very best single piece will win £75.00 and a free year’s subscription to the magazine. Entry Fee: £2 per submission, 6 pieces for £10. Our £3-off entry vouchers entitle you to two entries for this competition. Closes 31st October 2010 Prizes: The winning entries will be published in the third edition of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine. One winning entry will receive £75 and a free copy of the magazine. Further successful entrants may also be published in the magazine and will receive a free copy. Entry Fee: £2.50 per submission, 5 submissions for £10.

Poetry

Opens 1st October 2010, Closes 31st January 2011 We invite you to submit poems (max 35 free copy of the anthology and the magazine. lines) on any subject. Further successful entrants published in the Prizes: Winning and outstanding entries will magazine will get a free copy, and commended be published in the Leaf Writers’ Magazine. authors in the anthology will be able to preThese, and further commended entries, will order the book at a reduced rate. also be published in an anthology. Winner Entry Fee: £3 per entry, 4 entries for £10. receives £150 and a free copy of the anthology and the magazine. One runner up receives a

Nano

Opens 1st November 2010, Closes 28th February 2011 We invite you to write a piece of nano-fiction and the anthology. One runner up will receive a free copy of the magazine and the anthology. on any subject – maximum 100 words. Prizes: Winning and outstanding entries will Further successful entrants published in the be published in the Leaf Writers’ Magazine. magazine will get a free copy, and commended These, and further commended entries, will authors in the anthology will be able to prealso be published in an anthology. Winner order the book at a reduced rate. receives £150 and a free copy of the magazine Entry Fee: £3 per entry, 4 entries for £10.

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Creative Writing Workshop Last time on Workshop ....

Creative Writing

Back in Issue 1 we asked you to write us a short poem or a piece of micro-fiction that described a character but without using adjectives, adverbs or abstract nouns – so if your chosen person was kind, for example, you weren’t allowed to say ‘She is kind’, ‘She acts kindly’ or ‘She shows kindness’; you had to demonstrate her kindness through her

actions and interactions. Of the various entries we received, there were many outstanding pieces. Some looked like character sketches that would grow into short stories or even novels. We hope that all these wonderful vignettes will be stored away and brought out later as stars in great works; we hope too that all the participants found it a useful and inspirational workshop. It was very hard to just pick one winner but here it is:

‘Eloise’ by Emma Eliot Marigolds, yellow, size small, stored hanging on the yellow peg under the kitchen sink. Pink, also small, similarly hanging under the bathroom sink. Green thornproof in the shed. Not Marigolds, Wilko. She wasn’t satisfied with this nomenclature. For she had marigolds in the garden and things that made her cringe and weep like the word ‘wilko’ in the house. She rose at six and did every surface, vertical, horizontal, cracks and hidden places. Always, every day, with the few exceptions that she had bleached from her mind. Today she was hampered by that pain. She had done top to bottom, as any Thursday warranted. Dusted the loft with the fine black brush of the Hoover. Around the cracked leather Oshkosh trunk. Oshkosh was right – for it was a surprise, how many things, or people, you could fit into the trunk. Hoover too, she approved of Hoover. Probably why, even when her mother offered, she refused a Dyson. Damp rag (cut squarely from Arthur’s stripped work shirt) down the twisted dark woodwork of the stairs. Main bed stripped, changed, Brassoed. White sheets into the hot wash, to be pressed smooth on ‘linen’ setting. Floor done twice, once north-south, once east-west. Soft rag (cut squarely from Arthur’s paisley pyjamas) around the china ladies and gentlemen, the gilt-edged mirrors, the boxes of decreasing size each containing its particular decreasing-sized objects. The smallest for the gold ring, the largest for the crocheted jacket. And that’s where she stopped. She never reached the ground floor. Not today. Later she would wrap it up in spotless linen, tidy it away in the trunk, and soon she would mop the brown-red colour that didn’t fit with the monochrome bathroom with the pink Marigolds, size small.

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And now for the next thrilling instalment ....

ise c r e x e g n i t i e wr v i t a e r c e t u -min

Ten

This is an exercise in the use of different narrative points-of-view. Write a short piece, prose or poetry, in which you describe the same event using two or three different narrative point-of-views – first-person (‘I opened the door’), second-person (‘You open the door’) or third-person/omniscient narrator (‘Mary opened the door’). You can write it in any tense you choose and you’re welcome to attempt variants on these three conventions, eg. first-person plural. Try to consider how the descriptions of the event will differ according to your chosen narrative voice – how an omniscient narrator can be privy to information that a first-person narrator may not be aware of; how first-person narrative needs to inhabit a specific character and to accurately reflect their voice, their actions and reactions; how third-person narrative can be used to pass objective comments on events and characters; how the rare and difficult secondperson perspective can be used to draw in the reader. Crucially, bear in mind that the same event can seem vastly different from one point-of-view to the next.

Creative Writing Workshop Competition Send us a short poem (20 lines or fewer) or up to 300 words inspired by this writing exercise. The winning entry will be published in the next edition of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine, and the winner will receive £75 and a free copy of the magazine.

To enter: £3 per entry, 4 entries for £10. You’re entitled to one free competition entry if you’ve bought the magazine: send us the voucher on page 108 with your entry. Competition opens: September 1st 2010 Competition closes: November 30th 2010

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orrections:

• In Issue 1 of the magazine, a section was missing from the middle of The Tale of the Widow of Ephesus, the illustrative story used in Sheenagh Pugh’s narrative workshop – apologies to Sheenagh and to all our confused readers. The article, including the complete text of the story, is reprinted in full on the Leaf Books website: www.leafbooks.co.uk • In Issue 1 we listed all the writers we’d ever published – only we managed to miss out the authors featured in Outbox and Other Poems. To show them it’s not because we love them any less, here they are: Nicky Mesch; Gill Learner; Ben Logan; Kathy Miles; Mark Chatterley; Gwen Seabourne; Pat Borthwick; Tracey S. Rosenberg; Robert Warrington; Hilaire Wood; Jason Jackson ; Juliette Hart; Chris Kinsey; Sinéad Collins; Margaret Eddershaw; Oz Hardwick; Gabriel Griffin; Sue Anderson; Gwyneth Box; Alice Blake; Claire Trevien; Charles Evans; Doreen Gray; Jenny Morris; William Wood.

Illustrations for the next issue: We’re looking for illustrations on the themes of Travel Writing and Starting to Write. Please submit to the same address as the competitions, including your contact details, by 31st October 2010. Submit online or by post. We look forward to seeing your work!

£3.00 Off Any Leaf Books Competition Entry with this voucher

£3.00

please enclose voucher with your entry Should the value of entry exceed £3.00 then please enclose the remainder of entry fee as a cheque payable to ‘Leaf ’

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Entry Form Leaf Writing Competitions Competition Name (see website/ pages 102-105) Name Address

Email Number of entries Title of Piece/s

I enclose cheque, made payable to Leaf, for ÂŁ________(Take ÂŁ3.00 off if sending voucher: see website or competition listings for full details of prices) Please send entries to: Leaf Books, Gti Suite, Valleys Innovation Centre, Navigation Park, Abercynon, RCT. CF45 4SN. Wales, UK. Or enter online at www.leafbooks.co.uk

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Get More Leaf Writers’ Magazines A year’s subscription (3 editions) for only £15 Or order the next (August/September) issue for £6 Or buy another one of these for a friend (discounted price of £5) Name Address

Email Subscribe (£15) Next Issue (£6) This Issue (£5)

I enclose cheque, made payable to Leaf, for £________

lans are afoot for the next magazine. Anyone would think we’re organised. We hope to be talking about Beginnings: first words, first lines, first chapters and synopses included. We want to get a famous author (or more than one) to send us the synopsis of a novel that got accepted so we all might know how we can do the same. If you are such a person, get in touch. We have some other stuff already in place – Part II of Michael Stewart’s masterclass on Point-of-View, more Best of Leaf, winners of all kinds of competitions, more competitions, another writing workshop, and breathe. Finally, if you want to send us more course reviews, listings, illustrations, questions for the agony aunt (who appears to have gone on holiday this issue) or anything else up to and including your voucher and a competition entry, please do!

Chalke Authors Chalke is a freelance Consultancy and Publicity Agency for Authors. Our brief is to help raise the profile and sales of authors and their books. We specialise in History, Biography, Historical Fiction and Crime Writing - albeit we also consider other genres. Our clients includes, among others, William Dalrymple (Nine Lives), Patrick Bishop (3 Para) , Kate Williams (Becoming Queen), Tim Butcher (Blood River), Saul David (Zulu Hart) and Tom Holland (Rubicon). Below is a list of services we offer to help promote authors and their titles. Event Organisation, both setting up book talks and helping to promote talks already booked in Launch Parties Stock Signings Press, both local and specialist publications Promoting titles through Reading Groups, Creative Writing Groups, Specialist Societies Author Dinners Advice on Sales, Publicity, Marketing Arranging reviews and author endorsements Complimentary tickets to book events and invites to launch parties

Fees range from ÂŁ250 - ÂŁ750 for a month's contract. Yearly contracts are available on request. We also provide editorial and trade advice on obtaining an agent and producing a MS and Book Proposal for unpublished authors. For further enquiries please contact jemimaforrester.chalke@hotmail.com For a full list of Chalke Authors and additional info please visit Chalke Authors on Facebook or our website; www.chalkeauthors.com.

Chalke Authors 4 Hemp Walk Chatham Street London S17 1PF

Chalke Authors

Inside this issue: •Writing your Life – memoirs and more •Getting your poetry published •Tales of favourite writing locations •Things your wordprocessor can do that your typewriter can’t •How to make the most of workshops •Copyediting: a seat at the cutting room table •The eWriting revolution: books, blogs and more •Starting to write a novel •Competition Winners •More Competitions •Best of Leaf – winners, stories and authors’ commentaries •Creative writing course reviews •Writing workshop