I’m off for a late autumn break soon. I’m looking forward to a return visit to lovely Northumberland. It is what breaks are for – to refresh, revitalise etc. Having said that, a good cup of tea and a decent reading session can also act as a mini break and I welcome that kind too!
Despite its name, parkrun isn’t about running. It’s about social interaction and community. In fact, it could be described as a community event masquerading as a sports event. I’ve written before about how participants are welcome to run, jog, walk or volunteer and that every form of participation is equally valuable and equally welcomed.
parkrun turns 18 this month, and to mark its birthday it is running the parkwalk at parkrun campaign to celebrate the value of walking. For each of the five Saturdays participants will be encouraged to walk and chat their way around the course. There will even be dedicated “parkwalkers” who will be more than happy to walk with you. [Read more…] about parkrun – it can be a walk in the park
Free on Saturday morning? Why not pop in to the produce and craft market in Chandler’s Ford?
It’s open on Saturday, 1st of October, from 10 am to 1pm.
Location: Age Concern Hall
Fryern Arcade, Chandler’s Ford
Behind Co-op
My post last week was a reflective one, given the recent (and most moving) funeral of HM the Queen. Usually national reflection is sombre because it is usually connected to Armistice Day/Remembrance Sunday etc.
But reflection can take other forms and I thought it would be nice to have a look at favourites – favourite films, books, music, TV shows etc. The old saying “the past is a different country, they do things differently there” is true but sometimes it is nice to pop back for a visit! And doing that can remind you of things which are well worth bringing back to your recall again.
The most urgent matter after the death of a Monarch is a meeting of the Accession Council. When King George VI died, the council met the same day to decide that Elizabeth was the rightful heir to the throne. They adjourned and met again a couple of days later when Elizabeth had returned from Africa. At the second meeting, she was asked to take the Oath. Next came the Proclamation.
For me, the Proclamation of Elizabeth as Queen was on a cold February day in 1952. It was an event presaging a brighter future. We assembled at school in Cheltenham while the mayor proclaimed the Queen in his broad rural Gloucester accent. He reminded us to sing ‘God save the QUEEN’, not King, and we became Elizabethans. Now we change back. I sang God save the King in Winchester on September 11th. We are now Caroleans.
In those days, city centres were being cleared of rubble from the blitz and slowly rebuilt. Some foods, sugar especially, were rationed, and hardly anyone had a TV or a car. Some public buildings, like our school, had central heating but it didn’t work. Wartime identification cards were abolished that year.
In the arts, The Archers was already established, and The Mousetrap opened; both are still running. The church of Rome banned the works of André Gide (who died 1951), while the Soviet Union executed thirteen Jewish poets. The diary of Anne Frank was published. In the sciences, Alan Turing published an important paper on Morphogenesis and was arrested for indecency. Experiments showed DNA to be the material of genes, not protein, as previously thought. Understanding DNA is one of the great scientific advances of the Elizabethan age. Two animals were sighted for the last time before becoming extinct. Britain declared that it had the atomic bomb. That winter, we suffered the Great London Smog, which killed thousands.
Hooks are wonderful. They lure you into reading until you reach The End. The nice thing is this applies just as much to non-fiction as it does to fiction. Why?
Because all forms of writing have to offer something of value to the reader to get them to read it. For non-fiction, it will be information of use to the reader (and I hope most of my CFT posts do that, it’s my aim). For fiction, that something of value will be an entertaining read, regardless of the genre being read.
On sombre occasions – such as Remembrance Sunday and funerals – church bells re rung “half-muffled”. This means putting a leather cap – a bit like a small knee pad – over one side of the clapper to deaden the sound. You get a loud “bong” from one side of the bell, followed by a softer rumble from the other. [Read more…] about Ringing to commemerate Queen Elizabeth II
There are many ways to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. In Chandler’s Ford, members of the public have laid flowers by a cross outside the St. Boniface Church on Hursley Road.
A useful skill for any writer is to develop interview techniques.
Earlier this year, I set up an author newsletter. I’d been toying with the idea for a while. Why?
Author newsletters are an excellent way to reach out to readers. They can give insights into the writing life as well as sharing hints and tips.
It was fabulous to be back at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School this year. I had to cancel and apply for a refund on my train tickets due to the strike but a dear friend, who is another Hampshire regular at this event, June Webber, provided transport and it was lovely travelling with her on the way up. Many thanks to my other half, Adrian, for being my chauffeur on the way home.
This year’s Swanwick was especially interesting because I went as a delegate and as someone taking part in various items including running a one hour workshop here for the first time.
The first thing I took part in was a Lift Up Your Pens session which is a pre-breakfast series of short creative writing times where those leading it set writing exercises designed to get those creative muscles working. I shared some thoughts and set creative writing exercises based on three random generators I use regularly.
I also took part in a Lift Up Your Hearts which is a pre-breakfast series of short devotionals. How did that work out then given these were on at the same time each morning? Simple. The former I did on the Sunday, the latter on the Monday. I was only sorry we weren’t in the lovely chapel at The Hayes, Swanwick for the devotionals. The Hayes had more than one group in this time (and I suspect this policy has helped them keep going) but I hope we can get back to the chapel next year. It is very peaceful in there.
My theme here was on favourite words. I took just two from the Bible and picked a favourite hymn which has one particular line which always resonates with me (O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go – and my favourite line from this is I trace the rainbow through the rain. Many hymns have wonderful poetic qualities to them and this one has especial meaning for me. Note: Do skip the advert as soon as you can on the clip but I thought this was a beautiful brass band arrangement of a fabulous hymn).
I also ran a one hour session on Editing – The View From Both Sides of the Fence.
In 2020 as I awaited the publication of Tripping the Flash Fantastic, I was on both sides of the editing fence at the same time so my talk took in what an author can do to make the most of working with an editor. I also looked at what editors often see in submissions.
In the last couple of years I’ve also been a competition judge so I could also share common mistakes authors make here, again the idea being to get your manuscript in as near perfect a condition as possible before working with said editor.
The funny thing is I used to use Microsoft PowerPoint years ago and have come back to it again in recent times thanks to giving Zoom talks. PowerPoints are easy to share on screen and they are useful for workshops.
I was pleased (and relieved!) the workshop went well and I would like to do more of this kind of thing at Swanwick.
It was great fun to do all of this and I did take part in the Open Prose Mic Night again. Flash fiction works beautifully for this. You can’t be more than five minutes. What I did this year was pick a couple of pieces to hopefully make people laugh and ensure I came in at under the time allotted. That always goes down well with an audience – it is always fine to come in under time!
For the prose night, I picked my linked flash tales – Mishaps and Jumping Time from Tripping the Flash Fantastic this time. Pleased to say they did get laughs but then my hapless time travelling alien in these stories does have that coming. Honest!
It doesn’t matter if it is your first visit or your 50th, you will get a warm welcome here. Other writers understand the drive to write. They understand the hard work behind the scenes. They also appreciate the joys when things go well. And I have learned so much chatting with other authors over the years. It is also lovely to give back in sharing information I have discovered which I know will be useful to someone else.
As well as going to the Open Prose Mic Night, I went and listened to the poetry equivalent which was wonderful. I took part in a literary quiz as part of the Prosecco Queens. No prizes for guessing the origin of that name! Am pleased to say my team won!
I love listening to the after dinner speakers too as, regardless of what part of the writing world they come from, they inevitably share something which will either be useful information or a word of encouragement. It is good to know that successful authors do know the length of time it can take to break through.
I loved the courses and workshops I went to and learned so much from them. These ranged from Creative Non-Fiction led by Simon Whaley to How to Write a How To Book by Bettina von Cossel.
Plus it was a joy to meet up in person with Val Penny, who I interviewed for CFT last week, and enjoy her Promoting Your Work workshop. There is always plenty to learn there as there is about the world of Social Media for Writers which was led by Jennifer C Wilson.
What is lovely about Swanwick is getting to immerse myself totally in the world of writing for six days and in lovely surroundings with wonderful company. One of the big advantages to any kind of networking is you are talking to writers who understand the drive to write. They know the ups and downs of the writing life. And I’ve learned lots of useful information over many years chatting with a writer over a cuppa. What’s not to like there?
No one writer can ever know it all. I’ve also found the writing community to be so generous and supportive with useful tips and information. It is also lovely to be able to give back on that. I am a firm believer in the what goes around comes around principle (and in the pay it back, pay it forward school of thought too).
One of the things I love about Swanwick is you don’t have to decide on what course or workshop you want to do in advance. Okay, it is fabulous fun going through the programme and highlighting possibilities. We all do! But you can leave deciding until the day of the course or workshop itself.
Swanwick offers a range of one hour workshops but also four part specialist courses, separately shorter two part courses, and a range of evening entertainment including quizzes, which are always a good laugh. Do writers dread doing the literary quiz? Oh yes. It quickly shows up what you have read and what you haven’t! Also everyone pays visits to the Book Room (whether or not they have books on sale there. Many of us do and it is a thrill to see mine out there).
If you pick a four part specialist course and you find it is not quite for you, then move on and pick another one. You don’t have to see that first course through. Same goes for the workshops. You also decide how many of these you want to go to. If, for example, you want an afternoon off to work on your own project, that’s fine too.
The accommodation is lovely and the food… well let’s just say you’re not going to go hungry here. I suspect the diet for all of us starts again on the Saturday after we’ve got home again!
Naturally after dinner there are guest speakers and these are a joy to listen to because you’re listening to people who were once new writers and hearing how they got their breakthrough, I find, is enormously encouraging.
The best gossip? Naturally that’s to be found at the table where you’re sat for dinner as you chat with friends and those who have become firm friends on meeting for the first time at Swanwick. There is a Facebook group and many of us keep in contact throughout the year on that. Social media does have its uses and here it is very sociable indeed!
It is always a wrench to leave Swanwick but we all go home inspired and enthused. That matters. The writer is so often alone at their desk. It is too easy to become discouraged. A little encouragement goes a long way here. Inspiration strikes too and writers can always find a use for that!
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:
It is a pleasure to welcome back Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, to Chandler’s Ford Today. The latest book in her Hunter Wilson series, Hunter’s Chase, is out on 20th August. (This will be the day after the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School finishes this year, which is where I first met Val).
So I thought I’d chat to Val about the joys and trials of writing a continuing series with the same lead character and about blog tours – what they are, how can you organise them, and so on.
So with no further ado, it’s over to Val. Welcome back to Chandler’s Ford Today, Val!
[Read more…] about Val Penny: The Hunter Wilson Series and Blog Tours
I hadn’t set out to become a short form writer. I hadn’t heard of flash fiction when I started writing seriously for publication. The writing journey can be an odd one, taking you on all manner of twists and turns. Some turn out to be useful.
My first thought on knowing I wanted to write was to write novels. Now this does seem like I was trying to run before I could walk, but many people do this, they love the long form of writing and stay there.
I have a soft spot for quizzes and word games. I’m sure a lot of writers do. Words are our stock in trade after all. Games like this help increase vocabulary and they can be good for maintaining a reasonable level of mental capacity.
I thought this would be a nice cheery way to end my In Fiction series. What do I mean by zest in fiction?
Your lead character is the star of your story. Their actions are a result of needing something (to fulfil a quest is one example) but there are obstacles. This includes other characters who are not there to make life easy. Cause and consequence; conflict and resolution – these are the foundations of any story. Your lead character drives the action.
Cheating a bit here, are we, Allison? Maybe!
I knew X would be a tricky letter for an alphabetical series on fiction! Options were X-Ray Vision and Other Specialist Skills in Fiction. Or X-Rated in Fiction. The latter was out. Not to my taste. Not my field. Not for a family friendly online magazine! I think X-Ray vision is cheating as it limits the genres I can talk about! Just how often will X-ray vision crop up in our stories?
So (e)xcellence in fiction it is and I hope you send comments in about what you think counts as this in your book (pun intended!). Is it the plots. the characters, or the author’s style?
Now this topic could easily fill a book or several so this post can only be a brief overview. I focus on a few things which I have found so useful.
Now you might think one of these has an obvious place in any kind of creative writing and the other definitely not.
On the face of it, quite right too. Ironically, though there can be a place for some judicially placed verbosity but more on that shortly.
Verbs are, of course, part of the writer’s creative toolbox, along with the various component parts of our language. I use them to trigger story ideas. How?
Did you go and see the Platinum Jubilee Flower Festival at St Martin in the Wood Church last week? I’m glad I did. I went there at the weekend and was amazed by the talent in our parish. Members from the parish church have taken such a lot of effort to create a memorable, beautiful week, and have spread joy in the community.
Roy Lancaster and his wife Sue officially opened the event on the 21st of June.
