My post last week was all about Classic Books but the problem with this topic is it will be inevitably biased towards fiction. Tonight’s post will redress the balance.
I look at why reading non-fiction widely is vital for fiction writers (as well as being a great thing to do given it widens your reading “diet” and general knowledge). [Read more…] about Fiction -v- Non-Fiction? No Contest!
Making the most of writing time is always a timely topic. Every writer will have their own answer to this.
A little later this month, I’m off to see The Chameleon Theatre Group’s pantomime, Cinderella. Oh yes I am! I’m looking forward to it as their pantomimes are always great fun and this one is based on my favourite fairytale. A review will follow in due course (but if you haven’t seen any of their pantomimes, do check this one out. There is still time to book). See their website for more – https://www.chameleontheatre.co.uk/
But the thought of this inspired this article. I’ve loved fairytales for as long as I can remember.
I catch up with a lot of stories during the Advent and Christmas periods but not always via books (of any format).
I know it is a little early but Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2025 proves to be a good year. It would be nice to have less grim news but I think that may be something I will have to put on a wish list somewhere.
It’s a lovely way to finish my Chandler’s Ford Today posts for Christmas by sharing festive related writing news.
[Read more…] about Bridge House Publishing Celebration and Broadcasting News
Everyone has their own tastes in books and stories, of course. The publishing and literary world would not be so interesting and extensive if we all read the same thing. Genres would disappear and creative imagination would be limited to whatever it was we all read. But there are elements in books and stories which cross all genres. These are the things I look out for whenever I read any kind of story, regardless of its word count.
One of the joys of the Christmas season is having extra reading time! Okay, you may have to wait until after the big day itself but isn’t having new books to enjoy something to relish for that period between Christmas and New Year? It is for me!
Also, as we all know, books are perfect presents and easy to wrap or put in festive gift bags. But, of course, the lead up to the season is the biggest in the publishing world because of this. What I like is amongst the many new novels, there are plenty of anthologies coming out too.
[Read more…] about A Right Cozy Christmas Crime with Wendy H Jones – Author Interview
I am so pleased to welcome Hannah Retallick to Chandler’s Ford Today. Hannah, like me, is a Bridge House Publishing stalwart, and her debut short story collection, Something Very Human, has just been published by them. Hannah and I have been in many of the anthologies they have produced.
Hannah is an excellent flash fiction writer and has gained recognition in many international competitions, including receiving Highly Commended in the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2022, winning the £2000 Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction 2024 – the biggest flash prize in the UK – and being Highly Commended in the Bath Flash Fiction Award. All of these are highly prestigious in the flash fiction world.
[Read more…] about Author Interview: Introducing Hannah Retallick
I was delighted to get to my first Association of Christian Writers in person event for a while on Saturday 12th October 2024. I went up as part of their Autumn Gathering held at Rugby Elim Church. It was a Friday night/all day Saturday event but I just went up by train on the Saturday.
[Read more…] about ACW Autumn Gathering and Supportive Writing Groups
I’m pleased to welcome back Ruth Leigh to Chandler’s Ford Today. Ruth and I are members of the Association of Christian Writers. Last time we talked, Ruth had three books out in her funny and touching Isabella M Smugge series.
Today, 20th September 2024, will see the release of her fourth novel featuring her heroine – The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge. Congratulations, Ruth. Little beats the buzz of being published.
[Read more…] about Catching Up with Ruth Leigh – The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge
Later this month, I’ll have the great joy of judging a flash fiction competition for a Scottish writing group (all done via the wonders of email). I enjoy judging and have learned much from the process of doing so in that it has helped me to improve my own work for judging by someone else.
I often use a wide variety of random generators because I need various ways to trigger ideas for characters and stories. Having these different ways of being able to create tales is useful. Mixing up what I use is also good for keeping me on my creative toes!
I see random generators as the modern equivalent of story cubes (I use those too!). I also use books of prompts (and have contributed to some), proverbs and well known sayings (sometimes I subvert these to generate even more tales) but, by far, the method I use most often is the random generator.
When this post goes out, I will be back home, having recently enjoyed another lovely week at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is based at The Hayes, Derbyshire. This week sees me immersed in the world of writing, which is just one of many reasons I adore going. It is also the place from where the only German prisoner of war from World War Two successfully escaped and fled back to Germany.
On the writing front, delegates are free to choose which courses and workshops they go to and there is a wide range of topics to choose from too. There is something to suit everyone, no matter where they are at in their writing journeys.
There are four part and two part courses to choose from, as well as the one hour workshops, plus I find I always learn something useful, as well as enjoying being entertained, by the after dinner guest speakers, who are all renowned in their fields.
I’m shortly off on my travels again to a major highlight of my writing year, The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in lovely Derbyshire. I meet up with friends I only see online for the rest of the year (though that is wonderful).
Indeed, one writer I plan to be catching up at Swanwick is Val Penny, author of the DI Hunter Wilson series, whom I’ll be interviewing here again next week. I hope to write more about Swanwick for a later post here but I am running a two part course called Editing as a Writer, Editing as a Competition Judge, which I’m looking forward to presenting.
I thought it might be useful to share some tips as to how to make the most of any writing event you might go to, whether it is a week long residential one like Swanwick, or a single day event. (I am hoping to get to another of those soon too run by the Association of Christian Writers).
It is a great pleasure to welcome Maressa Mortimer back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Maressa and I are members of the Association of Christian Writers.
If you’ve been tempted to think you don’t have time to write, Maressa may encourage you to think again. She writes around her home life of four children, who are home schooled, a dog, and the demands of her husband’s job as a church minister.
[Read more…] about Author Interview: Maressa Mortimer – Going Downstream
I run a monthly Zoom workshop on flash fiction writing for the Association of Christian Writers. It is great fun to do and the online aspect helps so much as the members live several hundreds of miles apart so we could never get together in person.
I usually set a monthly theme and then set exercises based on that. Sometimes I will prepare an answer to an exercise to show as an example but most of the time I will write on the night of the meeting with the other members.
Every story focuses on a decision. At some point a character has to choose whether or not to act on a situation they’re facing. What they decide to do has immense consequences for that story.
By the time this goes live on Chandler’s Ford Today, I shall be packing up after a lovely holiday in Scotland with my husband and Lady and preparing to have a long journey home again. So with that in mind, I thought I would look at journeys in writing.
Questions are something I often use in my writing. For my non-fiction work, they often act as an underlying theme. I have been known to use them as titles too. For fiction, again I use them for titles and themes. In this case though I am getting my character(s) to answer the question. In my non-fiction work I’m answering it through the conclusion I come to at the end but I show my “workings” along the way.
