Story Exchange

A couple of years ago a friend and I started a story together. We took turns writing it, trading every time we saw each other.

So I was thinking, what if we started a story or epic poem and passed it around via the post? You can write as little or as much as you like and perhaps keep a comments page to make suggestions as to where the story/poem might go. The only catch would be to make sure you pass it along within a reasonable amount of time (couple of weeks at most?) Anyone interested?

Leave your address if you want to get involved!

my new blog

In an attempt to stay inspired after the creative writing course, I've started a new blog at:

http://a-writing-life.blogspot.com/

Please visit and leave comments! I'd love to hear what you think!!

Wed 22nd Get together

Meeting 2.30pm @The Gate to see a film that I can't remember and Chris will kill me but it's the new Cohen brothers one, wait ........ Burn After Reading (???)

Drinks afterwards, and probably a sly cocktail or ten

Who's around and coming out to play? Sean?? You out there??

Lost for Words?

Next time you're writing a story and need to spice up a sentence, why not use one of these fantastic words...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7659954.stm

Personally I like number 6, Scrimshanker. Sounds like something a pirate would say...

Grades etc

Spoke to Melanie today and she will be posting out our portfolio grades either today or tomorrow. We are not allowed to collect them from her office. So we should have our portfolio grade by Thursday and therefore should maybe meet as planned at The Hancock at 2pm? What do you reckon? The exam board are now meeting on 15th October to decide our final overall grade.

Get Together

Anyone able to meet for rejoicing or comisseration after the 8th next week? 9th or 10th?

Sean

last hurrah

Meeting up today at the Hancock between 1:30p and 2p-ish. Then back to ours maybe. See you there!

The Mulcahy Conway Award for Young Adult Fiction

Check your e-mail from Northern Writers' Center. There's a contest, ending January 30, 2009 for writers of teenage fiction. Prize is 1,000 pounds but more important, our friend Ivan Mulcahy or someone at his company will read the best works and you may get a phone call from your new agent!

Give it a try. It's free as far as I can see. And all you have to do is send 5,000 words and the cover sheet to Melanie Birch. And we even qualify!

Sean

MENU

Hello folks, I'm cooking dinner on Friday night. No, don't be scared, it'll be delicious I promise.
Anyway, I came up with a menu and thought I'd see what you all thought of it and to make sure there was nothing that anyone didn't like the sound of etc.

Tasty Pea soup with tasty parmesan toasts

Tasty Pasta Carbonara

Tasty New York Cheesecake

What'cha think? Tasty? :)

Get Together

Event: Dinner, drinks and nonsense whilst we're all still together

Date: Friday, this friday 12th Sept

Place: 8 Northumberland Ave
Forest Hall
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE12 9NR

Time: Cocktail Hour commences at 6.30pm prior to dinner being served
Carriages home in the wee hours or plenty of beds for those wishing to crash.


R.S.V.P.

Portfolio

Anyone know how we should bind the portfolio? Mine's too many pages to staple.

Any ideas?

Get Together

Get together Friday after portfolio?

Who's in?

The Running of the Grades

You know how grades are decided? Bill Herbert strips down to his underpants and everyone tapes papers to him that have grades on them. As he runs up and down the hall, professors grab the grades off of him and whichever number they grab, that's what we get. I have created a visual of this, want to see? Well of course you do!

Nathan Bransford FAQ's

Do you represent short story collections?
Do you represent women's fiction and romance?
How do I become a literary agent?
Do you consider self-published books and is there a stigma?
Do you accept queries from writers in other countries?
Is word count important? Is my novel too long/too short?
Can I ask a follow up question if you've passed on my query?
How should I mention a series in a query?
How do I know if I have a good plot?
How long does it take to sell a novel?
What is a hook, and how to I craft a good one?
How do I classify my book in a certain genre?
How often should I follow up with a prospective agent?
Can I re-query an agent or another agent at the same agency?
What do you look for in a query?
What is a "platform"?
Which is more important: character or plot?
What is the difference between YA and adult novels?
How do you decide whether to request a partial?
What are the basic terms of publishing contracts?
Should I follow publishing trends?
Do you edit your clients' work? Are you a hands-on agent?
What does this rejection letter mean?
What is the difference between commercial and literary fiction?
How should I handle an offer of representation?
Why do you live in San Francisco instead of New York?
What is "pacing"?
Do editors really edit anymore?
Do you represent literary estates?
I heard from you in five minutes. Did you really read my query?
Can I turn my blog into a book?
Should I call an agent?
Is my book too controversial?
Should I write in first person or third person?
Should I ask my agent X question?
Should I query about more than one project?
How should I approach agents at a writer's conference?
Do you represent young writers?
Should I worry about spoiling the ending in a synopsis?
Can I write books in more than one genre?
What is a typical day like for an agent?
Why am I having such a difficult time finding an agent?
Should I give up?
Should I begin my query with a rhetorical question?



from http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/08/faqs.html

Reposted from http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,5b97e2bd-28b2-4894-bedb-f482985a9217.aspx (something you should all add to your rss readers!

Agents' Chapter 1 Pet Peeves!
Originally posted by Chuck

The forthcoming issue of Writer's Digest magazine (Sept/Oct 08) has a piece in it that I wrote on literary agents' chapter 1 pet peeves. For it, I basically just contacted a whole bunch of agents - new and experienced, fiction and nonfiction, Christian and not, juvenile and adult - and asked them all what they hate to see in chapter 1.

They gave a lot of great feedback - real good practical stuff touching on cliches and pet peeves and overused beginnings. The article will be online in several weeks, so you can see a lot of great advice soon.

Although we saved plenty of juicy parts for the WD article, in the meantime, enjoy all this great feedback that didn't make the final cut for space purposes!


Agents Chapter 1 Pet Peeves:

"Anything cliché such as ‘It was a dark and stormy night’ will turn me off. I hate when a narrator or author addresses the reader (e.g., 'Gentle reader')."
- Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary

"Sometimes a reasonably good writer will create an interesting character and describe him in a compelling way, but then he’ll turn out to be some unimportant bit player. Other annoying, unoriginal things I see too often: some young person going home to a small town for a funeral, someone getting a phone call about a death, a description of a psycho lurking in the shadows, or a terrorist planting a bomb."
- Ellen Pepus, Ellen Pepus Literary Agency

"I’m really turned off by a protagonist named Isabelle who goes by 'Izzy.' No. Really. I am."
- Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management

"I dislike opening scenes that you think are real (I rep adult genre fiction), then the protagonist wakes up. It makes me feel cheated. And so many writers use this hackneyed device. I dislike lengthy paragraphs of world building and scene setting up front. I usually crave action close to the beginning of the book (and so do readers)."
- Laurie McLean, Larsen/Pomada Literary Agents

"I do in fact hate it when someone wakes up from a dream in Chapter 1, and I dislike an overly long prologue. The worst thing that you can do is let that crucial chapter be boring - that’s the chapter that has to grab my interest!"
- Michelle Brower, Wendy Sherman Associates

"I don't like an opening line that's 'My name is...,' introducing the narrator to the reader so blatantly. I might be prompted to groan before reading on a bit further to see if the narration gets any less stale. There are far better ways in Chapter 1 to establish an instant connection between narrator and reader. I’m also usually not a fan of prologues, preferring to find myself in the midst of a moving plot on page 1 rather than being kept outside of it, or eased into it."
- Michelle Andelman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

"I hate seeing a 'run-down list:' Names, hair color, eye color, height, even weight sometimes. Other things that bother me is over-describing the scenery or area where the story starts. Usually a manuscript can lose the first 3-5 chapters and start there. Besides the run-down list preaching to me about a subject, I don't like having a character immediately tell me how much he/she hates the world for whatever reason. In other words, tell me your issues on politics, the environment, etc. through your character. That is a real turn off to me."
- Miriam Hees (editor), Blooming Tree Press

"Perhaps my biggest pet peeve with an opening chapter is when an author features too much exposition - when they go beyond what is necessary for simply 'setting the scene.' I want to feel as if I'm in the hands of a master storyteller, and starting a story with long, flowery, overly-descriptive sentences (kind of like this one) makes the writer seem amateurish and the story contrived. Of course, an equally jarring beginning can be nearly as off-putting, and I hesitate to read on if I'm feeling disoriented by the fifth page. I enjoy when writers can find a good balance between exposition and mystery. Too much accounting always ruins the mystery of a novel, and the unknown is what propels us to read further. It is what keeps me up at night saying 'just one more chapter, then I'll go to sleep.' If everything is explained away in the first chapter; I'm probably putting the book down and going to sleep."
- Peter Miller, Peter Miller Literary

"1. Squinting into the sunlight with a hangover in a crime novel. Good grief -- been done a million times. 2. A sci-fi novel that spends the first two pages describing the strange landscape. 3. A trite statement ("Get with the program" or "Houston, we have a problem" or "You go girl" or "Earth to Michael" or "Are we all on the same page?"), said by a weenie sales guy, usually in the opening paragraph. 4. A rape scene in a Christian novel, especially in the first chapter. 5. 'Years later, Monica would look back and laugh...' 6. "The [adjective] [adjective] sun rose in the [adjective] [adjective] sky, shedding its [adjective] light across the [adjective] [adjective] [adjective] land."
- Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

"Here are things I can't stand: Cliché openings in Fantasy can include an opening scene set in a battle (and my peeve is that I don't know any of the characters yet so why should I care about this battle) or with a pastoral scene where the protagonist is gathering herbs (I didn't realize how common this is). Opening chapters where a main protagonist is in the middle of a bodily function (jerking off, vomiting, peeing, or what have you) is usually a firm NO right from the get-go. Gross. Long prologues that often don't have anything to do with the story. So common in Fantasy again. Opening scenes that our all dialogue without any context. I could probably go on..."
- Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary

"I recently read a ms when the second line was something like, 'Let me tell you this, Dear Reader...' What do you think of that?"
- Sheree Bykofsky, Sheree Bykofsky Literary

"I know this may sound obvious, but too much 'telling' vs. 'showing' in the first chapter is a definite warning sign for me – the first chapter should present a compelling scene, not a road map for the rest of the book. The goal is to make the reader curious about your characters, fill their heads with questions that must be answered, not fill them in on exactly where, when, who and how. Don’t ever describe eye color either..."
- Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency

"Characters that are moving around doing little things, but essentially nothing. Washing dishes & thinking, staring out the window & thinking, tying shoes, thinking ... Authors often do this to transmit information, but the result is action in a literal sense but no real energy in a narrative sense. The best rule of thumb is always to start the story where the story starts."
- Dan Lazar, Writers House

"I hate reading purple prose, taking the time to set up-- to describe something so beautifully and that has nothing to do with the actual story. I also hate when an author starts something and then says '(the main character) would find out later.' I hate gratuitous sex and violence anywhere in the manuscript. If it is not crucial to the story then I don't want to see it in there, in any chapters."
- Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary

Wordle!

Ever wonder how frequently you use words in your stories? Well now i've got a better solution than "find"!

http://wordle.net/create



In the first two chapters of my novel, my two most used words are Ben & Said. I'll have to work on that.

Avron Course

Hey Guys,
I've applied for this Writing for Children & Young Adults course that Avron are running. It costs £499-550 for the full weeks residential, but you can apply for a grant from Avron for £300. Anyone fancy coming with? You can book a place and not pay anything while you wait to hear if you can get a grant.

http://www.arvonfoundation.org/static.php?pcid=357

Celebration BBQ

Would like to invite you all and any friends/flatmates/brothers/lovers that you would like to bring to a BBQ to celebrate the excellent news that I got this morning.

There was a suspicion that my cancer had relapsed, but thankfully the suspicious lump, who I have named Herbert in honour of the equally mysterious Bill, turned out to be inoffensive scar tissue from surgery. Hurrah!

Come celebrate with me at my house on Saturday from 3pm. Bring a bottle and something to slap on the BBQ. All welcome.

8 Northumberland Ave, Forest Hall, Newcastle, NE12 9NR
near Benton metro.

Children's Conference

If you guys are going, i'm going to leave it up to you to contact them.

Send an email To Enid (enid.stephenson@googlemail.com) and Anna (aganley@societyofauthors.org) RE: 'society of authors conference student options' with your choice - needs money either cheque or cc plus full address, phone and emails.

Choices were:

a) you and your fellow students can come at members rates, all in, including housing.

b) you and your fellow students could come for £40 each for the two days - no meals or housing but all talks/workshops.

c) £70 per student lunch only plus all talks/workshops for the 2 days, no housing.

DO NOT LEAVE THIS MUCH LONGER. It's only fair that we let them know soon, as they were so generous to offer it to us.

David Almond said it was in the works

Skellig the opera!

Go here: http://xkcd.com/451

Children's writers group conference

We should get back to the lady about how many of us want to go at the reduced price. She needs money either cheque or cc plus full address, phone and emails for all of us, so we need to get that sorted and send it off. Let me know.

Children's Writers and Illustrators Group Conference

To anyone that is interested:

Children's Writers and Illustrators Group Conference

Phillip Pullman will be in attendance, as well as David Almond!

I can email you a copy of the itinerary if you're interested.

But, it's kinda really expensive...

So I sent an email to the co-ordinators and they've sent this reply:

We've come up with various options:
a) you and your fellow students can come at members rates - they are as low as we can go I'm afraid
HOWEVER
b) you and your fellow students could come for £40 each for the two days - no meals but all talks/workshops
or
c) £70 per student lunch only plus all talks/workshops for the 2 days.
Let me know what you choose. We can only offer this to a very limited number of students so I suggest you don't hesitate for too long!
Outings are £10 each and can't be reduced...but are very optional and there is a lot of good stuff going on in Cambridge for free.

I think there are plenty of ways to make this affordable, choosing the £40 option and getting meals at boots and taking things that can be made easily like cuppa soups and whole fruits and veggies. Getting there can be done on the Megabus and if you book early, fares are only £1 (but be aware that you have to travel from Newcastle to London, London to Oxford, and then on to cambridge. Long freaking day on a bus) but hey, it's cheap and you get to take the scenic route). There are quite a few hostels in Cambridge, and I bet if we ask around, some of the uni's might let us stay in their dorms quite cheaply.

I think I want to go. Who wants to go with me?

Getting Published

Here's a nifty tool that allows you to search for magazines that publish creative writing. It allows you to enter specific search options such as the length of the piece you want to publish, the genre, payscale you are looking for, etc.

http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx

"I'll keep this short..."

I saw this on the BBC News website and thought it might be interesting...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7495000/7495638.stm

Castle Writing

Hi. Cassie & I are heading out to Alnwick tomorrow to do some serious writing in the castle/gardens. Anyone want to join us? I will be driving so can take more peeps up. The atmosphere up there is great for writing and I want to get up again before the schools break up.

http://www.alnwickcastle.com/

Lynne x

Something to entertain you until we get out marks back...

I love silent movies. The following is something my brother and I did in the space of one afternoon a few years ago when we were too bored to do anything else. I did a re-edit so that it would be shorter for t'internet (hence the 2007 bit in the credits). It's got nothing to do with Creative Writing, but it is creative, so I guess it kinda counts. More than anything, it's here for you to enjoy and entertain you in that awful space of time between handing work in and getting it back. Hope you like it!

When

What time are we getting together on monday?

Get Together

Anyone up for getting together this week?
We could hang out, drink, writing group, trip to a castle, owt?

Drinks and a Movie

In celebration (a week early) of my 16th :) birthday, we are going to the Gate to see The Happening this Friday at 5:00, with a good chance of going for drinks afterward! Hope to see you there!


EDIT- Make that 7:15 not 5:00

Writing for Children

Spoke to Melanie and the due date for our writing for children is on Thursday, this thursday the 12th. Melanie will have to leave early, so you need to get it in before 4.40pm, which is when she will be leaving

I thank you

procrastination

So, instead of doing last minute writing, Cassie and I decided to procrastinate even more by making a movie about...well......lets just say the stress of writing had severe consequences....

Drinks

Well Ladies and Jellybeans, I hope all the writing's going/gone well. I personally am not looking forward to handing stuff in tomorrow and I'm hoping I'm not the only one.
Anyway, I was wondering if we should all meet in the Crow's Nest at 5 for post-creativity drinks? I think we all deserve one...

All the best!

Rob

Writing for Children

Writing for children is still due on the 16th right? I just get nervous when we don't get a general e-mail telling us.

Single spaced

Hi Guys,

Just heard back and Mr Crumey said that everything single spaced is grand.

See you Monday - stress!!!!!

L x

Question

Anyone know if Crumey's assessment must be single spaced?

Next Monday

Anyone else think we should all go for a drink or something on next Monday to celebrate handing stuff in (especially that darned Life of Writing Essay)? I know I'll be needing it! :)

A to Zebra...

Odd request, but does anyone know of a story which features a dancing zebra? I'm hoping not, as I had to replace my dancing giraffe with one seeing as how a dancing giraffe already exists. If you do know of a story which features a dancing zebra, do let me know, as I want to avoid any plagiarism or copying. Unfortunately it means I'll have to go through my story and change all the illustrations and mentions of a zebra to an antelope, but I suppose that's the way it goes...

Thanks!

Rob

HAHAHHAHAHHAH

Mslexia writing diaries

I managed to salvage a couple 2008 Mslexia writing diaries from the recycling bin today. They may have some defects, but over all are in good shape. Let me know if you want one!

meeting

Hi All,

I'm posting on behalf of Sara, who wanted to give us the option of meeting next Sunday or Monday at 2p.m. at her house to read our stuff. She lives at Blackhall Mill (30-40min bus ride out of town). Also, on Sunday at 8pm Sheree Mack is going to be reading at the Blue Room (Bridge Hotel). Here's the website for more info: http://www.blueroom.org.uk/

Thoughts, comments, questions?

Next Meeting?

When? Where?

Inquiring minds

Week Away

Is anyone interested in renting a cottage in the country for a week once we get this next deadline over? I'm going to get away for a week to try and do some concentrated writing, wandering, and country pub drinking.
Anyone interested in coming with? I'll be going before July, because it's cheaper before the schools break up.
Anyhow, let me know.

L x

Prose Tutorials

Margaret emailed all us regarding our submissions. She's juggling the tutor lists at the moment, so if you have a preferred tutor, or one that you really don't want to have, to be your supervisor I'd suggest that you email her now. I have done and she's said that she's taken note of my request and will do her best.

L x

Indiana Jones IV

In case anyone is interested, Ally and I are going to see the new Indy flick at 2p on saturday at the Empire in the Gate.  You should come too!

Writers Digest's "101 Best Websites for Writers"

Writers Digest has just released it's 101 Best Websites for Writers list!  

Find it here:  http://writersdigest.com/101BestSites/

Any complaints

Tomorrow is the student/staff meeting and I was wondering if there was anything you wanted me to bring up at the meeting. Any complaints any suggestions for improvements etc.

Sean

Tutorials

I asked today about the tutorials that we're supposed to be getting during our 'writing' time over the next few months. Primarily because I'm panicking that it'll be with our personnal tutors. I've never even met mine like ever! It's making me nervous and I'd much rather work with someone who I've some kind of working relationship with. Anyhow, Melanie is going to ask for clarification of this from Margaret and get back to us.

Meeting

Tomorrow, (Tues) at my place. 6p.m. Anyone game????

Alnwick Castle Trip

Hey guys

I have sent most of you messages via the book of face. I'm planning to head up to Alnwick Castle sometime this week just to get a change of scenery, be outdoors and do some writing in the grounds as they have some great locations to write in.

Anyone interested in coming? We could do a group session, or work individually or a bit of both. I'm free tomorrow, wed & fri. Can take four people up in the car and pick up any others at Alnwick train station. You have to pay for the gardens if you want to go in but the castle grounds are free.

Anyhow, let me know if you're interested and which day is best, asap please or I'll gan without ya

x

Illustrating a Point...

Hello everyone, hope the writing is going well!
I know usually we critique each other's writing, but I'm putting some illustrations in the story I'm handing in for the 'Writing for Children' and I was hoping that you could possibly tell me what you think of them. It would be much appreciated. Think of it as cartoon criticism: let me know what you like and what you don't. They're up on my blog page and the link's below...

www.tooclosecartoons.blogspot.com

Meeting Friday?

Any interest in meeting Friday? Is your place still open Lynne? What time?

Meeting tomorow

Hey Y'all

Are we meeting tomorrow? Hope so. I'm happy to host again, we could go in the graden if the weather remains clement :)
Or if someone else wants to host that's ok too, I don't mind.
Can I suggest that we start a little earlier though, just to make sure that we get through everyone this time? Also if it's at mine do you want to email me stuff beforehand so that I can have photocopies done for everyone before you get here?
Anyhow, let me know

Lynne x

Common Ties

There's a great website called common ties that accepts personal story submissions. Right now they are running a contest where you answer one of a string of questions they have suggested (or make up your own) in 50 words or less. They pay $50 for accepted answers...and are looking for artists to illustrate the answers as well.

Guidelines

Meeting Tuesday

Hi all,
I was planning on hosting the meeting this week at our house, but unfortunately Cassie and I won't be here Tuesday afternoon before class. If anyone else is interested in hosting the meetings this week that would be great, or we can take a break and meet again in two weeks.

David Almond, Certified Legend

I know that this isn't strictly news, and we all pretty much know this in the first place, but I just wanted to say what a legend David Almond is. Talented, down to earth, not afraid to talk about how hard he worked to become an author, and a real inspiration to every as-yet-unpublished writer out there. Brilliant. That's what our whole Creative Writing course should be like (and to be fair, some parts of it have been). The man's a genius, and exactly the kind of writer I would hope to become one day. More important than that, he's helped give us all some good ideas and advice. Plus, he signed our books(!)
Now if only Newcastle Uni could get Philip Pullman to come and teach us...

This magazine was mentioned last night in class (Life of Writing). They are a well known literary magazine (primarily in the US, though I think they take submissions from all over) and pay $700 for short stories!

EDIT: the other link wasn't working, this should work now!!!

http://www.glimmertrainpress.com/writer/html/index2.asp

For tommorrow...

Seeing as the weather doesn't look promising, anyone up for meeting at campus coffee tomorrow at 2:00 to share work?


p.s. please bring copies if you can!!!!!

Ahoy Mattie! and other fun

I don't know about you guys, but I find generators hugely entertaining! Here are a few I came across today...

character description generator

adventure seeds (plot ideas)

first words

everyday problem scenario

and last, but not least...
For those having a hard time coming up with the perfect name for that pirate ship in your story
pirate ship generator

Meeting

What do you all think of meeting outside (weather permitting) next Tuesday? Maybe the park across from the university?

Sweet mercy, No!!!

I warn you, that if you're of a sensitive nature or a lover of the classics, don't click on the link below. It's the kind of news that makes me want to crawl into a dark place and stay there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7366591.stm

Montana star Cyrus to write book

'Miley Cyrus, teenage star of Disney's Hannah Montana TV series, has signed a book deal to tell her life story.'

'The book, to be released next spring, will feature previously unseen photos, family stories and "a look at her inner circle of loved ones".'

For more:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7363375.stm

Some things just make me depressed.

Now that's more like it!

I don't know what you all think, but I felt really good after yesterday's class. I actually went home smiling. It seems like that was the kind of thing we should have been getting week after week: someone in the know coming along to give us useful information without boring us to death, and then giving us their card so we can get in touch with them. Brilliant. That's what I signed up for. For the first time ever I'm actually looking forward to next week's class!

MEETING TOMORROW

Hi

So we're officially on for tomorrow. Same time at my house, I've posted my address for those who need it.

Anyone up for it?

Lynne

Meeting postponed

Hi all, just wanted to be sure everyone knows the meeting this week at Lynne's has been postponed for next week. Hope to see you then!!

Meeting tomorrow

For anyone going to Lynne's tomorrow, if you're going to share writing could you please try to bring copies!! I know it's not always easy to make copies, but it realllllllly helps when giving constructive feedback!! Thanks!

Something very helpful...

The BBC News page seems to be featuring a lot of good literary stuff at the minute, and this is by far the most helpful yet: famous authors (well, I've heard of four of them) telling us how/where/when they write and what helps them. Well done BBC News!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7340217.stm

Writing for Television

Anyone doing this at the weekend?

I've signed up for it, hoping it's not just me and the stranger dangers.

I'm not sure whether to be cheered or disheartened by this news today. My initial reaction was 'aww, what?!?!', (seriously, HOW much money?) but now I think this might mean there's hope for any writer. What does everyone else think?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7338694.stm

writing group

Looks like everyone is eager to meet during the day, so how does Tuesdays at 2:00 sound?
We could start next week for those who are keen :)

Opinions needed

I've been thinking more about meeting up to discuss writing...a few questions to pose to everyone.
Cast your votes/opinions!!

1) Meet once a week or every other week?
2) Should we set a particular day to meet, or vary it week to week? What day would work best for you? Time?
3) How do you feel about not only sharing work, but also having a "writing prompt" at each meeting--something we could take turns being in charge of that would allow us to do some new writing for a set period of time (15 min, 30 min) then those who want to share with the group can.

I got to thinking about Lynne's post (see below this one) and was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a weekly or biweekly group where we could meet (in each others houses or a chosen location like a coffee shop) to share our writing and get feedback. We tried this once before, but meeting at the uni didn't seem to work out. I would be more than happy to host meetings at my place or anywhere that is convenient for the majority. What do you you all think???

Group Session? Anyone?

Hello my lovelies,

Firstly, thanks for all your lovely messages. I'm now out of hospital and although I'm full of stitches I'm off the morphine and able to put on my own underwear - which is always nice.

Just wondered if anyone fancied coming over for a writing group session this week or next? I know that I'm in need of feedback on something I'm working on for Crumey, and hopefully you all are too. I just find it hard to give feedback over the internet. Anyhow, let me know if you want to get together and what days etc would be workable. I was thinking we could send each other work to discuss and maybe have some nosh/wine?

Lynne x

Criticism Required!

Hello everyone, hope the writing's going well. I'd really appreciate it if you could give me some feedback and criticism on an Invisible Man story I'm working on for Crumey. It's been changed and re-edited so much that it's now a completely different story to the one I read out in class and I was just wondering if the new direction I was taking it in worked. It's called 'The Partial Man' (bit of a giveaway there) and there's an extract of it on my blog:

http://tooclosecartoons.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Be Fearless

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair–the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.”

Stephen King, On Writing

agents, manuscripts, and more

If you haven't all ready had a look at the Mslexia site, this is a clear cut, helpful page about agents, manuscript formating, publisher's jargon and more.

http://www.mslexia.co.uk/writerskit/writerskit.html

For Crumey...

So, seen as I didn't get a chance to read it out in class (and I know how you were all DYING to hear it... ;) ) here is the beginning of what I will probably hand in for Prose 2. I've written more of it, but it is by no means finished.

When you've read it I'll let you know where the rest of the story goes :)

Thanks for all your comments/criticism.

Help Please

I know this is very short notice, but if there is anyone alive out there...if anyone can hear me...please have a look at this story I'm turning in tomorrow for Creative Writing and Psychology!!! I'm beginning to lose my mind writing about people who lose their minds... does the story make sense?

STORY

Get off your arses and EXERCISE!

Found this list of writing exercises, a lot of which could be really fun and helpful.

Personally, I'm looking forward to doing #48... ;)

Just found an astoundingly brilliant website called www.writerswrite.com which has a veritable ton and a half of good stuff. I'm still checking all of it out, but at first glance it looks like it has everything, and I mean everything, that might help us in our writing careers. There are some very interesting articles that cover all parts of publication and beyond. It also has some fairly good interviews with famous authors too. So don't just sit here reading this; you should have clicked on that link long ago!

All the best,

Rob

Memoir writing short course

Hey. I'm working on my submission for memoir writing.  

If you guys are bored or have some extra time lying around,

could you give it a look over?

You can get the file from here:  

http://www.box.net/shared/6dif7pw8c4  

(don't worry, it's perfectly safe)

Please and thanks :)

Cassie

Life of Wriiting Letter

Just mailed this. Any suggestions? Volunteers?

Dear Margaret,

I'm sorry to have to bring this to your attention after being so sick recently, but it is important. As the student representative I have been asked to convey a serious frustration about the "Life of Writing Class". This particular frustration is not about the essay at the end of the class, though I suppose that has been an issue. Rather, the frustration centers around the written goal of the course- to help writers live a life of writing after they leave Newcastle- and the actual presentations themselves.

There have been a few exceptions, however, the students I've talked to do not feel as if they have received much of use in living a life of writing after Newcastle. Most of the sessions have seemed to have concentrated on what a particular person did, rather than how WE can make it happen. For example, last week's session was little more than a slide show on art work in the city. We learned who did the art work. We learned a little about how it was created- but almost nothing about how WE could get such jobs. One student even asked for this information and beyond a few statements about the arts council and reading certain arts mags and newsletters for job listings, there was little that was helpful. For those interested, a few things that might have been helpful would have been: How to write a proposal to the arts council- perhaps even practice in this field. Who to contact and how to contact. What they're looking for in a proposal. Successes of the artist in relation to getting contracts and jobs and more importantly- how and why he/she got those jobs. Failures of the artist and how and why.

As another example, a few weeks ago we were handed a list of national organizations we could peruse on our own time and then spent 2 hours doing goal planning. Some said they found this helpful- however most felt that while the goal planning did a good job of helping us see potential problems to reaching our goals (which some of us knew already) there was no help provided in solving those problems (which most of us thought was what the class would be about). And that seems to sum up what the class has more or less been about. Time and again the presenters have told us about the difficulties in getting published or living as a writer but few have actually provided any practical solutions to those problems.

To be fair, there was one presentation where the presenter gave us handouts and talked about how she markets her books. This was helpful. She gave us practical suggestions about how to get out there and sell books. How to get booked for readings etc. These kinds of practical suggestions and skills are what most of the students who've talked to me seem to desire.

Some topics that students thought would be helpful are: How to get published. How to write cover letters. How to get agents. Whether to get an agent. How to deal with rejection. How to submit. Where to submit. How to do research on learning how to submit. How to get jobs that relate to their field while they're writing- not just a list of possible jobs either, but the actual how to. In essence, practical skills and suggestions on how to live a life of writing.

This discrepancy between expectation and reality has led in some cases to anger, in others to depression, in most cases to a general frustration- a frustration that seems to be growing every week.

I don't know if this is a case of misplaced expectations on the students' part or presenters not understanding what they were asked to do or perhaps a little of both but I was wondering if there was something we could do about this?

If it would be helpful to meet with some of the students, I'm sure I could gather some volunteers.

Regards,

Sean

I was unfortunate enough to hear 'novelist' Jeffrey Archer on the radio the other day, and although I wasn't really listening to the interview, I did hear him give one piece of advice to writers out there, which was 'Write what you know', and (and I'm paraphrasing this next part a bit) 'then hope that its popular'. And while I like Jeffrey Archer about as much as salt in a wound, I can't help but agree with most of that advice, because so much of getting published is down to sheer luck, and its the first time I've heard a published novelist say that (even if it was in a very roundabout sort of way). He also alluded to the fact that even if you get published, the popularity of the novel depends entirely on the mood and tastes of the market at that time, which I think we all already knew, but its not often that writers admit this in public.
But I've never listened to Jeffrey Archer before, and I don't intend to start any time soon.

List of occupations

Ever have a hard time creating a character or deciding what they do for a living? I found this list of occupations helpful!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_occupations

Lord Smedley

The other shots that turned out well...

I thought I'd also put these up. Enjoy!

'Publishing's Future Stars, all in one shot!'

I was hoping this photo would come out well, and thanks to the lovely photo-processing people it has. Nice to have a pic of us all together I think.

Just thought i'd share something I came across today:  BBC's How To Write section.  Thought it might be interesting, if anything for it's style.

On Beginnings

"There was once a boy by the name of Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

"Your beginning- whether a short story, novel, or even a travel article- is very important. That first page may make the difference between whether the editor reads on or not. No matter how great the rest of the piece is, the reader may never get to it. Even famous writers are sometimes guilty of slow beginnings. (Much as I ultimately loved the best sellers Lonesome Dove and Presumed Innocent, I nearly gave up on both of those novels several times during the first slow 100 pages.) The beginning writer, or at least the unkown writer, cannot afford the luxury of a leisurely start. I believe the first page- maybe even the first paragraph- of a story or a novel should either introduce conflict or hint strongly of conflict to come. A word or two can sometimes be enough to whet the reader's interest." (The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction)

"There is simply no set or standard way to begin a short story or a novel except for the feeble, generalizing rejoinder: 'Start interestingly!'

I would add- with the modern proclivity to boredom your first sentence should grab the reader and not let them go until they've finished the book.

"The oyster leads a dreadful but exciting life." M.F.K. Fisher- Consider the Oyster

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." Rafael Sabatini- Scaramouche

Sean

Working in publishing

If those interested in working in the publishing industry, I found these very informative!

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/structure/admin/acareg/careers/news/topic/business/publish.html

http://www.sfep.org.uk/pub/faqs/faqhome.asp

How we come to a life of writing

A couple of recent posts have gotten me to thinking about how we become writers. I'm curious how/why others started writing and if there was a specific moment in time when they decided/knew they wanted to be a writer.

For me, it started with a Christmas gift--a book (Anne of Avonlea), when I was twelve. Oddly enough, I hated reading before this book came along! Something in my imagination was sparked by the story and I began to realize I wanted to try writing my own stories. By fourteen I was working on my first (horrible) novel =) I think writing clicked with me because I had a need to express myself in words not just for fun but for "therapy" in a sense. I've heard people say writing is like breathing--it's something they HAVE to do. That's what it became for me. Been writing ever since.

Sharing our work?

We keep adding things to do on this blog.  Think it's too much?  If not, would you guys be opposed to sharing our work here and having each other look it over?  I'd go first, as long as you give honest criticism...  :)

Crazy Lovely Things

Hey guys,

Here are some quotes to brighten your day.

"Know something?" Sinclair Lewis said one afternoon in 1947. "We writers have power not given to anyone else?"
As his young secretary, I dutifully responded: "What's that, sir?"
"We have the power to bore people long after we are dead."

Ray Bradbury wrote: (I know it's long, but it's worth it!)

"How does one go about becoming a writer?

Well you might as well ask, how do you go about becoming a human, whatever that is! You go about being a sci-fiwriter or historical fiction writer or romance writer or mystery writer pretty much the same way you go about being a "normal" writer. We are all, first and last, tellers of stories.

You fall in love, early, with all kinds of things. I fell in love with books when I was 5 or 6, especially the way books looked and smelled.

I have been a library jackdaw all my life, which means I have never gone into that lovely holy place with a book list, but only beady bright eyes and my curious paws, monkey-climbing the stacks over among the children's, and then again where i was not allowed, burrowing among the adults' mysterious books.

I would take home, at the age of 10, eight books at a time, from eight different categories, and rub my nose in them and all but lie down and roll on them like a frolicsome springtime dog. Popular Mechanics and The Boy Mechanic were my bibles. The encyclopedia was my open meadow-field where I rambled and muttered: "Curiouser and curiouser!" and lay down with Jules Verne's robot pups only to rise with Edgar Rise Burroughs's Martian fleas.

I have run amuck ever since in libraries and booksores, with fevers and deliriums. Hysteria must be your way of life, then, if you wish, any of you, to become writers. Or, for that mater, painters or actors or any other crazy, lovely things!

If I emphasize libraries it is because school itself is only a beginning, and writing itself is a continuation. But the meat must be found and fed on in every library you can jump into and every bookstore you can pole-vault through.

Even as I did nont prowl there with preconceived lists, so I do not send you there with nice, dry, tame, small indexes of my taste, crushing you with an iron-anvil dropped from a building.

Once you start, the library is the biggest blasted Cracker Jack Factory in the world. The more you eat, the more you want!

And the more you read, the more the ideas begin to explode around inside your head, run riot, meet head-on in beautiful collissions so that when you go to bed at night the damned visions color the ceiling and light the walls with huge exploits and wonderful discoveries.

I still use librares and bookstores in the same fashion forthy years later. I spend as much time in child's country as I do over the corseted adults'.

And what I take home and browse and munch through each evening should give you a relaxing view of a writer tumultuous just this side of madness.

I may start a night's read with a James Bond novel, move on to Shakespeare for half an hour, dip into Dylan Thomas for 5 minutes, make a fast turnabout and fasten on Fu Manchu, that great and evil Oriental doctor, ancestor of Dr. No, then pick up Emily Dickinson, and end my evening with Ross Macdonald, the detective novelist, or Robert Frost, that crusty poet of the American rural spirit.

The fact should be plain now: I am an amiable compost heap. For I learned, early on, that in order to grow myself excellent I had to start myself in the plain old farmyard blood manure. From such heaps of mediocre or angelic words I fever myself up to grow fine stories, or roses, if you prefer.

I am a junkyard, then, of all the libraries and bookshops I ever fell into or leaned upon, and am proud and happy that I never developed such a rare taste that I could not go back and jog with Tarzan or hit the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy, both characters and their books banned for 50 years by all librarians and most educators. I have had my own loves, and gone my own way to become my own self.

I highly recommend you do the same. However crazy your desire, however wild your need, however dumb your taste may seem to other... follow it!

When I was 9 I collected Buck Rogers comic strips. People made fun. I tore them up. 2 months later, I said to myself: "Hold on! What's this all about? These people are trying to starve me. They have cut me off from my vitamins! And the greatest food in my life, right now is Buck Rogers! Everyone, outa the way! Git! Runty Ray is going to start collecting comic strips again!"
And I did. For I had the great secret!

Everyone else was wrong. I was right. For me, anyway.

What if I hadn't done as I have done? Would I ever have grown up to become a writer of Science Fiction or, for that atter, any kind of writer at all?

No. Never.

If I had listened to all the tastemongers and fools and critics I would have played a safe game, never jumped the fence, and become a nonentity whose name would not be known to you now.
So it was I learned to run and leap into an empty swimming pool, hoping to sweat enough liquid into it on the way down to make a soft landing.

Or, to change the metaphors, I dropped myself off the edges of cliffs, daring to build myself wings while falling, so as not to break myself on the rocks below.

To sum it all up, if you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling.

You must write every single day of your life.

You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next.

You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.

I wish for you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories- science fiction or otherwise. Finally, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world." (From The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction)

Sean

List-less...

While I was gadding around on the web today the thought struck me that maybe we should compile a blacklist of sorts; to warn each other which publishers/agents/editors etc. aren't to be trusted, because let's face it, there are a LOT of fraudulent people/agencies who want to make money off people who want to be published. Nothing libellous of course, just companies and people who, if you've encountered, you advise others to stay away from for one reason or another. After all, its very easy to find publishing firms on the net, but less so to find reputable ones. I know I've got a couple I could mention.
What do you all think? Maybe we could come up with a list of 'trustworthy' companies/agents etc. too...?

Write to Done

Just thought I'd share this blog that I subscribe to; thought you all might like it. Lots of interesting articles to help with your writing - inspiration, the business of writing, the habit of writing etc.

Also, if you're interested, the blog was spawned from another brilliant blog - Zen Habits. Nothing to do with writing, but it's a great blog for all sorts of personal development/motivation/productivity stuff.

Hope everyone's writing is going well. Mine isn't, particularly... although Abbi gave me a brilliant idea for a story last night which I'm rather excited to start writing! Hopefully you'll see it up at Chapter 23 soon.

Microsoft Offer

Has everyone heard about the deal Microsoft are offering to students?

For £38.95 you can download the new Microsoft Ultimate Office 2007 package. All you need for proof is your student email address. I did it a few weeks ago and you get the full Office suite with all the fancy new buttons and features. Vista was driving me nuts and this package is great. The offer ends 30th April.

www.theultimatesteal.co.uk

The Fridge

Does anyone watch The Book Show on Sky Arts? Can't remember what day it's on, but they do a nice segment where they get authors to take the crew round the place where they do their writing at home. They talk about their process, what inspires them, and what their work habits are, etc. It's often really interesting.

Anyhow, one of the writers, whose name I cannot remember, advised all writers to keep a copy of their manuscript that they are working on in the fridge. Apparently if your house burns down the only items that are a dead cert to survive are the items in your fridge. So whilst your hard drive melts you know there's a copy safely tucked away with your lettuce and moldy half eaten banana.

Just a thought

Inspiration

I was reading an interview with author Jasper Fforde today and he said that he always listens to music from the 80s when writing his novels because it helps him get in the mood and write. I sometimes like to listen to music too when I'm writing - stuff that fits the mood of the piece: something sad for an emotional scene, something uptempo for action etc, cos I find it helps me concentrate on the mood. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else did this - or did something else entirely - to help them while writing? Or do you like to work in complete silence? I'm not talking inspiration here, just something to help focus and capture the kind of emotion/idea you're trying to get across while scribbling down that all important story...

All the best,
Rob

This is all I have to say about Crumey:

Right, anyone seen any centaurs on campus?

Robert gets his ass kicked...

Just read my feedback from Crumey, and I'm still smarting from the 30 line ass-kicking my story and I have just received. Don't get me wrong: I need criticism, I like criticism...it's necessary to the craft, but when your Prof writes 'Overall, I was disappointed by the lack of specificity' (in a 1000 word piece about a man who wants to become invisible??!?!), you can't help but bash your head against your keyboard. Oh, and TWICE he calls my protagonist 'a cackling mad genius', which I was going for but he didn't seem to like, so I'm not sure if that's personal taste or a nod at the general literary trend (the guy knows what he's talking about after all). There's a lot of other critical stuff he wrote in what I'm now going to term 'Rob's Literary Kick to the Crotch', and I really wouldn't mind, but my gripe is that there was very little encouragement.
Anyway, enough of my moaning: I'm interested if anyone else got rather tough feedback, or whether I'm just a bad writer who doesn't realise it.

All the best,
Rob

Thought I'd share something fun I came across a couple months ago called Bonsai Story Generator. It's great for generating story ideas as well as giggles!

http://www.critters.org/bonsai.html

A Quick Post from Rob...

Just testing that I can post really, but I thought I'd stick up a lovely quote I found and that seems more apt given the most recent Prose Writing Workshop. It's more about reading, but I figure we're in the business of doing that too...

'No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how many people are chasing you, what you don't read is often as important as what you do read'
-Lemony Snicket ('Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid')

Testing... (Welcome!)

Here we go... a place to share thoughts, ideas, advice, rants... just about anything to do with the (extremely) slim chance that any of us have at getting published. Although hopefully, given the positive start we've had with our seditious writing group over the past two weeks, that chance will become less slim as we start helping each other right here on this blog.

So, post away! I've been thinking; as well as strictly "How To Get Published" stuff, we should also share other things here, like motivational quotes, links to interesting articles on writing, maybe even pointless 'fun' stuff on the Internet to procrastinate with. After all, we can only tidy our desks so many times.

I was thinking about naming this blog, "Give Me My 4 Grand Back!", but decided against it. Hell, if we're going to be impoverished writers, we may as well start now!

Looking forward to collaborating on this blog with you all.

Christopher