18 Monday Jul 2016
Posted in Short Stories, Short Story, writing
Kurt Vonnegut tells us how short stories should be written. This is very apt after a stimulating conversation with new and old friends at the National Writers’ Conference in Birmingham at the weekend. At least two of his points came up in our conversation: start as close to the end as possible and write to please just one person. I’m not sure about saying, ‘to heck with suspense,’ I think something has to be held back otherwise why does the reader hang around? Answers on a postcard.
14 Thursday Jul 2016
Posted in Alzheimers, Charity, Walk
Tags
Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimers, Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, dementia, Donate, Fund raising, Just Giving, Memory Walk, Sponsor, uk, Walk
Hi web dwellers,
On Sunday, September the 11th, 2016, I will be taking part in the Memory Walk at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and in memory of the lady below.
This is a first: a post that has nothing to do with writing, creativity, art or politics. I’d like your attention for a few minutes to highlight a cause that means a lot to me: The Alzheimer’s Society. These guys do a huge amount of valuable work for people and families who are coping with dementia.
The stunner above, with the film star looks, was my Nan, (Nan is a term that some of us Brits use for Grandmother.) I never knew her when she looked like this, but the picture gives a hint of the fiery, cantankerous, strong willed woman that fed and spoilt me when I was growing up.
She died a few years ago, but we lost her long before that to dementia. My mother became her carer and had to watch first-hand as the woman she knew and loved slipped away. Eventually, it was too difficult to care for her at home and she had to go into a home. This was a very difficult decision for all involved.
The Alzheimer’s Society help many people like my Nan, but they rely upon donations from the public to do so. Please give what you can by clicking on the link below and help the Alzheimer’s Society to continue to do the essential work that they do.
Huge thanks to you all for reading.
12 Tuesday Jul 2016
Tags
Birmingham, Careers, Help a writer, Jobs, Shadowing, uk, West Midlands, work, writing
I’m doing a bit of research; maybe you can help? I’m looking at jobs, different types of work, work I’ve not done before, stuff that’s unusual and usual. I’d like to shadow you while you work – this isn’t as creepy as it sounds it just means seeing how you do your job and what your job entails. The shadowing could last an hour, half a day, a whole day whatever’s best for you. I could even lend a hand if that’s permissible/possible – I won’t expect to sit in on any brain surgery though.
Please share this amongst your friends, followers, stalkers and if you are interested in having an affable writer scribble down some notes while you work then direct message me. For practical reasons, the work must be based in Birmingham unless it’s something unmissable, exotic, bizarre, rare, etc.
04 Monday Jul 2016
Tags
60's Penguin Classic, Collectable, Limited Edition, Mantle Arts, Mantle Lane Press, Midlands' Writers, short story collection, Support Midlands Writers
I’ve some rather lovely news to share. Those wonderful people at Mantle Lane Press are going to publish a small collection of my short stories entitled, Night Swimming.
Shock horror!
Mantle Lane Press is based in Leicestershire and is an offshoot of Mantle Arts. Their aim is to support Midlands writers.
My collection will fall into their limited edition small books collection. These are similar in size to the Penguin 60s range and each features a cover image by a different artist, ensuring that they are attractive, unique and collectable.
I’ve just signed the contract and I’ll let you know more about it when I do.
Right, I’m off to give myself a good pinch.
14 Tuesday Jun 2016
Posted in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, Event, News, Reading, Writers, writing
Following events in London and Leamington, Kit’s wonderfully reviewed book gets a Birmingham launch at Waterstones, 5th July 2016 at 7pm. 2016.
more details here.
07 Monday Mar 2016
Posted in Comics, Special Needs, teaching, workshops, writing
Tags
birmingham uk, Bournville Bookfest 2016, Busy Parents Network, Comic book writing workshop, comic books, March 19th, Selly Oak Trust School, SEN, SEN and love comics?, writing workshop
Those crazy people at the Bournville Bookfest have only gone and asked me to run a comic book writing workshop as part of their programme for children with Special Needs!
From the Bookfest brochure.
The workshop is aimed at anyone who’s interested in making comics. I’ll be using the Comic Life app to show you how you can very quickly make slick looking comic strips. We’ll be focusing on the essentials: character, plot and dialogue. Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to develop a unique story and to produce a finished comic strip. We won’t worry about drawing ability or drawing full stop, if you’re not comfortable with that, as you can use anything you want to tell a story. (You can use photographs from your iPad or take pictures on the day.) The only boundaries will be your imagination!
Adventure Time meets the Avengers.
I’ve taught children with Special Needs for many years and have found that the visual, sequential nature of story telling used in comics is something that they easily relate to – just the same as mainstream kids – and that they can get a great deal of pleasure out of producing their own.
The workshop will be at Selly Oak Trust School on Saturday the 19th of March. There’s no recommended age for the workshop. We’ll leave it up to parents to judge for themselves, after all, no one knows your children better than you. All I would ask is that participants have an interest in comics and that they can tolerate me working with them. They will need some level of literacy – I’m not bothered about spelling – as they will be writing dialogue for their marvellous characters.
Finn and Jake in trouble again.
How do I book this great workshop? Scroll to the end and I’ll tell you.
The UK’s finest weekly comic.
Here are some examples of what you can do with the Comic Life app:
Booking for the workshop can be made by clicking here. The link will take you to the Bournville Bookfest booking page.
The programme can be downloaded here.
If you have any questions regarding the workshop please leave them in the comments section below.
19 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in creativity, Inspirational, writing, Writing Courses
Tags
Arvon, Inspiration, Poetry, Prose, Scriptwriting, Tumbler, uk, writing, Writing Courses
Arvon’s on Tumbler.
You probably already know this, but I only just found out and it looks rather wonderful.
So, for those of you who don’t know, who are Arvon?
Avon are all things writing. They have a number of writer’s retreats across the UK and run a range of courses for poetry, scriptwriters, novelists, non-fiction writers and so on. I’ve not yet been lucky enough to go on one of their courses, but I know people that have and they can’t speak highly enough about them. The courses are pricey (there are bursaries available,) but the wealth of talent on offer and the venues warrant it.
The Tumbler feed looks really interesting – it’s where I grabbed the Ray Bradbury quote from and the gif above – and is full of little sound bite advice regarding writing. Don’t just take my word for it, pop over and have a look for yourself by clicking here.
08 Monday Feb 2016
Posted in Birmingham, Birmingham Writers, creativity, Culture, Scholarship, Short Stories, Working Class, Writers, writing
Tags
Kit de Waal, marginalised, Scholarship, Sleaford Mods, Stories, Working Class, Working class stories, writing
Birmingham writer, Kit de Waal, has set up a scholarship for marginalised people. She wants to give someone, who wouldn’t otherwise have it, the opportunity to write and to develop as a writer.
Kit says, ‘I really see a gap in white, working-class stories – it’s a massively neglected area. I don’t think the experience of the white working class is valued enough.’ I couldn’t agree more.
She also talks about some of the reasons for the lack of working class literature, ‘I think there are gatekeeping processes at work in publishing. First, you need an agent, and you need the time to write. That’s one way you’re going to be filtered out of the system. Maybe there is a lack of confidence in our working-class stories, in whether people want to hear them? But sometimes we have to tell them, otherwise other people do so on your behalf, and that’s no good. We have a responsibility to tell our stories, and the industry has a responsibility to hear them.’
Working class stories are really important to me. My father was a builder, a labourer and tells some incredible stories of friendship, betrayal, law breaking, violence and toe curling humour. These stories are not represented in publishing. These are the stories I write and the stories I want to read.
I think this is the reason I enjoy Sleaford Mods. They tell modern day working class stories with none of the romanticised crap that you see in shows like Call The Midwife and the like.
Please read the whole of the article on Kit and her scholarship here and if you are a working class writer apply.
How about a list of great working class books or stories?
01 Monday Feb 2016
Posted in Room 204, writing, Writing West Midlands
Tags
Advance your writing career, Birmingham, Opportunity for writers, Room 204, uk, West Midlands, Writing West Midlands
I was lucky enough to be part of Room 204’s inaugural year. It was a huge benefit to me as a writer. It helped me to take myself seriously and look at different avenues in which I could produce work and get paid for it (no, really.) Thanks to Room 204 I had my first short story published had another placed in a competition got commissioned to produce work collaborated with an artist on a comic strip had poems published and so on.
West Midlands writers: Room 204 opens for applications
Give your writing career the boost it needs.
Writers across the West Midlands are invited to apply to be part of this year’s Room 204 – the year-long support and career development programme run by Writing West Midlands. Now in its fifth year, Room 204 recruits between 10 and 15 writers a year, writing in all genres from poetry and prose to radio and TV scripts and gives them each over £1,000 worth of career support.
The deadline for submissions is Thursday 25 February, and you can find the full submission details here.
31 Sunday Jan 2016
Posted in Arts, Birmingham, Culture, Live Music, Music, News, Radio, Reading, Writers, writing
Tags
Birmingham, Book Club, Brum Radio, Johnathan Coe, Local Bands, Local Writers, Mazzy Snape, Mixcloud, Music, Ocean Colour Scene, Steve Craddock, uk
At last, Birmingham has its very own alternative radio station, Brum Radio. The station covers local bands, including an interview with Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Craddock, and events as well as a Book Club programme that looks at the work of local authors. Their first guest was Johnathan Coe talking about his new book, Number Eleven. The show has teamed up with Waterstones to give you a £6 discount on the book when you say…….Well, to find out what the code is read the full article here on Mazzy Snape’s blog.
If you missed the first show you can grab it at MixCloud.
Garrie Fletcher 