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Garrie Fletcher

~ writing and all that

Garrie Fletcher

Tag Archives: writing

The Tooth And Nothing But

12 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Sketchtember, workshops, writing

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Art, birmingham uk, Drawing, Sketchtember, writing, young writers

Here’s some bloke with a toothy smile.

This is pencil on cartridge paper. I wonder what his name is?

I’ve been focusing on people recently because I want some interesting characters to use with my young writers group this Saturday. We’re going to look at advice columns/blogs. I’ll ask them to choose a character and to come up with a problem they need advice on. When they’ve written the problem, I’ll get them to swap with other members of the group and they can then write replies. I think it should be a good exercise for developing characters and stories.

Gee, Ren.

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Sketchtember, writing

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Art, Drawing, Pencil, Sketchtember, writing

Tonight’s speed sketch is once again in pencil on paper. This is a real quickie as I’m short on time. This is a drawing of a 3D bath toy that a friend brought back from the States in the 90’s.

Hopefully, I’ll have more time tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow I’ll post some writing news regarding publications and readings – after all this is a writing blog.

Libraries are awesome.

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Art, Drawing, Education, fiction, Sketchtember, writing

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Drawing, fiction, Knowledge, Libraries, Sketchtember, writing

I’m re-blogging this essential piece on The Guardian website from Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell because it’s vitally important. Books give us access to vast amounts of knowledge and the essential world of fiction. Read on to find out why that is so important.

To read the rest of this click on the link here.

23 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by fletcherski in comissions, teaching, writing

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comission, Human Values Foundation, teaching resources, writing

Have you ever heard of the Human Values Foundation? No, neither had I, but a friend of mine put my name forward to them, and they’ve commissioned me to write four short stories as part of what they do.

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But what do they do?

This:

“Our vision is that young people among all sections of the community, both in the UK and also overseas, will imbibe and practise human values so as to become responsible, happy, fulfilled members of society and aspire to human excellence.”
Part of all that is providing resources and lessons plans that enable teachers to create work around those values.
The four topics I’ve been given are: Becoming Responsible, Contentment, Hope and Optimism, and Self-Sufficiency.
It’s been interesting writing them, and the results will be on the Human Values Foundation website in the near future.

Writing, damn you!

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Writers, writing

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working from home, writer's block, writing

writing keyboardI’ve been struggling of late to get stuff onto the page. It’s not as if I don’t have things to do. I have a novel that needs a final tidy up and then sending off. A rough outline of a sci-fi novel that needs finishing, and a whole host of short stories that need finishing and starting. I know what I need to be able to write. I need space, time and routine. I have a room in my house where I can go to write. My office is at the back of the house, above the kitchen, and for the most part, it is quiet and interruption free, ideal for writing, providing it can be kept free. My daughter will occasionally camp out there to complete her homework. In fact, only the other night I spent over an hour with her going through her maths home-work – percentages, damn you!

In my previous job as a teacher, I had a routine. I’d dropped down to working three days a week, and on Thursdays and Fridays I stayed at home and wrote. I also wrote in the evenings and sporadically on the weekends. However, once I’d changed jobs, the routine went out the window. The new job involves shift work, and they’re open to change. I can find myself looking forward to some dedicated writing time, a literary event, or just meeting up with other writers and I’ll have to cancel it. Whenever I don’t write when I should be, I’m gripped by a festering guilt. I’m not writing for fame, fortune or recognition. I’m writing to keep the guilt at bay.

I’ve been here before. I know how to get out of this malaise. What I need is routine; I need purpose, and I need to be consistent. It’s just rather frustrating at times. I know writers that go through this. I know writers that struggle to juggle family, work and writing, and I know writers that do not have the worry of the commitment juggler. The one thing that unites us all, I think, is that awful shiver of guilt when we know we should be writing and we aren’t.

Things have gotten a bit better recently. I’ve completed a short story, well not that short, that’s been rattling around in my head for a while, and I’ve started another. The novel still needs to be tidied and sent out, but I know it’ll be done before Christmas – providing I get that tax return in!

What do you do when you’re struggling to write? What sure-fire tactic, habit etc. do you employ to keep the guilt demons at bay?

All answers gratefully received.

 

The other end of the telescope – a dozen ways to guarantee rejection

24 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by fletcherski in competitions, get published, Publication, Submissions, Writers, writing

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A3, competitions, get published, I'm, submission guidelines, writing

Some great tips for getting rejected from periodicals and competitions. They’ll either make you laugh or blush with shame.

Thanks to Kmelkes for this glimpse from the other end of the telescope.

 

Source: The other end of the telescope – a dozen ways to guarantee rejection

The Write Stuff

21 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, Blogging, creativity, Event, workshops, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Roundhouse, canals, canoeing, creative writing, kyaking, uk, Wildlife, writing, writing workshop

For those of you who are of a creative or aquatic bent, you may be interested to know that I will once again be leading canal based creative writing workshops. Those crazy fools at the Birmingham Literature Festival have asked me to lead dusk till dawn writing sessions as part of this year’s festival.

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It really was great fun.

I don’t have a lot of details yet, but I guess that they will be similar to the ones I ran back in April as part of the pop-up festival. Back then, we started from Birmingham’s historic Roundhouse and explored the canals via canoe and kayak. It was a real eye-opener for me. There are parts of the city you can only explore from the canal. Deserted glassworks, industrial loading bays and the Victorian red brick of disused warehouses stand beside the canal, and their decaying shells now home a multitude of wildlife and their walls canvases for graffiti artists and frustrated lovers.

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Come and witness my world famous invisible fish wrestling.

We will spend at least an hour on the water and then back inside the relative, although not guaranteed, warmth of the Roundhouse I’ll put you through your paces with some short, focused writing exercises that will nudge you towards creating longer pieces of work.

All photos are the property of the very talented Jana Eastwood. You can find more images from previous workshops here at her excellent blog, Escapes and Photography.

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Birmingham’s Roundhouse.

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One of the many incredible views along the canal.

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Wildlife in the heart of the city.

Navigating Birmingham.

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, creativity, Poetry, workshops, Writers, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Alyse Fowler, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham's canals, British Canoeing, Canal and River Trust, creative writing, Jo Bell, National Trust, The Roundhouse, uk, writing, writing workshops

Paddling and writing along Birmingham’s canals

Ever thought of combining canoeing and writing? Well, now’s your chance. On April 23rd, Jo Bell (poet,) Alyse Fowler (gardener/writer,) and I will be doing just that. We’ll be taking groups down the industrial canals of Birmingham and using this unique perspective to inspire creative writing. Check out the press release below for full details and booking info:

canoeing2

£20/£16 (concessions), children £10

Need some inspiration to get writing? Want to explore hidden Birmingham?

Look no further than our series of creative walks, bike rides and canoe trips developed in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, National Trust, Birmingham Roundhouse, British Canoeing and Big Birmingham Bikes, and delivered by five fantastic writers.

Canoe-write

Take to the waterways of Birmingham by canoe for a unique perspective on the city, returning to dry land for a writing workshop at The Roundhouse led by Alys Fowler (10am-1pm) or Jo Bell (2pm-5pm). Workshops for young people at both sessions will be led by Garrie Fletcher. Canoes and instruction supplied free of charge from British Canoeing and B-ROW.

Please dress comfortably: we advise that you don’t wear jeans, you do wear trainers, bring waterproof coat and trousers, and a complete change of clothes. The canoes have a weight restriction of 17.5 stone.
Drinks are provided free of charge but please bring a snack to sustain you.

Suitable for adults and children aged 8 and over. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Workshop 1 – 10am – 1pm (Alys Fowler) 

Workshop 2 – 2pm – 5pm (Jo Bell) 

Roundhouse Writers

Jo Bell is a former Canal Poet Laureate and currently appears on Nationwide’s ‘Voice of the People’ ads. Her poetry collection Kith is published by Nine Arches Press. She is co-writing a handbook for poets – How to be a Poet – and lives on a narrowboat.

Alys Fowler is an award-winning journalist, regular presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World and Guardian columnist. Her new book Hidden Nature charts her journey through the canals of Birmingham by canoe.

Garrie Fletcher writes short stories, novels and poems. His collection of short stories, Night Swimming, has just been published by Mantle Lane Press. He leads the Birmingham Young Writers’ Group for Writing West Midlands.

How to Book:
Please contact The BOX to book tickets on 0121 245 4455 or you can book online by clicking the button below.

Book Now

Get Your Trunks On!

08 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham Writers, Leicester, Mantle Lane Press, Publication, Q & A, Reading, Short Stories, Short Story, workshops, Writers, writing

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books, Festival, Leicester, Non-fiction, Panels, Poetry, promotion, Publication, readings, short stories, Small Press, States of Independence, uk, workshops, writing

My first collection of short stories, Night Swimming, is almost here. It’s still not really sunk in. But on  Saturday, March the 11th, I will finally hold a copy in my hands – that should do the trick.

To be able to look at the cover of my book and flick through the pages, pages covered with words that I typed, deleted, retyped, crossed out, scribbled over and screamed at should fill me with joy, or at least a deep sense of satisfaction. Night Swimming cover-page-001

However, this isn’t ‘job done.’ Now starts the long process of promotion, of convincing people to buy my book. The first step, along the road of self-promotion, will be taken on Saturday at this year’s States of Independence in Leicester. I will be reading a short extract from, Night Swimming, as part of the Mantle Lane Press launch. I’ve read  my work at many events over the years, but this will be the first time that I’ve had a ‘product’ to promote. At the moment, I’m reading through the stories and trying to decide which one will tantalise the most and leave an audience wanting more.

If you’re in Leicester, or fancy a day out there, please come along to States of Independence. Here’s some info and details from their website:

States of Independence

Independent publishing | Independent writing | Independent thinking

A book festival in a day

 

This year’s States of Independence is our eighth. It’s a book festival in a day, a marketplace, a conference, a chance to relax and listen to some readings, an opportunity to argue about issues in the industry and to meet with independent presses from across the region.

States of Independence supports independent thinking, independent writing and independent presses. Join us for the day or an hour. Attend lots of events – you will be spoiled for choice – or just one, or simply come along and browse through the twenty or so bookstalls to see what the independent sector is publishing.

As always there are poetry and fiction readings and industry panels discussing current hot topics – this year focusing on independent literary magazines. Non-fiction wanders from British Palestine to John Clare’s escape from an asylum, via the political power of music, reminiscences about being gay in the 80s, and how to talk about poetry

States of Independence is a free event, underwritten by Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham and the Centre for Creative Writing at De Montfort University, with the support of over fifty writers and over thirty presses.

All sessions are free, no tickets required.
Just turn up and stay for an hour or two, or the whole day.

<!–Click here to download a printable programme.

–>

States of Independence is organised and funded by Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham and the Creative Writing Team at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Top 10 Books Writers Should Read.

25 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by fletcherski in writing

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DBC Pierre, The Guardian, Top 10 Books Writers Should Read, writing

Here’s a link to an interesting article in The Guardian from DBC Pierre. These 10 books helped him to write and as one of those books was the wonderful, Vernon God Little, it may be worth taking a look.

Has anyone else read any of the 10 books below?

Article link.

Vernon God Little

1. To generate early inspiration and feel part of a club:
Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
Writing can make you feel like a weirdo if you don’t already – but feeling like a weirdo is useless psychology for the job, hence this little book. Mason Currey has carefully compiled the daily habits and personal foibles of 161 great writers, artists, scientists and thinkers, including one who stood on his head to cure creative block. By the end of this book, our carpet-glue habit looks normal.

2. To know how many rules we’re about to break:
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and EB White
The rules of modern writing have been around for a century, and this tiny volume is where they spent all that time. William Strunk Jr, professor of English at Cornell University, first printed the book privately for his students at the end of the first world war. Although it’s been updated, it still smells of chalk and tweed, and still inspires us to do things properly, if only via a sense that we might be shouted at if we don’t.

3. To grasp the difference between one character and another:
Distinction by Pierre Bourdieu
This is strictly speaking a sociology text, but don’t be put off by its density, its diagrams or its tables: it’s a gold mine. Apparently, no judgment of taste is innocent, meaning that everyone is some kind of snob. Here, Bourdieu literally maps the kinds of snob we are, from the food we serve our friends and the knick-knacks on our dressers to the way we value pregnant women and sunsets. Although it’s modelled on the French bourgeoisie, we can still see all our colleagues and neighbours – if not ourselves – inside.

4. To worship at a shrine:
The Chambers Dictionary
Sure, all the words are online, but the 2.37kg of this physical dictionary are a stunning daily reminder of what we’re doing and what our toolbox looks like. Thinking isn’t writing, ideas aren’t writing; only writing is writing and we should make it exist in reality, which means ultimately not on a screen. Words behave differently when they sit in fresh air, and the Chambers rounds them up on silky paper. If you’re serious about this, carry the thing around, browse it at random. It’s a living zoo for writers, and the battery life is second to none.

5. To skip the degree in psychology:
Instant Analysis by David J Lieberman
A character’s struggles in a book will always have their psychology. We don’t need a PhD in order to write them, we just see the symptoms around us and describe them as they appear. But there’s an edge to be gained from looking deeper, if only to prevailing simplifications. Lieberman’s book tackles 100 common complexes (“Why do I do favours for people I don’t even like?”) in a couple of pages each. Obviously we’ll also see ourselves in there, but there’s nothing like naked horror to get the day started.

6. To discover what villains are born knowing:
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
Originally an instruction manual for princes, this realpolitik masterwork teaches who should be trusted and how to destroy them if they can’t be. The scary thing about The Prince, no doubt responsible for its longevity – 500 years and counting – is how snugly it fits any level of human powerplay,, from an average Thursday night for a courting teen to that lonely, bitter man on the wheelie-bin committee.

7. To get over the feeling that modernity is new:
Satyricon by Petronius Arbiter
Few things can change one’s perspective on human history like seeing how familiar and modern this work from Nero’s time is. Better yet, it’s from a decadence just like ours, brimming with risky sex, pretentious food and self-concern.

8. In case Brexit didn’t show why pure democracy should be sparingly used:
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay
No matter the strength of hero or the scale of glory we plan to write about, it never hurts to see how bizarre we can be en masse. Written in beautiful 19th-century prose, this book is a forensic jaunt through history’s strangest crazes.

9. For a smell of literary gasoline igniting:
The Black Book by Lawrence Durrell
It’s one thing to hear of passion and midnight oil, another to see it spilt through a book. These were the pages where 24-year-old Lawrence Durrell found his true voice – it’s worth reading them just to see what that means. One for inspiration.

10. To see what can happen when it all comes together:
Tender Is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald
Of all the books I could recommend to show writing in full flight, I pick Tender because it also comes with the unlikely extra shine of an underdog. The Great Gatsby is accepted to be Fitzgerald’s greatest work, but this is secretly his best, a connoisseur’s choice. Which, according to Bourdieu, makes us snobs.

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