Leaf Writers' Magazine is a great read with articles, stories, poems, tips and ideas, competitions, writing activities, courses and adverts. I've just subscribed for the e-version (half the price of the hard copy) and am impressed. Do take a look. The current issue has an article on how to write a blog, an interview with a tutor from the Arvon Foundation and how to overcome writer's doubts.
Mslexia magazine also has some pretty good articles too. A couple caught my eye. The first is on Dreamwriting - including how to induce lucid dreaming (this is the time when you actually know you are dreaming - ever had that happen? I have!). In the past I've kept a dream diary and found it helpful in forming ideas for stories. Worth a go. The other article is entitled What rhymes with sesquipedalian? and asks does poetry have to rhyme? This also includes a nice glossary box.
Their How to write a Bestseller page features The Long Song by Andrea Levy who's books I love. The Long Song is set in Jamaica during the period of the Baptist War of 1831 and the days after the abolition of slavery. Levy writes in both the third person and directly to the reader in the voice of July, a slave, in the language of the time. July is taken from her mother at a young age by the widowed sister (Caroline) of the plantation owner and given the name of Marguerite. July is raped by freed slave, Nimrod, and gives birth to Thomas (who is then left on the doorstep of the Baptist Minister and brought up with his children). After Caroline's brother dies Robert is employed to run the plantation. Caroline falls for him but he has his eye on July. He ends up marrying Caroline and July becomes his mistress. The story is being written by July and her son Thomas (with whom she is later reunited) is to publish it. I found the book compelling reading and it touched many emotions. The characters were wholly believable. It was dificult to say goodbye to July - I wanted more! It's a book that will stay with you for a long time.
This is the third book of Andrea Levy's I've read (her 'biggy' was Small Island) and like the previous books I was totally drawn in by the characters.
Friday 27 May 2011
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Competitions and moving forward??
Sent off two competition entries today. One is to Poetry London but having left it so late I wasn't sure I had anything suitable and it was too late to write something new as I need time to edit, leave it and edit again! I dismissed several and finally chose one I'd submitted (unsuccessfully) elsewhere. I realised straightaway a drawback to my previous entry - there was a typo! However many times I check things I never see my own mistakes, well, until it's to late.
The other competition is in the Christian publication Areopagus which I subscribe to and the entry is the one I mentioned a while ago, a poem in the style of Gerard Manley Hopkins. I did some last minute editing including re-writing the first line. Both entries are now in the post.
I have been thinking about doing another poetry course if I can pluck up the courage! Although I have one course I downloaded from The Poetry School I have done little with it because I am not disciplined enough and I tend to forget about it. There always seems to be something to keep me away from studying it but there is something about being with like minded people that helps and inspires. If I want to move forward with my writing this has to be the obvious step.
The other competition is in the Christian publication Areopagus which I subscribe to and the entry is the one I mentioned a while ago, a poem in the style of Gerard Manley Hopkins. I did some last minute editing including re-writing the first line. Both entries are now in the post.
I have been thinking about doing another poetry course if I can pluck up the courage! Although I have one course I downloaded from The Poetry School I have done little with it because I am not disciplined enough and I tend to forget about it. There always seems to be something to keep me away from studying it but there is something about being with like minded people that helps and inspires. If I want to move forward with my writing this has to be the obvious step.
Monday 23 May 2011
Twenty Minute Challenge
This challenge is one used on the Great Writing website. A list of four words with twenty minutes in which to write a poem. Some try to do it in much less time so I set myself a challenge to write a poem in the shortest time possible. It's for fun rather than for expertise! Here's what I did in three minutes:
words were: paper, walk, triumph, trembling
Misdemeanors
My trembling hand
flicked through the local paper;
it's there in black and white,
my misdemeanors -
justice in triumph,
I cannot walk away.
Okay, so have a go!
words were: paper, walk, triumph, trembling
Misdemeanors
My trembling hand
flicked through the local paper;
it's there in black and white,
my misdemeanors -
justice in triumph,
I cannot walk away.
Okay, so have a go!
Thursday 19 May 2011
Always read the small print
Check everything before you send it out. I once made the mistake of leaving out the cheque for the entry fee to a competition. Luckily they were understanding. You learn from these things. Now I always read all the rules and double check what's in the envelope before I seal it.
Today I have put an entry into the Arvon Postcard Competition after my fourth edit! I began with a free verse poem but it felt like it wanted to be rhymed so I rewrote it with rhyme. Having read the entry details again I decided I wasn't happy with it and rewrote it completely but as flash fiction then put line breaks into it and made it a free verse poem! I'm sending it before I change my mind again.
I love humorous verse so to finish today here is a favourite of mine, Roger McGough. I've seen him live and I have never laughed so much.
Is there a book in you?
This is the title of Alison Baverstock's book which, chapter by chapter, asks searching questions of the reader who wants to write. Alison is a former a publisher, an author of 13 books and is a teacher of marketing and publishing studies at Kingston University so she knows what she's talking about. Chapters include Just how much do you want to see yourself in print? to Is there not a book in you? There is questionnaire at the back and each question refers to a chapter in the book. By the time you have read the book and filled in the questionnaire you will know a lot more about yourself and your writing. Unfortunately my replies were rather middle of the road, with some movements either way which turns out that probably there isn't a book in me!! That isn't suprising as I mostly write poetry but looking back on my replies I also think I have a low opinion of my story writing because I do it less. I don't really have the commitment for a novel because I am impatient. I like to get fast results - I only knit if its on large needles and an easy pattern because I lose interest! Poetry (or flash fiction) is much quicker. It still can take a long time through the editing process but at least its only a few lines (I rarely write long poems!) not a whole book. Still, for those of you who aspire to a novel this book is certainly up there as the book you should most read. There are lots of quotes, help and suggestions and some website/blogs of writers who contributed to the book as well as an appendix of useful addresses (and websites). I can't rate this highly enough for all potential novel writers.
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Objects and connections
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Woe is me!
Two rejections in (almost) as many days. It doesn't get any easier. At least I got some feedback and with a little editing of the last verse (on one poem) it might suit somewhere else. My initial reaction to rejections is to shove the 'offending' article away in disgust (with lots of mumbling and anger) until I am calm enough to reconsider my options. Rejections are always painful and they dent your confidence - well they do mine. The first time I was published I suppose I thought it might be easier from then on. It's not. One success doesn't automatically lead to another.
A tip - I'd advise not to submit one poem and then wait for the result. 1) you can wait a long time to get a reply and if it's a rejection it feels even worse if you've been pinning your hopes on it 2) your work rate is severely hampered. Send out several poems and keep going so that there is always something 'out there' even if some come back with a 'no'. However, don't make the mistake of submitting the same poem to several publications at the same time. That's a real 'no-no'. If it's returned you can then submit it elsewhere (with or without revision).
Changing the subject somewhat, on Saturday I went to an event at a local church which was part of an Arts Weekend. There was an exhibition of paintings and photographs. The photos were particularly stunning. If you need some inspiration for writing take a look at the photographers website. The photos on display were those called 'The Four Seasons'. Enjoy! http://www.creativelight.org.uk/
A tip - I'd advise not to submit one poem and then wait for the result. 1) you can wait a long time to get a reply and if it's a rejection it feels even worse if you've been pinning your hopes on it 2) your work rate is severely hampered. Send out several poems and keep going so that there is always something 'out there' even if some come back with a 'no'. However, don't make the mistake of submitting the same poem to several publications at the same time. That's a real 'no-no'. If it's returned you can then submit it elsewhere (with or without revision).
Changing the subject somewhat, on Saturday I went to an event at a local church which was part of an Arts Weekend. There was an exhibition of paintings and photographs. The photos were particularly stunning. If you need some inspiration for writing take a look at the photographers website. The photos on display were those called 'The Four Seasons'. Enjoy! http://www.creativelight.org.uk/
Friday 6 May 2011
To rhyme or not to rhyme.....
After my sad admission to being a failed songwriter (it's okay I can talk about it now!!) I'd like to move on to poetry rhyming schemes or even whether they matter. When I first started writing poetry I rhymed virtually everything and some people say that if it doesn't rhyme it's not poetry. I, and many others, disagree. I have been though a long period of writing 'free verse', which while it does not have rhyme endings to lines it does incorporate internal rhyme, alliteration, assonance and more. Even in free verse there is a sort of system if you want your poem to work. For a free verse example read 'The Wood Pigeons' elsewhere on this blog. There are many 'systems' in poetry writing and like any craft you can learn it. There are also many rhyming schemes but to keep things simple here is a basic one: a,b,a,b
Example:
a The whilte fluffy cat
b Slept by the kitchen door
a On a brown fluffy mat
b Licking is dirty paw
Here are two other slightly different examples based on a three line verse:
a The white fluffy cat
a Had a brown fluffy mat
b To lay down on to sleep
a The white fluffy cat
b Had a bed by the table
b Which wasn't very stable
(You will also notice that brown and down are internal rhymes)
Shakespeare is a good example to look at as his Sonnets rhyme (there is more than one type of Sonnet but here I am looking at the Shakespearean one). The rhyme scheme is a,b,a,b,c,d,c,d,e,f,e,f,g,g.
Once you have your rhyme scheme you carry on using it for the following verses.
Recently I have begun to revisit rhyming poetry and am writing a few of my own again. The structure of rhyming can be a great challenge and for me one way back into it has been to look at poems and write something similar keeping to the rhyme scheme the poet used. My margins are filled with words that rhyme with whatever word I used at the end of a line so I can structure what comes next. I have been pleasantly surprised with what I have written.
I cannot emphasise enough that in order to write poetry you must read widely, find poets you like and emulate them. Look at the poems, take them apart line by line, see what works, what structure is it and what rhyming scheme is used. I have a quick reference book called The Poet's Craft by Sandy Brownjohn (ISBN 0 340 80292 8). It is a small handbook of rhyme, metre and verse. It's well worth buying because as the advert says 'it does what it says on the tin' and uses examples from real poems to emphasise what is said.
Post your examples here but please bear in mind that if you are hoping to enter any work to magazines or compeitions do not submit them here first or you will disqualify your entry. Only post things that are 'works in progress', things you know you will not want to send elsewhere or work that has been published first with which you still own the copyright. Some magazines will take previously published work (including online) you just have to check things out as different magazines/sites/compeitions have different rules!!
Happy rhyming!
Example:
a The whilte fluffy cat
b Slept by the kitchen door
a On a brown fluffy mat
b Licking is dirty paw
Here are two other slightly different examples based on a three line verse:
a The white fluffy cat
a Had a brown fluffy mat
b To lay down on to sleep
a The white fluffy cat
b Had a bed by the table
b Which wasn't very stable
(You will also notice that brown and down are internal rhymes)
Shakespeare is a good example to look at as his Sonnets rhyme (there is more than one type of Sonnet but here I am looking at the Shakespearean one). The rhyme scheme is a,b,a,b,c,d,c,d,e,f,e,f,g,g.
Once you have your rhyme scheme you carry on using it for the following verses.
Recently I have begun to revisit rhyming poetry and am writing a few of my own again. The structure of rhyming can be a great challenge and for me one way back into it has been to look at poems and write something similar keeping to the rhyme scheme the poet used. My margins are filled with words that rhyme with whatever word I used at the end of a line so I can structure what comes next. I have been pleasantly surprised with what I have written.
I cannot emphasise enough that in order to write poetry you must read widely, find poets you like and emulate them. Look at the poems, take them apart line by line, see what works, what structure is it and what rhyming scheme is used. I have a quick reference book called The Poet's Craft by Sandy Brownjohn (ISBN 0 340 80292 8). It is a small handbook of rhyme, metre and verse. It's well worth buying because as the advert says 'it does what it says on the tin' and uses examples from real poems to emphasise what is said.
Post your examples here but please bear in mind that if you are hoping to enter any work to magazines or compeitions do not submit them here first or you will disqualify your entry. Only post things that are 'works in progress', things you know you will not want to send elsewhere or work that has been published first with which you still own the copyright. Some magazines will take previously published work (including online) you just have to check things out as different magazines/sites/compeitions have different rules!!
Happy rhyming!
Tuesday 3 May 2011
Lyrics and vegetables!
I'm waiting for a man BT man to call so can't do much and I'm playing around on the computer and thought I'd write a new post here to fill in some time. Aren't you lucky!
The reason I am telling you all this is to show you where your creative thoughts can take you. With me, lyric and song writing came before the poetry. I wasn't a great success but I loved it and did it for me which is the whole point. Writing is something you have to do. I've tried (in moments of despair) to give it up but I can't. I'll never make money at it (if I do I'll be well chuffed) but I have a compulsion to write and if you do it in the hope of making money you are doing the wrong thing. In the past I have written lyrics with penpals and written melodies for their lyrics. I even sent a few 'demos' to music producers. Of course I never made it but I enjoyed it. I've not written songs for years now. Once someone suggested I write poems instead of lyrics but I didn't want to, but here I am doing just that. One day maybe I'll pick up a guitar again and write a song, after all there isn't a huge difference. I love songs with good lyrics (I also like a lot of mindless trance/dance but that's another story!). Good lyrics, like a good poem draw in the listener/reader giving them something to identify with, something that will bring them back time and time again. (By the way, what follows can't be said to be in that category - this is for fun only!)
Now, I know you are just dying to know what favourite vegetable I wrote about for the competition - it was the courgette! And now for your delight (or otherwise) here are the lyrics - sorry I can't sing it to you but that may be just as well!
Courgette
Chorus:
Courgette
Pretty little green courgette
A tasty little veg and yet
Nothing comes close to courgette.
You slim lithe being
You're a sight worth seeing
You're so versatile
And in a while, I'll take you for my own.
You make fine dishes
And take all my wishes
Then they all come true
In a meal I do, you fill my heart's desire.
Several years ago I was runner-up in a competition in a vegetarian magazine. I had to write a song about my favourite vegetable. This was a challenge not to be missed as I adore music and began writing songs from about the age of ten. At that age I just made them up in my head and wrote out the lyrics. When I was about eighteen I bought my first guitar and taught myself some basic chords and finally was able to write my own songs and put them on tape. I don't write music nor read it but I have a good memory and learn by ear. This song competition was in fact the third one I'd entered. The first one I entered was for lyrics only, for a band I can no longer remember and they were never 'big' in the music world from what I remember. I was probably a teenager at the time. I didn't win the compeition but I got a signed photo of the group (which I may still have somewhere!). In my late twenties I entered another competition to write lyrics to an existing instrumental piece by The Beach Boys. I was (and still am) a huge fan on theirs and this was for a fanzine. I came third and was the only female who entered! As part of the competition I had to record my voice over the instrumental with my lyrics. It was great fun for someone who'd spent too many years shut up in the bedroom recording my own songs using two tape machines to get harmonies and two instruments. Still I digress. I heard the winning song which had been done very professionally and I have to say he deserved to win. Anyway, I had a letter from a guy called Chris White who had written and sung the 80's hit 'Spanish Wine'. He was very complementary about my song and he said that should he ever go back into song writing he'd love me to write with him! Of course, he never did get back into songwriting (that I know of) but hey, I was on cloud nine. I actually had his single in my 45's collection.
The reason I am telling you all this is to show you where your creative thoughts can take you. With me, lyric and song writing came before the poetry. I wasn't a great success but I loved it and did it for me which is the whole point. Writing is something you have to do. I've tried (in moments of despair) to give it up but I can't. I'll never make money at it (if I do I'll be well chuffed) but I have a compulsion to write and if you do it in the hope of making money you are doing the wrong thing. In the past I have written lyrics with penpals and written melodies for their lyrics. I even sent a few 'demos' to music producers. Of course I never made it but I enjoyed it. I've not written songs for years now. Once someone suggested I write poems instead of lyrics but I didn't want to, but here I am doing just that. One day maybe I'll pick up a guitar again and write a song, after all there isn't a huge difference. I love songs with good lyrics (I also like a lot of mindless trance/dance but that's another story!). Good lyrics, like a good poem draw in the listener/reader giving them something to identify with, something that will bring them back time and time again. (By the way, what follows can't be said to be in that category - this is for fun only!)
Now, I know you are just dying to know what favourite vegetable I wrote about for the competition - it was the courgette! And now for your delight (or otherwise) here are the lyrics - sorry I can't sing it to you but that may be just as well!
Courgette
Chorus:
Courgette
Pretty little green courgette
A tasty little veg and yet
Nothing comes close to courgette.
You slim lithe being
You're a sight worth seeing
You're so versatile
And in a while, I'll take you for my own.
You make fine dishes
And take all my wishes
Then they all come true
In a meal I do, you fill my heart's desire.
Bridge:
Only you can satisfy
In a casserole or in a stir-fry
Stuffed with goddies, on a flan
The food of love is in my frying pan.
When I leave you stewing
I know what I'd doing
I have an appetite
That I can't fight ..and all because of you...
Courgette
Pretty little green courgette
The bestest little veg you'll get
Nothing comes close to courgette.
Sunday 1 May 2011
Putting a toe in the water
When you have been writing for a while on your own there comes a time when you have to put a toe in the water but where do you start? There are many courses around these days and though they can appear daunting for the new writer it is worth biting the bullet and signing up for one. An Adult Education Centre course in creative writing for beginners will bring you into contact with others just like you with all those self doubts and anxieties! Of course there will be some who have been writing for a while and are more confident but that's good. It's great to be with other writers because firstly you all have the same interest and secondly you don't feel so alone. Classes vary but usually consist of a tutor setting a small exercise to be done in class and then read out and some 'homework' for the following week. Also the tutor will read from published poets and/or story writers and offer advice and tips about writing and inform you or any competitions coming up to encourage you to enter! Okay, it sounds scary but nothing is compulsory. However, the more you contribute the more experience you will gain and your confidence will grow.
For those too shy to join a class there is always the option of a distance learning course. The Writer's News do some good ones and offer constructive feedback. For poets The Poetry School offer downloadable courses at very reasonable prices as well as some that you can do online as 'conferences'. reacting with the tutor and others on the course. There are many books you can buy (or borrow from the library) as well as magazines that offer advice on your particular genre. Most give exercises to get the grey cells pumping, but there is no substitute for personal feedback. The website links on this site will give you more idea of what is available.
The first time I went to a 'Writer's Day' I was full of trepidation but meeting others (some less experienced than me, others well known published writers) was like coming home. Everyone was so friendly, eager to share their experiences and give out advice.
For those too shy to join a class there is always the option of a distance learning course. The Writer's News do some good ones and offer constructive feedback. For poets The Poetry School offer downloadable courses at very reasonable prices as well as some that you can do online as 'conferences'. reacting with the tutor and others on the course. There are many books you can buy (or borrow from the library) as well as magazines that offer advice on your particular genre. Most give exercises to get the grey cells pumping, but there is no substitute for personal feedback. The website links on this site will give you more idea of what is available.
The first time I went to a 'Writer's Day' I was full of trepidation but meeting others (some less experienced than me, others well known published writers) was like coming home. Everyone was so friendly, eager to share their experiences and give out advice.
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