Free courses in poetry and fiction writing...but be quick.

I never do anything by halves. I've signed up for various events being run by The Poetry School on their Campus site. I'd recommend this to everyone who wants to write poetry as on the 7th May Campus will be opening up stuff for the first time from previous courses for you to see. The day will have poetry challenges, a show-us-your-poems section, live chats and workshops. It's all free and anyone can join. All you have to do is sign up here.

I have also just started a Writing Fiction course with FutureLearn. I thought it was about time I tried to learn more about fiction writing, especially as I am attempting a novel (talk about cart before the horse). This one is run by the Open University and is free! When I will find the time for all this I don't know as my brother is coming to stay on Saturday for several days and I will also be away for a time in the middle of it all! Still, as it's online I can go at my own speed and catch up when I can.

Happy writing!

Keeping track of the runners!

Current system of keeping note!

I've started cataloging my poetry at long last. The current system where I write things down in a book as I send them out and then make notes about whether it was accepted or rejected  is becoming a nightmare. The book goes back to 1991 with big gaps when I wasn't writing and includes stories, articles, letters and flash fiction. The trouble is that now I am writing more and re-submitting poems it's getting harder to keep tabs on it, like where the piece has been before.

How do others file their submissions? Maybe there is no one way and a few years ago this didn't matter as much. Hubby says put it all on a spreadsheet but I hate spreadsheets and I like to have something NOT on a computer to refer to. All my poetry is on computer of course but not where it goes. Anyway I have a file now and have a master sheet I use for each poem which includes title, whether published, where and when. Also I have included space for writing down the different places I have sent it to and whether it was rejected/accepted as well as space for the poem itself. I am already running out of room in the file and I have only just finished poems beginning with the letter 'M'.

I also have some early drafts which I am putting in the back of the file and there's a section for my 'small stone' poetry.

The experience is quite interesting because I can see how my writing has developed and improved over the years. Also other strange things come up.....like I have masses of poems with titles falling into the A-C category (I know there will be tons when I get to 'T'!). When I trawl though poems on my computer looking for something I often skip things because I think I know which poems they are. Well, obviously not! I've found things I'd forgotten about that need just a little work and I can submit. Having the file will enable me to browse through things and pick out something to work on easier that I would on the computer. My only question is why didn't I do this before?

The new file

I also know that I have poems on  a memory stick.....really old stuff, most of which I think I do have hard copies of, but many of those could do with editing. Maybe one day I'll get round to those. Then of course there is all the handwritten stuff, some is on computer but some not. This might take a LONG time to fully complete but it's well worth doing.

When this main part is finished I shall analyse my findings. I'm sure that will fun. For now I'm almost out of paper so I'll have to leave it until I can get to Tesco for some more.

Meanwhile the....novel....is going okay. I think I lost my way a bit last week and when I come to edit I may have to cut some chunks but they stay for now. I've had a good run the last two days but I need to think through the next section. As I'm away next weekend work will probably slow down anyway. I have never worked so hard at writing-related stuff before but there is satisfaction in spending so much time on it. I'm finding it very productive in more ways than one.

HAPPY EASTER.....don't overdo the chocolate!

Out of season writing

How do you write about something 'out of season'? Specifically I'm talking about Christmas poetry. In 2003 I had a poem published in a Christian anthology for a charity. I was rather chuffed as there was a forward by the then Archbishop of Canterbury! Since then I have occasionally received mailings from the editor inviting me to submit to other projects. This time it is an anthology for poetry and short prose celebrating Advent and Christmas.

I put the letter aside but it kept reminding me to do something. Today is that day. However, getting in the mindset of Christmas with all its festivities when the sun is shining from a clear blue sky and spring flowers colour the garden is very difficult. To get me in the mood I pulled out an Advent retreat book and tried to submerge myself in words and images. I began making notes and then started drafting some lines. Eventually something sprang to mind and I went with it.

Earlier, while thinking over this post, another idea came to me and I have just finished drafting that out. This idea was harder to pin down and I couldn't find the right words for some verses and then I got stuck at the end. But I'm happy with result now it's on the computer. I will be working on it again in a few days and as long as I am happy I will submit them both. I do have until the end of June to submit them but, as I've learnt from experience, sitting on things often means missed deadlines.

On location

I had intended to do some research for my so-called novel last week but things didn't pan out that way so I chose yesterday to go off and take photos and suss out places I'd used so far. I had up until then been reliant on a city map and the internet. The trip certainly helped. There will have to be a few edits but nothing drastic. There was so much to see as well and I will have to make a return visit at some point to do those things I didn't have time for yesterday.

Now I wonder how many of you have been trying to work out where I have been? From what I have just said you know it's a city.  Here are some photo clues. Anyone know or want to guess? Don't be shy.

More poems in print

More good news - Areopagus have printed the poem I submitted to them in their Easter magazine edition. I did have to email them to point out that they had attributed my poem to the wrong writer and they are going to print and apology next time!

Also one of my poems will be appearing in OU Poets 2014 Anthology to appear later this year.

And the results are announced.....

It's been hell sitting on this one but finally I can reveal that I am the second prize winner in the single poem category of New Writer's 17th Annual Prose & Poetry Competition 2013. I was over the moon with this. My winning poem was one of those that wrote itself. I sat down with the intention of writing a long poem and it just flowed. There wasn't weeks of agonsing edits. It came fully formed and when I read it out at a poetry class my tutor said 'you are going to submit this somewhere aren't you?' Well, I did. It had previously been turned down and unlike me I did no further edit as I was please with it as it was. It just goes to show that poems have to be in the right place at the right time.  I'm now looking forward to seeing it printed in The New Writer magazine soon.

Not longlisted but......

Well, I wasn't on the Pighog Pamphlet longlist this morning when it was announced. I'd been waiting since last week when I knew a decision had been made but I didn't hold out much hope. They'd had 600 entries and about 35 were longlisted. This was only the second pamphlet competition I'd ever entered but I did work very hard on this one and felt a bit happier with the way the process had gone. The way I look at it now is that ten good poems are ready to be released for submission elsewhere. In fact I have news of one poem in that set that I cannot reveal at the moment - sworn to secrecy. All will be revealed soon.

What I should be doing now is typing out this mornings piece of my story (novel??. Instead I'm flitting between Facebook and Twitter....oh the shame of it! Anyway, the excuses are running out and I am going to type it now...yes, really. I have my music at the ready.....a trance sequence, 20014 mix lasting nearly three hours and no adverts! Trance is what I listen to when typing up my pieces because it is fast and vibrant and keeps me going. I sometimes write to music but depending on what I am doing it can be a distraction  in which case I switch it off. I write in silence with the current story but I hate typing up so music keeps the boredom levels low.  So here we go.........

A little success and sharing the baby!

I heard last week that one of my poems is to appear in an Anthology entitled Spooky Tales, a publication from What the Dickens? It will come out as an eBook and printed copy. See here. That was a nice a piece of news and made my day. My friend Lynda Bullock will be appearing along side me. Well done Lynda!

Last time I spoke about the story I was writing. Well, it's still going strong and I even have a routine going. I write when I get up before anyone else is around. I manage around 1,000 to 1,500 words, though sometimes less. But as long as I write something I am happy. Later in the day I try to type up what I have written, although that's not always possible and then things lag a bit. Still, today I am finally up to date.

My hubby's friend who stayed with us one night last week let it slip that he had an idea for a story himself. I can't even remember how we got round to talking about writing....oh I know we were half watching Stargate! He told me his idea which I liked and he even drew a little map to explain how his idea would work. But he says he knows he will never write it because he gets bored easily. I think it's a shame because it has potential. There'd need to be a lot of research but that's part of the fun. He asked to read some of my story. Now I NEVER let anyone read my stories (few though they are) especially in rough draft form but I relented. I explained that this was a really rough draft and when I came to type it I began the process of editing but even then it's still a first draft. I already knew there were discrepancies, spelling was a bit hit and miss at times because I write as it flows. I don't correct because that stops the flow. We had a discussion over sentence structure! He wanted to write in school English and I said I write how people speak. We clashed on a few points but he was complementary about the way I expressed certain scenes. Basically we were coming from two different places but it was interesting to hear what he said. This is my baby so I am very protective of it and I told him how privileged he was to see it! He only read snatches so I had to explain some things because they were taken out of context. I said that next time I saw him I'd be asking him how his writing was going. He just said it wouldn't get done.

Anyway, I've now got just over 12,500 words under my belt. There was a lull when I wondered how to bring the next bit into play but then suddenly the opportunity presented itself like magic as I wrote. So now I'm gearing up for another good run.

I've also decided that I need a research trip! One of the places where the story is set is somewhere I have been through but never visited. There is a scene I need to back up with facts because this is a real place not fictional. Where is it you ask? Well, think Susan Hill...her crime novels. While her setting is fictional she gives an idea of places it is similar to. However, I'm not writing about either of them.  Now go off and research that one folks!

So I am aiming to take a day out next week to soak up the atmosphere. I'm really excited about it. I hope to return fully immersed and ready to write.