Mslexicon - The weekend!

I think I have just about recovered from my weekend in Leeds attending the first ever Mslexicon I still haven't read everything I brought back. My head was so full and I was so shattered that I decided to give it all some distance and then take it in slowly...savouring it.

I arrived on Friday afternoon and was met by a friend at the station. He showed me some of the city including the wonderful Victorian covered market where Marks & Spencer's first shop opened (and they still have a shop there today) in 1904, though they began in 1884 with a market stall in Leeds. Read more of the history here. We stopped for a well needed cup of tea and set off for the Uni. The walk was longer than either of us had envisaged...about forty minutes. All I can say is that my leg muscles performed well under the weight of my rucksack and heavy handbag!

My friend and I parted company at the entrance to the main building, and after registering I was taken over to the accommodation block across the road. My room had everything I needed and I coveted the desk! I only get a desk of my own when I go away on this type of break. The room was rather dark, but that's a minor thing. It was warm and I had both windows open the whole time I was there.

Over dinner that night I began to get to know others, though the noise in the dining hall made it difficult to hear people. It has a high ceiling and sound echoed hundreds of voices. I wanted to attend the open mic session, so I left after dinner. I then found out the open mic session had been put back in time so that people could attend two sessions - a guess the genre spot. However, I opted to sit this out and give myself time to unwind a bit.

The open mic session was good. People got a chance to use a mic for the first time and perfect the art of positioning it in the right place. I did take a set of poems just in case I plucked up the courage to read. Mainly it seemed to be for prose reading, and anyway I lost my nerve as others seemed so 'on it' and my confidence tumbled.

In the morning I had my first one to one. I could hardly eat breakfast but I need not have worried because Isabel Costello was so lovely and she gave me a A4 sheet of hand written feedback as well as notes on my short story. She had asked for the full story in order to give me the best feedback. Everything she said made sense and was so constructive I can now (hopefully) get this story in a publishable state. I'm pleased to hear that I have a good imagination! I was really pleased and went off to my first workshop relieved.

The Short Story Masterclass with Jane Rogers was great. We looked at several opening paragraphs of award winning stories and talked about how they made us feel. We looked for the 'ingredients' a short story should have. Did they all have this? How did they work? How did the use of second person You make us feel. It was interesting to listen to everyone's point of view and how they varied. We then had a go writing our own first paragraph and shared what we'd written. I should say that all the workshops ran for two hours and the classes were a smallish size, so everyone had their chance. It felt intimate and a safe environment to share our work and chat.

After lunch (you'd never go hungry here - choices of hot meals twice a day, mainly veggie/vegan which suited me down to the ground) I went off to Arabel Charlaff's workshop entitled Psychoanalysing Your Characters. Wow! The subject alone interests me so I was enthralled. There was so much to get through that Arabel left some parts for us to read later (we had a great hand-out). We began talking about Freud and others before going on to look at attachment theory and how relationships with parents forms how we relate to others later in life. We were invited to discuss in twos and threes where our character fitted into this.....secure style or one of the two insecure styles. We also looked at Genograms, basically putting together a family tree using the information we had. There is far too much to talk about here, and though I have touched on some of this in the novel writing course I am doing, this was in far more depth and I was able to see that my character fitted one of these styles and did act out the right reactions to future relationships. However, it made me go that bit further in understanding him, and one lady I talked with asked a question about another character and I realised I'd never really sussed her out. Together we worked it out! I found this workshop thoroughly fascinating and have much to follow up on links given.

Late in the afternoon I had my second 1-1, this time with Jane Rogers whose workshop I'd attended in the morning. Jane was calm and encouraging. I'd submitting a thousand word extract from a novella I'm still writing but wished I sent the first thousand words as I thought that would be better. But she said that it was fine as it was. She pointed out something I'd not noticed, asked if I'd read Capital by John Lanchester. I had (and seen the TV adaptation). My extract reminded her a little of that and she liked the idea of multiple characters. Yes! I love writing multiple characters. She talked about my humour - so glad she liked my two OAP's. I came away really happy.

That evening after dinner we had Jackie Kaye come to speak to us. I've heard her speak before. She is so funny. She read a monologue about a woman who got her head stuck in the toilet seat frame while throwing up her guts...this was right after we'd eaten and the description was graphic! It was funny though. She talked about Red Dust Road, the story of finding and meeting her birth father, and she read poems from her new book (which I bought). I loved her anecdotes.

On Sunday I'd chosen Fiery Flash Fiction with Meg Porrass but we'd no sooner entered the room than the radiator sprung a spectacular leak. Meg only turned the knob to shut off the central heating (it was a hot weekend) and then whoosh a fountain erupted. Poor Meg was drenched. Towels were brought, someone had to stand with their hand over the leak to stop the flow of water while the right team were called to sort it out. A new room was found for us - we ended up in the snooker hall! We finally got started twenty minutes late but finished later to make up. The session was brilliant. We talked about what flash is and we read a few flash stories. This was the most writing I'd done all weekend as we wrote a lot! Meg gave up random words to use and this worked well for me as I use them myself to get going. The new writing group I go to use them too. I came away inspired to write more flash. I've rather strayed from it in the last year. Meg is a great teacher and I ended up with several pieces I can work on.

After lunch I attended a panel on What Makes a Book Addictive with Julie Fergusson and Maggie Gee. I was really flagging by this stage and I wondered how I would stay awake! It was interesting though and afterwards we had our last speaker - Sophie Hannah. She was great and had us laughing. She talked about her background and her first book Little Face. She then went on to speak about how she came to write Poirot books. I'm not a big fan of Agatha Christie but I loved how Sophie read from her latest book and left us at a moment where we all wanted to know more.

Finally, to end the day, there was a networking session. Most people had already left really, but some  stayed. I ended up chatting to four others and exchanged stories tips. There was a chance to fill in a form about what we were looking for ....feedback, buddy etc. The idea is to match people who are looking for the same. I'm waiting to see on that.

I shared a cab back to the train station and finally got home about 10.30pm, shattered and my head full of images of the weekend.

Mslexia put on a great weekend with wonderful tutors and speakers. The food was plentiful and good. We even had one evening meal outside in a grassed courtyard and the hot food came on wheeled trollys and located under the cloister style area. The rain held off just long enough for most of us to eat and then it was a dash inside. My one gripe was the wi-fi. It was difficult to understand how to log on and I only ever got on using my Tablet as my mobile kept shooting an error message at me. People complained that the internet kept dropping out. It was very hit and miss and frustrating as I wasted a lot of time. I had almost given up hope of getting on.  I was desperate to get onto YouTube for my music fix to help me relax. I think I'll download some music for the future as music really is the only thing that calms me down when I'm stressed, because it is daunting at times. I loved the fact that it was a women only weekend (never missed the men!) and everyone was so friendly and we all had the same doubts and fears.

I have to say well done to Mslexia for all the hard work they put into this. Of course there were a few hitches, but nothing major and some amusing. Everyone worked tirelessly behind the scenes. For a first time event they did brilliantly and made everyone feel welcome.

Since returning home I found out that Visual Verse has published my flash fiction this month entitled The Rules of the Game. You can read it here.

Here are some images of Leeds itself and a few at the venue.

Victorian covered market

This boat is now a pub!

Freebies

My room

The view from my room

Devonshire Hall, Leeds University.
 Main venue where all workshops were held and where we ate.

Writers' Conference in Brighton

From the folder (Write By The Beach)

I did say I would be taking part in NaPoWriMo but I have just returned from a writer's conference and am days behind. I'm still letting all I learned filter through and am not really in the right place for poetry writing every day. I was caught up in the excitement at the time and realise that actually I'm not ready. I did write a poem earlier today which has nothing to do with prompts from poetry writing month - I'll come back to that in a moment.

Write By The Beach is run by The Beach Hut Writing Academy in Brighton. I went for their very first conference last year. It ran for a day and I came away with lots of information and a better idea of where I should be heading.

This year the conference was over a weekend. I asked a friend who has an apartment in Brighton if I could borrow it and she ended up coming with me, though not for the conference. She was my sounding board, she dropped me at the venue both mornings and picked me up. We had so many laughs and she kept me sane! Going to these events is motivational and a learning curve, but I come away exhausted from the bombardment of information, and this time, from the anxiety of pitching a novel!

The first agent I met made me rethink my novel - what is the main point. I was left wondering what I could do, but there were positives which I only realised later after I untangled everything. The next day I had a ten minute advice slot (in lieu of an agent who was no longer able to be present) with an author and mentor who is a member of the BH Team. This was the most enlightening ten minutes! She gave me feedback on my pitch and I had a light bulb moment. From the advice I am re-writing my pitch and taking other advice she gave me. She made my weekend.

Apart from pitching there were talks about writing for TV and radio, panels on alternative and innovative publishing, agents discussing stories of their most successful books, agents secrets along with special mini workshops. On the Saturday I chose 'On the Crime Beat' with P.D. Viner (writer) and Graham Bartlett (retired Chief Superintendent) who is an adviser to TV and authors. It was a great session.

One of the best presentations for me was on story structure with Julie Cohen, writer and creative writing teacher. She used clips from Pixar films to explain how these films work and how they work in novel writing. Absolutely riveting. I'd watched all the films she mentioned (some many times) with my kids. A very unique presentation.

The Three Act Structure as in 'Cars' (Pixar)

Another favourite presentation was on the Sunday and was all about editing and polishing your novel. Lots of note taking! Good stuff. Another highlight for me was meeting the author Cally Taylor whose book The Lie I had read. She talked about her route to becoming a Sunday Times Bestseller (lots of despair and crying - I can associate with that, the despair anyway). She shared a lot of herself including negative comments made on her short stories through an online writing group. I bought Cally's latest book and asked her to sign it for me. She was lovely to chat to.

The last thing I attended was about self publishing. All the sessions included time for questions and it was good to hear things from agents/publishers about the traditional route, what agents are looking for, the big no-nos in submitting, tips while hearing about the various other ways to publication - hybrid, crowdfunding, independent publishers and the full indie (self publishing) route. There are positive and negatives on all sides and I guess in the end you have to choose which works for you. I'd love to go the traditional way but as I get older I realise time is running out and it's so hard to get an agent. They have to know they can sell your novel and the cards seem stacked against authors. There are many good stories but it's the great and different they are after or the next Girl On The Train. Often what you hear is confusing and contradictory. The publishing world seems to play it safe. After all look at the trends. The market was once flooded with misery stories now it's psychological thrillers and crime. Crime sells and commands the biggest section of the market.

It was great meeting lots of people, chatting to authors as well as delegates who'd come from a long way away or who were local - everyone learning and longing to get published.

Having had brilliant sunshine over the weekend this is what we woke to yesterday.
Taken from Brighton Marina looking towards Rottingdean

Having just now received some feedback on a revised pitch through another source I am now totally confused as it says the opposite of what I was advised to do. It's times like these that you wonder whether to just give up. I think I will give up pitching or take a course on pitching, synopsis and cover letters because right now I feel I just don't have the knack. (Sorry this is raw from an email I just received and I should never write when I feel like this).

However, in the post today came Writing Magazine and Popshot. They should make me feel better.

The Beach Hut Writing Academy Writers' Conference Day

Foggy platform - waiting for my local train into London

It was a six o'clock alarm that woke me yesterday, for I was off to Brighton to The Beach Hut Writing Academy one day conference. Armed with notebook and pen I set off in the fog to the station. As the near empty train from London sped into the countryside the fog looked magical. As we came into Brighton the sun shone and it didn't stop shining all day.

The venue for the conference was a Regency House (Angel House) on Brunswick Terrace, about twenty minutes walk from the station (the Hove end of Brighton). We were set over two floors and top floor apparently had a bridal suite! The house was beautiful, with views over the sea, but a little cramped at break times as people milled around the tables. However, the buffet lunch was wonderful and a veggie paradise for me. They even had soya milk for hot drinks. Bliss! At one point I escaped outside with my orange juice and sat on the steps in the sunshine - a few others had the same thoughts.

Angel House - venue for the day

The day began with a talk and presentation by Simon Toyne, author of a trilogy - Sanctus (the other Dan Brown!). He was informative, and a brilliant speaker. Everyone hung on his every word. I found him inspirational and down to earth as he gave us an insight to the business of writing and how to produce a great story. I learned a good deal from him, especially about 'tag lines', blurbs and selling your story to agents who then have to sell your idea on to a whole host of people in the publishing business.

Next came the options for a three quarters of an our workshop. I'd chosen the one on short story writing as one of my goals is to write more of them this year. Our expert was Bridget Whelen (author and creative writing tutor) whose blog I follow, and first learned about this great day, and Erinna Mettler, novelist and tutor. We had a go at coming up with ideas using a mind map (they never work for me but I tried!) and characterisation using a sheet with four animals. We wrote three positive traits and three negative ones for our chosen animal and then turned them into traits for a character. I quite enjoyed this one and I chose the wily fox! We were given guidance about short story competitions, length and what you can fit into that word count, how many characters to use. It was a short time to spend on such a big subject but the helpful advice would provide stuff to ponder on later.

After a break we settled down to a panel talk on Writing for a Living, writing together with Jo and and Emlyn Rees who have written as solo authors and together. It was a really interesting talk, learning their backgrounds, how they came to meet and work together, their books, both individual and as a partnership. Also interesting was the whole business world of writing, and this element struck me as the core feature of the conference. The word 'branding' came up so many times. It was an eye opener and made me think about what I write. As someone not yet settled on a genre the publishing world would not take me because they want more of the same. I shall need to decide at some point which genre I feel I can produce more than one book of. At present I'm thinking humorous, but I do like crime (though I know least about it). Lots of mull over here!

After the scrummy lunch with a chance to network (it was great to talk with others but I didn't exactly make any contacts) there was a talk about working with agents, led by agent Simon Trewin and Brighton domestic noir author, Julia Crouch. Another interesting talk. They posed questions for one another, including one on the pressure of the second novel. It was interesting to see the relationship between agent and author and what each does. Quite fascinating. Following this was another panel talking about the Perfect Pitch with David Headley (literary agent and book shop owner), Simon Trewin again and Sharon Bowers (partner in Miller Bowers Griffin from New York) and hosted by Kate Harrison (author). This talk covered things like pitch, synopsis and covering letter (ah the magic three!). I was heartened to hear that each person actually read the manuscripts themselves. While some big agents farm manuscripts out to 'readers', smaller agents and independent ones read themselves. That's not to say that 'readers' are not qualified - they are - but it was an insight to how the process works in different places.

My second option for workshop came after tea break. Much as I was tempted by option B (Finding Your Crime Voice) I chose the one on Crafting your book with the help of experts. Two of the experts were Dionne McCulloch and Alex Hammond from Cornerstones and Brighton author Laura Wilkinson. Cornerstones run mentoring programmes and help authors. It was very useful to see what you got for your money. I've often wondered about these programmes and this is as aspect I've considered, and still might one day. Very informative, leaving me much to mull over...again!

I think by the last session we were all getting a little restless. The panel talk was on getting into print. The experts here were Sarah Rayner (chair and author - and whose signed book I received in my goody bag - more on that soon!), Nick Yapp (who had self published as well gone through the traditional route) Vicky Blunden (senior Fiction editor from Myriad Editions - to whom I had just submitted my entry for the first drafts comp!!) and Catherine Quinn (fiction author). Now one of these people was a replacement for someone on the programme list but I missed which one - my mind was wandering to the train home at this point, but it was either someone else from Myriad or a different author! Sorry about that. Anyway, about half way through I felt we were covering the same ground and my mind was switching off, as well as feeling rather jaded by all the hoops one had to go through to get published. Mind overload. It was bound to happen.

I should say that throughout these sessions there was time for Q&A so it wasn't all one way. Everyone was so helpful with their time and I came away with much to think over and work with. At the end there was a raffle draw (didn't win, but hey there was...) and a goody bag with not only promotional material and chocolate but three books - a YA, a crime novel and women's fiction - all books written by members of Beach Hut Writing Academy, and I had a signed copy of Sarah Rayner's book. There was a small book stall running throughout the day and I bought Back to Creating Writing School by Bridget Whelan which had been on my 'list' for a while.

As well as the raffle and goody bags we were offered gin and tonic. The gin distillery is local one. I'm not a huge fan of alcohol but I tried it. However, I only drank half of mine - not quite my taste. I'm more a vodka person on the odd times I drink spirits.

My bought book and other papers

The goody bag

I headed home with a lot to carry and a lot on my mind. It was a brilliant day and full credit goes to the Beach Hut Writing Academy for putting this first ever conference together. Well done, I think you can count this as an overwhelming success. They are running more courses during the year. Do have a look at their website. I'd recommend them!

Old pier, Brighton (5.45pm when I left)