Performance, poetry and other updates

Carshalton Eco Fair

 I'm just getting over a horrid cold. It's unusual because I haven't even felt like reading. My concentration has been low. Everything has been an effort, but I am over the worst now, so hopefully  things can get back to normal. I always know when I am feeling better because I start planning. When I'm ill I sort of shut down.

However, I did have to keep going on a day when I would rather have stayed home. Bank Holiday Monday was Carshalton Eco Fair and I was reading two poems there. So, dosed up on painkillers I caught the bus. The day was warmer than I expected. Having arrived early I had a chance to look around. I had always wanted to attend this fair, but it would have been nice to have felt well enough to enjoy it.

I'm always drawn by music, so when I heard the sound of a band playing, I headed over to the tent. I've no idea who they were, but they were really loud, and very good. I thought this might be the tent where I would be performing, but no. It was time to search for someone who knew these things. I grabbed a guy with a lanyard and clipboard. He told me it could be one of two places, but bingo, the first venue we tried was the right one. There we were, Sutton Writers, on the board. I thanked the guy and settled into a seat to listen to a lady and guitar.

Things were running late. I'm sure we'd been told we'd be introduced. That didn't happen. The sound team were too busy sorting out amps and plugs for the next artist/group, and our spot was a tiny rectangular stage...er step...in the corner with a microphone. (I was warned not to stand on the edge!) The audience was there to listen to the music, I'm sure, but I decided that having come all this way feeling as lousy as I was, I was going to take control and not have the audience chatting while I was reading.What is it about a microphone that does this to me? 

When it was my turn, I fiddled with the mic (always too high for little me) and made sure people could hear me. To make sure I had their attention, I asked if they were all having a good time. I got a pretty good response. They were listening. I introduced myself and read my two poems slowly, clearly, and made sure to make that all-important eye contact with the audience now and again. It worked. The two poems were apt for the Eco Fair as they were about climate change. I was really proud of myself.

On of our members reading

The tent we shared with musicians

I really didn't feel like hanging around afterwards. Just a quick look around and a chat to a guy about eco coffins (maybe it was the mood I was in, but when it's my time, I want my funeral to be as eco friendly as possible).

Another music stage

The grotto in the park

What other news do I have? Well, the novella that my friend didn't like the ending to, has been revised, and I have written a new ending, which I liked much better, and thankfully she said it was perfect. I will now be looking into submitting this using the Mslexia Indie Press Guide for places that might be suitable. The second novella will be back with me soon and once I have seen what the comments are, I will re-edit and this one will also be going out on submission. It is encouraging that my friend says there is a great improvement from the first draft and it's much clearer. I've worked very hard on this one (the one I thought I might have to abandon), and my lightbulb moment has worked and saved it.

I bumped into a lady yesterday, who I knew from a local arts association (no longer going). She writes poetry and used to be a member of Sutton Writers before I joined. Life got in the way so she let her membership go, but I hope I've persuaded her to come along again. I have to say that for me, being a member has opened other doors for me.

I have decided to give up my membership to The Poetry Society for the second time. It really isn't me, and I don't feel I fit in with them at all. I'm just not on the same wavelength as the poets they feature in their Review. It's an expense I can do without.

I'm waiting on results of submissions, mainly poetry, having managed to get my act together to sort a few things out. I also renewed my billing contract with The People's Friend, which I have to do every year, though I've not submitted anything for in years. However, renewing it last yea,r I received a payment for a poem I didn't realise they'd taken! I have a short story that might fit their strict criteria, but I will need to check it again before I submit it.

Sometimes I feel I am juggling many plates, but this is the way I like it. Having many strings to my bow, I never get bored and can switch to something else. Poetry and flash are nice fillers after spending time on a longer work.

And now here we are in September. Where has the year gone? There is still much to do, but it is nice to see a few projects coming to completion. The hardest part is yet to come.

 

What is poetry?

Something sunny for a sunny day

 I don't know about you, but if I don't have a book on the go, I get jumpy. I finished the last book on Saturday, and knowing I am going to the library today, I decided not to start another off my pile, but wait until I can choose something from the library. But the agony of not having a book to read! So I decided to catch up with all those Poetry Society Journals and read other poetry books I have.

As I read I came to a stark conclusion. I know nothing about poetry! Of all the poetry I read, I realised that a lot of it I didn't understand, or it didn't appeal to me. The poetry I liked was something that I could identify with. Am I so out of it that I am nowhere near where I need to be to make it as a poet? 

One poem that made me laugh, after I realised that it was a spoof on a Villanelle. At first glance it was just letters related to a bee buzzing....buzzzzz etc. I thought, what the hell is this? How can this be poetry? And then I looked at it again, at the form, and then it twigged, and I laughed out loud. How clever, Silly, but clever. Experimentation gone wild!

It made me think that poetry can be fun. And we should have more fun in poetry. There's lots of serious, angsty poetry around, but amusing poetry is rather looked down on. I think I have mentioned this before. I follow a couple of fun poets. It all rhymes, but there is an art to writing funny poetry. I'm out of the habit of writing this type of poetry because I've been struggling to write the serious stuff, but people like Brian Bilston sell loads of their amusing poetry books. And the public love them. So who are we writing for? Well, I always write for myself. I don't follow trends. Some of my work is experimental enough to get published, though I call it fun poetry, as it usually is! So, out of all the poetry I read over the last few days, the poem that stayed with me was the buzzy bee spoof. Reading it out loud might be a challenge, but a lot of laughs.

Talking about reading things out loud, I will be reading at Carshalton Eco Fair on Bank Holiday Monday, around 1.50pm. If you are around come and say hello. I will be with other members of Sutton Writers and I will be reading two climate poems. I was trying to post a link, but the Fair's website is down. They do have a Facebook Page, so go take a look. Meanwhile, I'm off to the library to find a book to read.

Getting back into the swing of things

 Here we are nearly at the end of another month. Where is the time going?

After what I wrote last time I ended up working on different things! Typical of me. I sent out a poem to the Winchester Poetry Prize, one I had written as part of the course City Tales. I've hardly sent anything out lately. 

I am now working on re-writing the ending to the piece my friend read through for me, but before that I went back to the novella and did another edit, (this is the 4th version but more than four edits) and this has now been forwarded for feedback. There have been substantial edits on this. I deleted some parts and re-wrote a lot of new material. Reading it now, I feel I might be getting to close to a final edit. Is there ever a final edit?

Last week I finally got my hands on Sutton Writer's anthology.There is a lot happening within the group, all exciting stuff, some of which I will be part of.

My flash piece entitled Silent Speaking is finally live on Wildfire Words website. As well as the text, you can hear me reading it. Somehow I survived the Zoom showcase, but I was glad when it was over. Zoom meetings are so stressful for me and I really struggle to take part in them.

I'm away for a few days next week and I've been sorting my reading material. Having been to the library on Monday, I borrowed the next LJ Ross book in the DCI Ryan series. I daren't start it too soon as I know I will devour it before I even go away! I have borrowed another book about Surrey's past. Before the boundary changes, we lived in Surrey, but we are now part of a London Borough. Some of the places mentioned in the book are now also part of a London Borough. I do enjoy a little local history, so I shall begin with that book.

I will take my notebook with me in case the muse hits. As I'm walking another section of the Thames Path, it might well hit as I write a lot about the Thames. At the moment, I'm worried about how hot it will be. We may have to start early in the morning so we're not walking in the worst of the heat.

Let's talk about poetry

Photo: Nick Fewings on Unsplash

 We all have questions about poetry, like how to write the best opening line, titles, poetry forms and why some poetry leaves us cold while other rave about it.

These, and other questions, were discussed last night in a Poetry Toolkit Zoom by Bridport Prize, hosted by the lovely Liz Berry. Liz spoke to two poets, Michael Lavers and Kizziah Burton. All three read a poem they had written, and Liz explained how she edited her poem, workshopping it with a group and with another poet. I don't know why, but I just thought that well-known poets don't need to do that. They've made it. They know their craft. So this was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Am I really that innocent? Seems I am! This editing process was fantastic to watch, and included which parts she changed and what was important in her poem that she felt should stay. Liz showed examples of the edits before it reached completion.

So, first lines. These were described as being:

• an arrow in flight
• mysterious
• surprising
• something to engage with the reader (whether they agree/disagree or feel curious about)
• a question
• beginning mid-story or conversation giving info to locate so the reader can enter the poem

What a poem should not be:

• boring (what you did on holiday - what is known as postcard poem)
• predictable (in spring the daffs bloom)
• too obvious or on the nose
• cliched
• a run-up to a poem (I've been thinking about trees or when I was young we had....)

The good thing is that a bad first line can be transformed.

Suggestions:

• read your poem aloud
• Refine, add detail, the more the better
• come to the poem with questions not answers (you don't need to know the ending of your poem before you begin)

Now about those submissions to competitions or magazines:

It is all subjective. A poet once entered the same poem twice to the National Poetry Competition. The first year it didn't even make the longlist. The second year he won the competition. It was down to different judges and what they liked. So don't beat yourtself up the rejections. There are many reasons for a 'no'. Which brings us on to those poems we cannot understand and think we must be an idiot when so many people rave about it.

Liz Berry suggested we compare it to music. We all have different tastes. Some genres of music we may really dislike, others we love, yet our friends may feel totally different about our musical choices. Poetry is the same. Suddenly, after hearing this things began to make sense. So, it doesn't matter if you 'don't get it', that you think the poem you've read is obscure and doesn't touch you, while others think it's the best thing since sliced bread.We all have preferences. I also think this is like art. I visit many galleries and exhibitions. Some pieces move me (and some I can't even say why, except maybe the colour choices - I'm no art expert), while other pieces look as if they have been painted by a kid in nursery, and why is it so popular?

When it comes to your writing, write how you want. There is a sudden trend for abstract poetry, big gaps, long drawn out concrete poetry. All three poets have noticed this trend, and they seem to be winning prizes, but I hate it. Often I don't even read it. The way it sits on a page does my head in! But that's my preference. Some of you reading this may well really like it, and that's fine. It was suggested that as poets wee can play with these ideas. Give it go, but you don't need to adopt it, just because it's the trend. Trends change.

Still on forms, it was suggested that we consider the form we use and how it works for our poems. I wonder how many of us reading this use a set form for our poetry. I love free verse, but do sometimes write a sonnet or villanelle. I do like to experiment now and again. I'm a big fan of Brian Bilston who writes a lot of amusing poetry and was known as the Twitter poet. Once he wrote a poem in the form of a spreadsheet. I loved that idea and got the idea for my Sudoku poem from him.Thanks Brian. I had it published!

Finally, that old chestnut - how do you know when a poem is finished? Most poets will tell you that a poem is never finished, and I understand this. I've had poems published and gone back to them and thought, 'I can do this better now'. And it's always going to be like that. Kizziah Burton said that with her, some poems seem to lock the door on her and refuse to let her edit anymore. Again, I understand this. One of my best poems (it was a runner-up in a competition) was written in one long stream of consciousness. After some editing, I was totally happy with it, and though it had been out on submission a few times with no takers, I would not alter one word of it. I backed it as it was, and it came good in the end. Other poems, Kizziah said had loose threads in them that needed attending to. According to Michael Lavers, he said the finished poem came when he was sick of it! I think we have all been there!

Liz Berry said that some poems never get finished, and that she had lots like that. They just don't work however much she edits them. Again, that sounds familiar.

And those pesky titles? Each poet said titles for poems was hard, so we are in good company. Keep going!

There was time for a quick Q&A and then the hour was up. I learned a great deal from this Zoom and will have to check out my first lines.Maybe compare the ones that made it to publications against the ones that haven't. But at the end of the day reading a poem is subjective, so our poetry takes a chance, and we hope it gets to a person who appreciates what and how we write.

Stress and writing

Photo by SEO Galaxy on Unsplash

 How does stress affect you as a writer? For me, I find it hard to write. At the moment I have things going on and I feel like I'm on hamster wheel and can't get off. I'd hoped this year would be better in this respect, but it seems to be a continuation of last year. There is so much to be done and at times I feel overwhelmed by everything. I've found it very hard to write anything new, or indeed to concentrate on editing existing work. I know I overreact, but knowing that doesn't help. It is my nature to feel anxious, especially about things I have no control over. So, what, if anything, works?

For me, switching off usually involves reading or listening to music. They are my go-to stress busters, yet the problems linger in the background. Walking, getting away for a day somewhere also helps, but that isn't always possible. Being with friends who make me laugh is a great help too. Where would I be without those great friends of mine?

 Stress interrupts sleep. I either can't get to sleep, or wake too early and can't get back to sleep. Sometimes both! Lack of sleep then adds to the problem. I get snappy with people, and I feel cold all the time. I can't concentrate and can't settle to anything for long.

Today, I have fallen back on my trusty herbal tablets. These should help me feel calmer and hopefully able to sort out the things I need to do without getting into a state. When anxious, my decision making isn't as good and/or I make mistakes. It's time to take action.

I wonder how others deal with stress and/or depression when writing. I think some write through it, but I find if I do write at these times it reflects how I feel, so angry words, dark subjects, and I usually have to scrap what I've written, or at least tone it down! It's probably more about me than anything else, and I wouldn't want anyone to read it. Another way is to just write my feelings down to try and exercise the ghost, as it were. However, this can become self-indulgent and ends up making me feel more depressed! When the reading and music stop working, I know I'm in trouble.

It's not all doom and gloom. There are lights in the darkness. I've had two poems accepted for a new poetry print magazine (two poems from a set of four I submitted last year and was awaiting the outcome of). I'm thrilled about that. More news to come on that.

I have been trying to edit a short manuscript; it feels like an uphill struggle. It needs to be gone through again before I let anyone see it. It doesn't help that the subject matter of the piece is a little depressing and contains very little humour, which is unusual for me. I have even considered abandoning it, but I don't think I'm in the right mindset to make that decision right now. So, I'm leaving it for a bit.

Submitting poetry and short fiction is something I wanted to get back to this year, and I have managed to submit to two places this month so far. At the moment I don't have any particular goals. Last year was a great year for my writing, but I can't keep that up. I feel a bit wiped out, so I am not rushing into anything at the moment. I've had the opportunity to sign up for courses, but again, I'm not ready to tackle them. My personal life is commanding so much of my attention right now I cannot commit to much else. So, I am doing bits and pieces when I can with no big projects to aim for yet. Sometimes you just have to look after yourself.

I have another nice photo to share with you from my launch night for Tinsel Street. This was taken with my friend Ioana, who took her play to the Edinburgh Fringe last year. If you would like to find out more about her work, you can find her on Instagram @joan-of-all-trades.

If you have comments about how you deal with stress as a writer or anything else, do leave a message. See you next time.

Poetry & Music and a Tinsel Street Update

Karin Kamar

 I'm staggered and on a second high, but I'll come to that shortly.

Out-Spoken

On 27th November I went along to another Out-Spoken event. This time it was back in its usual place, the Purcell Room. I had no idea who the poets or musicians were, but that's part of the fun. There is usually a surprise.

The first poet was Haia Mohammed from Gaza. Oh my, what a story she related of her life in Gaza, and when she read her poetry, you could have heard a pin drop. She moved people to tears, and she received a standing ovation. The room was filled with chants of Free Palestine. Wow, amazing. I bought her book.

Haia Mohammed

Other poets included Ozifa Benson and Luke Kennard. I really liked Luke's poetry. Using the story of Jonah and the Whale, but updated, this was a witty rendition of different parts of the story. I might have to check his poetry out. He's won lots of prizes, yet I'd never heard of him.

Ozifa Benson

Luke Kennard

Shanteh

Musicians were Karim Kamar (classical pianist who I've seen a few times there), Jared Nandra who played boogie-woogie and Shanteh, whose loop pedal I was fascinated with.

So an interesting evening.

Tinsel Street

I seem to have started a fad. Most people who have bought my book (people I met) began reading in on 28th November when the book starts. All the chapters start on a date. I've been told by various people that they are hooked and can't wait to see what happens to the characters. That is so pleasing. When you send a book (or any writing) out into the world, you never know how it will be received. Will they get you and what you are saying? Will they like the characters? Which ones will they prefer? Tinsel Street is my baby. I spent five years on it, and I love my characters. They have become my friends, and I would quite like to know what happens to them next. So, there may well be a sequel.  When is another matter. I've neglected other parts of my writing this year to get the 'Lawnmower' book and Tinsel Street published, but it has been worth it.

I found out yesterday that I have sold 75% of the print run of Tinsel Street! I cannot believe it. My goals are always low. I prefer it that way, so I am gobsmacked that this has happened. People are saying lovely things (please say them in reviews!) and the new box of books I ordered has diminished, and I think I shall be left with three spares. 

A new box of books arrives

My penfriend in Switzerland who works in a book shop (she is also a crime writer), has asked her colleague if she would order one of my books for the English table. She's ordered three!

I have a quote up on Troubador's website about my experience with them as my publisher. They have been great and so supportive.

I was given a few gifts at my book launch by friends. Each one was beautiful, lovely flowers, beautiful words and a bag that made me laugh out loud. Thanks. You've all been fantastic.

It's not too late to buy a book while stocks last! But out of all this, it is so nice to know people like my stories. This was always my aim. I've never sought big money (ha, likely chance anyway). I only ever wanted to share my stories with people and for them to take them to heart. I'm never going to be a bestseller writer, but I don't care. Small goals!

Sometimes the only advice you need is your own

Image by Prateek Katyal (Unsplash)

Websites v Blogs

 I thought I was doing well setting up a website. After Googling various ways to upload photos and using spacers, I was so pleased to get what I wanted. As I was doing so well, I decided to add social media buttons. It all looked straightforward, but could I get the damn things to work? More Googling, checking, putting my URL's in again, but no, they would not work. I read some things I didn't understand and was losing hope. Instead I looked to see how my layout looked to those visiting the site and the photo, which I had spent ages on inserting, was not there! It's in my edit window, but not visible to anyone. The social media logos were missing too.

At this point I thought, do I actually want this website? Writers are advised to have one, though I know several writers who don't have one. I've said all along that I've become attached to my blog which I have written since 2009. It's changed a bit from the early days, but I was beginning to wonder what I'd put on a website. Could I abandon my blog? After what I went through this morning, I've decided it is not worth the hassle. Yes, I've spent money buying a domain, but I can cancel the subscription so I'm not paying for something I'm clearly not going to use.

I cannot afford to pay anyone to build me a website, and no doubt there would be a monthly fee on top, so what this boils down to is a re-vamping of my blog. At present I only post about once a month. I think I need to be a little more active, but also to change the 'pages' around a bit. Although Blogger can be annoying at times, I can usually sort things out. I'm not very technically minded (I quit WordPress for the same reason). Blogger is more user friendly for me....better the devil you know!

So I am going to do some work on the blog which I hope people will enjoy.

Some time ago I spoke about Substack. I signed up a while back to follow a couple of people, and I now have a profile and a photo. That's as far as I've got, but I am considering using it in the future. I just need to figure out where I am going with it. I want to do something different to this blog, but link them. I think Substack could be a good substitute for a website as it has some of the same features.

News and an announcement

This afternoon I have been with my writing group. Just four of us today., I really wanted to be there as I can't make the next prose meeting, and maybe not the next writing session. We had a good chat about self-publishing as well as writing. I took along a sheet with three sections of five random words as prompts in case there weren't any prompts this time (sometimes there aren't). No one used them, but I brought them home and I may use them myself sometime.

I used the time to write my task for the course I am taking at the moment. Live Canon is running a four-week correspondence course in poetry 'Line breaks'. I'm in catch-up mode as I joined a few days late, but I'm really enjoying the first week. Feedback is given not only by the tutor but one can share their work with others on the course. So, today I was writing the piece for feedback. The task only took ten minutes (as per the task instruction), so I tried writing some poetry, but nothing was working. In the end I went back to something I started writing at the writing group before. I have done no plotting and this is the third part! I only write it when I'm there. I really must do some world building and work out what I'm aiming for. It's a sort of cli-fi story. I read out what I had written today and apologised if it didn't make sense, but the overall feedback was good. 

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on
 Unsplash

The back end of April had a piece of flash fiction published by Ink Sweat & Tears called The Second Coming. It's funny and I loved writing it. If you read my bio at the end you see that I have stated that my first full length novella is due to be published later this year. So, now seems to be a good time to announce the exciting news that Tinsel Street, my Christmas feel-good short novel is to published by Troubador, hopefully at the end of August. The copy edits have been done and I have a front cover! The printing of the inside is being done now. I have an author page already and there is a link to this blog. I am still working on the content of the author page and will share this too in the future. There's not much on there yet. Oh, and I am going to compile a Tinsel Street playlist on Spotify to go with the book! This was a late thought and I might not get a link in the book, but I will share it here. More news to follow.

Meanwhile, I am still submitting and managed six submissions last month. And that's me for now. Thanks for reading and have a good week folks.

Crazy October

Dragon Hall

 I'm not sure quite where October has gone. It's almost over. The month has felt like I have been spinning plates while I've been considering my projects and catching up with friends. Then I've had a couple of mini breaks. All good fun, but I almost ended up double booking myself. Luckily the other friend couldn't make that date, so I didn't have to cancel one of them.

One of my trips was to Norwich to meet a friend and to attend Cafe Writers' open mic night. It had been a long time since I had been to anything like this, so I was both excited and nervous, especially as we were going to put our names down to read.

But before the open mic, there was time to visit Norwich's National Centre of Writing. They hadn't been open when I had gone to Norwich before, but this time, as it was a Monday, they were. So after lunch we had a wander around. What a beautiful place. Dragon Hall was built about 1427 by a wealthy merchant named Robert Toppes and used as a trading hall. The hall is magnificent, with beams spanning the roof and the walls. Look up and you will see the one remaining dragon. There are also 'witches marks' around the fireplace and some other beams. Please use the link to read the history of the building. Writers' Centre Norwich took on the lease in 2015. Downstairs are rooms where classes are held, a hub where you can hire a desk for writing away from distractions. There is a small shop, lots of information, and the hall is now used for social events. Outside is a garden, beyond which is the River Wensum. It is free to visit (donations welcome).

Witches' marks

Looking towards the garden

Spot the dragon

Old wallpaper

Dragon Hall

After our visit, we ended up in another cafe to talk about the poems we were going to read. We'd each brought along several possibilities, but in the end we decided the ones we had originally said we would read, we would read!

River Wensum, Norwich

Time for tea and discuss poetry for the evening

It was soon time for me to check into my hotel and grab something to eat before we met to walk to Maddermarket Theatre where the event was to take place. We arrived early and hoped to get our names down in the first half (so we could relax in the second). Even so, we ended up reading in the second half. There were four poets invited to read with open mic slots in between. My friend had told me there might be around fifteen people there, but it was packed, and there were probably nearer 40-50 people! Invited poets were Matt Howard, Jenny Pagdin, Jane Wilkinson and Rachel Goodman. What a great evening. All the open mic-ers read impressive poems, including a couple of amusing ones, which I was pleased to hear.

My friend and I did ourselves proud, I think. Nerves were there, of course, but we drove on through. I tried to remember all the advice I give others about reading and didn't rush. The audience was appreciative as they were with everyone. The poem I read was one of very few new poems I have written lately, and quite personal to me, making me conscious of the last couple of lines that I had to get through without stumbling. But I did it. Both of us could breathe easy at last!

Reading my poem

And suddenly it was all over. It was hard to say goodbye. The day had gone so fast and in the morning I was on the train going home.

Although Winchester (where I went the next week!) is my favourite city, Norwich is definitely my next favourite. It is excellent for writers as there is so much going on. Unlike London, where things are scattered across the many boroughs, everything in Norwich is central. I am very impressed by the city, and then there are all the bookshops!

A collection of booklets from the Writing Centre

Out-Spoken at Purcell Room, Southbank, London

 The first Out-Spoken of the year took place on Thursday, an evening of poetry and music. I had no idea who would be performing, but there is always something to like, and there are books available to buy during the internal and afterwards.

Compare for the evening was Toby Campion, as award-winning poet, playwright and facilitator. He also read some of his own poetry after the interval, and I'd love to read more of it, but I'd already maxed out on two poetry books on the night!

Tony Campion

First up was Amy Acre, who runs Bad Betty Press. She read from her book Mothersong about growing up and being a mother and being a woman. She was followed by William Letford, whose reading from his dystopian book of poetry and diary entries was both funny and thoughtful. His humour caught me and made me want to know more, so I bought his book. The first music came from Amethyst, a soul/jazz trio, though one member couldn't make the show. While it's not my kind of music, Amethyst herself had a very good voice.

Amy Acre

-

William (Billy) Letford

-

Amethyst

After the interval, and Toby's poems, he introduced Karim Karmal. I'm not sure I have the spelling right as his name wasn't on the sheet we were given when we arrived. He is a composer and I'm sure I've seen him play in a past Out-Spoken event. The piece he played was lovely, very calming and beautiful.

Karim

Then it was the turn of Nick Laird, and Irish writer who read a personal poem about the death of his father during covid, and all the trauma of not being able to visit the hospital and saying goodbye via video His other poem was about he and his sister clearing the house.

The final performance was from Yaw Evans, a composer, electronic musician and DJ from South London. He played synthesizer. I tried to get a photo, but he was hidden behind his equipment and all I could see was the top of his head. Even at the end, he exited too quickly for me to take a photo.

It was a good evening with a lot of laughter. These events are a good way to keep up to date with what is being written in the poetry world and to hear it read. It's a place to come across poets that are new to me. Very inspiring.

My purchases

Review of the Year

 

My resources file

New Year's Eve and the sky is blue for once. For how long, I ask? Anyway, it's that time when I look back on my writing year, warts and all. I find this interesting to see how I think year went to what actually happened. Somehow, it's never quite the same. I had to re-check some figures because Rue (the dog) kept wanting to chew my pen, or walked over me and the book I was using to tally submissions made this year. I'd already abandoned the writing room as he just kept standing on the bed behind me and pawing at me. 

So, the year went something like this:

I submitted pieces to 29 different publishers/competitions, which was far more than I thought, bearing in mind I spent a good deal of the year editing my novella. These submissions would have contained between one and three or four pieces. The breakdown of this is as follows:

Poetry: 25 of which 6 were accepted (one of these is still to be published)

Flash:   10 of which 2 were accepted

Short Stories: 3

Novellas: 3 

Poetry Collection: 1

Pending (waiting on their fate!): 3 flash, 1 novella, 2 stories (included in the tally above)

I admit I was surprised, and the end of the year was more successful than the beginning. I'm also surprised by what gets published and I sometimes wonder if I'm the best judge of my own work! I honestly expected a lot less to show for my contribution to the world of writing this year.

It was a sad year for publications as two of my favourites folded. Visual Verse (online) and Popshot (print) departed this year. Both were important in my life. The first time I read Popshot I fell in love with the art work, and the stories and poems seemed to radiate with me. I'd found a magazine that I adored. And after many submissions, finally my dream came true as they published a flash story of mine.

Visual Verse was my go-to place once a month. Their picture prompts stimulated me, and when I wasn't writing anything else, I'd write and submit to them. Over the years I've had around 30 pieces published by them. Mainly I wrote poetry, but there were a few flash stories too.

There are also a number of presses who seem to be in limbo, with nothing published on their websites and no new submission windows advertised. I fear these will also go the way of the others.

This year also saw the demise of Writing Forum magazine and a couple of other big name small press magazines. Yesterday I was going through a folder where I keep articles torn from writing magazines. I keep them for research. I took out all those no longer relevant, and this included websites of small presses I had kept. Most of these have also folded since I collected them. It's a sad fact that there are more writers than readers, that small presses are usually operated by volunteers who have other jobs and are trying to write themselves. They also struggle to gather enough subscribers to support their press. I try to subscribe to two publications. One can't do them all, and some are now very expensive. I also try to buy poetry books and fiction from the publisher direct where I can.

I've already commented in a previous post about the rocketing submissions fees of some competitions now. I have pulled out of submitting to places due to the cost (especially of first chapter comps). More presses are charging reading fees, though this is mainly in the US. I have paid these in the past, but no more.

I took part in a few writing courses this year:

Five Day Hybrid Challenge through Arvon (through email prompts) which was most interesting, and made me think. This was about mashing up genres and situations. Unusual!

A day class in London with The Poetry School looking at abandoning usual form (what I call experimental poetry).

Writing ghost and gothic stories with Writing Magazine.

I also enjoyed attending a few poetry readings at the Southbank, London and a day up there mainly for unrepresented writers, which was free and the best thing I'd attended in a long while.

The best part of the year was taken up with editing my novella, Tinsel Street, and submitting it. I haven't yet heard back from either place I've sent it to. These things can take an age, but after I had submitted it, I found it hard to write for a while. I think I was shattered. This has been a long journey so far.

I bought the Mslexia Diary & Planner with good intentions and barely used it. I cannot find just what I need in a writing diary. For this year I have bought a much cheaper diary and planner through a charity I support and will see how that works for me.

Plans for 2024: A lot of editing! I have so many things on file just sitting there. I am already editing two pieces, so I have made a start. I hope to submit a little more next year too. I have booked a week's holiday at the beginning of March with HF Holidays as they are running a writing and walking week in Bourton-on-the-Water. This is a first for them, so I snapped up a place as soon as it it went on sale! I've holidayed with HF many times for walking or special interest holidays. They are an excellent holiday company. The holiday includes writing in the mornings and walks in the afternoons and will also include some free time to either continue writing or do some self-guided walks. There is also some evening entertainment. I have been to their hotel in Bourton before and it is a lovely setting.

Away from writing I have read many books this year. Eighty-three to be exact! The books that have particularly stood out for me and make it to my top three (four in the case of fiction) are as follows:

Fiction:

Metronome by Tom Watson. Set on an island where two convicts (a couple) are coming to the end of their sentence, but the warden doesn't come. Everything begins to fall apart and all they thought they understood isn't as it seemed. This is a tense story as the two turn on one another. I think you might call this dystopian fiction, if I have to put a genre on it. A tense and brilliant book.

Maureen Fry & The Angel of the North by Rachel Joyce. This is the last in the 'Fry' stories. It is a small book compared to the others, but so good. Humour and sadness. Maureen goes off on a journey of her own to see a garden dedicated to Queenie. She goes with a degree of anger, but finds something else. Beautifully written.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. This was Michelle's first adult book (I have since read another of hers and loved that too). Full of darkness, ghosts and spirals into madness. A group set out on a scientific mission into a cold place near Norway (I think it is). Accidents happen and one man (main character) is left there on his own waiting for rescue. What he experiences almost sends him mad. Tense and compelling.

Forever Home by Graham Norton. This was my final read of the year. I've love all Graham's books and each time they get better. This one was brilliant. Carol has been living with Declan, whose wife walked out on him and their son and daughter. They become the talk of the village and his children and her mother disapprove. When Declan becomes ill and Carol has an accident, his children take control, having Declan moved to a nursing home and they throw Carol out of the house as they want to sell it. Declan was adamant that he never wanted to sell the house, but the son has a Power of Attorney, and there is nothing Carol can do. Or is there? This story is about dysfunctional family life, secrets and eventually it becomes evident why Declan never wanted the house sold. There are twists (never saw that coming!) and a fair amount of humour. I loved Carol's mother, Moira. I couldn't put this one down. The best yet.

Non-Fiction:

From Source to Sea by Tom Chesshyre. Tom's account of walking the Thames Path is great. I love his humour and because I am walking the path, I recognise some of the places he stayed or saw. This one is a keeper.

Ice:Tales from a disappearing world by Marco Tedesco & Alberto Flores d'Arcais. I don't know why I'm obsessed with cold places, because I hate the cold! But this book was so good and very descriptive. I'll never forget the way the author described the sound of the ice shifting under him when he was in his tent at night. Makes you realise how vulnerable we are. A wake-up call to climate change and what we a losing.

The Devil You Know: Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry by Dr Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne. These are interviews with patients who have committed crimes. Some of them are referred because they are suicidal, others just difficult. An insight into the mind of others and why they commit violent crime, including murder. When you read the background to some of the patients, it is no wonder they are disturbed. Nothing is ever straightforward. Some of the patients were helped to come to terms with what they had done and were able to move on, others were not. This is a heartbreaking read at times, but also positive things came out of most of the patients mentioned in the book.

Finally, I found a couple of new authors (to me). Mike Gayle writes feel-good books, and I've just found another of his in a charity shop. My book pile is growing again! Anne Booth is another feel-good writer whose second book I must get hold of sometime. Special mention is made to C J Tudor and her book The Drift. This book was pacey and tense with mixed timelines. Cleverly plotted. I think her books are getting darker, but I love them.

And then for Christmas I received Elly Griffiths' Norfolk. Readers may know how big a fan I am of Elly Griffith's books, and this beautiful full colour coffee table books is filled with spectacular photos of places where some scenes from the Ruth Galloway series take place. I love this book and have been eagerly awaiting its release. It was worth it. This is a keeper.

Well, that's me for 2023. Thank you for continuing to read my blog, and welcome to any newcomers. I'd like to read more independently published books next year. If you have any recommendations (your book or someone you've read), please write me a comment. The only genres I don't read are fantasy and hard core horror.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL