A new one for you

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.

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.

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!

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.

Objects and connections

Stuck for an idea? Here's one. Find an object  and write everything you can about it - colour, texture, size, what it's for/purpose - and see where it leads. You may find you go off to 'related places' using connections with the object. That's okay. Spend about ten minutes or so (no more than 20mins) and then use what you have written to form a poem. You might even get a story out of it!  The object you use doesn't matter. It could be a book, clock, balloon, Tshirt, TV, sofa, ring, mug, tea towel, bed, photo or whatever. The main thing is to write down whatever you know about this object.  Try it. Post your results on here if you like or just tell me how you got on.

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/