Tanka Poetry Competition

My latest project has been to write 3 poems for the Tanka poem competition in Septembers writing magazine www.writingmagazine.co.uk/ A tanka is the next stage on from a Haiku.

A Haiku consists if the form 5-7-5 (17 syllables), a Tanka is 5-7-5-7-7 (31 syllables). "At the heart of the tanka is its imagery," says Alison Chisholm.
An example (from writing magazine) would be:

In the space between
waking and kettle filling
sluggish thoughts grow dark.
Listen for the blackbird's trill;
it paints rainbows, welcomes day

The winner of the 2007 Writing Magazine competition as published in the October 2007 magazine was:

Deep in the mind’s soil
a seed of thought is planted,
a poem is born.

Be kind and nurture it well,
That it may grow to be loved

I had a lovely lunch with Liz (my long time writing friend and some time editor) this week and she said which of my 3 Tanka's she thought was the best and I was inclined to agree with her. So, another competition entered this year. Well Done me!!!

Capricorn - 24th September 2010

You're unusually restless now, yearning to leave familiar surroundings for greener pastures. Instead of leaving your job or dumping your lover, take a challenging class instead. Learning a new language or mastering a musical instrument will provide you with the intellectual stimulation you crave. You've been blessed with a great brain. Exercising it on a regular basis will stave off your anxiety. There's a difference between studying something because you have to and researching something that genuinely interests you.

Russell Grant
http://www.asdamagazine.com/horoscopes/

A Quote for Friday....

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."
T. S. Elliot

From: SEPTEMBER 2010 BRAINSTORM & FOCUS E-BULLETIN Written by Jurgen Wolff www.timetowrite.blogs.com/

Blogging for a Living??

In Octobers Writers' News www.writersnews.co.uk there is a quote from Perez Hilton, Celebrity Gossip Blogger, who says:

"If you want to blog for a living, you need to be aware that it is going to take a lot of work - I blog 16 hours a day".

The Case for Chaos!

Further to my entry: http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2010/07/pram-in-hallway.html I recently came across a brilliant article in the Guardian where Frank Cottrell Boyce makes the case for chaos!! www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/aug/01/art-children-pram-hallway

There's a belief that to do great work you need tranquility and control, that the pram is cluttering up the hallway; life needs to be neat and tidy. This isn't the case. Tranquility and control provide the best conditions for completing the work you imagined. But surely the real trick is to produce the work that you never imagined. The great creative moments in our history are almost all stories of distraction and daydreaming – Archimedes in the bath, Einstein dreaming of riding a sunbeam – of alert minds open to the grace of chaos.

This is also discussed on British Mummy Bloggers http://britishmummybloggers.ning.com/forum/topics/does-having-children-hinder?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Just entered another competition...

www.writersnews.co.uk are running a competition to win a copy of How to Write your First Novel by Sophie King. To enter you have to write a fictional scene (max 250words) which starts with the words: The girl in the park was clearly upset......

I feel so pleased with myself for starting and actually finishing and actually sending off the entry. Still thinking about ideas for a Mills and Boon or Chick Lit novel. Hoping for inspiration on Saturday night when I go out with the Yummy Mummy's and the other one. Now that might just be the start of an idea.....

What a nice lady!!

I sent Veronica Henry an email about the Beach Hut and she sent me 2 emails:

Thanks you for your lovely email and I am delighted to have made a conversion! So pleased you enjoyed the Beach Hut - it's so great when people get in touch, especially when it's not their usual genre. Hope you enjoy the others if you get round to them - do let me know. Yes, Boon was great fun to work on - longer ago than I like to think about now, with Neil Morrissey before Men Behaving Badly ... Keep in touch With Best wishes Veronica

Hello again Just read your lovely blog too - thank you so much. And tons of luck with the writing - I'm glad I've spurred you on. Didn't know about not starting a book with the weather - I quite often do weather. But then rules are there to be broken I guess ...! Best Veronica

Book Recommendation

Still proud of myself as I have continued to be creative all week. And I have just finished reading a wonderful feel good book: The Beach Hut by Veronica Henrywww.veronicahenry.co.uk/

I once read that you should never start a novel with a description of the weather
(www.nytimes.com/2001/07/16/arts/writers-writing-easy-adverbs-exclamation-points-especially-hooptedoodle.html) but it works here. I can honestly say I was hooked from the start. And finished it within the week; still finding time for a small bit of writing and I even cleaned the fridge and microwave! Fingers crossed my commitment continues.

I bought the book following my first real interview in about 10 years. I gave myself a 7 out of 10 (but someone else got an 8!) and then went off to Waitrose for something to celebrate with - a few bottles, a pressie for Jamie and a quick scan over the bookshelf. I look into my basket and find I have bought something other than my usual crime. I think it is since having Jamie; I don't want to hear about all the nasty things people do to each other. I hardly watch the news now and I don't often buy a paper - unless its job day!

So, what does this all mean in terms of my writing? Now that the juices are flowing again, I am going to seriously think about planning / writing a feel good (fiction) book of my own. I hope this doesn't sound like I think it will be easy. As I read The Beach Hut I was aware of how good a writer Veronica must be; to enchant her readers so they can't put it down. Now, where to start? Perhaps re-read the book with a more critical eye?

But first, I have this months issues of Writers Magazine and Writers News....and a few competitions to enter in the next week or so!