Show, Don't Tell

Lindsay Clarke; quoted in Writers Magazine - December 2009, www.writingmagazine.co.uk asks:

Which would you rather do, go to see a movie with your friends, or listen to them describe it at length afterwards? We don’t read fiction for explanations; we want to have our imaginations stirred. Show, Don’t Tell!!

A kind of order.....

"One of the pleasures of fiction is that it imposes a kind of order on the messy randomness of life."

Sarah Harrison quoted in Wanna be a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones, Accent Press (2007)
www.wannabeawriter.co.uk/

The Unsuccessful Writer....

‘The unsuccessful writer is the one who stops. Believe in yourself, because it’s a tough business and if you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else will.’

Anthony Horowitz

(Writers News: June 2009)

Poison Pens - January 2011

Had a productive meeting with the Poison Pens yesterday. Readings ranged from poems, plays, and short pieces, to extracts from a non-fiction project. We also discussed where members were with regard to their novels, other writing etc.

I took a piece I have been working on for a competition in Writing Magazine and was told I needed to Show Not Tell - obvious when it is pointed out!! I also took a poem I recently wrote about the joys of motherhood. I received some very useful comments on this as well. Not sure if I will do anything with the poem but its all good practice.

Came away with 3 writing books; kindly donated by Bryan as part of a Writers Library for the group, which I hope to read in the next week or so.

I am glad I have returned to the group and am making the effort to attend; even though it takes me nearly 40minutes to get to the Village Hall where we meet. I was shattered last night and was in bed shortly after Jamie, but it was worth it. I have felt invigorated today and have been planning what's next.....

Tanka Competition

In September I reported that I had entered 2 competitions in Writing Magazine. The February edition arrived today and it seems I didn't win either of them....

However, I was particularly proud of my entry for the Tanka competition and so I am including it below. The article described; 'most of the non-winners as suffering from one of these 3 problems: content that offered a slight description with no resonance to it; the tackling of a vast theme in general, abstract terms; and poor use of language, including weak, repetitive vocabulary and punctuation and grammar difficulties.'

My entry was:

Words left unspoken
Hang silently. Surrounding.
Waiting. In the wind.
For thunder to bring courage.
But who will make the first move?

The article went onto say; 'few entries were dismissed easily however, and nobody who entered needs to feel despondent.'

The winning entry was by Averil Farrar; Cry

You died so slowly
mosses grew between each crack
cushioning my grief.
Stemmed tears still wait, hang like leaves
having lost their strength to fall.

Tim Wilson at Poison Pens

Before all the coughing started and Christmas and the New Year arrived, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a workshop led by Tim Wilson who writes under the names of Jude Morgan and Hannah March. More information to be found at: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/jude-morgan/

According to information from NAWG (for whom he has led workshops) Tim Wilson has an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. His first novel was published when he was 23 and since then he has had 29 novels published which have been translated into 9 languages. He was shortlisted for Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 1993, twice shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Crime Writers’ Memorial Dagger, and his novel PASSION was chosen as Book of the Year 2005 by Hilary Mantel, Tracy Chevalier and Joanna Trollope. He has taught Creative Writing for ten years. He lives in Peterborough with his wife and son. www.nawg.co.uk/festival-2010/getting-to-know-your-tutors/

The workshop - entitled MAKE IT VIVID - was fantastic and I spent a few hours yesterday while Jamie was asleep (and when I wasn't preparing for another interview on Wednesday) going over the notes. A lot of the advice I had heard before but he gave his own slant to the workshop which made the concepts easier to grasp. I was particularly proud of a few of my inputs:

Exercises: Locate a significant detail for
- an over-neat living room:
The cushions stood to attention.

- an absent-minded person
Pen etched on the back of her hand: 10.45pm

Next meeting of the writers group is on the 22nd January. I already have a poem to take and am looking at starting something today while Daddy has very kindly given me a couple of hours.....

Summary of 2010 / Resolutions for 2011

In 2010 I entered 4 competitions; which does not sound a lot but I only really started getting into writing again in August so its a start and I am proud of what I have sent off.

I started following my http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2010/08/other-ways-to-express-your-creativity.html and have a little brown book which is full of little snippets of my life and ideas for future projects perhaps.

I was lucky enough to go back to work for the library services for 6months and was able to take advantage of the easy access to the books. I read 29 books: 22 non-fiction and 7 fiction. Unfortunately I have since been without a job for a further 6 months.

And I have returned to the Poison Pens - even sharing some of my work with them - and was lucky enough to attend a workshop led by Tim Wilson. I have also met regularly with Liz for a coffee which does wonders for my creativity.

Looking through my blog posts there have been far too many goals I have set myself that I have failed to complete. This year I am going to focus on the positive and simply report on my accomplishments. I am also going to try to reduce the To Do lists in order that I can focus on Writing itself..... This years resolutions therefore are the same as last year: http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-year-resolutions.html

Remember: You only have one life, and you really ought to live life as if you only had a few months left. Make time to do things that will add real value to your life - things that will make you feel like the person you want to be, the person you would like to be remembered when you die.