tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74261868653704665702024-03-13T22:22:45.827+00:00Wivenhoe WritersEnthusiastic readers and writers of fiction, discussing the writing and publication processSuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-42494400836388480732024-01-09T11:02:00.000+00:002024-01-09T11:02:27.835+00:00‘The Flight of the Heron’ re-visited by Clare Hawkins<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5o7EGVyDC9k01vkzlVbMTdiaZM56FjVKY4x2qYaFADvM3t9j2cUUORVIEocqThDloUKIEWIV2E0CYfzIevm10_uWBfy0OCtivxE46QOpSdcSwgK0uc9R9ex4dWGfPxRu-fx7CnHvMKLwO0LasWj-S3bvMqIaRQ9D_U1jsIII8TauAADNr2zA7VKKr1k/s1000/71EUWqxwUmL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5o7EGVyDC9k01vkzlVbMTdiaZM56FjVKY4x2qYaFADvM3t9j2cUUORVIEocqThDloUKIEWIV2E0CYfzIevm10_uWBfy0OCtivxE46QOpSdcSwgK0uc9R9ex4dWGfPxRu-fx7CnHvMKLwO0LasWj-S3bvMqIaRQ9D_U1jsIII8TauAADNr2zA7VKKr1k/w213-h320/71EUWqxwUmL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As a goody-goody fourteen-year-old, in the mid 1960s, I never complained about the compulsory ‘home readers’ chosen by our English teacher, Miss Howieson. These novels were supposed to extend our experience of literature, beyond her longitudinal and exhaustive approaches to the classroom study of ‘The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Hamlet’. Though not universally popular in our class, Miss Howieson’s ‘home reader’ choices ignited in me a love of historical fiction. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> One of the most memorable novels was D.K. Broster’s ‘The Flight of the Heron’, a tale set in the time of the ill-fated Jacobite rebellion against the Hanoverian British monarchy of George 11. The story centres on the relationship between a young highland chieftain, Ewen Cameron, and an English redcoat officer Keith Windham. An old highland ‘seer’ predicts five meetings of the two and, as they both become embroiled in the conflict on opposite sides, each encounter produces stronger bonds of mutual respect and regard. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> My re-reading of the novel, after nearly 60 years, has surprised me in several ways. I knew nothing about the writer, D.K. Broster, beyond the fact that she was a woman. I hadn’t realised at the time, that she had been a student at St Hilda’s College in Oxford (although then women could not be awarded degrees), that she had no Scottish connections and that the book was first published in 1925. The style is of its period, complex and descriptive in parts, sometimes over-written, with some cringe-making dialogue (Ewen Cameron’s conversations with his fiancée Alison) and some references which would be simply laughable to a modern readership. The frequent use of Gaelic and the representation of lowland Scots dialect are also characteristic of 19<sup>th</sup> century writers. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> A 21<sup>st</sup> century treatment of the story and the themes would be very different. The relationship between Ewen and Keith reveals a sensitivity and near eroticism, elements which would likely be more fully explored by a modern writer. Also, unlike many historical war novels published today, there are no direct accounts of the violent battles between the two sides, in spite of the fact that the brutality of the Duke of Cumberland’s troops against the highland survivors of the deciding battle of Culloden is well documented. Nowadays this novel might not fit neatly into a clear genre ‘slot’, with its basis of thorough and scholarly research, complex characterisation, detailed evocation of place, along with a strong romantic/sentimental element. Partly for this reason, and also because I recalled just a little of my teenage self, falling in love first with Ewen and then with Keith, I thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-13488307056906783192023-11-22T12:14:00.006+00:002023-11-22T12:28:40.995+00:00Judging Writing Competitions by Helen Chambers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I've been a first (and second) round reader for three different writing competitions in the UK over the years. In each case, it was an honour to read so much good writing. It was also time-consuming. Crucially, it was an education. Here's some of what I learnt:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>It's <b>difficult </b>to place in a big competition (research the number of entries and work out your odds!). You might have more success submitting to journals.</li><li>A long-listed place, a short-listed piece or an honourable mention, is<b> a win</b>! If your piece has been selected from an entry of hundreds or even thousands for a special mention, you've done brilliantly and should congratulate yourself.</li><li>Furthermore, a long-listed piece can be polished/tweaked and <b>submitted elsewhere</b> in the knowledge it is of a good standard.</li><li>Many very good pieces of writing don't quite make the long-list - yours may be among them, don't despair. Do <b>read the winning entries</b>, learn from them and keep on writing!</li><li>Likes and dislikes are highly subjective. All the competitions I've read for have had sensible, rigorous and objective criteria, and often more than one reader for each place. Good writing is admired and recognised, even if it's not to personal taste, but despite that, I'll say it again - <b>writing is subjective</b>!</li><li>To place in a competition, your entry needs to be unusual and eye-catching, for example, form, content, style - different from the pack. The readers will encounter hundreds of good (and 'samey') stories. What could make yours <b>stand apart</b>?</li><li>If the competition is themed, and you haven't made the <b>theme central to your story, </b>that may be enough reason for it not to be placed, however good it is.</li><li>If you use the theme the same way as many of the other entrants, it won't stand out either. How could you approach the theme '<b>slant-wise'</b>?<b> </b>Use<b> </b>varied word meanings and layers and READ, READ, READ successful fiction!</li><li>For many flash competitions, 'heavy' and serious themes will predominate - flash is such a good vehicle for it. Writing<b> humour, historical, and speculative fiction </b>might help draw attention to your piece.</li><li>Check and re-check for typos, spelling and punctuation errors - never submit a lazy entry. Only ever submit <b>your absolute best.</b></li></ol><div><br /></div><div>I was most recently a reader for <i><a href="https://www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-prize" target="_blank">The Welkin Prize</a> </i>in March 2023. Their (free) 'Mini' 100-word competition opened on 1st December 2023</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrCam-i2DcR1jh87EVwITNk-pJyUP1y_zjZPywQEjBAA0GPSmI-O5N2lI950kiKT6kIrdn91llbLfOjn-BqFdQpkyjsH7J4JfkUVgkiox7861Wk9xW8f_UJcrxesg8qx8WK0nLN6GumC51S2SZzLvHOjoLBNyOvPZmNn8oi56OL2nreby0JJF17thvsg/s1772/cc8ca6_69be9a64325d493d927046ba82be4432~mv2.png.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="1772" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrCam-i2DcR1jh87EVwITNk-pJyUP1y_zjZPywQEjBAA0GPSmI-O5N2lI950kiKT6kIrdn91llbLfOjn-BqFdQpkyjsH7J4JfkUVgkiox7861Wk9xW8f_UJcrxesg8qx8WK0nLN6GumC51S2SZzLvHOjoLBNyOvPZmNn8oi56OL2nreby0JJF17thvsg/s320/cc8ca6_69be9a64325d493d927046ba82be4432~mv2.png.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-50183129018531449572023-08-05T17:42:00.004+01:002023-08-06T12:33:43.837+01:00Brilliant portrayal of characters by Niall Williams<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZeOOxko5v2_KO5Gn4-1b3l4PN7mfVp-ykjlEUpD5zIqq-72wbAFVSofntdmdNNI-4O7K8HcmTqlQc6oP3NZU_vB5q0Fkx2PiCCbdBO1GgcnqsytntXMEz_HbAUIBlA4vNBgQLQE8OvuUN_g1A6uzVoYEOg3y8ikFoH5hLYZ0HpZVwwRszbGyjBV9pqTQ/s927/1526609355.01.S001.LXXXXXXX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZeOOxko5v2_KO5Gn4-1b3l4PN7mfVp-ykjlEUpD5zIqq-72wbAFVSofntdmdNNI-4O7K8HcmTqlQc6oP3NZU_vB5q0Fkx2PiCCbdBO1GgcnqsytntXMEz_HbAUIBlA4vNBgQLQE8OvuUN_g1A6uzVoYEOg3y8ikFoH5hLYZ0HpZVwwRszbGyjBV9pqTQ/w129-h200/1526609355.01.S001.LXXXXXXX.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">I am currently revelling in the writing of Niall Williams in his novel <i><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/this-is-happiness-9781526609359/" target="_blank">This is Happiness</a></i>. His witty and perceptive portrayal of characters does more than simply describe them. In introducing characters he conveys a sense of the context, the backward village of Faha, in the south west of Ireland in the 1970s. One example is the formidable nun, Mother Acquin, who takes the young narrator by train to stay with his grandparents, when his mother is ill.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm;">'I was accompanied by Mother Acquin, a large black-and-white albatross who smelled of bull’s eyes. Mother Acquin was a relation on my mothers’s side. On that side there were several priests, nuns and missionaries vanished into Africa who we were to pray for, because they were all praying for us, my mother said, and, with the softness of her eyes and the lamb in her voice, the boy I was did not doubt it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"> There was nothing of the lamb in Mother Acquin. She could have been second choice to command the Allied Forces. She was on her way to take the sea air with the Sisters of Mercy. She’d take all they had, I’d say. As though a significant peril lay ahead, she set up a prayer-shield over us in the carriage, black rosary beads harnessing the horns of her fingers. The ticket collector looked in and backed immediately out.' (p.25)<i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">Williams skilfully combines a range of techniques even in a short passage: sharp physical description, the indirect free speech of others’ comments, snippets of the character’s own words and reflections by a knowing old narrator on his youthful experience. All this and a sense of the period and social context is conveyed in the description of the piano tuner.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm;"><i>'</i>Hartigan, the bug-eyed, whey-faced and toothy piano-tuner from Limerick, who had an untrustworthy air Doady said because he could not be fattened, who was stitched into the narrowest pinstriped suit and always came through Faha after, as he put it, tuning the nuns in town. Though pianos were something grand and mostly notional in Faha, Hartigan would stop at a few houses along his way in case he could spark an interest in a second-hand one or just some sheet music that would suit the accordion too, Missus, if there was one in the house at all. He smoked while he stood in the doorways, eyeing up the sale. ‘Virginia blend,’ he’d say, looking at the cigarette burning in his fingers. ‘Smooth as cream.’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"> Perhaps because of some primitive but profound allure attached to the tuning or because of the mysterious attractiveness of those even tangential to music, he had a long train of rumoured paramours and illicit relations, all of which were in defiance of his actual looks and testament to the unknown depths of females.' (p.40)<i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">I'm full of admiration and more than a little envy at such a master of this style of writing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: right;"><o:p> Clare Hawkins</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-68506698544277012012023-06-13T11:41:00.003+01:002023-06-13T11:41:35.872+01:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_SgxZqUJ9Fz-1ebXYKN7ADYR2KfvcBDCgClCeqjdpvxNCKqDMjo8m6oM66xRfzILjt66ItbXmyGDF6rEw9O4rwV8vUgv6eqIQY4LeWOis2A_5L5jQnRw1OG8kMkG6zpKgS29LmNuIlJhlE5sLMzquGJAp4OXYL90Bnj1zg2CVAJeGNvmP2lzAost/s1080/smile%20with%20new%20book.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_SgxZqUJ9Fz-1ebXYKN7ADYR2KfvcBDCgClCeqjdpvxNCKqDMjo8m6oM66xRfzILjt66ItbXmyGDF6rEw9O4rwV8vUgv6eqIQY4LeWOis2A_5L5jQnRw1OG8kMkG6zpKgS29LmNuIlJhlE5sLMzquGJAp4OXYL90Bnj1zg2CVAJeGNvmP2lzAost/s320/smile%20with%20new%20book.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />To celebrate the one year anniversary of To Be Frank I had an enjoyable author interview with <p></p><p> Jo at <a href="http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.com/2023/06/author-in-spotlight-philippa-hawley.html">jaffareadstoo.blogspot.com/2023/06/author-in-spotlight-philippa-hawley.html</a> . </p><p>It was a good experience, reminding me how much I loved writing this book. </p><p>Take a look <a href="http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.com/2023/06/author-in-spotlight-philippa-hawley.html">jaffareadstoo.blogspot.com/2023/06/author-in-spotlight-philippa-hawley.html</a><br /></p><p> </p>Philippahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608028706001546697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-38096770058279158932023-02-19T11:18:00.000+00:002023-02-19T11:18:38.744+00:00Recycling<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWGY4oukRRHEmQMR-TzVahBXLTxYGhjK8wRBkKRzFlfWyUFcgeAk1iGzFaDH2f6C--5Su3ZjYy__QWI5rpioSdxcn6NCsAbQQ_f7a-oZqWHKMVHxt5H_4eRrbDmltObhrFWABqiZA1Jx38DQjDDv7TSsxnpy1otfqSTg4gqJYAECzjoIzr8Myr8gM/s640/Beat%20Museum%202011.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWGY4oukRRHEmQMR-TzVahBXLTxYGhjK8wRBkKRzFlfWyUFcgeAk1iGzFaDH2f6C--5Su3ZjYy__QWI5rpioSdxcn6NCsAbQQ_f7a-oZqWHKMVHxt5H_4eRrbDmltObhrFWABqiZA1Jx38DQjDDv7TSsxnpy1otfqSTg4gqJYAECzjoIzr8Myr8gM/s320/Beat%20Museum%202011.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Recycling<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Recycling a story is not unusual, it can be very satisfying revisiting a story written years ago, picking it apart, revamping it, even polishing it up to submit to a current writing competition. You might marvel as you go through your files and acknowledge how much you’ve actually written over the years or see how your writing has developed and changed with time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> One story I found myself returning to was inspired by a journey I took in 2011 with three good friends. The four of us had recently retired from demanding jobs and decided to team up for an adventure. Leaving our partners at home, we flew to Los Angeles, hired an SUV, and drove up the West Coast of California, exploring as we went. We called our trip ‘On the Road’ and when we reached San Francisco, we visited the fabulous Beat Museum to learn more about Jack Kerouac and his friends. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">From San Francisco we took an Amtrak train across America to Chicago before moving on to meet a friend in New York. We were due to take the California Zephyr but as I recall this was rerouted because of floods and we ended up on the Southwest Chief to Chicago. This part of our adventure we called ‘Girl Guides on a Train’ because it felt like a camping trip at the time. On the Chicago to New York train we travelled alongside survivors and relatives affected by the awful Twin Tower attacks of Sept 2001. They were on their way to memorial events, honouring the 10 year anniversary and we stayed up all night listening to their tales, almost too harrowing to write about.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It's the ‘On the Road’ section of our trip that's been at the heart of various pieces of writing ever since. The journey crops up in my novel ‘How They Met Themselves’ when two young men travel to California after their graduation. They take the Pacific Coast Highway and meet some extraordinary young women along the way. Both men later make appearances in ‘Lawn House Blues’ and one of them even plays a small part in ‘To Be Frank’. I became so fond of my characters I couldn’t leave them behind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It wasn't easy to let go of the Californian journey, so as well as a travel journal of my memories, I wrote a short story based on it for one of my writing groups. The story has been adapted and edited a number of times since and submitted to various competitions. At the fourth submission attempt, and now called ‘Crossings’, it was finally accepted for Robert Fear’s 2023 Anthology ‘15 Fascination Fictional Tales’, which is now available to purchase from Amazon. <a href="http://www.fd81.net/" style="color: #954f72;">www.fd81.net</a>. Perseverance got there in the end. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I suspect my memories of travelling through California have had their day now and it’s time I pull apart another old story or maybe take some new journeys. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>Philippahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608028706001546697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-91438933030726581102023-01-26T09:57:00.003+00:002023-01-26T09:59:10.294+00:00Clare's review of Ancestry by Simon Mawer<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2tbcC-L3f19e7LHuxHKywq64_PJ3fBUVNp8e-jpghOlDUGTGRlK3YZwpYexcfXNEgTq3w_MAgEASf2YJXa_I80beMEbydyU7wWjnkSu0srLuuZCTF83aNapE9oWpQtDiD-kvZ2gPnAIO5V5ej1pvzM4JkOxifc6I4USjD504cZgZBwMn3y61if1w/s615/9781408714836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Front cover of Ancestry by Simon Mawer" border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2tbcC-L3f19e7LHuxHKywq64_PJ3fBUVNp8e-jpghOlDUGTGRlK3YZwpYexcfXNEgTq3w_MAgEASf2YJXa_I80beMEbydyU7wWjnkSu0srLuuZCTF83aNapE9oWpQtDiD-kvZ2gPnAIO5V5ej1pvzM4JkOxifc6I4USjD504cZgZBwMn3y61if1w/w208-h320/9781408714836.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><br />Simon Mawer’s Ancestry is a historical novel with a difference – a brilliant feat of writing, which combines all the characteristics of an engaging fictional re-creation of the past, alongside an account of the process of researching family history. It smoothly crosses boundaries between the genres.<br /><br /> Using documentary evidence of his forebears, most of which is very scanty (register entries of births, marriages and deaths), Mawer recreates the lives and experiences of some of his memorable ancestors. This task of reconstruction and of speculation about the missing elements of the characters’ stories is conveyed through authorial comment. Then he seamlessly enters the lives and inhabits the worlds of these working class people, who are so vividly portrayed. There is no shortage of tragedy, loss, hardship and poverty in those precarious 19th century lives: the hard-working, syphilitic sailor Abraham Block, Naomi his resilient wife, George Mawer the tough private infantryman who perishes in the horrors of the Crimean War and Annie his feisty and resourceful widow who resorts to whatever means she can to support herself and her many children.<br /><br /> This novel is a compelling read for lovers of historical fiction, a generous lesson for writers of this genre and a revelation for those engaged in researching their family’s historySuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-50830825819268883842022-04-25T11:34:00.001+01:002022-04-25T17:27:56.358+01:00The Comfort of Re-reading by Helen Chambers<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTahy87opHNBRBTpT_aYFzjnTjEheAzrQAfjq0Yykb7nrTFYw979bcBd7fRezPqYeW--ChS77oMl7dwTB4dn1oyKvrFMf6IHlN2-1cMvS5MqyGMtzm6BCunzPqZWcwk9hyOWnObLQMtWyZt9HygQJh1u6tjTZkrRLR9iDErEiSlxRqqSLOqhOE6xZV/s500/51t2AdStW2L.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTahy87opHNBRBTpT_aYFzjnTjEheAzrQAfjq0Yykb7nrTFYw979bcBd7fRezPqYeW--ChS77oMl7dwTB4dn1oyKvrFMf6IHlN2-1cMvS5MqyGMtzm6BCunzPqZWcwk9hyOWnObLQMtWyZt9HygQJh1u6tjTZkrRLR9iDErEiSlxRqqSLOqhOE6xZV/s320/51t2AdStW2L.jpg" width="211" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">For a long time, I rarely re-read anything. Too many new and exciting books, too little time to read them all. It was only around 10 years ago that I finally gave myself permission to stop reading something I wasn’t enjoying - I used to read on, to the bitter end. No longer!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Despite being a voracious reader, there never seems enough time to read the new books: I rarely felt I had the time for revisiting anything. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">I read very quickly - can’t help it, always have. (See Philippa’s recent blog - </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">23rd March</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> - on slow reading!) Recently, I’ve been re-reading old favourites, trying to slow myself down in order to study their structure and appreciate the language and characterisation. But of course, we also read to lose ourselves, for escapism, and I always did like to ‘drink up’ a book! So I’ve re-enjoyed books by the marvellous </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://annecharnock.com/" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Anne Charnock</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> and </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.anthonydoerr.com/" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Anthony Doerr </span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">and can definitely recommend the comfort of a re-read of a favourite. (Warning: It didn’t work on <i>Ulysses</i> by James Joyce - I struggled first time round and gave up completely on my second attempt!) Listening to a story read aloud (utter joy!) definitely helps me sip it at the speed the author intended (see my </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thewriterscompany.co.uk/post/listen-to-the-story" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">blog</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> for </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thewriterscompany.co.uk/" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">The Writers Company</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> on the benefits of listening!)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Then I discovered <i>Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books</i> by </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://cathyreadsbooks.com/" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Cathy Rentzenbrink</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">. This tells her life story through her reading. Like me, she was a regular library visitor, and our children’s reading matched. Reading this lovely (yes, comforting, yes joyful ) book provided me with a new ‘to be considered’ list, and from it I’ve also created a ‘to be re-read’ list, with some absolute favourites. So far, I’ve loved <i>Any Human Heart </i>by </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://williamboyd.co.uk/" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">William Boyd</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Capture_the_Castle" style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> I Capture the Castle</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> by Dodie Smith, and am about to restart <i>Life After Life</i> by </span><span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"><a href="https://www.kateatkinson.co.uk/" style="color: magenta;">Kate Atkinson</a> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">(before I watch the televised version).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">When the world and all its horror is too much - and it is, increasingly, now - it’s good to be reminded of the pleasure in reading for escapism and enjoyment which I knew as I child. Which books are on your ‘to be re-read’ list?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-76288922942561843342022-04-12T17:17:00.007+01:002022-04-12T19:49:39.013+01:00The Problem with calling oneself a writer when one never writes anything - by Pauline Rendall.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> I’ve just realised that the sci-fi and fantasy writer George RR Martin and I have a lot in common. No, it isn’t talent, I’ll give him that one. It’s that we both have a large body of unfinished work and we’re both arch procrastinators. <br /><br />Of course, George’s form of procrastination involves several lucrative deals with HBO, and a couple of spin-off books (including a coffee table one). But he still isn’t anywhere near finishing his magnum opus, A Song of Ice and Fire. Whereas I only have five unfinished novels (it might be six), and my form of procrastination isn’t lucrative at all, but involves baking, gardening, reading recipes and complaining about not getting anything done. And if I hadn’t embarked on a messy rewrite of two of said novels so that they’re now more problematic than before, I might have beaten him to it.<br /><br />But seriously, I always used to claim that there was no such thing as writers’ block, that the answer was just to buckle down and get on with it. Well I’d eat my words, if I had any to spare.<br /><br />Now, research. Boy, I love research. I even went to Prague twice to work out how to exfiltrate a defector. And first lines? I’ve got some snappy first lines. It’s what comes next that’s the problem.<br /><br /> So what’s to be done? Answers on a postcard, please.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rte5W-U2hPcUyC4DQQENMcdsNLglxu43zdMdwoKVMiUPczGlI4F46B6TgkL_9YunzV31v5gIiRrVUviJbFKXs6thakC5zR99KjJ25KfkG4eXR5J-piwVfYfqysTh44uW46HV-Afk7ClORnTskAybr8_bYC7LIdhAVF5HdhRbddMeJDmRXvImLDZP/s1280/postcard-g532cac710_1280.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1280" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rte5W-U2hPcUyC4DQQENMcdsNLglxu43zdMdwoKVMiUPczGlI4F46B6TgkL_9YunzV31v5gIiRrVUviJbFKXs6thakC5zR99KjJ25KfkG4eXR5J-piwVfYfqysTh44uW46HV-Afk7ClORnTskAybr8_bYC7LIdhAVF5HdhRbddMeJDmRXvImLDZP/w200-h127/postcard-g532cac710_1280.png" width="200" /></a></div></div><br />Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-6231667376817228572022-03-23T15:21:00.000+00:002022-03-23T15:26:31.123+00:00How Do You Read?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFiFDlo0WDQApweMNMOOzDfK6bomI4bxEFiJOijRdJ3c8ASlumHfhEDYorAfj5tZXvUolf45_H5iQXWdJxUFbkbOKP1S7Ab273273nlVXMJ3byKMbgWU7N4vNN43CekF-CLxhNV_QO85czLKdzfKJOJkkjswehSXA8gbgewD9JuEBINrkmMVbKyBM/s2400/Frank%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1575" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFiFDlo0WDQApweMNMOOzDfK6bomI4bxEFiJOijRdJ3c8ASlumHfhEDYorAfj5tZXvUolf45_H5iQXWdJxUFbkbOKP1S7Ab273273nlVXMJ3byKMbgWU7N4vNN43CekF-CLxhNV_QO85czLKdzfKJOJkkjswehSXA8gbgewD9JuEBINrkmMVbKyBM/s320/Frank%204.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;">My novel <b>To Be Frank</b>, is going through the editing process with my publisher’s team; essential to releasing a book. I love writing and enjoy the editing of content and organisation, but I do find the detailed grammar and presentation aspects challenging. Having no qualifications in English Language or Literature, since O levels in 1970, it’s easy to feel inadequate. My medical degrees, scientific background and years of writing healthcare notes don’t seem to help.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> I’ve always read a lot but am a relatively slow reader, over-using the technique of <b>sub-vocalisation </b>I suspect, which commonly achieves about 250 words per minute. Visual reading, at approximately 700 words per minute, is at the other extreme. Apparently, proficient readers are able to read at 280-350 words per minute without compromising comprehension. When editing one surely has to slow read and going through an 88,000 manuscript takes time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>As a result of rereading <b>To Be Frank</b> so many times in recent weeks, I am aware that it is common to read what you <b>think</b> you’ve written rather than <b>what is actually on the page</b>. From a neuroscience point of view, proficient readers don’t read one word at a time and the human mind doesn’t normally read every letter by itself but reads the word as a whole. In proofreading, that idea flies out of the window.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> During my research into ways of reading, I went off piste and, leaving the editing process behind, I discovered so many styles of reading I’d never thought about in specific terms. Here are just a few snippets:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> The concept of ‘<i>speed reading’</i> began in the late 1950s and can involve <b>skimming</b> and <b>searching</b> sentences for clues, or <b>scanning</b> where one looks for information in a sentence with the use of a mind map to organise it in a visually hierarchical manner. <b>Meta-guiding</b> is another technique, involving the visual guiding of the eye using a finger or a pointer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> The other end of the spectrum is ‘<i>slow reading’</i>, which is the intentional reduction in the speed of reading to increase comprehension and pleasure. It originated in the study of philosophy and literature and there’s been an increase in interest in slow reading as a result of the ‘slow movement’ and its focus on a deceleration of the pace of modern life. (Close reading or deep reading is the use of slow reading in literary criticism). Sven Birkerts, an American essayist and literary critic, says in The Gutenberg Elegies (1994) that “Reading, because we control it, is adaptable to our needs and rhythms”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <b>Typoglycemia,</b> incidentally, is the ability to read jumbled words. It is thought that to see the first and last letters of a word, in the right place, is all that matters and that’s why we can so often solve the puzzles posted on social media, for example ‘I bte yuo cn rd ths sntnc’ or ‘do oyu fnid this smilpe to raed?’. Maybe that’s also why we can’t always see our own mistakes?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> So, I’m voting for <b>slow reading</b>, with an occasional bit of <b>skimming</b> and a dose of <b>typoglycemia</b> when I next read a novel, and meanwhile I give thanks to my editors for helping with the hard grind and time consuming work of copy-editing and proofreading.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri Light, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Philippahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608028706001546697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-71145591360197296652022-03-16T08:25:00.008+00:002022-03-16T20:37:07.686+00:00New life for past novels?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQTbHyMpBKwbbZnL93dOrXq9IZNK3kSrzC4EVItONzIhO68GpDmFa9rs3t9rEqPuffW2OkurqJqmRMA6QiqPD70E5D-JYPex2Ke9SAnNTuLw8p5AQLXkw-_7dKLPTc97rMjC0KR1bn4WuxUEj2DqrxzEIadIj2yWo2NjA-LFKBGqVhtmelGX8lQs2y=s1920" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1920" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQTbHyMpBKwbbZnL93dOrXq9IZNK3kSrzC4EVItONzIhO68GpDmFa9rs3t9rEqPuffW2OkurqJqmRMA6QiqPD70E5D-JYPex2Ke9SAnNTuLw8p5AQLXkw-_7dKLPTc97rMjC0KR1bn4WuxUEj2DqrxzEIadIj2yWo2NjA-LFKBGqVhtmelGX8lQs2y=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">With a publishing contract pending for one of my recent
novels, I’ve been wondering what to do with old ones, written years ago. They mostly
‘did the rounds’ of rejection by agents and publishers, to an embarrassing degree,
and are now committed to dusty drawers and forgotten files. I recognise that these
novels probably demonstrated the faults and shortcomings listed as reasons for
rejection by literary agents and individuals. For example, Gary Smailes: 'What to do if your novel was rejected' website <a href="https://proactivewriter.com/blog/what-to-do-if-your-novel-was-rejected"><span style="color: #800180;">here</span></a> provides a comprehensive account of reasons for rejection, as well as a
step-by-step strategy for moving on from this. Jericho Writers also has plenty
of advice <a href="https://jerichowriters.com/getting-rejected-what-to-do/ . "><span style="color: #800180;">here</span></a>. However, I haven’t found much about what writers could do with novels that
haven’t made it to publication but might still be a good read. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When one or two of my novels started attracting agent
interest and were longlisted and short-listed for competitions, I thought there
might be hope of publication. Looking back at two in particular, I considered
that they might still be worth a read, in spite of their failure to make it to
the marketplace. I love telling stories and devising plots and my main
motivation for seeking publication was to provide readers with entertainment,
perhaps an element of escapism and a little insight into particular historical
periods and events.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With this in mind, I decided to offer my novel <i><a href="http://www.clarehawkins.co.uk">TheBookbinder’s Daughter</a></i> freely on my website. It was produced after much
research, multiple drafts and edits, expert input and was short-listed for the
Historical Novel Society International Award in 2013. Now as it gathers
dust, I have nothing to lose and hope that others might enjoy the story. And perhaps
readers might help me discover the reasons it was continuously rejected. Please
let me know! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.clarehawkins.co.uk/">http://www.clarehawkins.co.uk/</a></p>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<![endif]--></p>Clare Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175566645294290362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-62088064295300914962021-12-07T15:53:00.016+00:002022-03-14T11:16:16.000+00:00Sue Dawes' self-editing checklist for prose fiction<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNpLZREJRsrj_cU9OVPGErfWI0K02_g9PtABlPaJKjBmcOOIoPUNyTv4ytRl61cmWOB-x53AHBmYDUT8rFdprpellmpna1wYPeboDAz-zjwHVrK3Ejkcopzy3y5IKYC64TcxuTx7S8Xi7-Iaqn422UAJbXJVcPalOVdd1xAEQL1Ju4OAB_L5F-JMuX=s1920" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1439" data-original-width="1920" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNpLZREJRsrj_cU9OVPGErfWI0K02_g9PtABlPaJKjBmcOOIoPUNyTv4ytRl61cmWOB-x53AHBmYDUT8rFdprpellmpna1wYPeboDAz-zjwHVrK3Ejkcopzy3y5IKYC64TcxuTx7S8Xi7-Iaqn422UAJbXJVcPalOVdd1xAEQL1Ju4OAB_L5F-JMuX=w200-h150" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Based on my experience as a writer and my experience working as a part-time editor for '<a href="https://www.thewriterscompany.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsDR9G5YM_cbFZyuMqN-nMUofbt-ola6eEzjTSLT5PLLDPJinZ9WL3EaAthLEALw_wcB">The Writers' Company',</a> I have put together a self-editing checklist for beginners. This is based on the things I look for when I edit a manuscript and from reading widely around the subject.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Characters<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is it clear to the reader what your characters look like? E.g. height, weight, clothing, hair colour, monster qualities (if applicable).<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Do we know what motivates them to act - what drives them?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Do we know what they fear and love?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Do they have a tic or habit when nervous? E.g. pushing their hair behind an ear.<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Can each character be easily distinguished, or will the reader be muddled?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Perhaps they are a bit flat? What could you add to fully realise them? <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you avoided stereotypes and other, over-used descriptions (golden hair, twinkling blue eyes etc)?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is there consistency? Does Fred suddenly start wearing glasses halfway through the story?<br /> <br /><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Dialogue</span></b><br /> <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is your dialogue authentic in terms of the diction and dialect of your character? Is it age appropriate?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Does it say what it needs to without over-explaining?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you remembered to remove anything the character already knows? E.g. a child talking to their parent would not say ‘I am your son’ - find a different way to show this information.<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->If you strip the dialogue from the text, is your character’s voice recognisable without relying on speech tags? <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you used contractions within speech (‘they’ve’ rather than ‘they have’)?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is there a good balance of dialogue and description?<br /> <br /><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Point of View </span></b><br /><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></b><br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you chosen the best way to tell your story? E.g. might switching ‘I’<i> </i>to ‘he/she/they’<i> </i>give you more distance from your character?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is the right (or most interesting) character telling the story? <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is your point of view consistent throughout the story?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you checked (if you have chosen close third or first person) that you are not jumping into other character’s head and explaining how they feel?<br /> <br /><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Setting</span></b><br /> <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is the setting recognisable to someone who is unfamiliar with it?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you used metaphor and other imagery to describe it?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you focused in on the detail?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Does the sense of place add to the conflict/ atmosphere of the story? Might a different setting work harder?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Does your character interact with the setting? How?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->If your character moves around, is it clear to the reader that the setting has changed?<br /><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Language</span></b><br /> <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Watch out for cliché!<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you used all the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you checked that you’ve used appropriate imagery without overusing or mixing your metaphors? E.g. her coat was as green as the Kale smoothies she liked but it smelt like the inside of a shoe and rotting seaweed that pops like blisters. <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you overwritten any passages that might be simplified?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Are there sections that might benefit from more detail?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you checked for duplications in your descriptions? E.g. the narrow road was thin (where narrow and thin mean the same thing)<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you checked your spelling and grammar?<br /> <br /><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Structure</span></b><br /> <br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Do you need your first paragraph or is it backstory? Could it be cut?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is there an inciting incident near the beginning that triggers the character to act?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is there a good balance of conflict and action (emotional or otherwise) to draw the reader in and keep their attention?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you thought about the different types of conflict you might include within your story (with the self, with others, environmental etc)?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> Does your story slow down too much in the middle</span></span> – do you need to add something to lift it (an incident or a chance meeting with another character perhaps)?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Do you have an ‘all is lost’ moment?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Have you used the best narrative style to tell your story?<span> </span>E.g. chronological or non-linear.<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is the plot convincing?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Is there a resolution? Has your character or their circumstance changed by the end?<br /><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Does your title work hard enough?<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-indent: 0px;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></span></p>Here is an example of a simple character arc using the story of Cinderella.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-indent: 0px;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-indent: 0px;">You might find using a table like this useful for your characters.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 623px; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 56.45pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Name<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 62pt;" valign="top" width="83"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">What do they want?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.6pt;" valign="top" width="101"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">What stops them<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 65.5pt;" valign="top" width="87"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Who helps them<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 73.35pt;" valign="top" width="98"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">All is lost when …<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">But is it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" valign="top" width="76"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Do they succeed?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 56.45pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Cinderella<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 62pt;" valign="top" width="83"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">To escape from servitude<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.6pt;" valign="top" width="101"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Their sisters, stepmother & their circumstance<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 65.5pt;" valign="top" width="87"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Fairy godmother<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 73.35pt;" valign="top" width="98"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">They meet the handsome prince, but the clock strikes 12<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">They have tiny feet which works in their favour<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" valign="top" width="76"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">They wed the prince and escape their family.<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 56.45pt;" valign="top" width="75"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Ugly sister<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 62pt;" valign="top" width="83"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">To find a husband/ marry royalty<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.6pt;" valign="top" width="101"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Their looks and personality<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 65.5pt;" valign="top" width="87"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Their mother<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 73.35pt;" valign="top" width="98"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">A beautiful stranger rocks up at the ball and the prince is besotted.<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" valign="top" width="104"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Yes. Feet are too lumpy to fit in the magic shoe<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" valign="top" width="76"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">No. Karma!<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Layout<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: arial;">Is your layout as per the requirements for submission? Always check the guidance. </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: arial;">Have you used a standard font for ease of reading?</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: arial;">Have you checked your word count?</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">And lastly, the very best things you can do before you submit are to read your manuscript out loud (or use a narration tool) - this will highlight duplicate words, and also find a reader to give you honest feedback. If you decide to give feedback to a friend, remember - be positive!</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: arial;">Let them know what works well</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: arial;">Let them know if there is anything that confuses you</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">·</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> Discuss a solution or creative idea.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><u> Further reading</u></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><u><br /></u></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;">On Writing by Stephen King</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Writing fiction by Linda Anderson & Derek Neale</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Story by Robert McKee</span><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; 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</style></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-72778147249735665372021-10-08T20:48:00.001+01:002021-10-08T21:12:12.300+01:00Speedwriting by Helen Chambers<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5mXLlVrMjh0/YWCfBWsP0bI/AAAAAAAAD7M/07iLG6ZezNE8TPwY844fqE4osdigf_p1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/writing-gb224ce554_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="1920" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5mXLlVrMjh0/YWCfBWsP0bI/AAAAAAAAD7M/07iLG6ZezNE8TPwY844fqE4osdigf_p1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/writing-gb224ce554_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;">Do you scribble new pieces at high speed, or take a leisurely stroll through them?</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I’m a slow writer. I favour letting an idea simmer at the back of my mind (weeks, sometimes months) before even putting pen to paper. When an idea is half-formed, I write - often still working out what it’s about. Once I have some sort of structure, I transfer it to the computer and begin the fun stuff: editing, pruning, tweaking, counting words, reading aloud (so long as no one is listening) and then resting it (<i>drawer time)</i> so I can revisit with a fresh eye. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Usually.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But speeding is fun. Recently, I attempted the ‘<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/">Furious Fiction</a>’ competition, run by the Australian Writer’s Centre. We had a setting, four words (<i>earth, wind, water </i>and<i> fire) </i>an item (<i>insect</i>) to include, and a 500 word limit, submission in two days (give or take, depending on time zones).</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">High on adrenaline, I wrote a story in one evening, edited on and off throughout the next day, and submitted. Sadly, the story wasn’t placed, but I’ve got another story to work with. What an exhilarating way to write! </p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The following month, despite reading the prompt, inspiration didn’t strike, so it clearly isn’t a regular occurrence for me.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Over the years, some of us at Wivenhoe Writers have entered the <a href="https://www.nycmidnight.com">NYC Midnight</a> competitions (micro, flash and short story, at different times). You’re allocated a genre and specific prompts - and have to submit within 24 hours. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Retreat West’s <a href="https://retreatwest.submittable.com/submit">m</a><a href="https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/competitions/">onthly micro (100 word) competition</a> allows 10 days from prompt to submission, which I find a pretty tight deadline!</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We all know how a submission deadline focuses our minds. Writing and submitting a story almost overnight pushed me right out of my comfort zone with a surprising result, and I’ll definitely try it again.</p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-57488101526058112092021-08-08T14:45:00.003+01:002021-10-08T21:11:31.632+01:00FlashFlood: 'Fresh Air' by Philippa Hawley<div>It was great to take part in this annual event. 'Fresh Air' was first published on National Flash Fiction Day's website as part of Flash Flood on 26th June 2021 when a story of fewer than 300 words was posted every 10 minutes <a href="https://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.com/2021/06/fresh-air-by-philippa-hawley.html?spref=bl">FlashFlood: 'Fresh Air' by Philippa Hawley</a>: Our together home has long forgotten us Norman but I’ve not lost the memory of the haunted air it held within, redolent of kitchen sink and ...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kx1ioWSIEN0/YWCh5xwypYI/AAAAAAAAD7U/hiTmJHIhoFIzx20fcKqxJIjPaO5FdXbewCLcBGAsYHQ/s1256/Screenshot%2B2021-10-08%2Bat%2B20.52.34.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1119" data-original-width="1256" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kx1ioWSIEN0/YWCh5xwypYI/AAAAAAAAD7U/hiTmJHIhoFIzx20fcKqxJIjPaO5FdXbewCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B2021-10-08%2Bat%2B20.52.34.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Another member of Wivenhoe writers, Sue Dawes, also had an entry in flash flood that day. '<a href="https://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.com/search?q=sue+dawes">Keeping the Wolf from the door</a>'.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Eyt_53sZzk/YWCiQTDd8yI/AAAAAAAAD7c/d3JV7uuSO6gyfBN_EzFqsffOrN5zYKNiACLcBGAsYHQ/s1227/Screenshot%2B2021-10-08%2Bat%2B20.51.13.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1218" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Eyt_53sZzk/YWCiQTDd8yI/AAAAAAAAD7c/d3JV7uuSO6gyfBN_EzFqsffOrN5zYKNiACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B2021-10-08%2Bat%2B20.51.13.png" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Philippahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608028706001546697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-74678851764118281712021-03-17T08:30:00.004+00:002021-03-17T09:12:16.087+00:00Microfiction by Sue Whytock<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwdeG9tjvt0/YE-X9VEfcJI/AAAAAAAADrA/2Y4C1FThJ9gACVLt0z-9C_4VYI5ABOxuACLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/high-heeled-shoes-285661_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwdeG9tjvt0/YE-X9VEfcJI/AAAAAAAADrA/2Y4C1FThJ9gACVLt0z-9C_4VYI5ABOxuACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h133/high-heeled-shoes-285661_1920.jpg" title="https://pixabay.com/photos/high-heeled-shoes-dance-shoes-285661" width="200" /></a></div><br />Here at Wivenhoe Writers we have been writing micro fiction during lockdown. Before joining the group, I had never written anything shorter than 1,000 words. I had never considered writing micro-fiction, had always seen myself as a short story writer and memoirist. Now, though, I am converted.<br /><br />My conversion to the micro or fast fiction form came via <a href="https://www.scottishbooktrust.com">The Scottish Book Trust</a> and a monthly competition they run called ‘50 Word Fiction’. The competition is free to enter and has four categories to submit to: Adults, Gaelic, Young Writers aged 12 – 18 and Young Writers aged 5 – 11. Every month there is a theme and the theme must feature in your story of no more than 50 words. I have entered many times, with themes as diverse as <i>Wildflowers, A Mountain Walk, Sewing</i> and <i>Hello</i>, <i>From the Future</i>. These prompts are fantastic writing exercises in themselves and they have changed my attitude towards fast fiction. I have now written for competitions where the word limits range from 100 to 360 to 500 and 1000 words.<br /><br />These micro fiction pieces have value in themselves but can also be extended and incorporated into ideas for a longer piece of fiction. Various members of Wivenhoe Writers have entered the competition; Helen Chambers has been successful and won it and I have just won the latest competition – the theme was <i>exercise</i> and each of submitted a story as a writing group…exercise<i>.</i><br /><br />What is striking is the variety of responses to the same theme and we have shared our work in the group and made suggestions for edits and improvements to one another, so it has really been a collaborative creative process. If you are feeling ‘blocked’ or if a more substantial piece of work feels overwhelming at the moment, I can recommend diving into micro-fiction and The Scottish Book Trust is a great place to start.<br /><br />The current theme is <a href="https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/fifty-words-competitions/write-a-story-featuring-a-seal">‘seal’</a> and the deadline is March 30th. Find my winning entry<a href=" https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/50-word-fiction/february-2021-winners"> here</a> on the Scottish Book Trust website.<br /><br />Examples from Wivenhoe Writers on the theme <i>Exercise</i> are below:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*****</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Kenneth worshipped physical fitness. He prostrated himself on its altar daily via exercise bike and abs-cruncher, and spent squillions on a personal trainer, but still the flab remained around his middle. A mystery.<br /><br />Passing the baker’s window he considered which delicious pie he would take home and enjoy tonight.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*****</div><br />Sprint on the spot; squat, lunge, stretch, repeat.<br /><br />Sprint after dustcart with bin bags.<br /><br />Lunge, struggle with children’s maths, stretch for answers. Feed squabbling children, burpees after lunch.<br /><br />Sit up for video call.<br /><br />Squat to clean kitchen floor.<br /><br />Plunge arms in washing up.<br /><br />Plank onto the sofa, stretch.<br /><br />Repeat tomorrow.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*****</div><br />Priya recalls her instructor’s voice. ‘Bring yourself into the room.’ Concentrating on the now, Priya breathes in and blows out, remembers to drop her shoulders and engage. Prone to backache, she adjusts her posture accordingly. ‘Exercise your writing muscles daily,’ the voice repeats. Priya taps the keyboard and types. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***** </div><br />She leaned on the pedal and they were off, slowly, a rusty creak with each turn of the wheel. Sluggish tyres crunched and complained on the path as she clutched the age-spotted handlebars.<br /><br /> ‘Aye you and me both,’ she murmured, ‘but it’s a fine day for a birl.’<br /><br /><i>If you would like to learn more about the craft, Helen Chambers runs a micro-fiction course for <a href="https://www.thewriterscompany.co.uk/courses">The Writers’ Company </a>and several of our own Wivenhoe Writers’ have attended the course and found it inspiring and stimulating. Her winning Scottish Book Trust microfiction can be found <a href="https://helenchamberswriter.wordpress.com/writing">here</a> on her blog and is entitled: 'A Day at the Seaside'</i></div><div>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-69429252816560695992021-02-03T09:25:00.005+00:002021-02-03T09:25:39.206+00:00Motivation in lockdown<br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlubaRstzK0/YBppFT4HEpI/AAAAAAAADoQ/VhlQDTVx5fsb77cgdl6UQRZFBnLgUzRWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/broken-drumstick-2178387_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlubaRstzK0/YBppFT4HEpI/AAAAAAAADoQ/VhlQDTVx5fsb77cgdl6UQRZFBnLgUzRWwCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h150/broken-drumstick-2178387_1920.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Writing can be a solitary process and even more so in a lockdown. As a writing group, we needed motivation, so in our monthly Zoom meeting we chose a local competition to enter, with just a week until the deadline. The rules of the competition were simple, to use the sentence ‘<b>the drum was lying in a slowly-spreading puddle</b>’ within a story and limit it to 500 words. <br /><br />It is not the easiest sentence to include without it standing out, but the resulting stories were diverse, from comedy to myth, and all hid the words within the text in creative ways. While none of us won the competition, it was the push we needed to put pen to paper (or fingers on keyboards). Below are paragraphs from each story from the group, which contained the obligatory sentence:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Extract 1</i></div><div>We tug and yank and it crashes onto the tarmac. We watch <b>the drum, lying in a slowly spreading puddle</b> of precious gin which trickles away. As if by magic, several creditors appear, and once I’ve paid them off, there’s nothing but air. No sign of the old bat. Worse still, here’s Daddy, hands on hips, glowering at me.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Extract 2</i></div><div>Robbie thwacks with his drumstick again. The wool strap snaps and the ruptured thing flies from him. <b>The drum lies in a slowly spreading puddle</b>, sinking. Robbie squeals and I feel the tears stinging my eyes. I wait for his howls and want to howl with him too, but instead he looks up at me.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Extract 3</i></div><div>Bin day, two weeks ago and the youths were kicking balls at my rubbish again. Last time I complained at a committee meeting but Linda says they’ve nothing to do, the young people. She’s got three; likes to shove it down my throat. Anyway, I’d had enough and I went after them. Result: I got a load of abuse, lid got chucked into next door and <b>the drum was lying in a slowly-spreading puddle</b>…of ‘bin juice’ Mr Number 3 called it - or Rob - when he came over to help. <div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><i>Extract 4</i><br />A blushing Margot giggled, ‘I could use the twelve drummers.’ <br /> ‘There’s a problem,’ Chomley chipped in. ‘The Drum Major slipped in the rain last week and fell into a huge pothole in the High Street. <br /> ‘Oh no,’ said Margot with exaggerated shock, looking askance at Farmer John.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> ‘Yes, and it’s your wretched farm carts that cause all the potholes Councillor John,’ Chomley said. <br />‘Poor man has concussion and his best bass <b>drum was left lying in a slowly-spreading puddle.</b> It was late at night, hours before a good Samaritan came to the rescue and the drum is ruined.’ <br /> ‘It’s you who never gets the roads repaired,’ Farmer John barked at the clerk. ‘But surely they can manage with eleven drummers.’<br /><br /><i>Extract 5</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The caravan was on its side, the water drum splintered in two, and the awning bleached and torn. It was stripped of possessions: the tapestry rugs her mother had woven their stories into, the thick blankets to protect against the cold nights and the food stores: strips of dried cane rat. All gone. </div><div style="text-align: left;">It must have been bandits who took it, for <b>the drum was lying in a slowly-spreading puddle</b> of milk. Her family would have fought hard to conserve that resource - the difference between life and death. She looked at the shape of the dunes. </div><div style="text-align: left;">A set of damp footprints led west.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Extract 6</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">When Jose returned from his game of hopscotch to take a sip of his lemonade, yellow and flecked with tiny pieces of lemon already warm from the afternoon sunshine, he glanced down to make sure his drum was still where he left it. He noticed <b>the drum was lying in a slowly spreading puddle.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b>‘What happened to my drum?’ Jose said in a sharp voice which made everyone stop talking and stare at his indignant face.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The most important part of the competition was the collaboration involved in the process – the writing together. The exercise produced six stories which were passed between the group for feedback. The competition gave us a sense of purpose and community, and in the end, new creative work to edit and improve. It broke the block.<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-19044939268807487982020-12-23T15:17:00.008+00:002020-12-23T16:31:47.490+00:00Writing on-line during Covid by Helen Chambers<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtvevCbMfCo/X-NeTic6w4I/AAAAAAAADms/URhk7Pypar0EpiC4GQLmAmXGlId4ng1zQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/corona-4983590_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtvevCbMfCo/X-NeTic6w4I/AAAAAAAADms/URhk7Pypar0EpiC4GQLmAmXGlId4ng1zQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/corona-4983590_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Covid has played havoc with creativity. Mine definitely, and probably yours. For a while, the only writing I managed was in my newly-named diary, Journal of the Plague Year (with apologies to Daniel Defoe). I dipped into his account for inspiration and was initially shocked by his reporting of daily death totals. Now of course, I’m obsessively familiar with graphs, charts and the R-number.</p><p>One positive aspect of being at home more has been the burgeoning number of author talks, courses and opportunities made available online at reasonable prices, or even better, for free.</p><p>Organisations like <a href="https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk">Moniack Mhor</a>, the Scottish Writers’ Centre, were early finds for me. I’ve listened to Maggie O’Farrell on Hamnet (Maggie cradled a poorly cat whilst talking to us), Val McDermid on crime (at her garden table enjoying tea and cake) and most recently, AL Kennedy cleverly sharing highlighted parts of a ‘lockdown’ short story draft she’d written, whilst explaining her process.</p><p>At <a href="https://www.arvon.org">Arvon</a>, I enjoyed an excellent Joanne Harris session (you can always tell a teacher) discussing structuring a novel from her shed - the magical shed in which she writes and tweets! A smaller writing group, <a href="https://www.meetup.com/MK-Creative-Writing-Meetup-Group">MK Writers</a>, made widely available a wonderful online talk by Tania Hershman and David Gaffney, short-form authors, who expounded their varying story creation process (she writes from word prompts, scientific discoveries and images, he writes from life - overhearings, signs, actual events).</p><p>A cancelled face-to-face event I’d booked months previously also went online. Stephanie Carty’s superb ‘<a href="https://stephaniehutton.com/other">Psychology of Character</a>’ was converted from a day in London to a two-week period of emails and video-clips, which enabled time for reflection between activities.</p><p><a href="https://www.taniahershman.com/wp/events">Tania Hershman</a> offered 5-consecutive days of emailed notes and prompts, at the end of which I had written a new story - and this was instrumental in finally getting me writing fiction once more.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.scottishbooktrust.com">Scottish Book Trust</a> expanded their once-a-month 50 word competition to weekly, and we at the Wivenhoe Writers all tried short-short-short writing (see our earlier<a href="http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.com/2020/06"> blog</a>) We also successfully moved our group meetings online, until we can meet properly once more.</p><p>With lockdowns and restrictions likely to continue into the New Year, let’s keep our eyes open and make the most of the available online opportunities. Happy Writing New Year!</p>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-57034769172053890962020-06-23T14:47:00.000+01:002020-06-24T10:58:12.838+01:00Microfiction on the theme of 'Rose.'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xKgKoUUZ1g/XvIDywN-ncI/AAAAAAAADgQ/SeS0oHxkQlEQ3Z5JyAvmqcxbC9Id4YcdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/rose-3142529_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xKgKoUUZ1g/XvIDywN-ncI/AAAAAAAADgQ/SeS0oHxkQlEQ3Z5JyAvmqcxbC9Id4YcdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/rose-3142529_1920.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
As a writing group exercise, Helen came up with the theme of 'Rose' as the basis from which to write a microfiction. Microfiction is a subsection of Flash fiction and can be as small as fifty words. It's pretty challenging to tell a story with so tight a word count.<br />
Here are some of the results, one of which is a series of Haiku (but still under 50 words).<br />
<h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u> ROSE</u></div>
<o:p><div style="text-align: center;">
by Clare Hawkins</div>
</o:p></h4>
‘Gentle Hermione looks delightful next to the Viburnum,’ she said.<br />
Speaking as Hermione herself, I’d have preferred to have been further away. You can never be too sure with Viburnum. Then when I saw the grubs on his leaves I really panicked.<br />
‘Shift me.’ I wafted my strongest scent at her, but she didn’t heed, didn’t see his leaves going brown, or smell the stink, until the next day.<br />
‘What can we do?’ she squealed when she came dead-heading.<br />
I tried to prick some sense into her.<br />
‘Spray him! Diazinon, Paradichlorobenzene, Paraquat, anything, just do it! I’m your prize rose!’<br />
<h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>ROSE</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by Helen Chambers</div>
</h4>
Rosemary: leggy, blue-grey, Mediterranean type with dry sense of humour, seeks another with an interest in climbing, growth and possibly to establish an anchored root network. Applicant must complement foliage, evergreen nature and promise to keep warm during leaner times. Only aphid-free specimens need apply. Photos required.<br />
<h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>ROSE</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by Sue Whytock</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">All thorns, these bloody roses. Ended up wrapping the stems in kitchen towel - Snowman and Snow Dog on it. Well I can’t get to the shops, can I? It’s either that or bloody bog roll.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">We’re not close neighbours. I’ve always found her a bit stuck up; but before all this, we’d wave and pass the time. Her Colin was the outgoing one. Always whistling.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Should be lillies really...can’t be helped.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I put them on her doorstep anyway, just rang the bell and crossed back to mine. I would have told her to mind the thorns. Can’t be helped. </span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<u>Haiku in four verses</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by Philippa Hawley</div>
</h4>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anniversary</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thirty-eight years you and me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Red roses and fizz? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anniversary</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rose fields and pink champagne or </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fish and chips with beer? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anniversary</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No presents just a card and </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Let’s leave it at that.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anniversary</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Lucky people you and me</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We have all we need</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-62951494438585473552020-05-03T18:24:00.002+01:002020-06-16T17:14:14.731+01:00Character and conflict<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0oQervh8wS0/Xq792IVkU6I/AAAAAAAADd4/-qbsU-La7X45qaJXpJNovKJnhQhEYBrYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/divorce-908743_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1600" height="141" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0oQervh8wS0/Xq792IVkU6I/AAAAAAAADd4/-qbsU-La7X45qaJXpJNovKJnhQhEYBrYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/divorce-908743_1920.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
I’ve just read the brilliant ‘Uninvited’ by <a href="https://www.lizjensen.com/">Liz Jensen</a> (thanks to Helen for the recommendation). The book is described as: ‘A masterclass in creepiness – as unsettling as Margaret Atwood or Kazuo Ishiguro’.<br />
<br />The protagonist, Hesketh, has Aspergers and during the novel is thrown into situations of constant chaos and change, aspects of life he finds difficult to manage. Hesketh is at ease with Venn diagrams and fact, rather than the strange, murderous events which unfold throughout the novel with, seemingly, no logical basis.<br /><br />The ‘Uninvited’ is a masterclass in how to put your character into conflict, and something I think we can all learn from.<br /><br /><u>Conflict</u><br />A good story always has conflict at its core, either external (a difficult relationship or a physical obstacle) or internal (fear) and that conflict must have a satisfactory conclusion. <br /><br />Ways to create conflict include:<br /><ul>
<li>Pitting your character against themselves </li>
</ul>
As in the ‘Uninvited’, part of the conflict is within the character and the character must face their fears or limitations. <br /><ul>
<li>Pitting your character against another person </li>
</ul>
In Harry Potter, the obstacle is the loss of his parents and his awful step-family. He must escape them to find his true nature. <br /><ul>
<li>Giving your character legal conflict </li>
</ul>
Many historical novels use women’s rights as an obstacle for conflict. How will your character succeed in an era where the law is against her? <br /><ul>
<li> Physically trapping your character </li>
</ul>
You might use a prison or an island - somewhere the character needs to escape from. <br /><ul>
<li> Using nature </li>
</ul>
In Jaws this is the man-eating shark. It might also be a tidal wave or a volcano erupting. <br /><ul>
<li>Using technology and science as conflict </li>
</ul>
Frankenstein is a good example of the destructive nature of science, as is Jurassic Park. Humans using science to create monsters. <br /><ul>
<li>The supernatural/unknown </li>
</ul>
The War of the Worlds is a good example of using the unknown to create conflict. Who are the alien species and why are they killing humans?<br /><br />The most successful novels combine internal conflict and external conflict, as well as showing the cost of that conflict. In the Uninvited, the personal conflict is Hesketh’s battle with his Aspergers. The external conflict is him trying to find the reason why the human race is imploding, before it becomes apocalyptic.Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-35932225491031990092020-03-05T19:52:00.000+00:002020-06-23T17:06:13.727+01:00Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor - Breaking the 'rules'<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l262nBgeQTM/XvIoCurdOhI/AAAAAAAADgc/F6mAPtId4e0_98QB_obmgEbwlXCx_t6bQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/080D1380-C076-4423-911D-76800F51992D_1_105_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="754" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l262nBgeQTM/XvIoCurdOhI/AAAAAAAADgc/F6mAPtId4e0_98QB_obmgEbwlXCx_t6bQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/080D1380-C076-4423-911D-76800F51992D_1_105_c.jpeg" width="144" /></a></div>
<br />
I found Jon McGregor’s ‘Reservoir 13’ an utterly absorbing read: a teenage girl disappears near a moorland village and a whole community is affected, in the immediate aftermath and in the years to come. The mystery of her fate underlies the stories of the novel’s many characters, whose lives and experiences change and develop along with the seasons and the surrounding landscapes.<br />
<br />
The novel is also interesting because of the way the writer skilfully violates the standard advice frequently offered to amateur writers of fiction. There are no paragraph divisions, the points of view and locations often alter swiftly, within the space of a page, and the direct speech is not conventionally presented, but integrated within the narrative. The third person narration often describes events, people and topography from a distant, ‘bird’s eye’ view, then swoops in nearer, to reveal individuals, their relationships, their voices and their internal lives. The characters’ separate story lines are variously linked to the girl’s disappearance, the passing years measured by the distance since the event.<br />
<br />
Here is an extract from Chapter 1, which illustrates some of these features. The people in the village are still greatly affected by the disappearance of the girl.<br />
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<i>At the butcher’s for May Day weekend there was a queue but nothing like there once would have been. Nothing like the queue Martin and Ruth needed to keep the shop going. Martin had been keeping this to himself, although it was becoming obvious and nobody asked. Irene was at the front of the queue telling everyone what she knew about the situation at the Hunters’. She did the cleaning there, and knew a thing or two. You can imagine what it’s like for the girl’s parents, she said. Having to watch us all down here just getting on with things. Ruth saying but surely the village couldn’t be expected to put life on hold. Austin Cooper came in with copies of the Valley Echo newsletter and laid them on the counter. Ruth wished him congratulations, and he looked confused for a moment before smiling and backing away towards the door. Irene watched him go, and asked if Su Cooper was expecting. Ruth said yes, at last, and from the back of the queue Gordon Jackson asked would there be any chance of getting served before the baby was born. A breakdown truck came slowly down the narrow street, with a red LDV Pilot van hoisted on the back and a police car following. The van was wrapped in clear plastic. Martin wiped his hands on his apron and stepped outside to watch it pass. Gordon came out with him and lit a cigarette. Martin nodded. That changes things, he said. Fucking break-through is that, Gordon said. The swallows returned in number, and could be seen flying in and out through the open doors of the lambing shed at the Jacksons’ and the cowsheds over at Thompson’s and the outbuildings up on the Hunters’ land. The well-dressing committee had a difference of opinion about whether to dress the boards at all this year. Under the circumstances. There’d never been a year without a well dressing that anyone could remember………… </i><br />
<br />
This section presents a wide range of elements of plot, setting and characters, slipping from straight narrative into free indirect speech then to sudden changes of topic and location: Martin’s awareness of his failing business, the personality of the village gossip Irene, the Cooper’s fertility problems, the progress of the police investigation, Gordon Jackson’s personality, the wider countryside and seasonal village activity.</div>
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<br />
These devices create a rich and compelling picture of the lives of the inhabitants of a village community and the cyclical nature of country life, as well as an intriguing mystery which stretches over thirteen years.<br />
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Clare Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175566645294290362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-14911537238455761582020-02-03T17:40:00.000+00:002020-02-03T18:20:52.833+00:00Five stages of grief by Clare Hawkins<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Five stages of grief</div>
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That morning, (I could not have watched all night),</div>
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came the denial stage: this wasn’t true.</div>
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It was a monstrous error misconstrued,</div>
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until the facts were faced. Then anger flamed</div>
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at those too stupid, ignorant to see</div>
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how they’d been duped by lies and promises</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
a better future. But, what if we tried</div>
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to bargain with them, show them what they’d lose,</div>
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get them to change their minds. Impossible.</div>
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What’s done is done; what’s black is black.</div>
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Depressed and powerless I nurse the loss</div>
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and try to move on to the final stage <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span></div>
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Acceptance <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
that part of my identity</div>
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has been torn out, the country’s turned its back</div>
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on reason and humanity. This state</div>
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is surely the most painful of them all.</div>
Clare Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175566645294290362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-54863525808714612272019-12-08T15:33:00.000+00:002019-12-08T15:59:54.833+00:00100 Rejections in a Year by Helen Chambers.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WNA8ezaS3rs/Xe0WOXE8YpI/AAAAAAAADbg/6mBTBF4o9p4w_lpGRzeB9RxHx0R8DDb7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/image1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WNA8ezaS3rs/Xe0WOXE8YpI/AAAAAAAADbg/6mBTBF4o9p4w_lpGRzeB9RxHx0R8DDb7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/image1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inspired by unexpected writing success in 2018, in 2019 I have aimed for 100 rejections (see <a href="https://lithub.com/why-you-should-aim-for-100-rejections-a-year/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">LitHub</span></a> article in August 2018 blogpost) on the basis that if you submit 100 pieces, something might get published. Furthermore, I wanted something positive to record each month. Spurred on by the supportive Sue Dawes, without whose help I would have achieved far less, we both set up money pots to keep a physical record. We agreed on the following rates: a penny for a rejection, and 5p for an acceptance, long-or-short-list, or publication. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;">I started the year at a cracking pace, and thought I might meet 100 submissions (an average of 8 or 9 per month). As the year continued, I found the pressure and work involved in organising so many submissions become horribly time-consuming. I was aware of writing fewer new pieces, too. This has been the only downside, however, and has been outweighed by the positives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;">The benefits have been huge - see the <a href="https://helenchamberswriter.wordpress.com/writing/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Writing Achievements</span></a> page on my personal blog for the acceptances! In addition, I find I now brush off rejections relatively quickly without sinking into depression. Of course, I still feel huge disappointment when a story I love doesn’t make a mark, and I still have plenty of days where I doubt my ability to write - but I look back knowing that some of my writing has made the grade. I’m also far more open to the idea of editing and improving existing stories. If I’ve liked it, or it’s reached a long-list, then it’s good enough to warrant more work. A change of tense, of focus, or of narrative viewpoint can often reinvigorate and improve a piece. I’ve taken stories written in the past and improved them (now I finally believe that nothing I write is ever wasted!). I’ve taken greater risks with my writing. My editing skills have sharpened throughout the year, and I’ve become more proficient at helping others edit their work. I’ve discovered some fantastic literary journals I’d not known about, and read some excellent writing in their pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;">So, as of 8th December 2019 (I still have two pieces ‘out’ for consideration and a couple more December deadlines I may meet), here is my 2019 tally:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Total: £1.39 </b>made up of </span><span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><b>63</b></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> submissions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5ps: 95p (19 positive responses)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pennies: 44p (44 rejections)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-kerning: none;">I keep a poorly-organised notebook list too, and have most of my stories recorded on index cards, so I can see what I’ve got and where I’ve previously sent things. Sadly, these systems are subject to human error. If I haven't had the right change to hand when I receive the notification, the money may never reach the pot (I’m wary of ‘overpaying’ when I can’t remember!). My notebook, which I sometimes forget to use or can’t find, records 68 submissions. Either way, that still averages at five submissions per month, which is more than ever before - and I know I’ve recorded the positives correctly!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So in 2020 I’m going to continue topping up my money-pot but I plan to work at a less frenetic pace. I haven’t set a target. I want to work on a couple of longer pieces I have in mind, and of course, I still love writing flash. At WriteNight recently, the wonderful Penny Simpson (follow her on twitter @topscribe) talked of choosing one big competition to aim at each year. I plan to steer a relaxed course somewhere between that and my 63 submissions. Happy New Writing Year to you all!</span></div>
Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-52429026052035409432019-10-03T17:01:00.001+01:002019-10-23T20:34:07.127+01:00Author Interview - Edward Wilson by Paula K. Randall<h2>
<b>Interview with Ted Wilson</b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">I first encountered Ted's work when I attended a Crime Fest conference a few years ago, and since then have read all his books. It wasn't until I was reading <i>The Whitehall Mandarin</i> that it dawned on me that we had people and places in common - namely, Lowestoft College, where I think he left the year I joined!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, Ted Wilson, author, lecturer, Vietnam veteran and naturalised Brit, this is your writing life! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1.<i> Your first book, A River in May, wasn’t published until 2002. I wonder if you could talk a bit about your writing before that time. Were you interested in writing before then, or was it your experiences in the Vietnam War that motivated you?</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I began writing my Vietnam novel at the remote outpost of Nong Son in the winter of 1970. Nong Son was defended by a 13 man US Special Forces team and 300 Vietnamese irregulars. I was only 22 years old and not really mature enough to cope with the things that were happening around me. I was very lonely. The only American I bonded with was Thomas Jefferson Rainey. Tom, a fellow lieutenant, was a reserved southern aristocrat – and, as his name suggested, a remote kinsman of the third US president. Tom survived the war, but committed suicide a number of years afterwards – a not uncommon fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My only escape routes at Nong Son were writing and reading – and, of course, Jim Beam and a generous supply of synthetic morphine tablets that a medic had given me to deal with a bout of dysentery. Almost as good as the bourbon and morphine were the boxes of ex-library books we received from the Red Cross, but with their covers torn off so they couldn’t be resold. I devoured them, but stirred clear of any books about war – my reading was escapism. My writing, however, was all about the war and formed the basis of my debut novel – finally published 32 years later. The escapist reading that I enjoyed most was about artists and writers leading a bohemian life. It all sounded so much better than being a soldier. The film about Viet vets that I most relate to is the 1990 <i>Jacob’s Ladder</i> where the protagonist returns to a boho life-style in New York. The film’s dénouement haunts me. Could Jacob Singer and I have suffered the same fate? Could the mostly happy past 50 years of my life – as an ex-pat, an Eng-Lit lecturer, a fairly successful writer and the person typing this blog – all be a drug induced illusion imagined on a triage trolley while the Graves Reg ghouls wait to haul me off to the I Corps mortuary? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br />2. </span></b></span><i><b>And then you moved on to the cold war. Perhaps you could talk a bit about the genesis of Catesby. Does he have a particular counterpart in the real world, or is he an amalgam?</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Catesby doesn’t appear until my third book, <i>The Darkling Spy – </i>although I point out in sly retrospection that Catesby and Bone were nameless undercover agents in the previous book, <i>The Envoy.</i> I hope someday there will be revised new edition of <i>The Envoy</i> in which Catesby will have a cameo walk-on role to justify calling that book the first in the Catesby series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In any case, I wanted to create a main character in whose skin I felt comfortable. My mother, like Catesby’s, served in the bar of her father’s dockside tavern. I suspect that was how she met my father who was a merchant seaman. Like Catesby, whose own father died at sea when he was two, I have no memory of my former merchant sailor father who died when I was seven months old. Importantly, both Catesby and I were brought up in Roman Catholic households where English was not the first language. This created a sense of cultural dislocation, a good background for someone who is going to be a spy. Catesby grew up putting on personas and hiding part of his background. Like Catesby, I was the first generation of my family to go to university and – like him – I married far ‘above myself’. Although Catesby is a vastly different character from me, I do come from the sort of background that allows me to write about the issues he faces. And, ironically, the streets of my childhood home in Baltimore bear an eerie resemblance to the streets around the docks of Catesby’s Lowestoft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But yes, Catesby is also an amalgam. He is not based at all on any literary predecessor, but there is something of him in all the East Anglians I have rubbed shoulders with for the past 43 years and all the British people of his generation that I came in contact with. Catesby, born in 1923, was largely shaped by the war. My late father-in-law, David, was a platoon leader at Monte Casino. My conversations with David and his war diaries provided a valuable insight into what Catesby and his generation experienced. Although my father-in-law, the perfect English gentleman, was totally different from Catesby in character and personality, he was the sort of person Catesby would have admired and aspired, unsuccessfully, to emulate. Catesby’s failure to live up to an ideal is something that plagues him throughout his life. Having said that Catesby has no literary precursors, I now realise that something of Graham Greene’s failed heroes may have unconsciously weaved its way into his characterisation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The book that I recently finished, provisionally entitled <i>Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man</i>, is a Catesby series prequel and coming-of-age novel. It follows Catesby from being a grammar school modern languages whiz, to a year at Cambridge, to SOE training and then his adventures with the Resistance in occupied France. We learn that Catesby is a chameleon. As a working class lad at Cambridge he doesn’t flaunt his proletarian roots, but adapts instead the manners and voices of the posh kids around him. When he returns home for Christmas, he goes to the pub and reverts to talking in a Lowestoft accent, but his effort is greeted by <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">‘a certain coldness from those around him. One of his uncles, a fitter in the shipyard, leaned over and whispered, “What you trying to do, boy? I think it’s time you went back to Cambridge.”’ When you cut your roots you can’t grow them back. I hope that my books are more than spy thrillers</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>3. And we come to my favourite, Kit Fournier. Do you have any plans to bring him back? <o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am pleased that you like Kit. He is an important character in the book I have just begun, provisionally entitled <i>A Very Quiet American. </i>The book is set in Marseille about 1950 where Kit and another CIA officer have been sent to covertly assist the Corsican mafia in their battle against the Communist led dock workers for control of the port of Marseille. Meanwhile Catesby, sent by London to observe and report, exceeds his brief. The story involves the French Connection and I am sure that once again Kit will be struggling with his conscience as well as Catesby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">By the way, Kit Fournier was partly inspired by former CIA officer Philip Agee. This extract from Wikipedia may help explain why: ‘<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Agee stated that his </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Roman Catholic</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> social conscience had made him increasingly uncomfortable with his work by the late 1960s leading to his disillusionment with the CIA and its support for </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarian"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">authoritarian</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> governments across </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Latin America</span></a>.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <i>Your main characters all have connections with Suffolk, even the American Kit Fournier. Could you talk a bit about your connections with Suffolk? <o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Suffolk was love at first sight – although I was warmed up for that first sight by Norfolk and the Yare. It was a late afternoon in June 1975 and I was on the Norwich train to Lowestoft where I had a job interview the next morning at Lowestoft College. What a marvellous train journey. I was bowled over by the big sky, the water, the reeds, the marshes, the meadows, the low lying woodlands. The landscape seemed unpopulated except for ghostly sails mysteriously drifting above the reeds. You couldn’t see the boats or their crews, only the sunlit sails. And the station names evoked East Anglian magic: Reedham, Haddiscoe, Somerleyton. I knew I had finally come home and this lovely merging of water and land and sky was where I would spend the rest of my days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our current home is on the edge of the Saints, a hinterland of mysterious hidden villages – where, by the way, Michael Ondaatje’s most recent novel, <i>Warlight</i>, is partly set. I also lived in Dene Road Lowestoft for six years – a few minutes from the beach and the dunes. I was a lecturer at the college for over twenty years and also did supply teaching at various schools in the town. I also had a happy few years teaching part-time at Leiston High. The other places I’ve lived are Frostenden and Bulcamp, where for a year I rented a cottage that overlooked the Blyth estuary. My wife’s family first came to Suffolk in the 1840s – and still own Dingle Great Farm on the marshes between Walberswick and Dunwich. It’s a very austere place with no mains electricity or mains water, but Clement Attlee used to come there for working holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love Suffolk, but there is also a dark side to its beauty – and you can hear that dark side, reverberating against the beauty, in the music of Benjamin Britten, especially in <i>Peter Grimes. </i>If Suffolk was only sweetness and light, it would be bland. Writers and artists need harshness as well as peace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>5. Do you ever intend to set a novel in your native Baltimore? <o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Baltimore is an utterly fascinating place which has produced more musicians, composers and writers per head of population than any place in the USA – as well as the world’s most famous sociopath. How apt that Thomas Harris chose Baltimore as Hannibal Lecter’s hometown. Likewise, many of the scenes in <i>House of Cards </i>are shot in a Baltimore pretending to be Washington – which, I hope, my fellow Baltimorean and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also finds amusing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, I probably won’t ever set a novel in Baltimore because I don’t think I could do the place justice. Having said that, Kit Fournier is a Baltimorean – and comes from the same posh part of town, North Charles Street, as Dr Lecter. But neither Kit nor Hannibal represent what the city really is. Baltimore is predominantly black and stories about Baltimore should be mostly about black lives. I very much admire David Simon for getting the mix right in <i>The Wire.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fellow Baltimoreans include Billie Holiday, Frank Zappa, Cab Calloway, Edgar Allan Poe, Philip Glass and Mrs Wallis Simpson, who nearly became Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. <i> None of your novels fit the standard tropes of British spy novels. Catesby in particular is quite conflicted by being, on the one hand, a member of the British establishment, and on the other, quite strongly left-leaning. How far do Catesby’s attitudes reflect your own views? <o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Catesby’s politics are a reflection of my own. But what is now called ‘strongly left’ would have been the political centre ground during the post-war years. The shocking thing for an Attlee supporting Labourite of Catesby’s generation is how far the UK and the USA have drifted to the right. Eisenhower, a Republican president, taxed the richest at 93% and denounced the ‘military-industrial complex’. Harold Macmillan, a Conservative PM, dismantled most of the British empire and maintained state ownership of rail and public utilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am writing this just a day after former MI6 boss, Sir Richard Dearlove, condemned John le Carré’s books as being ‘corrosive’. I stand shoulder to shoulder with le Carré against this attack. Le Carré isn’t the corrosive one, it is Dearlove himself. On the very day of the 2017 general election Richard Dearlove wrote an article in <i>The Daily Telegraph </i>condemning Jeremy Corbyn as an ‘old fashioned international socialist’ who would be ‘profoundly dangerous’ as prime minister. It is shocking – and frightening – that a former head of the Secret Intelligence Service should intervene so openly in an election. In <i>A Very British Ending</i>, I wrote about how members of MI5 and MI6 conspired with the CIA to overthrow Harold Wilson’s government – even if it meant staging a military coup to do so. Dearlove’s words give a chilling credence to my work of ‘fiction’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think it is unfortunate that so many writers of spy fiction are afraid to show their political leanings – or maybe, even more alarming, they haven’t any politics. Everyone knew that Graham Greene was a lefty and that Evelyn Waugh – whom I much admire – was a high Tory. It didn’t hurt their sales. On the other hand, Erskine Childers, who made no secret of his politics either, was executed by firing squad. Another writer who fared badly owing to his politics was Dashiell Hammett. I am proud that Hammett, yet another fellow Baltimorean, and I went to the same high school.<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Unfortunately, Sam Hammett (as Dashiell was known) had to leave the school at age 14 to help support his family. The experience of poverty turned Hammett into a life-long left-wing activist – which eventually landed him in prison. As a trustee of the Civil Rights Congress, Hammett was subpoenaed to give evidence at the height of the McCarthyite witch-hunt. He refused to name other activists and was sentenced to six months in jail where he was assigned the job of cleaning toilets. Hammett was blacklisted and his books removed from public libraries. He died in poverty a few years later. I think the job of a novelist is like Lord Reith’s injunction for the BBC, but with ‘entertain’ coming first. If we don’t entertain, the reader won’t turn the pages to be to be informed and educated. I’m proud that my books have a leftish tinge – and I’m sure the ghost of Sam Hammett is nodding approval.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>7. <i>I’m aware that your books have been read by people who were themselves involved in some of the real world incidents you refer to in your books, for example the surveillance on Harold Wilson, and the events surrounding the Falklands War, and insofar as I’ve spoken to some of them they have generally been impressed by what they see as your ‘insider knowledge’. Without getting anyone in hot water, could you talk a bit about your close understanding of the activities in the so-called corridors of power? </i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At times I’m just as much of an investigative journalist as I am a novelist. But, like most journalists, most of what I dig up is the result of paper chases and online research rather than talking to people. It’s what people in the intelligence services call ‘open-source intelligence’. I have talked to a few people who trod the corridors of power and a few of them have passed on interesting anecdotes. But, sadly, following me around while I do research wouldn’t make a very interesting television drama. Often what I discover from talking to real people is confirmation of what I already suspected. Once, for example, I had a chat with a person – very near the pinnacle of power – who confided to me that certain military officers had been planning for a coup to remove Harold Wilson. Well, that didn’t change anything in my book because it had already been published. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For me, a more important aspect of rubbing shoulders with people who have walked the corridors of power is becoming familiar with their culture and manners. All of them are courteous and often good company, but most of them are tight-lipped. When defending her order to sink the <i>Belgrano </i>against Diana Gould in the famous BBC <i>Nationwide</i>confrontation, Thatcher maintained that she hadn’t heard that Argentina had agreed to a peace plan and an immediate ceasefire – even though cables had been pinging across the Atlantic for sixteen hours. There are, I am sure, a few mandarins still alive who know this is a lie, but their lips will remain forever sealed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, not all diplomats are always diplomatic – particularly as they get older. One of my best sources for research – and it is an absolute treasure trove of insider indiscretion – is the British Diplomatic Oral History Programme at Churchill College Cambridge. Shhh!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. <i> And finally, it’s said that there are two kinds of writers: those who plan methodically, and those who just begin and see where the characters and events take them. But I get the sense from reading your work that you actually have a different approach from either of those, that in fact you start with a big idea and work the novel around that. Could you comment on your own methods?</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You are absolutely right: I don’t plan methodically nor do I just let the narrative hare off in an uncontrolled way. Character is, however, more important than plot. No one remembers Raymond Chandler’s plots, but everyone remembers Marlowe. The opening paragraph of <i>The Big Sleep</i> is all about character with only a thin nod to plot at the end:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Catesby, by the way, would love a pair of those socks. And what a fine literary touch they are too. Chandler’s book is about death (the ‘black wool’) and time (the ‘dark blue clocks’). Sorry for the pract. crit. excursion, but my dark secret is that I want my books to be literary fiction rather than just ‘thrillers’. I admire Graham Greene and le Carré for having done both.</div>
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The best plots are often a combination of the subconscious and real life memory. The final dénouement of The Whitehall Mandarin was inspired by a single sentence that I heard uttered about two a.m. on New Year’s morning in the 1990s in a house overlooking the entrance of a Suffolk river (unnamed to protect the memory of the person involved). You will find a paraphrased version on p339, line 5. By the way, when you finish reading p356 of this book, may I recommend you reread pages 25 and 26 to help you decide what really happened?<br />
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I try to write novels which are an interaction between history and character – and between historical characters and purely fictional characters. My excellent editor, Martin Fletcher, has dubbed my writing ‘docufiction’. Docufiction is usually a film genre in which real life characters, such as the Aran islanders in Man of Aran, interact with professional actors. Pure historical fiction deals only with real historical characters (however distorted and fictionalised they may be), but my docufiction novels pose characters who are totally fictional (Catesby, Fournier, Henry Bone) against real historical characters (the Kennedys, Heath, Thatcher, Francis Pym, the totally mad James Jesus Angleton). I feel that my fictional creations are better able to probe and reveal the characters of historical figures than their historical contemporaries. I also feel that fictional characters can be more interesting than historical ones. While researching my books I often find that real life figures from history, especially the villains, turn out to be dull and dreary. Hannah Arendt’s description of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann as ‘terrifyingly normal’ and representing ‘the banality of evil’ is chillingly apt.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you for having been patient enough to read my comments. I hope they provide some enlightenment not just about my novels, but about books and writing in general.</span></b><b style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<b style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if you'd like to read Ted's books, find them on his <a href="http://www.edwardwilson.info/index.html">website. </a> </span></b></div>
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Paula K. Randallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12763000441465062829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-85765502733857283242019-08-13T07:40:00.000+01:002019-08-13T07:40:47.890+01:00How to avoid sentimentality in writing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How to avoid sentimentality in writing.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I have recently been working on a
novel in which I have found it hard to avoid slipping into rather cringe-makingly
sentimental writing. After completing the first draft I googled this problem
and discovered what I think is useful advice on the blog <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Storm Writing School</i> <a href="https://blog.stormwritingschool.com/avoid-sentimentality/">https://blog.stormwritingschool.com/avoid-sentimentality/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I like the sensible and practical
approach taken by the author T.D. Storm. Using the distinction between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sentiment</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sentimentality</i>, he emphasises the fact that successful story
telling inevitably involves conveying emotion and engaging the emotions of the
reader.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
‘In order to imply true emotion,
a writer needs to hit a sweet spot between supplying enough detail and
overdoing it.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
He provides amusing examples of
two types of ‘distortion’ of emotion that can occur in writing: ‘distortion by
excess’ – too much melodrama, cliché, telling rather than showing,
tear-jerking; and ‘distortion by lack’ – a complete deficit of emotion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
In addition, he offers 7 remedies
for the avoidance of sentimental writing, which I’ll try and summarise below:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Know and develop your characters fully, so that
their reactions and idiosyncrasies will make their emotional responses more
authentic and less like stock reactions.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Include interiority and past. Show how the
character thinks and how the past impinges on the present scene.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Include speculation and prediction. Characters
thinking about the future is an authentic human reaction, but beware of
daydreams as plot devices</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Include sensory detail. Use settings and objects
to reveal a character’s sensory experience and show what he/she perceives.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Get rid of your own feelings. An imagined scene
can be very highly emotionally charged. Putting your writing aside for a while
and asking the opinion of trusted readers will help create distance between
imagining and reading.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Earn your sentiment situationally. The interior
experience of the character has to have a context. You need a situation that
leads to the emotion.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Risk sentimentality. You need to make readers
feel, so take the risk of being sentimental.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
He follows this up with an invitation
for people to write a scene using the two types of distortion he has
illustrated, and then write another piece that hits ‘the sweet spot.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I must try this, but first I’ll
go back to my draft and check out all the scenes where sentimentality has crept
in!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Storm Writing School</i> also has a wide range of other useful sources
of advice, information and support for writers. <a href="https://www.stormwritingschool.com/">https://www.stormwritingschool.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
Clare Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175566645294290362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-16401272597614451472019-07-03T16:54:00.000+01:002019-07-03T16:54:00.440+01:00Where do ideas come from?<br />
<h1>
<span lang="EN-GB">The genesis of ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A question that all writers get asked from
time to time is: where do you get your ideas from? Well that’s not always easy
to answer. Ideas come from the mind, don’t they? From the imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Well, yes and no, I would say to that.
There’s usually a spark somewhere that emanates from something a writer has
seen or heard, something read, maybe on the news. Sometimes it may come from a
snatch of conversation overheard on a bus, or in a café or pub. That doesn’t
mean that anything and everything gets turned into a story, and usually, if it
does, it comes out in a different form. And quite often it’s misremembered
anyway. But somewhere along the line that incident has stayed inside the head
of the writer, slowly taking shape, emerging half-formed, to be worked on,
polished, tossed about until it reaches its final shape where it’s quite
probably unrecognisable from the original incident. I often think ideas are
like sauerkraut, they start from very humble beginnings to ferment, with time
and patience, into something nutritious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What
started me thinking about this was reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Plotting
and Writing Suspense Fiction</i> by Patricia Highsmith, herself an absolute
master of the art. She gives as an example the various stimuli that set Bram
Stoker on the way to his masterpiece, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dracula.
</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When holidaying in Whitby he
apparently came across an old newspaper report of a shipwreck which had landed
on the beach below the ruined abbey with no survivors on board. From this he
developed the idea of Dracula’s coffin washing ashore.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At this year’s Cromarty Arts
Festival Ian Rankin talked about his idea for the short story and radio play </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">The Death Watch Journal</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On holiday with his wife in St. Lucia he saw a clipping from an edition
of Private Eye about a private detective who had been found dead in a car park
whilst looking into a miscarriage of justice. This combined in his mind with
another incident in which children found a body in a wood in an abandoned car
and Voila! A story began to emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For myself, ideas can take years
– even decades to germinate. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Hangman’s Wood</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> began because I saw the writer Simon Kernick being interviewed by
Mariella Frostrup, and talking about an incident that occurred to himself and
another boy when they were abducted and taken into a nearby wood and physically
assaulted. My current work in progress, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Washed in the Blood</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, was precipitated by two incidents, both of
which took place over thirty years ago. One was a report of a small child’s
body washed up on the beach somewhere down south. The child had been in his
pyjamas, and no-one ever claimed him. The other part of the plot was driven by
a story told me by a total stranger at a bus stop, which was that her grandson
had just committed suicide because the company who’d employed him on a Youth
Employment Scheme had given him the sack as soon as he was eighteen and
therefore entitled to a proper wage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So ideas can come from the most
unexpected places. And at the time they may not even feel like ideas. But where
they don’t come from is from somebody saying to you </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">– I know a good story you could write</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. That, I’m afraid just doesn’t
work. That’s your story, not mine, and I like to use my own imagination, even
though sometimes it seems to be wearing a bit thin!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Paula K
Randall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Paula K. Randallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12763000441465062829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426186865370466570.post-4497666679997141362019-05-30T13:50:00.000+01:002019-05-30T13:50:49.781+01:00Wivenhoe Open Air Shakespeare company<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Did your first experience of Shakespeare at school put you
off, or were you lucky with an inspirational teacher? I was lucky and loved it,
but hadn’t acted in a play since I was at primary school. In an area of my life
loosely related to my writing, I’m co-directing </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Macbeth</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> - my second Shakespeare performance – for the Wivenhoe Open
Air Shakespeare Company (WOASC).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When I was a primary-school teacher,
I used drama and wrote and staged devised plays and noticed how the whole
process improved the children’s writing, understanding and confidence. Wanting
to develop my skills, in 2012 I went along to watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Tempest </i>in rehearsal with Sheila Foster (Director and Founder
of WOASC) and stayed. I became prompter for the performance. By the end of the
run, I knew the play so well, I devised and wrote a version which the year 6
class performed - followed in subsequent years by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beowulf</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Treasure Island</i> (I was thrilled
that when OFSTED came into the hall to watch my lesson, we were rehearsing the mutineer
versus crew fight scene!) and several other small-scale productions. I enthusiastically
taught English through drama and was disappointed when the government cut much
of it from the National Curriculum, as I’d seen how much it helped, and indeed
I sent a tranche of children off to secondary school with a love of
Shakespeare. But that’s for a different blog post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the meantime, I tentatively had a
try at acting for myself and cut my teeth as a comic character called Slender
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Wives of Windsor</i>. Making the
audience laugh went straight to my head and I was hooked! Maybe I’d been an
actor all along, as a teacher. Later parts for WOASC included Lord Essex in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King John</i>, Celia in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">As You Like It</i>, a multitude of small parts in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pericles</i> (including an assassin and also the Goddess Diana) and
Saleria in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merchant of Venice</i>. I am
in no way a Shakespeare expert, though I’ve learned a huge amount from
performing in these plays. If you’re interested – and it’s great fun – look out
for our open, informal workshops during the Autumn and Spring, when we’re not
rehearsing for our summer performance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Last year, I was lucky enough to
co-direct the complex and intriguing lesser-known play <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cymbeline</i> with Sheila, and this year I’m Assistant Director (with
Clare Durance directing) for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth</i>.
We’re performing in St Mary’s Churchyard, Wivenhoe, and, if you’re local, I
strongly urge you to come and watch. For those of you who are confused (and I
was, until I became involved) a Director guides the actors performances, while
a Producer organises everything in between venue-booking and insurance,
printing of posters, tickets and programmes, right through to ensuring there
are audience toilet facilities! There is a huge and talented production team to
co-ordinate and the crew (staging, lighting, costume design, props, publicity,
music) comprises a greater number of people than actors. This year we are
Producers as well as Directors (the latter being more fun) working with the
cast on interpreting Shakespeare’s lines and telling the story as a whole. We
started work last Autumn, auditioned in February, and began rehearsing our
superb cast at the end of March. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The WOASC philosophy is to tell the
story as clearly as we can, so the audience can follow (even without much
knowledge of Shakespearean language). We hope we’ve achieved that, although the
language in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth</i> is truly beautiful
- some of the best - and it’s been described as a long poem with good reason. There
is something very special about whole atmosphere and experience of Outdoor
Theatre (fingers crossed for dry evenings, wrap up warm even if it’s a hot day!).
Do come, 25-29th June, 7.30pm, tickets £7.50 from the Wivenhoe Bookshop and
online </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/macbeth"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">here</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">. Next year, I’m Lead
Director and I’m already playing around with ideas. Watch this space!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556540412752681231noreply@blogger.com6