Chapter and Verse

What a week! Monday afternoon I went to a writers’ workshop run by Jeff Phelps. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon although I suspect it didn’t quite go according to plan. One of the participants asked how can an editor edit fiction? I suppose in the ideal world no one has the right to edit your creativity but we don’t live in an ideal world and the bottom line is, if you want your work published, you have to give the editor what they want. All the stories published in magazines have to follow guidelines that have been laid down by the magazine and you have to adapt your work to fit their guidelines. Even competitions have rules that must be adhered to. There is no point submitting your brilliant

story of two tho

usand words to a competition that states the maximum word count is sixteen hundred words. It will be disqualified. So whether we like it or not, fiction is edited one way or another.

It was also

nice to see Jeff again, he was a member of Wrekin Writers when I first joined many years ago.

Monday evening I went up to Bishops Castle to hear the crime writer Priscilla Masters www.priscillamasters.com Her story is very different to most. One of seven adopted children of different nationalities she grew up in Yorkshire. Her entry into writing was the result of an aunt asking her what she was going to do with her life. The rest, so they say is history. If you haven’t heard Cilla talk she’s well worth seeing, as for me I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Thursday evening I was off out again. This time I went to Church Stretton library to hear Gillian Linscott. Gillian started her career as a journalist covering such exciting stories as jumble sales and lost dogs. Eventually she moved into writing crime novels and gardening. She now lives and works at Hampton Court, no not that one, the one in Herefordshire where she gardens during the day and writes in the evening. Again I had a wonderful evening.

Friday afternoon I had coffee and cake in Craven Arms with Phil Rickman. Phil like Gillian was a journalist who has also turned his hand to writing fiction. Ghost hunting is his speciality and consequently the discussion did turn to ghosts and seeking them out. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it was an interesting afternoon. Not quite sure though how far he goes with his research or whether he does it alone. I don’t think I would.

These events were arranged as part of the Bridgnorth and South Shropshire Literary Festival. I've had a wonderful time and learned a lot and am grateful to the organisers for arranging the festival. Hopefully it will be repeated next year but with better publicity. Also it was fantastic that there was so much going on right on my doorstep, now that does make a change.

Chairman's Challenge

Last month's chairman's challenge was to write something based on our experiences at Attingham Park. Foolishly I agreed to judge it and God was it difficult. The trouble with Wrekin Writers is that they're all gifted and talented writers who use their abilities to their full potential when writing a challenge. I struggled over this one, there were so many excellent and diverse entries to choose from. But like many a judge before me I had to make a choice. Here are the winning entries.

1st - Nicola Vincent

Attingham Deer Park

 

Grazing at twilight

Antlers in proud silhouette

Against the Wrekin

 

2nd Carole Carr

Nineteenth Century Wealth

When I went down the pit,

 I drew little wagons with the girdle and chain.

Hard work it was,

Blisters as big as shillings and half-crowns,

All full of water they were one day, broken the next,

And the girdle stuck to the wound.

 

Got badly burnt once,

Phew!  Up went the gas,

Scorched my face all over,

So the skin peeled off.

 It were shocking to see.

 

We had a great feast day,

When the owner came from the big house.

No sir, I don’t know his name. 

3rd Beverley Woodhouse

Cedars of Lebanon

 

What have you witnessed, Cedars of Lebanon, having grown so tall while your roots have driven deep into the rich earth during your 200 years at Attingham Park?

 

Your horizontal canopies look divine against the pale stone angular building – the reason you were brought here from the Grand Tour.

 

While you look out over peaceful Shropshire, what of your siblings, some an amazing 3000 years old, in your homeland?  Much revered, the emblem on money, stamps and the national flag, have they wept at the turmoil, destruction and suffering there?

.

Yet still, a symbol of strength, power, and continuity, you have survived, at home and abroad.  Statuesque, silent, strong. 

Chairman's note

Someone else is judging next months 

Attingham Park - Day 2

Wow it rained, the wind blew and then it rained some more. The
great British weather, unpredictable, varied and damn inconsiderate. But, it
didn't deter us. Wrekin Writers and our local Shropshire authors donned rain
coats, fleeces, jumpers and big smiles for our second day at Attingham Park.
Foolhardy maybe, undeterred never.

Looking after the Wrekin Writers' stall today we had Jenny and
her bump, Fiona and Steve. We were joined later by Sue Ross who was in her
element stroking dogs and talking to children, or was it the other way round?
I'm anticipating a load of children's entries for the competition - thanks
Sue.

Despite the weather though, we still laughed, chatted, networked
and had a damn good time. Simon did say though that he should've put a piece of
steak behind his posters to attract all the passing dogs and their owners -
perhaps next year. Oh didn't I tell you guys about that....?

This weekend has been a resounding success. I would like to thank the local authors who came along and joined in the spirit of the event and members of Wrekin Writers who have supported it. However, a great big thank you must go to Dorothy Nicolle and Simon Whaley who have worked so hard to make this event the success it has been. And also to all the local authors who have come along to not only sell their books but to give their time so freely.

Thank you everyone.

Attingham Park Day 1

Wow what an amazing day! The sun shone, the crowds came and all authors sold books. Wrekin Writers also sold three copies of the 2008 anthology (thanks Julie's relatives, much appreciated). We handed out leaflets about the group, that in itself could prove to be interesting and Darren, our fantastic publicity officer, created a crossword about Attingham and sold a lot of copies at 50p each. 

Wrekin Writers display their Chairman's Challenges and advertise their author's books.

 

Part of our marketing/recruitment team or perhaps the best way to describe them would be muggers, no one got past them. This is Julie and Nicola but also helping were Barbara and Darren. Everyone who entered Attingham Park today were given the opportunity to enter our special Chairman's Challenge event, 100 words on your visit to the park. The prizes are National Trust Vouchers. Let's hope we get plenty of entries, if the efforts put in by the group are anything to go by, I shall have loads of entries dropping on my door mat.

Dorothy (and I know she'll kill me) having a well earned cup of tea. She has worked so hard to make sure this event is a success and for that Dorothy many, many thanks.

 

And when it got busy, it was very, very busy.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone. From Wrekin Writers, there's Barbara, Mollie, Fiona and her husband Steve, Darren, Julie, Nicola, Phyllis, and Bev. Wrekin Writers' (book authors) Di, Simon and Carole.Also I'd like to thank the Shropshire authors who met, mingled and laughed with us.

All in all, we had a fantastic day. Looking forward to tomorrow

Different doors, different viewpoints

If I lived in a town or a city and when opening my front door I heard gunshots, I’d run for cover and immediately phone the police. But where I live I regularly open my front door and hear gunshots and think nothing of it. Those guns aren’t threatening me, but causing serious concern for the bunnies in the fields.

It’s important when you’re writing to decide which viewpoint you are writing from and to stick to it. As you can see, same scenario but different viewpoint and you have a totally different story.

Chairman's Challenge

Last month's Chairman's Challenge was 'battlefields'. Our treasurer Bryan had the unenviable task of judging it. When he sent me the results his comment was

'It was really hard actually, I was staring at the last 6 for ages, and eventually just had to go with my gut feel.'

So, in the nicest possible way, well done Wrekin Writers for giving Bryan such a hard time.

1st - Di Perry

The atmosphere had already started to build even though the battlefield was empty. They waited, impatient for it to commence, but the pushing and shoving had begun. Eye contact had been made and now there was no going back. The desire to achieve their goal was obvious.

They all held their breath as the huge sword was lifted into the air and sliced down onto the blood red ribbon to officially open the W.I Jumble sale.

2nd - Nicola Vincent

Milan, January 1995. In the narrow confines of the apartment, five hundred miles from the battlefields of Yugoslavia, a truce is called . Serb and Croat recognise diplomacy as the only way to co-exist.

In a language foreign to both, courtesies are observed and, if unavoidable, the briefest of conversations.

The shared experience of destruction and loss counts for nothing. Only recently they were neighbours, if never quite friends. Now, there is only distrust; an unspoken hatred.

The world watches as tensions between Belgrade and Zagreb blaze out of control, while behind shutters in Milan a nervous peace is found.

3rd - Dorothy Vincent

Go on I dare you!

Take a peak in Simon’s bedroom. No you don’t need to leg it over to his place, all you need to do is get this month’s copy of Writer’ Forum. Featured in this month’s ‘my writing space’ is our very own Simon Whaley and yes you’ve guessed it, his writing space is in his bedroom.

An expose it is but don’t worry your blushes have been spared. The photograph shows Simon sitting at an incredibly tidy desk with the ubiquitous mug of tea clasped in his hand. The article tells how a small corner of his bedroom has been turned into his workspace and how his filing system works.

Does it matter where you work? No it doesn’t, what is important is that you write. Simon, when he saw my cupboard, said he envied my space, away from house and all mine. Sadly though, and now it’s confession time, I don’t do half as much work in there as I should. Which goes to prove the old saying ‘it’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it’ and look at how successful Simon has become from the corner of his bedroom.

Food for thought.