I am fully aware that it is not blog takeover day until the morrow but if I don't take my chance while she's distracted I may never have the opportunity to comment, and share her secrets with you all again!
God, she's hard work. There I've said it. I've waited six months to get that off my chest and it feels great! She's a complete and utter nightmare to work with - full of self doubt and frustration - you should hear the language when she's had a rejection or six, Phooey! She's disorganised and messy. I've been shoved in her drawers for all that time. It's been ever so drafty and dark in there, I can tell you. Every now and then dhe has a rummage around and I think 'YES! It's my turn!' But, alas, she pulls out a paper clip and slams her drawers shut again.
But the other day, at last, my time had come. I was taken out from her drawers and placed majestically on her desk. But I saw a terrible sight on the way up there - it made my spine go cold. I'm sure she's told you about her piles before now,but this is something much worse. I saw, there, lying at the back of her cupboard, rows and rows of used notebooks. 'Oh my!' I gasped. She told me I was the only one - that she'd never done it before - I was her first! How could she? I felt a fool - I believed her and she took advantage of me - I will never trust a writer again. They are a scurvy lot of odd looking unscrupulous, good for nothing, low lifes anyway! ;0
The notebooks sleep on the back shelves, shoved out of the way in the darkness, unloved and ignored since she'd scribbled in them. All those pages full of ideas - oh the ecstasy they must have felt as she ran her pen across their pages! But to what end? It's criminal.
The worst of it it that she has three shiny new pens she won for letters of the week in the local newspaper and these pens have never been used - they are still in their boxes. I've heard them whimpering, begging to be set free. I would so like to offer them my pages so they can run free across my chest in gay, wanton, abandon! But they remain penned in, dependent on her will, paying penance for a crime they haven't committed. She has a penchant for stashing things away and despite her assurances to you that her piles are under control, I beg to differ! She shows no remorse, no penitence. She'll be drawing her pension before she gets those poor pens out.
Still. If you are reading this will you tell her to get her posh pens out and use them - it's what they are for - writing. She's cruel to her pens - they need to run free, not be kept penned up and forgotten.
Oh and don't tell her I told you but she likes nothing more than to dance around the living room to Lady GaGa's CDs when she thinks no one is watching! If I can get a video of her doing it on here I will. I promise - oh I so do!
She told me that I'm going to be her new Wrekin Writer notebook for 2010! Ooh I'm looking forward to going to their meetings - you think they go there to talk about writing - pah! I'll tell you the truth of the matter, don't you worry!
Happy New Year!
Julie's new moleskine notebook (free at last! Oh she is so going to regret setting me free! I'll get my own back on her and I intend to free those who have gone before me) And also signed on behalf of Julie's posh pens xxxx
Julie's Quest
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Final Words of the Year from Julie's Quest
As we hurtle into 2010 (where has 2009 gone?) now is the time to let go of last year's disappointments, traumas and troubles. All that doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is what you intend to do about all the rejections and missed opportunities of 2009. You can go either way here: forget all about your writing and just give up, or strive to improve your writing and move forward with it. Although I've been sorely tempted to do the former many a time over the past year, I haven't and I won't. I intend to go with my latter instinct and keep practising my writing so I can get better at it and hopefully get more work published in the process.
I had a bit of a wobble over the past few days as I'd done no writing over the Christmas period, I'd scared myself by thinking I would never be capable of writing another sentence again! But after taking a few deep breaths into a paper bag my heart rate has returned to normal and the panic is over. I always worry what I would do if I lost the writing urge completely. I love writing so much!
So let's look forward to 2010 with our pen in our hands or fingers poised on the keyboard and make 2010 our best writing year ever! I'm not sure where my blog will be going in 2010 - I'm always looking at ways to make it more interesting and helpful for other writers, so we'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for your continued support.
Happy new year
Julie xx
I had a bit of a wobble over the past few days as I'd done no writing over the Christmas period, I'd scared myself by thinking I would never be capable of writing another sentence again! But after taking a few deep breaths into a paper bag my heart rate has returned to normal and the panic is over. I always worry what I would do if I lost the writing urge completely. I love writing so much!
So let's look forward to 2010 with our pen in our hands or fingers poised on the keyboard and make 2010 our best writing year ever! I'm not sure where my blog will be going in 2010 - I'm always looking at ways to make it more interesting and helpful for other writers, so we'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for your continued support.
Happy new year
Julie xx
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Not so technologically challenged!
Hurrah! I have tweeted! The ruddy thing worked this time - computers! I shall never understand them - nor shall they ever understand me. For any other tweeters out there in Blog Land, I am on twitter as writeoldwitter.
I am going to watch The Turn of the Screw tonight - I like a good old ghost story. I watched The Day of The Triffids over the past two evenings but was slightly disappointed with it. I remember the original series in the 70s/80s - far better done and more scary! Now I remember why I don't like gardening. So I hope this evening's offering is better.
Don't forget to do your Blog Takeover Day posting. See Sally Quilford's blog for details. It was such fun last time and I know it's going to be even better this time round! But who or what to choose to take over this blog?!
Julie xx
I am going to watch The Turn of the Screw tonight - I like a good old ghost story. I watched The Day of The Triffids over the past two evenings but was slightly disappointed with it. I remember the original series in the 70s/80s - far better done and more scary! Now I remember why I don't like gardening. So I hope this evening's offering is better.
Don't forget to do your Blog Takeover Day posting. See Sally Quilford's blog for details. It was such fun last time and I know it's going to be even better this time round! But who or what to choose to take over this blog?!
Julie xx
Technologically challenged!
I went on Twitter again today. I remembered joining up some time ago and was ashamed to see that I'd only tweeted once since I joined three months ago!! I also went on Facebook as I hadn't been on there for longer than I can remember. I know that tweeting and this social networking shenanigans are important for writers but I just forget to go on them! I'm terrible. I'm sure I must have accounts on other networks too that I've just forgotten about and haven't a hope in hell of remembering any passwords or user names let alone the name of the site! It was Carole Anne Carr who got me thinking about all of this as she'd posted recently that she'd cut dowm on the amount of sites she was a member of and it's a good idea.
I must make an effort to tweet and facebook more often - but with face book, I only stopped using it for a while as it was taking over my writing time - the peril of social networking: great for keeping updated and possibly networking with other writers and plugging your own writing, but terrible for the writing itself!
My New Year's resolution is to use the sites in moderation and to write more each day by turning off the TV and putting the 'how to' books away for a while, unless I want to look something up specific. I'm also going to strive to move my 'office' upstairs away from distractions like Jeremy Kyle's show and This morning and disable my email/Internet while I'm working as that's a BIG, big distraction. I'll also be following Lynne Hackle's advice re cleansing rituals as I feel I need to lighten my working atmosphere.
I'm looking forward to the new year and feel raring to get back to the writing. I'm feeling a bit guilty as I haven't done much over the past few weeks. I was getting scared that I'd lost the urge and the ability to write over the festive season, but I am relieved to say that this is not the case. Let's hope 2010 is a great year for writers everywhere!
On a technical note: Is it me or Twitter that is having a dim moment? I can't seem to add any tweets? Any ideas? Plus I want to put the posts I did about the women's mags in my side bar so they are there permanently but I can't!!
Julie xx
I must make an effort to tweet and facebook more often - but with face book, I only stopped using it for a while as it was taking over my writing time - the peril of social networking: great for keeping updated and possibly networking with other writers and plugging your own writing, but terrible for the writing itself!
My New Year's resolution is to use the sites in moderation and to write more each day by turning off the TV and putting the 'how to' books away for a while, unless I want to look something up specific. I'm also going to strive to move my 'office' upstairs away from distractions like Jeremy Kyle's show and This morning and disable my email/Internet while I'm working as that's a BIG, big distraction. I'll also be following Lynne Hackle's advice re cleansing rituals as I feel I need to lighten my working atmosphere.
I'm looking forward to the new year and feel raring to get back to the writing. I'm feeling a bit guilty as I haven't done much over the past few weeks. I was getting scared that I'd lost the urge and the ability to write over the festive season, but I am relieved to say that this is not the case. Let's hope 2010 is a great year for writers everywhere!
On a technical note: Is it me or Twitter that is having a dim moment? I can't seem to add any tweets? Any ideas? Plus I want to put the posts I did about the women's mags in my side bar so they are there permanently but I can't!!
Julie xx
Monday, 28 December 2009
The End of Year Clearout Has Begun!
And I don't mean the indulging-too-much-over-the-festive-period type of clear out! I mean that I have started to clear out the old writing stuff from 2009 in readiness for the new stuff in 2010. I am ashamed to say that I had allowed my piles to accumulate and grow again since my last clear out. Even though after my last clear out I vowed never again to have piles, but there they were - taunting me! And they were very uncomfortable.
It all came to a head when my daughter and I were in bed one morning. She's taken to climbing into my bed early in the mornings before the alarm goes off and this particular morning she stared at my book case that is against the wall opposite the bed, folded her arms and announced, "you really must tidy up your bookcase, Mummy. It's a mess."
Quite! It was. But it is no longer. I looked at the many, many, many paperbacks I'd picked up at the local fetes in the summer of 2008 (there were about 50 of them) that I'd pledged to read over the year, yet there they were sitting there, covered in dust, unread and unloved. They had to go. They are in a bin bag awaiting a day when I can get them down to the second hand bookshop or the charity shop. It was a little painful but I know I won't read them and someone else will.
I actually found it quite cathartic and liberating in the end. Getting rid of old rubbish that has sat on my shelves far longer than they ought to have is very cleansing, I find. I'm hoping that by decluttering my workspace and the rest of the house, I'll declutter my brain somewhat and let the new ideas through that are squashed between the old never-going-to work writing ideas and trying desperately to squeeze through to the front where they can be seen and heard.
I had loads of old stories I'd cut out of magazines from 2007/2008 and reams of old papers and scribbles and multiple copies of old manuscripts that are now destined for the shredder. Why did I keep them all this time? Why? Why? Why?! I now have all the copies of Take A Break, Fiction Feast, The Weekly News, People's Friend and Woman's Weekly that I collected over last year all in one place, so that I can re-read them, analyse them, and try and make my short stories the same standard.
I have to admit, though, that the negative thought of, 'oh no, here we go again,' has crossed my mind on a few occasions. I mean I've tried so hard to get my short stories published and half of me thinks can I do it? Or am I just wasting my time trying? But then I remember that I did get one published in 2009 and if I buckle down to it and learn from the my research and analysis of the stories that did make it into publication, then I have a better chance of getting mine published than if I just give up.
Does anyone else have a clear out at this time of year? And what are your hopes for your writing in 2010? Have you any specific targets that you're aiming for, or are you just going to play it by ear and see what comes your way?
Julie xx
It all came to a head when my daughter and I were in bed one morning. She's taken to climbing into my bed early in the mornings before the alarm goes off and this particular morning she stared at my book case that is against the wall opposite the bed, folded her arms and announced, "you really must tidy up your bookcase, Mummy. It's a mess."
Quite! It was. But it is no longer. I looked at the many, many, many paperbacks I'd picked up at the local fetes in the summer of 2008 (there were about 50 of them) that I'd pledged to read over the year, yet there they were sitting there, covered in dust, unread and unloved. They had to go. They are in a bin bag awaiting a day when I can get them down to the second hand bookshop or the charity shop. It was a little painful but I know I won't read them and someone else will.
I actually found it quite cathartic and liberating in the end. Getting rid of old rubbish that has sat on my shelves far longer than they ought to have is very cleansing, I find. I'm hoping that by decluttering my workspace and the rest of the house, I'll declutter my brain somewhat and let the new ideas through that are squashed between the old never-going-to work writing ideas and trying desperately to squeeze through to the front where they can be seen and heard.
I had loads of old stories I'd cut out of magazines from 2007/2008 and reams of old papers and scribbles and multiple copies of old manuscripts that are now destined for the shredder. Why did I keep them all this time? Why? Why? Why?! I now have all the copies of Take A Break, Fiction Feast, The Weekly News, People's Friend and Woman's Weekly that I collected over last year all in one place, so that I can re-read them, analyse them, and try and make my short stories the same standard.
I have to admit, though, that the negative thought of, 'oh no, here we go again,' has crossed my mind on a few occasions. I mean I've tried so hard to get my short stories published and half of me thinks can I do it? Or am I just wasting my time trying? But then I remember that I did get one published in 2009 and if I buckle down to it and learn from the my research and analysis of the stories that did make it into publication, then I have a better chance of getting mine published than if I just give up.
Does anyone else have a clear out at this time of year? And what are your hopes for your writing in 2010? Have you any specific targets that you're aiming for, or are you just going to play it by ear and see what comes your way?
Julie xx
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Dead Space
Well that's Christmas over for another year then! The thing is, what to do in the middle between Christmas and the New Year? I always see this time as like a kind of dead space, but it isn't really. It's also a period of rehab! A chance to recover and recuperate after a hard and long year and to calm things down following all the excitement that Christmas brings before the New Year begins and we get to embark on all of that hard work all over again!
I already know where my my writing is heading in 2010 - mind you I said that the end of last year - and look what happened! I started off writing short stories but had more success with my articles - something I didn't think I'd ever do. I've worked out a plan but I have a feeling I shall be careering off road without my elbow and knee pads or helmet again in 2010.
Already, I can feel the tingling starting in my fingers when I get the urge to get going with some writing and I'm very excited about where I can take my writing next year. I am eager to get going again. I have a few articles that I know are due to be published in 2010 - when, I have no idea, but that's half the fun: the suspense;seeing my name in print; working out what to write about next, and hopefully some money to show for my efforts. I put money last as, for me, writing is not about the money, it's about the process and learning and improving the writing and then passing that knowledge from my experiences on to other writers who may find the information and advice helpful.
For 2010 I want to finish off my NaNo Novel Sawdust and I'm keen to get working on the short stories for women's mags again - using the research I did on Take A Break and The Weekly News. I am even more determined to look at that research and the stories and get into my brain just what it is about my own stories the editors don't like ,in the hope I can improve them and turn them into something the editors do like and will buy. Having sent out 39 short stories to the mags in 2009 and only having one published means I can do it but there's still something I'm missing and my stories are lacking and I wish I could work out what that is! Still I'm not shy of hard work and have plenty of ideas so it's back to the grindstone again.
I wish everyone in Blog Land lots of luck for the coming year for your lives and writing and I hope you all achieve your goals, whatever they may be. I'll be posting about stuff that I encounter and find useful as ,my quest continues in 2010 in the hope it may help other writers too.
Julie xx
I already know where my my writing is heading in 2010 - mind you I said that the end of last year - and look what happened! I started off writing short stories but had more success with my articles - something I didn't think I'd ever do. I've worked out a plan but I have a feeling I shall be careering off road without my elbow and knee pads or helmet again in 2010.
Already, I can feel the tingling starting in my fingers when I get the urge to get going with some writing and I'm very excited about where I can take my writing next year. I am eager to get going again. I have a few articles that I know are due to be published in 2010 - when, I have no idea, but that's half the fun: the suspense;seeing my name in print; working out what to write about next, and hopefully some money to show for my efforts. I put money last as, for me, writing is not about the money, it's about the process and learning and improving the writing and then passing that knowledge from my experiences on to other writers who may find the information and advice helpful.
For 2010 I want to finish off my NaNo Novel Sawdust and I'm keen to get working on the short stories for women's mags again - using the research I did on Take A Break and The Weekly News. I am even more determined to look at that research and the stories and get into my brain just what it is about my own stories the editors don't like ,in the hope I can improve them and turn them into something the editors do like and will buy. Having sent out 39 short stories to the mags in 2009 and only having one published means I can do it but there's still something I'm missing and my stories are lacking and I wish I could work out what that is! Still I'm not shy of hard work and have plenty of ideas so it's back to the grindstone again.
I wish everyone in Blog Land lots of luck for the coming year for your lives and writing and I hope you all achieve your goals, whatever they may be. I'll be posting about stuff that I encounter and find useful as ,my quest continues in 2010 in the hope it may help other writers too.
Julie xx
Friday, 25 December 2009
He does exist!
I know because I've seen his footprints!
Merry Xmas everyone!
Oh and if you were lucky enough to have Santa bring you Sue Moorcroft's new book 'Love Writing' - a book about how to write in the romance genre - then you may notice - as Keith Large emailed me this morning to point out - that my question and name is in there! Sue asked for questions she could put from budding romance writers to professional romance writers and I sent one in. That's another book on my New Year wish list!
Julie xx
The photos are of my daughter in full High School Musical mode and also of Santa's footprints. Then there is of my husband and daughter changing a rather stinky nappy from her new doll that wees and poos (oh joy!) And then there is the gingerbread house my daughter and her cousins made from a kit Xmas Eve.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
I'm Not Writing
I know I wasn't going to blog over the festive period unless something drastic happened. Well, no. Nothing drastic has happened on the writing or home front so don't get excited! Apart from the fact that I have had a mini revelation. My name is Julie Phillips and I haven't written a bean since my last blog posting: no blogs, no notes, no NaNo, no story lines/plots, not a thing! Three days have passed and no pen or computer keyboard has had my writerly fingers on them. Oh unless you count me writing my Xmas food shopping list and Boxing Day menu!
It's been a revelation. I didn't think I could do it - or not do it - writing that is. Usually I have itchy fingers and that itch spreads until I have to write - it's the only cure! But I've had a lovely relaxing time making glittery pine cones and sparkly mince pie foil case pictures with my daughter. Today we are going over to my sister's house to make a Hansel and Gretel type house with sweets and icing and all things sugary and bad for you. We got a kit from Aldi and it's going to be so much sticky and gloopy fun.
Having a break from writing and engaging in normal, everyday life for a while can really sharpen up the senses, making your writing fresher and bolstering your enthusiasm. It can also help your subconscious to work on the pieces of work you have already started and help your imagination to conjure up new ideas for your future projects. So while you're enjoying the festivities, put your writing away, your notebook in the drawer and have a great time without worrying that your short story isn't working, your novel has lost its way, or your poem won't scan.
The run up to Christmas is always a hectic time and I did suggest that you you took some notes and jotted down any ideas that were sparked while you went about organising Christmas. But now is the time to just let it go and give yourself, you family and your writing a break - you deserve it. You've worked hard all year and so have a holiday now and when all the Christmas madness - I mean magic - has gone, you can return to your writing with a fresh eye and new outlook, rested and raring to go.
Julie
It's been a revelation. I didn't think I could do it - or not do it - writing that is. Usually I have itchy fingers and that itch spreads until I have to write - it's the only cure! But I've had a lovely relaxing time making glittery pine cones and sparkly mince pie foil case pictures with my daughter. Today we are going over to my sister's house to make a Hansel and Gretel type house with sweets and icing and all things sugary and bad for you. We got a kit from Aldi and it's going to be so much sticky and gloopy fun.
Having a break from writing and engaging in normal, everyday life for a while can really sharpen up the senses, making your writing fresher and bolstering your enthusiasm. It can also help your subconscious to work on the pieces of work you have already started and help your imagination to conjure up new ideas for your future projects. So while you're enjoying the festivities, put your writing away, your notebook in the drawer and have a great time without worrying that your short story isn't working, your novel has lost its way, or your poem won't scan.
The run up to Christmas is always a hectic time and I did suggest that you you took some notes and jotted down any ideas that were sparked while you went about organising Christmas. But now is the time to just let it go and give yourself, you family and your writing a break - you deserve it. You've worked hard all year and so have a holiday now and when all the Christmas madness - I mean magic - has gone, you can return to your writing with a fresh eye and new outlook, rested and raring to go.
Julie
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Merry Xmas!
Here are a few photos and videos to bring Xmas cheer! Also a picture of Phyllis Blakemore at her book signing in WH Smith's today. Have a good one and see you in the New Year! Julie xxThe Weekly News - Fiction research
This post follows a similar format to my Take A Break research post. I hope you find it useful - it's certainly thrown up a few surprising points for me. FOR DETAILS ON WHO AND WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS FOR THE WEEKLY NEWS(AND ALL THE OTHER MAGS TAKING FICTION) AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES SEE THE MARVELLOUS WOMAG'S BLOG.
The Weekly NewsI looked at 28 stories.
They have three stories in a week of variable lengths from 700 - 1500. Similar to take a break in feel - 'The magazine that thinks it's a newspaper.' It's packed full of celebrity news as well as some real-life stories of non-celebs. Uri Geller has his own column in there (I met him once at a science fiction conference in Birmingham. He was very nice but also very strange! We were chatting and he was drawing something in his note book and he told me my star sign was pisces and he'd drawn me a fish and signed it!) Anyway, back to the Weekly News.
All of the titles ranged from one worders to five worder - song titles seem popular - or well known phrases. Examples:
Health And Safety.
The Candle Burned Out Long Before. (By our very own Sally Quilford!!)
Storm In A Tea Cup.
Spotless.
The average word count for stories in The Weekly News are more variable than Take A Break and they have three stories in a week of different lengths. Word count as above 700 - 1500 words.
Subjects of stories:
Police investigating a sudden death at an Art Gallery.
A 14 yr old boy convinced that one of the elderly lady residents as the warden controlled bungalow complex his mum is warden at is a spy/up to something.
A taxi man who picks up a fare (a woman in labour) and it's not until near the end of the story you realise the woman is in fact the taxi driver's wife.
The tooth fairy - single mum who is getting grief from her young son because his school friend got a fiver when his tooth fell out and his mum can't afford to give him the same but she caves in and then she gets grief from her mother!
A beauty salon owner trying to find out which member of staff is pinching jars of expensive creams from her salon.
Characters:
Wide variety - it seems anything goes really.
Teenagers
Pensioners
children
middle aged
you name it - they're in there.
Point of view:
The majority of stories are told from the female character perspective (18/28)
but a fair few are male orientated (10/28).
As with Take A Break, all stories were told in the third person. I find this point very interesting as some of my stories are first person so I think if I switch them to third person they may have a better chance of acceptance - who knows?! ***** Postscript to blog - Lynne Hackles has very kindly pointed out that she spoke with the editor of The Weekly News and he said they don't accept first person stories - so there you go! *****Nine of the stories start with speech but the rest begin with action - something happens to the main character or they are watching something happening to someone else - description. Remember the character - conflict - resolution formula? Very much in evidence in the stories in The Weekly News. Or to quote Mr Dwight Swain's advice: Goal (The character wants to achieve something or get something) - Conflict (something/someone prevents the character from attaining their goal) - Disaster (The character tries out a solution to the problem but it fails) - Reaction (the character reacts to the failure and reassess the conflict) - dilemma (character has two or more possible actions to take to resolve his conflict) - Decision (character takes the decision, right or wrong in that the character may not get what he originally wanted, and conflict is resolved). Hurrah - a satisfying story that editors will want to buy - we hope!
Settings and themes:
Everyday happenings, events, the ordinary stuff, relationship problems of all types: Mother/daughter, husband/wife, partners, father and son.
Beauty salon
Stately House
Clothes shop
Department store
hotel
The home
In a taxi
Office
Art museum
Victorian street (historical short story - very interesting)
Flat
Fortune teller's shop.
Characters:
Sales rep, pensioners, ghosts, estate agent, cleaner, taxi driver, dog owner, housewife, shopper, jogger, beauty therapist, zoo keeper, house keeper,policemen, mothers, spies (another historical short story - something I've not seen in Take A Break.)
The language of these stories is simple and to the point. It isn't flowery or 'literary'. Everyday language with everyday people and everyday situations. The Weekly News is aimed at around the 25-40 year olds so you're looking for stories they can relate to and will mean something to them and that demographic.
I hope you find these points helpful when you submit to The Weekly News next year. It's been an incredibly hard year for writers, from what I've seen and been told, and you have to remember that we are up against the thousands of other writers sending their short stories out there too. It is such a competitive field so it's not surprising that most of us get more rejections than acceptances. I'm not being pessimistic or the bringer of doom! Just being realistic. I have to admit that if I ponder too much on this fact it can stop me from writing. So it's probably best to batten down the hatches, read, learn and improve your stories and keep submitting them. As those of you who have followed my blog, and other writer's blogs over the past year will know, I have only managed to get one short story published and that was in an Australian magazine. But others have been more successful and that's inspiring and encouraging.
I can't give you a magic formula or advice to make your writing better or increase your chances of publication - if I knew that, I'd have had loads of stories published! I don't think the market is as predictable as that anyway. Who knows what might catch an editor's eye - they don't know what they want until they see it sometimes. But I can give you truck loads of enthusiasm and motivation and a sympathetic ear when it's not going as well as you or I would wish! I can also tell you things that I have found helpful in writing and submitting my own stories. So I hope together we can get there in 2010!
I've had a break from writing my short stories for three months now (sounds like an age doesn't it!) But having done my research and read the wonderful research that Olivia Ryan has done and posted about My Weekly, I'm raring to go in the New Year to start writing them again. I've had such a wonderful time with article writing and doing NaNoWriMo for the first time, that I feel better able to return to my short story writing. I think the break has done me good as, to be honest, I was getting hacked off with the constant rejections! And it did knock my confidence a lot. I was beginning to doubt my own ability to write good enough quality fiction to get published. But now I have a better idea and have picked up great advice this year, I'm going to have another stab at it in 2010. Anyone with me?!
I'm not going to blog over the next couple of weeks, unless I have something to report or get up with the Christmas telly! So have a lovely Xmas and New Year. I'll post my research on Take A Break Fiction Feast after the holidays. I am just going to post a quick video of my daughter singing for you as it's festive and fun!
Julie xx
The Weekly NewsI looked at 28 stories.
They have three stories in a week of variable lengths from 700 - 1500. Similar to take a break in feel - 'The magazine that thinks it's a newspaper.' It's packed full of celebrity news as well as some real-life stories of non-celebs. Uri Geller has his own column in there (I met him once at a science fiction conference in Birmingham. He was very nice but also very strange! We were chatting and he was drawing something in his note book and he told me my star sign was pisces and he'd drawn me a fish and signed it!) Anyway, back to the Weekly News.
All of the titles ranged from one worders to five worder - song titles seem popular - or well known phrases. Examples:
Health And Safety.
The Candle Burned Out Long Before. (By our very own Sally Quilford!!)
Storm In A Tea Cup.
Spotless.
The average word count for stories in The Weekly News are more variable than Take A Break and they have three stories in a week of different lengths. Word count as above 700 - 1500 words.
Subjects of stories:
Police investigating a sudden death at an Art Gallery.
A 14 yr old boy convinced that one of the elderly lady residents as the warden controlled bungalow complex his mum is warden at is a spy/up to something.
A taxi man who picks up a fare (a woman in labour) and it's not until near the end of the story you realise the woman is in fact the taxi driver's wife.
The tooth fairy - single mum who is getting grief from her young son because his school friend got a fiver when his tooth fell out and his mum can't afford to give him the same but she caves in and then she gets grief from her mother!
A beauty salon owner trying to find out which member of staff is pinching jars of expensive creams from her salon.
Characters:
Wide variety - it seems anything goes really.
Teenagers
Pensioners
children
middle aged
you name it - they're in there.
Point of view:
The majority of stories are told from the female character perspective (18/28)
but a fair few are male orientated (10/28).
As with Take A Break, all stories were told in the third person. I find this point very interesting as some of my stories are first person so I think if I switch them to third person they may have a better chance of acceptance - who knows?! ***** Postscript to blog - Lynne Hackles has very kindly pointed out that she spoke with the editor of The Weekly News and he said they don't accept first person stories - so there you go! *****Nine of the stories start with speech but the rest begin with action - something happens to the main character or they are watching something happening to someone else - description. Remember the character - conflict - resolution formula? Very much in evidence in the stories in The Weekly News. Or to quote Mr Dwight Swain's advice: Goal (The character wants to achieve something or get something) - Conflict (something/someone prevents the character from attaining their goal) - Disaster (The character tries out a solution to the problem but it fails) - Reaction (the character reacts to the failure and reassess the conflict) - dilemma (character has two or more possible actions to take to resolve his conflict) - Decision (character takes the decision, right or wrong in that the character may not get what he originally wanted, and conflict is resolved). Hurrah - a satisfying story that editors will want to buy - we hope!
Settings and themes:
Everyday happenings, events, the ordinary stuff, relationship problems of all types: Mother/daughter, husband/wife, partners, father and son.
Beauty salon
Stately House
Clothes shop
Department store
hotel
The home
In a taxi
Office
Art museum
Victorian street (historical short story - very interesting)
Flat
Fortune teller's shop.
Characters:
Sales rep, pensioners, ghosts, estate agent, cleaner, taxi driver, dog owner, housewife, shopper, jogger, beauty therapist, zoo keeper, house keeper,policemen, mothers, spies (another historical short story - something I've not seen in Take A Break.)
The language of these stories is simple and to the point. It isn't flowery or 'literary'. Everyday language with everyday people and everyday situations. The Weekly News is aimed at around the 25-40 year olds so you're looking for stories they can relate to and will mean something to them and that demographic.
I hope you find these points helpful when you submit to The Weekly News next year. It's been an incredibly hard year for writers, from what I've seen and been told, and you have to remember that we are up against the thousands of other writers sending their short stories out there too. It is such a competitive field so it's not surprising that most of us get more rejections than acceptances. I'm not being pessimistic or the bringer of doom! Just being realistic. I have to admit that if I ponder too much on this fact it can stop me from writing. So it's probably best to batten down the hatches, read, learn and improve your stories and keep submitting them. As those of you who have followed my blog, and other writer's blogs over the past year will know, I have only managed to get one short story published and that was in an Australian magazine. But others have been more successful and that's inspiring and encouraging.
I can't give you a magic formula or advice to make your writing better or increase your chances of publication - if I knew that, I'd have had loads of stories published! I don't think the market is as predictable as that anyway. Who knows what might catch an editor's eye - they don't know what they want until they see it sometimes. But I can give you truck loads of enthusiasm and motivation and a sympathetic ear when it's not going as well as you or I would wish! I can also tell you things that I have found helpful in writing and submitting my own stories. So I hope together we can get there in 2010!
I've had a break from writing my short stories for three months now (sounds like an age doesn't it!) But having done my research and read the wonderful research that Olivia Ryan has done and posted about My Weekly, I'm raring to go in the New Year to start writing them again. I've had such a wonderful time with article writing and doing NaNoWriMo for the first time, that I feel better able to return to my short story writing. I think the break has done me good as, to be honest, I was getting hacked off with the constant rejections! And it did knock my confidence a lot. I was beginning to doubt my own ability to write good enough quality fiction to get published. But now I have a better idea and have picked up great advice this year, I'm going to have another stab at it in 2010. Anyone with me?!
I'm not going to blog over the next couple of weeks, unless I have something to report or get up with the Christmas telly! So have a lovely Xmas and New Year. I'll post my research on Take A Break Fiction Feast after the holidays. I am just going to post a quick video of my daughter singing for you as it's festive and fun!
Julie xx
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Well Done Phyllis
I was reading the local paper a minute ago and happened upon an article that caught my eye. The article was about one of our Wrekin Writer members who, at the age of 78, has had her first non-fiction book - Gentlemen Of The River. The Last Coracle Men of the Severn Gorge - published and the article said that her book was in the top ten best sellers at the local Waterstones book shop. Not only that, it was the ONLY local book to have made it into the top ten. The book is flying off the shelves!! I know it's an excellent book because I bought one and Phyllis signed it for me and my husband at the Wrekin Writer meeting last Saturday.
I've known Phyllis and her wonderful daughter and fellow writer Diane Perry since I became a member of Wrekin Writers 17 months ago and I often bump into Phyllis in the town center when we are doing our shopping. They are both such lovely women and so supportive of each other and other members of the group that I am so proud of Phyllis and so pleased that she is having such a great success. She truly deserves it and at the age of 78 too! I only hope that I'm still writing when I reach her age. She puts the rest of us to shame, she really does.
I had the pleasure of doing an interview by e-mail with her and chatting to her last Saturday about her book, her writing and her life for a couple of articles I'm doing - she's amazing! So well done Phyllis! And may your next book be as successful and the ones after that - there really is no stopping her.
She's got a book signing this Saturday 19th December at WH Smith in Wellington, nr Telford 11am-2pm and I shall be going so I hope a few more of us in the locality will go too.
If you want to buy a copy of Phyllis's book you can get it on Amazon. It's published by Stenlake Publishing Ltd and is priced £7.99. ISBN 9781840334739
Julie xx
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Stats, stats, and more stats! And a how to write book that has inspired me.
I only have a few figures to report for my end of year stats on the short story and poetry front! So this won't take too long!
Short stories sent out to women's mags:34
Rejected:33!!!
Accepted:1 (Wooh Hooh!)
Pending:9
Short stories sent to comps:5
Placed:0
Short stories sent to anthology 3
Pending: 3
Poems sent out:16
accepted:10
pending:1
rejected 5
Total short stories sent out all categories: 39.
So not a very successful year on the short story front at all. Am I disappointed? Yes! I am also very annoyed with myself at not getting more than one short story published. It seems that, despite my best efforts, I'm just not quite there with the short story writing. But I have gone back to basics from last week and will be continuing my women's mag fiction research to see if I can figure out just where I'm going wrong and whether I can do anything to rectify it.
But I still draw great comfort and inspiration from the writers out there who are getting their short stories published: Teresa Ashby, Geraldine Ryan, Lynne Hackles, Helen. M. Hunt, Olivia Ryan and Sheila Norton, Simon Whaley to name but a few who have done so well this year. May your success continue for many years to come. I hope to join in with your success in 2010. That's what I like about Blog Land, everyone is so supportive and encouraging and there is no one up man ship or silliness like that - we are here to help other writers and support them through the rejections, and to celebrate their successes.
2010 will be tough for writers with more competition and less space in less magazines that take fiction - but there are also some mags expanding their fiction slots and new mags appearing all of the time - so we mustn't give up hope or stop writing and submitting. We can and we will do it! It might take a while - but never say never.
I've been reading a couple of books that Children's Writer and fellow blogger and Wrekin Writer member Carole Anne Carr lent me following the interview and one of the books Techniques Of The Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain. University Of Oklahoma Press. 1973 ISBN 0-8061-1191-7 has struck a distinct chord with me and I had a light bulb moment while reading it!
The ideology that excited me was this: in the book Swain talks about this:
Goal-conflict-disaster (Scene) Reaction-dilemma-decision (sequal)
He also uses the terminology: FAS = Feeling-Action-Speech.
Also Motivation-reaction units.
The theme throughout the book is that feeling is what drives creative writing. Your main Character feels something. They have something they want to achieve or need. Something/someone is preventing them from reaching their goal so they try and overcome this. But then disaster strikes and their attempt at overcoming the obstacle
in their way is thwarted (this is known as the scene.) Then the character reacts to this, they have a choice between two or more solutions and they have to decide (true to their character) which solution to take to resolve the story - the sequel.
It's a fantastic book and has given me food for thought - so if you're struggling with your short stories like me, it would be a good investment. It isn't specifically for short stories and so would suit novelists and poets too. It's American, but it's appeal and advice is universal. And thanks, Carole, for lending it to me.
My next post will be about my research and findings for The Weekly News followed by Take A Break's Fiction Feast. Have a look over on Olivia Ryan's blog as she's done an excellent post on her findings about writing for My Weekly.I know this market is now closed for the time being for a lot of us, unless we've had a story accepted by them in the past. But they may change their policy later in the year - so it's still worth a read.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Xmas and New Year and can at least put their pens down and computers away for a few days - unless of course the muse strikes and you just have to get your next masterpiece down on paper! I also hope that we can all learn from our writing over the last year and improve our outcomes for 2010 and beyond!Here's to a successful 2010!
Julie xx
Short stories sent out to women's mags:34
Rejected:33!!!
Accepted:1 (Wooh Hooh!)
Pending:9
Short stories sent to comps:5
Placed:0
Short stories sent to anthology 3
Pending: 3
Poems sent out:16
accepted:10
pending:1
rejected 5
Total short stories sent out all categories: 39.
So not a very successful year on the short story front at all. Am I disappointed? Yes! I am also very annoyed with myself at not getting more than one short story published. It seems that, despite my best efforts, I'm just not quite there with the short story writing. But I have gone back to basics from last week and will be continuing my women's mag fiction research to see if I can figure out just where I'm going wrong and whether I can do anything to rectify it.
But I still draw great comfort and inspiration from the writers out there who are getting their short stories published: Teresa Ashby, Geraldine Ryan, Lynne Hackles, Helen. M. Hunt, Olivia Ryan and Sheila Norton, Simon Whaley to name but a few who have done so well this year. May your success continue for many years to come. I hope to join in with your success in 2010. That's what I like about Blog Land, everyone is so supportive and encouraging and there is no one up man ship or silliness like that - we are here to help other writers and support them through the rejections, and to celebrate their successes.
2010 will be tough for writers with more competition and less space in less magazines that take fiction - but there are also some mags expanding their fiction slots and new mags appearing all of the time - so we mustn't give up hope or stop writing and submitting. We can and we will do it! It might take a while - but never say never.
I've been reading a couple of books that Children's Writer and fellow blogger and Wrekin Writer member Carole Anne Carr lent me following the interview and one of the books Techniques Of The Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain. University Of Oklahoma Press. 1973 ISBN 0-8061-1191-7 has struck a distinct chord with me and I had a light bulb moment while reading it!
The ideology that excited me was this: in the book Swain talks about this:
Goal-conflict-disaster (Scene) Reaction-dilemma-decision (sequal)
He also uses the terminology: FAS = Feeling-Action-Speech.
Also Motivation-reaction units.
The theme throughout the book is that feeling is what drives creative writing. Your main Character feels something. They have something they want to achieve or need. Something/someone is preventing them from reaching their goal so they try and overcome this. But then disaster strikes and their attempt at overcoming the obstacle
in their way is thwarted (this is known as the scene.) Then the character reacts to this, they have a choice between two or more solutions and they have to decide (true to their character) which solution to take to resolve the story - the sequel.
It's a fantastic book and has given me food for thought - so if you're struggling with your short stories like me, it would be a good investment. It isn't specifically for short stories and so would suit novelists and poets too. It's American, but it's appeal and advice is universal. And thanks, Carole, for lending it to me.
My next post will be about my research and findings for The Weekly News followed by Take A Break's Fiction Feast. Have a look over on Olivia Ryan's blog as she's done an excellent post on her findings about writing for My Weekly.I know this market is now closed for the time being for a lot of us, unless we've had a story accepted by them in the past. But they may change their policy later in the year - so it's still worth a read.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Xmas and New Year and can at least put their pens down and computers away for a few days - unless of course the muse strikes and you just have to get your next masterpiece down on paper! I also hope that we can all learn from our writing over the last year and improve our outcomes for 2010 and beyond!Here's to a successful 2010!
Julie xx
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Does anyone know?
I've got a question that I just can't find the answer to and it's been bugging me all day. What was the name of the elderly writer who wrote a book so that she could fund a home for her elderly friends? I'm sure I read about her a while back in a newspaper, but as I can't find any trace of her on the Internet, I'm beginning to think that I may have imagined it!!
Can anyone help?
Julie xx
Can anyone help?
Julie xx
Monday, 14 December 2009
I just had to do it
I just had to post a photo of my daughter post Nativity play at school last week. She was a shepherd(ess.) There were three shepherds (as we know!) and they had to say, "We have come to see the special baby." Bless them. It was a wonderful play and I had a front row seat. Normally I try to hide at the back at functions such as these because, as I've said before, I do get a bit over emotional when it comes to kids and singing etc! But I wanted to get a good view of my daughter and she could see me and she was a star, giving me cute little smiles and waves.
At the end we were allowed on stage to take more photos. Yes, that's right, you did hear me right, we were allowed to take photos and videos, an unusual privilege these days. But my daughter's school are sensible and know we are just parents wanting to record our children's shining moments! I was quite overwhelmed when my daughter threw her arms around me and said, "I love you Mummy," and planted a big kiss on my cheek. Then another little girl came over and asked my daughter's permission to hug me too!! She didn't ask my permission you'll note!! Then another girl came and we had a group hug on the stage! That's when I almost lost my composure and had to fight the urge to blub!!
I felt like the official professional photographer as my daughters pals asked me to take snaps of them! David Bailey's got nothing on me! It was a wonderful day. On Friday I'm going to the Christmas Carol service at the school (why oh why did I say I'd go, because I know I'm going to cry!) But my daughter wants me to go and I'm going with a fellow parent/Governor so we can blub at the back together!
I also can't hear anything at the moment. I have a slight cold but my ears are bunged up with wax. So I haven't been able to do reading support at the school today. My balance isn't great when my ears are like this but there's no point in having the children read to me if I can't hear them! So I intend to use my temporary enforced silence to wrote some more of the NaNo novel today.
Hope you're having fun whatever you're doing and that your writing goals have gone well for 2009 - and if not, there's always 2010 to have another bash at it.
Julie xx
Sunday, 13 December 2009
NaNoWriMo continued ........
As you can see from my NaNo word counter I've decided to bite the bullet and keep writing my NaNo novel 'Sawdust' and see it through to the bitter end! Obviously I can't possibly keep up to the 1666 daily word target - I want to have some sort of life - and I want to be writing my articles and getting back to my short story writing too. But I will be aiming to do 1000 words a day Monday to Friday on it. My new focus is the article I'm writing for Writers' Forum on my NaNo experience - so that's my motivation and deadline now that NaNo is officially over. I do want to get the novel's first draft written as fast as I can so that I can say I've completed the novel in the article!
Then I intend to leave it for a month and get on with editing it after that. Will it be publishable on the first draft? Absolutely not - but can I edit it and polish it, rewrite bits of it, delete some of it and add other sections, make it better - I think so. Will it ever be publishable after I've messed around with it a lot? Who knows! But that can be my challenge for 2010.
Julie xx
Then I intend to leave it for a month and get on with editing it after that. Will it be publishable on the first draft? Absolutely not - but can I edit it and polish it, rewrite bits of it, delete some of it and add other sections, make it better - I think so. Will it ever be publishable after I've messed around with it a lot? Who knows! But that can be my challenge for 2010.
Julie xx
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Merry Wrekin Writer Christmas!
We had a wonderful Wrekin Writer meeting this morning and did lots of fun activities. Some people read out Christmas related work they'd either written themselves or found published elsewhere. Then we had to write down one thing we would ask for as a Christmas present and we had a competition to see if we could guess who it was that had requested each present. It was so much fun and, surprisingly, I guessed the most right, scoring 10/20! I must have good observation skills or perhaps I'm just good at guessing people's inner most desires?!
We also read out our Chairman's Challenges for this month which was about the line." It was the 24th of December." It always amazes me how much diversity there is within the group from one prompt. It was lovely to listen to the humorous poems and more poignant prose - we really are a talented bunch and I am proud to be a part of the group. It was great to see so many of the members there too. As we only meet once a month, we don't always get every member there and even though there were a few missing today, it was a large group!
We also read out the three winning Chairman's Challenges from last month, of which I came third with 'Spitting Feathers.' Go to Sue's blog to read it (when she puts the winning entries onto it!)
I'm pleased it got placed as I haven't had a placing for a long time - mind you, I didn't do it for a couple of months, but I made up for it by writing two this month. It's excellent writing practice and a bit of fun that none of us take very seriously!
We then had our Christmas meal at The Buckatree Hall Hotel and it was wonderful. We had such fun and a real relaxing lunch in a very posh restaurant based in the hotel. The food was wonderful and as I'm a veggie I had the Oyster mushroom bread with veggie gravy and roast potatoes, broccoli and carrots and some Christmas pudding for dessert.
I find the meetings inspiring and I've filled up my energy tanks to see me through with my writing until the New Year and the next meeting. I think 2009 has been wonderfully successful for the group and I know that 2010 will be even better.
Julie xx
Friday, 11 December 2009
TAKE A BREAK RESEARCH
I've had a preliminary browse through some Take A Break short stories from the main weekly magazine and not their Fiction Feast specials and here are my findings.
I looked at 14 stories.
All titles were phrases out of the main text of the story and were 3-4 words long.
All titles ended in an exclamation mark! But 3 were questions.
Examples of story titles: "Yes, I'm over 21!" "Leave My Husband Alone." " It's so sneaky." "Do you like it?"
Average length of story they published was 800 words long - so aim your stories this length as they seem the most popular.
I looked at setting and the majority (8/14) took place in someones home or garden. Offices, supermarkets and hotels were popular too.
The age of the main characters surprised me as the vast majority were in their 30s and 40s. I always thought that Take A Break was aimed at the 20's and 30's but now I'm not so sure.
Only one story took the viewpoint of a man; the rest were from a woman's point of view - either having difficulties with their male bosses boyfriends/husbands/partners, or sons!! LOL! ;0)
All stories were in the third person - no first.
Three of the stories started with dialogue, the rest a statement or action.
All stories favoured lots of dialogue to move the story along.
Most stories offered a twist in the tale or a surprise ending.
Most characters are female.
Occupations: mothers, retired, secretaries, waitress/hotel workers, checkout girl, bin men, house sitter, holiday makers.
General story ideas:
Inability to keep the house tidy and ashamed when visitors come.
Mum worrying about how to tell her seven year old daughter that she'd going to have a brother or sister.
Whether to open a letter containing DNA paternity results.
Holiday boredom - going to the same place year after year and female character deciding to ditch her boring boyfriend.
Office girls talking and one in particular claims she has always had worse illnesses and experiences than anyone else.
Mother trying to get her grown up son to move out.
Old school acquaintances meet at the hotel one of them is working in and the other is staying as a guest and is being snobby - I'm better than you.
Unreasonable supermarket manager and put upon checkout woman.
Two women trying to get one upmanship on the other and fighting for the romantic attentions of the bin man.
House sitter getting mistaken for the home owner's wife and being accused of having an affair by a neighbour's wife.
Couple with the dilemma of not wanting their elderly parents to move in with them.
Mother sad that her son is moving out to go to uni.
Bloke having a midlife crisis and acting like he is God's gifts to women.
In all of the stories where a character is making the main character's life difficult they are resolved where the annoying character gets their comeuppance!
A lot of the stories were humorous, but there were some dealing with difficult themes like is the main character's father his real father.
The language in all the stories is simple and straight forward and move along at quite a pace (they have to with only 800 words to pan the story out.)There is a good mix of sentence lengths and the stories are tightly written and to the point. No words are wasted and every word used earns it place by being active and bringing the story alive.
Authors:
Rosemary Hayes (Got two stories in sample batch)
Elizabeth Dale
Cathy Sibley
Anita Haynes
Sarah England
Elaine Westley
Teresa Ashby (Wooh Hooh!) Got two in my batch of story samples!
Marilyn Fountain (Got two in sample batch)
Fergus McBride
Karen Clarke
Grace Farrant
Looking at the whole magazine, it's very colourful and loud with lots of true life stories and shocking stories of abuse, disease, unfortunate accidents, sensationalism. Think Jeremy Kyle show type incidents and you won't be far off the mark. But they also have quite moving real life stories of how readers dealt/are dealing with personal tragedy and illness like cancer. There have been a couple with poorly kids in. So stories tend to have a modern and 'young' feel about them that the reader doesn't have to work too hard to read - a bit of light relief from life's difficulties.
I've been reading take a break for years (mainly to do the competitions!) But I haven't won anything yet. But I have more recently been studying them hard from cover to cover as research for my stories. If you're going to aim for this publication I would suggest you buy a few issues and look at the adverts and tone of the whole magazine.
Next week I'll post my findings from my Fiction Feast research and possibly The Weekly News.
As I've said before, I've never actually had any stories accepted or published by Take A Break, (I got another rejection from them today, ouch) so this research won't guarantee success but it's a step closer to understanding what kind of fiction works in this magazine. I intend to use my findings to start writing and submitting to them again in the new year.
Have a think about what I've said above and I hope we can all get our stories into Take A Break next year - the challenge has been set!
I looked at 14 stories.
All titles were phrases out of the main text of the story and were 3-4 words long.
All titles ended in an exclamation mark! But 3 were questions.
Examples of story titles: "Yes, I'm over 21!" "Leave My Husband Alone." " It's so sneaky." "Do you like it?"
Average length of story they published was 800 words long - so aim your stories this length as they seem the most popular.
I looked at setting and the majority (8/14) took place in someones home or garden. Offices, supermarkets and hotels were popular too.
The age of the main characters surprised me as the vast majority were in their 30s and 40s. I always thought that Take A Break was aimed at the 20's and 30's but now I'm not so sure.
Only one story took the viewpoint of a man; the rest were from a woman's point of view - either having difficulties with their male bosses boyfriends/husbands/partners, or sons!! LOL! ;0)
All stories were in the third person - no first.
Three of the stories started with dialogue, the rest a statement or action.
All stories favoured lots of dialogue to move the story along.
Most stories offered a twist in the tale or a surprise ending.
Most characters are female.
Occupations: mothers, retired, secretaries, waitress/hotel workers, checkout girl, bin men, house sitter, holiday makers.
General story ideas:
Inability to keep the house tidy and ashamed when visitors come.
Mum worrying about how to tell her seven year old daughter that she'd going to have a brother or sister.
Whether to open a letter containing DNA paternity results.
Holiday boredom - going to the same place year after year and female character deciding to ditch her boring boyfriend.
Office girls talking and one in particular claims she has always had worse illnesses and experiences than anyone else.
Mother trying to get her grown up son to move out.
Old school acquaintances meet at the hotel one of them is working in and the other is staying as a guest and is being snobby - I'm better than you.
Unreasonable supermarket manager and put upon checkout woman.
Two women trying to get one upmanship on the other and fighting for the romantic attentions of the bin man.
House sitter getting mistaken for the home owner's wife and being accused of having an affair by a neighbour's wife.
Couple with the dilemma of not wanting their elderly parents to move in with them.
Mother sad that her son is moving out to go to uni.
Bloke having a midlife crisis and acting like he is God's gifts to women.
In all of the stories where a character is making the main character's life difficult they are resolved where the annoying character gets their comeuppance!
A lot of the stories were humorous, but there were some dealing with difficult themes like is the main character's father his real father.
The language in all the stories is simple and straight forward and move along at quite a pace (they have to with only 800 words to pan the story out.)There is a good mix of sentence lengths and the stories are tightly written and to the point. No words are wasted and every word used earns it place by being active and bringing the story alive.
Authors:
Rosemary Hayes (Got two stories in sample batch)
Elizabeth Dale
Cathy Sibley
Anita Haynes
Sarah England
Elaine Westley
Teresa Ashby (Wooh Hooh!) Got two in my batch of story samples!
Marilyn Fountain (Got two in sample batch)
Fergus McBride
Karen Clarke
Grace Farrant
Looking at the whole magazine, it's very colourful and loud with lots of true life stories and shocking stories of abuse, disease, unfortunate accidents, sensationalism. Think Jeremy Kyle show type incidents and you won't be far off the mark. But they also have quite moving real life stories of how readers dealt/are dealing with personal tragedy and illness like cancer. There have been a couple with poorly kids in. So stories tend to have a modern and 'young' feel about them that the reader doesn't have to work too hard to read - a bit of light relief from life's difficulties.
I've been reading take a break for years (mainly to do the competitions!) But I haven't won anything yet. But I have more recently been studying them hard from cover to cover as research for my stories. If you're going to aim for this publication I would suggest you buy a few issues and look at the adverts and tone of the whole magazine.
Next week I'll post my findings from my Fiction Feast research and possibly The Weekly News.
As I've said before, I've never actually had any stories accepted or published by Take A Break, (I got another rejection from them today, ouch) so this research won't guarantee success but it's a step closer to understanding what kind of fiction works in this magazine. I intend to use my findings to start writing and submitting to them again in the new year.
Have a think about what I've said above and I hope we can all get our stories into Take A Break next year - the challenge has been set!
Sunday, 6 December 2009
What To Do
After the family orientated weekend at the Christmas Fayre yesterday and a walk round the pond to feed the ducks and observe the steam trains nearby it's time to get back to the writing quest from tomorrow. Well I actually started this afternoon by editing an article destined for WM.
I have a real hotch potch of a week coming up as I have the second part of the Child Protection Course and a day long Governor Induction training as part of my school duties.It's also my daughter's Christmas play at school and I'm in tomorrow doing the reading support. But I also have a few writing related things to be getting on with. In particular I have some articles I want to finish and some I need to start off, plus transcribing the interview with Carole Anne Carr from my Dictaphone. I'll also be looking at my research for TAB and Fiction Feast to post my findings here, probably at the weekend. I hope my findings help those of us trying to break into that particular market. The week after I'll tackle The Weekly News.
But, the thing I'm most looking forward to - okay second thing, after my daughter's play, is going for lunch with my NaNo buddy by way of a celebration for us both completing the challenge! Then we are going to try and get some more writing done. I'm going to be asking her a few questions for my NaNo article - I'm slowly working my way round the Wrekin Writers and Blog Land for people to write about and get quotes from! You never know where I'm going to pop up next.
I've enjoyed this week and I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into some writing next week. Only two weeks until daughter has Xmas break from school - scary thought. Time is flying - so much to write, so little time.
Have a happy week, whatever you're doing.
Remember, you can if you try and don't let your Inner Critic tell you any different. Mine is glaring at me from the corner of the room with his nose in the air - he is not best pleased with my recent spate of article proposal acceptances and was rubbing his gnarled hands with glee when I was wailing about the lack of response from editors. So Hah! Inner Critic - get back into your cage!
I have a real hotch potch of a week coming up as I have the second part of the Child Protection Course and a day long Governor Induction training as part of my school duties.It's also my daughter's Christmas play at school and I'm in tomorrow doing the reading support. But I also have a few writing related things to be getting on with. In particular I have some articles I want to finish and some I need to start off, plus transcribing the interview with Carole Anne Carr from my Dictaphone. I'll also be looking at my research for TAB and Fiction Feast to post my findings here, probably at the weekend. I hope my findings help those of us trying to break into that particular market. The week after I'll tackle The Weekly News.
But, the thing I'm most looking forward to - okay second thing, after my daughter's play, is going for lunch with my NaNo buddy by way of a celebration for us both completing the challenge! Then we are going to try and get some more writing done. I'm going to be asking her a few questions for my NaNo article - I'm slowly working my way round the Wrekin Writers and Blog Land for people to write about and get quotes from! You never know where I'm going to pop up next.
I've enjoyed this week and I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into some writing next week. Only two weeks until daughter has Xmas break from school - scary thought. Time is flying - so much to write, so little time.
Have a happy week, whatever you're doing.
Remember, you can if you try and don't let your Inner Critic tell you any different. Mine is glaring at me from the corner of the room with his nose in the air - he is not best pleased with my recent spate of article proposal acceptances and was rubbing his gnarled hands with glee when I was wailing about the lack of response from editors. So Hah! Inner Critic - get back into your cage!
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Much Wenlock Xmas Fayre
No writing so far today as today was well and truly a family day at Much Wenlock Xmas Fayre. We go every year but for the past two years my husband has been unable to go due to work which is a shame as he loves it as much as the rest of us! It was busy and bustling with lots of different stalls and entertainment from dancing to brass bands, donkey rides, Santa, lots of deliciously festive food and drink, mistletoe, Xmas wreaths, toys you name it - if it was festive it was there!
I spotted a couple of professional photographers/journalists that I had met back in the Summer at the Wenlock Olympian Games. They were snapping away - and part of me pinged and I wanted to go into journalist mode but restrained myself! You can't really do it when you're carting around a child's toy witches broomstick (don't ask) and a bag full of Xmas paraphernalia! But I managed to get a few snaps that I've posted here.
The three kids are my daughter and her two cousins aged 4,5 and 6! The organ they are standing in front is there every year and we all love it - especially putting a coin in the monkey's hand and watching it fall in the box. The bigger organ wasn't there last year so the kids were in awe of it! They couldn't believe the size of it and my daughter found the statues dinging bells on it hilarious!
We had a good day and it wasn't freezing cold like last year. I had a wonderful cake from a new company I recognised from the Shropshire Star (local newspaper). They were in a couple of weeks back having just opened a shop in Ironbridge. Their cakes are amazing and delicious with so many varieties it was difficult to choose. I know I make cakes on occasion but these were something else! Have a look at their website
QUEENIES and you'll see what I mean!
Happy writing!
Julie xx
Friday, 4 December 2009
A HAT TRICK!
It must be the end of year clear out at Take a break as I received three rejections via the postman from them this morning (Ouch, ouch and ouch!) Two were Xmas themed stories and one was something else. But, to take the sting out of it, I had a lovely time in Much Wenlock this morning supping two cappuccinos with a writing friend and I treated myself to a 2010 Moleskine diary and the new Take Break Fiction Feast magazine! And I also have £1 worth of Tesco vouchers come through in the same post - oh what shall I spend it on?!
It's a good job I have quite a robust constitution and my articles are doing so well - it helps to lessen the blow of rejections, I find. It has given me the resolve to fight back with knobs and bells on next year and I am even more determined to get that magazine research under way. I've learned so much over the past year about writing that I am sure I will get there with the short stories next year and at least sell one or two.
Tomorrow I'm off to the Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre - we go every year and it's so wonderful. It's bound to inject some Christmas spirit in me. I must remember though that it's my daughter who gets to sit on Santa's knee and not me! (I blame the mulled wine.)
Next week I'll be posting the results of my research on one of the magazines Take A Break in the hope we can shed some light on the types of stories they do publish and how best we might tackle our next submissions to them. The week after I'll do The Weekly News.
Have a great weekend whatever you're doing and remember, if you don't write you won't get published!
Julie xx
It's a good job I have quite a robust constitution and my articles are doing so well - it helps to lessen the blow of rejections, I find. It has given me the resolve to fight back with knobs and bells on next year and I am even more determined to get that magazine research under way. I've learned so much over the past year about writing that I am sure I will get there with the short stories next year and at least sell one or two.
Tomorrow I'm off to the Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre - we go every year and it's so wonderful. It's bound to inject some Christmas spirit in me. I must remember though that it's my daughter who gets to sit on Santa's knee and not me! (I blame the mulled wine.)
Next week I'll be posting the results of my research on one of the magazines Take A Break in the hope we can shed some light on the types of stories they do publish and how best we might tackle our next submissions to them. The week after I'll do The Weekly News.
Have a great weekend whatever you're doing and remember, if you don't write you won't get published!
Julie xx
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Leaf Books Competition
Just had this information through about a writing comp.
*NEW* Writing About Writing Competition
Leaf Books invites you to send us up to 750 words on the theme of writing. You can send us creative writing (a story or poem) or an essay/academic/journalistic piece, or even a stream-of-consciousness writers-block-induced panic, provided it’s on the subject of writing.
Enter online or by post. If sending entries by post, please note that we are unable to return submissions. If entering online, please pay via PayPal (see the competitions page on the website) and send your work as an attachment to contact@leafbooks.co.uk as a .doc or .rtf file (please don’t send .docx or .wps documents because we can’t open them).
£3.50 per submission, 4 submissions for £10
Prize: One winner will receive £100 and publication in the pilot edition of the Leaf Books Magazine. Further selected entries may also be published in the magazine: successful entrants will receive a free copy.
Closing date – January 31 2010
Enter by post: you can download an entry form (word document) here
or just send your details and a cheque. click here for postal address
Enter online: pay via paypal (they take credit cards if you don't have a paypal account). The button will take you to paypal and then you just email us the writing.
Leaf books website
So have a look and see what you think. Any takers?!
Julie xx
*NEW* Writing About Writing Competition
Leaf Books invites you to send us up to 750 words on the theme of writing. You can send us creative writing (a story or poem) or an essay/academic/journalistic piece, or even a stream-of-consciousness writers-block-induced panic, provided it’s on the subject of writing.
Enter online or by post. If sending entries by post, please note that we are unable to return submissions. If entering online, please pay via PayPal (see the competitions page on the website) and send your work as an attachment to contact@leafbooks.co.uk as a .doc or .rtf file (please don’t send .docx or .wps documents because we can’t open them).
£3.50 per submission, 4 submissions for £10
Prize: One winner will receive £100 and publication in the pilot edition of the Leaf Books Magazine. Further selected entries may also be published in the magazine: successful entrants will receive a free copy.
Closing date – January 31 2010
Enter by post: you can download an entry form (word document) here
or just send your details and a cheque. click here for postal address
Enter online: pay via paypal (they take credit cards if you don't have a paypal account). The button will take you to paypal and then you just email us the writing.
Leaf books website
So have a look and see what you think. Any takers?!
Julie xx
Positively Palpitating!
It's certainly been a runaway train day today and I've been busy with writing related activities for most of the day which is wonderful and I've had such a good time. If you go over to Carole Anne Carr's blog you will see a lovely festive photograph of Carole and myself as I was interviewing her, taken by her her lovely husband Roy.
I interviewed Carole for an article I'm writing of which the proposal has been accepted today(wooh hooh!) I really want to give Carole some great publicity as her books are wonderful. I read her book First Wolf back in the Summer and it was marvellous and I have just read the book she kindly gave me for my daughter Little Boy Good For Nothing and the Shongololo. It's illustrated with brilliant drawings and paintings by school children and it's such a vibrant and well written book for 5-7 year old children. My daughter made me read the whole thing. And I have to say, Carole, she was really absorbed in it, doing the actions of the monkey, crocodiles and lion and she kept wanting to read on and on, as did I! What a fantastic book and you should be very proud of it.
The interview went very well and my husband came with me and Carole provided a delicious lunch for us, so thank you Carole. It was an enjoyable morning and I feel priviledged to have learned so much about you personally and your life as a teacher and all the things you've done in your life. Carole also lent me some writing books which I am looking forward to reading and gathering valuable writing advice in there. Carole, you put the rest of us to shame with your determination and stamina! Carole is a truly inspiring lady and has kick started my enthusiasm and drive to carry on with my writing.
It was interesting listening to our husbands (You've heard about Golf and football widows, well they are Writing widowers) chat about what it's like to be the other half of a writer! And they both want to form their own group - the writing chauffeurs - and they want the hats and name badges to go with it!
Then I had the not so pleasant experience of the first half of a child protection course that I'm doing at the school as part of my duties as a governor and volunteer within the school. The neglect and abuse of children saddens and sickens me and it was difficult to hear the case studies. But I think it's important it is discussed so that we are more aware of the potential for abuse/neglect and can take steps to stop it.
Tonight I had a Julie Phillips first by doing my first international phone interview. I kid you not. I had a lovely chat with one of the very helpful and nice NaNo team over in America for the article I'm writing for WF. It was a great experience and she was so easy going and a joy to talk with. So I'm gaining new experiences all the time and I'm so glad I did it. I did have a bit of trouble working out the time zone difference but I think I got it right as she was pleased to talk with me. It was 630pm GMT but 1130 am Pacific time. It felt strange knowing it was early evening here yet I was talking to someone on the other side of the world and it was only the morning there! It's all this modern technology! I'm not used to it! I come from the country originally and it takes me a while to get my head round things sometimes as in, 'Shropshire born, Shropshire bred. Strong in the arm but thick in the head!'
So I'm tired this evening but my writing pulse is postively palpitating and I can't wait to get stuck into writing the articles and doing some research on the women's mags.
Happy writing.
PS I know the nights have well and truly drawn in and it's cold, dark and miserable weather out there. Christmas is coming and for some people that's a miserable time too, (I know I've had wonderful times and not so good times over Christmasses past) and they will try and bring everyone else down with them. But we can rise above this and overcome our difficulties. So let's shine our lights in the darkness for others who are not feeling so positive about their writing at the moment so that they can follow us and keep their writing dreams alive, no matter what's going on in our lives, writing is something we can all come back to for comfort and help to see us through the difficult times.
What matters is here and now, not what has gone on in the past. If we choose to live in the past and constantly go back to the bleak times then we do ourselves no favours. We need to move forward and help each other along the way, and I believe that writing can help us do that. So here's to our present and our future writing potential.
Julie xx
I interviewed Carole for an article I'm writing of which the proposal has been accepted today(wooh hooh!) I really want to give Carole some great publicity as her books are wonderful. I read her book First Wolf back in the Summer and it was marvellous and I have just read the book she kindly gave me for my daughter Little Boy Good For Nothing and the Shongololo. It's illustrated with brilliant drawings and paintings by school children and it's such a vibrant and well written book for 5-7 year old children. My daughter made me read the whole thing. And I have to say, Carole, she was really absorbed in it, doing the actions of the monkey, crocodiles and lion and she kept wanting to read on and on, as did I! What a fantastic book and you should be very proud of it.
The interview went very well and my husband came with me and Carole provided a delicious lunch for us, so thank you Carole. It was an enjoyable morning and I feel priviledged to have learned so much about you personally and your life as a teacher and all the things you've done in your life. Carole also lent me some writing books which I am looking forward to reading and gathering valuable writing advice in there. Carole, you put the rest of us to shame with your determination and stamina! Carole is a truly inspiring lady and has kick started my enthusiasm and drive to carry on with my writing.
It was interesting listening to our husbands (You've heard about Golf and football widows, well they are Writing widowers) chat about what it's like to be the other half of a writer! And they both want to form their own group - the writing chauffeurs - and they want the hats and name badges to go with it!
Then I had the not so pleasant experience of the first half of a child protection course that I'm doing at the school as part of my duties as a governor and volunteer within the school. The neglect and abuse of children saddens and sickens me and it was difficult to hear the case studies. But I think it's important it is discussed so that we are more aware of the potential for abuse/neglect and can take steps to stop it.
Tonight I had a Julie Phillips first by doing my first international phone interview. I kid you not. I had a lovely chat with one of the very helpful and nice NaNo team over in America for the article I'm writing for WF. It was a great experience and she was so easy going and a joy to talk with. So I'm gaining new experiences all the time and I'm so glad I did it. I did have a bit of trouble working out the time zone difference but I think I got it right as she was pleased to talk with me. It was 630pm GMT but 1130 am Pacific time. It felt strange knowing it was early evening here yet I was talking to someone on the other side of the world and it was only the morning there! It's all this modern technology! I'm not used to it! I come from the country originally and it takes me a while to get my head round things sometimes as in, 'Shropshire born, Shropshire bred. Strong in the arm but thick in the head!'
So I'm tired this evening but my writing pulse is postively palpitating and I can't wait to get stuck into writing the articles and doing some research on the women's mags.
Happy writing.
PS I know the nights have well and truly drawn in and it's cold, dark and miserable weather out there. Christmas is coming and for some people that's a miserable time too, (I know I've had wonderful times and not so good times over Christmasses past) and they will try and bring everyone else down with them. But we can rise above this and overcome our difficulties. So let's shine our lights in the darkness for others who are not feeling so positive about their writing at the moment so that they can follow us and keep their writing dreams alive, no matter what's going on in our lives, writing is something we can all come back to for comfort and help to see us through the difficult times.
What matters is here and now, not what has gone on in the past. If we choose to live in the past and constantly go back to the bleak times then we do ourselves no favours. We need to move forward and help each other along the way, and I believe that writing can help us do that. So here's to our present and our future writing potential.
Julie xx
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
It's Not What You Can't do ......
I read something today but I can't remember where I read it. It said something along the lines of, "Don't worry about what you can't do. It's what you can do that matters." I thought this was a great attitude to take for writing and for life in general. As writers we are used to getting rejections and having editors, publishers and agents saying, "No." And some people in our lives think of our writing as just a little 'hobby' that will never amount to much. If we take these people's negative comments and attitudes to heart, quite often we can become isolated and blinkered in our thoughts as the negativity rubs off on us and we start to believe that we can't and will never be successful with our writing.
But if we forget about what we can't do and focus on what we can do instead, and work hard on that we can do, I think life would be a lot easier! I know we all moan and groan, or scream and shout when we get rejections, or our article proposals are ignored, or we hear nothing at all about the stuff we've sent out there. Writing can be a frustrating occupation, but we write because we want to and for some of us it's a compulsion that we can't ignore. We carry on despite the rejections and uncertainty - it's part of the job.
So stop focusing on the pieces of work you've had rejected - it was just a near miss and presents us with a further opportunity to re market it next year. I know that at certain times of the year my enthusiasm for writing has been knocked sideways by rejection. I've looked at the magazines I have tried to get my short stories published in and seen stories by other authors who get their stories in time and time again and I've initially been disheartened, shrieking, "When will it be my turn?!" But after a while, one realises that crying and getting angry or despondent about it actually gets you absolutely nowhere. The only way I'm going to get my stories in these magazines is to study the market - read the stories that are in there and learn from them. These authors have worked hard to get their stories in there and it didn't happen overnight. But it can be done, as they have proved. I can and so can you. So come on! Let's do it!
You can, not you can't.
Julie xx
But if we forget about what we can't do and focus on what we can do instead, and work hard on that we can do, I think life would be a lot easier! I know we all moan and groan, or scream and shout when we get rejections, or our article proposals are ignored, or we hear nothing at all about the stuff we've sent out there. Writing can be a frustrating occupation, but we write because we want to and for some of us it's a compulsion that we can't ignore. We carry on despite the rejections and uncertainty - it's part of the job.
So stop focusing on the pieces of work you've had rejected - it was just a near miss and presents us with a further opportunity to re market it next year. I know that at certain times of the year my enthusiasm for writing has been knocked sideways by rejection. I've looked at the magazines I have tried to get my short stories published in and seen stories by other authors who get their stories in time and time again and I've initially been disheartened, shrieking, "When will it be my turn?!" But after a while, one realises that crying and getting angry or despondent about it actually gets you absolutely nowhere. The only way I'm going to get my stories in these magazines is to study the market - read the stories that are in there and learn from them. These authors have worked hard to get their stories in there and it didn't happen overnight. But it can be done, as they have proved. I can and so can you. So come on! Let's do it!
You can, not you can't.
Julie xx
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