Meeting Report: 25th June 2012

On Monday 25 June we enjoyed an evening with our patron, well-respected novelist Tamara McKinley. Born in Tasmania, Tamara has lived and worked on the south coast of England for most of her adult life. She is the author of two psychological thrillers, nine world-wide best selling family saga novels set in Australia, and, writing under the name Ellie Dean, a series of novels set in an English seaside boarding house in the Second World War.

   If any of us ever thought that writing was a romantic, gentle way to pass the time, the hard-working Tamara quickly disabused us. ‘Writing is one part inspiration, one part perspiration and one part simple b***** mindedness’, she said, while taking us through a typical day in her life. We also learned about the importance of thorough research, and that successful writers have to be flexible enough to adapt their output to the changing needs of their market.

   Tamara’s easy, approachable style made it easy for us to ask questions, and we greatly appreciated her advice and encouragement.

   Currently, the Group is working on ‘Strandline 9’, our latest anthology of members' work. In addition to our session with Tamara, we collectively viewed, and voted on, a range of artwork for the book’s front cover, all produced by members. The eventual winner was John Vallender with a very attractive watercolour sea scene; Ron Nicola and Maurice Haken were runners-up. The range of entries was impressive – many of our members are accomplished artists as well as writers.

   The Group meets fortnightly on Monday evenings at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk.

Report by Steph Gaunt

Meeting Report: 11th June 2012

A few weeks ago 16 of us submitted entries for our latest group competitive exercise: travel writing.  On Monday 11 June we gathered to hear the results from our guest judge, Jeff Jewson Fleming from Eastbourne New Writers. Earlier this year two of our members judged a competition in Eastbourne, and Jeff was returning the favour. He was ideally qualified for the task, being both an experienced writer and enthusiastic traveller.
   Jeff emphasised that to be successful, a good travel piece must grab the reader’s attention and imagination from the start, must be readable and interesting, and must make us want to visit the place in question. 

   A small number of pieces were singled out for special mention. Yvonne Zackim’s piece about a sea voyage on a cargo ship, ‘Ecuador on the CCNI Anakena’, was highly commended. In fourth place was Eileen Masters, with ‘Where there is no Plumber’, about a visit to Pakistan. Jeff particularly liked Eileen’s glimpses of family life in Pakistan – as well as the plumbing! For the third place piece, we came right back home, with Steph Gaunt’s light-hearted ‘Good Scone Guide to Hastings’. This reminded us that good travel writing does not necessarily involve visits to far-flung places – part of the point is to give new perspectives on places we already know.

   Jill Fricker’s thought-provoking piece, ‘New York – First Bite’, came second.  Jeff felt that Jill had brought out yet another aspect of successful travel writing – exploring the inner journey of the traveller, as well as the physical journey.  In first place was Mike Walsh, with his riveting ‘Lost Highway’, describing a classic road trip along Route 66 in 1968.  Mike’s skill in bringing the location to life as well as capturing the incidents – and individuals – encountered on the way, made him a worthy winner.

   We were grateful to Jeff for the hard work he had put in to read all our efforts and to comment on them so thoughtfully and constructively.

    The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com.

Report by Steph Gaunt

Meeting Report: 28 April 2012

On Monday 28 April we gathered for one of our regular Manuscript Evenings, where people have the opportunity to present their work in progress to the group. There was a slightly anxious feeling in the room as the chosen four got their material ready, but although the discussion of each piece can be searching, comments and suggestions are delivered positively and constructively.

    First, we listened to Steph Gaunt present the opening section of a new piece about Muriel, a high-class shop mannequin. Although this had been intended to be a short story, the group felt that the snobbish, fashion-obsessed Muriel was developing a very strong ‘personality’, and her varied adventures would be better expanded into a novel.

    Next, new member Maurice Haken read us an excerpt from ‘Barging round Belgium’, about a part of his life spent travelling round the waterways of Europe. We listened, on the edge of our seats, while the barge hurtled, out of control, towards a low bridge....

    After that drama, we needed comic relief. We found it with an extract from ‘Moondance’, a radio play written by Amanda Giles. She (somewhat rashly) asked the assembled company to take on the various parts for the reading. As the play was set in Wales, this was challenging – our accents wobbled wildly from Wales to Ireland, Australia to Pakistan via Yorkshire. The play was very good too!

    Exhausted, we were glad to listen to our last presentation, ‘Old Soldier’ a short story from Richard Holdsworth. This was a poignant account of an elderly man who fought at Monte Cassino and regained his lost memories at a contemporary re-enactment event.

    The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk

Report by Steph Gaunt