On Monday 5th September, members gathered to read out and submit their entries for the fifth and final of our Writer of the Year 2011 competitions. Our challenge was to write an autobiographical piece, based on a photograph of our own choosing. As may be expected, we were all taken on trips down Memory Lane, seeped in bittersweet nostalgia. These provided moving glimpses into childhoods - both idyllic and troubled, family history, traumatic teens, adult heroics and seaside sagas. We look forward to feedback from local social history author, Victoria Seymour, who will deliver her verdict on 3rd October.
Chairperson Monica Percy, writing as Monica Tracey, will be launching her new book ‘Left of the Moon’ at the popular Books Born in Hastings event on 8th October at the Town Hall. At the same time, we will also be launching our latest group publication ‘Ghost Writers – 20 Spooky Tales for Dark Nights’, which will help fundraise for local Young Carers. Additionally, several other members will have their books for sale on our stall. Do come along and have a look!
For enquiries about our activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
Monday, 26 September 2011
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Meeting Report: 15 August 2011
On 15th August, we were delighted and privileged to welcome Adrian Butcher, BBC radio news journalist, editor and producer, who had kindly spent a good deal of time reading, critiquing and judging the entries in our radio play competition. Adrian began by outlining his work at the BBC and how he was responsible for distilling the raw material of the news into scripts to be passed to the newsreaders.
He then gave general pointers for what makes a good radio play, including a gripping start, a riveting, coherent story, engaging characters, realistic dialogue and a strong ending before announcing the winners. Roz Balp came first with ‘The Blue Painting’ which was praised for its sound plotting, well-painted characters and crisp dialogue. ‘The Abomination’ by Mark Towner was second; the judge was won over by its ingenious story and setting, humour and pace although not a lover of sci-fi. In third place was Amanda Giles’ ‘Moondance’, which engaged the judge from the start with its story-telling, convincing characterisation and dialogue. John Vallender’s ‘When the Cat’s Away’, with its irresistible humour, believable dialogue and storyline, came fourth.
We would like to thank Adrian, who took time out of a very busy schedule to give such painstaking and thorough analysis of each entry. He was generous with his praise and encouragement while being constructive with his suggestions for improvement.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
He then gave general pointers for what makes a good radio play, including a gripping start, a riveting, coherent story, engaging characters, realistic dialogue and a strong ending before announcing the winners. Roz Balp came first with ‘The Blue Painting’ which was praised for its sound plotting, well-painted characters and crisp dialogue. ‘The Abomination’ by Mark Towner was second; the judge was won over by its ingenious story and setting, humour and pace although not a lover of sci-fi. In third place was Amanda Giles’ ‘Moondance’, which engaged the judge from the start with its story-telling, convincing characterisation and dialogue. John Vallender’s ‘When the Cat’s Away’, with its irresistible humour, believable dialogue and storyline, came fourth.
We would like to thank Adrian, who took time out of a very busy schedule to give such painstaking and thorough analysis of each entry. He was generous with his praise and encouragement while being constructive with his suggestions for improvement.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Meeting Report: 1st August 2011
The theme of our meeting on 1st August could well have been summarised as ‘Faint Heart Never Won Fair Publishing Deal’ as three authors spoke about their books and very different experiences of the publishing world.
First off the mark was our own Richard Holdsworth who showed admirable fortitude in navigating the shark-infested waters of self-publishing. Despite being bitten several times he has, thankfully, had great success with his two popular autobiographical works, Six Spoons of Sugar and In the HOT Seat – and picked up several awards for life-writing along the way.
Second was another successful member of the group: Kate O’Hearn demonstrated the huge sacrifices and tenacity necessary to realise her dream of being published. However, all this hard work has paid off in Kate’s case, and her two exciting children’s fantasy series, Shadow of the Dragon and Pegasus, have achieved great success with the Pegasus books now being international best-sellers.
Last, but certainly not least, was a visitor to the group, Ian Morson, who generously gave of his time to share his journey from librarian to crime writer. Ian specialises in medieval detective stories and is the creator of William Falconer and Nick Zuliani; he is also one of the Medieval Murderers group of writers. He gave an inspiring account of the perseverance, common sense and ‘pot luck’ necessary to succeed as an author.
Members of the group are very grateful for authors' honesty and generosity in sharing their experiences; we are now more aware of the pitfalls and the rewards of treading the sometimes treacherous path of published writing.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
First off the mark was our own Richard Holdsworth who showed admirable fortitude in navigating the shark-infested waters of self-publishing. Despite being bitten several times he has, thankfully, had great success with his two popular autobiographical works, Six Spoons of Sugar and In the HOT Seat – and picked up several awards for life-writing along the way.
Second was another successful member of the group: Kate O’Hearn demonstrated the huge sacrifices and tenacity necessary to realise her dream of being published. However, all this hard work has paid off in Kate’s case, and her two exciting children’s fantasy series, Shadow of the Dragon and Pegasus, have achieved great success with the Pegasus books now being international best-sellers.
Last, but certainly not least, was a visitor to the group, Ian Morson, who generously gave of his time to share his journey from librarian to crime writer. Ian specialises in medieval detective stories and is the creator of William Falconer and Nick Zuliani; he is also one of the Medieval Murderers group of writers. He gave an inspiring account of the perseverance, common sense and ‘pot luck’ necessary to succeed as an author.
Members of the group are very grateful for authors' honesty and generosity in sharing their experiences; we are now more aware of the pitfalls and the rewards of treading the sometimes treacherous path of published writing.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Meeting Report: 18th July 2011
Our latest competition challenge was to write a 15 minute radio play, with entries due in at our meeting on 18th July. There was much hilarity as scripts were read, with our multi-talented members becoming the characters as well as providing some of the ‘noises off’. As one member described it, ‘The readers sounded really professional. If I closed my eyes I could actually believe I was listening to the radio.’ It made for an entertaining evening, with as usual a good variation of subject matter and plenty of humour. We look forward to receiving the results on 15th August when judge Adrian Butcher, who works for the BBC, will attend to give his verdict.
There are still places available for our half-day open seminar with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton ‘What goes into a great novel?’ on Saturday 30th July from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). Places are £7 full or £5 concessions (seniors/students). Enquiries to hastingswritersgroup@gmail.com or just turn up on the day.
For further information about our group or membership please contact membership.hwg@gmail.com
There are still places available for our half-day open seminar with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton ‘What goes into a great novel?’ on Saturday 30th July from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). Places are £7 full or £5 concessions (seniors/students). Enquiries to hastingswritersgroup@gmail.com or just turn up on the day.
For further information about our group or membership please contact membership.hwg@gmail.com
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Meeting Report: 4th July 2011
We were delighted to welcome our patron, novelist Tamara McKinley, to our Manuscript Evening on 4th July. Tamara’s popular books are published around the world in about 15 different languages. Her latest ‘There’ll be Blue Skies’, which she is writing under the name Ellie Dean, is due out on 4th August.
Four members read extracts from works in progress for constructive feedback. Angela Everitt started with chapter 2 of her contemporary novel ‘Friends Like These’ whilst Ezzie Gleeson-Ward gave us a further instalment of her science fiction fantasy ‘Cormorante’. Pauline Piper continued with more from her crime novel ‘Driven’ and Mark Towner finished the readings with a semi-autobiographical piece from ‘Memoirs of Marcus’. These were all discussed by group members, with Tamara giving the benefit of her wide experience by adding further useful comments and suggestions for consideration by the authors.
We are hosting a writing seminar ‘What Goes Into A Great Novel?’ with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton on Saturday 30th July from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). Open to all, places are £7 full and £5 concessions (students/seniors). Booking enquiries to hastingswritersgroup@gmail.com please.
For enquiries about our group, please contact our Membership Secretary on membership.hwg@gmail.com
Four members read extracts from works in progress for constructive feedback. Angela Everitt started with chapter 2 of her contemporary novel ‘Friends Like These’ whilst Ezzie Gleeson-Ward gave us a further instalment of her science fiction fantasy ‘Cormorante’. Pauline Piper continued with more from her crime novel ‘Driven’ and Mark Towner finished the readings with a semi-autobiographical piece from ‘Memoirs of Marcus’. These were all discussed by group members, with Tamara giving the benefit of her wide experience by adding further useful comments and suggestions for consideration by the authors.
We are hosting a writing seminar ‘What Goes Into A Great Novel?’ with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton on Saturday 30th July from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). Open to all, places are £7 full and £5 concessions (students/seniors). Booking enquiries to hastingswritersgroup@gmail.com please.
For enquiries about our group, please contact our Membership Secretary on membership.hwg@gmail.com
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Meeting Report: 20th June 2011
On 20th June we were privileged to welcome award-winning novelist Jill Hucklesby as the judge for our ghost story competition. Although a distinguished and busy author, she had found time to read all seventeen entries several times before settling on a shortlist - and finally the four prize-winners. As well as being generous with time, Jill was also extremely generous with both her praise and constructive criticism. She gave pertinent and detailed feedback to all entrants with invaluable tips on how to achieve clarity, consistent characterisation, pace and atmosphere.
In first place was Roz Balp, who was delighted to receive copies of four of Jill’s novels. Her entry, ‘Faniel’, was described as intriguing, with excellent dialogue, a very strong dénouement, and elegantly written. The judge had no suggestions for any improvement! The lively and humorous ‘In-Comers’ by Amanda Giles came second and was praised for its strong structure and very satisfying grisly twist ending. Jill Fricker’s beautifully written atmospheric tale set in Victorian London, ‘Shadows and Fog’ was third. In fourth place was Ezzie Gleeson-Ward’s ‘Marked’, set in a school and described as a very stylish piece, tightly-written, with strong characterisation and excellent description.
An impromptu question and answer session on writing and being published followed, which everyone found both fascinating and informative. Following Jill's feedback, some of the writers are reworking parts of their stories before they are included in our next group publication 'Ghost Writers' due out in October.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
In first place was Roz Balp, who was delighted to receive copies of four of Jill’s novels. Her entry, ‘Faniel’, was described as intriguing, with excellent dialogue, a very strong dénouement, and elegantly written. The judge had no suggestions for any improvement! The lively and humorous ‘In-Comers’ by Amanda Giles came second and was praised for its strong structure and very satisfying grisly twist ending. Jill Fricker’s beautifully written atmospheric tale set in Victorian London, ‘Shadows and Fog’ was third. In fourth place was Ezzie Gleeson-Ward’s ‘Marked’, set in a school and described as a very stylish piece, tightly-written, with strong characterisation and excellent description.
An impromptu question and answer session on writing and being published followed, which everyone found both fascinating and informative. Following Jill's feedback, some of the writers are reworking parts of their stories before they are included in our next group publication 'Ghost Writers' due out in October.
For enquiries about activities and membership please contact the membership secretary at membership.hwg@gmail.com or visit our website: http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Meeting Report: 6th June 2011
On 6th June member Jill Fricker ran a fun workshop entitled: ‘Who do we think we are?’ The aim was to discover a little more about each other whilst carrying out a writing-related exercise.
We were all asked in advance to bring a sheet of paper with a favourite opening line from a novel, the book title and author written at the top. Then we were paired up and asked to swap papers before being given the task of interviewing each other. This produced an immediate buzz of questions and answers and some furious scribblings. Next, we had to (neatly!) write up our notes as a short article, poem or other piece of writing on our partner’s headed sheet. These were then all mixed up and re-distributed at random to be read out and everyone invited to guess who each sheet was about. This caused some hilarity and unknown facts to emerge as we worked out who was who, helped by the book details given. All voted it a highly enjoyable session.
We will be hosting an open seminar ‘What Goes into a Great Novel?’ with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton on Saturday, 30th July, from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). This session promises to appeal to all writers and readers, not just potential novelists. Places are £7 full or £5 concessions (seniors/students etc). For more information or to book please e-mail hastingswritersgroup@g.mail.com.
For enquiries about group membership and to arrange a preliminary visit please contact membership.hwg@gmail.com or for more information visit our website http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
We were all asked in advance to bring a sheet of paper with a favourite opening line from a novel, the book title and author written at the top. Then we were paired up and asked to swap papers before being given the task of interviewing each other. This produced an immediate buzz of questions and answers and some furious scribblings. Next, we had to (neatly!) write up our notes as a short article, poem or other piece of writing on our partner’s headed sheet. These were then all mixed up and re-distributed at random to be read out and everyone invited to guess who each sheet was about. This caused some hilarity and unknown facts to emerge as we worked out who was who, helped by the book details given. All voted it a highly enjoyable session.
We will be hosting an open seminar ‘What Goes into a Great Novel?’ with authors Leslie Tate and Sue Hampton on Saturday, 30th July, from 10.00-13.00 hours at the Southwater Community Centre (behind Warrior Square station). This session promises to appeal to all writers and readers, not just potential novelists. Places are £7 full or £5 concessions (seniors/students etc). For more information or to book please e-mail hastingswritersgroup@g.mail.com.
For enquiries about group membership and to arrange a preliminary visit please contact membership.hwg@gmail.com or for more information visit our website http://www.hastingswriters.co.uk/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
