'Hidden Gems' Competition entries - for new and under-valued writers, 29 July 2013

For the last of our July meetings, on Monday 29^th, we listened to some of the entries for yet another competition ‘Hidden Gems’. This is a new addition for our calendar, a competition specifically intended for members who have never won, or been placed, in a HWG competition since January 2012. The idea was to encourage some of our new members and less experienced writers, and also to give a ‘boost’ to some of our more experienced writers where, for whatever reason, their work had not caught the attention of the judges in recent months. Entrants read the first two hundred words of their story to the group, who then commented and made suggestions, if appropriate, as to how the piece might be yet further improved. As ever, we had a good range of entries and a wide range of topics – from the macabre, via the domestic, to comedy.

Once again we welcomed a new member – the fourth this month, which is pleasing, and a prospective member.

Finally, we also had a look at some artwork for the cover of our forthcoming ‘Animal Writes’ anthology

Flash Fiction Entries on a hot night: 15 July 2013

Hastings was basking in the heat on Monday 15 July as a large group of members gathered to present their entries for our latest Flash Fiction competition. The task was to create a complete story in 250 words, and the challenge was clearly popular.  As the stories were short, we had the unaccustomed pleasure of hearing everyone read their complete pieces, and as ever, there were an enormous variety of styles, themes and topics.  Our members are quite fond of dark deeds, disaster and general mayhem – the total body count for the stories was alarmingly high…. We finished the evening with an informal discussion about where we liked to write – locations varied from on the sofa in front of the telly via the utility room in the company of the boiler to a purpose-built log cabin.

     We were glad to welcome two new members to the group, and another prospective member attended the meeting as a ‘taster’.  We also heard that one of our members, Kate Giles, has finally clinched a big publishing deal for her childrens’ books – in Norway.  Her work is to be issued as hard copy, e-book and audio-book in August.

Poetry Competition Results, 1 July 2013

The room was packed for the results of the Poetry Competition on Monday 1 July, with our guest judge, Hastings-born poet Richard Evans. One of the most well-respected young poets working today, Richard has published two collections of poems, and is working on his third. It was a very poetic evening - the group heard that that our Chair, Jill Fricker, has just been awarded a prestigious Bare Hands International Poetry Prize for 2013, and we also welcomed Yvonne Rees, from Arts Forum Poets, as a guest to our meeting.

Richard read us a selection of his poems before reviewing the entries. He said that the standard of entries was high, and main criteria he had used to judge the poems was how easy he had found it to experience the world of the writer. In fourth place was Marcus Towner, with his vivid ‘Obadiah’s Observations. Marcus told us that he now has an up-comiing ‘gig’ to perform as Obadiah. One of our newest members, Rachel Marsh, was third, with ‘Lanterns in the Cottage’, about smugglers in Hastings. In second place was our star poet, Jill Fricker. Her haunting piece, ‘On Meeting’, was about the birth of a child. In first place, much to her surprise, was Steph Gaunt, with ‘Writers’ Block’. Richard felt that this poem had painted a particularly accessible picture of the writer’s world, and the place of poetry within that world.

Following the judging, Richard shared some thoughts with us about the place of rhyme in poetry.

At the meeting, we welcomed one new member and one prospective member. We heard about the new website, and the Amazon success of Mike Walsh's 'The Music of Melancholy'.

Manuscript Evening with Tamara McKinley: 17 June 2013

It was a nail-biting time for three of our newer members at our meeting on Monday 17 June.  The Group’s Patron, best-selling author Tamara McKinley, had paid us a visit to have a look at some of our work in progress. She had specifically asked to see work from new writers, to make the best use of her time, experience and expertise. Tamara has a straight and forthright approach, but fortunately she clearly thought the three pieces had promise. All the writers were initially given specific pointers about the standard of presentation a publisher’s editor would expect – learning points for all of us.

First up was Rachel Marsh, with a chapter from her historical novel ‘Lanterns in the Cottage’, about smuggling in Hastings. We all enjoyed this piece, and Tamara gave Rachel some interesting advice on how to hook her readers in at the start of her story. Next, Diana Lock with an extract from ‘Identity Crisis’, a chilling science-fiction work set in a dystopian future. Again, we were all gripped by this, and Tamara clearly felt it had considerable promise. Finally, Emma Boyde with the prologue to a novel ‘Tomb’. Again, Tamara helped Emma to see how she could rework her material to ensure that her readers were hooked in to the story from the first paragraph. As writers, we all benefit enormously from manuscript evenings – the lessons learned are totally applicable to our own work. We were grateful to Tamara for giving up her time.

We were pleased to welcome no less than three prospective new members to our meeting – we hope they will have enjoyed themselves sufficiently to join us on a permanent basis. However, on a slightly less positive note, we were sad to hear that long-standing member Richard Holdsworth had decided to resign from the group. His regular members’ Newsletters will be missed.

Poetry Entries - Monday 3 June 2013

Our meeting on Monday 3 June started with the sharing of exciting news: several of us are in the process of having work published for the first time, including one of our most talented writers, Mike Walsh, and newer member Kate Giles – more on this to come. Our Chair, Jill Fricker, has just had a poem shortlisted for a major competition, and acclaimed children’s writer Kate O’Hearn is enjoying great success with her latest novel ‘Valkyrie’ – she has just returned from a book promotion tour to the West Country. Finally, long-serving member Anne Hooker is also pleased with the success of her book, ‘Inspired’, an anthology produced to benefit Stoke Mandeville Hospital. 

     The main business of the evening was to hear the entries for our current competition – producing a rhyming poem of up to forty lines.  As ever, the entries were of a high standard, ranging from the passionate to the comic, with topics ranging from Hastings smugglers via childbirth and hens to writers’ block. The highlight of the evening was a poem presented as a piece of performance art, ‘Obadiah’s Observations’, by Marcus Towner.  Our judge will have a hard job deciding on a winner.

Manuscript Evening: 13 May 2013

Give a monkey a typewriter, and in an infinite amount of time, it would produce the complete works of Shakespeare…..a familiar saying, but an alarming notion for us writers. At our meeting on Monday 13 May we had an opportunity to get inside the head of one such monkey, in a fascinating story from new member Mike Rayner.  His story ‘The Creator’ was one of three pieces presented to us at one of our regular Manuscript evenings, where group members critique and discuss their colleagues’ work in progress. We also heard, and discussed, an extract from Eileen Masters’ true-life account of her experiences in Afghanistan. This work is now nearly complete, and we eagerly await its publication.  Our third piece was from Amanda Giles – the opening chapter of her new novel, ’Moondance’, set in the flamboyant performing arts world of the 80’s.  Members value and welcome the feedback on their work they receive at these sessions, although it can be a daunting process for newcomers.

    We also heard that the programme of meetings for the second half of 2013 was ready for issue to members – we have secured the services of a number of new judges for our internal competitions, and the winning play from our playwriting competition is to be performed by the Hastleons in December.

Crime Results with Catherine Smith: 22 April 2013

On Monday 22 April we gathered to hear the results of our most recent competition – writing a short crime story.  Our judge, Catherine Smith, had judged competitions for the group before. She now teaches Creative Writing for New Writing South, based in Brighton, and also for the Arvon Foundation. Catherine told the group that the entries were of a high standard, and that we had some talented writers among our membership. She was impressed with our appetite for bloodthirsty tales! A good crime story needs strong, believable characters, a plot that moves along briskly, and an effective use of setting and location.

     Having commented on all the entries, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, Catherine singled out three for special commendation: ‘A Respectable Death’, by Stephen Martin, ‘The Silent Assassin’ by Marcus Towner, and ‘A Place of Annihilation’ by Mike Walsh.  She then moved on to the four winners. In fourth place was Eileen Masters with ‘This is where I dies’, a gripping monologue story based on a real Old Bailey case.  John Vallender was third with ‘No comment’, a tightly plotted and gripping account of a domestic murder. In second place was Jill Fricker with ‘Tweeting from Pretoria’, an unusual story set in contemporary South Africa, with overtones of Jack and the Beanstalk.  In first place was Steph Gaunt, with ‘A kitten vanishes’.  Steph’s story was about an older woman, a wronged wife attempting to take revenge on her husband and his new family, and Catherine was impressed with its emotional depth as well as the quality of the writing.

     In addition to the competition results, members were told that the title of the 2013 group animal themed anthology was, by popular vote, ‘Animal Writes’.  Thanks were expressed to Roz Balp, who thought of the idea.