Romantic Fiction Entries - 21st September, 2015

On 21^st September, we met for an evening of romantic fiction, at which eleven members read their entries for the last competition of the year. There was a surprising range of approaches, some of which might have surprised readers of Women’s Weekly. We had loss, longing and lust, love objects from the G.P. to the geek, heroines who were poets and painters, QPID (say it aloud) in Regent’s Park and inter-racial love in India. Stories were touching or wry, played with the conventions of the genre or used them creatively. Unfortunately there was not time to read a further four submissions on the night, but they promise to broaden the range even further. We look forward to our judge, Hilary Mackelden's, feedback on 19^th October.

       We were pleased to hear that Marcia Woolf’s short story, Impatience, has been shortlisted for the Wells Literature Festival prize. Congratulations also to Rachel Marsh, who has been given and internship with 'Daily News Service', so please read her article here: http://www.dailynewsservice.co.uk/our-obsession-with-pedometers-a-step-too-far/

 

Planning Meeting - 7th September, 2015

On 7^th September, the group met to tackle the thorny issue of planning the 2016 programme. First we discussed the overall balance of meeting types before voting on members' suggestions for competitions. We then moved on to discussing our biennial themed charity anthology, which next year, will be coordinated by a team of three. Our Chair, Eileen Masters, presented various options regarding printing and distribution as well as themes previously suggested by group members. Jane Hempson-Jones from the coordination team had researched local charities who might be interested in promoting the project and receiving the profits; she presented a very clear picture of the type of work performed by each in the community, so members could make a more informed decision. We then discussed what themes might be linked to those charities before voting. We're hoping for as much group involvement as possible and a successful launch of the final volume.

Romantic Fiction Workshop - 24th August, 2015

On 24^th August, Elizabeth Allen led a workshop on Romantic Fiction in preparation for the final competition of the year. Having contrasted the genre to its more elevated cousin, romance, she asked everyone to note down what they considered the key elements of the genre to be. We went on to look at two broad categories, contrasting the generally exotic and glitzy Mills & Boon approach with the more everyday Women's Weekly style. Although we acknowledged Mills & Boon novels now range from the traditional heart-warming weddings of doctors and nurses etc. to more 'hot and spicy' encounters, one avid romantic fiction reader among us pointed out the sexual politics haven't moved on that much! We discussed the elements of the romantic novel: characters, setting, plot and prose style, with credit being given to Sophie King's How to Write a Romantic Novel. The group's choices of a suitable location for a novel ranged from libraries through the Scottish Highlands to the gondolas of Venice, and characters' names spanned the mundane to the highly exotic. We wait for the entries to be read out on 21^st September.

Monologue Results - 10th August, 2015

On 10 August, local writer, director and script editor, Christine Harmar-Brown came to deliver her verdict on the 19 entries in our Dramatic Monologue competition. She spoke about the challenges of writing monologues, such as the setting the context, including setting and who the person is talking to – and the role of the audience, establishing a strong character and how to sustain interest and move the story along with only one actor. In her feedback on each piece, Christine focused on authenticity of voice, immediacy, keeping audiences guessing by having twists or something unexpected and dramatic irony. An important message for all of us was that a monologue is not a first person narrative because it has to be rooted in a real person. In first place was Vicky Armstrong with her 19^th century diary, 'Six Months in the Life of Miss Hill', praised for its subtle revelation of character. Second was the original and thought-provoking 'Grammabot' by Caroline Wardle. Sally-Ann Clark's authentically voiced 'Getting a Word in Edgeways' came third. Fourth was 'Wife in the Gulf' by Roz Balp.

Manuscript Evening - 27th July, 2015

At our manuscript evening on 27 July, four members read out their work and received feedback from the group. First, was Elizabeth Allen with the beginning of the third section of her novel, ‘Laying Ghosts’. She asked members to focus on the voice of the narrator and protagonist. Members were impressed by the style and economy of the writing, which cleverly conveyed setting, period and character and suggested dialogue as a means to make the central character more vivid and to move the plot forward. Second was new member, Chris Curran, with the beginning of her psychological suspense novel, ‘The Stooge’. Everyone found the piece beautifully paced and structured with very convincing but subtle evocation of a 50s seaside pier theatre show and its performers. Marcia Woolf was our third reader with a chapter from her darkly comic novel, ‘Roadkill’. Everyone found the piece entertaining and intriguing and there was a lively discussion on how to convey character through dialogue, particularly when contrasting English with American speech. Last was Bill Petsing with a short story, which focused on romantic and sexual encounters in Second World War London; people enjoyed the authentic voice and the economy of style and discussed the need to keep tenses consistent to avoid confusion. It was an enjoyable evening, and we all benefited from considering the issues raised.

Monologue Entries - 13th July, 2015

On 13 July, members read out their monologues, to be judged by local writer, director and script editor, Christine Harmar-Brown. There were 19 entries in our fourth competition of the year, which ranged from the dark and gritty the to the light and fluffy and which explored a variety of themes, including domestic abuse, heroin addiction and taxidermy. We heard the voices of characters as diverse as an ageing dominatrix called Madame Solitaire and the Madonna. We visited a truck in Calais, the 'Titanic', the pages of Wikipedia and a diary, a villa in the Gulf and contemplated a range of activities, such as school cap wearing, visiting hospital patients, attacks in dark alleys and preparing for Armageddon. It was a dizzying and diverse display of creativity, and we look forward to the judge's feedback on 10 August.

Journalism Results - 29th June, 2015

We were extremely lucky to have the experienced journalist and author, Kathryn Flett, as the judge for our third competition of the year. She gave insightful and useful feedback to everyone, which included such points as: structure, research, opening sentences, writing style and tone, pace, clarity of purpose and target audience, working to tight word counts and deadlines, In addition, she generously gave an honest and revealing account of both her own career and the world of journalism in general. Kathryn then announced the winners: first was Elizabeth Allen's 'A Whole Planet of Possibilities', which was both current and thought-provoking, closely followed by John Taylor's warm-hearted piece with its excellent opening line, 'Claim to Fame'. Third was the well-researched and informative 'On the Trail of Grey Owl' by Diana Lock. Rachel Marsh was fourth with the fresh and well-structured 'Turning a Blind Eye'. In response to questions from the floor, Kathryn gave two invaluable pieces of advice on how to improve as a writer: to be edited by someone who knows what they're doing and to keep exercising your 'writing muscle'. Her new novel, 'Outstanding', published by Quercus, is out this Autumn.