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.

Quiz Night - 15th June, 2015

At our Quiz Night on 15^th June, four teams spent a sunny summer's evening pitting their wits against fiendish questions set by Dr Eizabeth Allen and Not-Dr Roz Balp. The nine devilishly difficult rounds included Classic and Contemporary Literature and Crime Writing as well as the cryptically titled 'Rainbow Round, 'Plant Life' and 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' After a bitter battle, Team Writers' Block triumphed, so congratulations to Vicky Armstrong, Sam Davey, Kate Giles and Anne Spiring, who showed themselves to be the best-read members in the group. No prizes were necessary as the glory was more than enough.

Journalism Entries - 1st June, 2015

On 1^st June members met to read out their entries for our third competition of the year: journalistic writing. Seventeen aspiring reporters had risen to the challenge of writing an article or opinion piece, including current affairs or topics of ongoing interest, as well as items that might appear in the middle of a newspaper. Everyone marvelled at the astonishing range of styles and subject matter. We found out about youth schemes, the transgender issue and how to prepare a teenager for A levels. We heard heartfelt rants about parking, racism and inequality for the poor and disabled. We travelled along Grey Owl's trail, explored the secret prehistory of the Bexhill bypass and rattled around in an ossuary. We listened to reviews of a festival, a book and a restaurant and found out about people's claims to fame. All in all, it was a fascinating and informative evening, and we look forward to our judge, Kathryn Flett's, feedback.

Manuscript Evening - 11th May, 2015

At our second Manuscript Evening of the year, four brave souls brought their work for other members to critique. First up was Jill Fricker with a piece about a poor family struggling to survive in 1830s London. She wanted to know if she'd captured the historical context, if the characters were believable and if the dialogue was authentic. This led to a lively discussion – with much disagreement – before everyone finally concluded that historical fiction needs a good deal of research and hard work. Second was Lucas Howard's start of his 65,000-word novel, a dark comedy called 'The Zed List'. He asked for feedback about voice, tone and flow, and everyone had much to say about the alien world he'd created for the target market of the young gaming community. Musetta Ripamonte was third with a dark, fantasy, written for children, which she'd illustrated herself. Members puzzled over the conundrum of people going into a magical world and then back to the real world and the need to pinpoint an age group for such a genre. Finally was Vicky Armstrong with the beginning of her first novel, the story of a young woman travelling to West Africa after to the war to meet her new husband. Her question was, 'Should I continue?' and the answer was a resounding 'yes' from all of us: everyone was impressed by the writing, which was well-paced and convincing and the subtle build-up of intrigue.