Bea-ing Jaded

Jaded, tired, weary, fed-up. We all feel that way from time to time.

When I look at my submissions summary it’s easy to see why I may be feeling a little down in the mouth at present. I have submitted nothing new during October. Of the 16 submissions outstanding from August and September only one has sold whilst seven have been rejected.

Too many rejections; only one story 'Sold'.

I don’t feel guilty at not having written anything new this month. We have been camping and then had friends to stay, then more friends to stay, then been away again to visit family. Sometimes writing takes a back seat. But if I go too long without writing I start to get twitchy. So it’s time I picked up my pen.

I always think of jaded as an adjective. I hadn’t realised that jade is a noun too. A jade is a bad-tempered or disreputable woman. I have no wish to be considered as either of those.

So I shall pick myself up and smile. Being positive, I still have eight pieces of work under consideration. One of the rejections came with some suggestions and an invitation to resubmit.

So no more excuses. I shall return to my writing desk. It’s time for me to get some more stories out there.

Bea-ing Impatient

As a child I spent Saturday mornings listening to ‘Children’s Favourites’ (later known as ‘Junior Choice’) on the radio. Many of the records played then are fine examples of flash fiction, telling a complete story in very few words, songs such as: ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ (The Radio Revellers); ‘Nelly the Elephant’ (Mandy Miller); ‘El Paso’ (Marty Robbins); ‘Copacabana’ (Barry Manilow).

One of my early favourites was Bernard Cribbins’ song-cum-monologue, ‘Right said, Fred’. It tells the tale of an impatient removal man. Fred doesn’t want to wait while his colleagues have a cup of tea and plan how best to move a piano from an upstairs landing. Fred is too hasty and things end badly for him.

My daughter's dog Freddie waiting impatiently for his mistress to return

Patience is an important part of a writer’s life. It is tempting to write a story then send it off straight away, then bash on with the next one. But as Fred learned, it doesn’t do to be hasty. I am learning the importance of waiting before I submit, to put the story aside for a few days and visit it again. There are inevitably mistakes I’ve failed to spot and plot weaknesses that need to be addressed. 

Then there is the long wait between submission and acceptance (hopefully) or rejection. Of course that is out of my hands. I have stories that I submitted 5 months earlier on which I am still awaiting a response. However I’m pleased to say that a story I submitted 4 weeks’ ago has today been sold.

Sometimes it’s hard not to be impatient, isn’t it?

Bea-ing Hopeful

I received some good news yesterday. My story “Sing it Loud” was awarded the Editor’s Choice prize in the quarterly competition run by writers’ e-zine Kishboo.

Whenever you enter a competition you hope that your story will be successful. It’s a wonderful feeling when those hopes are fulfilled. So yesterday evening, had you peeked through my blinds, you would have seen me dancing around the kitchen table.
 

 

 

Even before I won my prize, I was a fan of Kishboo. It was started last year by a husband and wife team in Yorkshire and will celebrate its first birthday when Issue 5 is published on 28 October 2015. It's been wonderful watching it develop.  It’s full of interesting articles, good fiction (15 stories per quarter), book reviews and quizzes.

 

Submissions are still open for Issue 5 which will be published on 28^th October. The last date to enter a short story into the competition is 20^th October.

 

The editor Sharon is also looking for entertaining articles about writing, book reviews and, new to edition 5, poetry. All guidelines are available on the Kishboo site.

 

If you’ve not read it yet, then do pop across to www.kishboo.co.uk where it is available free of charge. Or you can download a copy to your Kindle for just 99p.

 

Bea-ing Genteel (or not)

Last November I used the NaNoWriMo challenge to write a new story on each day of the month.

One such had the working title ‘The Joy of Dunking.’ It was inspired by one of my less genteel habits of dipping biscuits into my coffee or tea. It’s a practice which many people consider to be unladylike.



The published story that started life as 'The Joy of Dunking'

In my story the main character is an artist who is fascinated by the colour and texture changes that dunking brings about. That is where it began. I didn’t know where it was going to end but as often happens, the character took over. By the time I had finished the story I discovered she was a widow who describes life without her husband as being a dry biscuit without the warm infusion of coffee.
It is published in this week’s edition of The People’s Friend (26 September) with a beautiful illustration by Mandy Dixon. The editor describes it as an emotional and touching story.

It proves that inspiration can be found in the most mundane of actions. I shall have to consider what other of my less genteel habits I can use as the springboard for a new short story.

Bea-ing Friendly

I had a good weekend. I visited Harrogate which is a treat at any time of the year and of course included a trip to Betty’s famous coffee shop. I was there with my mother to attend the Women’s Institute Centennial Fair.

What made my trip special was the workshop I attended hosted by Shirley Blair, the commissioning fiction editor of The People’s Friend, aka “The Friend”.

Workshop Notes from The People's Friend

Did you know?

1. Over 100 stories a week are received at the Friend and all of them are read, and responded to, by a team of just 4 people
2. It can take up to 16 weeks for an acceptance, sometimes longer - so learn to be patient
3. She is currently buying Christmas seasonal stories
4. They receive far too many stories about:

·         Retired husbands getting under their wives’ feet
·         Retired women working in charity shops (Why only charity shops? Let them do something else, was Shirley’s plea.)
·         People trying to put aged parents into residential care
·         Empty nesters wondering what to do now the children have left home

Overall Shirley looks for stories that entertain. Don’t just reflect readers’ lives back: rather give them something to lift the spirits or something to smile about. Even if the story is sad or brings a lump to the throat, make it one that leaves the reader with some hope, a sense of being glad they’d read it.

My next story to be published in The People’s Friend will be in two weeks on 26 September 2015, called “Of Coffee Cups and Cream”. I hope you will feel glad when you read it.

In the meantime, I have a very short story (75 words) published on Thursday 10th September 2015 on www.paragraphplanet.com. You only have 24 hours to read this one. If you caught it in time, I hope you enjoyed it too.

Bea-ing Educated

My father left school at the age of just 14. It seems unbelievable now that his official education finished when he was so young. I say ‘official education’ for the good reason that he found other ways to continue learning. 

My father bought The Wizard and The Hotspur every week. These were not cartoon comics, but rather short story magazines filled with tales of fictional heroes. In fact, he continued to subscribe to these comics until they ceased circulation, so as a child I too got to read the stories of ‘Wilson, the wonder athlete’.

Throughout his life he continued to read voraciously. I grew up in a house full of books, from cheap paperbacks to travel guides to encyclopaedias, and every other genre imaginable. In those pre-internet days, they provided a wealth of written information to aid my school work.

My father was also a collector, of anything and everything. This included stamps, coins, records, model cars and with each collection came reference books and guides, all conscientiously studied. He was definitely the man to have as your ‘phone a friend’ companion!

It is thanks to my father’s collection of postcards that I have an article published today in The People’s Friend Special, issue 111. My piece references just some of the many cards he owned.


Selection of postcards from my father's collection

There is a happy co-incidence that it is DC Thomson who have published my writing, for it is that company who were the publishers of my father’s early favourites, The Wizard and The Hotspur.

It is to my father’s memory I dedicate the article, ‘Send Me a Postcard!’

Bea-ing Dramatic

I enjoy going to the theatre, although it has been a while since I was last at a live performance. (Note to self: print off copy of this blog and leave where hubby can find it.)

Me, being dramatic

Script writing is different to writing short stories. The audience doesn’t need to be told what is happening: they can see the stage set; look at the actors; assess their age and social standing from what they wear; witness their tears; hear their laughter. Conversation on stage or screen has no need for descriptive prose.

In writing stories, it is for the author to create the scene with words, to describe and identify the characters, to give each one a distinctive voice. Show not tell, is the maxim often repeated to student writers. Through the skill of words alone, we must show the emotions being experienced by the character, rather than simply to relate what they are feeling. 

The aim of both script and prose writing is to enable the watchers / readers to immerse themselves in the story being portrayed. Without the intervention of an actor, dialogue in prose has to work harder. If we keep it realistic and allow emotions to show through, the reader will forge a direct link to the character. 

When it is done well, the reader will not notice the words or the page upon which they are written. They will become the character, see what they witness, experience what they feel. But overdramatise a scene and it can descend into farce. 

Well written dialogue, whether on stage or in a novel, is a thing of beauty. I no longer take it for granted.