the writer is a lonely hunter

writing by Gail Aldwin and other authors

Jul 24

A splendid story slam in Shaftesbury

by gailaldwin

I wrote an earlier post promoting the story slam in Shaftesbury here and I’m now delighted to share with you details of this great event.  Organised by  Jennifer Oliver and Jennifer Bell who run Storyslingers a creative writing group held at the Shaftesbury Arts Centre, the story slam offered the chance for writers to read their work to an audience and gain feedback.  Five writers put their names forward for the competitive element of the evening, and five others took the microphone to showcase their work.

The judging panel comprised Allie Spencer author of romantic comedy novels including Summer Loving and Summer Nights and myself (recently awarded first prize in the Winchester Writers’ Conference ‘Slim Volume, Small Edition’ competition).

Allie Spencer (left) and Gail Aldwin (right)

I was thrilled to be invited to judge the event and I’d love to see more story slams taking place across the county. Allie was a great person to deliberate with in finding the winner and runner-up, particularly as the standard of all the stories was very high. We finally agreed that James Broomfield’s story should win due to its extraordinary content (about a man trying to find his brotherhood in North Devon by experimenting with smoking beard trimmings).  Technically the writing was superb with a strong and unique voice.  Runner up came Andy Hamilton’s ‘Stage Fright’ a classic ugly duckling scenario told in a fresh way.

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Jul 10

Writing Britain (and more about notebooks)

by gailaldwin

The British Library’s current exhibition Writing Britain illustrates the changing landscape of the country over the last 1000 years with reference to items from the collection and loans from elsewhere. The exhibition includes artwork, original manuscripts and texts that explore a range of locations grouped according to the following sections:

  • Rural dreams
  • Dark Satanic Mills
  • Wild Places
  • Beyond the City
  • Cockney Visions
  • Waterlands

Interestingly, writing about Dorset features in several of the sections, including Maiden Castle by John Cowper Powys which tells the story of a supernatural presence at the iron-age hill fort near Dorchester. Jane Austen’s Persuasion is set in Bath and Lyme Regis, where Louisa Musgrave falls from the harbour wall (known as The Cobb) in an attempt to gain male attention. Harold Pinter’s script for The French Leiutenant’s Woman, based upon the novel by John Fowles is also set in Lyme Regis. A little further along the Dorset coast, Chesil Beach features as the location for Ian McEwan’s novel of the same name, where Edward and Florence spend their wedding night at a fictitional hotel on the beach.

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Jun 12

Dorchester: Thomas Hardy Country

by gailaldwin

Just outside Dorchester in the parish of Stinsford, the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy was born in 1840. He grew up in the cob and thatch cottage at Bockhampton, which like Max Gate (the home he later designed and occupied from 1885 until his death in 1928) is open to the public through the National Trust.

From the car park, after a stroll through woodland, you reach the back of the cottage.  Follow the path to the gate and into the cottage garden, planted as it would have appeared when Hardy occupied the house. The accommodation was renovated to make room for a growing family, including turning a staircase around to create a bedroom for Hardy’s sisters.

This is the view from Thomas Hardy’s bedroom, where he was able to see on the hill at Portesham, the monument erected in memory of his distant relative Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy.  You can find out more about this in an earlier post here.

It was at a small table, like this one, that Hardy wrote the first of his novels set in Wessex, the fictional county based upon Dorset. Few authors besides Hardy have such strong associations with the landscape and culture of their local area.

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Jun 5

Find out which published author your writing style resembles

by gailaldwin

Thanks to a post on Emily Ann Shaffer’s blog, I spent a happy five-minutes being distracted by the I Write Like website.  All you have to do is paste a couple of paragraphs onto the page and by clicking a button, the website uses a statistical analysis tool that matches your writing style to that of a famous author.  I’m always struggling to think of which published authors my writing resembles so, in spite of my scepticism, I gave it a go. I was hoping to be matched with someone like Anne Tyler but the computer said no. The name it came up with was Chuck Palahniuk and as I’d never heard of him, I got back to my writing.

But Chuck’s name has stayed with me and I decided to have a look on the internet to find out more.  Wikipedia says he is best known for his award-winning novel Fight Club which was later made into a feature film earning him a cult following.  That leaves me none the wiser but I’ve just asked my sixteen-year-old son who’s playing a silly computer game next to me on the desktop and he tells me it’s a great film, one that made Brad Pitt famous and that the book is even better.

"FIGHT CLUB" is embossed on a pink bar of soap in the upper right. Below are head-and-shoulders portraits of Brad Pitt facing the viewer with a broad smile and wearing a red leather jacket over a decorative blue t-shirt, and Edward Norton in a white button-up shirt with a tie and the top button loosened. Norton's body faces right and his head faces the viewer with little expression. Below the portraits are the two actors' names, followed by "HELENA BONHAM CARTER" in smaller print. Above the portraits is "MISCHIEF. MAYHEM. SOAP."

Suitably informed, I’ve watched the Fight Club trailer on You Tube and will be reserving the book at the library.

I also checked out the official Chuck Palahniuk website, where I found a link to 13 writing tips from the author. Now this is more my thing, with advice including:

  • Get author book jacket photos taken now, while you’re young.  And get the negatives and copyright on those photos

And, more seriously, he talks about the three different types of dialogue:

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May 21

National Flash Fiction Day Launch

by gailaldwin

L-R Bob Jacobs, Vanessa Gebbie, Sara Crowley, Holly Howitt

With other flash fiction writers, (including Tim Stevenson who unfortunately is not in the photo) I celebrated National Flash Fiction Day  on 16 May in Southampton.  The event was held in the lecture theatre at the Central Library and offered all of the invited writers a chance to share their work.  As it was also the launch of Jawbreakers an anthology to mark the first National Flash Fiction Day, many chose to read flashes from the new publication. And I used it as an opportunity to promote the work of Flash Fiction South West, reading Greenhayes from Kissing Frankenstein & Other Stories. If you’d like to learn more about flash fiction, please click here for an interesting article.

Rachel Carter had the idea to create an on-line anthology for Flash Fiction South West. I was recruited as a reader to filter submissions and as I live in Dorset, I was also entitled to submit to the anthology.  It has been a pleasure to work with Rachel, a talented writer and photographer who also found the time to compile and edit the print anthology.  She should have a medal the size of a dinner plate in recognition for her hard work.

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May 15

A cultural couple of days

by gailaldwin

I spent a couple of days in Surrey last week with Sue, a friend I met at an Arvon course in 2010 and she introduced me to Carol last year, when we were together for a weekend in Cornwall.  Sue is a fantastic host, cooking delicious meals and making us feel very welcome.  You can find out more about Carol by visiting her blog Scribbling in the Margins.

In spite of the wet weather, we spent the whole of one day at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. Here buildings of historical merit have been relocated to form a fascinating ‘village’ that includes a medieval hall-house, a tudor kitchen, a toll house, and a working watermill.  For those who are interested in historical writing, the musuem is holding an event in August titled Historical Fiction Day where Emma Darwin, Maria McCann and Alison Weir are offering input.  There’s also a short story competition that you can enter.

And if that competition doesn’t interest you, why not think about entering the Historical Novel Society short story competition?

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May 1

The free book giveaway – World Book Night

by gailaldwin

Since last Monday, I’ve been giving away copies of the brilliant book, ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue, as part of World Book Night.  The story draws from the case of Josef Fritzl and tells the story of five-year-old Jack who is incarcerated in one room with his mother.  Ma has done her best to teach Jack through games and stories and he learns about ‘outside’ by watching the television.  When freedom arrives, following Jack’s escape, both mother and child have further hurdles to negotiate. Click here for an interesting link to an interactive website.

The aim of World Book Night is to encourage irregular readers back into the reading habit through the giveaway books.  The first person I gave a book to was my seventeen-year-old daughter.  She doesn’t see books as a source of interest or pleasure but it’s not as though she isn’t reading.  She’s frequently glued to Facebook and likes to flick through magazines.  It’s just that books aren’t her thing. I doubt that she’ll begin reading ‘Room’ before her A levels, but she might take it on holiday during the summer, if I encourage her.

Other people I offered the book to, found the subject matter objectionable and had no hesitation in declining the book.  Some became curious upon reading the cover, where there’s a quote from ‘Scotsman’ comparing the book to ‘The Lovely Bones’ and were thereby encouraged to accept a copy. From my recent experience of hand-selling books in Dorchester, I had thought that giving them away would be easier.  But with World Book Day over a week ago I still have one or two copies that require new homes.

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Apr 17

Writing retreat at Ty Newydd

by gailaldwin

I spent last week with members of the National Association for Writers in Education (NAWE) at Ty Newydd, the writers’ centre in Wales. The set up is rather like an Arvon Foundation course, where you are required to help prepare one meal during the week and you’re free to attend workshops/concentrate on your writing project, depending on the programme you’ve chosen. (The courses at Ty Newydd are well worth considering, if you’re interested in training to develop your writing.)  My week in Wales was a delightful retreat, hosted by NAWE’s Anne Caldwell. Read the rest of this entry »

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Apr 3

Launch of Dorset Voices

by gailaldwin

Dorset Voices is a wonderful showcase of literary talent and new photography in Dorset.  The editorial team (Jim Potts OBE, Maria Strani-Potts and Louisa Adjoa Parker) selected prose, poetry and photography submissions from across the county and with local publisher Roving Press, this makes the anthology and all-Dorset production. 

The launch of Dorset Voices will take place on 23 April as part of Bournemouth Festival of Words. Please come to Bournemouth Library, 22 The Triangle, BH2 5RQ from 6-8pm to meet the editors and publisher and purchase copies of the book.  I’ve offered to read ‘Dusting off the Memories’ my piece of flash fiction from the anthology and there will be other contributors sharing their work.  The event falls on World Book Night and the library will be busy with a number of events including a live theatre performance of scenes from ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’. I think it will be a great occasion and I hope to see some of you there.

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Mar 13

Flash Fiction at a Readers’ and Writers’ event in Dorset

by gailaldwin

The Exchange at Sturminster Newton was a busy place on Saturday with workshops and talks by authors and a good chance to meet and chat with other readers and writers. I finally got to meet fellow blogger Patsy Collins who has recently won a competition to have her first novel published.  Watch this space for more details of her book titled ‘Escape to the Country’.

Patrick Gale

I loved reading Notes from an exhibition by Patrick Gale and opted to join his workshop on flash fiction. I was interested when he said that a character’s back story from a novel can make an excellent piece of flash. This was reassuring as several of my latest attempts have been just that.

Patrick was also keen to promote entry into the Bridport Prize ( he is the judge for the flash fiction and short story categories) and

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