the writer is a lonely hunter

writing by Gail Aldwin and other authors

Sep 12

Dorset County Show, 2013

by gailaldwin

The County Show has been celebrating the countryside and all things Dorset since 1841. These days there’s a focus on family entertainment, showcasing agriculture and shopping but the old traditions of a county show remain, including the competitions. There are 1,000 competitions to enter and although we didn’t spend much time looking at the livestock, the homecraft and horticultural tents are endlessly fascinating.

With the rise in popularity of television shows such as The Great British Bake Off, the competition for the best of baking is considerable.  Criteria for entry is strict sometimes identifying the required size, shape and ingredients, others offering the chance to use your own recipe.  One category I continue to find perplexing is:

  • Six sweet scones (men only please)

I wonder what Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood would make of that!

Unfortunately, for all the delights of Victoria Sandwiches, Swiss rolls and flapjacks, they were displayed inside plastic bags and not the best circumstances to photograph, so I can’t show you any of the entries.  However, I can share with you the following:

THREE CARROTS, stump rooted, tops trimmed to approx 76mm

THREE CARROTS, stump rooted, tops trimmed to approx 76mm

PAIR OF MARROWS (any size)

PAIR OF MARROWS (any size)

 

These had my husband anticipating an entry for 2014.

Some of the other categories, however, had me in stitches. For example, THE LONGEST RUNNER BEAN of reasonable quality. I’m not sure that would be worth eating. And then there were the monster entries, the largest pumpkin and the heaviest marrow:

heaviest marrowlargest pumpkin

After all the excitement there was one last treasure. An opportunity to stroke the loveliest of rabbits and meet the proud new owner.

rabbit

 

During a long journey yesterday I listened to ‘When God was a Rabbit’ by Sarah Winman.  The family saga was brilliantly read by Emilia Fox but the story was predictable in places. Rabbits at the show and one in a novel – that must be enough rabbits for one week.

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Aug 14

A bit of luck

by gailaldwin

Just when I thought I had to return to the office for three more days of work after taking leave next week, I discovered that I’m actually owed some days. As a result, my last day of employment with the County Council will be Friday and I’m madly trying to get everything done ready for a holiday in Edinburgh starting on Saturday.  We’re flying from Southampton and taking hand luggage only, so decanting liquids has been the order of the day. Fortunately, the flat that we’re staying at in Stockbridge provides shampoo and shower gel, so it’s only face creams that I need to worry about.

I’ve packed a couple of paperbacks including The Coward’s Tale by Vanessa Gebbie and The Polish Boxer (which was recommended by Sarah Bower) and you can read a review here. I’ve downloaded two audiobooks to my ipod: Catch 22 and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. So when I’m not attending sessions at the Book Festival or the Fringe I’ll have plenty to keep my busy.

Have a good week.

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Jul 30

Anniveraries – who’d have them?

by gailaldwin

This time last year I was offered the post of Service Manager for a teaching team working with Dorset County Council. Now my colleagues, who are all on teachers’ pay and conditions have finished and I’m left  with no-one to manage. It’s not too bad – I am allowed to work from home during the summer and the end is in sight. I’ll receive my final salary and redundancy package on 30 August.  With the end to a new position only one year after starting, it makes the anniversary something of a bitter-sweet event. Bitter owing to the end of a career in local government that I’ve loved  and sweet due to the new beginnings it provides. I’ve secured part-time work with an educational charity to start in September and I’ve the MPhil in Writing to begin in October, so things are looking positive. A new start and studies that may lead to a new career.

My wedding anniversary falls in August but we’re long past the point of celebrating with cards and gifts. Indeed, this year we’ll be travelling to Edinburgh for a family holiday with our teenage children. I’ve visited the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival previously and enjoyed my time so much, I decided to return again with my family. I have tickets for a couple of events at the Book Festival including a session offered by Ronald Frame. He was a tutor at an Arvon course I attended in 2011 and he’s been wonderfully supportive of my writing. So it’ll be a pleasure to see him again, especially as he’ll be talking about his most recent book, Havisham (read a review here) which imagines the life of Catherine before she appears in Great Expectations. It’s well worth reading.

The anniversary that I’ve most enjoyed of late came at the weekend. We we unexpectedly offered tickets to attend the Anniversary Paralympics where Hannah Cockroft and David Weir won their races and Richard Whitehead amazed the crowds on his golden blades.  The wonderful achievements of the athletes from 2012 was certainly an event worth celebrating.

Paralympics 008 (2)

Which anniversaries do you celebrate?

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May 21

Things are looking brighter…

by gailaldwin

University of South WalesI received an email this week confirming that I’ve been accepted onto the Masters in Creative Writing at the University of South Wales. This is a part-time, distance learning, research degree which includes a creative writing project. Although my proposal still has to be passed by the Research Panel, I’m cracking on with ideas for the novel that will accompany the research. I’ll be investigating the child’s voice in adult fiction and putting together a manuscript written from a child’s viewpoint about the abduction of a sibling. I have to say a massive thank you to Carol McGrath who has offered considerable advice and support that has kept me focused and positive throughout the application process.

I am really excited about returning to study. The university only accepts eight students onto the course each year so I am fortunate to be one of them. Previous students include Emma Darwin (click here for Emma’s blog which is well worth a read) and Maria McCann.

Other good news is that I was successful in getting through the interview with an educational charity which will offer me the chance to work with schools on a part-time basis during 2013-14. I’m also building up my contacts with schools to deliver consultancy work and I’ve had some interest in a project that I wish to seek funding from the Arts Council to deliver.  All this activity means I’ve been incredibly busy and writing has taken something of a backseat. Now that I have a little free time, I will work on a piece of flash fiction to submit to the Bridport prize at the end of the month.  Other opportunities you might like to consider include:

What keeps you busy at the minute?

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Mar 19

Spring in Dorset

by gailaldwin

Spring in Dorset has so far meant biting wind, patches of frost and snow. When the sun does appear, it’s absolutely glorious but all too soon it slinks behind the clouds. In spite of the weather, other activity confirms the changing of the seasons. Last year I wrote a piece of flash fiction titled ‘Fish Pond’ which is based upon the annual activity in our garden. You can read about it here.

The ducks have been lurking again, finding the right moment to splash into the pond and feed on the frogs’ spawn.  This year, however, David has decided to protect the wildlife by creating fortress fish pond.

spring 003 (2)

It’s not a pretty sight and the ducks have abandoned the garden now in favour of the stream along the road. Not even the neighbours’ cat has ventured anywhere near our place now that the days of scooping out the spawn with his paw are over. The wire is so effective that I’m slightly worried we’ll be inundated with frogs and toads later in the year. I hope I don’t find a frog swimming in the downstairs loo again!

Do you have any quirks to share?

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Mar 12

Flash fiction workshops in Dorset

by gailaldwin
Dorset Writers' Network, Winfrith Newburgh Village Hall

Dorset Writers’ Network, Winfrith Newburgh Village Hall

I was delighted to offer two flash fiction workshops locally on Saturday. The first was delivered at a fantastic event in celebration of Dorset Women’s Day, held at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester. The second was in the afternoon, working with some wonderful Dorset writers on behalf of the Dorset Writers’ Network. The content for each workshop varied slightly, but as an overview, I’ve listed some of the activities included.

  • Definition of flash fiction

Not an easy task, but we did our best to come up with a definition by considering the length, the content, the structure, the process and the purpose of writing flash fiction

  • Giving it a go – six word stories

Using models from the famous (Hemmingway and Atwood) and the not so famous (shortlisted entries to Fleeting Magazine’s 2012 competition) a variety of six word stories were shared to inspire participants. The resulting writing ranged from the sexually-charged to the humorous.

  • Keeping it short

Using a piece of paper with a pretty picture prompt (a bit larger than a post-it note) participants produced pieces of flash fiction by drawing on the senses. Something about writing on a small piece of paper seems to focus the mind on careful word selection allowing participants to keep the writing short.

  • Using stereotypes

This is a quick way into writing. Using prompts from the addictive television series ‘Come Dine with Me’ some useful characters sketches were drawn

  • Putting yourself in the shoes of a photograph

By looking at a range of black and white photographs, participants were asked to imagine that they were the photographer and to write a short piece of fiction considering their relationship with the people in the photograph and to think about why the photograph was taken

  • Making an origami book as a form of self publishing

This involved a demonstration and the distribution of a pre-prepared book containing one of my flash fiction stories.  If you want to know how this is done, you’ll have to attend one of my workshops in the future.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the workshops – you were generous in sharing your writing and it was a pleasure working with you. If you would like me to deliver a workshop to your writing group, please get in touch using the ‘contact me’ page.

Dorset events flash fiction writing

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Feb 12

Spring writing workshops

by gailaldwin

I’ve been invited to deliver several flash fiction workshops in the coming months and I’m delighted at the prospect. To give you an idea of what I’ll be covering, please see the outline below:

Flash fiction, keeping it short

Everyday lives are packed with tasks and activities that leave little time for reading or writing at length.  Flash fiction has the ability to fit into the breaks and provides satisfying stories with all the elements of a longer piece of fiction.  ‘Keeping it short’ is an interactive workshop that explores opportunities to incorporate flash fiction into your creative life and will use examples to share:

  • Flash fiction at its best
  • Starting points for writing flash fiction
  • Ideas about the definition of flash fiction
  • Websites and journals that publish flash fiction enabling writers to reach a wider audience

What do you think?  Have I got all the bases covered?

Dorset events flash fiction writing

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Jan 30

Lit Up! event: a life in writing

by gailaldwin

Along with writing friends Sarah Scally and  Fiona Murphy, I spent an excellent day on Saturday at Bournemouth Library learning how to make a living from writing.  That is, how to fund your writing through grant applications, residencies and commissions.  The workshop was organised by Lit Up! and provided practical advice, presentations and talks by poet Andrew McMillan and project organiser Amy Mason.

Andrew McMillan and Amy Mason

Andrew McMillan and Amy Mason

By the end of the day, I’d made several new Twitter friends, generated fresh ideas for projects and came away with inspiration for new pieces of creative writing. The event more than lived up to its billing, a unique day full of tips on putting together bids, planning and executing successful writing sessions. Thank you very much Amy and Andrew for sharing inside information on how to get the most from the Arts Council.

Top tips included

  • subscribing to Arts Jobs  for regular updates on paid and unpaid writing opportunities
  • using the language of the brief to frame your application for residencies and writing opportunities (refer to target audience, outcomes etc)
  • drawing upon help from others to support your application, for example, references from other writers, project coordinators etc
  • Seek advice and support from the Arts Council. The Relationship Manager for the south-west is kate.offord@artscouncil.org.uk
  • the importance of tangible outcomes from writing sessions and workshops such as a celebration event or production of a pamphlet of work

By drawing on the ideas from the day, and combining these with the experience I’ve gained from workshop delivery at conferences and writing groups, I now feel much more confident in designing and seeking funding for my own literary writing project.  The only trouble is having the time to map this out.  My full-time work commitment is likely to go on until the end of August but with redundancy possible, I may be well be poring over my notes before too long.

Which skills would you like to develop for a life in writing?

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Dec 12

On the road with ‘Four Buses’

by gailaldwin

BOOK LAUNCH 1

Here I am signing copies of ‘Four Buses’ which was launched in Dorchester on Saturday.  I was delighted to have friends and fellow writers join me for the event, where I read a few stories from the collection and sold copies of the book. It was great to have friends who travelled from London and Cambridge to spend the launch with me, and a local friend who hurtled back for a wedding in Stafford, so keen to get her copy of ‘Four Buses’. I was thrilled when she emailed me today, saying she’d read the collection straight through in one go, and loved the way the stories were, ‘not spelled out yet were so clear.’ It’s good to accept praise from someone I really respect.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Dec 4

A visit to the Pyramids of Giza

by gailaldwin

sphinx

This is a classic image that comes to mind when mention is made of the Pyramids at Giza. In the foreground is the Sphinx which was carved from an outcrop of rock left behind when the stones for the Great Pyramid were quarried. Used for target practice by Napoleonic troops the human head remains without a nose and beard deliberately although the paws and haunches of the beast were renovated during the 1980s and 1990s. Behind is the Pyramid of Chephren, with steeper sides than the Great Pyramid and its summit intact. Chephren was the son of Cheops who reigned between 2589 and 2566 BC and for whom the Great Pyramid was built.

Gail on Great Pyramid

Here I am standing on the blocks of the north face of the Great Pyramid.  It was early in the morning and there were not too many people about so we were able to linger without being hassled by the tourist police or hawkers. I hope from this image you get a sense of the huge scale of the pyramid, the task of construction and the sheer antiquity of it.  We visited other, lesser known pyramids, including Mycerinus which is  sheathed in Aswan granite and is sometimes known as the Red Pyramid.  Closeby there are three subsidiary pyramids which you’ll see below: Read the rest of this entry »

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