by gailaldwin
I had a splendid time at the Writers’ Day in Salisbury. The programme was packed and started with a warm-up session using improvisation as a tool for writing by Alison Jean Lester. The ‘yes, and…’ task was a great way to generate and overcome problems in story telling by working in partnership to produce alternating lines of a story.
Further workshops followed including an excellent session delivered by Rupert Wallis which provided a rule of thumb for generating a 25-word summary. Rupert suggested starting the summary with the word ‘when’ and introducing the problem to be overcome with the word ‘must’. For my novel The String Games, a summary might be: when Nim’s brother is abducted and murdered as a child, she must overcome unresolved grief as an adult to integrate the loss.
Susanna Dunn offered a workshop on ‘finding your voice’ which suggested that close attention to detail brings authenticity to writing. She advises writers to ‘listen with the ear of your heart’. Helen Corner-Bryant followed with suggestions for ‘unleashing your inner editor’ where she described ways to approach ‘instinctive’ and ‘structural’ editing.
After lunch there were two panels: one with a focus on publishing and the next with advice from agents. The last session was offered by Mark Dawson which gave remarkable insights into the world of a hybrid author (one that has been traditionally published and self-published). Interestingly, he felt it was vanity to seek a traditional route to publishing when the options for self-publishing can be more lucrative and offer better engagement with readers.
Mark Dawson (right) in conversation about the secrets of self-publishing
Food for thought.
authors events interview Reading Recommendations short stories workshops writing
by gailaldwin
Following the Grenfell Tower disaster, many authors came together to offer their time and expertise to raise money for those suffering from the fire. I was one of the lucky people to secured a lot through Authors for Grenfell Tower. This was back in the June and Amal Al-Agroobi (filmmaker, director, producer and writer) was very patient in delaying our meeting until the autumn. She also kindly agreed to not only meet me, but my fellow screenwriting collaborators Sarah Scally, Perwina Whitmore, Jane Rayner and Maria Pruden.
We took an early train to London on Saturday to meet Amal in the cafe at the PictureHouse Central where she shared feedback from our 90-minute screenplay titled The F Word. Although there is still much work to do on the screenplay, the meeting was a wonderful way to learn more about the filmmaking process and has inspired us to refocus on our project.
To make the most of our day out in London, we went to a matinée of Heinsenberg: The Uncertainty Principle, a new play by Simon Stephens. The two-hander was at Wyndham’s Theatre with Anne-Marie Duff and Kenneth Cranham. I loved the minimalist set and performance.
We ate lunch in China Town, had afternoon tea on the South Bank and then enjoyed a bottle of Prosecco on the train journey home. Quite a day!
visits writing
by gailaldwin
I was invited to the launch of the Dorchester Literary Festival last week to represent the Dorset Writers’ Network. Held at Duke’s Fine Art Salesrooms there was a mingling of sponsors and supporters plus writers including Kate Adie. It was a splendid event and included the launch of a new competition. The DFL Local Writing Prize invites self-published authors in the South West (and those who have been published by an independent publisher in the South West) to submit copies of their full-length fiction or non-fiction books for this prize. This is a wonderful opportunity for a local writer to gain national recognition and a chance to win £1000. Find more details here.
While I was happy chatting with fellow DFL volunteers, my friend decided we should make an effort to talk to others. We introduced ourselves group who turned out to work for WessexFM and Breakfast in Dorchester. This was the most successful piece of networking I’ve ever done! The next day I was contacted by Breakfast in Dorchester and invited to talk about National Poetry Day. You can hear the recording of me (I speak at 1:57:39, Sarah Barr at 42:41 and Myriam San Marco, Bournemouth Poet Laureate at 1:19:30) by clicking here. (The recording is available until 27 October 2017.)
As part of the interview, I was able to promote the Dorset Writers’ Network Open House at Dorchester Library on 7 October from 10am-1pm. This is a free event for anyone who is interested in writing. Whether you’re new to writing or want to make a start, we can offer advice and encouragement. If you’re a published writer wishing to meet others, the Dorset Writers’ Network is here to support you. I hope to see some of you on Saturday!
authors Dorset events interview poetry writing
by gailaldwin
Do come along to this event if you’re a published writer or just beginning your writing journey.
About the Dorset Writers Network
Run by a voluntary steering group, the Dorset Writers Network offers support to writers across the county including isolated writers in rural areas. Their last funded project resulted in the publication of an anthology by Dorset writers titled This Little World.
authors Dorset events Reading Recommendations review visits writing
by gailaldwin
After four years of hard work I submitted my novel and thesis to the University of South Wales on Friday 28 July. This is in partial fulfilment of a PhD in creative writing. The next hurdle is the viva but in the meantime I’m savouring the feeling of being unencumbered with studies. But the writing does not stop here. I’m going through my novel with edits to try to secure a publisher for The String Games and a collection of flash fiction is currently with the editor of Bridge House Publishing and will be released later this year.
Looks like it will be flat out August as well!
authors Dorset writing
by gailaldwin
I have revived my interest in Twitter (you can find me @gailaldwin) and I’m now seeing the benefits of using hashtags. This is a way to find likeminded people on social media and the current hashtags I’m using frequently are:
#dorsethour – a chance to touch base with others who are passionate about Dorset. Online every Monday from 7:30pm – 8:30pm
#Devonbookhour – chat about books online each Monday from 8pm-9pm
#Tuesnews – lots of members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association use this hashtag to share information on Tuesdays
#women_writers – highlight the achievements of women writers by using this hashtag
#digitalinclusion – came across this hashtag as part of the digital story project where I made the two-minute film Journey
#womenintranslation – find out about notable female authors whose work has been translated. Also see #WITmonth held in August which celebrates women in translation
For further information on how to make the most of hashtags see Neetsmarketing.
blogs Dorset events writing
by gailaldwin
The Wimborne Writing Group went on a summer outing this week to the Blandford Fashion Museum. Tucked away behind the market square in a delightful Georgian house, the fashion collection of the founder, Mrs Betty Penny, forms the basis of the displays. I loved looking at garments from the 1960s and 1970s and remembered owning dresses with Laura Ashley flower prints. My favourite exhibit was a mini dress and hot pants set made from lime green cotton with white trim. It was sleeveless with off centre decorative lacing on the skirt in matching white cotton.
Sarah Barr who leads the Wimborne Writing Group, provided some prompts for writing as we browsed the displays. She suggested we find an outfit we liked and to imagine:
- who the owner would have been
- what they were like
- their name, age and occupation
Why don’t you have a go at writing a short piece of prose by using Sarah’s prompts and applying them to this lovely exhibit?
1960s Mini Dress and Hot Pants Set
Get in touch if you’re willing to share your story.
Dorset events short stories visits writing
by gailaldwin
Kimari Raven on Livewire LIVE
I was fortunate to be invited onto Hope Radio’s Livewire programme to talk about my participation in the Reading on Screen workshops which resulted in the production of my digital story titled Journey. Kimari Raven hosts the weekly show which showcases creative talent in the Bournemouth area. The live show is aired each week on Wednesdays from 7-9pm. It was a great experienced to be interviewed by Kimari who creates a relaxed environment in which to talk. I was pleased to be on the show with another guest, the hugely talented singer and songwriter Tim Somerfield. It was great to learn about Kimari and Tim’s experiences of writing lyrics and to begin to see similarities in the process with writing prose and poetry. I felt very privileged to be sitting beside Tim as he performed his songs live on radio.
Tim Somerfield
This was my second interview on radio following an earlier recording on UK Talk Radio with Jonathan Hines. You can read about that experience here. It is fascinating to be in a recording studio and a pleasure to share my love of writing.
Dorset events interview visits writing
by gailaldwin
I enjoyed an absolutely excellent time at the first Flash Fiction Festival held in Bath over the weekend 24-25 June. The programme included two workshops each day and I was lucky enough to attend sessions offered by Kit De Waal, David Gaffney and Tania Hershman. Another session was led by Jude Higgins and Meg Pokrass with two winners from the Bath Novella-in-Flash competition. This proved to be a very interesting session which has started me thinking about a new project. For a Novella-in-Flash, each chapter is contained in a piece of flash fiction. This must be shaped in such a way that it can be read as a stand alone piece while at the same time supporting the story arc of the novella. Sounds complicated? It is! Thank you to Charmaine Wilkerson and Ingrid Jendrzejewski for their helpful tips and advice on how this can be achieved.
Saturday evening provided the opportunity to launch the National Flash Fiction Day 2017 anthology titled Sleep is a Beautiful Colour which is packed with amazing flash fiction stories. I’m looking forward to delving further into my copy having heard some wonderful flashes as part of the launch. I particularly like Stephanie Hutton‘s Geology of a Girl, a superb micro-ficton.
authors events flash fiction workshops writing
by gailaldwin
Reading on Screen Group, Bournemouth
You may remember a recent post about a three-day workshop offered at Bournemouth University. Attendance enabled me to create a digital story about my reading journey. It was a fun experience where I learnt a great deal about editing audio and video. To read more about the workshop, click here. The end product, a two-minute digital story titled Journey is now available. Although there are plenty of things I would like to change if I got to work on this digital story again, you can have a look at the story by clicking here.
Dorset events Reading short stories workshops writing
the writer is a lonely hunter 