Bournemouth | the writer is a lonely hunter

The Christmas tree is back in the loft!

by gailaldwin

I’m one of those people who struggle with Christmas. It’s a legacy from my childhood when money was tight, my father always drank too much and everyone made an effort to have a good time. Since my own children have grown up, it’s become a lot easier and we’ve introduced new Christmas traditions which I really enjoy like the 9am Christmas morning parkrun along Weymouth seafront. I also love visiting Weymouth on Boxing Day to see children riding their new bicycles and scooters. This year, the sea glinted silver under leaden clouds and was absolutely beautiful.

The new addition to our Christmas celebrations is Truffle, my daughter’s puppy. She’s still in training and tries very hard not to jump up, steal newspapers or lick everything off the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, my husband was clearing up his wine making kit (as if there isn’t enough to do on Christmas eve) when Truffle guzzled a few elderberries. My daughter was worried and rang the emergency vet who recommended a visit to the practice in Bournemouth. They duly set off but avoided a consultation charge by ringing a special phone number to be told Truffle hadn’t eaten enough elderberries to poison her.

My husband always cooks the Christmas dinner (my contribution is making red cabbage in the slow cooker). It was a splendid meal followed by music (I can play Jingle Bells on the piano – thanks to learning how to read a few notes on Duolingo‘s music programme) and singing – I just had to share with everyone my karaoke performance of Killing Me Softly which (after hours of practice), I’ve finally nailed. Well, the first verse anyway.

As for writing, I’ve submitted the opening 25,000 words of my new novel to Kate Nash’s mentoring BookCamp 2024. I thought I’d have it finished before Christmas but there was more to do than I’d anticipated. Several 6am starts and I sent it off yesterday. Hurray! (Now I need to go through the rest of the novel with a fine-tooth comb.)

I’ll close with a couple of Christmas snaps and greetings to you and yours for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024.

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A guest on 90.1 Hope FM

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.

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Celebrate National Poetry Day 2016

by gailaldwin

Myriam San Marco and me

National Poetry Day was founded by the Forward Arts Foundation to promote a love of reading and sharing poetry. Each year there is a different theme and in 2016 the focus is ‘messages’. A poetry and flash fiction competition was organised by Bournemouth Poet Laureate, Myriam San Marco, to celebrate this national event. I am delighted that my poem Starlings was awarded first prize in the poetry competition and my short fiction In the Highlands came runner-up in the flash fiction section.

Myriam is doing a great job in promoting the work of local poets and I’m indebted to her for providing this opportunity. I’d also like to thank poetry judge Louisa Adjoa Parker for selecting my poem and the feedback she provided. Thank you also to James Cole who acted as a judge for the flash fiction competition. Congratulations to Sally Lewis for taking first prize for her flash fiction piece about texting. At a celebration on 5 October in The Winchester, there was a chance to hear the winning and highly commended entries. I especially liked the superb performance by Kech Wo.

This success has given a huge boost to my confidence and I’m keen to develop further poetry. My aim is to create a series of connected poems and I’m looking forward to making progress towards this goal.

Here is the winning poem:

Starlings

Side-by-side we sit, watching the wipers swipe

pollution-stained raindrops.

You gnaw tags of skin beside your nails,

I grip the steering wheel like a life buoy.

Staring ahead, I pose the questions

you don’t want to answer.

Talking from the side of your mouth,

you dismiss the concerns that fill my head

like murmurating starlings.

Dorset flash fiction poetry writing

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Writers’ Day in Bournemouth

by gailaldwin

Join me at a Writers’ Day where you’ll be able to network with other writers, find out more about writing in different genres and become part of a new Dorset Writers’ Network project to be launched in 2017.

Venue: Bournemouth Library, 22 The Triangle, Bournemouth, BH2 5RQ

Time: 10am – 4pm

Date: Saturday 22 October 2016

I have enjoyed working alongside all the workshop leaders and can thoroughly recommend their input.

Finding your character’s voice in Young Adult fiction

Chantelle Atkins is a prolific writer of YA fiction who has extensive knowledge of the genre. If you’re interested in finding out how to develop the voice of teenage characters, this is the workshop for you.

Researching your historical fiction

For an erudite workshop, you can’t do better than this. The team combination of Frances Colville and Tom Colville brings together the best approaches in research and provides ideas for how to apply this knowledge in developing your writing.

The art of self publishing

If you’re looking for sound advice from someone with substantial experience in helping writers reach their audience through self publishing, look no further than joining this workshop delivered by Helen Baggott. Have all your questions about the journey to become an indie author answered.

Child characters in fiction

Extend your repertoire of techniques in writing about children in adult fiction. Child narrators, child protagonists and child characters, when framed creatively, can add new dimensions to your writing. Join this workshop delivered by me and learn about the strategies published authors use to achieve authentic child characters.

dwn_writers_dayoct_22_poster

Also available are one-to-one surgeries for feedback and advice on improving your writing.

I hope to see some of you in October.

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FREE creative writing workshop in Bournemouth

by gailaldwin

James Cole attends the Lit-Up workshops with me and is running the event below. I’m not able to attend as it’s my final MPhil weekend residency at the University of South Wales. I have masses of reading to do as three fellow students submitted full manuscripts for feedback. I better get on… If you’re free on Saturday, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the input.