Partisan writing

How does your writing reflect your social and political views? And what do you think about the passing of a former prime minister of the UK? To answer the second question: I'm more interested in the injustices she created and how to oppose them. Polemics are not my thing these days but observation on what is and what needs changing sits in much of my writing so I would really recommend this thoughtful piece by Dinesh Allirajah who was my creative writing tutor on the Lancaster online course (not offered any more, sadly). It is a cogitation on the 80s - and particularly Blair Peach's killing, which I remember so well.

Brain error?

Photo - Bollards - courtesy of the National Library 

of Ireland, on flickr Creative Commons

Do you ever wonder where your thinking has migrated? It could be my age, I do realise that.  But having put up a link to the Poetry School - who ran the poetry of protest workshop I attended, tutor Antony Dunn - I cannot now find any reference to the napowrimo.  So here is another link for the US site: nanowrimo to get your prompts on.

Longing

Double publishing success is my excuse for two postings today.  My story, Longing, has at last found its niche on a Canadian ezine, commuterlit, http://commuterlit.com/2013/04/thursday-longing/  It might make your mouth water!
One or two poems should also appear in an e-anthology to be published by the Workers Educational Association, in the future. Our creative writing class, where I was a student, joined up with another to perform at this year's Headingley LitFest. The pieces we performed are to go into the anthology.  So watch this space.
Amendment: sadly this publication did not come to fruition.

I would love her

NaPoWriMo was born in 2003 but is being promoted by the  Poetry School, encouraging poets to write a poem a day in the month of April. Even if I don't write every day I've made a start here. A couple of weeks ago I climbed the steps to a lonely suburban station in northern England, in a snowy landscape. No one else was around apart from this figure on a seat. I did a double take, as did another woman who followed me on to the platform - we both laughed. Then and old friend appeared who I hadn't seen for about three years - a lovely surprise. She laughed too. Sadly my phone was out of battery, so no photo of the figure herself. Then the train came.

I WOULD LOVE HER

I would love her cold white stillness
on the platform seat. 
I would love to travel with her ticket
stuck in her like a receipt. 
I would love to cuddle her knowing
she is only a conceit.
I would love to sit with her
until she melted in my heat.

The snow woman looked so calm,
at the lonely station, so neat. 
Whose frozen hands had formed 
this fabulous feat?

Let things happen

Stuck for starting a new short story so I'm trying to sit back and let things happen. One way: I'm looking at the kickstart ideas and stories that I've noted and written before. Perhaps I should look at the words I use most commonly to see if I need to make any changes. That reminded me of the Wordle website. So I put in one of my stories and here is the result, showing the words most commonly used in bigger print:

Rejections - hurray!

Emley Moor Mast: a signpost that you're now in Yorkshire when travelling up from the south

Two rejections letters from BBC Radio, and Carve online!  And I actually feel pleased because it's the first time I have submitted work - not a competition as such.  So now I feel more like I'm on the path to becoming a proper, professional writer!

Into the 3rd week of a new poetry class with Sally Baker.  At the end of 10 weeks I hope to have a sonnet to my name.  Not tried this before.

I knew she was lying

She said she had forgotten but I knew she was lying.  How can you forget to tell your sister that your mum died last night?  She had told her son and then 'everything just went out of my mind'.  She’d even registered the death and said mum’s occupation was ‘pilot’.  She’d had a lot of jobs since then: cabbage leaf taker-offer, painter and decorator - those are what comes to mind.  And then of course, keeping the books for my so-called sister.

This arose from today's prompt on the blog One Minute Writer, A Defining Moment in your Life.  Strangely enough you are asked to just write for one minute using the prompt provided that day!

What I have written is fiction.

Night thoughts

Merciless fingers unattached to your heart.  

This is the best image that came out of some 'hot writing' - a short burst of unedited writing.  And this photo of my pastry maker is what inspired it.

Now it's stored in my files under 'Starters' so one day I may come back to it.  Who knows where it will lead?

Fizziness

Your skin hums, your heart fizzes, your head sings, your fingers feel like as though there is a wire-like connection to language.  Yes, the writing has arrived, the story is flowing after a period of blankness, stuckness, whatever you like to call it as a writer.

That's where I am with a story at the moment.  Which is good as I have a self-imposed deadline for an upcoming competition.  Which one?  Ah that would be telling wouldn't it!  I'm feeling very competitive about this one so no clues.  I'll let you know when I win (or not).

Colleges here in England are suffering substantial cuts so no creative writing teaching has come my way recently.  Even invigilations have partly dried up.  So I can't use that as an excuse to put off writing.  Organising house extensions to be built however have distracted me.  That and a fight over a new faulty computer (that lasted months) have distracted me from writing and from producing this blog.

Ilkley Literature Festival has come (hooray) and gone (boo).  A writing workshop that I enjoyed was run by Tessa Hadley and prompted me to read some of her short stories – which I love!  So will look for more now -  and her novels.

Tell it how it is - with respect!

Knaresborough Railway Station plaque

It's a bit corny but  ... New Year, new writing.  New teaching too perhaps, cuts allowing.

New inspirations: MsLexia short story competition which I have once again entered. The story itself was shortlisted three years ago for the Knaresborough Festival (FEVA).  Then I took the advice on the MsLexia website to spruce it up - quite a bit.  Then I sent it to a new writing contact (more in later blogs with her permission) which produced some really helpful comments.

What kind of comments are useful for a writer?  First they should be respectful of the work that the writer has put in, and that means: be polite.  It doesn't mean that everything you say should be flattering!

Then, begin by saying what you like about the writing: the subject matter, particular words, phrases, metaphors, paragraphs that touch you in some way, and why.

Next you could suggest ways of improving the work.  For instance (and this is often true of my work) the story might need filling out with more detail about a character, a scene, or a relationship.  Perhaps there is a point where the writer should show more and tell less.  Try framing your suggestions as questions to the writer e.g. 'Do you think this paragraph might be better missed out as you have already told us this on page (number), paragraph (number)?'

At this stage you could mention any grammatical or spelling errors, known as proof reading.  Again I find it useful to couch these in terms of 'perhaps', as some grammatical points are contentious, not set in stone, or accepted by everyone!

Back to one of my older posts: Adeline has now made an appearance on the Headingley LitFest blog site as they have kindly included the whole story.

The 4th Headingley LitFest will take place in March this year, 2011.