Today I cycled to Islington for my first day with the Urban Writers Retreat. I arrived at The Make Lounge (a place I can highly recommend for all manner of creativity and craft workshops) to join 16 other friendly faces in the pursuit of an entire day devoted to writing. Over coffee and homemade flapjacks and jam tarts, we each explained what we hoped to achieve. Charlie, the charming organiser of Urban Writers Retreat, had already emailed us a goal chart to complete, focussing our thoughts before we'd even picked up a pen or switched on a laptop. The attendees included scriptwriters, poets, novelists and people writing 'flash fiction' - a fiction piece in 1000 words or less. We worked quietly all day, breaking for tea and more cakes as and when we chose. It's clear that good snacks are an essential ingredient in any writers retreat. During the lunch break, we had the sunny streets of Islington to stroll around. More hard work in the afternoon, followed by a cycle home and a determination to join this group again. I achieved a lot and am inspired to achieve more. Thank you, Charlie!
April 2009 Archives
This week saw the launch of a wonderful enterprise by SCBWI-BI - an anthology of excerpts from unpublished and unagented children's fiction writers. The submission details can be found at the Undiscovered Voices website. Six judges, made up of agents and editors, will choose the excerpts that make it into the final book, which will then be circulated around the industry and act as a unique platform for the chosen writers. The 2008 anthology was a resounding success and it was wonderful to watch many of the contributors go on to find agents and publishing deals. So if you have written a children's manuscript that's just waiting to be read by people who can make a difference - send in your extract! It could be the start of a fabulous journey. The deadline is Monday 1 June 2009.
This week I have been working on my latest manuscript and pondering some of the nuts and bolts of writing. We shouldn't feel embarrassed to bring a workmanlike attitude to a creative process. After all, we want our manuscript to be everything it can be - efficient as well as thrilling. So this week I sat down and wrote out a list of what happens in each of my chapters so far. Why? Because sometimes I struggle to remember! Other than a general story outline, I don't have a strict map for this manuscript; I often don't know what I'm going to write next. But I need to know what I've already written. This list has proved really useful for tracking the peaks and troughs of my dramatic tension. I also have a bible for the manuscript. Every time I introduce a new character I make a note of their name in the bible, and an extract of any description. Why can I never instantly recall the names I have given all these people I have invented? Is that just me? Finally, I have an ever growing list of web links to help me in my research. Some websites are really useful and some are really flaky. It's a good idea to keep a note of the useful ones. All of these techniques I hope will help me produce as polished a manuscript as I can manage. Right now, it's all about the nuts and bolts...
