Middleway Words - a free book festival

I might have seemed a bit quiet on the Scribbles recently, but that doesn't mean that things aren't busy behind the scenes!

To give you an idea of what's been going on;

* I've been working with the lovely Chris at The House Agency, because he's creating a new website for me which will enable me to have the Scribbles, book info, sales links, anthology links etc all in one place. Sneaky little preview...

* I've also been working on Tilda #4 and finally have the shape of the whole story under my belt, though there's still work to do to build it up.

* I've knitted myself a top which included lace and knitting-in-the-round (something I've not done before and which made a change from socks!)

And...

* I've been preparing for the Middleway Words online Book Festival! 

This has included creating short videos about my books, which you can view on the festival YouTube channel; getting to know my 'Tete-a-tete' author, Marilyn L Rice; researching other book people because I'm hosting them in the closing panel; and organising a 'Creative Writing for Children' session. 

The festival exists to promote authors and other book-related industries to book lovers in the Midlands, so there's lots to sink your teeth into - and it's all FREE. You just need to book a ticket via Eventbrite to allow you access to any of the programmed sessions. 

Here's the timing of each session in the programme, but there are lots more details and information to be found as to who is appearing when on the Middleway Words facebook page and YouTube channel - including the videos many authors have created to tell you about themselves and/or their books. 

The sessions I'm involved in are; 

Writing for Children.  4pm on Monday 6th - note, it's an interactive 45 minute session for children (and other budding authors) to find out about me and have a go at plotting out their own story using one of my favourite prompts, not a 'How to Write Children's Stories' session, which you might think from the title. All Scribblers welcome!

Tete-a-tete. 2pm on Wednesday 8th, with Marilyn L Rice. 45 mins of us chatting to each other about books and life for you to be a fly on the wall for! (And ask questions if you have any). There are all sorts of people in the other tete-a-tetes, so do check the information links above to see which take your fancy. 

Closing panel. 11am on Saturday 11th. I am so excited about this - I get to ask questions of some of the people who aren't necessarily authors but who help to bring books alive; a storyteller (which is a totally different skill to writing a story. I know, I've tried it!), an illustrator and a translator. 

Other sessions include an opening by Kit de Waal; information about all aspects of writing; libraries; writing session for adults; and a poetry showcase from students at Wolverhampton University. 

SO - the festival starts tomorrow and runs until the 11th. It's completely free, so what are you waiting for? Hope to see at least some of you Scribblers there - and if not, I believe you'll be able to access the sessions afterwards!

Squidge's Guide to Super Stories - We Have a Cover! (And a Competition)

It looks as though Super Stories is going to be published a little later than we hoped, sometime in July instead of June...but...

We have a cover! Ta-dah!

This is my first non-fiction book, and although the cover has been designed for me, the artwork it uses is mine! 

To celebrate the upcoming publication, I'm launching a competition, too, but more of that over the weekend...

And if you know any budding authors who'd like a fun read that will also help to improve their writing, Super Stories will be available to pre-order soon. 

Discovering your personal Writing 'Rules'

I've been having an interesting conversation in a writing community about writing rules and quotes from famous writers that could be taken as rules. 

You know the kind of thing I mean... 'You will only be able to write well if you write in exactly the same way that I (insert name of author) do.' 

I'm being somewhat facetious here, because of course no one would ever be that blatant. But authors sometimes fall into the trap of believing that because they have achieved good writing in one particular way, then of course if someone else wrote in the same way, they're bound to produce good writing too.

In fact, I did a quick search under 'writing rules' and you'd be AMAZED at how many rules there apparently are... Take a look for yourself if you have half a mo.

Whenever I see these kind of quotes or rules, and I have an opportunity to comment on them, I often do! Mainly because, in my experience of working with fledgeling authors of all ages, there is a tendency for new writers to take all these 'rules' to heart. And quite quickly, they come to believe that if they aren't doing what they're being told to do, well, they'll never be a writer, will they? This can drastically affect a fragile confidence, and put undue pressure on someone when they are still very much learning about writing and themselves as writers. 

I'm not saying that there isn't value in some - if not all - of these 'rules'. You are bound to improve if you write regularly, for example. Using adjectives and adverbs sparingly is sometimes a good thing. Taking the time to edit a story after it's 'finished' is good practice. 

I could go on... 

What's important is that you look at the rules and pick the ones that work for you. Take writing regularly; I have writer friends who write every day, without fail. I don't - I'm a fits and starts writer, who tries to keep the non-writing time to a minimum. I have writer friends who write in silence to avoid distraction, whereas I like to write with songs I can sing along to. (Current music of choice - eighties electronic anthems). Some writer friends use a three act structure to plan their plot before writing anything - I think planning is a great idea, I'm just not very good at sticking to a formal planning method. 

Authors are many and varied in their processes, and their individual 'rules' are as many and varied as the stories they write. 

If you ask me for help with your writing, I'll try hard not to give you 'rules'. I'll give you advice, sure. And I'll always be honest in sharing what works for me, and what doesn't - because even though it doesn't work for me, it might for you. It's up to you to find what works for you. What is an essential self-imposed 'rule' that will help you to write productively, as opposed to working to a 'rule' imposed by someone else that ends up getting you tied up in knots? 

Pick and choose. Try things out. Don't be afraid to ditch any 'rules' that don't work for you, bearing in mind that any set of 'rules' applied to writing projects may change, depending on the type of project and your circumstances at the time of trying to write.

And I'll continue to respond to these quotes-that-could-be-taken-as-rules, to demonstrate that none of them need to be written in stone.

Writing East Midlands Conference 2021

This conference, organised by Writing East Midlands in partnership with Lincoln University, should have happened last year - twice. I was booked on it... As with many things last year, it was postponed - twice - and took place finally last week, online, over the course of four days.

Now, I've been to other writing conferences in the past in person, so I wasn't quite sure how an online one would work. Most of the fun of a conference comes from networking with lots of other like-minded people and talking about all things 'writing'. How would an online conference achieve that? 

I needn't have worried. 

#WEMCONF21 used a classroom system - collaborate - which although it is primarily a lecture delivery system, still allowed sufficient interaction between presenters and made good use of the chat facility for attendees to ask questions and interact with other. (And we did that a lot!) Moderators did a brilliant job of reminding delegates before each session how to get the best out of it (turn your video and microphone off, and refresh if you lose the presenter!) and of helping when problems arose during the sessions, though these were few and far between. It felt really well organised and controlled. 

The striking thing for me about this conference generally is that topic-wise, it did not focus solely on the craft or a route to publication, as conferences I've attended by other providers sometimes have. It did cover some of these aspects, but it also gave presentations on things like creative citizenship (how do you/can you use your art to create change?), on opening up creative writing opportunities for writers with impairments, on how to apply for grants to enable you to further your own writing practice or deliver social projects and on the power of poetry. It was a much wider programme than I think I've ever experienced. 

There was also much more diversity apparent in the choice of presenters. Yes, there were some 'big names', but there were also names I wasn't familiar with and am now inspired to look up.

The overall feeling I got was that this was a conference for writers of all types, not just writers who want to know how to be published or how to improve their craft. The latter is well supported by WEM's many different courses and mentoring schemes, so I suppose in some ways, it didn't need to be covered in the conference as much. 

I really enjoyed all the sessions I attended and came away with much food for thought.

I have publication dates!

When you read the next line, imagine you're playing a trumpet.

Pom-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-paaaar!

Delighted to let you know that I have publication dates for not one, but TWO books.

Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and how to be a better writer)  is set to be published in June. It will, I hope, give anyone who wants to start writing the confidence to get going, and show those who are already writing some of the things they can do to become an even better writer.   

On top of that, Tilda's third adventure - Tilda and the Tombs of Kradlock - will be published in August! 

I'll update you as and when I get more information, because there will be online (probably) launches for both, and I'm already racking my brain for competition ideas.

I am one VERY excited Squidge.

Watch this space!

Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and Becoming a Better Writer)

I've mentioned my 'little' non-fiction project a couple of times, and that I've signed a contract for it with Bink. I reckon the time's right to tell you a bit about it!

I've written a guide to creative writing.

Called Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and Becoming a Better Writer), it's aimed primarily at younger and/or novice writers, and captures the kind of advice I give on school visits or when giving feedback to novice writers. 

I wasn't sure about it to begin with. I mean, I write, yes, but was I really qualified to give advice? When I think of all the 'How to' books I own, written by BIG name authors with many more publications under their belts than me, how would anything I could offer ever stand up next to their advice? How could I dare to lump myself in with some of the amazing editors and writers I know personally, who offer writing advice to paying participants at conferences and workshops?  

I felt like an imposter. Unworthy. 

But gradually, I began to see things differently. I've watched writers I've given feedback to, or helped with editing, go on to be published and win competitions, even before I was published myself. On school visits, the things I've said about how to improve written stories has made a difference to the pupils and what they've managed to produce. And in more recent times, my help has been actively sought for and - to my surprise - I am being paid for it. I've enthused, supported, and enabled many other writers.

So maybe, just maybe, what I have discovered for myself over these years of writing can be of use to others, too.

I pitched the idea to Bink, and they said go for it. 

And I have! Not only have I written, I have drawn - the book will have little sketches dotted through it. 

Like these: 

I have covered idea-finding, process, structure, characters, world building, editing, and writing groups. I've provided prompts to work with, and examples of the kinds of things that I feel improves my own writing and which I hope will help others to make theirs better. It's not an instruction manual though - it focuses very much on the reader finding their own way to be a writer. 

I hope it will be fun to read, and make a difference to those who choose to read it.

Who knows, maybe it'll help write the next bestseller? Exciting times!