On the train heading back from Yorkshire, I’m wondering how long it will take before everything I’ve learned on Arvon’s “Fiction: Work in Progress” course soaks in. Myself and fourteen other budding novelists spent six intensive days holed up in poet Ted Hughes’ former home, Lumb Bank, doing workshops, readings, one-one-ones with expert tutors, Q&As and much more. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!
We were lucky to be under the guidance of James Scudamore and Adam Foulds for the week – I won’t list all the literary prizes they’ve won or been shortlisted for, as that would merit a blog of its own. But we were in safe hands. The stunning woodland setting of the Arvon centre and ceaseless sunshine certainly helped inspire too. My fellow writers were all working on a variety of projects, but the one thing everyone had in common was friendliness and plenty of moral support (we’ve all promised to keep in touch afterwards).
In between being spoiled with delicious, fresh homemade meals (who can write well on an empty stomach?), we did interactive workshops on themes including character, point of view, voice, structure, and oblique strategies for unblocking creative ideas.
My favourite exercises and writing tips included:
· Exploring a significant childhood memory for character
· Producing a ‘creative brief’ for your novel, featuring a 9 word summary, key question it asks, and how you want it to make your reader feel.
· Taking nouns and verbs supplied by another group member and using them to finish a scene you’ve found challenging
· What is your favourite thing about the novel you’re writing?
There was also some free time to write, and I finally managed to crack a tricky novel scene I’ve been blocked on, and got to know one of my main character’s much better.
An extra bonuses of the course was a visit from guest speaker Evie Wyld, who’s talk went on fascinating tangents, ranging from her passion for sharks, to New Zealand serial killers and family scandal (do check out her inventive graphic novel ‘Everything is Teeth’).
The fantastic week ended with everyone performing readings from their works in progress which was quite an emotional finale to the course – and an excuse for lots of wine!
I’ll leave you with this inspiring piece of writing advice:
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint on broken glass.” Anton Chekhov.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a book in possession of good qualities must be in want of a review. Well, maybe not quite universally… I know a number of avid readers who’ve never left a review for a novel they’ve fallen for. At most, the cover might end up on Instagram, or the book will find itself passed on to a friend. Amazon, Goodreads and retailer websites remain untouched. Anyone reading this who works in publishing like myself knows the importance of book reviews not only to sales, but also as a way to brighten an author’s day as they see five stars shining back at them!
So why don’t more people review? I think a key reason is that the everyday reader (who happens not to run a book blog) doesn’t know where to begin with writing one, so it feels like too much effort – even if they could talk about it perfectly eloquently over a cocktail. In the spirit of this, here’s my attempt at offering a guide to writing a novel review, and my attempt to answer the question of what makes a good critique. Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments section. And most of all, don’t forget to get reviewing!
Finish the book first: It’s my pet hate when I see one star reviews for books with comments like ‘First chapter didn’t grab me. Gave up.’ It doesn’t do justice to the author or their work, and I don’t think you can get a true feel for a novel without taking it into account as a whole, and deciding if it’s ultimately a satisfying read. Plus, it could have the best second chapter you’ll ever read, but you’d never know.
Get creative: Before you put pen to paper, decide if pen and paper really is the best way to convey your thoughts on a book. Maybe you’re more of a talker than a writer. That’s fine – why not do a video review and get vlogging? In this blog post called ‘Crafting Creative Book Reviews’, someone has even written theirs in the form of a poem
Size matters not: Remember that there’s no exact right or wrong length for a review (but a review that’s bordering on novella length probably wouldn’t be very helpful). If time and effort is putting you off writing that all important review, a short and sweet one of a paragraph or two is perfectly fine. Or perhaps you’ve read a bunch of books lately and don’t have time for an epic review-writing session. So why not Tweet 140 character reviews, and tag the author or publisher on Twitter?
Lost the plot: A good review is not just a summary of the plot, but I see this all too often. Tell me how you felt about the characters – any favourites, and why? Did any particular language or descriptions jump out? Any themes that struck you? What didn’t work? A personal response about how the book made you feel is what makes a review engaging. Anyone could go on Google and find the publisher’s blurb.
No big spoilers! Need I say more…
Go compare: Can you suggest any other books or authors the work reminds you of? “If you like Y you’ll love Z” can feel a bit simplistic, but it’s a great pointer for potential readers. It’s worth including whether the author has written any other books of note to be aware of – especially if it’s part of a series.
To balance or not to balance: Don’t always feel your review has to be perfectly balanced and an objective split between the good and bad points if a book. I’ve read some advice about the importance of balanced books reviews, but I disagree and think if you love a work, why should you scrape the barrel for things you disliked for the sake of it? I used to write theatre reviews, and realised the balanced ones I did always felt formulaic. Just be honest and authentic.
The sum of its parts: A two-sentence summary or quick overview about your thoughts on the book can be handy for time-poor people who want a quick sense of whether the book’s worth reading. This is also seriously useful for marketing bods from the publisher. Here’s one I love about the new release Paradise Ghetto by Fergus O’Connell: “This novel took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. The passion for literature and the relationship between the two young women in this story is both uplifting and inspiring.
Starred-up: Don’t get bogged down spending ages worrying about what star ratings to give. Go with your gut. I once saw someone had given a novel 2 stars, because they were pissed off that Amazon wouldn’t let them give it 3.5 stars (the option was either three or four).
Get sharing: A review is of little use stuck on a laptop! Wondering what to do with those shiny new paragraphs you’ve written? Why not share on social media channels, like Facebook or Youtube/ BookTube. You could also post it on Amazon, Goodreads, the publisher’s website, or the sites for retailers like Waterstones and WHSmith. Don’t let the lack of your own book blog stop you posting anything (or better yet, set one up!).
Need that little bit of extra inspiration? Here are couple of great books review guides from Stylist Magazine and BookTrust.
There’s one thing all comms people have in common. Whether you work at a tiny indie or a publisher the size of a small town, we’re all workload rich and time poor. So here’s my brave (or is that foolish?) attempt to sum up key takeways from the Bookseller’s recent conference in 5 minutes…
Growing a Reading Community: Five Lessons from Five Years of Emerald Street
With literary editors becoming a rare breed, digital is your new best friend for coverage that matters. Cue a talk from Emerald Street, whose emails go out to 150k contacts, and do twice weekly “Reading Rooms”. Remember: we’re viewers first then readers of their visually gorgeous content – they aim to be the still point in your inbox.
Totes Amazing: What Really Works in Trade Marketing
Profile Books Publisher Jason Spackman revealed the secrets to the perfect proof copy: Personal, relevant, high quality, original. I loved the idea of a WWII themed book sent out in an evacuee’s suitcase with ration books and 1940s themed goodies! Now I just need the budget…
Reasons to Stay Alive: Putting the Author at the Heart of the Campaign
The brilliant team at Canongate talked about putting an author at the heart of a campaign to produce a bestseller, with Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive as their case study. Don’t just take it from me, here’s their 12-month campaign plan summed up a one handy slide!
How Sticking to What We Know Won’t Help us Grow
Keynote speaker Sara Lloyd of Pan Macmillan stressed the importance of innovation and challenging convention. Suggestions included looking at teenagers’ phones to see what their top 5 most used apps are, and taking inspiration from this. Her colleague Emma Bravo also delved into new ideas for building successful media partnerships. A key question to ask is: what does success look like for both of you?
Prepping for Debut Success in The Trouble with Sheep and Goats
Want to make a good impression on retailers and get those orders in? The Harper Collins team behind this bestseller said the recommended approach was the more personal, informal touch of taking an author to key Waterstones shops in person, introducing them to the team over a cup of tea, and giving out sleek book proofs by hand. Oh, and 2,000 proofs doesn’t hurt!
Is Our Business Like Show Business?
In a talk about what we should (and shouldn’t) learn from other industries, the question was asked: should we be focusing more on promoting reading as a behaviour than marketing individual books?
Send Better Email
One of Zainab Juma’s from PRH’s top tips for sending better email was to imagine you’re a considerate guest at a dinner party: don’t impose or turn up with leftovers. Who only wants to be told about books on sale for 99p? Or be emailed three times in one evening? Also, the key to using data effectively is to target behaviours not just demographics.
Handselling Your Way to the Bestseller Charts
Amazon bestselling author Mark Dawson talked all things Facebook advertising. If you’re not already in the know with pixel installation, creating lookalike audiences, and how to set up successful social media book clubs, then start liking his Self-Publishing Formula Facebook page now.
That’s (nearly!) all folks. For those of you who happen to have a whole precious hour to spare, here’s a link where you can check out all the presentation slides from the day for FREE. Don’t say I don’t spoil you!
This month I’ve been struggling to find the time to write something every day for my novel. I tried to make turning up at the page an essential part of my daily routine ever since listing to Neil Gaiman’s ‘Make Good Art’ speech. But I work as a marketing manager for a busy publisher, and squeezing in moments with my latest novel chapter around sales conferences, book launches, author catch-ups (and a social life!) has proved a challenge.
This got me thinking about the writing habits of successful novelists. Is working on a novel daily really the way to go? What are the popular practices of those who pen bestsellers? How can we learn from other leading authors? Here are just a few of the routines and curious customs I’ve unearthed…
Haruki Murakami gets up at 4am, writes for five or six hours, then goes for a run in the afternoon. He keeps to this routine every day without variation.
Ernest Hemmingway woke each morning with the sunrise and wrote solidly until noon. Then presumably he headed to a bar or found time for some hell-raising…
Bestseller Jodi Picoult has a slightly more flexible approach. Even if she can’t write a good page every day, she tries to edit a bad one
At the more eccentric end, Brain Pickings tells me that Virginia Woolf only wrote standing up in her twenties, Truman Capote wouldn’t begin or end a piece of work on Friday, and Victor Hugo locked away his clothes so he couldn’t leave the house until he was done. Not sure I’ll be trying that one in a hurry…
I’ve decided I’ll still aim to write something every day, but time away from the page every once in a while shouldn’t make or break the chances of producing a bestseller! Perhaps it’s even a good thing to come back refreshed. What matters is doing what works for you to get the words on the page. Kafka managed to write around 12 hour shifts, so there’s no excuse for me.
What are your writing habits and routines? Does anything in particular work well for you? Let me know in the comments below!
The countdown to one of the biggest publishing events in the global calendar begins. With just 7 days to go until London Book Fair 2016 kicks off, here’s my round-up of advice for authors and publishing bods alike, not only about how to survive the fair but how to enjoy it too!
1) Wear comfy shoes
This may sound pretty basic, but trust me, you’ll be grateful for this tip after spending hours walking for miles around all the exhibitors’ stands across the three vast floors of the Olympia.
2) Plan plan plan
Did I mention plan? With such a hectic programme of events, it’s definitely worth having in mind what your must-sees are before turning up. But above all, plan to leave some time when you have nothing planned! That way you can be a bit spontaneous if someone recommends an unmissable thing to do at the last-minute.
3) Download the LBF app
The app was worth downloading last year, as I could save my fave talks into an online diary, and use it to schedule meetings with other delegates too. Just don’t forget to print a map off as well, in case wi-fi decides to play up!
4) Pack a bottle of water (or two) and lunch
In 2015, I found myself with about ten minutes to get from a translation panel event to a literary festival talk three floors above. Luckily, on the advice of an LBF veteran, I’d popped a pre-made bagel in my handbag, to avoid missing the event while queuing for food and beverages. Also, it’s surprisingly thirsty work strolling around stalls and chatting to a bunch of literary types…
5) Bring a phone charger
Ok, this might be stating the obvious, but I saw more than a couple of distressed publishing types desperately trying to make calls on a drained battery. If you’re fortunate enough to see a spare socket (I found a couple of quiet ones on level 3), then pounce on it and make the most.
6) Don’t miss the Author HQ
Authors are at the heart of the publishing industry, so it’s no surprise that LBF has a range of must-see talks, seminars and events aimed at writers in the Author HQ. This includes a traditional vs self-publishing discussion on Tuesday 12th April at 12.45pm, featuring the Director of my company Accent Press, and our author Jodi Taylor (*plug*). Get a break from those exhibition stands and come and check it out!
7) Avoid the lifts
It can be tempting to take the lifts after a knackering day on your feet, but it’s not the wait as hundreds of people try to use them daily (whilst they argue with the lift operator about whether it should go up or down). Just put your best foot forward and take the stairs.
8) Get tweeting
Who knows what bigwig from the literary world could end up retweeting or favouriting one of your pics? Plus you’ll get a bunch more followers if you keep up with the goings on using the LBF hashtag (#LBF16, if you’re wondering). It’s a good way to remember what you got up to and who you connected when you look back in a few months time too. Make the most of online and face to face networking.
9) Remember business cards
This might seem a bit formal, but do you really want to scrawl your name illegibly on a torn notebook page when you’ve finally got a moment with that sought-after agent/ publisher/ author (delete as appropriate)? Didn’t think so.
10) Embrace getting lost
Let’s face it, in a venue the size of the Olympia, it’s impossible not to. You might get pointed in the wrong direction a few times too. Use it as an excuse to see who (or what) you might stumble upon on your travels.
11) Don’t mistake it for a careers fair
This isn’t the time or place to be waving CVs under harangued publicist’s noses, or dumping a manuscript in front of an agent in the middle of an important rights meetings. They’re here to do business, not get you a job or book deal! By all means network, drop people a tweet, and follows things up with emails where appropriate. But try not to be pushy to the point it’s just annoying.
12) Have fun!
Some people will inevitably be sweating over make or break book deals. But it’s worth remembering this is also a great day out surrounded by like-minded people who are passionate about publishing too. So however busy you are, take a moment to enjoy it. Who didn’t love the giant sofas the size of a truck and tequila bars last year? Thought not.
Hope you liked these tips, as inspired by my experiences last year. Feel free to share some of your own suggestions in the comments below!
By day I’m a Marketing Manager for a publisher, writing blurbs and catchy sales copy for other authors. In my spare time, I’m writing my own novel – and starting to discover how much harder it can be to neatly package and sum up your work!
I have a place at this month’s Discovery Day at Foyle’s, where leading literary agents are offering support to aspiring authors on pitches and extracts. But what details should I include, and what do I leave out – and is it even possible to sum up a historical fantasy that spans continents with a huge cast of characters and multiple plot twists in 30 seconds? In short, yes. Here’s a summary of agency Curtis Brown’s must-read pitching advice for what Discovery Day participants could cover. Hopefully you guys will find it handy too:
Introduce yourself. Tell us briefly who you are.
Talk about what is at the heart of your novel. If there’s a strong original idea, tell it to us.
Tell us the title if you have one.
Think about genre.
If you can liken your novel to a successful published work or say that you are aiming to write like a particular author, do so.
Tell us the story! We’d like to know what happens. You’re delivering a lively snapshot.
Who are your characters? Who are the people you’re writing about?
If you’re really stuck with working out your pitch, you might like to practise pitching a novel that you love.
So, now it’s time for me to bite the bullet! Here’s my attempt at a 30 second pitch. Feel free to let me know what you think works about this (and what doesn’t!). Does this sound like a novel you’d want to read?
NOVEL PITCH – A DRAGON AMONGST MEN
I’m an award-winning writer and a marketing manager in publishing.
A Dragon Amongst Men is historical fantasy fiction, inspired by The Night Circus and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
The British and Chinese Empires hunt escaped magician Angharad Anderson, who holds the power to win the Opium Wars. But aspiring journalist Emma Delaney joins with infamous pirate Madam Cheng to find the magician in London, and they discover a plot tooverthrow a nation.
This opening novel in an adventure series is about strong women in a man’s world. It combines my passions for Chinese culture and the Victorian era.
I recently went along to a rather brilliant Masterclass at Bloomsbury with Natasha Pulley, bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.
Although I can’t share all the mince pies and mulled wine I tucked into with you, I can share some of the writing advice and activities about how to create the perfect blend of history and fantasy in your fiction. Feast on my pick of the top tips here:
RESEARCH
Natasha stressed that you don’t need to do all your research and have an in-depth chapter plan before beginning your novel. Writing tells you what you need to research in the first place – allow the possibility of ideas to flow into other ideas.
Look for the weird stuff in history as inspiration, from unusual crimes, to the fact that ancient Greeks had clockwork. JSTOR offers unlimited access to journals which are great sources to delve into, and the Illustrated London News is ideal if you like to work visually.
We did a mini-workshop in the Masterclass, where we looked at a map of 19th century Edo (aka Tokyo), and had to create the beginnings of a story from this. The purpose was to take a time and setting that’s unfamiliar to us, and find out what exactly we should be researching. For example, most people found the gaps in their knowledge were around Japanese names for characters, and what the local area would have looked like in that period.
LANGUAGE
Natasha explained that in historical fiction, there are two approaches to language: imitation and translation. The former means writing in a style that mimics the way people spoke in the era you’re writing about. For example, The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth imitates Old English. Translation, on the other hand, is finding modern words and register to give readers a sense of the time period. Natasha does this in her Victorian-set novel The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.
Some shortfalls with imitation are that it can be alienating to 21st century readers if they have to keep checking a dictionary to understand out-of-use words, and it can be a hard style to sustain. Personally, I prefer translation, as I feel it makes characters easier to relate to. But the Oxford English Dictionary is a handy tool to check word origins, ensuring your writing doesn’t become jarringly modern.
We were set an interesting exercise, taking a piece we’d written, and re-writing it in both formal, high-register Latinate style, and then stripped-down, informal Anglo-Saxon style. This really got me thinking about what language I choose to use and why in my work – why not give it a go!
FANTASY
The second half of the Masterclass involved Natasha focusing on the fantastical, and discussing sub-genres from Flintlock Fantasy to Steam Punk. She stressed that language doesn’t have to be in the High Fantasy, Norse-inspired Tolkien style.
Natasha suggested that a great way to add a sense of fantasy to a historical novel is through the use of a magical object. Often in fairy tales, these take the form of items such as enchanted mirrors or rings, which have a sense of the uncanny or peculiar. However, if you’re writing about non-European cultures, it’s worth thinking what items would have magical or uncanny connotations there (such as bamboo, parasols or peaches in Japan).
Masterclass attendees were set a task to think of a familiar everyday object that we use, and to come up with a magical explanation for how it works, with some logic behind it. For example, watches and trains. Or if there’s a tree that grows golden apples, how did this come to be, and what’s the wood used for? This means the object isn’t simply arbitrary, and your story goes from fairy tale to fantasy and world-building. But Natasha still advised to keep some vagueness about how the items really work, to help maintain the fantasy (this made me think of Phillip Pullman’s Alethiometer in His Dark Materials).
Overall, I found the Masterclass invaluable as I embark on my own historical fantasy fiction – an alternative reality novel that imagines what if Britain didn’t win the Opium Wars against China? The main things I took from Natasha were: write before you research; it’s ok not to stress about perfectly mimicking language from the era; and to add both a sense of the fantastical and logical to the magical objects you include. Plus I got a copy of her book signed for my sister, so an evening well spent 🙂
Feel free to comment if you have any other helpful hints to add about historical and fantasy writing!
I’ve just returned from an inspiring stint at Faber Academy’s “The Five Day Short Story” course. Here’s my low-down on highlights and things I learnt from the week:
Day One
After a near-hiccup trying to find the Faber Academy (the building was camouflaged behind scaffolding!), myself and the thirteen other lovely participants arrived and got stuck into introductions.
We kicked off the course, led by tutor Shelley Weiner, by discussing what actually makes a short story. Ideas ranged from length, to plot, pace, theme, characters, and epiphany moments. One of my favourite quotes from course was “a story begins with a recognition of the strange” (Graham Swift, I believe), and a sense of what if…
Each day focused on a particular short story, the first being ‘The Book of Ruth’ from the Bible. We looked at how a writer can effectively cover an extensive time-span in a short number of words, and how to approach writing compelling beginnings. We then undertook a character-themed writing exercise, choosing a photograph and imagining who that person was, what they wanted in life, and what their obstacles were. I decided that my picture of an elderly lady in a fur coat would be a hard-working Russian called Miriam Ivanovna!
The Faber Academy group getting creative!
Day Two
The second day of the course focused on Chekhov’s exquisite story, ‘The Lady with the Dog’. This tale of a man incapable of settling down, who (seemingly) finds love with a woman for the first time was my favourite piece of the week. It opens in the Russian seaside resort of Yalta, and we observed the importance of setting and a sense of place to a story. I particularly love Chekov’s advice about description: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
We also talked about how Chekhov’s writing follows the pattern of real life – meandering, aimless, and not always neatly tied up at the end. The discussion led onto point of view, and who tells the story. Our task for the day was to re-write it as Anna in first person – I attempted to make the lady with the dog a more empowered and active character, who is secretly leading the man Gurov along.
By this point I had also begun writing my own short story, with just two days to go until the deadline for the anthology at the end of the week! Afternoon sessions became a chance for others to share their varied short stories for feedback from the rest of the group.
Day Three
On Wednesday, the group dissected Hemmingway’s masterful short story, ‘The Killers’. This tale of two hitmen walking into a diner left several people cold, but if offered a perfect lesson in writing killer dialogue, the theme of the day.
Author Elizabeth Bowen wrote that dialogue is “the most vigorous interaction.” We bounced ideas off each other about the purpose of dialogue, from revealing more about characters and their relationships, to conveying a sense of time and place. One of the top tips that I got from this session is that it’s fine to use the speech marker “said”. I used to try and find more creative way to express this in my short stories, such as “she mumbled”. But as evidenced by ‘The Killers’, which uses “said” over 100 times, it works well as an invisible word, allowing readers to make up their own my about how characters say something.
Afterwards, we split into groups to get stuck into a practical exercise on writing dialogue. The prompt was: imagine three people at a bus stop— then someone asks for money for the fare home. It was amazing how many different scenarios that came out of this.
Day Four
Today’s sessions were all about crime writing, with reference to the intricate short story ‘Death and the Compass’ by Jorge Louis Borges. I found it somewhat contrived and pretentious (perhaps this was a translation issue?), but I can appreciate that the plot is supposed to be as labyrinth-like as the crimes and motivates within the story.
The group mapped out the conventional structure of a typical detective story, and how it’s as much about the detective themselves as the crime being solved. We then undertook a surreal task, where we were given absurd crimes, and had to invent suspects, motives and the “ah-ha” moment when the detective solves it. Let’s just say my group’s involved a man in a bath, a breast pump, and a dummy….!
Thursday also saw the moment I received feedback on the first draft of my short story, ‘Diminishing Returns’. It follows an elderly widower struggling to come to terms with his wife passing away from cancer. Strange occurrences begin to happen around the house, and he starts to question whether they’re down to his memory problems, or if his wife really is communicating with him from beyond. I was really pleased by the positive response it got from the group, and also the constructive feedback about cutting one of the extra characters out to make the story tighter.
Day Five
The final day of the course came around far too quickly. Before we knew it, the group was chatting together about Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Monroe’s ‘The Beggar Maid, as if we’d known each other for months. It was incredible how well Monroe seemed to understand her characters, and they felt like real people when she got inside their heads and walked them around the pages.
Tutor Shelley then led us into a discussion about beginnings and endings. We looked at what makes the opening and closing sections of the stories we’d read that week effective. Some key thoughts on how to make an ending stick in someone’s mind included; give a sense of life continuing afterwards; leave moralising to fairy tales; think of the structure in advance and don’t rush towards your destination.
We rounded off the afternoon with a session bouncing ideas around about how we could all motivate ourselves and keep up the momentum with our writing. I suggested (rather geekily!) that I’d set up a spreadsheet of publications and submissions to keep track, and also that I’d write a letter to myself outlining my goals, and ask a friend to post it back to me in six months.
*****
The Faber Academy anthology!
At that, it was time for a meal at the pub, and the presentation of anthologies (after some technical difficulties at Faber—something to do with printer and stapler issues!). As we tucked into our grub and caught up about the week, we realised how much food for thought the course had left us with. I can’t wait to keep in touch with the group, and see where the Faber Academy leads us all!
With thanks to New Writing South’s New Buds Award for supporting me to attend this course.
Perhaps you’re already on Twitter, and looking to find ways to maximise its benefits. Or maybe you’re a Twitter novice, thinking of signing up but not quite sure whether it’s worthwhile. Either way, there’s something here for you!
So, here are my Top 10 writing hashtags (and let me know if you want to throw any of your own favourites into the mix by adding them to the comments below):
1) #amwriting : a hashtag started as a way of supporting writers and fostering a sense of community. Think of it as a virtual watercooler.
2) #amediting : If you’re at the editing stage, let people know and ask for any advice you need.
3) #WriterWednesday: or #ww is a great way to give shout-outs to writers / suggest authors to follow.
4) #writetip: Self-explanatory, I think! Share and discover writing tips and advice.
5) #Wordcount: Regularly sharing your word count in public can be a great way to stay focused, as well as motivate yourself and others.
6) #followfriday or #ff is one of the most popular hashtags on Twitter, used on a Friday to suggest people to follow to your followers.
7) #Fridayreads: Tell fellow tweeters what you’re reading, and name-check authors you admire (or persuade others to give YOU a mention).
8) #Writingprompts: Use this as a way of engaging with other writers by suggesting a trigger for a story, or to look for writing inspiration yourself.
9) #BookGiveaway: Running a book giveaway on Twitter? Use this to help people discover it (I should use this more often myself!)
10) #askagent: some agents will answer questions and give advice on Twitter. This is the hashtag to use. #askpub and #askeditor are variations to ask questions of publishers and editors.
(Much credit goes to Publishing Talk’s website, which is the source of many of my writely hashtags.)
What are you waiting for? Join the conversation now!
The London Short Story Festival returned from 18-21 June, bigger and better than ever!
I had an incredible time at the inaugural LSSF in 2014, so I was quick on my keyboard when the team did a call out looking for volunteers for this year’s event. Organised by Spread the Word and hosted by Waterstones Piccadilly, I couldn’t wait to get a glimpse behind the scenes, meet some of the world-class authors, and (major perk alert!) see some of the cracking sessions on the programme for free.
LSSF volunteers – photo credit Sira Pocovi
Here’s the list of my ten top insights during this literary-fuelled weekend:
1) Award-winning writer Toby Litt’s top three tips for a strong short story are; tie no bows, open gaps, and make it more wrong if the story isn’t right. (What are you waiting for, give it a go!)
2) One of Laura Van Den Berg’s greatest inspirations is Murakami’s short story collection After the Quake, and she recommended everyone should read it. *Buys copy*
3) Waterstones Piccadilly is so vast it actually has its own gravitational pull like a planet, it’s practically big enough to become a country and declare independence from London, and it has miles of shelves full of amazing books. Ok, at least the last bit’s true…
4) The festival line-up boasted 65 leading writers and speakers across 4 days and 27 events.
5) During the Short Story Gate Keepers session, the panel’s most important advice included; read what magazines publish before you submit to them, don’t just write what you think publications want to read to tick them off your hit list, and remember it’s the voice that grabs.
6) I discovered some fascinating cuisine-based facts at the Cooked Up: Food Fiction event. Did you know that Ben Okri’s favourite dish is Nigerian peppered soup? Plus, Elaine Chiew makes the BEST cheese straws ever.
Wine and nibbles at Food Fiction event
7) The fiction scene in Wales is going from strength to strength, as demonstrated by readings from a selection of fantastic authors at Wales Arts Review’s showcase.
8) I learnt it’s very confusing having your identical twin sister attend the festival you’re volunteering at! Inevitably many people mistook her for me, and asked “where are the book signings/ are there any tickets left for the next event/ which floor are the ladies toilets on/ insert random enquiry here.”
9) Irish writer Kevin Barry is hilarious, and he cracked the entire room up with his reading during the festival finale, a Sunday times EFG Short Story Award themed-session.
10) Only at the London Short Story Festival could a 12 hour volunteer shift go by in flash, and leave you wishing there was a another event still to come afterwards. Fingers crossed LSSF will be back next year!
On the train heading back from Yorkshire, I’m wondering how long it will take before everything I’ve learned on Arvon’s “Fiction: Work in Progress” course soaks in. Myself and fourteen other budding novelists spent six intensive days holed up in poet Ted Hughes’ former home, Lumb Bank, doing workshops, readings, one-one-ones with expert tutors, Q&As and much more. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!
An extra bonuses of the course was a visit from guest speaker Evie Wyld, who’s talk went on fascinating tangents, ranging from her passion for sharks, to New Zealand serial killers and family scandal (do check out her inventive graphic novel ‘Everything is Teeth’).
The countdown to one of the biggest publishing events in the global calendar begins. With just 7 days to go until London Book Fair 2016 kicks off, here’s my round-up of advice for authors and publishing bods alike, not only about how to survive the fair but how to enjoy it too!
ntly went along to a rather brilliant Masterclass at Bloomsbury with Natasha Pulley, bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.
Cover Girl 