Comprehend the Contract

There’s been a bit of chatter on the Internet about a new contract one magazine publisher appears to be introducing.

The world is changing, and all magazine publishers are having to change with it, and rightly so. Who’d have thought 18 months ago that we could buy copies of some of the oldest women’s weekly magazines on our tablets or smartphones? As a result, these publishers need more than the traditional First British Serial Rights, that they’ve always bought, which is why these changes are being made to contracts. This provides a good opportunity to remind writers they should always check what they are signing.

There’s a growing trend for publications to ask for more and more rights. And in some ways, it is understandable. After all, if they make a publication available to download over the Internet, then it’s available to be downloaded anywhere in the world.

Some publications ask for All Rights. For example, the guidelines for Yours magazine are available for download from their website: http://www.yours.co.uk/Yours-Magazine-News/Search-Results/Yours-Guides/Yours-Submission-Guidelines/ and the fiction guidelines clearly state at the end: All successful submissions are accepted on an All Rights basis that gives Bauer Media exclusive copyright

So, if you submit a short story to Yours magazine and they accept it, you’ve allowed them to have All Rights in your work, thus preventing you from doing anything else with that text.

Some magazines are open to negotiation, however, with publishing businesses consolidating across the world, the flexibility editors once had is being taken away and replaced with standard contracts.

The decision about which rights to sell, or whether to sign a contract, falls down to the individual writer. No-one forces you to sign a contract. It’s your decision whether you sign a contract or not. But when you do, be sure you understand exactly what it is you’re signing. 

If you there’s anything you’re unsure of, seek professional guidance. Members of the Society of Authors can get free advice on book contracts, whilst National Union of Journalists members can get contractual guidance from their organisation. (As a member of the Society of Authors I asked them for feedback on a contract I’d been offered by a magazine that published fiction, which was a bit cheeky because the SoA specialise in book contracts! However, they did look at it for me, and they pointed out that the contract contradicted itself several times and wouldn’t stand up in court!)

Know what the contract allows you to do and, more importantly, what it restricts you from doing. For example, a contract that asks writers to give them the exclusive right to be the first publication to publish the piece anywhere in the world means you can’t offer that work anywhere else, until that publication has published it. That might not seem too restrictive, but I shall always remember the article a publication accepted from me (and paid for) in 2005, yet did they didn’t publish it until 2011. Hanging on for six years before being able to offer material elsewhere might be bearable for the occasional piece of work, but I wouldn’t want to have to cope with it for a lot of my work!

However, if there’s something in the contract you don’t understand then your first port of call should be the editor. They’ll be able to explain things for you … and probably in language that everyone understands! (Which begs the question - why can’t contracts be written in plain English? It would make everyone’s life, so much easier!)

Good luck!  

Weaving A Little Magic

On Saturday I went on a basket-weaving workshop. And whilst busy weaving and thrashing, it struck me how creating a willow basket had many similarities to writing. For example, whatever you create from willow must have a solid structure and frame to weave around, in the first place. Without that, the interesting detail of the weave, or the different willows you can use to add extra colour to your creation, simply get lost. They lose their impact.

As I discovered, it’s good to see in your mind’s eye what it is you want to create, but whilst you’re weaving in the extra detail, it’s extremely easy to lose sight of that structure. When weaving with willow, not only do you have to look at the pattern you’re using for your weave, but you have to continuously amend, adjust and cajole your structure, to ensure that you don’t weave it away. Lose this focus and your finished product ends up looking completely different to what you’d originally planned!

I’m just in the process of outlining a new large project. I’ve always done some planning with large projects, but I tend to outline the basic structure first, before diving in with the actual writing. However, with this latest project I’m doing things slightly differently. I’m planning in more detail. It involves several pads of sticky post-it notes and a large cupboard door! As each thought comes to me, I’m jotting it down on a post-it note and then sticking it on my cupboard door, where I think it needs to go.

As I spend more time thinking about this, and adding additional post-it notes, I’ve seen how easy it is to keep my original structure in place. In fact, it’s made it easier to shift things around a bit, to ensure my planned structure retains its shape. If one post-it note influences the outcome of another, I simply move them to their new position. Once I’ve got all of my lose ends identified and tied up, then I’ll have my finished structure, and I can begin writing. It could be argued that the words we write are the weave that holds our structure in place. Whilst the words might look pretty, without that initial structure holding them all together, their impact won’t be as great.

When you next sit down with a writing project (of any size) consider creating a more detailed structure. Be clear what your finished piece should look like, and then compare your finished piece with your intentions. As you can see from the finished basket here, I think I should have concentrated on the structure of my basket a little more! (At least the planning of my next project is going a little better!)

Good luck!

Writers Abroad Anthology

A short post this week (it is a Bank Holiday Monday, after all). I've been informed that the group, Writers Abroad, are seeking submissions for their next anthology: Far Flung and Foreign.

Details are as follows:

Writers Abroad Anthology: 'Far Flung and Foreign'

Closing date: 31 July 2013. 

Entrants: Only for expat and former expat writers. 

Fiction: 1700 words max. 

Non-fiction: 1000 words max. 

Flash Fiction: 500 words max. 

Poems: 30 lines max. 

Theme: Foreign places. 

Free to enter, all profits from the anthology will be donated to the charity Book Aid International. 

Foreword to be written by novelist, Amanda Hodgkinson.

Full submission guidelines: www.writersabroad.com

If you fit the criteria, then why not enter?

Good luck!

Is That What You REALLY Want To Say?

This week, some of us in the UK have the opportunity to vote in our local council elections. This means that the various political parties have been pushing their campaign material through our letterboxes. This is some of the funniest material about, often conveying information that the political parties probably didn’t intend to convey.

For example, the political party in control of my local council has put out campaign material promoting their achievements whilst they’ve been in office. One such achievement focusses on improving the county’s broadband infrastructure. In one sentence they mention that they “found £8 million.”

Now, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the main definition of the verb found is: “having been discovered by chance, or unexpectedly.” I wonder if this political party want voters to think they manage money in such a slapdash manner that they have discovered by chance, or unexpectedly, the sum of £8 million. (It suggests that the cleaner came across it one day, fallen down the back of the filing cabinet.)

I have to say that this particular political party did not help their cause when they went on to say that they were going to use this £8 million and put it with the £8.2 million already set aside, to enable them to spend £16.7 million on improving the broadband infrastructure. Now, it’s been a while since I was last at school, and I was never any good at maths, but I’m fairly confident that 8 + 8.2 does not equal 16.7. 

Perhaps, there was another £500,000 that had been earmarked for this project, but this wasn’t mentioned in the campaign material. As a result, this leaflet suggests the political party aren’t in control of the finances, unexpectedly discovering by chance some money, and are completely inept at basic accounting!

So, next time you write something, edit your work and choose your words carefully. Are you conveying the message you really want to convey?

Good luck.

(PS. Unfortunately, the campaign material from the other political parties is just as dire!) 

Competition News

Just a quick note to mention that the Writers Bureau Short Story competition is open for entries. Prizes range from £500 (1st) to £100 (4th) for short stories of up to 2,000 words. The closing date is 30th June, and the entry fee is £5/$8/€6. For full rules and details visit www.wbcompetition.com, or download an entry form at http://www.wbcompetition.com/StoryEntryFormS13.pdf

Also, the writers' group I go to, Wrekin Writers, are accepting short story entries into their Doris Gooderson Short Story competition. Entries should be no longer than 1200 words, and prizes range from £150 (1st) to £40 (3rd). Entry fee is £3 per story. Any profits from the competition this year will go to the Severn Hospice. For more information, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/wrekinwriters/Home/competitions-1/doris-gooderson-2013-competition

Good luck!

The Dual Objective

We know that to get published we need to write something that will be of interest to a specific readership. However, as writers, we also need to satisfy our own needs: to enjoy the process of creating something. 

When we start out as writers, it’s our own enjoyment of the creative process that dominates, which makes it’s easy to forget who we’re writing our words for.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with writing for yourself; that’s why people keep diaries. But to be published, it’s important that you recognise you will not be the only reader of what you are writing.

If you’re struggling with this process, of writing for others, here’s a three step technique to help turn your writing around.

Step 1: Write what you want. Sit down and write. Just enjoy the creative process. Write to please yourself and say what you want to say. Write for yourself, first.

Step 2: Print out a copy of your text (keep a copy of your original draft), and go through it, line by line, asking the following questions: Will my target reader need to know this? Will my target reader want to know this? (Think about who your reader is, having undertaken your market analysis.) Delete anything that does not meet these criteria.

Step 3: Now review your reader’s draft to make sure that it flows and is cohesive. Having deleted some text, you may need to insert some linking phrases and sentences. Then compare the two pieces side-by-side. What difference do you notice?

There may be a lot of commonality between the two pieces, although, hopefully, you’ll find that the emphasis has changed. Your second piece is less-likely to be self-indulgent. It will still be informative, and could still reflect your own personal experiences, depending on your subject matter, but it will be more engaging for the target reader.

If you satisfy the objective of writing for yourself first, you may find being more objective about your text for the reader is then much easier. So enjoy the dual objective of writing, but don’t forget to submit your reader piece, when you’re happy with it!

Good luck. 

Time For An MOT?

I’ve just booked my car in for its annual MOT. It’s a little frustrating having to sort these things out, but, then again, it is also re-assuring to know that my vehicle is roadworthy. It made me wonder whether writers should undergo an annual test, to check their roadworthiness for the written word! (Failing with poor emissions takes on a whole new meaning!)

Sometimes we can get swept along with the latest fads, developments and new markets. After Fifty Shades of Grey was published, suddenly, many more writers were writing erotica. Hilary Mantel’s Booker-winning novels (Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies) are written in the present tense, encouraging other writers to try writing in this tense. (It’s more difficult than it first appears!) Whilst following these trends exposes us to different styles of writing, which is a good thing, we should never forget the basics. Our writing should always be roadworthy. The car with the latest all-singing, all-dancing, built-in SatNav, still needs good tyres, good brakes, a steering wheel that turns and working indicator lights to get the occupant to their desired destination safely.

So, what should a Writing MOT test for? 

• A basic understanding of grammar? Whilst it can be acceptable to break the rules (as long as you understand what the rules are and what you are achieving by breaking them), it’s important that you know why the words are in the order they are. 
• What about accepting that it’s okay to look things up in a dictionary? My computer’s operating system has a built-in dictionary (The Oxford Dictionary of English), which means its information is a few clicks away. I’ve never used a dictionary as much as I do now. I question my word choices, and any hint of doubt has me heading for the dictionary. After all, word selection is vital for expressing our thoughts clearly.
• And what about understanding the building blocks of engaging writing? It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or plays, our pieces need structure (scenes), and devices to draw in the reader (dialogue, observations, and plot).

The good news is, just like a car’s MOT, if we fail we simply make repairs to make ourselves roadworthy again. We can remind ourselves of the basics. Many writers have a shelf (if not more) of books on writing. Why not dust one off, that you haven’t read for a while, and re-read it? Remind yourself of the basics. Perhaps we should make it an annual effort: re-reading a how-to guide once a year. I know I benefit from doing so.

Good luck.

Read On. Go on. I Insist!

Firstly, I will admit that this is a pet hate of mine, but the fact that it only occasionally puts in an appearance in magazines suggests that editors might not like it either. What am I talking about? Read on to find out more ...

Ah! I see you've done exactly what I told you to do. Thank you. And that's my point. I told you to read on. As a reader, I don't like being told what to do. If the writer has written an engaging and intriguing introduction they will have my attention and I will want to read on, because I want to know what else the writer has to say.

Telling a reader to 'read on' is lazy writing. If a writer hasn't written an engaging opening then they should rewrite it to make it more engaging. You don't sit down to watch a film, only to have the film's director appear on the screen after a couple of minutes and say, "Stay seated ... there's a really good bit coming up in a minute," do you?

There's a fine line between telling a reader to read on and inviting them to read on, however, I don't even think readers need an invitation. Just cut straight to the point you want to make.

Telling readers what to do is also unnecessary wordage. Instructions to your readers uses word space that could be used to give them more practical, and interesting, information, which would encourage them to want to read on.

So, the next time you find yourself telling your reader what to do put yourself in their shoes and consider how you would feel being told what to do. As a minimum, you should delete your instruction to the reader. Immediately, you'll find the tone of your piece has changed for the better.

Good luck.

Make The Most Of The Mundane

Firstly, this is not an April Fool! (And I can’t believe we’re now in the fourth month of the year, already. Pity the weather seems to have forgotten which month it is too.) But that’s the point. Here in the UK the weather is being … unusual. It’s been a tad chilly. There’s still snow lying on the ground even now. And everybody is talking about it (if not moaning about it).

Although some people don’t like the weather, and wish it were warmer, it is making life more different. Some might say more interesting. It’s giving people something to talk about. 

There may be moments when writers feel that in order to write they need to write about something interesting. Perhaps they need to sail down the Amazon wearing a fur coat and red ankle socks, or conquer Everest on their hands, or have driven from Land’s End to John O’Groats in sportscar with a famous celebrity. 

If you fancy doing something different, try writing about a mundane activity, instead.  Sit down and write about making a cash withdrawal (and I mean an authorised one from a cash point machine, rather than an illegal one involving stockings and a sawn-off shotgun!). Alternatively, why not write about making a cup of tea, or pegging out the laundry?

Just because something is ordinary, and mundane, it is perceived as uninteresting. Yet that perception can be wrong. As someone who used to work for a bank, I know everything that can go wrong with a cash point transaction! So, if ever you find yourself stuck for something to write, or you need a writing exercise to stimulate your creative muscle, spend ten minutes writing about a boring, mundane activity. You might just surprise yourself how interesting your subject matter is.

Good luck.

How Far Have You Come?

I had an email from one of my students over the weekend. He was pleased because he'd noticed that one particular magazine had a new editor, so he'd submitted an article (that a previous editor of the same publication had rejected) and was delighted when the new editor had accepted it.

This made him realise that it might be worth going back and resubmitting some of his other articles that the previous editor had rejected. (Definitely a good move, in my opinion.)

However, as he read through some of his older work, he suddenly realised how his writing style had changed. Some of those early sentences were clunky, difficult to read and poorly punctuated. Admittedly, some pieces were now almost five years old, but he set about rewriting and updating them.

It wasn't until he came to re-read his edited version that he realised how far on his writing journey he'd travelled. Suddenly, the words he had in front of him illustrated how much he had learned from the craft of writing over the past five years.

A craftsman is always learning, honing and improving their skills, which is exactly what a writer should be doing. I always feel as though I'm on a never-ending journey, where, hopefully, each new piece is better than the one before.

So go on - why not have a look yourself? Go and find a piece of writing from a time when you had just begun your writing journey. It doesn't matter whether it was a year ago, or ten years ago. Try and find an old piece from those early days and read through it. And if you find yourself cringing, don't be embarrassed. Instead, take comfort from the fact that this proves you've developed as a writer. Isn't that something to be proud of? (And perhaps you can rewrite it and find a new market for that piece today!)

Good luck.

Warning Signs

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, we are subjected to warning signs: road junction ahead, low bridge, deep water, or, as in my photo here, look out for low-flying gliders. (In case you’re wondering, the footpath cuts across the approach to a local airstrip that gliders use, and, remember, gliders don’t have engines, so they tend not to make any noise.)

In the world of writing, we tend not to have huge metal warning signs, triangular in shape and with red borders. However, there are some signs budding writers should look out for:

• Excitement at finishing the first draft of something: don’t be tempted to submit your work now. The excitement of completion is blocking your clear vision. Put your work aside for a day or so, and then look at it again when your excitement has subsided. You will be grateful for heeding this warning, because the mistakes you failed to see then will now become apparent.
• Thinking it doesn’t apply to you: if you’ve gone to the effort of analysing your target market, then apply what you discovered. If every article is 900 words, why is your piece 1,000 words? Heed the warning and cut the 10%. It’ll be easier than you think. If you spot that the magazine doesn’t use unsolicited manuscripts, don’t send your complete article. Heed the warning and write a query letter/email.
• Complain that an editor has changed your words: whenever your work is published, take the time to sit down and read your published piece. Compare it to the version of the text you submitted to the editor. Has anything changed? Editors sometimes change opening paragraphs, rewrite sections, change spellings, or with fiction they have been known to change character names and even the ending of a story. Don’t pick up the phone, or open up a new email message, and give the editor a rollicking. Accept the warning sign: that your work needed a little adjustment. See what you can learn from it. If they changed the opening paragraph, what have they done? Does it engage the reader more quickly? Does it clarify more succinctly what your article is about? If they’ve changed a character’s name in your story, can you see why they’ve done that? Is the character’s name more reflective of their age, or the age of the readership? Have they produced a better ending to your story? There are many reasons why your text may be changed, but if you read the warning signs, perhaps they indicate a weakness in your writing. Scrutinise the exact changes. What can you learn from them? It could result in more sales in the long run.

There are many warning signs writers should look out for, although they’re not always obvious. Heed the ones you spot and your writing journey should be a little safer.

Good luck.

There Were These Writers In A Pub...

… and we were waiting for our food to be served … food that had been ordered over an hour previously (and we only had an hour left before I was being the hard taskmaster again).

The waiter was clearly experienced in dealing with waiting, hungry customers, when we questioned him.

“If anyone has a shotgun,” he said, “please feel free to shoot the chef, although you’ll have to form an orderly queue and take your turn after me.”

It was a clever response. Not only did it deflect the impatience amongst the group, but it gave a group of writers a wealth of murderous ideas!

And did those ideas flow! But, no-one was jotting anything down. Who knows how many have been forgotten. Perhaps some, like me, made a mental note to remember the ones that we particularly liked, but no-one can remember everything. Many of us had left our notebooks in our workshop rooms (we were obviously hungry).

Thankfully, we decided not to shoot the chef … and about ten minutes later our lunch arrived (and very nice it was too). But whilst the chef escaped with his life, I don’t doubt several ideas also escaped from the clutches of these writers.

No matter how small or insignificant an idea might seem, always have means to jot it down. Who knows where that spark could take you?

Good luck.

The World Turns

I had an email from a student last week whose determination proved to be a good example of how the world turns. Over the last few years he’s had immense success with one of the filler slots in a particular woman’s weekly magazine. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to fall out of favour, and none of his submissions were used.

This can be immensely frustrating, particularly after several years of successful writing and selling. The reason for this isn’t always obvious. Occasionally, editors like to refresh the magazine and one way of doing this is by bringing in new writers, yet that probably didn’t apply here, because the filler slot the student was targeting was really aimed at readers.

It could be that the editor became a little concerned that this particular student’s name was regularly appearing in the reader slot most weeks. Who knows? But this didn’t stop my student from continuing to submit material. And guess what? After over a year of no success, suddenly, he’s in favour again! The editor is using his work, so much so that sometimes two or three pieces are used in the same issue in this same slot.

Perhaps there has been a change in editor. Perhaps the new editor accepts that my student can offer exactly what they’re looking for in this slot. A change in editor might explain the sudden use of my student’s work again. Alternatively, perhaps this section has now been given to another member of staff to sort out, and this person doesn't have the time to devote to the slot and so is grateful of the submissions for an easier life. Whatever the reason is, it’s a good example of how determination can win through. The world continues to turn, people come and people go, so where perhaps one door closed, over time you might find it re-opening.

So why not think about some markets that you used to submit to, but no longer do? Buy an up-to-date copy and see what’s changed. You never know, you might like what you see, and the editor, or staff, may have changed too. New staff could mean a new opportunity.

Good luck.

A Rejection Can Become An Acceptance

There’s an excellent article in the latest issue of Writers’ Forum magazine (Issue 137) by Glynis Scrivens called Turning A No Into A Yes. In it, Glynis reveals how other writers have turned a rejection into an acceptance.

What I liked about the article, is that it demonstrates quite clearly how all of these other writers accept that rejection is part of the job. But these writers also demonstrated their job-like attitude to rejection and offered some ideas on how to turn the rejection into something more positive.

I say this, because over the weekend I was marking an assignment, and the student had said that he’d already submitted his article, and it had been rejected. He therefore knew I was going to say the article wasn’t very good, it was a bad idea, and was therefore he was wasting my time, but because he’d initially written it for his assignment, he thought he’d send it in anyway. 

Firstly, I was a little surprised that the student had submitted it before sending in his assignment. Timing wasn’t an issue, so why not let your tutor give you some feedback before you send out your work into the big wide world? Anyway, reading through his article, I could see how with a couple of small adjustments, he had a perfectly good piece here. His target market wasn’t quite right in my opinion (which is probably why his article had been rejected), but I suggested another market where it could work, and suggested ways in which he could tweak his idea to fit that new market.

This student was letting the first rejection be the end of the matter, and this needn’t be the case. The examples other writers gave in Glynis’s article offered some great ideas. One common theme struck me though - determination. None of these writers had given up at the first hurdle. One writer, Lynne Hackles, mentioned that the longest it took to sell a story was 30 years.

So, never let a rejection put you off. Yes, it can be disheartening, but it’s not the end of the world. There’s always something else you can do with your idea, or text. It might be a "No" now, but there could be a "Yes" just around the corner ... but only if you do something with that rejected text.

Good luck.

Limiting Your Creativity

A student mentioned in an email to me last week that they were having problems coming up with ideas. He would sit down at his allotted writing time, switch on his laptop and fire up a blank page in his word processor. And then he would think, “Now, what am I going to write about?” Whereupon, he says, he would sit and wonder for up to half an hour about what to write.

Being able to write about absolutely anything can be overwhelming. With so much available to you, it can overload the brain. The trick is to limit your creativity. Paradoxically, limiting your creativity can lead to better creativity.

Instead of thinking I have 30 minutes in which I can write about anything I want, you could try giving yourself some boundaries. Instead, try thinking I have 30 minutes in which I can write anything I want about my home town/my last travels/the date I had last night. As soon as you narrow your choice, your brain has something to work on. It can cope better, because you’ve dismissed everything else.

The problem with having complete freedom is that it stifles you. You might have an idea, but then think, No! I can write about anything I like - I might have an even better idea in a minute. And so your brain continues to consider absolutely everything humanly possible. Whereas, once you’ve narrowed down your topic, your brain has disregarded everything else. You’ve already made the decision not to worry about anything else. Limiting your creativity gives you the freedom to explore a narrow idea.

If you ever go to a writing workshop, rarely will you be asked to sit down and write about absolutely anything that you like. Instead, the workshop facilitator will give you some boundaries from which to work. Sometimes, the more restrictive you are, the more creative you might be.

Some of the world’s greatest inventions have come about through the creative use of limited resources. So, next time you feel creatively stuck try narrowing down your options. You might surprise yourself.

Good luck.

You Don't Have to Agree With Your Tutor ...

I was contacted by a fellow correspondence course tutor this week (he works for another company) who was quite upset about a response he’d had from one of his students. This student had received the tutor’s feedback on their assignment and had taken offence. As a result, the tutor was worried that his criticism had come across as too harsh and was not constructive.

Receiving criticism is difficult, and all tutors are aware of this. But, hopefully, the criticism a tutor gives is constructive. It should demonstrate the steps that can be taken to improve the text, and then explain why those steps lead to better text.

Does a student have to agree with a tutor’s advice and implement it? No, not at all. It is entirely up to the student whether they take the action the tutor has recommended. Most tutors, though, are drawing upon their own (successful) writing experience.

One of the student’s complaints to my fellow tutor, was that he’d picked up on all of the spelling, punctation and grammatical errors, within the text. Surely, this wasn’t necessary when so many published books have poor spelling, grammar and punctuation within them. Sadly, I can see where this attitude comes from - only this morning, whilst reading a crime novel written by a well-known novelist, (and published by one of the big four UK publishers) I came across two spelling mistakes in the text. The first one was a little dismaying, but the second one, only a few pages later, was more annoying. I began to question how many more I might come across in the book, which I expected to be professionally written and produced. But this experience doesn’t make me think it’s okay to let my standards drop. I still want to write to the best of my ability, and to the highest standard that I can attain. And that’s also what I hope for my students, too.

It came across that the student’s response was one of someone whose immediate reaction had taken the comments personally. They’d not liked what they’d read and sat down and fired off an emotional response. Whilst understandable, it’s a shame, because that tutor/student relationship is now more delicate than it might have been. In the future, my friend is more likely to exercise extreme caution when marking this student’s work, (in fear of receiving further vitriolic responses), which means the student may not get the detailed feedback that could really help them. It would probably be better if the student asked to move to a new tutor, and created a fresh tutor/student relationship. Indeed, I’ve often said to people undertaking courses, that if they don’t get on with their tutor, then ask to be transferred. The tutor/student relationship is an important one, but it is also a human relationship, and not all humans get on with one another. You’re more likely to get the most benefit from your course if you have a good relationship with your tutor.

That doesn’t mean that a student has to accept everything their tutor tells them. Sometimes, students have disagreed with my advice. They’ve taken on board my comments and spent time making the changes I’ve suggested, but then they don’t like this new result. That’s okay. I respect the student’s decision, because at least they’ve had a go at making the changes I’ve suggested. They didn’t simply dismiss my suggestions; they gave them thought, consideration and then tried acting upon them. Because of this, they now have a ‘before’ and ‘after’ piece of work, to compare, which they didn’t have before they’d received my feedback. This enables them to examine the differences and ask themselves which bits work better, and why. Being able to say that, “this works better because…” means the student has still learned something in the process, and as a result, they will be a better writer. 

At the end of the day, everybody is human: students and tutors.

Good luck.

Writing: A User Manual

I’ve just finished reading Writing: A User Manual by David Hewson. Unlike many other writing books, Hewson doesn’t say, “These are the rules to writing,” instead he says, “This is how I do it.” If you’ve ever considered writing a novel, then I’d certainly recommend reading it.

There are, naturally, many lessons that all writers can take from this book, whether they write novels or not. In it, he makes an interesting point about how writers work, as creative artists. There are many who bash out the first draft of a piece of text, and then go back later and edit. There are some who agonise over every word and won’t move on until it is right. Whichever way you do it, it doesn’t matter - as long as it’s a system that works for you.

Hewson suggests that some writers should think more about their writing techniques. He draws upon the methods of other creative people. A painter, for instance, doesn’t slap on a whole load of paint, and then hone their piece by deleting the paint that isn’t necessary. Whereas a writer might bash out 120,000 words, and then delete 40,000 words, a painter might sketch an outline and consider carefully, the colours required and where each stroke will go. A painter’s creativity is, generally, something that evolves, step-by-step.

Whereas a sculptor will take a huge block of stone and start deleting it, chipping away to reveal their creation. What’s left is a fraction of what there was at the start, but it has been turned into something beautiful. He raises an important point: creativity is a process. The creative element of writing is not the bashing out of the first draft. The editing process is just as much, if not more, of the creativity system. 

Does how you write matter? Only if it doesn’t work, argues Hewson. He looks at a few common rules offered to writers and gives his take on them. (See his section I Like Adverbs - There, I’ve Said It, Boldly.) And he demonstrates how less is more. The section on the choices he makes for his settings is quite revealing. And there are some lovely anecdotes about co-incidences in this writing world.

So, whatever your next project is, take time to enjoy the creative process.

Good luck.

Writing: A User Manual by David Hewson.
ISBN: 978-1408157428
£12.99
Available from Amazon and other bookstores.

Writing For Free

The topic of writing for free seems to be popular at the moment, so I thought I’d add my take on the subject. (There’s an article on the subject in the latest issue of Writers’ Forum magazine, Alex Gazzola has written a post on his blog http://mistakeswritersmake.blogspot.co.uk, and the topic has cropped up in a couple of Facebook groups too.)

Many writers are horrified to hear about others writing for free. It does them out of a job, they argue, and they have a point. To use the example that writers often trot out on this topic, who expects a plumber to come out and work for free? But, if two plumbers knocked on your door and one offered to charge £80 for the job, whereas the other was prepared to do it for free, which one would you choose? (Mind you, which one would you expect would do a better job: the plumber charging for their expertise and skill, or the one who doesn’t value their craft?)

Of course, whether you should write for free is something that only you can decide. Have I written for free? Yes. But there’s usually a benefit for me, for doing so. As an author, I’ve occasionally written free articles to help publicise my books. Sometimes, I’ve offered free articles as an investment in potential future work, which has resulted in opportunities.

There are also other times when I write for free. I like to support a couple of small organisations for writers with free articles, because they helped me so much at the start of my writing career. And, occasionally, I submit to anthologies that are produced for charitable purposes.

At the start of their writing career, some writers are so keen to see their name in print, they’re happy to write for free. And, on occasions, there can be some merit in this. Being published might provide the motivation to start on the next project. It might give the writer the confidence to try a bigger, paying, market in the future. And being able to tell an editor that you’ve been published in XYZ magazine can be useful (especially as most editors won’t know how much XYZ magazine paid you, even if it was zilch).

But you should always be sensible and realistic. Would you expect Cosmopolitan, or Good Housekeeping magazine not to pay their writers? If a publication charges advertisers for advertising within its pages, then it should be paying its writers for the work they produce to appear within those pages. It is those written words that attract the readers to buy the publication in the first place - not the advertisements.

There are many small press publications out there who claim to operate on tight budgets - and many do. Some claim they don’t have the resources to pay for submissions. Others work hard to offer something, even if it only amounts to a few pounds. At least those that offer a minuscule payment acknowledge that a writer should be paid for their craft.

Even writers who (pay to) enter writing competitions do so in the hope that they will win … and be paid for their efforts in prize money.

So, in my view, writing for free has its place, but it should be a small part of a writer’s productivity. If you value your craft, then you should target most of your work at markets who are prepared to put a monetary value to that craft. For someone like me, writing for free doesn’t put a roof over my head or food on the table.

Good luck.

Inspiration from the Past

When was the last time you went and REALLY looked at a gravestone? If ever people pass through one they tend not to linger or, if they do, it's at a grave of a loved one. But think about all of the other stories that lie there.

Some of the older graves often have an interesting story to tell. In my local churchyard lies Ann Cook, wife of Thomas, who died in 18?4 (the grave is weathered too much to make out the detail), and underneath, in four simple lines, is her life story:

On a Thursday she was born,
On a Thursday she was a bride,
On a Thursday her leg was broke,
On a Thursday died.

Clearly, Thursdays were a mixed blessing for her, some being good, whilst others being not so good. But what a wonderful overview, and how poignant that such things all happened on a Thursday (albeit that, mathematically, there was a one in seven chance of these things happening on a Thursday anyway). Do other people remember the day such things happened in their lives?

In this cold weather, it's worth nipping into the church too. In the nearby village of Eardisley, the church has a memorial plaque, near the vestry, to the Barnsley family which recounts the terrible tale of their 'Bubbles Broken'. Anyone who has read Charles Dickens' Bleak House will spot the plot line laid out for all to see in this memorial. (And yes, records show that Dickens did visit the area.)

So, if you're stuck for inspiration, it might be worth hanging out with some folks of the past. You never know what you might come across. And if it was good enough for Dickens, then it's good enough for us!

Good luck!

Dee Do Do Do, Dee Dah Dah Dah ...

A student asked me last week about quoting a song lyric in a piece they were writing. Because they were only quoting one line, and were attributing it to the song and the composer, that was all right, wasn’t it?

No. The safest thing is not to quote a song lyric at all. Even if it’s only one line. To avoid breaching someone’s copyright, you should seek written permission from the copyright holder to use their words in your work. When permission is granted, you should then attribute that quote correctly to the copyright holder. (Authors often use the acknowledgments section of their book to formally thank those copyright holders who have given their permission for their work to be quoted in their text.) 

Whilst the law allows you to quote someone’s work without permission, it does so on the condition that you attribute those words to the person who owns the copyright, the amount you quote is deemed as reasonable, and you are quoting for review purposes. Of course, the law doesn’t actually stipulate how much is reasonable, which is where the lawyers come in!

So, if you’re not quoting for review purposes, then you must seek permission (and this student wasn’t reviewing the song). It is the copyright holder’s choice how much they charge for quoting their work. Some charge a fee, others are happy to waive a fee and simply ask for an acknowledgement. That’s up to them. However, many music copyright holders charge a fee - and rightly so - you are using their creation. (It's no different to writers charging a fee to magazines and book publishers for publishing their words.)

These fees can be substantial. In my book, The Positively Productive Writer, I wanted to quote the chorus from a song, but after making enquiries I realised the cost for this could be prohibitive. Instead, I found a different way of explaining the point I wanted to make. Thinking the cost might have been a touch unreasonable, I did a quick search on the Internet and discovered that, actually, the cost was similar to what other writers were being charged.

Blake Morrison wrote an excellent article about this in The Guardian about how he found out, to his cost, how expensive quoting lyrics could be. I recommend reading it. It could save you a fortune. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/01/blake-morrison-lyrics-copyright

So, if you absolutely must quote a particular song lyric in your work, get permission and then get out your chequebook. Because if you don’t get permission, the legal consequences could mean that bailing out Greece would be cheaper.

Good luck.

Sometimes "Yes" Is The Right Answer

I would like to point out that I don’t make a habit of standing on street corners touting for work. Before Christmas, I was stopped by a woman in the street who made a proposition. I was merely going about my usual daily walk when this woman, who I knew by sight, stopped me and said, “You’re that writer aren’t you?” (Which is always a difficult question to answer because you don’t know who that writer is, that they’re thinking about.)

Anyway, she asked me if I would be interested in writing a story for her, which she would give as a present for a relative. She didn’t want me to ghost-write the story - she wanted a writer to write a story that met her requirements.

“What do you want the story to be about?” I asked.

“Oh, anything you like,” she replied. “Except that it must have my relatives’ three cats in it.”

“Okay,” I replied. “ I’m sure I can come up with something.”

“Oh, and he likes the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so a fantasy story is what he’d really enjoy reading.”

“Right …”I replied, now panicking.

I don’t write a lot of fiction, but I do dabble. But I don’t do fantasy. I tried reading Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but they just don’t do it for me. I can’t be doing with those unusual names. I need to substitute Frodo for Fred, and Gandalf for Garry, but after a few pages I forget who Frodo should be, and who Gandalf was. Is he Garry or Graham? And then I realise that it’s too much hard work, so I stop reading them. But this woman was convinced I could do what she wanted and before I knew it, I’d uttered the word, “Yes.”

It wasn’t until I started walking home that I began to think about what I’d taken on. And this is a birthday present to someone celebrating a significant milestone - so no pressure there, then.

When I came to sit down and write this story, I had no idea what I was going to write about. The blank screen stared back and I racked my brain for an idea. Then I cursed myself, for yet again, I’d said “Yes,” to some work without thinking things through.

But as I’ve said here on this blog many times, it doesn’t matter what you write, just writing something. Only when you’ve written some words, do you have something to edit and work with. I assumed that I’d write a story of about 1,500 words. I felt that would be a suitable story length.

After an hour, I’d written nearly 1,000 words, and some semblance of a storyline was coming together. The following day I wrote another 2,000 words and a structure was beginning to reveal itself in the plot line. I couldn’t believe that I was 3,000 words in and not at the end of the story yet.

Three days later, I finished the first draft of the story, at 6,000 words. I was dead chuffed. There on the screen were 6,000 words I never dreamed I would ever write. It was even a (sort of) fantasy story.

After spending a couple of days editing and polishing, I finally plucked up the courage to deliver a copy to my commissioning woman. She telephone the following day to tell me how much she loved it. Phew! And because it is 6,000 words long, I’m getting it printed into a little book.

Looking back, I surprised myself how much I enjoyed writing the story. It was a style and subject matter that I never thought I would enjoy writing. But I did. And in the next few days there’ll be a little book - something tangible - for me to hand over to my customer. And there’s a clue as to how I eventually tackled this. This was any other writing job. I’m a supplier, and I had a customer who needed a job doing.

Sometimes in this writing world it’s a good idea to say, “Yes,” to something before you’ve really thought things through. It forces us out of our comfort zones. 

A few years ago there was a film produced on this principle, based loosely on a book by Danny Wallace, about a man who decided to say “Yes,” whenever an opportunity came his way. I’m not saying you need to change your life this drastically, but it can be beneficial to tackle a writing project where your gut instinct is to run a mile in the opposite direction. 

Good luck! 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you for following and commenting on my blog over the past twelve months. I hope that some of my ramblings have been of use to you.

Of course, whilst the New Year is a great opportunity to set up your goals for the coming year, don’t forget to look back and list everything that you achieved in 2012. This time last year my book, The Positively Productive Writer, had just been published and has, over the course of 2012, sold over 550 physical copies, and many more electronic copies. I hope it has helped those who have read it to start achieving their writing goals. (And if you haven’t got a copy yet, then perhaps you might want to consider buying a copy, too!)

The Positively Productive Writer essentially draws upon my own writing experience and techniques. It’s what has worked for me. You may recall a couple of postings ago, I mentioned about a project I was working on that I was having trouble with. I needed 20,000 words writing by the end of this year, and the words just weren’t flowing. So, I sat back and drew upon my own words of wisdom and created a set of goals to get that first draft written before Christmas.

And it worked. Not only that, but when I read through those 22,500 words (yes, I wrote more than was necessary - editing feels better when you throw words away, I find) they weren’t as dire as I first thought they were! So, by practising my own advice, I managed to get that project finished. By the time you read these words, that project will be sitting in the editor’s inbox: deadline achieved. There was no way I thought that was going to happen at the beginning of December!

Which brings me to a final point. Yes, set yourself some goals to achieve with your writing in 2013, but consider January too. Give yourself a mini-project to have completed by the end of January. It needn’t be big. Write an article. Or a short story. Just give yourself something to achieve in the next 31 days. You might surprise yourself.

I wish you all a prosperous and productive 2013.

Good luck!

Very Inspired Blogger Award

Thanks to Tracey Fells (The Literary Pig: http://tracyfells.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/inspired-to-write.html) for passing on the Very Inspiring Blogger Award to me. I found her 7 random facts that inspired her to write, quite intriguing! Actually, it’s quite a good time of year to reflect back on what our motives were that first encouraged us to write. Here are 7 random facts that inspire me to pick up a pen.

1. At the age of 14, I wrote to three famous writers asking for their advice. Playwright Alan Bleasdale told me to become a brain surgeon instead. It would be far quicker. He was right: it took me another 18 years before my first book was published, whereas, I believe, learning to undertake brain surgery takes about seven years … plus a little practise. (I’ve always assumed that to do brain surgery, one must have a brain int he first place.)

2. I was an avid reader of books from an early age, spending most of Saturday morning in the library choosing eight books, and then the rest of the weekend reading them. It’s always good to vary your reading matter. I’m currently reading The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. Not my usual reading matter, but I am enjoying it. It was reading other writers’ work that inspired me to want to write my own books.

3. After A levels, I opted to go to work, rather than University. (Creative Writing degrees weren’t as numerous back then, and if I had gone I would probably have studied my strongest subject at O and A level - economics. Eeeuurrgghh! Economics! How boring!) So, I joined Barclays Bank. (How boring, too!) I soon realised that banking wasn’t enjoyable either, which encouraged me to write in my spare time. Looking back, it also demonstrated that nothing in a writer’s life is wasted. Where do you think I drew inspiration for The Bluffer’s Guide to Banking, that was published twenty years after I’d left the bank? (Yes, I really am that old.)

4. I won a writing competition in 1998. Despite being drawn towards writing non-fiction, I had a go at writing a short story, and in April 1998, came first in the David Thomas Charitable Trust Writing Awards run by Writers’ News magazine, in their foggy morning competition. There’s nothing like winning a competition to spur you on! You can read it here: http://www.simonwhaley.co.uk/short-stories/blindingly-foggy/ 

5. You never know where this writing world will take you. After my first book was published Hodder & Stoughton invited me to London for the classic ‘author lunch’, which was truly amazing. (It was where they commissioned the second book, too.) Regular readers will remember that earlier this year I was a magazine model for Country Walking magazine. It was only by sitting down and writing something in the first place that these experiences were possible. This encourages me to write more.

6. The writer David Croft (Dad’s Army, Allo Allo, Hi De Hi) once said in a letter to me that an episode of Allo Allo took a couple of days to write and then months to get write. It’s a vital lesson we all have to learn an accept: just write any old rubbish - you can turn rubbish into a thing of beauty later. That’s why writing is a craft. So if you have an idea, write it down. Only then can you create something beautiful from it. 

7. The most unusual place I’ve been commissioned to do some work is in the street. (I really shouldn’t offer my services on street corners!) I was walking along the High Street and a passerby stopped me and said, “You’re that writer, aren’t you?” which is awkward because you never know which writer they’re referring to. But, she commissioned me to write a short story for some one’s birthday. And that’s what I love about this writing lark. You never know where the next job is coming from! 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you’re looking for a book to get your writing off to a good start in 2013, then may I be so bold as to suggest my very own The Positively Productive Writer. (http://www.simonwhaley.co.uk/non-fiction-books/the-positively-productive-writer/) If you want to know even more, then check out Radio Warrington on Thursday 27^th December between 6pm and 8pm, when the book will be reviewed. (For those not in the area, listen live via the Internet at http://radiowarrington.co.uk)

I’m passing this onto the following bloggers: Alex Gazzola (http://mistakeswritersmake.blogspot.co.uk), Lynne Hackles (http://lynnehackles.blogspot.co.uk) and Julie Phillips (http://jlpwritersquest.blogspot.co.uk).

Good luck. 

Happy Anniversary!

If you haven’t considered them already, 2013 marks some big anniversaries, which might make useful article or short story idea generators:

Pride and Prejudice: It's the 200^th anniversary of this novel’s publication. 

The Queen: It’s 60 years since her coronation (she became Queen in 1952, but the coronation was in 1953).

Stock Exchange: It’s 40 years since women were allowed into the London Stock Exchange.

Football: The world’s oldest professional association football league is founded, 125 years ago.

James Bond: 60 years ago in April 1953, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, is published.

Bouncing Bombs: It’s the 70^th anniversary of the Dam Buster raids over Germany with the bouncing bomb.

Flowers: It’s 100 years since the first Chelsea Flower Show.

Sex: A very British Scandal - it’s 50 years since the John Profumo Affair.

Victoria: 175 years ago  - the coronation of Queen Victoria.

Trains: It’s the 50^th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery.

Concorde: Concorde made her last commercial flight ten years ago.

Dr?: The BBC broadcast the first episode of Dr Who, fifty years ago.

Ripper: 125 years ago, Jack The Ripper was on his killing spree.

Big Ben: It’s 90 years since the chimes of Big Ben were first broadcast on radio by the BBC.

That should keep you busy during 2013 researching those!

Good luck!