Swanwick65: The Inner Child Sails 'Fourth'

Tuesday is traditionally the quiet, easy day at Swanwick. Half-way through the Summer School, it's time to take a breath and look around; maybe go on a half-day visit to a local place of interest (Chatsworth House, Bletchley Park etc); or spend the afternoon dozing (sorry, I mean writing) on the lawn or in our rooms.

For many members, today was still like that - but not for the hardy souls signed up for Alexa's Procrastination-Free Day. From 10am to 4pm today, we switched off our mobiles and our internet connections (well most of us did) and wrote in 15 - 30 minute blocks, with breathing spaces in between. We set our goals at the start of the day (some quantitative; some qualitative) and kept score as we went along. Everyone declared the day a success and several of us exceeded our targets. Alexa was a brilliant facilitator (even if I did think at one point that she was threatening to lock us in the room during lunchtime).

And the inner child? Well she was delighted to get one star for reaching her day's word total by lunchtime and a second one for passing all her milestones by the end of the day. And she's going to wear them with pride until the end of the week! This was probably the best day I've ever spent at Swanwick, bar none. Can we do it again next year please?

 

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Back on Saturday, I said I would take a stroll around the (to me) newly-discovered Lake at some point. Well so far, I've not put my nose outside the door, except to hurry from the main buildings to the accommodation blocks and back again. But this afternoon, after such a productive workshop, I finally made it. The sun was shining, there was no breeze and the reflections in the water were stunning.

 

 

 

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For the larks among us, there are a number of activities running each morning before breakfast. There's 'Lift Up Your Hearts' in the Chapel; Meditation down by the lake; or my choice for this year, 'Lift Up Your Pens'. At yesterday's session, Julia gave us Cadbury's chocolate to eat (all in the cause of writing, of course). Today there were no physical treats,  but Tarja's exercise to examine our unwritten and largely self-imposed 'writing rules' and then to give ourselves permission to ditch, amend or rewrite them in a more helpful way was a gift to this scientist who spends much of her life working 'by the book'. One rule I discovered was "Only write in the morning; do not ever attempt to write in the afternoon". Well, I've proved that one can go, haven't I?

 

***

 

Tonight's guest speaker was Zoe Lambert, author of The War Tour,  an anthology of transcultural short stories centring, as the title suggests, on wars. She made some interesting points about the ethics of writing 'other people's stories' and feels that on balance it is better to write, well and sensitively, rather than not write at all, since in the ensuing silence, some important stories might never be told. She also talked about the difference between writing from a victim's point of view versus trying to get inside the mind of the oppressor. She finished with a great quote from Chekhov: let the jury judge them; it's my job simply to show what sort of people they are. 

Swanwick65: The Third Degree

There's been a lot of questions, not to say interrogations, one way and another today - more of which later.

 

But first, let's pop back into Day 2 for a moment, to acknowledge what is rapidly becoming yet another Swanwick tradition: Buskers' Night. Too late to make it into yesterday's instalment, the third annual BN was only for night owls, starting as it did after 11pm and not finishing until half past midnight. (OK, I know that's an early night for some hardened Swanwickers, but if you're a lark pretending to be an owl, it's really late!).

The audience was treated to a great mix of music, from Connie Francis to The Stranglers, by way of a lament by the wife of a trumpet-playing folk singer and a beautiful guitar duet from a 1950s French film. But for me, the star turns of the show were John and Zana, Swanwick's answer to The Proclaimers, with the appropriately-named '500 Words', followed by John's solo performance of 'Patricia the Stripper'. Many thanks to Mark and the Gang for putting it all together.

***

This afternoon  saw the first ever Swanwick Tweet-Up, followed by Twitter101 which, as I predicted yesterday, attracted a large crowd. There were quite a few novices, who took the opportunity to grill the more experienced Tweeps on everything from how to sign up; what exactly is a hash tag; and how to block an unwanted follower. The session became quite interactive, with occasional side-meetings to deal with immediate issues (usually with phones) and although it's probably fair to say that not everyone's questions were answered, there are now more Swanwickers on Twitter than there were at the start of the week. Whether they all know why - or what to do next, is another question.

 

And if anyone hears a rumour that I've been blocked from Twitter for spamming, it's just the accidental consequence of a demonstration that went slightly astray.

 

***

 

Another full house today heard Meg Davis give an agent's view of 'Editing Your Manuscript'.  I'm sure I wasn't the only person in the room to realise that maybe I'm not quite as far down the road as I thought I was - but certainly left with lots of hints on the next step in the journey. Meg also showed that she has a great (if slightly child-centred) taste in movies.

 

***

 

Tonight's speaker was a Swanwick regular, Michael O'Byrne, a former Chief Constable whose anecdotes on 'thirty odd years of policing' had us roaring with laughter, while the crime writers among us heard some home truths. We learnt that writers deal with bodies very badly in general; policemen do not throw up at the sight of a dead body, whatever its state; and that the best way to recreate the smell of a corpse (should one wish to do so in the interest of research and authenticity) involves fish, plastic bags and sunshine. Frankly, I'm glad I'm not a crime writer.



Swanwick65: Seconds Out...

Well, we've not got to the stage of fisticuffs yet, but we've virtually had a real fight in the world of Swanwick (do you see what I've done there?). I've been coming here since 2007 and even in that relatively short period of time (in Swanwick terms) things have changed a lot.

In my first year, everyone used paper and pens to take copious notes of all the speakers' pearls of wisdom. Today, we had almost as many keyboards in use as writing implements - and in fact many of us are taking fewer notes as everything will be available online after the week is over.

 

But it's not so much the issue of paper versus electronic notebooks that is causing (sometimes heated) debate, so much as the question of social media: Facebook, Twitter - even blogs. It is a topic which seems to polarise opinions. There are many who believe absolutely that having an online presence (or a 'platform' in the marketing jargon) is essential, especially for those of us who are 'independently published'. On the other hand, there are still a lot of people who refuse categorically to 'get involved in any of that stuff'. And although there are obviously some generational influences on this, it's not completely youngsters versus oldies (as I hope I am demonstrating right here). I believe it's more a case of fear of the unknown versus willingness to have a go.

 

In today's session on 'Promoting Your Work', our workshop leader, the wonderful Marion Hough, told us she didn't 'do social media' and had no interest in it. By the end of the session, after talking about some of the benefits that can be gained, I think we may have persuaded her to change her mind or at least consider it. It will be interesting to see how many people turn up for Fiona's Twitter 101 tomorrow afternoon. I suspect it might be a full house!

 

***

 

Today was a full working day for me. The two sessions on the Business Skills Toolbox seemed to go well (although I suppose I would say that. wouldn't I?). I had a small, select group (but then I was up against three other excellent courses, including one by last night's speaker James Moran). However, what my group lacked in numbers, they more than made up for in enthusiasm. We stuck to the time schedule (well, we were covering time management, so we had to) but also managed to deal with a wide range of questions around the subjects of increasing productivity and setting up appropriate financial records.

 

 

But my favourite session of the day has to be the Write Around with which we finished the afternoon. Around a dozen White Badgers (where was everyone else?) examined the assorted items I provided as a trigger for 'Write a Life'. As you can see, it was a real cocktail - and the eight brave souls who read their pieces out for us showed great skill in concocting finished pieces of flash fiction; the beginnings of short stories; and one wonderful poem.  As always happens with this sort of exercise, there were as many interpretations and ideas as there were writers in the room. A huge thanks to all of you for making this session such fun. I hope to see you all again tomorrow evening, when someone else will be providing the trigger and I shall be on the same side of the table as the rest of you.

 

***

 

Tonight's speaker was Syd Moore, author of The Drowning Pool and Witch Hunt. I have to admit to being what my sister calls 'a real scaredy cat' when it comes to anything touching on the supernatural and so two novels written as ghost stories are never going to make it on to my To Be Read list (sorry Syd!) However, she was a brilliant speaker and particularly moving when talking of her research into the dreadful stories of how so-called witches were treated in the seventeenth century. 

 

Syd is also a great reader and the passages from her books had us all on the edge of our seats. I'm not sure whether Ian's defibrillator was needed at the end of the session, but the effect of a flicked switch on two hundred plus writers was electrifying. And I have to admit I'm typing this in my room with the curtains tightly closed and every single lamp lit. If anyone has bad dreams tonight, we'll know who to blame in the morning, won't we?

 

Swanwick65: A Day Of Firsts

It's been a real day of firsts. Obviously, it's the first day of Swanwick, with all that entails: the hugs on greeting old friends; the satisfaction of delivering books to Lois in the book room; the effort of collecting keys and carrying bags all the way through Lakeside before settling into my home for the next week; the regret at absent friends (and you know who you are); and the sorrow at friends lost for ever.

But for me, there were a few other firsts:

It's the first time I've ever seen the lake. And yes, I know this is my fifth visit to Swanwick and I should be ashamed of myself - but what can I say? I've always been on the wrong side of the building; or in a different building; or it's been raining (actually, it's usually been raining)! But now, I know where the lake is and I may even take a stroll around its perimeter after lunch some of the days.

It's the first time I've been on the team of key stewards - and it was a great way to throw myself straight into the week. I'm normally quite shy when I get here and find it difficult to talk to people, but there's nothing like 'being on duty' for breaking the ice. I now know where all the rooms are in the Main House, how many steps there are in each staircase - and how to tell the difference between the keys for rooms 6 and 9.

 

It's the first time I've attended the White Badger reception as  Workshop Leader and actually behaved appropriately, as opposed to hiding in the corner. I talked to complete strangers, aware that they might be far more nervous than I was; answered questions about my workshops (tomorrow, 9:30am and 2:15pm for anyone who wants to Sharpen Their Business Tools); and gave the usual warning to the 'Swanwick Virgins' about not trying to do everything on the programme. Of course, they won't take any notice of that last piece of advice, but why should they - we didn't in our first year either.

 

It's the first time I've refused second helpings at lunch; chosen fruit instead of chocolate dessert; ignored the cake and doughnuts at teatime; and only had a half slice of cheesecake at supper time. Yes, this year, I WILL pace myself; I WILL go home the same weight as I arrived; I will NOT overeat!

 

So much as I really appreciate the surprise presented to me at the Chairman's Welcome (for working on the newsletter), that's one box of chocolates that's going to remain closed until I get home and can share them. And really will be a first!

 

  

Our first guest speaker of the week was James Moran, TV and film screenwriter whose credits include episodes of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Spooks and Primeval (and what's not to like about a man who brings David Tennant to the Hayes Conference Centre on a Saturday evening, even if only virtually?).

 

In what Diana Wimbs described as: "a Master Class for all types of writing" James took us on a journey from the primary school classroom where, as a four year old, he used to draw pictures of houses on fire and first wrote a story exceeding 4 words; via the filming of his first screenplay, where the reality of what was happening sent him "to hide in the toilet and cry for ten minutes"; to the experienced professional of today, who still thinks he's "going to be found out one of these days".

 

The key messages from his presentation were:

 

• There are no excuses! If you don't have the time to write, don't write - let someone else do it instead;
• You're not a writer if you've not finished your first script;
• Don't go online and complain that something is rubbish and you could do better - you probably couldn't;
• Rejections do not go away; in fact the better known you become, the more you pitch for and hence the more rejections you are likely to get;
• Rewriting is a fact of life;
• You will meet some wonderful people, a joy to work with - and you will meet some who are the complete opposite, many of whom will look about 12;
• Confidence is important; a good phrase to remember is: "what we need to do is..."
• Seeing your name on screen for the first time is a wonderful moment.

In summary, James' advice was to be nice to everyone you meet; read lots; write (and rewrite) lots - and kill people violently on screen.

 

And if that doesn't sound like a comfortable life, as he reminded us, we could be digging holes for a living instead.

A New Blog for a New (Writing) Year

July is finished; my writing break is over. I had great fun during my month off, as you can probably tell from the last piece I posted, but by the beginning of August my batteries were recharged, I was raring to go (and, as you can see, my cliché meter was running on full — must work on that!) So here we go with the new style blog for a new writing year.

For lots of writers in the UK, and a handful of overseas visitors, August means one thing: Swanwick, the Writers’ Summer School. Starting on Saturday evening and running through to the following Friday morning, it’s the chance for around 300 writers to meet, talk, learn, teach, celebrate successes, commiserate with disappointments, mourn missing friends, act, dance and laugh together. Oh yes, and to write as well. This year, Swanwick celebrates its 65th anniversary. There won’t be anyone there who’s been to all the previous sixty four events, but there will be writers who’ve been going for thirty years or more.

And there will also be the newbies, the ‘White Badgers’, attending for the first time, some of whom may be feeling very nervous and wondering how they’ll get on. Well, they have no need to worry. I have never attended such a welcoming, caring, inclusive gathering as Swanwick. From the opening session where we will be welcomed by the current Chair, Diana Wimbs, to the traditional waving off of the coach on the last morning, every person they meet will be interested in what they are writing, will ask what their plans are, and will be willing to share their experiences and offer support.

We’re going to have a great time, guys. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again — and once again, I will be attempting to blog about each day as we go along, for those of you who aren’t going to be able to make it this year.

 ***

But for me, the beginning of August has another meaning: it’s the launch of the Chudleigh Phoenix Annual Short Story competition. Once again, I’m joined on the judging panel by journalist/author Sharon Cook and writer/writing tutor Katherine Bolton-Parris who runs The Write Retreat in Brittany. We really look forward to reading all the entries after the closing date (31st January 2014). You can read the previous winners here and find out how to enter this year’s competition here.

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One of the best courses I attended at last year’s Swanwick was on e-Publishing by the irrepressible Peter Jones who self-published and marketed his straight-talking, jargon-free book How to do Everything and be Happy so successfully that it has recently been republished by Harper Collins. Peter generously shared with us his seventeen point toolbox for successful marketing. One thing he said made a great impression on me: be careful not to fall into the trap of marketing to people who only want to market to you — you want to reach readers, not other authors. Now before all my writing buddies stop reading in disgust, let me say that I would add one word to Peter’s advice: you want to reach readers, not just other authors. I’ve learnt in the past few years that writers are very generous with their time and their support. There are some wonderful networking groups out there, whether on social media platforms or gathered around tables in pubs, Town Halls or people’s houses. And authors are avid readers too. But there is no denying the truth behind Peter’s advice: there are a huge number of readers out there who are not writers.

For the past year, I’ve been blogging about the business side of being a writer. That’s a topic of interest to writers (and even then, to some more than others) but with little to attract non-writing readers (apart from the occasional accountant or tax expert maybe). That series of articles is now finished and I’m replacing it with this new-style posting which will be a mixture of general, writing-related news such as the piece about Swanwick; marketing information such as the launch of the short story competition; and a short piece of new fiction. The latter is aimed at readers and potential readers of my work. I hope you enjoy my words — and that they will keep you coming back for more.

Going Away To Get Away

"Have you booked a holiday yet," friends have been saying all year. "When are you going away?" "We're not," I reply, "at least not in the sense you mean."

 We're fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the country (Devon), we work for ourselves, so have no bosses to get away from and, having travelled internationally for many years on business, have nowhere we are burning to visit. As my husband says frequently, if ungrammatically: "what would we be going away from?"

However, I’m in the middle of my own, very special, summer holiday at the moment. For 17 days in July, our small town has a summer festival, Chudfest, followed by CarnivalWeek. I am one of the organisers of the festival and also take part in some of the Carnival events. Since 5th July, I have: marshalled at a rock concert; danced at the Summer Ball; applauded the entrants of Chudleigh’s Got Talent; served squash to more than a hundred toddlers at the Teddy Bears’ Picnic; assisted the question masters in the Quiz; sold books, listened to workshop leaders and other authors at the Literary Festival; marvelled at Nicholas Parsons’ memory for Lear’s poetry; laughed until I got stitch at the Comedy Club; supped at the chocolate fountain, drunk pink fizz and taken part in my first ever Karaoke session at the Pink Pamper Party; finally got the hang of line dancing at the Hoedown; sold programmes and won on the ferret race at the Fete; marshalled for the 6 mile road race and walked in the Carnival Procession as part of the Chudfest entry (we came third in our class and the fact that there were only three entries did not dim our pleasure one bit!).

  

In addition, I’ve slept in the marquee three times (on security duty, not because I couldn’t find my way home) and learned: it gets very cold at night, even in the middle of the hottest summer for years; the church bells ring out the hours every hour, throughout the night; and we have owls, seagulls, pigeons and crows in the playpark - all of whom can be very noisy!  I’ve also been part of the team that liaised with the local press, put up banners and delivered brochures to every house in town.

I spent two wonderful days working with the local primary school, putting together a Chudfest special edition of Chudleigh Phoenix, our community newsletter. Our Junior Press Team were a credit to the town, the school and their parents.

 

What I haven’t done is write. I normally try to write everyday and set myself goals on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. I don’t always keep to them, but they provide a structure which this scientist and former production manager needs. At the back end of June, I started feeling guilty that I was not able to spend enough time writing — and I knew it would get harder as we moved into July.

I ‘gave up the day job’ to write full-time in March 2012. In fact, writing is now my day job. I love being a writer; I enjoy it especially when the words flow and the word count grows. I don’t want it to be a chore, although I realise there are times when one stares at the blank page or screen — and it just stares back! And I certainly don’t want to end up feeling guilty when other things have to take priority.

 

So, I gave myself a month off! I made no plans to write during July (although there has been an occasional burst, like this posting, which would not be suppressed). My notebook is brimming with ideas for new stories. An old friend visited us last week and left me with a brilliant plotline I can’t wait to get written. I am keen to get back to the novel and implement the advice I got during the Winchester Writers Conference. In a couple of weeks I will be heading to Derbyshire for this year’s Swanwick Writers’ Summer School, which is the traditional start of my writing year and we’re launching the fourth annual Chudleigh Phoenix short story competition. It’s going to be a brilliant year.

But first, I have a few more fun things to do before the end of the month and I’m going to enjoy my holiday to the full.

 

What are your views on holidays? Do you have to go away to get away?   

Who You Gonna Call? The Professionals

Last week we talked about informal networks and especially the support we can get not just from the writing community but also from other small businesses. Today, we’re going to think about the support we might need from the professionals.

When we talked a while ago about financial matters, emphasis was placed on simple, appropriate systems and preferably low-cost options for our business. However, it is very likely that we will need to use an accountant at some point, especially if we have a limited company. Accountants, or should I say accountancy firms, come in all shapes and sizes, from the local one-man/woman bands to the larger practices with many partners. In general terms, the smaller the practice, the lower the cost, but also the more narrow the expertise and experience available. When we started our company more than twenty years ago, we used a small local accountancy firm. It was simple, like our affairs. However, as the business grew and moved into more complex areas of finance (just how do you deal with a tax demand from Kazakhstan?) we moved to another practice with more partners and the right experts for our business. It is most important that our accountant (or indeed anyone else we turn to for advice) understands our business.

As well as financial support, we may well need legal advice on occasion, for example when we are setting up our business, signing contracts or drafting our wills. The obvious option, and one that many businesses will use, is to engage a lawyer. However, that is not a low-cost solution and there are alternatives that can be explored. There is the Business Link helpline which provides a quick response service for simple questions about starting or running a business or a more in-depth service for complex enquiries. There is the Citizens’ Advice Bureau which would be able to provide support to individuals, but probably not to limited companies. Or there are business support organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses which provides members with legal and financial advice. As writers, we have our own support via the Society of Authors which can help members with queries relating to the business of writing. Services include the confidential, individual vetting of contracts, and help with professional disputes.   

I’ve often found the answer to a query on the HMRC website, but there are also helplines that deal with specific questions, such as the New Employers Helpline, the New Self Employed Helpline, the Self Assessment Helpline and the VAT Helpline. These numbers can be found via a quick internet search.

So whatever our query or problem, there will be someone who can help us, either for free or as a paid service, depending on the circumstances. It’s worth being aware of all these services, so we can call on them rapidly if we need them.

***

I posted my first article on the Business of Writing exactly a year ago. Today, I am finishing the series (at least for the time being). We’ve talked, among other things, about setting up a business, selecting the right business structure, writing our objectives and designing our financial systems. I’m going to put the whole series of articles into an ebook, which will be out later this year. I will also be presenting a short course on the business skills toolbox at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School next month. But for now, it’s time to get down to business and for me that means writing more short stories and flash fiction, while holding my novel’s hand while it takes its first steps into the big wide world that is Agent Land. Maybe I’ll meet some of you on your journeys?