History Writing Competition

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Writing competition

Where in the world do you feel most connected to the past?  That’s the question the June issue of BBC History Magazine would like you to answer in 400 words (or fewer). Your choice of place can be ‘any location that you deem to be historic, and it can be absolutely anywhere in the world.  It does not need to be a famous heritage site, nor somewhere where something momentous happened, but if it is such a place, that’s fine.’  Wherever you choose, they want you to say why the place in question matters to you, and how and why it has inspired you to enjoy or study the past. As you may guess, they’re not looking for a tour guide but ‘creative, inspiring writing that communicates the reasons for your enthusiasm’.

The winner is in for a treat.  Not only will their entry be published in the December issue of BBC History Magazine but they’ll also receive: two golden tickets to its History Weekend in Malmesbury (including accommodation for two from 15th–17th October); a framed print of their entry; afternoon tea with authors Alison Weir and Tracy Borman (to discuss the art of writing); and £500-worth of history books.  Five runners-up will also receive £50-worth of history books.

The closing date for entries is noon on Tuesday 1^st September 2015.  Full details on how to enter are at:  historyextra.com/inspiringhistory

The Grantchester Mysteries Vol 4

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Cambridge, clergy, Grantchester, James Norton, James Runcie, Robson Green, Sidney Chambers, televisation

The fourth and latest in the series of The Grantchester Mysteries was launched at the Church House Bookshop in Westminster last week, on 19 May. It’s Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins. It’s by James Runcie.

Like its three predecessors it has as its hero the Vicar of Grantchester, Sidney Chambers. Sensitive, likeable, with an MC (and traumatic memories) from WW2. This new volume consists of six stories, each self-contained: we see Sidney conscientiously carrying out his full-time parish ministry but also fitting in the solving of mysteries. The Forgiveness of Sins takes us from 1964 to 1966. As before we are still largely in the Grantchester and Cambridge setting.

At the launch James Runcie told us that his intention in writing the Grantchester Mysteries series was to explore the social history of Britain between 1953 and 1979, a period of enormous social change. The crime genre is a happy way of doing this and is, of course, highly popular at the moment. He speculated on whether the present-day appeal of the crime genre relates in some way to our squeamishness about death: it is no longer ever-present in daily life as it was in times past, and crime fiction provided us with one way of handling its mystery and issues of loss.

When creating Sidney Chambers the author had wanted to get away from the comic or foolish clergyman so often portrayed in the media, away from Derek Nimmo or Dick Emery caricatures and their modern equivalents. He has certainly succeeded in that. In answer to one question he told us that when writing Sidney he does not have in mind James Norton (who plays him in the TV series Grantchester), though when composing DI Keating, with whom Sidney collaborates when solving his mysteries, he now does so with actor Robson Green’s voice in his head. Sidney is a composite of various clergy James Runcie has come across, and the author’s upbringing was such that he came across more clergymen than most.

I’m much looking forward to reading The Forgiveness of Sins. The previous volumes are Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death, SC & The Perils of the Night, and SC & The Problem of Evil. They are published by Bloomsbury. The ISBN of SC & The Forgiveness of Sins is 978-1-4088-6220-9 and its hardback RRP is £14-99.

The photo shows James Runcie at the book launch.

 

 

 

 

The deadline approaches…

Just a reminder to anyone who thought ‘I must enter the Ninevoices competition’, followed by ‘The deadline is months away…’.

The deadline is May 31st, so it’s racing towards us at a rate of knots.  Each of us Ninevoices knows all about last minutes deadlines (some of us are proper tail-end Charlies, although one or two of us who aren’t me are very good at getting things in early).  For our sake, please don’t be one of the great rush on May 31st at midnight!  Thanks for all the stories so far; we’re looking forward to a good read.

Just to remind everyone of the details: the competition is open to everyone who’s earned £300 or less from writing in 2014, and all proceeds will go to PMRGCAuk, a charity for sufferers of linked rheumatic conditions that cause severe pain and can lead to sight loss.  First prize: £100, 2^nd prize: £50, 3^rd prize: £25.

For information about how to enter, go to our Competition page.  Detailed rules are on the Rules page.

What’s in a Name?

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Character names

There has been correspondence in the national press recently about names. One gentleman called Atticus wrote of mixed feelings about his mother’s enthusiasm for To Kill a Mockingbird. A teacher wrote of embarrassment caused on a school swimming trip by having to shout: ‘Cressida and Demosthenes, please come out of the pool!’

Names matter hugely. We have an immediate picture of the kind of homes that Atticus, Cressida and Demosthenes come from, don’t we? We can readily speculate about teasing in the playground and some who might ultimately be driven to give themselves alternative, boring, names. Others might pursue memorable lives to live up to memorable labels.

So do name your characters with care. ‘Demosthenes’ would surely make a great international crime lord. Or maybe a psychopath damaged by a troubled youth…

What is a good short story?

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Bridport Prize, competitions, judging, Short stories

‘All judging is arbitrary and personal.’ This was Kate Atkinson’s opening remark in her report as judge of the Bridport short story competition back in 2001. So, some consolation to the thousands who hadn’t won.

I read the report carefully. I intended to enter the competition the following year. What did this particular judge look for? ‘That elusive something that sends us away knowing our lives have been improved in some small indefinable way…every good story is a journey at the end of which the reader and the writer gain the satisfaction of having been taken somewhere. Somewhere else.’

This was inspiring advice. Every one of the short-listed stories published in the 2001 Bridport story collection had achieved this effect. If only one could write like that!

Tobias Hill, the judge in 2002, pointed out in his report that not all good writing makes good short fiction. ‘The short story has its own particular demands and it is not a short cut to a novel, or a poem unpacked from its shrinkwrap, or a play with the exits and pursuing bears all painstakingly painted in.’ Many of the Bridport entries ‘didn’t really understand what the short story is about, or what it is capable of doing.’ Mine was evidently one of them.

Rose Tremain made some pungent – and ultimately helpful – comments in her report in 2003. ‘It is as hard to write a really first-rate short story as it is to write a really first-rate poem. Both need a strong informing idea. Both demand an economy of means… Very few stories…had any poetic coherence. Very few had tight plotting. Very few sounded any original note and very few were either moving or funny.’

What did the winning ones have in common? ‘A sense that the writer knows what she/he is doing. Good writing is like a boat which doesn’t leak, which has a sure hand at the helm.’

A nice nautical allusion for those of us who feel all at sea when it comes to short stories – and something to keep us on course when we enter this year’s writing competitions.

 

 

‘How to Write Everything’

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David Quantick, Eddie Izzard, Follow the instructions, Put the hours in, Sir John Gielgud

David Quantick is a professional writer who has worked in almost every field: journalism, novels, radio and TV scriptwriting, helping Eddie Izzard with his autobiography, etc. He also is a writer for the world’s first internet sitcom. In How to Write Everything he talks about his craft, and if it’s in an area he’s not active in himself he interviews someone who is. The book is written in a humorous style.

His experience in and knowledge of the world of broadcast humour is well demonstrated in his passages about sitcoms, how to structure them, what the myths are etc.

The subjects/chapters are: Introduction, What is Writing?, Ideas and Where They Come From, Books and Publishing, Comedy and Performance, Writing Comedy, Films, Writing a Script and So On, Plays, Journalism, Poetry, Afterword., Bibliography, and Appendix. This last is an obscene anecdote told by Sir John Gielgud – for the text go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gielgud and scroll down to Note 18. In the book it is recorded that it is during the Hamlet soliloquy that the great man unfortunately pauses.

In the Introduction the author states that “I WILL REVEAL THE SECRETS OF WRITING. (Secret Number One: there are no secrets. Wait, come back…)”

There are few technical tips on wordcraft for budding writers in the book, but he does hammer home two general messages:

Put in the hours; and

Read the instructions.

In Chapter 1, for example, he stresses that you should write (every day if possible) and not wait for the Muse to call. Actually doing the writing may indeed encourage the Muse to call. And if there’s a house style for the publication you’re writing for, follow it. Furthermore, deadlines are good for you. They’ll make you do the work.

In Chapter 2, on Where Ideas Come From, his message is Keep Thinking. Ideas come from all directions, but you can help them come by not sitting at your desk just trying to make them come. Write yourself notes whenever a possible idea beckons.

Try your work on friends – as long as they will be critical and won’t just say your work is wonderful.

When trying to get an agent or a publisher interested – good presentation is essential. Follow the instructions on formatting to the letter.

So, there’s no short cut to writing success. Put the hours in is the book’s message.   I think we all feared that that was the case, but it’s salutary to have it emphasised by an experienced professional.

How to Write Everything by David Quantick. Published in 2014 by Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-78319-103-1  £12-99

 

Illustrated Stories for Children

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Children's books, Lauren Child

Children’s author Lauren Child is celebrating the 15-year anniversary of her Charlie and Lola books with an exhibition at Mottisfont, the National Trust property in Hampshire. This also includes an exciting children’s adventure trail.

This is the first retrospective of Lauren’s work and features around 50 artworks. It runs from 18 July to 6 September. Details from nationaltrust.org.uk/mag/mottisfont

This is a bit far from Tunbridge Wells, but some of you out there who are interested in children’s books may be able to take a look.

Her work is an example of children’s books that can be truly enjoyed by parents (and grandparents) as well.

‘A Different Joy’

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autism, children, special needs

I’ve learned of a forthcoming book written to help parents of children with autism, dyslexia, ADHD and other special needs. It’s A Different Joy, and is by Sarah-Jane Critchley. She writes that she has “two amazing and wonderful children who don’t do things the way everyone else does” and she is also Programme Head of the Autism Education Trust.

A Different Joy is written to tell parents what they need to know to help them relax and enjoy their children. It can be read before, after, with or without a diagnosis. It contains reassurance and practical signposting to organisations, sites, research and further information, and is intended to be not just a guide to raising a child with special needs, but also how to do so with grace, humour and joy.

It includes chapters on the things that worry parents most:

• An introduction to sane-ish parenting
• Diagnosis, acceptance and moving on
• Know your child
• Neurodiversity – what type of difference and when does it matter?
• Surviving competitive parenting – of course it’s personal!
• Stamina – keeping going when it seems impossible
• Family dynamics, siblings and wider family
• Perfect schools don’t exist. How to find the best you can
• Bullying, vulnerability and resilience
• From surviving to thriving.

You can read more at http://differentjoy.com/, where a sample chapter can be downloaded and the book can be pre-ordered. Printed copies will be available in the autumn.

Writing competition with a Czech or Slovak twist

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Czech, Migration, Slovak, Writing competition

Migration from one EU country to another is a controversial topic currently much in the news. Do you fancy poking this hornets’ nest? Entries featuring or referring to it would be welcome in the British Czech & Slovak Association’s 2015 writing competition.

Fiction or fact – both are welcome. A first prize of £300 and a second prize of £100 will be awarded to the best 1,500 to 2,000-word pieces of original writing in English on the links between Britain and the Czech or Slovak Republics (or their predecessor states), or describing society in transition in the Republics since 1989. Topics can include history, politics, the sciences, economics, the arts or literature.

The writer of this year’s winning entry will be presented with the prize at the BCSA’s annual dinner in London in November 2015. So the prize includes a free dinner for you and a companion ….

The winning entry will be published in the December 2015 issue of the British Czech and Slovak Review and the runner-up in a subsequent issue.

Submissions are invited from individuals of any age, nationality or educational background. Entrants do not need to be members of the BCSA. Entries should be received by 30 June 2015. An author may submit any number of entries. Entry is free.

All entries must be in English, prose, typed with double-spacing and no more than 2,000 words in length. (The recommended minimum is 1,500 words.)

Entries should be submitted by post to the BCSA Prize Administrator, 24 Ferndale, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 3NS, England, or by e-mail to prize@bcsa.co.uk.

For the full submission guidelines apply to the Prize Administrator or see http://www.bcsa.co.uk/specials.html

Shock, surprise and slice

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first lines, last lines, Short stories

‘Don’t forget that the last sentence in your essay is the one that the examiner reads before he awards you a mark!’ – the warning once given by a canny English teacher.

An earlier ninevoices post commented on the advice given to writers about how first lines need to grab a reader’s attention. In short stories the last line is probably equally important – and difficult to write. There is no time for a gradual wind up of the story, the ending must come suddenly, like a ruthless slice of the knife. Ideas for openings and closings with their essential element of shock, surprise and fulfilment – these are often the initial inspiration for an imagined short story. But it’s interesting that some writers say they delete sentences from their original beginnings and endings to achieve a slicing effect which resonates and haunts the reader’s mind.