Acceptances and a hard nights work.

After coming home to three rejections last week I was cheered up yesterday by Friction Magazine accepting two of my poems. I am glad when circumstances redress the balance of effort put in.
Last night I was working on my first and probably only, novel. It was very difficult. It's a crime thriller and has heroes and villains. I was working on a scene that established the evil nature of one villain. I was writing a scene where was being violent towards the heroine. I dug deep into my own and anecdotal experiences. I found myself getting quite stressed by it. I abhor violence, especially mindless, cruel violence. Putting myself inside the head of someone who was prepared to attack and murder was quite traumatic. I hadn't expected it to be so visceral. I also didn't want the violence to be gratuitous or extreme, yet I did want the scene to be darkly atmospheric and believable. I finally finished the scene at god knows what time this morning feeling wrung out. I haven't read it back yet. I shall leave a couple of days and then see how it looks.

Also this week. I'm looking forward to reading my poem at the GWN event at the Cheltenham Lit. Fest. Hope you can be there.

A welcome back. Not.

On my computer when I got back from a lovely holiday. Three rejections in my emails. Two from poetry submissions and one short story submitted to a memoir magazine. thankfully they were all pleasant and polite. At the end of the year I usually tot up how many submissions I have sent out plus the number of rejections/acceptances I have received It's amazing how many places reject as opposed to accepting work.Many places don't even acknowledge that your work ever got to them. It's not nice to be left hanging on for an indefinite period of time but I suppose its the weight of work they have. Comparing editors comments is interesting too (that is if they make any). The more of them you read the more you realize that that they accept or decline work based on personal preference. All we can do is keep submitting. I'm looking forward to Buzzwords tonight. I have a few new poems which I aired at Poetry Cafe just before my holiday. I might use these again simply because I am still tired and don't feel like preparing anything else today..

Today's little bit of blog.

this morning I read my friends re-edit of the opening chapter of the book I had looked at for her. Wow! the difference is amazing. She has really pulled it together. I hope she sends it out when it is complete. It's a great story.
Also today I have entered the National Poetry Competition run by The Poetry Society. I have sent off three poems that I am pleased with. They are quite new too. It's nice to have something fresh and sparkly to send. I also ruthlessly deleted a couple of poems that had been lurking for years and for which I just couldn't find that definitive change.I had a problem with the website for the National though. I wanted to submit on-line as it is so much easier. However, the website would not accept a change of amount and would only bill me for one poem. However I tried.(Four times.) It would't let me change the amount. I resorted to the post in the end. Good job I didn't leave it till right up to the deadline. I am looking forward to going to Poetry Cafe in Cheltenham tomorrow. Lovely venue. Very nice people. Gorgeous poetry. Hope you go too.

GWN event details.

I've put the details below of this years Gloucester Writers Network Event. It's where the winners of the competition read their stories and poems. There is usually an excellent quest poet too. Please support this event. There is often little space at Literary Festivals for local talent. This event is a good showcase for local poetic talent. I shall be there. I hope that you will too.

Sorry, couldn't copy the picture of the fabulous tent.

Some of the best writers in Gloucestershire will be presenting their work at the Cheltenham Literature Festival
7.30pm Tuesday 11 October 2011.
The Spiegeltent, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham.

Tickets (£6) are available through the Festival Box Office – 01242 505444
or via the website

New Graffiti Magazine Competition.

I have been busy. As well as the poems about Cornwall I have been working on I have started a couple of Autumnal pieces and two poems about the Painter Robert Lenkeiwicz who I knew in Plymouth and who I once modelled for. Today's blog though is to tell you about the latest writing competition from Graffiti magazine and Editor Rona Laycock. Graffiti is a great local mag. Filled with good poetry and prose by people you may well know if you live in Gloucestershire. I like to enter the competitions Rona sets. They are always stimulating, plus she doesn't charge a silly amount to enter. I've put the details below. Have a go. I am.


‘Urban Tales’ Short Story Competition Rules

This competition is all about towns and cities and the people who live and work in them. Dark and dangerous or shopper’s paradise, foreign or familiar, mean streets or boulevards, send us your short stories.
1. Closing date 30 October 2011
2. Entries must be in English and be the writer’s own unpublished work. They must not be on offer for publication or entered in any other current competition.
3. Maximum length 1,000 words.
4. Each piece of work, with its title, must be in clear type on one side of A4 sheet(s). Details of the writer must not appear on this sheet.
5. The name and address of the writer and the titles of all entries should be typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper.
6. The prize-winner will be notified by post, if SAE provided, or by email if email address is provided.
7. Entries are only accepted by post. Please keep a copy of your work, as entries will not be returned.
8. The fee is £2 per story. Cheques/Postal Orders in sterling only, should be made payable to:
Catchword Writing Group
9. All entries that arrive on time will be considered by the adjudicator, whose decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into concerning the result.
10. Competitors wishing to be informed of the results should enclose an SAE marked ‘Results’ or provide an email address.

Send entries to: Graffiti Magazine Writing Competition
C/o 33 Sandford Leaze
Avening
Glos
GL8 8PB

Prize: £25 The winning entry will also be published in Graffiti.

Editing.

I have just finished editing (to a point) and reading with a view to being a critical friend, a book written by a friend. it took a long time. I don't consider myself an editor. It's just that I have had more experience of writing than she has and I have taken about nine courses that have dealt with characterisation, plot, dialogue etc. so, I set to. I hope I did a good job. My friend is very pleased with my comments and found them constructive and practical. She is following the things I said and re-writing parts of the book. Her story, I felt, was well written and deserves publication. I wish her all good luck in pitching it. If she is successful with it I shall be proud to have had some input.Good luck Jay!. Since last writing I have worked on eight or nine new poems all sparked off by the workshop that preceded last Sundays buzzwords. I love it when the words flow. I have also submitted to two places today and written my journal. I only wish that my Arthritic hands did not make typing and writing so difficult. Never mind. the harder is to do something, the more we appreciate the result.Haven't worked on my book today. the plot is wriggling in my head like eels in a barrel. I shall carry on when my thoughts settle down. More next time.

One step closer.

You may remember that a few weeks ago I sent a pitch and a sample of six poems to a publisher. I heard yesterday that they liked the sample six and they have asked to see the full collection. I have carefully proof-read the poems (again) checked spacing etc. etc. and sent them off. Now I have to wait. the Editors are off on holiday for a couple of weeks so I don't expect them to read my work until they get back and into their work heads. I shall try to put it out of my mind and not think about it. Also, H and I go away just as they return so there will be a static three weeks with no information. In the scheme of publishing things this isn't long but when you're waiting...well...you know how it goes. It is one step closer. Even if the collection is rejected it is still a good thing to get so close. Wish me luck?