Write Foxy!

Write Foxy! Writers’ Inspiration Day

I attended the Write Foxy! Writers’ Inspiration Day on the 2nd November at the De Vere Village Urban Resort in Dudley. A day packed with invaluable information and talks from well-established authors. The day was geared up to put the fun back into writing. Once we start seeing our writing as a career it can often become all about the deadlines and we lose sight of why we write in the first place. It’s easy to forget the fact that this has been your dream job for years, or in my case from about the age of 6 or 7! Longing to be the next Roald Dahl, only a slightly shorter more feminine version!

The day was organised by Miranda Dickinson who is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of Fairytale of New York, Welcome to My World, It Started With a Kiss, When I Fall In Love and Take A Look At Me Now. She has sold over 500,000 books worldwide to date and has become an international bestseller in three countries. Known for her author vlogs and honest take on the publishing industry, Miranda has mentored new authors and works to encourage writers at all stages of their writing careers.

There were talks from brilliant authors... Hannah Beckerman - Author of The Dead Wife's Handbook (Penguin) www.hannahbeckerman.com

Tamsyn Murray - Author of the Stunt Bunny series (Simon & Schuster Children's) and Afterlife series (Piccadilly Press) http://www.tamsynmurray.co.uk

Cally Taylor - Author of The Accident - as CL Taylor (Avon) http://www.callytaylor.co.uk/

And of course, Miranda Dickinson - Author of five Sunday Times Bestsellers, including Fairytale of New York and Take A Look At Me Now (Avon) http://miranda-dickinson.com/

The informative talks covering many aspects of writing from editing to putting the fun back into writing, were punctuated with plenty of refreshments and snacks. There was even a writers’ den adorned with lovely owl lights, comfy cushions and sweeties if you wanted a space to work on some writing. I must admit I was too enthralled by the speakers to tear myself away for any writing. I preferred to network with fellow writers who all had a varied range of experience and interesting backgrounds. I do so love to spend time in the company of like-minded individuals. There is no one that understands the daily struggle of listening to the voices in their head and putting these ideas on to paper than other writers. To paraphrase Alice in Wonderland, we’re all entirely bonkers, all the best writers are!

A wonderful buffet lunch was also provided. There’s nothing like a plentiful supply of food to put the icing on the cake for an event for me!

I made some new friends, made great contacts, and met writers I’d admired from afar! The autographed books I collected testify to this even if I did feel like a geeky author groupie/stalker! But then I believe you can’t write well unless you read well, so it’s not stalking its research and networking!

It might sound childish but I was really excited to hear that we were getting goodie bags! And I wasn’t disappointed with the writerly treats. Notebooks, pens, the staple diet of writers were included. As well as a 2015 diary, foxy card, chocolates amongst other items. Needless to say, I was a happy camper!

All in all, Write Foxy! Was a fantastic day that I would and have been recommending to fellow writers’. I enjoyed it so much that I’m already booked up for the next one on the 8^th February, you can find details for that at: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/write-foxy-writers-inspiration-day-february-2015-tickets-11388516359?aff=eorg

The fantastic writers speaking at this event are Kate Harrison, Julie Cohen, Rowan Coleman and once again the wonderful event organiser and writer Miranda Dickinson, who makes everyone feel right at home and very welcome!

What I'm Reading...

This month I have read 'The Voyages of the Princess Matilda' by Shane Spall, wife of actor Timothy Spall.

After watching Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea, Back at Sea and All at Sea, a set of three BBC Four television series that follow the journey of actor Timothy Spall and his wife Shane as they take their £200,000 52 feet (16 m) long ocean going Dutch barge, the Princess Matilda, on a trip around the British Coast including Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, I couldn't wait to get stuck into Shane Spall's books as they give so much more detail and background than the programmes can.

As someone who loves the british waterways and have only had brief trips aboard barges, I now long for the open sea on a dutch barge! That's how beautiful Shane's descriptions are of locations and adventures along the way. It draws you in from the word go and paints so many pictures, you feel like you're on the journies with the Spalls.

I was laughing out loud at parts, and crying in others. It's a wonderful tale of living life to the full, and staring death in the face whether it comes in the form of leukemia or the turbulent tides ever threatening The Princess Matilda and it's crew. Shane and Tim's banter reminded me of my husband and I as they bickered and made friends in the blink of an eye, and shared moments of tenderness, true love and enjoyment.

It's a beautifully written book, that at times is funny, scary and the start to an adventure of a lifetime. I'm yet to read 'The Princess Matilda Comes Home' but I certainly intend to after reading 'The Voyages of the Princess Matilda', and will certainly recommend this book to many :)

Below is the write up from Amazon...

'Tim and I both understood we had done something really stupid. We had underestimated the danger involved in going out to sea. We had no radio, compass, life raft or flares. In other words, we were a couple of idiots.'


This is the story of Shane and Timothy Spall and their Dutch barge The Princess Matilda. After a summer on the Thames they head out to sea with only a road atlas and a vast amount of ignorance - and it is absolutely terrifying!


On their travels, memories are triggered of childhood trips to the seaside, but also of more recent times. A decade before, Tim had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia and was given only days to live. Shocked at how life can pass you by they decided that when, and if, Tim got better, they would buy a boat.


As Tim and Shane explore the coast from the Medway to Cornwall, eventually they start to wonder, could they make it out of England altogether? Could Matilda make it to ... Wales?!

Taking over five years, The Voyages of The Princess Matilda is a minor epic, charting a very personal, moving and uplifting story of an everyday couple's adventure around their much loved homeland.


** Winner of the British Travel Press's Narrative Travel Book of the Year Award **

Write Foxy!

I've booked myself onto the 'Write Foxy! Writers' Inspiration Day' on the 2nd November in Dudley. I'm very excited as there will be four writers whose work I have read and enjoyed. I'm looking forward to both meeting them and also seeing what advice and inspiration they have for me and the others attending the course.

As far as I know there are a few tickets left, so I'll put the details below incase anyone else fancies booking up. There's another day in the new year too, on the 8th February.

Back by popular demand - the inspirational day for writers from bestselling author Miranda Dickinson!

Speakers confirmed:
Hannah Beckerman - Author of The Dead Wife's Handbook (Penguin)
Miranda Dickinson - Author of five Sunday Times Bestsellers, including Fairytale of New York and Take A Look At Me Now (Avon)
Tamsyn Murray - Author of the Stunt Bunny series (Simon & Schuster Children's) and Afterlife series (Piccadilly Press)
Cally Taylor - Author of The Accident - as CL Taylor (Avon)

Don't Just Write: Write Foxy!
A day for writers to come together, share ideas, be inspired and, most of all, reconnect with a love of writing. Part conference, part writers' retreat, the Write Foxy! Day will encourage you to make the most of your writing, learn from the experience of bestselling authors whilst also providing space for you to work on your own projects. Refreshments will be available all day and a full buffet lunch is included.

Who is the Write Foxy! Day for?
Everyone who writes! Whether you are just starting out, are working towards becoming a published or self-published author or are already published, this day offers something for you.

Will the Write Foxy! Day teach me how to write a novel?
No, but it will inspire you to make the most of your writing, whatever stage you are at. It's an inspiration day that will leave you fired up, armed with new tips and raring to pursue your writing goals.

What does Write Foxy! mean?!
Write Foxy! is all about writing what you're passionate about, keeping fun at the centre of your writing and loving what you do. So many writers at all stages of their writing careers struggle with doubts, fatigue, a sense of hopelessness and a lack of motivation: this day is designed to reconnect you to the reason you started writing. If you believe in and love what you write, readers will too!


The website for details and booking is:  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/write-foxy-writers-inspiration-day-november-2014-tickets-11388381957?aff=eorg

If you want to take a look at some of the speakers work etc. you can find details on twitter for each at... Miranda Dickinson @wurdsmyth

Cally Taylor @callytaylor
Hannah Beckerman @hannahbeckerman

Tamsyn Murray @TamsynTweetie

How many drafts?

So you've written a novel, you might have proofread it or done the second draft, so how many should you do? When does editing and tweaking finally get to a stage where you can be happy to stop? Answer is, there is no right answer. Some people might only do three drafts, others ten or more. It will vary from story to story.

Something I've found that helped me focus was Larry Brooks advice on fiction writing, in particular...

The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling that define novelist heaven

1. Concept – the central idea or proposition from which you create a landscape upon which to tell the story; weak premise, weak story…

2. Character – checklist-driven criteria for developing backstory, arc, inner conflict and the essence of a hero’s quest…

3. Theme – the elusive meaning of your story and how it affects readers on multiple levels; in other words, why they’ll care…

4. Story architecture – a four-part story structure riddled with segments missions, milestones and standards that keep the story growing and moving…

5. Scene execution – if you can’t boil water you can’t cook up a buffet; this is the crafting of efficient, tense, visceral scenes and narrative…

6. Writing voice – the assemblage of words you summon as foot soldiers with the mission of carrying your structural strategy to victory.

For me the first draft is just getting the story down. Don't worry about mistakes, I don't even try to plan too much or think, I just write and write some more. It's like getting yourself a great big lump of clay and adding a bit, then a bit more.

Second draft, now you've got this big, lumpy piece of clay it needs to be moulded. Taking a notebook and pen I read through and make notes to begin with. This is where I find the plot holes and try to fill them. Character development happens here too, you can really start to get to grips with all these new characters that have waltzed into your life.

Third draft, now it's really starting to take shape. Those typos might still be slipping through the net, keep catching them and putting them right! Start getting some detailed editing in, take a closer look at sentences and work on it until it flows as well as you feel it can.

Fourth draft, there might still be the odd grammatical error or typo slipping through, keep setting it right. it might also be a good idea to have someone you trust give it a read through. I've found my local writing group an amazing influence and help. Like minded individuals might be just what you need at this point. Doubt creeps in at the best of times, even when you've had some success. There's a definite worry there that you might not achieve that level of success or recognition again.

Fifth draft, now surely we must be getting to the end? Yes, we could well be by now, but it really is down to how you feel or if you have an agent or editor what they think at this stage. Are you completely happy with what you have written? Could it be better? Is your cast list essential? Remember that unless the characters or events move your plot forward they don't need to be in there. Remember, at the end of the day, the suggestions offered to you are exactly that, suggestions that you can choose to use or not to use. Others may want to take your story in a different direction to the one you're taking it. Whilst others may notice something about your plot or spelling that you might have missed. A fresh pair of eyes is essential.

Write, read, edit, write, read, edit and you'll get there. Just stay focused and set yourself time to write every day/week and stick to it. It's okay to take breaks but make sure you set yourself targets/deadlines and work towards them, there's nothing more satisfying than achieving that goal!

Happy writing :)

All The Bird's Singing

I seem to be reading more than writing at the moment, but then reading helps my writing to improve so it's all research really :)

This week I have read Evie Wyld's All The Birds Singing. I struggled to get into the book to begin with, it took some time to adjust to the timelines. There is the present day,  and past events, but the past ones were told backwards in the sense that the nearest to present were told first until the conclusion of that time thread was the protagonist's teenage years.

I'm glad I perservered as I did enjoy the book. I have never read anything quite like it, I suppose the only thing I can think that is similar might be the earlier books of Martin Amis.

Evie Wyld has a fresh voice and a way of storytelling which I enjoyed. The pace was good moving a long quickly with flashbacks telling the protagonist, Jake Whyte's checkered past, and how she came to be the character she is in present day.

I really liked the book, and would certainly read others by this author, but I did feel let down by the ending. I found it far too ambiguous for my taste. Personally I would have preferred either a more defined resolution that provided more answers, as I had plenty of questions! Or an abrupt ending more in keeping with the pace of the book, possibly even ending a chapter earlier than it did. But that is just my opinion, everyone brings their own ideas and thoughts to a story regardless of the author's intentions. Readers will always read a story in their own way, and take something from it that perhaps the author did not intend or foresee.

All in all, the book had an unsatisfactory ending that left me wanting more than metaphors. Despite this I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book and Wyld's style of bringing the characters to life. I would recommend reading All The Birds Singing for it's dark yet refreshing voice that keeps you hooked, drawing you deeper into Jake's past and present, wanting to know more about this mysterious, often distant and troubled individual.

Simon Says!: He said. She said.

Excellent piece on dialogue by Simon Whaley...



Simon Says!: He said. She said.: At the NAWG Festival of Writing last month I attended a couple of workshops led by the crime writer Veronica Heley. ( http://www.vero...

What I'm Reading!

To keep my brain from completely melting down I like to read a very wide range of styles and genres. I have a system in place that I like to think keeps me from going too soft on my noggin. I like to alternate between children's and adult's fiction. So when I've just finished a hard going very grown up book, I like to get stuck into a world of magic or steampunk, or maybe both or not those at all. I just like to have something I can escape to and enjoy. Of course I can do this with grown up books too, but this is just my system and it works for me.

This past couple of weeks I have read Alex Marwood's crime thriller 'The Wicked Girls'. Here's the blurb: One fateful summer morning in 1986, two 11-year-old girls meet for the first time and by the end of the day are charged with murder.

Twenty-five years later, journalist Kirsty Lindsay is reporting on a series of attacks on young female tourists in a seaside town when her investigation leads her to interview funfair cleaner Amber Gordon. For Kirsty and Amber, it's the first time they've seen each other since that dark day when they were just children. But with new lives – and families – to protect, will they really be able to keep their secret hidden?

I haven't read much crime for a while, I've been guilty of reading more than my fair share of fantasy and magic of late, so it was a pleasure to return to this genre. It's a taut, fast-paced book. I enjoyed the hopping from different points of view to glean a cohesive arc of the plot as it unfolded. Once I'd got to grips with the flashbacks and present day, I enjoyed piecing together which old identity belonged to the two main female protagonists.

The book reflects the prejudice of a nation, and mob mentality that is endemic within our society. It's a dark and disturbing book that makes you stop and think about your own views and morals. I would definitely recommend this to any other fans of crime thriller, and even if you're not it's worth a try to push your boundaries!

The second book I've just read is Cressida Cowell's 'How To Train Your Dragon'. I'm guilty of watching both films, and seeing the TV series first. But after visiting the Seven Stories exhibition this summer at Wolverhampton Art Gallery - A Viking's Guide To Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell, I thought I really should get round to reading the actual books. Not to mention seeing the fantastic illustrations, I'm a big fan of illustration. I trained in Fine Art, after a brief stint in fashion I specialised in Painting and Printmaking, but part of me regrets not doing Children's Book Illustration, which was also on offer at the university.

Bit of a blurb frim Amazon: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was an awesome sword-fighter, a dragon-whisperer and the greatest Viking Hero who ever lived. But it wasn't always like that.
In fact, in the beginning, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the most put upon Viking you'd ever seen. Not loud enough to make himself heard at dinner with his father, Stoick the Vast; not hard enough to beat his chief rival, Snotlout, at Bashyball, the number one school sport and CERTAINLY not stupid enough to go into a cave full of dragons to find a pet... It's time for Hiccup to learn how to be a Hero.

How to Train Your Dragon is a fun tale, and the first in a series. It's completely different from the films and TV series, in both plot and appearance so reading the book afterwards wasn't an issue after all. Easy to read, and now I'm keen to read the rest of the series and find out what else happens to Hiccup, his dragon Toothless and the rest of his Viking tribe The Hairy Hooligans. I enjoy a flawed hero, in this case a very un-viking like viking, who is scared and not very good at anything heroic. Humorous for both adults and children, and I shall be sharing Hiccup's adventures with my own children during bedtime stories :)