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I'll start with the bad news.
We've had to cancel all of our writing weekends scheduled to take
place between now and the summer holidays and will not be
organising anything further, in-person, in 2020.
We were in Bournemouth and Bristol this weekend, and it seems
like the workshops were very well received and a fitting way to
finish our project to bring writing workshops regionally across
the UK.
Overall, based on your feedback (THANKS!) it's been a phenomenal
success, with only a few small hitches along the way!
I'll do a full debrief in a blog post in a week or two - and give
you the highs and lows, the rewards and challenges, of such a
huge and ambitious project, especially as a volunteer.
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And now
the good news!
We are organising 2 writing weekends in May and June, which will
all be online! They'll look a little like a scaled down version
of our WOWCON (if you attended last year) and I really want to do
this for a whole host of reasons, but mostly to just keep our
minds on something joyful.
More details to follow once all arrangements are in place and
tickets (which will be super cheap by comparison as we're online!
But sadly, no lunch provided!) will be announced soon.
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Available
for sign up anytime:
The 12 month
novel course is for those who need encouragement from first spark
to first draft.
This course if for
everyone, from novice to pro. We’ll build a supportive community
who will cheer you on, will offer to share chapters with you and
form potential critique partnerships.
Every month, we’ll have a
special guest on for a chat on that month’s aspect of novel
writing.
THIS WEEK we
have Dave Rudden on to talk hooks and openings...
Sign up will open today at 6am (GMT) - NOW!!! - do get in
quick.
Lucy Irvine has agreed to be our visiting agent again - she will
read your first page, synopsis and letter, and give you
feedback as part of the course - and will do a 1 hour Q&A
with participants.
The course now includes a full 3 chapter read through, by
Aisha, rather than just first page.
It starts on the 20th April and workshops will be held every
Monday night at 8-9pm.
*Please
note the final session, the Q&A with Lucy Irvine, will be on
Tuesday 26th May 8-9pm.
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12
Month Novel Course
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£10.00
a month
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Preparing
for Submission with Aisha Bushby
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£120.00
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#WMPitch
We announced on Twitter that we
will be doing our first ever pitch event, the day after the WM
summer programme announcements. I feel like we might all need a
pick me up after the disappointment of the previous day and this
gives you a new focus to pitch and get the attention of our
amazing WM associated agents! More info to follow...
#WMChat
This week, Lindsay Galvin announced our new Twitter chat. She'll
be hosting alternately with Stuart to chat to brilliant industry
people, from authors to agents and everything in between, with a
specific focus on WM writers. We'll announce our upcoming chat
timetable soon, but our first one will be this Wednesday at 8pm
over on Twitter!
Spark
Mentoring
Spark Mentoring is always
available if you need extra help or support each month. We have
made the Spark mentoring package even better by including access
to our 12 month novel course and the self-editing course with
Kesia Lupo for all Spark mentees - do contact me if you wish to
access either of these and are a current spark mentee. If you
wish to sign, hit the link above for all the details.
Points
Our current points system on your My Account on our website, will
only be available until the end of May, so visit your account and
please try to use these up before then if you can. We are doing a
website overhaul then and the new system will not include this
element, so best to use them up ASAP.
WriteMentor
Magazine opportunities
Our April edition of the
magazine has some great opportunities for writers wanting to get
their work out there.
Writing
competitions
Celebration
corner
Send us your writing success
stories, big or small! Started on a new idea? Finished a chapter?
Won a competition? Email our Editor florianne@write-mentor.com with
your announcement alongside social media handles/website to
feature in the magazine.
Advertisement
space
We're offering affordable
advertising space for both traditionally published and
self-published authors to promote their work, or
writing/publishing organisations to reach our readers. £10 for a
quarter page, £18 for half a page. Email our Editor florianne@write-mentor.com to
find out more.
WriteMentor is a not-for-profit organisation and we're looking to
formalise things more going forward, to help ensure our
longevity. With that in mind, if you or someone you know, would
like to help out, from sponsoring another writer or a place on
one of our courses/events, to sponsoring whole events, then do
get in touch. Florianne is working on formalising this more for
us, but always happy to chat to anyone who would like to help.
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Final word from the Jedi
Master…
Hello writing friends!
I am exhausted, I am anxious and I am genuinely worried about me
and so many others out there.
As a result, my mind has been less on WM or writing or anything
else really this week.
I've tried to be kind to myself for not concentrating on
anything, including writing, and you should too. And that doesn't
just apply this week or month or year. It's forever. Word counts
don't define you.
I finished reading Wired for Story for the 2nd time last week
(it's a brilliant craft book, which blends storytelling and it's
psychology and neuroscience, to help us better tell our own
stories.) Genuinely, if you haven't read that, or Story Genius,
check them out. Will Storr's The Science of Storytelling has a
similar feel to it, but more science.
Anyway, my point was that there's a great section on character
agency and how your MC's actions and reactions are what drive the
plot. And it got me thinking about how I drive my own story.
What do I do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis to get closer to my
wants, my goals, my needs, which ultimately is what makes up my
story. Would someone put down my own life story after a few pages
as it stands. Absolutely.
And that lack of agency on my part is, unlike so many things just
now, something I can control. We all can, especially when it
comes to our writing. As I say above, we don't need to be
charging towards the climax of our own stories at 100mph! But we
do need to be agents of change - sometimes stepping outside our
comfort soon, and trying to not 'refuse the call' EVERY SINGLE
DAY! 😂
I'm seeing a lot of kindness in our community at the moment, too,
and it's a sharp reminder that we truly are best of our species.
Writing is not easy, it's not for those who want to make money or
do it quickly. And it requires the kind of resilience that
everyone in the world needs right now.
Keep safe everyone, your health matters to more than just you.
Writing can be lonely…but it doesn't need to be.
May the Force be with you!
Stuart
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