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Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Writers' Centre Norwich newsletter
I thought my followers may be interested in seeing the latest Writers' Centre Norwich newsletter:
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
New Writing North newsletter
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Monday, 3 February 2014
Cleckheaton Writers Group meeting 3 February 2014
Another productive meeting of the CWG tonight where N, A, L, J, D, V and myself were in attendance (P and S had passed on their apologies).
N, D and L, who took part in their own writing challenge JaNoWriMo, told the other members how they got on. N has finished one of his three short connected stories and is half-way through his second of the trilogy. L has finished her first draft and is a quarter of the way through reading it in readiness to send out to her proof-readers before the end of June. D has finished her first draft of her second manuscript and she promises to share with the group when she has some typed as she wrote it longhand. D also revealed that she has signed up for a free 31 day trial of Scrivener and will review it at a future meeting. D agreed to forward a link to the trial offer to the other CWG members.
J revealed that he has been too busy to write anything since the last meeting, but has vowed to try and write even a few words each day. A has written a couple of stories from the challenge set at the last meeting and has started a children's fantasy novel. He has also researched Kindle in terms of self-publishing since the last meeting. V has been working on the story she began as part of the challenge at the last meeting and looks forward to rising to Ps writing challenge. She has also purchased a creative writing book and signed up for a Writing for Children on-line course.
As Alan Titchmarsh is coming to Cleckheaton Town Hall to discuss his latest novel Bring Me Home on Wednesday 26 March at 7.30pm, it was decided that some of the members would attend this event. Also, the date for the Leeds Trinity Writers' Festival has now been confirmed as Wednesday 12 March.
The feedback session led to much lively discussion. We started with my first three chapters of SC, the comedy I am currently almost to first draft on. The members felt that the three main narrators have strong voices with distinct convincing personalities that generated empathy. A and L found it interesting how through these characters we see the same situation via different perceptions. Some of the members felt there should be a bit more showing, not telling, but others thought that the confessional/counselling style worked well. L felt that there was a confusing section involving one of the characters, Di, who A also felt was out of character. I will be taking this useful feedback and altering my manuscript accordingly.
L's first three chapters of her first draft KatFG were very imaginative. D felt that the first line needed changing to tighten it up and that the whole first chapter could be taken out. It was felt that the pace in the first section was spot on and that changing some of the backstory sections in the following chapters to flashbacks, would bring about the same well-worked pace in the rest. There were some particularly vivid scenes, e.g. the phoenix and the hooded attackers, but A wondered when the tale was set. L revealed that she had not decided this yet, but it was agreed that the imagery is strong enough to warrant a fantasy world should she decide to set it in one. It was suggested that it would be nice to place more emphasis on the fairy tale within the fairy tale and/or have the first section as a dream to inform the readers, but give a nice 'ah' moment later in the novel. All members agreed that the ending to chapter three was excellent in that it made the reader want to know more. I look forward to hearing more chapters at future meetings.
For the timed writing session, we chose either a quotation 'Three men may share a secret if two of them be dead' or Blake's Dark Satanic Mills taken from The Creative Writing Workbook (currently on offer at The Book People for £3.99) and we all wrote for 20 minutes on this challenge. A, V and J all shared their pieces and some felt that these could be the beginnings for much longer pieces.
It was agreed that N and A would send work to the members for feedback at the next session.
The next Cleckheaton Writers Group will take place on Monday 17 February, 6-8pm at Cleckheaton Library where new members are always welcome.
N, D and L, who took part in their own writing challenge JaNoWriMo, told the other members how they got on. N has finished one of his three short connected stories and is half-way through his second of the trilogy. L has finished her first draft and is a quarter of the way through reading it in readiness to send out to her proof-readers before the end of June. D has finished her first draft of her second manuscript and she promises to share with the group when she has some typed as she wrote it longhand. D also revealed that she has signed up for a free 31 day trial of Scrivener and will review it at a future meeting. D agreed to forward a link to the trial offer to the other CWG members.
J revealed that he has been too busy to write anything since the last meeting, but has vowed to try and write even a few words each day. A has written a couple of stories from the challenge set at the last meeting and has started a children's fantasy novel. He has also researched Kindle in terms of self-publishing since the last meeting. V has been working on the story she began as part of the challenge at the last meeting and looks forward to rising to Ps writing challenge. She has also purchased a creative writing book and signed up for a Writing for Children on-line course.
As Alan Titchmarsh is coming to Cleckheaton Town Hall to discuss his latest novel Bring Me Home on Wednesday 26 March at 7.30pm, it was decided that some of the members would attend this event. Also, the date for the Leeds Trinity Writers' Festival has now been confirmed as Wednesday 12 March.
The feedback session led to much lively discussion. We started with my first three chapters of SC, the comedy I am currently almost to first draft on. The members felt that the three main narrators have strong voices with distinct convincing personalities that generated empathy. A and L found it interesting how through these characters we see the same situation via different perceptions. Some of the members felt there should be a bit more showing, not telling, but others thought that the confessional/counselling style worked well. L felt that there was a confusing section involving one of the characters, Di, who A also felt was out of character. I will be taking this useful feedback and altering my manuscript accordingly.
L's first three chapters of her first draft KatFG were very imaginative. D felt that the first line needed changing to tighten it up and that the whole first chapter could be taken out. It was felt that the pace in the first section was spot on and that changing some of the backstory sections in the following chapters to flashbacks, would bring about the same well-worked pace in the rest. There were some particularly vivid scenes, e.g. the phoenix and the hooded attackers, but A wondered when the tale was set. L revealed that she had not decided this yet, but it was agreed that the imagery is strong enough to warrant a fantasy world should she decide to set it in one. It was suggested that it would be nice to place more emphasis on the fairy tale within the fairy tale and/or have the first section as a dream to inform the readers, but give a nice 'ah' moment later in the novel. All members agreed that the ending to chapter three was excellent in that it made the reader want to know more. I look forward to hearing more chapters at future meetings.
For the timed writing session, we chose either a quotation 'Three men may share a secret if two of them be dead' or Blake's Dark Satanic Mills taken from The Creative Writing Workbook (currently on offer at The Book People for £3.99) and we all wrote for 20 minutes on this challenge. A, V and J all shared their pieces and some felt that these could be the beginnings for much longer pieces.
It was agreed that N and A would send work to the members for feedback at the next session.
The next Cleckheaton Writers Group will take place on Monday 17 February, 6-8pm at Cleckheaton Library where new members are always welcome.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson book review
Following Peter’s author talk at Huddersfield Town Hall at the back end of 2013, I purchased a signed copy of his latest DCI Banks novel in hardback.
The enigmatic Yorkshire DCI is considering retirement, or a promotion, when a disgraced former lecturer is found murdered on a disused railway near his home. The £5,000 found in his pocket leads the police to think there may be a drug connection as he was well known in the area for being a poor hermit, but the truth is far more complex and could involve the wife of a man with friends in high places.
Background on the case takes the reader to Essex University in the 70s, where local celebrity Veronica Chalmers was a radical for the social classes back then, although she is from a far wealthier family than the pit workers she was trying to politicise and this was the meatiest part of the story for me and I would have loved more to be written on both this and the miners strike.
The sections featuring the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and DS Winsome with the young female former drug addict felt real in what was otherwise a rushed and flat novel. His detail in the music and history of the 70s was enjoyable, but the plot was not big enough to sustain the momentum even though this is a somewhat shorter novel than is the norm.
I have noticed a trend in recent Banks novels in that he seems to be having somewhat of a mid-life crisis and in this book it is most evident. Not only do two of his female colleagues verbally fight over him, but there is a young and beautiful Italian housekeeper that for some unexplained reason falls for him even though her character is distrustful of his motives in regards to her beloved employer. Am I the only one in thinking this does not ring true?
Here's hoping that the next DCI Banks novel takes us back to Peter Robinson's best.
"The past lies like a nightmare upon the present." 6/10
Saturday, 1 February 2014
The Wolf of Wall Street movie review
My husband and I just got back from seeing this movie at the Odeon and at 180 minutes, this Martin Scorsese movie is a long film, take sandwiches :)
IMDB says: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Oscar-nominated Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby, Catch Me If You Can) stars as Belfort who goes from humble beginnings dreaming of life as a stockbroker to a self-made businessman who gets rich from selling cheap stocks to working-class people. Influenced by his Wall Street mentor Mark Hanna played by a hysterical Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, Mud), when his first day as a licensed stockbroker coincides with the Wall Street Crash, he goes into business by himself. Joined by friend Donnie Azoff, a schmuck-y Jonah Hill (Super Bad, 21 Jump Street), he soon begins to rake it in with a killer script to part the ordinary man from his money and mainline it straight into his accounts.
With many scenes of the debauchery of his hedonistic lifestyle (particularly the drugs and sex), it is hard to like the character, but somehow, when it becomes obvious that the FBI are coming to take it all away, you begin to root for him. DiCaprio excels in his role as the antihero and though you should be willing for his comeuppance to hit him hard, when Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights, Zero Dark Thirty) begins to snap at his heels, you are waiting for the angle that he will use to wriggle out of it all.
You know the minute he leaves his first wife for the gold-digging Naomi (Margot Robbie, About Time, Pan Am), it is clear this is the start of the downward fall, but you almost forgive her for having the absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous, The New Avengers) as her Aunt Emma.
For me, Matthew McConaughey steals the movie, but DiCaprio is an antihero who shines a light on the lengths some people will go to for money.
A close-up portrait of the capitalist culture today. 9/10
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