'First Tuesday' Meeting 1st September

'Weird and Wonderful'

 

Heather Shaw 

Chesterfield Library

'First  Tuesday' Meetings are held every month except August and are suitable for anyone  who is interested in discussing and undertaking practical exercises in creative writing - prose or poetry

You couldn't make it up! Part Three

In November 2014 I challenged you to work out what the four words I had made up (see below) meant. Literally hundreds of people have had a go but no one has succeeded in winning the £1000 prize. (n.b. I am a creative writer)

Go to previous post - You Couldn't make it up!

'digiphonic'  appears in the novel 'Muddled Daze' in the sentence:

"And to think it is all because of one of those newfangled digiphonic radios or whatever they call them."

'digiphonic'  is technology that allows a radio to automatically update the time.

Go to 'Muddled Daze'

'snazzled' appears in the novel 'Slurry - Only Death is Immortal' in the sentence:

"I'd been spot on - she was already snazzled."

 'snazzled' joins the many hundred slang terms for being drunk in the English language.

Go to 'Slurry'

  'plodges' appears in the, as yet unfinished, novel 'Terminal One' in the sentence:

"He plodges down in the armchair as if misjudging its height."

'to plodge' is to sit down clumsily. 

 Go to 'Terminal One'

And 'poly-ath' appears in

'The Young Thrusters -An Affectionate History of an Extraordinary Football Team'

in the sentence:

"Paul is a football man with no particular connection to rugby so it is probable that, if they exist, they are proper footballers rather than the 'poly-aths' who turned out in the past."

  'poly-ath' is someone talented in several sports.

 

Go to 'The Young Thrusters'

Chris Fewtrell

A Dronfield Childhood by Dorothy Cooke

The hottest day of the year so far, 1st July, saw the launch of Dorothy Cooke's collection of poems, A Dronfield Childhood. It was held at the Tea Rooms, Cliffe Park, Callywhite Lane, Dronfield, accompanied by tea and luxurious cake.

 Enjoying tea and cake

 Dorothy reads some of the 43 poems

 A Dronfield Childhood on display

If you would like a copy of A Dronfield Childhood ring Dorothy on 01246 414642

£5 plus £1 postage

'First Tuesday' Meeting 7th July

The July meeting will be an opportunity for those attending to read some of their poetry or prose so bring something suitable. Also it will be an opportunity to show case anything you wish to promote or sell in the literary field.

Chesterfield Library

'First  Tuesday' Meetings are held every month except August and are suitable for anyone  who is interested in discussing and undertaking practical exercises in creative writing - prose or poetry

They are held in the Meeting Room Lower Ground Floor - Next to 'Browser' Cafe

Read to Write 2

A student on an on-line short story writing course was amazed when the tutor asked the students to share their favourite writers of short stories. He had, he said - or should that be confessed? - never read a short story. Happily most writers are only too willing to learn from published work.

In one of my writing groups, we have decided to add 'Read to Write' meetings into our programme. The Book Trust website is a wonderful resource and offers a long list of downloadable short stories by well-know writers, many of them prize winners.

To help us structure our discussions, we have found the following format works very well.

General discussion points/Short Stories

1. Emotional engagement

How does the theme of the story seek to engage the reader emotionally? How far is this successful?

2. The Types of story - as described by Damon Knight in 'Creating Short Fiction' are:

Revelation or Illumination

Twist in the Tale

Story of Decision

" " Explanation

Mystery

Does the story we're discussing fit into one or more of these categories?

3. First Paragraph

Does this grab your attention? If so, how is this achieved? If not, why not?

4. Setting

'I keep six honest serving men

[They taught me all I knew]

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who'

[Rudyard Kipling]

Where and when is the story set? How and when is this information conveyed?

Were you, at any time, confused about the where/when?

5. Characters

How are the essential facts about the characters conveyed to the reader?

How far into the story do you feel you know who they are?

Are the characters credible? If so, how is this achieved? If not, why not?

Is the background/psychology of the characters, which has a bearing on the story, appropriately conveyed?

What does the protagonist want? How are these goals/ambitions conveyed?

What are the obstacles that provide the conflict?

6. Structure

Is this a linear story? If not, is there a good reason and does it work?

Do you feel main elements of fiction - narration, action, dialogue - are balanced? If not, is there a good reason for this?

If there are flashbacks, how are they used? Are they successful, or an irritating intrusion into the story-line?

Do you feel the structure is well handled? Does the story's end tie in with the beginning?

Do you feel the reader's expectations have been fulfilled?

Plot

How important is what happens and what happens next?

Do you want to know what happens?

What techniques are used to move along the plot?

Is the dénouement convincing? Does it tie in with the conflict?

Style

Does the style of writing/use of language fit with the setting/time/characters?

How well are imagery and sensual writing used?

Has the writer avoided clichés?

Dialogue

How do the characters 'sound'? Are their voices convincing?

How is the dialogue used? To deepen characterisation? To move along the plot?

Has the writer managed to avoid using dialogue as 'information dumps'?

'Mechanics'

Who is telling the story?

Whose point of view are we in? Is it consistent?

What tense is used? Is it the best one? Does it work?

Narrative stance - 1st/2nd/3rd person. How successful is this? How appropriate for the storyline?

Title

When you first looked at the story, did the title interest you?

When you come to the end of the story, does the title seem appropriate and well-chosen?

Heather Shaw

'First Tuesday' Meeting 7th July

2.0 to 4.0 pm

The July meeting will be an opportunity for those attending to read some of their poetry or prose so bring something suitable. Also it will be an opportunity to show case anything you wish to promote or sell in the literary field.

Chesterfield Library

'First  Tuesday' Meetings are held every month except August and are suitable for anyone  who is interested in discussing and undertaking practical exercises in creative writing - prose or poetry

They are held in the Meeting Room Lower Ground Floor - Next to 'Browser' Cafe

Slurry - Only Death is Immortal

Did This Mystery Happen in North Derbyshire?

 

 

Slurry – Only Death is Immortal, a new paperback by Christopher Fewtrell (Moorside Writers), is set in the town of Millchesterford and the village of Ambover in the Amberlea Valley.

What's the story about? Well, it's not just animals that die unexpectedly when Markus takes up post as a vet in Ambover and gets embroiled in the rotten underbelly of country life. His infatuation with Charlotte, the vegetarian animal activist, gets him ensnared in a web of intrigue as he tries to impress her. But neither of them could have foreseen what dark secrets they would uncover as they stumble into the nasty hidden world beneath the rural idyll.

The interesting question is whether the book is set in North Derbyshire and if some of the extremely bizarre characters are based on real people. What do you think?

Slurry – Only Death is Immortal is available on Amazon.

 The link is at: Slurry