Month: February 2023

Alys Blakeway, Special Guest, Hampshire Writers’ Society 13th December 2022

Report by Sarah Noon

Charlotte Mary Yonge was a bestselling Victorian writer born in August 1823. She is recognised as having changed the name of Eastley, to Eastleigh – the spelling that we use today. Our speaker this evening, Alys Blakeway, chairs the Charlotte Yonge Fellowship and is talking to us about about the writer and her books.

2023 is the bicentenary of Charlotte Yonge’s birth and Alys tells us that tonight is special for her as it is the first event linked to Charlotte Yonge’s anniversary (Alys refers to Charlotte Yonge as “C.M.Y”). Other events taking place in 2023 will be based at Otterbourne Church, Hampshire Records Office, the Winchester City Museum and Winchester Cathedral. Alys also tells us that Palgrave Macmillan are publishing a book Charlotte Mary Yonge: Writing in the Victorian Age. She is hoping the University library will purchase it. There is also an event Leeds Trinity University in June as well as an event here at the University of Winchester.
Alys then goes on to talk about the writer herself. A profoundly Christian woman, CMY was born and lived all her life in Otterbourne. She never married (“…she didn’t need to…”), living off inherited wealth. Alys explains that her writing had a universal appeal “… from servants to soldiers; from priests to princesses.” Her bestseller, The Heir of Redclyffe, earned her £1000 – a considerable sum at the time. Allys tells us how Yonge gave this money away to missionaries on the Pacific Islands. Her books “… fell out of favour…” in the 20th Century due to changes in social attitudes – some perceived the tone of her writing to be somewhat “preachy.” This, says Alys, overshadowed her “…vivid characterisation and lively dialogue.”

CMY began writing in 1838 and continued writing until her death in 1901 – writing both fiction and non-fiction, historical and contemporary, for adults and children. We are reminded that this coincides almost exactly with Queen Victoria’s reign and reflects the huge changes that occurred during that period. Alys explains that due to the high quality of the writing, Yonge’s books remain “…good reads…”
Alys explains that there were two main influences on CMY’s work: her father and John Keeble. Her father was deeply religious and spent many years in the army. Keeble was Yonge’s parish priest as well as a family friend. Alys is keen to point out that these were “…influencers, not dictators.” They would read her work, offer criticism and encourage re-writing. However, her writing continued for many years after the two men had passed away.
Allys tells us that Charlotte was a “…solitary child…” and therefore began storytelling at an early age – to her imaginary family of ten boys and eleven girls! These imaginary brothers and sisters were the early formations of characters that ended up in CMY’s books. She did however, have many cousins. Alys also describes CMY as a “…a keen observer…” basing many elements of her writing on real life. She goes on to say how she would often write down conversations she had with others for reference (a transcript of one survives to this day) “… hence the unstilted dialogue.”

CMY did not need to write for money, but “… wrote because she could not help it.” However, in 1876 her brother Julian was declared bankrupt and much of her earnings went to support his family. Alys tells us that her later works are “… rather like potboilers” causing her to ponder whether this was as a result of feeling pressure of writing more in order to provide for her brother’s family.

CMY’s good characters have to struggle to overcome their faults and gain sympathy from the reader. She wrote about struggles that were close to her – for example the lack of adequate drainage in Winchester – close to where she lived. The town had no proper sewerage because people refused to pay for it. This issue forms the plot in three of her novels. She also wrote about Women’s Rights. Alys explains that as the Victorian attitudes towards education changed over the years, CMY’s did too.
Having explained a little of CMY’s life and influences, Alys ends her talk exploring CMY’s techniques as a writer. She says that CMY “…introduces human drama and adventure into many of her books for adults and children alike.” Like many other Victorian authors, her stories were serialised. Therefore, she had to create suspense in order to ensure that readers would buy the next instalment. She used adventure to do this, but then also used that adventure to develop the characters. Alys demonstrates this by reading us a passage from one her books. CMY used adventure to develop plot and character in her family sagas too (Alys gives us the example of The Daisy Chain) and gives CMY credit for showing “…clichéd characters and plots in a new light.” Several examples of established characters are given (The governess, the stepmother, the hero), all of whom have been slightly altered by CMY to provide a new perspective.
Alys ends her fascinating talk with the summary “A born writer, a surprisingly unconventional novelist, a good read and a window on the Victorian age.”

Special Guest, Hampshire Writers’ Society 8th November 2022

Report by Sarah Noon

David published a selection of poems in 2020 entitled Poems, Piety and Psyche (David’s three main interests in life) described as “Progressive poems for rebellious Christians.” He is a performance poet, was a priest for 40 years, and a qualified psychotherapist. He has also been a science teacher and a remedial teacher. David tells us that he has written 4160 sermons – the equivalent of eight War & Peace’s or six Bibles!

David begins his talk by telling us that the room is a “safe space” and that some of his views may be challenging (they’re meant to be), but that he hopes his views don’t upset people too much. He points out that we all have our own views. His intention with his work is to “…demythologise Christian doctrines…” in an attempt to prevent young people leaving the Church – to challenge our perceptions of the Bible, rather than to give up on religion. He feels that many young people today don’t believe in the miracles of the Bible, and therefore ditch religion, rather than explore its deeper meaning, adding that in today’s world particularly, “we need love, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance.”
His book was originally published in America, by an academic publishing house in Oregon. He claims that British publishers were not keen on his brand of poetry. They wanted something more “meek and mild.” He explains that the poems are organised into clusters – creation and Bible poems, God’s hell and incarnation, Christmas and Nativity stories, Jesus and the Crucifixion, Church and the ministry, culture and the cosmos and then an epic poem at the end which summarises everything. Not his choice, David adds, but the publisher’s choice.
His objectives he tells us are “…to revitalise the church and reshape its future for the current declining congregation.” He goes on to tell us that the amount of clergy is declining, fewer young people are entering the church and money is also declining. With all of this in mind, David aims to get people to explore the Church’s meaning in today’s world, rather than to simply abandon it. In 1963, David informs us, there were 20,000 clergy in the Church of England. Today there are just 7,000.

David claims that because young people are very scientifically literate today, they therefore do not believe in the idea of miracles. David hopes that his poetry will urge people to consider that there is more to Christianity than that. He feels that Christianity is often taught as history and as something that actually happened, whereas the New Testament is “… mythology and stories…” and is to do with …”the meaning behind what it says.”

David goes on to read us the first poem in his book entitled Horses for Courses. An angry tone runs through his poems – he says he’s angry about what is happening to his Church. There are many things going on that make people angry – war, consumerism, child abuse etc., and with these things happening, where does that leave the place of the Church?
David explains to us where he believes the challenge to Christian doctrine started. He believes that it began with the school nativity play. The problem is, he says, that children believe the literal story, rather than exploring a deeper meaning. We should, he says, be asking “What does it mean?” rather than “Did it happen?” He then proceeds to play a reading by Hugh Bonneville of his poem “Midnight Mass.” exploring how the Christian message is somewhat lost in the New Year and the Christmas spirit quickly vanishes.
David asks, has the Church mired the true message – love tolerance, forgiveness etc? He feels that the Church has lost contact with this and tells us “… he doesn’t have many friends amongst bishops.”
David has been asked many times, why write a poetry book rather than a theological study? He explains that “…a single, short poem can sum up an entire theology … you can take liberties with poems.” He reads us a quote from an endorsement to his book, describing poetry as “…words so twisted and so pressed that they express the matter more densely and more subtly than if they were left to their own devices.”
The creative process involved David working on his books for a year – one poem was previously written but the rest were all written for the book. The writing of his book, he says, became an obsession. The book has seven chapters, 134 poems. He constantly revised his poems, stripping away until “… the meaning was left.”
David finishes with one final poem, Sea of Faith which he describes as his “effort to correct some dodgy doctrine.”
A very thought-provoking talk and a clear demonstration of the power of poetry.

A report of Clare Whitfield’s talk to the Hampshire Writers’ Society 8th November 2022

by Sarah Noon

Clare is a writer who describes herself as “dull and ordinary.” She talks to us this evening about “Standing out from the slush pile” when submitting work. As well as having two books published, Clare has worked in publishing herself. She has also just signed another two-book deal – the first one expected in September 2024.

Clare did her Master’s degree in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Winchester and tells us she is happy to be back (“…it’s handy as at least I know where to park my car.”). Her first book, People of Abandoned Character, was out in October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Not good timing she says, but “People actually did lose their lives, so let’s get that in check”. The book is about what might happen if you found out you were married to Jack the Ripper. The Gone and the Forgotten came out in June and is set in Shetland in the 1990’s, about a girl from a family that is full of secrets.

Clare is 44 years old, married and lives in Bursledon, but is originally from south London. She claims that there is “… nothing remotely interesting about my background or history.” She adds that she is “…from council house stock and working class through and through.” She was the first member of the family to go on to further and higher education. Clare shares that she also has Autistic Spectrum Disorder. She tells us this because, she says, these are all things that she has leaned on to get herself through slush piles.

She also worked as an editorial assistant for a publishing company. She says this wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds because it was mainly newswriting. However, this experience gave her valuable skills. “Writing news,” she says, ”…is very specific and technical.” Clare also tried freelance writing, but it didn’t work for her as she needed a full-time job. She now works full time as well as being a writer.

Clare goes on to tell us that whatever route a writer may go down, they will have to manage their own writing career. “No one will do it for you,” she says. Therefore, we should draw upon all our skills and weaknesses in order to succeed. This also applies when it comes to meeting people within the publishing world. The people within it, she says, are “lovely” but the world of publishing can be completely alien. She says that using her skills and experiences to navigate her way through has enabled her to manage meeting people from within the industry.

She informs us that “self-awareness is the key.” She urges us to question what it is we want and what motivates us. What skills do we have that we can draw upon? She makes no secret of the fact that in order to get a book published, a writer needs to devote many hours a week working to achieve this. She also reminds us to consider that we “…are the product too.” Are we sellable?
When Clare sent her synopsis of her second book to her agent and her publisher, she was devastated to discover that they did not like it and were not interested. She describes herself at this point as being in “…a pit of despair.”
What made her refocus was watching a TV series called “The Offer” about the making of the film The Godfather – in particular the blocks that producer Albert Roddy came up against. Clare says that “…the battles to get that film made appear endless.” The series shows Roddy working incredibly hard to re-pitch, bounce back and not give up. The Godfather was not an easy film to get made and Roddy continued until it was competed. Clare describes this as “…a massive message from the universe” to persevere.

So, what IS a slush pile? Claire tells us that after clarifying with her agent, it is absolutely a real thing – a pile of unsolicited manuscripts that have been sent to a publishing company or agent. She reminds us that to avoid a manuscript being put into a slush pile, there is no big secret “…it’s not magic and fairy dust” she reiterates, “…it’s just hard work.” However, she points out that there are many hoops to jump through, and we have to be able to deal with inevitable rejection effectively. This is where our past experiences can help us get through.

Clare’s experience as a dancer enabled her to cope with criticism and rejection. She reminds us that everyone will have an opinion about what we do “even friends and family.” But, she says, opinions are often unsolicited. She goes on to show us a list of negative comments that people had said to her before and after her books were published (she gets her revenge by writing them into her books!). Clare points out that this is where our strong sense of self comes into play. Without it, we can be led in all sorts of opposing directions.
She urges us to set our goals and make logical steps (she is keen to clarify that it is a goal, not a dream). For Clare to do this, she treated it like a project. She shows us a step-by-step spreadsheet that enabled her to achieve her goals.
A key element of this is getting an agent. Clare reminds us what an agent does (negotiate book deals, sell your book, create publicity, advise on publishers etc). The first and crucial point when sending a manuscript to an agent is to follow the submission rules. “…this is just good manners,” Clare points out. She warns us to follow them to the letter. Clare goes onto advise us on how we should structure our cover letter including an introduction and a synopsis. She points out that having consulted the Writers and Artists Yearbook to establish the best agents to contact, we should tailor our letters to them rather than a “one-size-fits-all” cover letter. This also includes establishing the name of the person to whom you are sending the letter. There should be no “Dear Sir or Madam.” As Clare points out, why should they be bothered if you can’t? She suggests that in our author bios, we should be talking about people in the industry that we may have a connection with (“Agents are people people”). She also reminds us to make sure we include things such as competition awards and magazine articles – this is an industry that thrives upon networking.

Clare continues by talking about the pitch. She explains that the objective for the pitch is to enable the agent to understand what the book is about in order that they can find the right publisher to sell it. “The pitch is to enable an agent to understand at speed what section of the bookshop you belong in.” She advises us to “…get to the pitch quickly.” She asks us to think about how we might explain a movie to our parents.
The pitch will include a hook which is the hinge-point to your entire story. It’s the lure that hooks in the reader. Clare says, “the shorter the better” and make clear comparisons to other books and writers. She suggests that we can practise writing hooks by writing pitches for movies or fairy tales. She reminds us that this is not a synopsis (the synopsis should not be longer than one single page; the pitch should be one line and punchy).
Clare points out that if a synopsis is longer than a page we should consider that we may have too many threads. She also reminds us that a synopsis is not a place for including flowery prose. It is quite simply to relay the story. It should include time, place, protagonist, etc, and any subplots that are important to the ending. There is no need to include any other subplots. And make sure you make the ending clear (some writers are reluctant to give away their ending)! The pitch and the synopsis are not to be confused with the blurb, Clare says.

Clare is giving us all of this information, not just from her own experiences but by talking to other friends and colleagues in the business. She shared quotes from them with regards to avoiding slush piles and they totally concur with Clare’s advice.
At the end of her fascinating talk, Clare shows us her first letter to an agent (whilst cringing), claiming “…it’s not perfect, but it worked.”
Clare’s talk demonstrated what hard work and dedication can achieve, proving that she is far from “dull and ordinary.”