‘Write a Review’
Elizabeth Barnett, Editor of Hampshire Life announced the winners of the November competition and encouraged writers to contact her with ideas for articles.
First: Celia Livesey – Henry V at the New Globe
Second: Gill Hollands – Prometheus
Third: Clarice B – Olympic ceremony
Highly Commended: Gill Hollands – Immortal 3D Experience
Report by Celia Livesey
The special guest speaker, Cllr Frank Pearson, the Mayor of Winchester, was accompanied by the Mayoress, Mrs Ann Pearson. The Mayor gave a fascinating talk on the history of Winchester. The office of Mayor of Winchester is one of the oldest mayoralties in England, dating back to the period when the city was the national capital. The current Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Frank Pearson is the 813th in the office. 
During his term as Mayor, Cllr Pearson’s chosen charities will be The Magic Wand Appeal for the RHCH, the Felix Fund-the bomb disposal charity and Bishop’s Waltham Community Responders. The theme of the chosen charities is ‘A helping hand’.
After a tremendous opening of the new season in September with Baroness James and a terrific follow on with Marc Morris, historian and author in October, I knew it would be a difficult task to top the previous speakers. However, for November, I am delighted to report that the HWS have managed to pull off a ‘hat-trick’ with last night’s main speaker, Nicolette Jones, writer, journalist and broadcaster.
Nicolette gave a brief outline of her early years, and how her love of art and books was very much shaped by her father. As Children’s Books Reviewer for the Sunday Times, author of The Plimsoll Sensation, and co-author of Blooming Books, as well as Children’s Books Consultant for the Louise Allen-Jones Agency, Nicolette said that sometimes ‘good books slip through the net’. A photo of her study, heavily carpeted with wall to wall books, demonstrated the problems all too clearly.
The Plimsoll Sensation took ten years to research and write, but Nicolette said that the story of Samuel Plimsoll, British politician and social reformer, was such a wonderful story of human courage and determination that she had to write it. She went on to say that the story had everything – corruption, power struggles, politics and human misery, but the legacy of the ‘Plimsoll line’, (a line on a ship’s hull indicating the maximum safe draft), is something that all sailors today are grateful for.
Nicolette’s popularity was such that the question and answer session was the longest on record. The evening ended with a book signing by Nicolette, and also a surprise ‘free’ books donation for everyone from Crispin Drummond of P& G Wells Book Shop in Winchester.
‘Write a cover letter to a publisher’
Adjudicator: Mary Chamberlain, freelance editor
Mary Chamberlain began by pointing out that letters would be addressed to an agent and not an editor. The agent’s role, Mary reminded us, was to find a suitable publisher for the writer.
Mary found three good entrants for this month’s competition which were each awarded a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize on the basis of the interest they sparked in the reader, and whether they were correctly presented and addressed.
1st place – Claire Buckley
2nd place – Gill Hollands
3rd place – Nita Saini
The writers read their letters out. Gill Hollands’ second letter drew laughs from all, as the author professed to being a burglar, there were obvious spelling mistakes throughout, and it ended with the salutation: “love and kisses.”
Hermione Laake: Chair of Competitions, was asked to read Nita Saini’s letter, in her absence.
“Mary gave excellent and very thorough feedback,” said many of the attendees on the evening.
The feedback given
Mary stressed the importance of properly addressing your correspondence. If you do not get this right, said Mary, then editors will not feel connected to you sufficiently. “Find out about where Mary Chamberlain comes from.” Mary reminded us that agents like letters to be addressed to them specifically, by name. Do your homework on this, said Mary. “Look them up; [similarly] don’t forget your postcode as an agent will be too busy to look it up.”
Mary emphasized the importance of assertive language, stressing, “Don’t use, I believe, or I feel.” Some personal information was a good idea, and where your work would sit in the current market was also something writers should address in letters to agents.
With regard to the presentation of the letter Mary said that staples were preferable and that paper clips were not acceptable. One page was enough.
One letter with the nom de plume, Jane Austen, Mary Chamberlain found particularly intriguing. Mary put this letter in the Highly Commended category as it did not have an email or postcode. This letter was written by our very own, meticulous secretary, Celia Livesey. However, we soon discovered the reason for the lack of email and postcode; this letter was written by somebody from the past. Thus the evening not only began on an historical note, with our Pro Vice Chancellor, Liz Stuart drawing on the history of Winchester University, it also ended on an historical note, yet with a clever twist, as the historical was married with the creative in the shape of a fictional letter.
On a wild and wet October evening, Hampshire Writers’ Society Chairman, Barbara Large introduced special guest Professor Liz Stuart Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor from the University of Winchester who began by welcoming the HWS to the university campus.
She spoke about her role at the university and her work as a writer. Although one of the smallest universities in the country, only 7000 students, it has made the top ten in the Sunday Times’List of best universities and achieved first place in the country for student satisfaction on its creative writing courses.
As a theologian, Professor Stuart has written ten books, although much of her time now is spent dealing with academic matters within the university, writing policy documents, academic papers and reports. Once regarded as a radical theologian, one of the delights of her life is when she discovers her work has been the subject of a PhD thesis.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of her book which was banned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Ironically, it turned out to be one of her best sellers!
Marc Morris, historian, author and broadcaster
The Guest Speaker, Marc Morris was interviewed by Graeme Pick, who began by asking why there was such a long gap between Marc Morris’ books.
Report by Hermione Laake
Marc’s response was that books take a long time. There was a brief discussion about hot housing, doing a book in 2-3 years. Generally Marc described the time taken to write his work as being around four years, with the first being commissioned in 2004 and then going on to be published in 2008 and the second being commissioned in 2008 and published this year.
Graeme asked M. M how he goes about writing his books.
Much of his research on Edward 1st came about through his thesis on the Earls of Norfolk in the 13thCentury BC. “Edward I conquered Wales had illegitimate children, tried to conquer Scotland and had one of the greatest reigns in British history. I thought that he was due a page turning biography. Someone needs to write a book about this — me.”
M.M described the process of writing as reading other people’s books and a synthesis taking place. But because of the sheer volume of writing available trying to make these disparate texts synthesise didn’t work. Prior to The Norman Conquest, there was much documentation. After the revolution in 1200 the King ordered that copies of messages were kept. These have survived, Consequently, there is more evidence than you could look at. “European historians look at English medieval history and are agog,”
Graeme then asked, “How do you decide what to discard?”
M.M.:“What makes the research process interesting, is when it doesn’t fit. You get your story straight. I would imagine this is the same with every story. Every book I read with that date in, I break it down by year: Jan, Feb, March, the date of whatever, then you discover mistakes,”
He described the tag Narrative History as often thought of as a pejorative term. “Alternatively there is thematic history.. Social history gets in the way whereas narrative history gets the story going. There needs to be a balance between moving the story forward and conveying the story.”
Graeme: “Do you end up in a different place to where you expected?”
M.M: “You’ve got to. You might start with one set of preconception and end up somewhere else…..Edward improved somewhere in my estimation as I was writing the book. You start off with a series of preconceptions you came with, the legend and the bona fide academic material then you end up somewhere questioning those orthodoxies.”
Graeme: “How do you decide which stories are worth telling or retelling?”
M described this as hard sell. It was all about selling the legend, “Have you seen Braveheart—?”
Graeme: “How do you keep the narrative going while having to address the reader?”
M.M: “Where are the breaks and where are the hooks where the chapter ends? Where are the cuts? From an academic point of view that would be cheap tricks. People want to keep reading your book; people want to know what happens next. The academic way is completely different. You assume people know all that already.”
He described this as a balance of keeping the tricks to himself but often not revealing them to the reader, although on some occasions, he said he kept them in.
Graeme: “You seem to be interested in how big characters drive the story. Without these big characters show do you drive the story?”
M.M “Harold dies and with him one of the most important people in history. You’ve lost your antagonist you’ve lost your protagonist.”
He managed to “skip along from 1072 to 1085/6. I brought in a character connected with The Bayeux Tapestry.. I am interested in why these stories matter. How did this affect England, Englishness, how did this affect the language? How did this affect the culture?”
G: “Are you trying to teach people things?”
M.M: “It tells you something about the past society.—Who are the bad guys in the Norman conquest? I was surprised to discover that the Anglo Saxons did slavery in a big way, and the Normans didn’t do that. Harold was a great slave trader. A major cultural shift was brought about by the Normans; Chivalry (not killing your opponent) was a new thing. The Vikings didn’t do this. The English didn’t do it. These are big changes. These affect the way the English view their Celtic neighbours: These people are barbarians we need to conquer and civilise them
“You work as a writer. What other work are you doing to make sure your work gets out there?”
M.M: “I do articles for history magazines, tour for literary festival, I’ve just written an article on slavery.”
G: “Is the Norman conquest a good thing?”
M.M: “No I don’t think it was a good thing….You are considering a balancing testimony, not taking sides. Your main duty as an historian is to get it right. The historian is not a judge. You make the best case and say make up your own mind. This [discussion] was called putting a pulse into the past. That’s not what I do. [I’m asking]… how can I make these bones live? I’m trying to take the pulse of the past.”
Marc Morris’s articles are being collected and published as an E-book next week.
For further information on this Marc’s website
There are two elements to a successful Detective Story:
The golden age for Detective Novels was between the great wars; we are now in another golden age. That said, there is never a convenient time to write any novel. You have to decide ot get on with it – then get on with it!
All fiction is autobiography (and a lot of autobiography is fiction!). While we stay within the constraints of a detective novel, we tell truths about men and woman. Our ambition must be to be a good writer and for this we are lucky to have such a colourful and expressive language. English is the most beautiful language in the world and it is a privilege for us to be able to work in this language.
Protagonist
Who am I writing about – a professional or an amateur? There are dis/advantages to amateurs:
There are dis/advantages to professionals:
Characters like retired couples are great – they have time, and possibly money, to snoop around and the dynamics of their relationship adds interest.
Currently, there are no famous detective teenagers – opening for a writer there.
Inspiration
Once you have the detective, you need to get the idea, the new method of murder! You need to research forensic pathologists, new ways to poison, new instruments to hammer blows on the victim. You need to think of a suitable setting – an old house; a stretch of beach; a community of people; a nuclear power plant; a nursing home.
Writing
The setting must come alive but it must not hold up the story so you must practise your descriptive writing. Get into the habit of writing down the description when you see something useful and choose carefully. Setting, character, plot and theme have to hold together so be careful when the setting is very distinct. Currently – nobody had written a crime novel set on an oil rig because it is too hard to get access/first-hand accounts (*except that I can!!).
Characters
Character have to come alive. Some writers, like Agatha Christie had stereotypical characters – the canny spinster, the vicar, the wealthy cad, the suspect man from abroad, the apparently (but not really) innocent secretary, the ne’re-do-well brother.
All your characters come from real life but are subtly changed by imagination. We must look to ourselves for our characters, use our own emotions and reactions. For a writer, no experience or emotion is ever lost but you must find the right words to convey that emotion so that it is real for the reader.
Structure
The construction of a novel is important – the excitement must be distributed evenly. The beginning isn’t always written first. Ngaio Marsh had great beginnings then wheeled the characters in for interview. Different characters had different reactions and she chose the best. The characters set the tone of the novel, a sinister portent that the calm will soon be shattered. In the end, the truth must come out. One way to approach it is to write everything that happens in order then divide it up so that there’s excitement in every chapter.
Theme
It is good for the story to be about something, not just death and discovery.
Language
Respect the language, respect the words you use and use simple words in new ways. Be sensitive to devices and desires. Make sure your opening sentence is a good one – “Brenda was the fifth victim of the murderer because she missed the bus…” suggests a whole back story that has to be fed in so it works well as an opener.
The Writer
The writer is in a strange position. S/He has to be both the character and the creative artist. You are in the scene, so work out what will frighten the character and transfer/recreate that fear for the reader. Graham Greene said that you must have “…a splinter of ice in your heart.” You are both within and out with the action so you must “…feel the emotion but be the writer.”
P.D.James is particularly proud of a line in Death comes to Pemberley which she wrote in the style of Jane Austen – “Elizabeth knew that she was not formed for the sad contrivances of poverty.” When asked who her favourite writers were, Austen was top of the list, with Evelyn Waugh and Hilary Mantel. When asked why ‘P.D’ she said it was simply for speed if there was a long signing!
EXERCISES
Becky Bagnell of the Lindsay Literary Agency adjudicated the monthly competition which was to create an amateur detective in 250 words.
Competition Winners
1st place: David Eadsforth with Street Level
2nd place: Maddy Woosnam with All That Jazz
3rd place: Honey Stavonhagen with Hope Green -The Blind Detective
All winners received a signed copy of a PD James novel.
Celia Livesey won the prize draw for those members who renewed their HWS before the July 31st deadline.
Barbara Large, HWS Chairman, opened the first evening of the new season by introducing Simon Eden, Chief Executive of Winchester City Council who described himself as a cross between Sir Humphrey in Yes, Prime Minister and a translator for politician and local people. He then introduced PD James – Baroness James of Holland Park – who held the room for over an hour, without the use of any notes, on the craft of mystery writing.PD James told us that there is never a convenient time to write that first novel and what drove her personally was the thought of telling her grandchildren she would have liked to have been a writer but had failed. She wrote Cover Her Facewhilst caring for a sick husband and bringing up two small children. She set her standards high and, enjoying the richness of the English language, continues to use all twelve volumes of her dictionary when she writes today.
![DiningRoom[1]](https://i0.wp.com/hampshirewriterssociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/diningroom11.jpg?w=191&h=143&ssl=1 "DiningRoom[1]")
Report by Celia Livesey
More than 70 members and guests attended the final meeting of the inaugural year of the Hampshire Writers’ Society and the Annual General Meeting at Chawton House Study Centre. The reception, which started with a picnic in the Old Kitchen at 6 pm, was followed by complimentary strawberries and cream. A fantastic turnout!
Members then enjoyed a tour of the House, hosted by Director, Stephen Lawrence, and Lindsay Ashford, author and Deputy Head of PR. Mr Lawrence began his tour in the Library and explained some of the history. An Elizabethan manor house, Chawton was once home of Jane Austen’s brother, Edward Austen Knight. Now it is a library with a unique collection of books focusing on women’s writing in English from 1600 to 1830. Some of the older books are stored in an air-conditioned basement. Other highlights included the Dining room, Tapestry Gallery Staircase and the Great Hall. An interesting human touch that intrigued me, were the ‘witch marks’ scratched on the Tudor panelling by the fireplace to ward off evil spirits that might fly down the chimney. I’m glad I didn’t live back then!
There was a buzz of excitement as everyone packed into The Great Hall for the AGM. The Director, Barbara Large, welcomed everyone and outlined all the successes of this inaugural year of the HWS. Special guests of the HWS throughout the year were mentioned, Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester, Mark Courtice, Director, The Theatre Royal, Winchester, Stephen Boyce, Advisor on the Arts to Winchester City Council and the recent Mayor of Winchester, Councillor Lipscomb. The Treasurer was then called upon to give his report, followed by other members of the committee. Ant Ridgway called for a vote of thanks for Barbara Large for all her hard work. The meeting closed at 20:15.
Lindsay began by telling the group how she got started as a writer. Her first novels,Frozen, The Killer Inside, Strange Blood, and Death Studies were based on real life experiences. Lindsay had the group literally gasping with horror and sympathy as she recounted true stories gleaned by going out with the local vice squad. One woman, an addict, filthy, drunken and tragic, had been brought to that terrible state because her child had been beaten to death by her pimp.Barbara Large then invited Lindsay Ashford to reveal how living at Chawton House has influenced her to switch from contemporary crime fiction to historical fiction involving real figures from the past in her book The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen.
There was silence as Lindsay read an extract from her book. It conjured a lurid picture in the mind – a prostitute coerced into giving freebees to a policeman in his car. The bad breath in her face, the mess! It was squalid, gritty – too real to be comfortable. Yet, initially Lindsay got lots of rejections. She went on an Arvon Foundation Course for Crime Writing, and two years later she moved to Wales. There she met Janet Thomas, Hunno Press, who was looking for short stories. Lindsay ended up writing a novel in six weeks for Ottakers, which was subsumed byWaterstones.
In 2008 she moved to the Chawton Estate, and became absorbed by the place. Going through Jane Austen’s manuscripts, Lindsay found a letter Jane had written to her friend, Fanny Knight. Alarm bells rang as details in the letter suggested arsenic poisoning. A lock of Jane’s hair, donated to the Trust, proved to contain traces of arsenic. This prompted the germ of an idea for Lindsay’s novel, The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen.
Lindsay realised that to write this story her novel had to become more character-driven.Previous books had been plot-driven. The character of Fanny Knight, a governess, needed to be explored. She was neither part of the aristocracy nor part of those people who worked below-stairs. What would friendship and love cause one woman to do for another? What was it like to be that alone as a governess, and to find that your only friend, Jane, had died? Lindsay wondered how she would find her Historical Voice!
In conclusion, Lindsay said ‘Whatever problems you encounter, believe in yourself and never give up. Accept constructive criticism and persevere’.
Gary Farnell thanked Lindsay for her talk and took questions from the floor.
Q ‘What should you do if an editor asks you to rewrite?’
A ‘Editors do know the pitfalls; don’t question instead: rewrite. Sometimes you must distance yourself from your work.’
Q ‘What do you mean by character-driven?’
A ‘A strong character. I had to learn because I was plot-driven. Know the background of your characters. Character is everything.’
Q ‘Is writing in the 1st person restricting?’
A ‘Yes. There’s more freedom using the 3rd person.’
Q ‘Were you intimidated by Jane Austen’s language?’
A ‘I didn’t try to write in Jane Austen’s style. I used my own voice.’
Q ‘Did you alter your view of men after you had spoken with the prostitutes?’
A ‘I thought it was only a certain sort of man who wanted dangerous sex. And I was surprised that many men would pay more, despite the risk they were taking.’
Q ‘Arsenic was used in face powder. Could Jane Austen have poisoned herself?’
A ‘That is a possibility. Jane had rheumatism and may have used Fowler’s Solution, which contained arsenic. Arsenic was also in wallpaper and sweets.’
Q ‘Where does your future lie, now, Crime or historical novels?’
A ‘I would like to do both. But publishers like to ‘brand’ you. Some authors use a different name. But it becomes difficult if you have to deliver one novel a year.’
‘Write a 1000 word short story’
1st Prize – Joan Robinson-Harris
2nd Prize – Claire Buckley
3rdPrize – Di Castle
Highly Commended: Susan Piper, Jenny Brooks and Lovell Taylor. Congratulations!