Author: hampshirewriters

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.”

Hampshire Writers’ Society meeting 11th October 2022

Report by Sarah Noon

Jenny has been a literary agent with Andrew Nurnberg Associates since 2002, and has a large list of writers who she represents across all genres.  The agency, based in London, was established in 1977 and has authors from across the world. The company also deals with translation rights which oversees the translation of English-written books into other languages. Andrew Nurnberg Associates consists of a team of agents, each with their own list of writers.

Jenny first asks us “Why have an agent?”  As she points out, many writers self-publish as well as taking other routes to publication. Jenny admits that she knows very little about self-publication and acknowledges that many writers have achieved this successfully. Jenny explains that the writers she represents need time to write and therefore rely on their agent to manage the business elements of their work. She points out that if you are writing full-time, it is a business and “…contracts can be long and complicated.”  The Society of Authors provides advice on contracts etc., but an agent, she explains, will be there “…to do the business for you and guide you as your career progresses.” On this point, Jenny tells us that she spends more time managing writers whose contracts are ending, and considering new literary directions, rather than launching new writers at the start of their career.

Agents have the expertise to negotiate the best deals for authors and to ensure money is coming in for them. They have contacts consisting of editors and publishers and know the best ones for a particular market or genre.

Jenny tells us what rights the agency deal with:

• English language rights – across English speaking world
• Translation rights (can be sold separately)
• Serial rights
• Audio rights
• Dramatic – film and theatre
• Digital / ebook rights
• Gaming rights
• Merchandising rights

Jenny explains that there are benefits to signing up to an agency such as Andrew Nurnberg, which handles foreign rights. Jenny has a number of colleagues in foreign countries who all speak the language of those countries.  Jenny meets with them once a week and discusses the writers and books she has on her lists and then shares information as to which books might be successful outside of the UK. This creates opportunities for “…a lot of joined-up thinking” across countries. As she points out, Jenny’s colleagues know the markets for their countries “…inside-out.” Jenny demonstrates her understanding of international trends in literature, telling us, for example, that thrillers do not do very well in Brazil, but romance does. In France, she continues, romance does not do so well, but crime does. Jenny shows us how covers for the same book, differ across various countries in order to more appeal to that particular demographic.

So what happens when Jenny or one of her colleagues takes on an author? She explains that the writer will receive a letter (a representation agreement) which details what will be done for the author – including commission rates (15% on UK deals).

Jenny discusses marketing and explains that whilst there was an expectation a few years ago for a writer to be present on social media, due to what Jenny describes as a “toxic” environment, many agents are now happy for writers not to be on social media platforms.  Turning up to bookshops for signings is always good, and many larger publishers provide courses to help writers with social media and technology.

Once a writer is ready to submit work to an agent, they need to establish the submission requirements. These are on the agency’s website – just like all agencies. Information can also be found in “The Writer’s and Artists’ Yearbook” which lists all the literary agents and what they represent.  Jenny warns that no reputable agency will charge a reading fee, and to avoid those that do. Every agency is different, Jenny tells us, so “…do your research.” Applicants should ensure their whole novel is compete and they have an idea of what else they will be working on in the future (ideally in a similar genre or style).

She advises writers to get used to constructive feedback and be prepared to edit work. After publication, criticism does not stop and so it is useful to be able to manage this. Jenny also suggests that new writers are able to manage their financial expectations.  Advances, she tells us, are not what they used to be.  Many of her writers still have day-jobs as well as writing.  However, with a smaller advance, writers have more chance to “earn-out” and begin to earn royalties (a percentage of every copy sold).

Jenny urges us to ask ourselves “the big question” – Is your manuscript ready? The most common reason why submissions fail to get past Jenny’s inbox, she says, is because they’re simply not ready. A big part of realising whether your novel is ready or not is to re-read your piece several times. But she accepts that the more times we read our work, the closer we get to it and the less objective we become. She advises us to put our work away for a month or so. After this, Jenny guarantees we will find things that need doing – either small edits, or large structural things. This will ensure that our work is as good as it can be before it is submitted to an agency. Jenny also tells us that we should be reading around our genre, “If you want to write, you have to read lots as well.” Consider where we want to be in the bookshop. It is also important to research the market.  A writer needs to demonstrate that they know the market, and that there is a place in the market for their chosen genre.

Jenny talks to us about the issue of outside editors.  She explains that if a writer is repeatedly sending the same manuscript and not getting anywhere, then it may be worth getting work scrutinised by an outside editor.  However, she warns of the danger of one smoothing out issues too much, resulting in the removal of the writer’s voice altogether. As Jenny reminds us “It’s the voice that we’re most interested in.” Jenny advises writers to ensure that any agency or consultancy has very good reviews – particularly word-of-mouth.

Jenny helpfully goes through a list of things we should check before any submission:

• Go through manuscript and ensure characters are behaving authentically and that there are no “spare” characters.
• Ensure all scenes start at the latest possible point, and end at the earliest possible point (watch a well-edited film for a demonstration – Jenny recommends Toy Story) – nothing extraneous.
• Don’t tell the reader everything (craft). This prevents the reader from switching off.
• Creatively incorporate the backstory – there doesn’t need to be a whole chunk of backstory.
• Show not tell (“she shivered” not “she was cold”).
• Check spelling and grammar manually.
• Check the size and spacing of manuscript is what the agency asks for.
• Consider why you want to tell this story – make sure that doesn’t get lost.
• Consider who we want to tell it to. This helps with pitching tone and content.
• Ensure we know what is at the heart of our story.
• Does everything need to be in there?
• Is any reported action better than seeing the action (and vice-versa)?

Most agents will require a synopsis with submission. Jenny informs us that writers are generally “…quite bamboozled by them.”  It needs to be a sheet of A4, explaining chronologically what happens in the story from beginning to end in a straightforward way – beginning, middle, end. The purpose of the synopsis is NOT to sell the book, but rather to allow the agent to ensure that its narrative is on track. Jenny advises us that a way to do this is to number the events in the story from one to ten.  That will provide what Jenny refers to as a “…skeleton synopsis.” This can then be expanded into paragraphs. Jenny adds that a skeleton synopsis is a useful exercise to do at any point in the writing process, not just at the end. A synopsis does NOT need a backstory.

A covering letter will also be needed. Jenny explains that this is just a polite and business-like letter with a little bit about why the particular agent has been chosen. The letter should also explain the age of the reader, and its genre, and how the book may fit into the marketplace. Jenny recommends including the blurb in the body of the letter. Finally, personalise the letter with information about any experience, jobs etc. Jenny understands that a writer is likely to send letters out to a variety of agents, but gives the advice that they should ensure that they let agents know if they receive offers from another agent.

Jenny’s advice is, as always, invaluable to any writer and has been very much appreciated by the members of the society this evening.

Tuesday 11th October 2022

Report by Sarah Noon

Gregory writes historical fiction and his debut novel, set in Hampshire, is entitled “Looking Through the Lace Curtains.” It is a family saga set in the 20^th century.  Gregory is currently working on his second novel.  He is here to talk to us about the learning curve of a new writer (although he describes it as a vertical line rather than a curve!) and the ins and outs of publishing one’s first book.

Gregory is originally from Petersfield, although has not lived there for some time. He talks about how when leaving one’s home, one will “…look back many years later with a certain amount of affection.” This, he explains, is one of the reasons why he wrote his first novel.  He talks about the drive which many writers have – his being to leave a tribute to those “… who went to hell and back” in the late 19^th century / early 20^th century.

Sharing his thoughts about a new writer’s learning curve, Gregory describes it as “…your very own mini Everest.” Adding “…it’s not easy.” However, he says that when writing historical fiction – where the writer is dealing with history – it means that there is some structure already there “…to cling on to.” He goes on to express his admiration for those who are able to write from an empty page.

He describes looking back through Petersfield’s history and events in his life as …”looking in your rear-view mirror.” He explains that there is a blind spot which you know is there but you don’t know what is in it. He continues, “You can see a car coming up to overtake you, then it’s gone.”

“Looking Through The Lace Curtains” stems from a letter that was written in 1994, but unknown to the majority of his family until 2010. The letter was from two sisters in Australia, trying to trace their ancestors. Their father (Freddie) had been born in 1909, and his story began somewhere in England.  The two sisters had travelled to England and visited London and Petersfield to try and find out more about where their family came from. Initially, Gregory tells us, they were “…greeted with silence.” But they eventually found family, and went back to Australia in 1994 with many documents. When the sisters’ letter was discovered in 2010, Gregory tells us that there was “…a moral decision to be made,” knowing that delving into family history may bring to light things which may upset others.

Gregory decided that he did want to find out more about his family and the sisters, and he enrolled on a Master’s Degree course in order to “…set himself up to write.” This got Gregory back into the habit of writing.  He then went on to research his story of Gertrude and her son Freddy who travelled to Australia as one of its “home children.”

Freddie had told his two daughters what he wanted them to know and what he remembered about his childhood, but Gregory tells us, there were still “…many blind spots.” This issue led him to the issue of “Fact versus Fiction” – can the two meet? However, alluding to the point he made earlier, Gregory reminds us that was not starting with a blank page, as he already had a huge subject “…that needs to be dealt with.” It is, he says, “…a question of organisation.” Gregory also tells us that the era in which his story is set (WW1, suffragettes etc.) means that there is a huge background to put in place, which also requires a huge amount of organisation.

One of the first questions Gregory tells us he asked himself was “How many people do I keep in? How many people do I take out?” He also considered the timeline – should there be flashbacks etc. to explore others’ points of view? He explains that he is also mindful of the fact that his story would affect people still living today who are part of the family. He considered whether there would be possibilities of libel and slander.  He explains that he balanced this with the fact that he was making “…an honest attempt…” and was doing his research thoroughly. With this aim, Gregory tells us that he obtained many official documents such as reports, birth certificates and public notices.  He goes on to say that these documents gave him the structure for his story. Other tools a writer has, says Gregory, then enable the writer to give sentiment to the story.

Gregory reminds us that before social media was around, people would write several postcards a day to each other, and these sorts of things are often to be found in families’ attics etc. He says that these sorts of things give us “… a notion of the attitudes of the time,” and describes them as “vital” and adds sentiment and emotion to a historical story. 

However, Gregory then goes on to show us several images of letters, photographs and documents pertaining to the family, and discusses the internal struggle between fact and emotion that these images create.

The second half of Gregory’s talk, explores the pressures of self-publication. He suggests that even when self-publishing, a writer still needs an agent or someone to assist, as it is “… a monumental task.” Gregory also reminds us that we need an editor. This he tells us, is not always an easy relationship, but it needs to be with someone the writer can trust. Gregory also advises us to ensure we are ready before we go for the final print, as once a writer is committed, the deadlines which loom can create a great deal of pressure.

Gregory ends his talk by sharing with us his three aims when he wrote his book:

• A tribute
• A testimony
• A reminder

We wish Gregory success with his forthcoming second novel.

Gregory Sayer’s website: https://gregorysayer.wordpress.com/

Report by Sarah Noon from Mark’s talk to HWS on 14th June 2022

Mark is an active member of the HWS committee and is therefore a familiar face to most of us at the society.  He has recently self-published his first novel, a science-fiction story entitled Icefall Cities, on Amazon and is here this evening to talk us through how he achieved this, and the pitfalls he encountered along the way.

He chose Amazon, he explains, as at the time it was the market leader for E-books (he stresses that he is not talking about paper books at this stage, although he plans to attempt this soon).  Amazon also incorporates Kindle Unlimited, and Mark says that he believes that using Amazon and Kindle will enable his book to reach as many people as possible. He also feels that the method for publishing on Amazon is relatively straightforward. Amazon automatically assigns their books with an ASIN number, and if the user has an Amazon account, then they can sign in using that. Once a user has signed in, they can begin the process towards publication!

There are, Mark says, many help topics available and lots of online support (if anything, too much and this can be overwhelming). However, all the information is there.

Writers considering publishing their work on Amazon, need to decide whether they are going to do it as a business or a sole trader – there are pros and cons for both.  If you decide to publish as a business then corporation tax must be paid, and once the decision has been made, it cannot be reversed. Mark decided to do it as a business, using a limited company he set up a few years ago called Ambient Quest Studios (he set it up online using Rapid Formations https://www.rapidformations.co.uk/).  He explains that this is straightforward to do online.

Mark tells us that there are some downsides to using Amazon, of which we should be aware. The most significant is that publishing through Amazon prevents you from publishing your work on multiple platforms (for this he suggests using something like Draft2Digital). Another downside is that when you sell your book, you need an ISBN number. If you do not use your own ISBN then the publishing platform (i.e. Amazon) will issue you with one and you will not be able to publish that edition on other platforms.  However, you can buy your own ISBNs from Nielsens in the UK (https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com/Home/Isbn).

When a manuscript is ready, then it needs to be converted into the correct format.  Mark explains how to access Kindle Create – a free piece of software that Amazon provide (https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Create/b?ie=UTF8&node=18292298011). It is, he says “pretty straight forward to use.” It essentially involves uploading your document and allowing the software to convert it for you.  Prompts are given for title pages etc.  Kindle Create also allows the writer to adjust spacing and indents. However, as Mark points out, when reading on a Kindle the reader has the option to change the font size and spacing, and so the format is not about focusing on what the final book looks like, unlike more traditional publishing software.

Mark goes onto talk to us about cover artwork.  Amazon recommends some programs for this, but Mark used a version of Photoshop (Canva and GIMP are also a good ones). He advises writers to ensure that their artwork looks good in black and white and as a thumbnail, as well as the front cover (the thumbnail, he says, is one of our biggest sales tools).

With the manuscript and the artwork now formatted and uploaded, the book is now ready to be exported onto Amazon. This too, is quite straightforward, but Mark warns us that the use of subtitles, categories and keywords etc. is “…a whole other talk.”

Pricing the book is another issue that the writer has to consider. Mark explains that because Amazon is an international company, the options come up in a variety of currencies.  However, if books are priced between £1.77 and £9.99 and you are exclusive to Amazon you can select a 70% royalty rate.

The writer can then decide upon under which categories the book will be listed – up to two can be selected. Amazon will then automatically assign further categories, dependent upon your title, subtitle and keywords. On the subject of keywords, Mark suggests a useful piece of software called Publisher Rocket (https://publisherrocket.com/ ), which costs just under £80, but there is also a free trial version. This enables you to try out a variety of keywords, and see how far down a list of searches they would appear.

Final stages before publishing includes the book description, which Mark describes as “…a bit of a dark art” but is he reminds us “vitally important.” He also points out that there is lots of help available for this. Also included in the final phase is the author page.

Finally, the writer can hit the “Publish” button! The screen will say that it can take up to three days to publish, but Mark’s book took about two hours.

We congratulate Mark on the success of publishing his book and wish him success.

Hampshire Writers Society, 13^th September 2022

Report by Sarah Noon

Judith is a lecturer and writer. She has written many non-fiction books for children. Her first novel for adults, Snegurochka, was nominated for the Edward Stanford Travel Award. This evening, Judith is talking to us about how experiences influence our writing – when fact is used to create fiction and where the boundary between the two lies.  She asks us, “is fiction just the stuff we make up?” and maintains, that we can’t avoid real life entering fiction.

Judith uses as an example, the novel “The Dig” by John Preston. It is extremely well-researched, she explains, but is nevertheless fiction.  The characters within the novel are real people, but are fictionalised via their first person perspective.  There are divergences between the real and imaginary versions of the characters. She also discusses the novel “The Fall Guy” by James Lasdun.  Here the writer uses real places in the novel (a psychological thriller set in upstate New York). The place names are made up, as well as street names, the shops, the artisan bakery etc., and this allows for a degree of fiction. “Author Author” by David Lodge and “The Master” by Colm Toibin are both novels written about Henry James. Despite this, they are very different books and Henry James come across as a completely different person in both. Yet another example Judith gives of fiction stemming from fact.

Judith reminds us that as writers we are free to be inspired by real people and places.  We can change the names and other elements. Using this type of inspiration allows us to get into the heads of people and explore their perspective. 

Judith tells us about how she lived in Kyiv from 1992-1994.  With regards to Snegurochka, she says she “did her homework”. She talks about queuing up for bread, fruit picking, watching the locals… She tells us about how hard life was when she first went out there as a young mum with a baby in a foreign country, unable to speak the language and a husband who was working hard.

She took dozens of photographs and made notes on gridded notepaper (she shows us some of these notes and photographs),  explaining that she didn’t really know why she did this, other than a vague idea that she wanted to write something.  She studied many maps and read lots of books, all with the aim of creating something “…authentic and real.”

Judith used an old instamatic camera – before the days of digital. This, she says, gives the images a sense of age. Judith conveys her fascination for the place. She knew she wanted to write about it, but wasn’t sure what exactly she was going to write. She knew she didn’t want to write a guide book.  She considered a memoir, but soon dismissed the idea. She wanted to protect the privacy of her family, and also felt that her life wasn’t that interesting.  She also confesses to the fact that she “… couldn’t help making stuff up.”  Despite the collection of notes and photos, it was actually over twenty years before Judith wrote her novel Snegurochka. The title is from a Russian and Ukrainian folk tale about a couple who can’t have children so they create one out of snow. Lenin took two folk tales and morphed them together in order to create a winter tale, when endeavouring to move away from Christian society.

Judith explains that there are parallels between her characters and real people she encountered (for example her protagonist, Rachael, is not Judith but there are similarities). Rachael is terrified of the balcony and will not go on it.  Judith explains how she knew the protagonist couldn’t be her, with her upbringing, child and partner, but she tells us how she drew on feelings that connected to the story.  She remembers being scared of losing her brother’s camera off the Eiffel Tower and connects that to the feelings the balcony in the novel conjures up for Rachael. Judith’s husband being away from the flat, enabled her to focus on her protagonist’s isolation which is exacerbated by being terrified of the balcony and has to protect her child. Making Rachel English in a non-English-speaking country also adds to her the isolation. Judith explains that she felt people were angry with her, but she never knew why, adding to her feeling like an outsider – another facet to Rachael’s character.

Using these examples, Judith demonstrates how our own experiences as a new writer can give us confidence “No one can question the experiences we’ve had.”  Judith tells us that those real-life moments are “…like stills and snapshots…” and the fiction is the moving images in between them.

Despite these connections being made, Judith reiterates that the final characters are not real. The character of Lucas, she says, is not like her husband at all, and with hindsight, would give him another profession in order to separate reality from fiction even further.

Judith continues with other examples – a photo of her husband’s hand with a cigarette. This formed the narrative of the twelve-year-old boy on the balcony above, describing looking down and smelling the smoke wafting up from beneath him.

The caretaker of the apartments, Judith describes as a “type”. Someone always watching everyone. She explains that to avoid it being a cliché she needed to make the character more rounded. Judith took parts of characters she saw in order to create more depth. It was a lady who when Judith was out shopping in Kyiv one day, began pulling at her hair, who finally became the Caretaker in Snegurochka.

In Kyiv, Judith was commissioned to find the prices of various products for the diplomats. Whilst doing this with her baby in his pushchair, she met a man in a white-goods shop who began stroking her baby’s head. This experience unsettled her – but became the basis of Mikala the racketeer.

Judith also tells us about an area near her flat that was poor and “shambolic”, but was built on prime real-estate.  A Swedish couple bought a cottage belonging to an old lady. One day she returned to pick her apples, arguing that whilst she had sold her house, she had not sold the land around it – a conflict that triggered the idea for her book.

She has many stories, she says, but didn’t use them all.  She reminds us that these events must be there to serve the story. However, she admits this can be hard sometimes.

Whist some writers “make everything up.”, Judith considers that she made bolder decisions as a result of basing characters and events on her own experiences.  She says she needed the confidence of writing about what she knows.

Judith is asked about the photos that form the collage on the front cover of her book.  She explains that they were not specifically taken for the book, but were actually taken for personal memories.  She admits that she was not comfortable with the cover designer’s decision.

Thinking about the city twenty years later, when Judith began writing the book, she says she’s not sure if her descriptions are accurate. She describes this as “psycho-geography” in which she had created her own place.  Judith returned to Kyiv in 2018. She says that it had changed and was now full of young people and families out and about. It possessed a greater sense of prosperity – a rather poignant comment in the light of the war the Ukraine is now fighting.

When using real experiences as a way to create fiction, Judith urges us to consider changing one thing and ask “… what if?” She did this in Kyiv, when looking at people on the trolley-busses and wondering what their world was like – to consider “cause and effect.” Finding connections between real events is what provides the fiction.  It is this turning of “fact into fiction” that gives Snegurochka its sense of realism and truth.

Judith’s second novel set in upstate New York and she is once again using her experience in order to create fiction.  We wish her every success with her new book.

You can find out more about Judith on her website: http://judithheneghan.co.uk/

14th June Book Fair 6.30pm-7.30pm 
In the Foyer of the Stripe Theatre Building Foyer

This is an exciting time when published HWS members, mainstream or self published set our their books to sell. For those members who dream of being published this is your opportunity to come along and find out from the authors about their particular journey. It could be you next time!

Meet some of the authors stalls at the Book Fair 

Anthony Ridgway

Anthony is the winner of the Barbara Large Memorial Award 2019  for his wonderful achievement of being a published author of two children’s books. He is currently working on his third book.  Barbara was his creative writing teacher who spotted his talent and encouraged him to keep on writing.
Books are available as audio books read by David Suchet and his wife, Sheila.
To see a short film about Anthony’s book launch with a reading by David Suchet, follow this link.
https://fb.watch/dyE5jjDL7H/
Wizzy the Animal Whisperer

Anthony’s first book Wizzy the Animal Whisperer is out now as an audio book read by Sheila and David Suchet.

Wizzy and the Seaside Adventure

B Random

B. Random/ Gill Hollands, our special guest speaker, will have her books available for sale

Tamar Hodes, our main speakerwill have some of her books available for sale at the Book Fair.

Di Castle

Grandma’s Poetry Book is her first poetry collection and is a popular gift for new grandparents.

Should I Wear Floral and other poems on Life, Love and Leaving

Both books can be bought via her website www.dicastle.co.uk and her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dicastlewriter/
tweets @dinahcas

Damon L Wakes
Damon L. Wakes holds an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Winchester, and Ten Little Astronauts—the novella he submitted as the final project for that course—has since been published by Unbound.  He writes everything from humour to horror, and produces a brand new work of flash fiction every day during July each year. Damon also writes interactive fiction and games, and provided the story and dialogue for Game of the Year nominated virtual reality title Craft Keep VR.


Rob Stuart
 
Rob Stuart is a local author who lives in  Chandler’s Ford.

Rob’s books A Place in the Country; Appearance and Illusion;  and Uther Pendragon will be available on his book stall.

Uther Pendragon 410 AD. Rome withdraws the legions from Britain to try and protect the Empire from the inroads of the Barbarians. Uther Pendragon is the last prince of the Belgae, left to defend his lands from the inroads of the invaders. Tutored by Merlin, he is trust into manhood by the tumultuous times into which he is born. Betrayed by his allies he is forced to flee to the Roman province of Brittany where he is recruited by the Roman warlord Aetius. He becomes a player in the drama of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the West; a lover of the Empress Dowager; the father of the Once and Future king Arthur and friend of Attila.

Maggie Farran, Catherine Griffin & Sally Howard
Three writing friends who collaborated on a new project in lockdown, culminating with publication of Winchester Actually. 

Winchester Actually

Join a magical tour of Winchester

Unravel the intrigue of the great train robbery. Witness the thrills and spills of rioting through the streets. Wonder at sacrifices made to save the cathedral and defend the city. Enjoy gentler tales of romance and motherhood set in and around Winchester.

J.M Carr

Janette Carr is a children’s writer from Southampton. Writing older middle-grade stories, she is best known for her novel The Wonder Girls.  Set in London in 1936, the Wonder Girls are a group of girls hiding from the paramilitary Blackshirts.  Her latest book, The Wonder Girls Resist is set in Southampton in 1937 against the backdrop of immigration stemming from the Spanish Civil War. Like its predecessor The Wonder Girls Resist has a political stance, exploring a time when the country was on the brink of war.

Mark Eyles
Hampshire Writers’ Society committee member Mark Eyles has published his first book – Icefall Cities: Deadly First Contact at the Edge of a Galactic Empire.

After working in the games industry, writing for comics (2000AD & Sonic the Comic) and spending time as an academic running videogame courses, Mark finally settled down to writing books at the start of 2019. His writing draws on his love of science fiction, creating a slightly quirky, but grim and gritty story set on a colony world where everything’s gone nightmarishly wrong.

Icefall Cities is available as an ebook, self-published on Amazon. Mark is busily editing the sequel ready for release later this year.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09X21QWXL

Report by Sarah Noon

At the time of speaking, Beth O’Leary’s latest book “The No-Show” is number 5 on the Times Best Seller list.

She admits that her 18-year-old self would not have read any of her books and would definitely have scoffed at the idea of romantic fiction.  However, she says, there is no shame in the genre of Romantic Fiction – something that “people devour and read and enjoy”, and she wishes she’d realised that earlier on in her career. Originally inspired by Sophie Kinsella, she was the writer of the first romance fiction book that Beth read.

She reads us the opening pages of “The No-Show.” It is well received by the listeners, who smile and chuckle as the story unravels.

Beth has always been a writer. She explains that she has been inventing stories since she was a child.  She says she feels “out of sorts” when she’s not writing. She recalls sending her first query letter when she was 17.  She had her first agent by the time she was 25, when she pitched The Flat Share. She points out  that whilst this is quite young, she had been working hard on her writing for 8 years. The Flat Share has been a huge success and is now being made into a TV series.

She remembers the outfit she wore for her first meeting with her agent, and how it felt to hear someone talking about her characters “as if they mattered”. She said that although the continual bombardment of “no’s” can be a bit soul destroying, she reminds us that it only takes one “yes” and then you have an agent and someone “…fighting your corner with you.”

On the subject of agents, Beth advises us to consider what we want from a relationship with an agent. She remembers getting off the phone following that first call from her agent, telling her then boyfriend, and both laying down on the floor and listening to the playlist that she listened to whilst she was writing The Flat Share on the train on her way to work (noise cancelling headphones are the best thing she ever bought).  She tells us that she still writes in short bursts even now. Whilst she was “over the moon,” she was also “afraid and vulnerable” (“…you’re putting your work out there”).

She points out that “…it’s your heart on that page.” The idea that you can’t please everyone is a painful truth for Beth who says she wants to do exactly that, when she is writing something to be enjoyed by everyone.  She goes on to advise us not to read reviews! 

She was plagued by self-doubt when writing her second novel The Switch about “connection & community.” In the novel, a grandmother and granddaughter swap places for a month.  Beth felt the pressure of people who loved The Flat Share.  She was plagued by “… tricky second album” comments and the weight of expectation following the success of her debut.

Beth had struggled to write The Switch and had to make several structural changes during the process.  It was not always a happy experience for her as she wrote it.  However, she tells us about the value of her author friends, which are a great support in what can be “… a lonely job”.  This struggle though, Beth believes, has not impacted on the joy of the book for the reader.  She urges us to remember that readers cannot sense that the writer is unhappy. Over time, Beth has come to love this book as much as her others.

The third novel, The Road Trip, was easier for Beth,  as by this point, she “… felt like a writer.”  She’d had the idea for the novel for years, and she says, it was “brewing” for a long time. She was inspired by a stay in Provence – the setting for her story and explores the ideas of a separated couple having to be in a confined space for a considerable time.

Now that her writing career had taken off, she remembers how at one point in April 2020, she was working on 4 books at the same time – promoting, editing, writing etc. This led her to looking at how she approached the planning for her novels.

This was especially the case for book number 4, The No-Show.  As this is an ensemble book, Beth has had to be very organised. She talks about her world of many spreadsheets and how they can be the antithesis of creativity.  However, through the development of The No-Show, she felt the book was not working despite being 70000 words into it.  She then had an idea that “… hit her like a bolt of electricity…”  (she won’t tell us what this is for the benefit of those of us who are yet to read it.) She then changed the spreadsheet – making it prettier! Beth says that one can’t underestimate the impact of a new colour and font!

Beth talks about her novel openings and how they are often the weakest part of her stories when she begins the process, choosing instead to spend time setting up the characters etc.  She reminds us how important it is to begin a story at the point of something exciting or important happening.  This, Beth says, is how she likes to introduce the characters.

Finally, Beth explains that the genre she writes in gives her that fizz and she asks us to consider what gives us that “fizzy feeling”. There is no doubt that anyone who picks up one of Beth’s books will indeed feel the fizz…

Report by Sarah Noon

Louise Morrish Writes about forgotten women in history, using them as inspiration for her stories.

Her writing journey began when she entered her unpublished novel “Operation Moonlight” for a Penguin competition in 2019 (before the world had heard of COVID).  “The Coffin Club”, as it was titled at the time, was inspired by her late gran.  Louise had also read about an elderly lady who wanted to be the oldest lady in the country and had the idea of killing anyone who was older than her in order for this to happen.  Louise says she didn’t tell anyone she’d entered the competition as she did not want anyone to know she’d “failed yet again.”  However, in 2019, she received a phone call from Penguin, telling her she’d won.  It was then that she felt able to tell her family.

It was winning this competition that spring-boarded her writing career.  Louise explains to us that her first page was drafted and re-drafted several times.  She says that it was the potential of the book, rather than a liking of the whole book which “… piqued their interest,”. However, as a result of winning the award, Louise secured an agent.  She admits this was “terrifying,” having her work placed under such scrutiny (her editor worked with authors such as Lisa Jewell and Anthony Horowitz).

Through working with Penguin, the title of the book changed to “Operation Moonlight” and, at their advice, the focus became more about the protagonist’s covert work in the Second World War as an SOE (Special Operations Executive) agent, rather than her mission to kill people so she could become the oldest person in Britain. When the book was picked up, Louise explains, many older people were dying of COVID, so it was “not the right time.”  Also, by Betty (the protagonist) murdering others, it would be hard to make her likeable.

Louise then shows us a short film entitled “School for Danger” (Imperial War Museum)

 School For Danger (1943) – YouTube

As part of her research, Louise “endured” her own parachute jump in order to “feel what it was like.” She says, “It was awful…” but needed to understand how it felt to jump out of a plane.  The only way she could do this was to experience it herself.  She remains adamant that she will never do this again!

Louise explains that before she won the competition, she had no idea how many people were involved in the publishing of a book.  She mentions the editors, agents, marketing executives, legal people, proofreaders … the list goes on.

She finishes her talk with a comparison between writers and SOE’s agent and the skills that they need (“courage, tenacity, focus …).

Louise has previously written two novels which have “… yet to see the light of day,” but there is hope for the future.  She is working on a novel which is set in the First World War.  She’s also hoping to sign a second contract soon with Penguin but declines to talk about this as she “… doesn’t want to jinx it.”  However, we wish Louise much luck with this.

Operation Moonlight will be published on 21st July 2022 and is Louise Morrish’s debut novel which won the 2019 Penguin Random House First Novel Competition in partnership with the Daily Mail.

What are the secrets to writing a successful historical fiction series?

Report by Sarah Noon

Matthew Harffy is best known for his historical series The Bernicia Chronicles which are set in the 7^th century. There are currently 8 of these and the 9^th is due out in December.  This evening he takes us through the whole process of researching and writing historical fiction.

Matthew begins by talking us through the books he has written:  as well as The Bernicia Chronicles, he has written the Wolf of Wessex (set in the Viking period) and another series – A Time For Swords and A Night of Flames.

He then goes on to explain how he got into publishing; asking us to bear in mind that the industry has changed significantly over the last 10 years. For Matthew, it all started in 2001, when he was watching a documentary about Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. The story behind the castle inspired him to write his first book, The Servant’s Sword. The development of the book required much research. Over a period of three years, Matthew studied the history and background, maps and documents and, he says, realised that his idea was more of a series than a stand-alone novel. He then speaks about having “the wind taken out of [his] sails,” when soon after, Bernard Cornwall brought out The Last Kingdom – a book very similar to The Servant’s Sword.  As a result, he stopped writing. Over the next few years, he “lived his life” and talks about his family, holidays, going to the Olympics, playing in a band… but, he says, “I wasn’t writing.” He says that although he would think about the book and his writing from time to time, he wasn’t really doing anything about it.

His writing journey then continued in 2012.  Matthew recalls that he was travelling to a campsite in his car and listening to a radio documentary about E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, and how this was selling incredibly well via eBooks on Amazon.  Matthew says that due to his job, he had the skills to do this with The Servant’s Sword and that “…maybe I should consider that as an option.”  He describes sitting on his own outside his tent that evening, listening to the sounds of the wind, and the fire etc. thinking about his book.  He realised that he was hearing the same sounds as his characters in his book would have heard over 6000 years ago.  “The people are the same, the world is the same. I need to write this book.” He says that he considered that many books have similar themes and settings so shouldn’t be put off by the fact that Bernard Cornwall had already written something similar. 

Following this moment of realisation, Matthew went home and wrote the book.  It took him seven months and was about 100,000 words.  He found an agent by going through the channels that many of us are familiar with (one-to-ones at writers’ festivals, email pitches etc).  He eventually found an agent who took on his manuscript.  However, despite working hard on Matthew’s behalf, “…every publisher in Britain rejected [it],”  which, says Matthew, leaves you feeling “ … pretty much like you’re rubbish.”

However, Matthew explains that whilst all this was going on, he had caught “the writing bug” and had written a sequel … leaving him with two unpublished books. Feeling that he perhaps wasn’t going to get any further along the traditional publishing route, Matthew reveals that this was when he began to consider self-publishing (something, he informs us, that agents don’t like as they don’t get any money!).

With the practical skills that Matthew has already spoken of, he tells us that he edited his work, got others to read it, designed a cover on some free software, contacted other writers who read his manuscript and allowed him to use their quotes on the covers – and he self-published. Matthew explains that once he had his book on Amazon and had sold several thousand copies and had lots of reviews “…then the publishers are a bit more interested.”

This lead to him being taken on by Head of Zeus publishing.  Their way of working meant that they published the e-book first, then print-on-demand, then getting the book into shops as the final stage. He explains how difficult this decision was to make, as Head of Zeus was not offering any advance and Matthew had already self-published, but signed up with the hope that it would bring him other benefits such as foreign language rights etc.  Whilst Matthew is now very happy with the way things have gone, he says that after taking a significant pay cut, there was a moment when he was “… bricking it.”

So, how did he write that first book?

Matthew urges us to consider the difference between an amateur and professional writer. Is it simply a writer who makes some money out of their work? He quotes Richard Back “A professional is an amateur who didn’t quit.” and reminds us that he did, in fact, quit for a time.  He also quotes Jodi Picoult who says “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”  Matthew reminds us that if you don’t write, you’ve got nothing to make better. He says the most important thing is to “… finish your manuscript.” Whether one chooses to self-publish or publish traditionally, it needs to be finished first.

Matthew sets targets.  He tells us that “Microsoft Word is horrible” when writing a long manuscript.  He discovered Scrivener. This writing programme allows him to set targets. Whilst working full-time, he set himself the target of 3000 words per week. Much of this time was whilst waiting to pick his children up (he says that when you’re a parent of young children, much of your time is “…just waiting for your kids to do stuff,”). So, Matthew used that time productively by writing.

He then went down to part-time. He set himself the target of 5000 words per week.  Now that Matthew is full-time, he writes 2000 words a day between Monday and Friday.  He advises us “Don’t get bogged down in research,” when writing.  He explains that if he needs to research something specific, he will highlight the section and then go back and research once he has completed his first draft.

Matthew talks through the process of his structural edits, line-by-line edits, copy edits, proofreading etc, all leading to a published book. But how does he start?  After writing twelve books, he is well placed to tell us…

For Matthew, “…every story starts with the history.” He makes clear that although his stories are fictional, he starts with a dramatic real event. He may also add a “…what if?” After he has the ideas for his story, he says that he then spends a few weeks researching the history and location, considering how the story will work.

So what, asks Matthew, keeps people coming back? He explains that it’s not the plot, it’s not the history, it is, he says, the characters. “Characters sell books.”  He goes on to tell us that the character needs flaws. Another tip he gives us is that we should “…leave every chapter with an unanswered question,” thus ensuring your novel is a page-turner.   Returning to the fundamental issue of characters, Matthew discusses how in order to make the ones in his 7^th Century stories accessible to his readers, he tries to make them “… a little less 7^th century,” making him more relatable and emotional to a modern-day readership.

Having been very generous with his time and advice, Matthew ends his fascinating and in-depth talk with his mantra:

“Story over history, authenticity over accuracy.”