Report by Carole Hastings
Barbara Large welcomed members and guests to the start of the new season of exciting HWS talks with acclaimed authors Andrew Taylor as the main speaker and Lindsay Ashford as special guest and adjudicator for the September competition.
Lindsay is an internationally published crime writer whose book The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen will be dramatised on Radio 4 in February 2014.
She shared her top tip for writer’s block. When she is developing her characters for a novel, she studies photos from papers and a plethora of magazines for people who have features that match those of her characters. She sticks these images on index cards creating a box of faces for each novel. When she’s stuck, she stares at a card and lets the face take on a life of its own. She lets any idea come into her head to unlock her creativity. The Gothic face of the antagonist in her book Where Death Lies came for a teen music magazine. The book is available from September on Kindle for 98p for a limited period only.
Andrew Taylor, author of 40 crime novels, won the Creasey Dagger Award in 1982 with his first book Caroline Miniscule written whilst he worked in a library. It was the first in his eight book Dougal series and he hasn’t looked back. He has won a number of awards including the prestigious Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2009 for his outstanding contribution to the genre. Most recently in 2013 he won the CWA Ellis Peter Historical Dagger for the third time, this time for The Scent of Death, which was set in Manhattan during the American War of Independence and explored the relativity of loyalty.
Andrew writes organically with no defined plot or structure, just some fragments that he wants to feature. He likened it to having a packet of seeds but no idea of how the plant will look when it’s fully grown. He said when faced with writer’s block he forces himself to write, even if he’s not sure where it will go. He stressed the importance of creating a hook at the end of each chapter to keep attention high. His first novel developed into a crime novel but the intention at the outset was purely to write a page turning story that was authentic. His publishers made the point that crime is always popular so this would secure a place on the booksellers’ shelves which is more difficult for mainstream novels. However they asked him to edit it by a third, an act that he said felt like sawing off the legs of his first born, but one that he eventually saw made the book a success. He made the point that professional writers take advice that amateurs won’t…
Crime fiction has had a renaissance over the past thirty years and the market has gone from simple “who dunnit’s” to complex psychological thrillers set in any time. Barbara Vine’s novels that explored moral dilemmas in the 90’s marked a turning point for the genre. The importance of a corpse and a real story that entertains the reader are of paramount importance to Andrew, as is thorough research rather than relying on memory for period fiction. He watches film, listens to music, reads the papers, checks social history records of any era he writes about. His Lydmouth series about a policeman and female journalist in the 1950’s was his first testament to that. There is a final book in the series waiting in the wings. Most of his work includes issues relevant to the day e.g. worries about the Cold War, social mores, class and sexism.
As well as generating his work from scratch, he novelised the TV drama Bergerac on the invitation of Penguin and created four novels in eight months. Some years later The Roth Trilogy, three psychological thrillers inspired by Fred West, were televised as Fallen Angel and starred Charles Dance and Emilia Fox.
Andrew advised everyone to keep their writing simple, not to over-complicate the plot and to avoid too many characters in too many settings.
For more information on Andrew and his books see: http://www.andrew-taylor.co.uk
There can be no better location for the finale of the HWS season than Chawton House and Library. Stephen Lawrence, Chawton’s Chief Executive and author Lindsay Ashford, his partner, made us feel at home as we toured the house, ventured into the garden when the rain stopped and ate strawberries and cream in the courtyard and kitchen.
HWS Chairman, Barbara Large introduced the special guest, Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester who praised Barbara for making the HWS and The Winchester Writers’ Conference the respected and successful organisations they are today. She described her own role at the university as falling into three parts: a business woman, a diplomat and a politician.
Treasurer, Crispin Drummond assured the audience that the finances are in good shape and that a constitution will be circulated to members for comment and approval preceding an AGM in October
Julian also won numerous awards, including Raindance Film Festival, for his short film, Love at First Sight starring John Hurt and Phyllida Law. He has used this film as his calling card in the increasingly competitive film world. Many experienced and good writers are finding it tough to get work as so much drama has been cut. He cited the old TV soaps as the breeding ground for talent but these don’t exist today so even getting into the business is more difficult than it has ever been.
David Eadsforth introduced Madeleine Milburn of the eponymous literary agency who shared a thought provoking presentation. Madeleine started her career at AP Watts 10years ago. The agency is the oldest in the UK and represents highbrow writers such as Zadie Smith and Sebastian Barry who are less prolific than many of the more commercial authors she handled when she made the move to Darley Anderson. Here Madeleine built her own list of authors in the female fiction, young adult and children’s genres. These moved with her to her own agency and she works closely with all 25 of them and is branching into crime and thrillers.
Jane never wastes her life experiences – they all provide her with material for books and features -domestics even find their way into her column… Woman’s Weekly Fiction Specials are a great outlet for short stories.
Dom Kippin, the Literature Development Officer for Portsmouth opened the evening’s talks telling us about the events we’ve sadly missed in this bi-centenary year of Dickens birth and things to look forward for next year. Dom is behind a number of initiatives including, Writers Hub, Portsmouth 2013 – Home of Great Writing and a Bookfest every autumn for established and debut writers. 
Steve Tasane, Writer in Residence for Dickens 2012 and Performance Poet thrilled the audience with his 140 line ballad of The Old Curiosity Shop. It was spellbinding and brilliantly performed without a single note. We also enjoyed What the Dickens! and Bill Sikes’ Bull’s Eye. Steve described Dickens as the original pop performer with his works precursors to soaps and internet literature as he wrote in short instalments for mass consumption.
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.
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.