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ENDINGS
How to leave your
readers wanting more

I DON’T WANT TO
MISS A GREAT READ!
Why the editor of new LAUNCH
weekly SevenDays is asking YOUR OWN
everyone to send fiction YOUTUBE
CHANNEL
TIPS ON DIALOGUE

Start mastering the WRITE WHAT

LITERARY YOU KNOW: WHAT
IT REALLY MEANS
SHORT STORY
Every month workshops, exercises and market news
#239 Dec 2021 • £3.95

to help you write better fiction, non-fiction and poetry

It’s about discovery Less is more Art of solitude
Sita Brahmachari on why a Esther Chilton helps The Mentor explains
YA book is a journey for the a reader to tone how to avoid loneliness
author as well as the reader down the description when writing alone
Women’s
Poetry
Competition
2021

‘...My hand is a brave monkey

reaching up to touch her fangs –
while all the hairs of my body
rise like wind in a storm
as she brands me with her stripes...’

from ‘Tiger girl (surprised!)’ by Pascale Petit, in Tiger Girl, 2020

mslexia.co.uk/competitions
competitions@mslexia.co.uk
(+44) 191 204 8860

SINGLE POEM POETRY

For single poems of any length.
1st Prize: £2,000
PAMPHLET
Plus optional mentoring by award-winning poet and tutor
Mimi Khalvati For collections of up to 20 poems
2nd Prize: £500 1st Prize: £250, plus publication of the pamphlet by Seren
1st Prize: £250 Books
Unpublished Poet Prize: £250 Entry fee: £20
The four winners plus 16 additional finalists will be published
in Mslexia magazine. JUDGE
Entry fee: £10 for up to three poems. AMY WACK
Poetry Editor, Seren Books
JUDGE
PASCALE PETIT

CLOSING DATE FOR BOTH COMPETITIONS: 6 DECEMBER 2021

 WELCOME

Writers FORUM
A WORD FROM 4 HEADLINES 31 CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Newsfront The latest in It’s all about a journey
THE EDITOR the world of writing Sita Brahmachari tells Anita
6 SUBSCRIPTIONS Loughrey how and why
Writers’ Forum makes the she writes ‘rites of passage’

G enre labels are used

to help businesses sell
books because readers know
8
perfect Christmas gift
INDUSTRY INSIDER
New market: SevenDays
books for YA readers
34 KICKSTARTERS
Keep writing The year
roughly where to look for Douglas McPherson meets ain’t over till it’s over!
magazine launch editor 37 INSPIRATION
the sort of thing they like.
Siobhan Kielty, who wants Ideas Store Paula Williams
But they often fall short to read your
ur work! ventures out of her cosy
when defining the work of 12 GET STARTED zone to meet Morwenna
an individual author or even Favourite things Douglas Blackwood
a particular novel; writers McPherson explains why 38 STORY COMPETITION
will dabble with different he’s a great believer in that This month’s winners
writing class truism ‘write of £550 in cash prizes
settings and almost every what you know’ 48 FICTION WORKSHOP
book is a crossover of some sort. ‘Literary fiction’, which we 14 WRITERS’ CIRCLE Toning things down
look at on page 18, can mean work that is especially poetic or Your letters plus a reader’s a bit Fiction editor Esther
demanding. It’s also a catch-all for writing that is about the First Draft challenge Chilton suggests that a
17 AGONY AUNT reader cut some description
real world rather than the romantic (exciting worlds of space
Dear Della Writer Della to let the story shine out
travel or monsters, spys or lovelorn heiresses, etc). But the Galton answers your queries 50 POETRY COMPETITION
label ‘literary’ is just as elastic as any other and such novels on wordcount, plot holes and Poetry judge Sue Butler
can often fit comfortably into an existing genre, even if finding an agent introduces this month’s
publishers will insist that they are breaking new ground. 18 LITERARY FICTION theme plus Experiment
So what do you think makes a story ‘literary’? How to write a literary 52 POETRY COMP RESULTS
short story Relax – and The winner of £100 for our
Write soon, Carl get involved, says Adrian Ross ‘Baggage’ competition
20 FREELANCE MARKETS 54 WRITERS’ DIRECTORY
The Magazine Scene Kate Medhurst’s pick of
Don’t miss issue #240 on sale from 16 December Adam Carpenter’s regular upcoming book, author and
round-up of industry news writing events
Writers’ Forum GER Wendy Kearns
AD SALES MANAGER and opportunities 58 MOTIVATION
Select Publisher Services Ltd EMAIL advertising@writers-forum.com plus Diary of a freelance The Mentor Emily
PO Box 6337 TEL 01392 466099
hack Cunningham helps a lonely
Bournemouth BH1 9EH GER Tim Harris
TEL 01202 586848
CIRCULATION MANAGER 22 FICTION MARKETS reader see creative positives
PRODUCTION MANAGERGER John Beare
GER Vince Jones
IT MANAGER
Inside Story Douglas 60 WRITING KNOW-HOW
PUBLISHER Tim Harris McPherson reveals the Research Secrets Ex-
OR Carl Styants
EDITOR Subscription rates (12 issues)
UK £46, DD £11.50 for 3 issues source of a recent womag police chief Simon Bowden
CHIEF SUB Wendy Reed
EUROPE £59, ROWW £69 story and how he shaped it tells Anita Loughrey how far
Photography and artwork GER Chris Wigg
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER into a sale experience informs his writing
With thanks to Shutterstock EMAIL chris@selectps.com
24 WRITING EXERCISE – and what he’s had to learn
COVER IMAGE Tithi Luadthong
PRINTED BY William Gibbons & Sons, Story endings Barbara plus Writing Outlets with
26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, W Mids Dynes has 10 questions to Janet Cameron
© Select Publisher Services Ltd. No part of
this magazine may be reproduced without the DISTRIBUTED BY Seymour Ltd, 2 East ask about yours– and sets 62 COMPETITION CALENDAR
written permission of the publisher. Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT an exercise Brenda Henderson tells
Writers’ Forum cannot accept responsibility for
DATA PROTECTION For information about 26 NEW SERIES Caroline Vincent about the
any unsolicited material. Writers’ Forum is fully
independent and its views are not necessarily those
how we manage personal data, please see How to put your work Bookstops’ Pen Nib writing
https://www.selectmagazines.co.uk/privacy-policy
of any company mentioned herein. All copyrights on YouTube Sarah comp, plus full competition
and trademarks are recognised. Every effort has Registered in England. Registered Number M Davies introduces an listings
been made to identify the copyright holders of 5450559. Registered Office: Princecroft Willis
LLP, Towngate House, 2-8 Parkstone Road, Poole
alternative audience for your 65 TALES OF MY GURU
images. Writers’ Forum cannot accept responsibility
for inaccuracies or complaints arising from BH15 2PW. A catalogue record for this magazine writing that’s suprisingly easy Hugh Scott’s mystery mentor
advertisements featured. is available British Library. ISSN 1467-2529 to access listens in on his dialogue
28 FLASH COMP 66 WHERE I WRITE
For submissions, visit www.writers-forum.com/contact-us Our writing contest is FREE Phil Barrington visits
We reserve the right to edit any article or letter received. to subscribers plus results of author Peter Hughes in his
Please note that Writers’ Forum does not carry book reviews. the ‘Object’ comp ‘antilibrary’

Writers’FORUM #239 3
 HEADLINES

newsFRONT
The latest in the world of books, the internet and publishing – written by you

Lockdown sparks
magazine sales spike CWA Daggers now open to
self-published authors
Magazines had a good
’lockdown, according to the Self-published and traditionally published crime
newsagents who sell them. ’authors can now nominate themselves for the
Mark Dudden, who runs a Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Awards as well
Post Office and WHSmith Local as publishers. It follows the decision in July to allow
in Cardiff, told BetterRetailing. self-published authors to become CWA members
com: ‘I’ve seen an amazing spike for the first time in the association’s 68-year history.
in hobby magazines. From scuba CWA chair Maxim Jakubowski (right) said:
diving and horse riding to knitting, ‘Successful self-publishing requires the same
sales are very strong.’ Sales of professional approach that publishers take. Our aim
adult colouring books also rose, is to ensure the Daggers stay relevant, accessible and open to all talent.’ The awards also include the
and Dudden now dedicates a Debut Dagger for unpublished crime authors. For more information, visit thecwa.co.uk
promotional bay to them.
Mike Mitchelson, of Mitchelson
Newsagents in Cumbria, stocks Bookshop.org celebrates despite the considerably reduced awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
600 titles and reported an first birthday footfall, especially at Christmas, ‘for their efforts to safeguard
increase in puzzle books and the busiest time of the year. freedom of expression’.
children’s comics, while Nainesh In its first year in the UK, Paddy Screech, of Word on Vowing to continue her
Shah, who maintains 30 metres ’Bookshop.org, which describes the Water, a bookshop set on campaign for press freedom,
of magazine shelves at Mayhew itself as the ethical alternative a canalboat in London, says the Ressa – who is the co-founder
Newsagents in Belgravia also to Amazon, has generated over money means they can make of the news website Rappler
saw an uplift. £1.6m for the 480 independent repairs to their barge. ‘It is – stated the prize was for ‘all
‘We saw a dip two years ago bookshops on its platform. literally correct to say – after a journalists around the world’
because of digital mediums, but Launching on the same day long and sometimes heartbreaking and hopes ‘this allows journalists
since last year print has been as the UK went back into a year – that Bookshop.org is to do their jobs well without
coming back,’ he said. ‘People national lockdown, bookshop.org helping to keep us afloat.’ fear. We do need help on so
love the feel of magazines, and provided a source of vital income many fronts – it is so much more
there are so many specialist titles to independent bookshops as difficult and dangerous to be a
available.’ Douglas McPherson they could still reach customers journalist today.’
A staggering gesture Rights activists have recognised
Ressa’s award as a ‘triumph’ in
‘Vax’ is OED word Meanwhile, award-winning a country ranked as one of the
of the year ’author Dave Eggerss ((A world’s most dangerous for
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering journalists.
The Oxford English Dictionary Genius) has said his latest work, According to the Nobel Peace
’
has chosen vax ax as its word of The every, will only be made Prize website, both journalists
the year. Although usage of available to small bookshops and encapsulate the intention of
pandemic
mic increased by more not on Amazon. The gesture has Alfred Nobel’s will. It states that
than 57,000 per cent in 2021, been greeted with gratitude by the award ‘to Maria Ressa and
OED senior editor Fiona independent booksellers. Dmitry Muratov is intended to
McPherson (right) said vaxax ‘was the standout in the crowd’ after Helen Yuretich underscore the importance of
words related to vaccines spiked in frequency this year and for its protecting and defending these
versatility in forming other words. The word vax ax goes back to the fundamental rights. Without
1980s but had been rarely used until the last 12 months. freedom of expression and
The word vaccine was initially recorded in English in 1799 – its Nobel Peace Prize freedom of the press, it will be
derivatives vaccinate and vaccination first appear in 1800 – and shared by journalists difficult to successfully promote
comes from vacca (the Latin word for cow) which, according to fraternity between nations,
the OED, is due to Edward Jenner’s work on vaccination against
smallpox by using cowpox in the late 18th century. Sam Todd
’MariaVeteran Philippine journalist
Ressa and Russian journalist
disarmament and a better world
order to succeed in our time.’
Dmitry Muratov have been jointly Emma De Vito

4 Writers’FORUM #239
 Toddler flight tale wins
BBC Short Story Award Garden poet wanted

Lucy Caldwell has won the

’£15,000 BBC National Short
Story Award for All the People
Were Mean and Bad, a tale of a
mother’s transatlantic flight with
her toddler daughter.
Caldwell, who was previously
shortlisted for the contest in
2012 and 2019, was praised by
the judges for her ‘masterful
storytelling’, ‘deep truthfulness’
and ‘deft precision’.
The Belfast author said her
experiences as a parent were
important in writing the story
and that she ‘turned it over in my
mind for maybe a year’ before
hearing the tone and completing
the first draft in a couple of days.
Also shortlisted for this year’s
prize were Georgina Harding,
Rory Gleeson, Danny Rhodes
and Richard Smyth, who each
received £600. Sam Todd
Peeling the Grapes
’findDartington Trust is launching a campaign to
a Poet in Residence for the estate’s Grade II*
listed gardens in Devon. The position is open
to any poet in the UK and will run from January
to December 2022. The Poet in Residence will
make four weekend trips to Dartington, one in
each season, to write a poem about the gardens.
Dartington will pay a fee of £1000 and cover the
costs of accommodation and travel for the visits.
The poems will be shared on the Dartington
Trust digital channels, in events at Totnes Bookshop and in workshops with students.
To apply, poets need to send three example poems plus a covering letter explaining why they
would like to become the first Poet in Residence for the historic gardens. Dartington is especially
interested to hear from candidates from under-represented backgrounds. Applications should be sent
to poetinresidence@dartington.org. The deadline is midnight on 30 November and the successful
applicant will be announced in December to start in January.
of the lifestyle, Steinbeck felt published facsimiles of the Grammar drama
immense pressure, recognising, original manuscripts of Mary
‘This must be a good book. It Shelley’s Frankenstein, and
simply must. I haven’t any choice.’ JM Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy,dy ’costAone
missed apostrophe could
social media user
Readers can see this sense said: ‘From start to finish, a packet. After posting on
of urgency and honesty in the Steinbeck’s manuscript evidences Facebook that his employer
original handwritten manuscript, the single-mindedness with which was selling multi-million-dollar
which has been published for the he approached this task, with mansions but ‘can’t pay his
first time. It provides insights into relentless determination and employees superannuation’ an
Steinbeck’s writing style – which discipline.’ Australian man was faced with
includes notes to himself to keep The manuscript, the original a defamation charge.

’JohnWritten in under 100 days,

Steinbeck’s 1938 novel The
Grapes of Wrath depicts life as a
migrant worker – something the
author reported on as a journalist
for the San Francisco News.
Understanding how important
it was to capture the hardships
Hugh Scott is a Whitbread-winning author. He writes and illustrates for The Park Free Press
his writing ‘big’ so that his then
wife Carol, who was his typist
and proofreader, could make
sense of it. It also shows how
publisher Viking Press edited out
expletives to make the novel less
controversial.
SP Books, who have already
of which is kept in the University
of Virginia’s archives, allows
readers some private moments
with Steinbeck, giving them an
opportunity to, as scholar Susan
Shillinglaw puts it, ‘creep close to
the source of inspiration’.
Emma De Vito
New South Wales judge
Judith Gibson ruled that while
‘employee’s’ was an accusation
involving one employee, without
the apostrophe it could be
read as ‘a systematic pattern of
conduct’. She allowed the court
case to proceed. Helen Yuretich

ODD SPOT BY HUGH SCOTT

The publishers of the Russian adaptation of Derek’s book on
Mammals Through History
tory were clearly pleased with sales.
Send us your news
and the best item
each month wins a
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’theseWepages,
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either researched directly
dir
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entertain writers in other regions. Get writing and good luck!

Writers’FORUM #239 5
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NEW MARKET:
SevenDays
Editor Siobhan Kielty tells Douglas McPherson
about the opportunities for fiction writers at
a newly launched weekly magazine
T
he women’s magazine fiction
market can look like a closed
shop. While only a handful
of titles currently publish
short stories, some mags only
accept them from a pool of previously
published writers. And although others
have an open submissions policy, their
pages are dominated by a small group of
established authors whose bylines appear
week after week.
More than that, the mags are very
particular about the type of tales they
buy. Even experienced womag writers
face rejection if their stories deviate from
the requirements of a title’s brand, and
newcomers can struggle to crack the
formula.
A new weekly launched in October,
however, promises to have a much more
open, inviting and flexible fiction policy.
The first issue of SevenDays appealed
for readers to send in short stories, and
8 Writers’FORUM #239
When I was
freelancing,
I would read
Writers’ Forum
and there was
always that
little spark of
‘Oh! I could
try that…’
editor Siobhan Kielty says she is keen to
hear from both professional writers and
those who’ve never written a story before.
‘I think everybody should have the
chance to write a story,’ says Kielty. ‘You
could be flicking through the magazine
and say to your 12-year-old child, “Why
don’t you write a story and send it in?”
‘Or you might be somebody who bought
the magazine for the puzzles. You might
be older and retired and have some spare
time and think, “I’ve got a story to tell.”
‘I don’t think writing needs to be
something exclusive to professionals,’ the
editor continues. ‘We’ve had some stories
come in that are really polished, and that’s
great. Then we’ve had others where you
can tell it’s someone just having a go at
writing a story… and some of those rawer
ones are really lovely. Those are the ones
I don’t want to miss out on.’
In terms of the type of stories the
magazine is looking for, Kielty says it
should be ‘something that fits between
traditional women’s magazine stories and
literary magazine stories’. That can include
romance, historical, comedy, mystery,
thriller, family, friendship and nature
stories. But Kielty is keen not to issue
many dos and don’ts as she doesn’t want
to limit anyone’s creativity.
‘There’s a womag market and it’s
great, but this isn’t the womag market,’
she stresses. ‘This is readers’ fiction. It’s
not about us, or that we need it to be
within a certain remit, it’s about them.
It’s about stories that someone, somewhere
will want to read, and who are we to
judge who that is? It could be a man
buying the magazine. It could be someone
in their 30s or someone in their 80s. It
could be anyone.
‘You’re not going to see the same thing
every week,’ Kielty adds. ‘It would be
great if I could tell you what is likely to get
 MEET THE EDITOR

accepted or rejected, but I don’t think I can

at the moment, because it depends on what
the readers are going to like.
‘The way we choose the stories is quite
subjective. There are a few of us reading
them and we go, “Do you like this one?
Do you like that one?” And if one of our
group likes it, that’s great. There’s one
coming out soon that is truly bizarre, but
I just thought it was lovely.’
While some mags have instructed
writers not to mention the pandemic,
lockdowns and face masks, Kielty has no
objections to such references.
‘You don’t have to mention them. But
if you want to, we’re all living through it,
so absolutely.’
Stories set outside the UK are also
welcome.
‘Generally, we’re looking for something
positive, even if it’s about grief or loss. In
the first issue we had one about a young
man coming to terms with an amputation.
But we’ve had a huge range coming in,
including humour, family stories and
nature stories.
‘I believe that if a story has a message,
and it’s not being pushed too hard, but
there’s something in there that you can
relate to, then that always works.’

Wordcount
SevenDays publishes two stories each
issue and they can be any length between
500 and 1200 words.
‘We’ll do either a single page or a
double-page spread for each story and
we design the illustration to suit the
wordcount,’ the editor explains.
The magazine pays £75 for first rights
only – which means authors retain
copyright of their work – and the only
rule is that the stories must not have
previously been published.
‘People are not going to get rich off
this,’ Kielty admits. ‘But it’s something
that you do get a reward for, and it’s
exciting and fun. I think a lot of people
would like to see their story illustrated
and published in a magazine.’
The mag uses double quotes for
dialogue, but Kielty tells writers not to
worry too much about formatting.
‘Detailed submission guidelines are
fine for experienced writers, but we don’t
want to put off anyone who has never
submitted a story before,’ she says.

New launch
SevenDays is the first foray into the UK’s
women’s weekly market by Keesing,
Europe’s biggest publisher of puzzle
▲

Continued overleaf

Writers’FORUM #239 9
 MEET THE EDITOR
Continued from previous page
magazines. Its UK titles include the
PuzzleLife range of mags such as Family
Wordsearch and Family Criss Cross.
The publisher, which sells more than
100 million magazines each year, saw a
boom in sales during the past 18 months
as people sought activities to fill the extra
hours spent at home while locked down,
furloughed or isolating.
It hopes that SevenDays, which is
distributed through all the major
supermarkets and 5000 independent
newsagents, will keep those new readers
engaged with a mix of puzzles and other
activities that readers can take part in,
such as recipes and crafts features, plus
articles on mindfulness and wellbeing.
‘There was a little bit of a reset and
some people are maybe realising that they
found something they want to keep,’ says
Kielty. ‘This magazine is a way to do it.
‘It’s full of suggestions for things that
you can do and we thought it would be
really nice to give people the opportunity
to express themselves through writing,
too. If people are being careful and staying
in over the winter, there are worse ways
to spend an hour than writing stories.’
The decision to include short stories
was Kielty’s.
‘Why? Because I like reading them!’
the editor enthuses. ‘It’s a privilege to
read people’s stories. We’ve had a lot of
submissions and we’re wading through
them, but it’s never a slog. I think if
somebody’s bothered to write something,
it’s always worth reading.’
Before SevenDays launched, Kielty tested
the idea of inviting readers to submit
stories by asking her mum and niece to
10 Writers’FORUM #239
have a go at writing one.
‘It was interesting to see what different
age groups come up with,’ she says.
She’s particularly interested in
publishing stories that might not find
a place in the usual womags.
‘I went on a writers’ retreat a while
ago and it was really interesting to hear
everybody’s experiences. They all had
their own style and it was so lovely to be
in a community where everybody had a
chance to express themselves. I want to
bring that opportunity to SevenDays.’
At present there are no openings for
freelances to contribute features, but
Kielty says that situation will be reviewed
in the coming year.
Creative writing
Kielty has worked in magazines for more
than 20 years. After taking a postgraduate
course at Harlow University, her first job
was at Cash and Carry Management. From
there, she moved on to wedding and
architecture titles before spending the past
seven years on puzzle mags at Keesing.
Kielty has also spent several years living
abroad, working with horses in Australia
and America, and writing for various
ex-pat magazines while she was away.
She’s always had a passion for creative
writing, though, and has a stack of Writers’
Forum back issues in her house!
‘I used to write and enter competitions
when I was a kid,’ she says. ‘I did a sitcom
writing course during lockdown and it
was so much fun. Just having those few
hours to unleash the creativity again was
brilliant. I loved it.’
Her ambition is to write a play and stage
it at the Edinburgh Festival.
‘The idea will probably stay unwritten
in my head for the next 20 years!’ she
laughs. But although she admits to having
a few unfinished creative writing projects,
from children’s stories to poems, she
stresses that the fun of writing as a hobby
can be about more than the finished result.
‘When I was freelancing, I’d read Writers’
Forum and there was always that little
spark of, “Oh! I could try that.” Even if
you never do anything about it, there’s
that little sparkle where you think, “Well,
I could…”
‘And I think that something people
have learned over the past 18 months is
that it’s not an awful idea to take a moment
out and think, “I could try that.”’
For the immediate future, Kielty says
her creative writing will take a backseat
to establishing SevenDays’ place on the
newstands. It’s the first new women’s
weekly to hit the shelves in a decade,
but she hopes it will encourage further
launches.
‘I think there’s a little bit of a kick-back
against digital and that people are going to
fall in love with print again at some point,
because it’s a great thing,’ Kielty opines.
‘There’s something about going out and
buying a magazine, or having it delivered.
Or flicking through it in the car when you
have to wait somewhere for 10 minutes.
‘You can switch off when you have a
magazine in your hand, in a way that you
can’t when you’re reading on your phone.
I think magazines are good for the soul.’
Submissions
Unpublished stories of between 500 and
1200 words can be emailed to sevendays@
keesing.co.uk
More info on SevenDays can be found
at sevendaysmag.co.uk
 TARGET YOUR
MARKET THROUGH
THE PAGES OF

Writers’ FORUM

Call Wendy Kearns on

01392 466099
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
or email Google play “...give or take a pebble.”, “...give or
advertising@writers-forum.com take a shilling.”, and
“...give or take a moment.” ( coming soon)
Readers can contact the author at
tthompa@verizon.net
 FIRST STEPS
GET STARTED
Favourite things
Douglas McPherson explores the real meaning
of ‘write what you know’
W
hen I was a
teenager I
liked painting
pictures of
naked women. If you’re
wondering what was the
attraction to a young man
of studying the play of light
and shade over the curves of
the undressed female form…
well, let’s just say the clue is
in the question!
My point, though, is that
if you want to get good at
painting, you have to do a lot
12 Writers’FORUM #239
of looking and, in my case, I
doubt I would have become so
handy with my brushes if I’d
tried to paint a pot of petunias.
It’s much the same with my
writing today. I don’t fill my
stories with nude women, of
course, because I’ve grown
up now – and besides, there’s
not much call for them in The
People’s Friend.
But I do spend a lot of time
writing about show business,
teddy boys, steam trains
and plenty of other things I
happen to have a keen interest
in. If I didn’t, I doubt I’d find
the motivation to sit here all
day every day tapping out
thousands upon thousands of
words. I also doubt I’d sell so
many of them.
What you know…
The advice to ‘write what
you know’ is among the first
that many writers will hear.
It’s among the best advice,
too. But it’s also, I think, the
most misunderstood. Many
aspiring scribes resent it,
because they see it as limiting
and exclusionist. I know that
I did, and I probably delayed
my decision to begin a writing
career as a result.
Because what do you know,
especially when you are young
and starting out? School life?
Home life? Your job? Those
may be the very last things
you’d want to write about.
Indeed, they may be the things
that you write to escape from.
Should you be precluded
from writing about cops and
robbers because you’ve never
been either?
And what if you want to
write about elves, unicorns and
vampires? What could anyone
know about creatures that
don’t exist?
Well, if you happen to be
obsessed with goblins and
fairies, if you read books about
them, watch films about them,
have pictures of them on your
walls and models of them on
your desk, then I would say
that you know quite a lot about
them and should definitely be
writing about them.
The same goes if you live for
fishing, astronomy, spy stories
or monster movies.
Even if you have only
experienced the things that
fascinate you through the
medium of books or films, if
you are into them enough, that
is still what you ‘know’.
You don’t have to be an
expert, because you can pick
up everything you need for
your writing projects through
 It’s easy to think those writers
are writing about this and getting
published, therefore I should be TAKE THE STEP
writing about those things Lesson 1
To put in the hours
research. You do, however, a women’s magazine, or the in specific categories and of that good writing
need to have a burning interest books on the shelf of your standard lengths. Magazines demands, it’s
in whatever you are writing local supermarket, and think want articles with a topical imperative to write
about, to sustain you through those writers are writing about hook. Those concerns are about the things that
the hours and days that you this, this and this, and getting more about form than content,
interest you the most.
will spend sifting through published, therefore I should though, and it’s easy to make
research and tapping away on be writing about those things your pet subjects fit. Lesson 2
your keyboard. if I want to be published, too. If you want to write about
Delving deeper into your That’s a huge trap to fall into, horses, for example, you could There’s no point in
favourite subjects should because whenever you try to write a romance set on a ranch, writing what you
be nourishing in itself. An write about something that or a crime story in which a think will sell if your
evangelical desire to tell others your heart isn’t in, your words jockey gets murdered. You’ll heart isn’t in it,
about all the exciting things will fall dead on the page. still be writing about your because you’ll only
you’ve discovered should be the What’s more, other writers favourite subject and your ever come up with a
driving force behind pitching are already writing about those knowledge of it will give lacklustre imitation.
your ideas to magazines and subjects with a passion of their your story its unique flavour
publishers, and putting your own. The market doesn’t need and selling point. It worked Lesson 3
findings into words. your half-hearted attempts to for champion steeplechaser- It’s your personal
To put in the time and emulate them. turned-thriller writer Dick passions that will give
hard work that good writing To find your place in the Francis, after all. He sold
your work its unique
demands, you really do need to writing world, you need to 60 million horsey books.
be fanatical about your content. bring something fresh and The great thing about
selling point.
vibrant of your own – and that writing on subjects that you Homework
Pitfalls will be your knowledge and are genuinely passionate about
The trouble is that a lot of insight into the things that is that none of us are unique Make a list of your
aspiring writers waste their you love the most. in our tastes. There will favourite things.
time writing about things that always be others who share Next, put each
they’re not passionate about. Selling point our interests. It may be a item at the top of a
I understand why, because Of course, you will still have few people or it may be a lot. blank page and start
I’ve done it myself. It’s very to tailor your work to the But there will always be an brainstorming ideas
easy to look at the stories in market. Publishers want books audience somewhere. for things that you
My teenage paintings, for could write on the
example, sold very well. Now, subject. Don’t rule
TRICKS OF THE TRADE who would have guessed that
I wasn’t the only person who
anything out as too
Douglas shares writing tips he’s learned through experience liked having pictures of naked
silly. I once made such
ladies on my walls? a list and put ‘Daleks’
#80 Focus on content, not form The nudes sold even better, at the top. I ended
incidentally, following some up writing a short
Most of us begin by thinking about the form we would like our local newspaper publicity story about a Dalek
writing to take. A novel, for example, or a memoir. Those may be surrounding an exhibition I operator, an interview
the hardest things to get published, however – or to sell, if you self- held in a public library, where with Dr Who assistant
publish. If you focus instead on the subjects that you would most some of them were deemed Elisabeth Sladen,
like to write about, then a wider range of opportunities opens up. too erotic for display. and a Q&A with Nick
If you want to write about your childhood, for instance, then, yes, The story of the banned Briggs, who voices the
you could pen a full-length memoir. But you might also find that nudes was actually my first
Daleks on TV.
you could write nostalgia pieces for a regional magazine, or general experience of generating news
interest articles based around specific memories, such as childhood coverage with a press release
games or TV shows in a certain era. You might also be able to – and it taught me a lot about • Start Writing
sell short stories based on your experiences. With all of those you pitching stories, knowledge Today by
could reach a bigger audience in a shorter time, and pave the way that came in handy in my Douglas
for a more successful full-length memoir later on. writing career. McPherson is
available as
■ If you have a question about getting started as a writer, Next month an ebook to
please email Douglas at getstarted@writers-forum.com We’ll look at how to write a download from
press release. Amazon now

Writers’FORUM #239 13
 READER LETTERS
Writers CIRCLE
Your news and views, writing tips and funny stories
JUST THE JOB
Developing believable
PRIZE characters is something
LETTER I often find difficult.
Sarah M Davies’
technique of future writing for
a character (issue #238) is such a
good idea, and something I shall
certainly be giving a go.
It reminded me of a method
I sometimes use. I first tried it
when I wanted to write a story
about a young teacher. I had
no plot whatsoever; my main
character was little more than a
vague scribble and I was on the
verge of binning the whole thing.
But then the thought came
to me that I should conduct an
interview with my main character,
as if he was real. So I got a pen
and notepad, pictured the teacher
sitting opposite me and began
asking him questions: what his
name was; where he was from;
why he became a teacher; what
he hoped to achieve and what
problems were getting in his way.
To my surprise, the interview
began to flow. I hardly had to
think about it at all. I was asking
the questions but it was like
somebody else was answering
them. In fact, he seemed so real
I even offered to make him a cup
of tea at one point!
Afterwards, I found that not
only did I have a fleshed-out main
character, but he’d also very
kindly come up with a plot for
me too!
Andrew Savage,
Dover, Kent
THE RIGHT FIT
Way back at the beginning of my
writing career I joined a writing
group. It was composed of two
factions: those writing books and
14 Writers’FORUM #239
DIARY WRITING
JOURNALLING 5:
In the last of her five-part series, Sarah M Davies explores a technique for finding
the intermediate steps that will help you achieve your ultimate goals
want
working backwards,
that
Year
say:
help
by step.
‘I want to write a novel
this year…’
Grab a notebook or diary
and a pen.
Find somewhere comfortable
to sit.
Now, imagine yourself a
year from now, when you have
reached your goal. If you set
your goals to run from January
to December, your achievement
date can be 31 December. Note
this down.
those producing short pieces of
fiction or non-fiction.
Each week when we read
out what we’d brought, the
book writers would say to the
writers of short pieces that their
stuff sounded too short, while
the short piece authors would
suggest to the other side that
their stuff felt too long. I didn’t
care what length their passages
were, as long as what they read
didn’t sound jarring to my ears.
Amused but disappointed, I
eventually joined a group where
all members produced content
roughly the same length as my
own. It’s a helpful suggestion.
Tom Di Roma,
Oceanside, California
FOOTHOLDS
I couldn’t agree more with
Douglas McPherson about small
writing jobs and how they add up
(Get Started, issue #238). My first
writing article was 500 words on
model yacht races and, from that,
I was invited to the local model
Slow progress towards your
ultimate goal is far better than
no progress at all
of
up with
and
your goal.
writing journey forward.
Developing characters
with Future Writing
do next.
challenges they are facing.
In novels
in your story. Write down, in as
attain success.
What did they do?
Who did they meet who Characters in
helped or hindered them? short stories
What did they have to give
up or take on?
Did they have all the
tools necessary to be able to
overcome the challenge or did
they need to bring in other
people or technology to help?
to reverse engineer your
characters’ development
real
writing project.
Where now?
boat club. I did an article on their
weekly sail, then one on their big
annual display at a naval show.
At the show, another group
was firing off cannons and I wrote
about salvaging cannons. One of
the cannoneers had a museum
of about 30 tractors on his farm,
and that went into the bag.
The tractor man’s son made
wine on the farm, which got me
involved in writing about small
wine makers. The farmer also had
a nature reserve and that took
me into the better paid area of
environmental articles.
And I haven’t even mentioned
how I came to interview round-
the-world sailors.
If I follow Douglas’s advice,
there are several books in there.
But what did I learn most being
a journalist? How to recognise a
storyline. It doesn’t matter if you
have to produce a short story
every week or create episodes
for a novel, you need to know
what will make a story.
Sullatober Dalton,
Faringdon, Oxon
BRIGHT SPARK
I have spent more time on a
fledgling novel than is decent to
confess. Reading that Matt Stanley
(issue #238, page 66) gets tired
after producing 1500 words in
three hours… Well, that’s a
problem I’d love to have. I haven’t
got writer’s block; I’m simply not
producing sufficient new words
to drive the work forwards. I
needed a kickstart. And there
to
it was.
Daily Kickstarters, page 35.
(Yes, I do read the magazine
backwards.) The flash comp
very
Attraction or manifestation,
reminder on 17 October. Flash
but if journalling encourages
isn’t something I’d tried before
but the theme, Object, resonated.
information and inspiration
After Mum died, we found
rings in boxes with tiny labels
attached to the bands: 18ct
Diamond; 18ct Ruby and diamonds
and so on. Probate required
valuation before the estate could
be settled. Fortunately, she never
had to know they were valueless.
They went to an auction listed
as Diamond chips, set-in 9ct gold.
No melt weight. I think we got a
tenner for the lot.
And there was the story. What
a wonderful inroad into flash
fiction. As for her collection of
‘vintage’ bags, clothes and shoes –
well, that’s another three stories.
If, like me, you’ve never tried
flash, you might find it curiously
invigorating . At least you’ll get to
The End, which is more than I can
guarantee for my debut novel.
Jo Scott,
Broadstairs, Kent
BOOK SMART
Should we read novels when
we’re writing one ourselves?
Della Galton advised against it in
issue #238 and I do understand

WIN A YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION!
The writer of the prize letter each month will win
a year’s subscription to the magazine. Please make
sure that you include your full name and address in
your email. Write to letters@writers-forum.com
what she’s getting at. Personally,
though, I think there are some
pluses to be had.
When I’m writing, I tend
to think beyond the style of
the author whose book I’m
reading at the time and become
aware of things I might have
missed in my own writing. For
example, if I read about well-
defined characters engaging in
witty banter, I might consider
whether my own characters are
believable or if there is enough
humour in what I’m writing.
Are my characters speaking to
each other as naturally? Are
they one-dimensional, unlike the
characters I’m reading about?
This isn’t a case of copying style
but checking out my own style
when reading.
And, anyway, if we avoid reading
when writing, should we take
this a stage further and avoid any
storytelling – on TV, in theatres,
on the radio, in newspapers? I
don’t think that would help at all.
David Ward,
Mitcham, Surrey
PEER SUPPORT
I’d like to thank Philip Simons for
his lovely letter (‘A great balm’,
issue #238). His words gave me
comfort when I was at a low ebb.
This hasn’t been a good
writing year for me. I seem to
have encountered one problem
after another and it’s shattered
my already thin confidence.
One particular setback actually
reduced me to tears. OK, it
wasn’t the end of the world, but
it was a big deal for me.
As Philip says, it can be painful,
being a writer. He rightly points
out that we tend to overthink
situations. I have developed a
habit of brooding and analysing
until my mind is fit to burst!
I wisely gave myself a break
and then realised, like Philip, that
I couldn’t stop writing, even if
I wanted to. Yet the break did
me good, as it refreshed my
creativity.
Good luck, Philip. I’m sure
success is just around the corner
for someone so dedicated.
I’d also like to thank the kind
members of the email feedback
group I belong to, who have
tolerated my many ‘fed-up and
miserable’ messages.
On our yo-yo writing journeys,
we need to find the courage
to face the rough as well as
celebrate the smooth. It’s good
to have such supportive writing
buddies. Here’s to a better 2022!
Sharon Boothroyd,
Brighouse, W Yorks
MERITS OF AGE
The winners of the Kavanagh
Fellowship awards, which support
Irish poets in their ‘middle
years’, will be announced soon.
The Fellowship was established
because Irish writer Patrick
Kavanagh was of the opinion that:
‘Poets can best benefit from financial
assistance during their middle
years, that is to say that period of
their creative life when they have
established that they are capable of
work of merit and before they are
too old to reap the benefit.’
As a person in her ‘middle
years’, I have a long-abiding belief
that my work is of merit, even if
certain editors choose to think
otherwise. But I promise I will
never be too old to reap the
benefits of financial assistance,
even if I’m slipped a fiver on my
deathbed to pen my last words.
Christine Kelly,
Harefield, London
JUST FOR FUN
Oh dear, it looks like Lionel Shriver was having
a bad writing day. Can you spot the 20 errors in
this ‘first draft’ of Should We Stay or Should We Go?
At least their final weak would be tranquil. Traffic was
spares. Birdsong dominated the garden. Aeroplanes seldom
scared the sky.
When Kay discussed the details of their Last Supper, Cyril is
kind enough to take an interest in the menu. ‘I love your bangers
and mash,’ he said, with the tinge of sorrow that had coloured his
discourse for days. ‘Lets have that.’
An easy request to full fill, you would think. Yet Kay
returned from her first trip to Sainsbury’s empty-handed.
‘It was like Venezuela, or the Soviet union,’ she told her
husband in bewilderment. All the shelves bear, fresh food and
non-perishables alike. Everyones gone mental. As if it’s the end of
day. I wanted to scream, You don’t understand! My husband and I
really are facing the end of are days – this very weekend!’
Fortunately, by that friday, special shopping hours for the
elderly were installed between seven and 9 a.m. – during which
the supermarket was jam packed. As a crowning, testimony to
the gentrification of what was once a dodgy, down-at-the heel
neighbourhood, by seven-twenty a.m. the shop was already
stripped clean of penny and pesto. But Kay was at least able to
get her mitt on a packet of sausages.
Weaving in and out of sleep that final Sunday morning
was so delectable that they didn’t arise until noon, and then
with reluctance. Being eight years old was nothing like she had
imagined many years ago.
Sent by Caroline Newbury, from Kent, who earns £25
old (typo). (missing apostrophe). 11 it’s the
(plural). 20 being eighty years 10 Everyone’s gone mental
(wrong word). 19 get her mitts mark). 9 shelves bare (wrong word).
hyphen). 18 of penne and pesto 8 ‘All the shelves (missing speech
17 down-at-the-heel (missing 7 Soviet Union (capital letter).
testimony (unnecessary comma). comma). 6 to fulfil (one word).
(missing hyphen). 16 a crowning tense). 5 Let’s have that (missing
(numerical). 15 was jam-packed (typo). 4 Supper, Cyril was (wrong
(capital letter). 14 seven and nine sparse (typo). 3 seldom scarred
(wrong word). 13 by that Friday 1 final week (wrong word). 2 was
end of days (plural). 12 of our days Corrections
£25 Could you ruin a passage from a modern novel? Send your
error-ridden First Draft (around 250 words), and the 20
solutions, to firstdraft@writers-forum.com Please note that entries
are accepted via email only. We pay £25 for the best published.
Writers’FORUM #239 15
STAMFORD COURT CONFERENCE CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Saturday aPrIL 9th 2022 Early-bird registration is now open online at £75 per delegate
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TH
SELF-PUBLISHING
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A choice of sessions includes...
Choosing a reputable self-publishing company
Soc of Authors; Writers’ Guild of Great Britain; W&A Yearbook
How to be a happy and successful author
Sophie Hannah
• How to boost the buzz around your book
• Subject trends in book publishing
• The importance of editing your work
• The storytelling aspects of marketing a book
• Creating a marketing toolkit
• Routes to obtaining book reviews
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Now it its eighth year, the conference is supported
and sponsored by many familiar names, including
SOPHIE HANNAH MERYL HALLS
Bestselling novelist MD, Booksellers Association Writers’ & Artists’, Nielsen, Matador, The
Historical Novel Society, The Book Guild and
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professionals from the worlds of editing,
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2022 we welcome speakers from, among others,
The Booksellers Association, the Society of
KATE NASH ALYSOUN WEIR Authors and the Writers Guild of Great Britain.
Literary Agent W&A Yearbook
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Books@troubador.co.uk
Got a question – or advice for one of these readers? Email help@writers-forum.com
Need advice on writing and publishing? Novelist
and short story writer Della Galton can help
Should I write to the maximum wordcount?
QIfof a4000
competition states a word limit
words, how close to the
maximum do you need to go? And what
about magazines – should I write to the
wordcount exactly?
Laura King, Winterborne
Whitechurch, Dorset
A Good question. With regards to
competitions, I’ve recently changed
my opinion. In the past I would have
recommended that you get as near to the
word length as you can because a brilliant
2000-word story is unlikely to be able to
compete with a brilliant 4000-word story.
However, I’ve just judged a competition
where very few of the entries in the
shortlist came anywhere near the limit.
So clearly this does not always apply.
Never go over the maximum limit, though,
or you risk being disqualified.
However, in the case of a magazine, they
have a space to fill that requires a specific
length of story or feature. So I’d advise you
get as close to the required length as you
can. Within 50 words or so either side is
usually acceptable.
Q I’m really pleased to have had my
Young Adult novel shortlisted in
several competitions for unpublished
work and selected as a reader favourite
in another. While this is encouraging,
I‘ve not had any luck finding an agent
– and I’ve tried about 20. Could there
be a reason that the book is appealing
to comps but not to agents? Will these
achievements help in finding an agent?
Josie Armstrong, via email
A Congratulations on your success so
far. You are clearly on the right tracks.
I can’t think of any reason why a novel
should appeal to judges and not agents.
If you win a big enough contest, you may
even find agents queuing up to represent
you. So if your novel is still eligible, do
keep entering it. It may just be that you
haven’t found an agent who loves what
you’re writing enough to represent you –
yet! Keep going.
Another thing you could try, if you
haven’t already, is to pay for some feedback
from a reputable critique service to see if
there is anything you can do to improve
your chances of getting an agent.
While you are doing this, I recommend
that you also begin plotting or writing
your next YA novel. If an agent takes you
on and finds a publisher for you, they
will want to see your next novel or an
outline for it. You will always be expected
to write more than one book and I find
that focusing on the next one saves me
worrying so much about the fate of the
first. Good luck.
QI’ve noticed that some TV dramas
have lots of plot holes. However, they
are still successful, presumably because
of the intense pace. Do you think the
same thing holds true for the plots of
novels in general?
Name withheld, via email
A I do know what you mean – I have
noticed this, too. However, in my
experience, it’s very hard to convince a
publisher to buy a story with many (make
that any!) plot holes.
But then, what may be a major plot
hole for one person might be a perfectly
acceptable scenario for another. Credibility
is a very individual thing. I’ve also heard
it said that, unless something’s technically
impossible, it’s not a plot hole. If it could
actually happen, however unlikely it may
be, it can still be credible.
QIwriting
belong to a small, untutored
group and have just
completed my first novel – I actually
typed the words ‘The end’ last week.
A fellow member of the group says
you can only call yourself a writer
once you’ve been published. He’s had
ADVICE PAGE
a story in a local magazine, although
he wasn’t paid for it. Someone else has
been published online but not in print,
and another is planning to self-publish
her work.
My question is, when can you call
yourself a writer? Is it when you have a
piece online or is it only when you are
in print? And if you self-publish, does
that make a difference or are you still a
writer? We would be very interested in
your thoughts.
Keith Mills, Nottingham
A You have written a novel so you
are definitely a writer. After all,
anyone who has just had a baby can call
themselves a parent, no matter how new
and inexperienced they may be.
What makes somebody a writer is an
old debate and you can go round in circles
for ages. In my view, a writer is simply
someone who writes, be they an author,
poet, journalist, blogger, copywriter,
screenwriter or whatever.
A published writer is someone who
has had their work published in any
format, which includes online, in print,
on screen, on radio or on stage.
A professional writer is one who gets
paid for their work, whether by a publisher
or directly by the reader. A self-published
writer could be an amateur or they could
be a consummate professional.
I’ve also heard the term ‘pre-published’
writer, which I quite like.
But as soon as you put pen to paper
or fingers to keyboard and produce a
volume of words, you can call yourself
a writer.
• Della’s books on
writing, The Short
Story Writer’s
Toolshed and The
Novel Writer’s
Toolshed, are available
from Amazon
Writers’FORUM #239 17
HOW TO WRITE A
literary SHORT STORY
Adrian Ross attempts to define what sets a literary story
apart and encourages everyone to have a go
F
irst, let’s all relax. Whenever the
‘literary’ novel or short story is
mentioned, we tend to feel a little
uptight. Rather than the works
themselves, it’s attitudes around them that
can be off-putting. The hyperbole used to
promote literary works makes them sound
like the key to understanding the human
condition in its entirety, as well as the
cosmos. Yet they’re just stories.
In fact, most of them explore a fairly
narrow range of characters and themes.
The most effective ones do this in greater
depth and with less predictable storylines
than one might expect from a specific
genre story, but of course there are
plenty of examples of genre stories and
mainstream fiction that are fantastically
well written and have the power to move
us as much as any ‘literary’ work.
So what is literary fiction? It’s a form
with strengths and weaknesses, like any
other. On the one hand, it’s a rag-bag of
diverse material that doesn’t fit elsewhere
in the marketing plan. On the other, it
can provide valuable insights into people,
places and events.
Literary fiction can make us think,
and perhaps look at the world slightly
Anton Chekhov is considered
one of the greatest short
story writers of all time
18 Writers’FORUM #239
To evoke
experiences and
emotions authentically,
we have to push
against the limitations
of language
differently. Not all of it is brilliant, though.
Most of us have picked up a much-lauded
literary novel, only to put it down again
rather rapidly.
That’s because the individual style of
the author and the individual taste of the
reader are harder to align in this peculiar
non-genre.
It would be a great mistake to assume
that all literary works are terribly serious
or that they are all written in a certain
way. They are as different from each other
as they are from genre pieces.
Greater freedom
When it comes to writing literary stories,
their diversity is both a challenge and a
great opportunity. We can write with more
freedom and self-expression, with fewer
rules to follow. Dip into any reputable
literary anthology and you’ll find elements
of humour, romance, suspense, history,
memoir and more.
If you write to sell stories, literary
fiction is probably the riskiest market to
try. But if you write to express yourself
and explore the enticing mystery of life,
it’s the area with fewest restrictions.
So, even if you’ve never thought of
yourself as a literary writer before, feel
free to get involved.
Many festival authors have succeeded
precisely because they took the risk
of writing about off-beat characters
and esoteric subjects that they found
compelling, which turned out to engage
a wide audience.
If you want to try your hand at writing
literary fiction, short stories are a great
place to start. You can experiment with
different voices, styles and points of view,
as well as exploring ideas and themes that
fascinate you. There’s no need to commit
to a big, long project and you’ll end up
with some interesting finished pieces.
Is it only a special type of super-person
who can achieve this, as publicists like
to suggest?
I would say not. It’s all about the quality
of the writing, not who the writer is.
The quality often relates to how strongly
we feel about our subject. When there’s
a depth of emotional commitment, of
passion, it shows.
In creating characters and choosing
themes, we need to bear in mind where
they fit into a wider context – be that
social, political or historical. These
understandings may be skeletal at the
outset and gradually gain skin as our
narrative takes shape. The story of a
family can also become the story of a
specific wave of migration, for example.
Anthologies are a
good place to start
 LITERARY FICTION

you would consider each word and its

position within a whole poem, there
should be no waste in a literary short
story. Each sentence should have its
purpose and some should crackle with
meaning. Our editing therefore needs to
include a fair amount of subtraction of
text as well as addition.
The choice of words, their juxtaposition
and the sounds they make are all
important. To evoke experiences and
emotions authentically, we have to push
against the limitations of language.
In the same way as poetry does, literary
fiction can make a virtue of this struggle
and reveal the beauty and musicality
of words. This is where inventive and
memorable uses of words and verbal
imagery can carry the story compellingly
and amplify the wider theme.
To help us reach these heights, we
can use figures of speech. We can think
of these as established techniques for
You don’t have to fit the
pushing our linguistic boundaries. As
stereotype of a literary writer with any technique, though, we need to
consider judiciously where we’re using
these and why.
In this, as in every other form of certain words or phrases in order to arrive
fiction, the conscious mind has to work at communication that is startlingly fresh Work the reader
in cahoots with the subconscious. Our and vivid. Ultimately, it’s the impact on the reader
life experience, our observations and Care needs to be taken here, because that really matters. In the literary short
our imagination are all valid wells from there’s a fine line between an arresting story, the role of the reader can be more
which we can draw inspiration. Add an phrase and a word that jars the flow of the active than in genre fiction.
enquiring mind and a bucketful of general reading. Never write what you think is This links back to the technique of
knowledge, and away we go. expected of you. Try to capture truly how subtraction. We reduce what’s on the
you feel and what you believe in. surface in order to gain more depth.
Word choice Literary references can help orientate us It’s not about depriving the reader of
The writing itself usually needs to be here. F Scott Fitzgerald’s short masterpiece information, it’s about working their own
tighter, more concise and more precise The Great Gatsby fizzes with exemplary knowledge, experience and emotions so
than we might ordinarily generate. We wordplay. For literary voice and style, see they can grasp some truth.
can achieve this either by being more any novel by the great Alison Lurie. It’s these craft factors – storytelling
alert and picky while drafting or we can If this mindful approach to writing style, composition, role of the reader – that
sharpen the text once there is something fiction sounds like a recipe for composing we need to look out for and compare as
to edit. Often this will entail replacing poetry, that’s no coincidence. Just as writers reading literary fiction, rather than
character and theme, which can be highly
individual.
FIGURES OF SPEECH Our task is to create our own art by
One task of the literary writer is to judge when figures of speech are truly needed. While discovering the characters and themes
comparative forms such as metaphor hor and simile can arrive as frequently as beeps at the that are most meaningful to us.
checkout, others are used only occasionally. When we have a story ready, many
In a literary story, instead of stating facts outright we might work the reader harder by UK magazines and websites publish
using allusion, perhaps relying on them to pick up on body language clues, hints in dialogue, literary fiction, including Granta, London
or certain cultural and historical references. Magazine and Stand. There are also
To achieve a poetic flourish, we might try alliteration, combining words with similar numerous paying journals attached to
consonant sounds, or assonance, those with similar vowel sounds. university creative writing programmes
If we want to be thought-provoking, we could come up with an aphorism, a pithy in the US. The online New Welsh Review
universal truth; a maxim, a moral rule; or a chiasmus, which uses reversed repetition to and print journal New Welsh Reader also
create impact (eg Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you). pay, as does the annual anthology New
To condense and highlight a concept, we could bring together two contrasting ideas in Writing Scotland.
antithesis (‘small step… giant leap’) or oxymoron (‘open secret’). The wide-open possibilities of the
literary short story are exciting. When
• To learn about the most common figures of speech, search YouTube for Shanu Gupta’s three-part you manage to surprise and impress
tutorial, ‘Figures of Speech in English’. As she says, such devices are like adding spice to plain English. the reader, you’ll surprise and impress
yourself, too.

Writers’FORUM #239 19
 FREELANCE MARKETS
THE MAGAZINE SCENE
Adam Carpenter
penter gives a round-up of launches, trends and other magazine news
WSC wants you
Does the title When Saturday
Comes evoke happy memories
and by turns a degree of anxiety
as you recall going to watch your
favourite football team? It is, of
course, the name of perhaps the
most innovative and warm-hearted
football magazine of all time –
and if it did make you go all warm
and fuzzy, you could be the type
of writer they are looking for.
Here are a few pointers…
■ Every club, big or small, has a
story. When WSC SC launched as a
fanzine in 1986, there were very
few other mainstream football
mags on the market, so the focus
tended to be on the bigger clubs,
but now they are interested in
receiving stories from outside the
bubble of the Premiership. Editor
and co-founder Andy Lyons says:
‘We are as concerned with the
Northern Premier League and
FA Trophy as we are the Premier
League and Champions League.’
■ The print mag is monthly.
There is a website, which is
updated daily, but commissions
are rarely accepted just for that.
■ A good starting point would
be to pitch to one of the regular
slots. Andy says: ‘For new writers
this is often a good way to get
started with us, as there is an
existing structure and previous
examples to look back on.’
These regulars include Season
In Brief, which looks back at a
particularly memorable season in
general rather than focusing on
one team; Still With Us, which
catches up with football teams
who are no longer in the league;
Object Lessons. in which the
writer explains why a piece of
football memorabilia is important
to them; and the similar Shirt
Story. All of these sections require
features of around 750 words.
■ Each issue features three
book reviews and you are
20 Writers’FORUM #239
welcome to put yourself forward
with examples of published
reviews. The general practice
is for books to be handed out
by the office, but if you feel one
has been overlooked, it’s worth
making an approach; it could lead
to a full feature.
■ Search the extensive archive
on the WSC website before
pitching anything. You can
only read articles if you are a
subscriber to the magazine but
you can see all the headlines. That
said, be sure to invest in a few
issues if your pitch is accepted,
to get an idea of the writing style!
■ Don’t worry if your years of
match attendance far outweigh
your years of writing – any
football fan is welcome to pitch.
As well as up-and-coming and
seasoned writers, Andy says:
‘We are also happy to publish
work by amateur writers, young
and student journalists, and fans
who just feel they have something
to say – because nobody knows
a club as well as its fans do.’
■ underrepresented perspectives.
Fees: £75 per article
Email: editorial@wsc.co.uk
Xxx
No eager beavers…
A newsletter covering nature
and conservation in Britain is
appealing for a range of features,
from narrative non-fiction to
essays and interviews. Inkcap
Journal
al was set up in 2020 at
the start of the pandemic by
environmental journalist Sophie
Yeo. It publishes two editions
each week focusing on how we
are harming nature and what
we can do to save it.
Themes include farming, rivers,
people, culture and much more.
Recent posts on the website
include an examination of urban
agriculture springing up in the
wastelands of London and an
interview with the director of
the Wildland Research Institute.
Sophie says she is looking
for stories that will ‘stand out
and make an impact’. She adds
that most pitches currently
focus on England so ideas
about Scotland and Wales are
particularly welcome, as are
Fees range from £100 to £300
depending on length, complexity
and experience. And one final
piece of advice? ‘We get far too
many pitches about beavers,’ says
Sophie. ‘Please, no more. Unless
it’s amazing.’
Email: editor@inkcap.co.uk
Catapult to success
A few years ago we featured
Catapult, a magazine that shines
the spotlight on emerging writers
of narrative non-fiction and
fiction, and we’re happy to say it
is still flourishing and just as keen
to receive ideas.
Contributing editor Arriel
Vinson regularly tweets calls for
pitches for personal essays on
particular topics, most recently
about Christmas and holidays
generally. So think about three
months ahead for anything
seasonal.
Themes are as varied as ever –
people, places, family, culture and
health all being sections on the
website. And while the magazine
publishes daily editions online,
they also come out with print
anthologies from time to time.
Arriel says: ‘Please make sure
your pitch includes the story’s
main points and the ground you’d
like to cover, and clips if you have
them. I’d love to read drafts as
well (2000 words or less).’
Fees: start at $200
Email: arriel.vinson@catapult.co
(not .com)
Twitter: follow @arriwrites
Camper content
The country seems to have gone
motorhome mad, giving rise to
a handful of Channel 5 shows on
the topic. Meanwhile, over in the
USA, where they are known as
recreational vehicles (or RVs),
one of the big websites covering
the topic is looking for ideas.
Kelsey Glennon, the new

managing editor of the Camping
World family of brands, which
includes RV.com and the Camping
World blog, recently tweeted to
say she was accepting pitches on
a rolling basis.
Cutting-edge content is the
order of the day in the shape of
long-form articles, photo journals
and even mini movies. A long
list of suggested topics includes
adventure sports, cooking and
grilling, RVing with pets and RV
decor and design.
Although the focus is US-heavy,
there is scope for international
pieces too.
Fees: between $125 and $175
Email: kelsey.glennon@
campingworld.com
Keeping faith
Amendo is a website that aims to
help Catholic twenty-somethings
navigate tricky waters as they
embark on their adult lives,
with an array of content largely
generated by people in that age
group. The editorial team has
recently appealed for ideas from
freelancers. Here is an idea of
what they are looking for:
■ The main aim of the site is to
encourage the reader to stand
by their faith, while appreciating
how it can get rocked by their
day-to-day experiences. The
guidelines state: ‘We are looking
for writers who can contribute
in an authentic and approachable
way to conversations such as
navigating the professional world,
finding community, dating and
relationships, living a meaningful
life, and more.’
■ A lot of articles formulate
their advice into five tips or
points, whether they’re offering
relationship or financial advice.
Another good section to consider
for pitching concerns how to live
a meaningful life, which could
equally cover mental health or
interpreting the gold in a good
self-help book.
■ It is best to pitch ideas based
on your own experiences or
expertise but there is scope to
interview others. Keep the tone
casual and conversational, as
though you are talking to your
peers about a particular subject.
■ There needn’t be a spiritual
focus to your idea. One recent
post was entitled 5 things I do to
strengthen my relationship wiht my
parents as an adult
ult – something
many people can relate to
whatever their religion.
Fees: around $75 for 500 words.
Email: editor@amendo.com
Visit: www.amendo.com
Welsh newsletter
If you’re from Wales or have
strong connections with the
country, you may be interested to
learn about Cultural Freelancers
Wales – a diverse collective of
freelancers who, as the name
suggests, write about culture
in Wales and offer support to
fellow freelancers.
They are seeking contributors
to provide short features for
their monthly newsletter to shine
a spotlight on ‘things that excite
you in Wales in the arts and
culture sectors.’
The features can be written
in English or Welsh, or even
submitted as audio or video or
in sign language. The team say
applications will be selected ‘to
ensure the widest diversity of
voices are heard’.
Features should be between
500 and 800 words, and the
fee is £100. In the first instance
you are requested to send a
150-word proposal of what you
plan to contribute, along with
a short biography – no more
than 50 words. Applications are
accepted on a rolling basis, so
keep trying if you don’t succeed.
Email: hello@cfw.wales
THIS WRITING LIFE
SPOILER ALERT!
I
don’t normally criticise the work of other writers or editors.
For one thing, I don’t want to get blackballed out of a very
small community. There are times, however, when I see
things in print that are so boneheaded they’re instructive.
Recently, for instance, a certain women’s magazine published
a romantic serial called (and I’m only going to change the title
the teeniest, to protect the guilty) The Gentleman Thief. Now, that
could have been a fine title for a story about a burglar’s rooftop
adventures. It tells you what you’re going to be reading about,
after all. But the whole point of this particular story was that
we weren’t supposed to know that the hero was a thief!
The heroine spent three whole episodes wondering what her
boss got up to at night, and there was no suspense whatsoever,
because we knew from the title. It made her look infuriatingly
dim for not spotting clues that should have been ambiguous
but which were screamingly obvious when you knew what the
story was called. When she finally decided to follow the hero,
there was no thrilling sense of anticipation at what she might
discover, just a sense of impatience that she would hurry up and
find out what we already knew. There was also zero sense of
danger when her sleuthing led her to be captured by a gang of
thieves, since we knew the hero was their kind-hearted leader.
In short, the whole saga fell flat, when it could have been
genuinely intriguing under a different name. If it had been
called The Secret of Bisby Hall, for example, we would have
known the story was about a secret without the spoiler of
knowing what the secret was.
So who was responsible for ruining the story? I’m going
to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume The
Gentleman Thief was a working title. It’s common to come
up with a title last and you have to save your unfinished
manuscript as something, so calling it the most obvious thing for
the time being is what we all tend to do. It’s also common for
writers to be unable to think of a good title and to submit their
work under its working name. It tells the editor what the tale
is about, and magazines often change titles anyway.
But how that particular working title was allowed to end up
in print is beyond me. Surely any fiction ed worth their salt
knows that the first principle of storytelling is that you have a
secret that you keep from the readers until the end. You don’t
give it away in the headline!
Writers’FORUM #239 21
 FICTION MARKET
INSIDESTORY
Douglas McPherson reveals how he lit the blue
touchpaper on a bonfire night story
W
henever I can,
I like to know
the end of a short
story before I
start writing it. Shorts have
to be very tightly plotted, so
success hinges on establishing
a problem (the hook that keeps
us reading) and resolving it.
It’s useful, therefore, to
conceive a story as two linked
components – the problem and
the solution – before you think
about any other elements like
the characters or tone.
It’s perfectly possible,
however, just to begin writing
and see where it leads you.
That can be a good way of
starting if you’re fresh out
of fully formed ideas. But
you have to be prepared for
your story to take you in
unexpected directions, which
might mean rewriting or
even scrapping your original
beginning.
That was what happened
to me at the start of the first
lockdown last year. With
many magazines suspending
publication until the high
street outlets reopened, a big
question mark hung over
my article-writing career. As
women’s weeklies were one
of the few magazine sectors
determined to carry on, I
thought I’d better crank out
some fiction.
Winging it
Opening a blank document, I
turned to one of those vague
ideas that sit around gathering
dust in the back of my head.
This one was just: The story of
a pub landlady.
I typed an opening scene in
which the elderly Bea takes
a seat outside a gentrified
22 Writers’FORUM #239
London pub. She glances up at
a shiny electric train crossing
a bridge over the street and
remembers how different
things looked growing up in
the age of steam.
My plan was that the story
would jump back to her
childhood and follow the
course of her life to the point
where we came in, with her
outside the pub.
I had a structure, then, but
that’s very different to a plot.
I had no idea how Bea’s life
could unfold in a way that
would make the end satisfying.
I had to start somewhere,
though. Thinking about steam
trains, I recalled a colleague
writing about his childhood
near a railway: how his mother
would curse a change in the
wind that brought a cloud of
smoke and cinders down on
her freshly hung washing.
Bea remembering the days
when her mother’s washing
was engulfed in smoke seemed
like a good way of transitioning
from present to past.
I also recalled my partner
talking about her and her
sisters making a ‘guy’ each
November to raise money
for fireworks. Kids standing
on street corners with a Guy
Fawkes effigy made from old
clothes were a familiar sight
where I grew up, too.
So I wrote a scene in which
the 11-year-old Bea slips out
of the pub’s back garden with
her best pal, Jackie, while her
mother is distracted by her
smoky washing. They head
for a rubbish dump on a local
bombsite and find a battered
pram into which to put a guy.
I thought it was a good
scene, but it took up 650 words,
which would be a large chunk
of a short story. If I kept going
at that rate, it would take a
novel to get through Bea’s life.
Also, the penny-for-the-guy
thread didn’t have any pub
connections, so did it belong in
a landlady’s story?
Sometimes you have to kill
your darlings because they
simply don’t fit, but at other
times you can give them a new
life in a story of their own. In
this instance, I decided the
penny-for-the-guy kids had
more mileage in them than my
reminiscing publican. Maybe
I could write a whole story
about them instead.
Additionally, as seasonal
stories are always in demand,
I thought that a bonfire night
story, submitted nice and early,
would have more chance of
selling than an ‘anytime’ story
– and my whole purpose in
writing that day was to pen a
surefire seller.
Restart
Cutting and pasting the
rubbish dump scene into a
new doc (saving the original
intro so I could go back to it
later) I wrote a new opening in
which a different Bea, with no
pub links, is looking after her
young granddaughters, Maisie
and Chloe.
The girls are upset because
their dad has lost his job and
can’t afford to take them to
a firework display. They ask
Gran if she can take them
instead. Not wishing to
undermine her son-in-law,
Bea replies:
‘When I was your age, my
friend and I put on our own
firework display for all our
schoolmates.’
‘Wow! Were you really
rich?’Maisie asked in wonder.
‘Far from it,’ Bea chuckled.
Looking back, she’d had nothing
– certainly compared to her
granddaughters. But neither had
she wanted for anything.
That thought provided the
perfect springboard for the
flashback to Bea and Jackie
scavenging in the dump.
From there, I came back to
the present with a scene in
which Maisie and Chloe, under
Bea’s discreet supervision, are
standing outside a railway
station with a homemade guy
raising money for their own
firework display:
The pushchair hadn’t come
from the dump, but from the
back of Bea’s shed, along with the
handleless mop that formed the
guy’s hair. The clothes were her
son’s, retrieved from a cardboard
box on a dusty expedition into
the darkest recesses of her loft.
Her children laughed at her for
never throwing anything away,
but she’d grown up knowing that
anything might come in handy
one day.
I liked the theme of a
grandmother prising her
grandchildren away from
their social media accounts
and introducing them to
the traditional activities of
her youth. And I thought
older readers would enjoy
the nostalgia for a thriftier
but still happy past. But how
could the story end?
Resolution
Well, we’d begun with two
problems: Bea’s son-in-law
 Penny For
The Guy
A return to old traditions might be just what’s needed
to help Bea’s family through a difficult time
By Julia Douglas
I
t’s not fair!” Maisie’s eyebrows knitted
behind her fashionable glasses. “Just
because Dad’s lost his job he says we
can’t go to the firework display.”
Bea regarded the smartly-dressed
eleven-year-old with sympathy. Her
son-in-law had always worked hard. It
wasn’t his fault the firm he worked for had
closed down, making hundreds redundant.
“I expect money’s a bit tight at the
moment,” Bea said gently. It was
fortunate that her daughter had a job,
although she doubted one income went
far these days. Her granddaughters had
come to expect every luxury their friends
had. She hoped things weren’t about to
change too drastically for them.
Maisie’s nine-year-old sister, Chloe,
I L L U S T R AT I O N S : I S T O C K P H O T O , S H U T T E R S T O C K
looked up from her smartphone just long
enough to plead, “Can’t you take us to the
fireworks, Gran? They’re having a laser
show and everything.”
“When I was your age,” Bea smiled,
“my friend and I put on our own firework
display for all our schoolmates.”
“Wow! Were you really rich?” Maisie
asked in wonder.
“Far from it,” Bea chuckled.
Looking back, she’d had nothing –
certainly compared to her granddaughters.
But neither had she wanted for anything.
148 www.myweekly.co.uk
has lost his job and the girls
have been denied a firework
display as a result. A satisfying
ending would see both of
those problems resolved.
I therefore wrote a final
scene in which the son-in-law
– who I called Guy to tie in
with the Guy Fawkes theme
– is trudging home from a job
interview. He thinks it went
well. But then he’d thought the
same about another interview
the previous week. That one
had been for his dream job,
but he’d yet to hear back from
the firm.
Heading to his mum-in-
law’s to pick up his kids, he’s
surprised to find a cardboard
sign on her gate: ‘Fireworks
this way.’
To his amazement he finds
himself in a garden full of
children and parents, with
Bea handing out sausage
sandwiches.
‘Bea, you needn’t have…’
‘Not me,’ Bea corrected. ‘The
girls earned the money to pay for
everything – even the sausages.’
O h, no, not again!” Bea’s mum cursed
the change in the wind that brought a
thick cloud of smoke and cinders
sweeping down the railway embankment
into her back garden, enveloping her
freshly hung washing.
Bea, a skinny, blonde eleven-year-old,
took advantage of her mother’s distraction
to slip out of the back gate with her best
friend, Jackie.
“I managed to get some old trousers
and a jumper off my mum.” Jackie’s
brown hair shone in the chilly Saturday
morning sun. “They were my brother’s
when he was little.”
“We only need a pram, then,” said Bea.
“Let’s try the dump.”
Weaving through narrow alleys
between backyards where dogs barked,
children shrieked and adults shouted, they
emerged on a street facing a row of
condemned terraced houses.
Boards had been pulled from several
glassless windows and although the
houses were fenced off, a hole had long
ago been torn in the wood and wire
barrier.
Bea’s stomach tensed nervously as the
girls ducked through a dank arched tunnel
in the middle of the terrace.
She knew the houses were home to
tramps and all sorts of dangers. Her
parents had told her many times to never
It’s at that moment that he
gets the text that provides the
story’s happy ending:
‘I don’t believe it.’ He stared at
the text.
‘Good news?’ asked Bea at his
side.
‘That job I was telling you about
last week. It’s mine!’
A cheer went up from kids
and adults alike as a corner-shop
Roman candle lit up the garden
with a fountain of golden sparks
that was more beautiful than
any firework display Guy had
ever seen.
Happy returns
I wasn’t quite finished, though.
As a reward for facilitating
her granddaughters’ bonfire
party, I decided Bea deserved
a happy ending of her own.
Going back to the
penultimate scene, I decided
one of the people tossing coins
into Maisie and Chloe’s hat
could be Bea’s childhood pal:
‘You remind me of me when
I was your age,’ a woman with
conflict was all around her.
weren’t sitting there.”
she? Jackie pointed to half a lavatory
They emerged from the passage into a pan, gleaming among a tangle of dry
sunny area that would once have been brown bramble stems, and they
occupied by back gardens and outside both laughed.
toilets but which was now a wide, shallow “Now, that’s what we’re looking for.”
bomb crater, overgrown with brambles Bea spied the white tyre of a pram wheel
and used as a rubbish tip by residents of poking from another skeletal bush. “Help
the surrounding streets. me get it out.”
“Careful,” Jackie warned “What a beauty,” Jackie
unnecessarily as they declared.
picked their way down The pram was
a winding path,
rubble slipping
dented and covered
in rust. Its canopy
beneath their feet. was just a few
Bea looked scraps of navy
back at the blue cloth
terrace they’d hanging from a
passed wire frame, but
through. From it rolled freely
the street, the on its four
houses had wheels.
looked fairly “I’ll ride,
intact, but from you push!” Bea
this side the declared when
bomb damage they got back to
was far more the street. The
evident. Whole springs sagged with
sections of wall had a loud squeak as she
been ripped away jumped into the pram,
revealing battered rooms her dirty knees hooked over
stacked above each other. the front.
It was like looking into a weather- “Why have I got to push?”
damaged doll’s house. Blackened Jackie protested.
wallpaper flapped beneath collapsed “You can have a turn later.”
rafters. Rubble-covered beds and ancient “Well, if you insist,” Jackie smirked.
brown wardrobes still stood on the “Fine – let’s see how fast you want to go,
upper floors. then!”
“Imagine living here during the war,” “Slow down, slow down! Help!” Bea
Bea mused. screamed giddily as her pal charged down
Her mum had told her stories about air the street, pushing the pram as fast as her
raid sirens and shelters, but to Bea they legs would carry her.
were tales from another time. They felt no “Look out!” Bea yelled as a shiny black
more real to her than fairytales of Ford Popular turned into the end of the
princesses and dragons, even though the road, heading straight for them. ➙
www.myweekly.co.uk 149
greying brown hair told them. sitting outside her old pub?
‘I used to stand on this very spot The following day, I returned
with my friend –’ to her and pondered what
The woman glanced up and her other memories she could be
mouth fell open. recalling. An image came to
‘Bea!’ She grinned. mind of Shire horses pulling
‘Jackie!’ Bea hugged her tightly. a dray full of beer barrels.
‘What are you doing here?’ The image inspired a
‘Ron and I are moving back to romance about a groom who
town to be nearer the kids. I’ve looks after a brewery’s horses
just been round to your place to in the 1970s. Bea didn’t feature
surprise you, but you weren’t in that story, either, but it was
there, obviously.’ also snapped up for the My
‘Where are you moving to?’ Weekly annual.
Bea asked, intrigued For several months, I forgot
‘We’re buying one of those new about Bea. Then, this summer,
retirement places where the old I went back to her and finally
dump used to be. Just around the finished her story, which
corner from you. It’ll be just like People’s Friend bought this
the old days!’ morning.
So that was three sales from
So there it was: a story with sitting down at a blank page
every loose end neatly tied. with little idea what I was
It was a happy ending for going to write.
me, too, when Penny for the Guy
was snapped up for the 2022 How to Write and
My Weekly annual, which is in Sell Fiction to
the shops now. Magazines by
Douglas McPherson
Postscript is available to
But what happened to the download from the
original Bea, the landlady Kindle store.
Writers’FORUM #239 23
 WRITING EXERCISE
10 QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT
STORY ENDINGS
Barbara Dynes explains why the ending to a story is so
important – and sets an exercise
‘Your first chapter sells your book.
Your last chapter sells your next book.’
Mickey Spillane
I
n his book Plot and Structure,
James Scott Bell likens novelists
to plate-spinners. Those
showmen have seven or eight
plates spinning on poles in the air,
all at the same time. Then they
have to come up with a big finish
that gets all the plates off safely
and with a little flourish.
That’s exactly how it is with
a novelist or short story writer,
though the latter will need fewer
plates. And all endings need some
kind of flourish.
24 Writers’FORUM #239
One of the biggest errors with
endings is predictability. If the
reader can predict how the story
will end, why bother to read on?
There are exceptions –
sometimes a story will reveal the
ending right at the start and its
whole aim is to show how things
were resolved.
This is also true of most
commercial stories – readers
know the romantic leads will
eventually get together or the
detective will solve the case.
The aim for the writer is to add
extra obstacles and tension to
the original problem to keep the
reader guessing as to how they
will get that satisfying outcome
which seems impossible.
What type of ending will
suit your story or novel? A lot
depends on the content, of
course, and the tone and angle
you have taken.
If you’re writing commercially,
bear in mind that, whatever your
artistic leanings, the majority of
publishers and readers prefer
a happy or positive ending. In
≠≠≠women’s magazines, fiction
editors look for an upbeat ending
that leaves the reader hopeful,
rather than depressed. If your
ending must be downbeat, try
adding a hint of hope for the
future, however slight. You are
more likely to sell your story.
10 questions to consider
about your ending
1 Have any promises made
at the beginning been
resolved? By the end, the main
problem needs to be solved –
the solution growing naturally
out of the action, or from the
characters’ personalities and the
way they react to situations. The
reader expects that the problem
or emotional dilemma presented
at the outset will be satisfactorily
solved.
2 Has your main character
changed in some way as a
result of what has happened
in the story? He should be
seeing at least one aspect of life
differently by the end. Perhaps
his feelings have changed towards
another character or he has
matured through experiences
encountered in the story.
If he has learned nothing,
appearing to be in the same frame
of mind as he did at the start,
where is your story?
3 Is the ending clear? Have
you tied up all loose ends?
Often, by the end, you are too
familiar with the story to be able
to see any errors. Try abandoning
it for a while, then come back and
read it afresh. Or get someone
else to read it for you.
Loose ends: if it’s a novel,
check your minor characters.
What happened to eccentric
Aunt Maggie, whom your main
character visited in Chapter Six
but was never mentioned again?
If some small, but important, fact
needs explaining at the end, could
you do it through direct dialogue?
Example: ‘What happened to John
afterwards?’ ‘Oh, I never saw him
again. He went to live in Spain.’
4 Have you gone on too
long? Whether you end quietly
or with a bang, the ending needs
to be sharp. Never be tempted to
write on after the natural finish.
Maybe some of that explanation
could be left for the reader to
work out for himself. Readers
love that!
5 Have you ended too
abruptly? We’ve all read
endings where we feel the author
couldn’t wait to finish the book.
Everything seems too rushed.
Reread the story or novel and
you will get a sense of whether or
not it is balanced at the end.
6 Is your ending credible?
It must be believable and, as
mentioned at the start, never
predictable. If you rely on
coincidence or allow a character
to die conveniently, your reader is
likely to feel very let down.
A sudden change of personality
is out, too. If Emma, who has
been really timid and law-abiding
throughout, murders her mother
at the end, you might be taking
character-change too far!
7 Is it a twist ending and
does it work? Popular with
readers, these stories are usually
really short (1000 words or
less). The author hoodwinks
readers into thinking the story is
unravelling in a certain way, then
springs a surprise at the end.
Example: You are led to believe
the daughter is about to get married.
The twist reveals that the bride is
actually her mother. So, the story
has to work two ways.
The twist must be kept to the
very end – the last line or, better
still, the last word.
8 Have you surprised your
reader? Rather than a dramatic
twist type of ending, have you
added something unexpected –
a surprising turn of phrase, say,
a gem that catches the reader
unaware. This can give your final
paragraph that extra flourish,
leaving readers with ‘food for
thought’ and give your story a
really polished ending.
9 Is it an open ending – and
is it still satisfying? You might
decide to leave your ending open
– perhaps it suits the content
and tone to leave some aspects
to the reader’s imagination. This
can work well. For example, in a
Finish with finesse
horror story the hero might think
they are safe then be surprised by
a monster in the very last par.
But open endings must still
A Work out three plots based on the following
theme. The plot must be suitable for a
1500-word short story.
leave readers satisfied. Check Sarah was adopted. Her parents have doted on her, but now she
that you’ve fulfilled your original is older she wants to meet her real mother. Her adoptive mother is
promise and that readers will
jealous, so puts obstacles in the way.
easily be able to work things out
themselves or be happy to supply
their own ending… ฀ A plot with a happy ending
Notes
10 Does you story have
resonance? Actually, you want
your reader to be more than
just satisfied with the story. The
ending needs to be memorable,
to stay with the reader long after
he or she has finished reading. Completed / / My rating /
The best fiction leaves a lasting
impression; the main characters ฀ A plot with a not so happy but satisfactory ending
and themes stay with you,
Notes
sometimes for years. The ending
of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca
is haunting, carrying reminders
of what has happened in the
story – and its tone also makes
us wonder about the characters’
future:
Completed / / My rating /
He drove faster, much faster …
The road to Manderley lay ahead. ฀ A plot with an open ending, leaving a lot to the imagination
There was no moon. The sky above Notes
our heads was inky black. But the
sky on the horizon was not dark at
all. It was shot with crimson, like a
splash of blood. And the ashes blew
towards us with the salt wind from
the sea.
/ / /
Completed My rating
There are many different
endings: shocking, ambiguous,
happy, sad; not to mention the
‘Ah!’ type of ending.
Take care with yours – a good
ending will justify all the effort
you’ve put in beforehand (and also
B Read just half of a published short story
then, without reading the rest of it, provide
your own ending. Keep the market in mind
– the overall tone and the ending must suit
help to absolve any wobbly points that magazine’s requirements. (Remember,
along the way!) but a weak ending you can’t sell the story unless you can make
may well ruin all your hard work. first half completely different to the original.)
Barbara Dynes’ latest Notes
book, Masterclasses
in Creative Writing,
is published by
Constable & Robinson
Completed / / My rating /
at £9.99
Writers’FORUM #239 25
HOW TO PUT
YOUR WORK
ON YOUTUBE
Sarah M Davies explains how simple it is to set up your own
YouTube channel and encourages you to have a go
I
never imagined myself
as a YouTuber. I’m 52 and
YouTube is for youngsters
making flashy videos or
sharing funny clips, isn’t it?
But when the first lockdown
happened at the end of March
2020, I was just beginning to
embark on open mic sessions
and performing my work live
more consistently than I ever
had before. With that door
closed, for who knew how
long, I decided that if I wanted
to keep sharing my work with
a wider audience I’d have to
make my own opportunities,
26 Writers’FORUM #239
so I created my own channel
in May 2020.
My first video, posted on
18 May, promised a weekly
poem, story or monologue
posted on a Thursday – and
for 26 out of the following
28 weeks I did just that. I also
took part in a local arts festival
that had moved online and
held a book launch (more
about those later in the series).
I didn’t post anything in
December 2020 because I
wanted to have a rethink, and
in 2021 I’m only posting once
a month. I’m beginning to
include work that supports and
extends some of my feature
writing, as well as films that
experiment with my creativity.
In this short series I want
to offer you some questions to
think about, alongside step-
by-step instructions on how to
set up a channel and go about
making content to upload,
if you decide this might be
something you want to do.
The three articles will cover:
■ Deciding to set up a channel
and how to do that.
■ Personalising your channel
and making your first posts.
■ Running events and
exploring different ways to
work.
‘But I’m not techy!’
Don’t panic! If you think
you’re going to need lots of
computer skills or specialist
equipment, relax – you really
don’t. You probably have
everything you need already.
Do your groundwork
Before you so much as switch
your computer on, think
about whether you even want
to start a YouTube channel.
It won’t cost you financially
to set one up, and as I’ve said
you probably have all the
equipment you need to start
with (a smartphone or your
computer will do), but it will
need time and you’re going
to have to:
■ film videos
■ transfer them to your
computer
■ upload them to the internet
■ set up the descriptions, etc
■ schedule the videos to go
live
■ promote your channel.
To do all that, assuming
everything goes smoothly,
takes around 30 to 60 minutes
per video – that is, if it’s
just you sitting in front of a
camera reading and you film
it in one take. Anything more
ambitious is going to take
longer.
The promoting of your
channel and videos via social
media – or letting your family,
friends and writing buddies
know via other means – is also
really important, otherwise

your work will just sit largely
undiscovered.
Will I be an overnight
sensation?
Probably not. In the year I’ve
had my channel I’ve picked up
16 subscribers. My least viewed
videos have had two or three
views, my most viewed has
had 49.
In November 2020 I had
an online book launch using
a livestream which clocked
up 42 views from around the
world (and I know that some
of those views were two people
watching the same screen).
I will probably never make
any money directly from
YouTube, but I know that I
have reached more people
with my work by being on the
platform than I would have
otherwise, and I know I’ve sold
more books as a consequence
of people hearing me read
my work on the platform. That
alone has made the experience
worthwhile.
Think about what you
want to share…
Sharing your work on your
channel is just like sharing it
on your blog, and you might
find that excludes it from entry
My audience has come to expect
my monthly posts now. I share a link
across my social media channels
to competitions or submission
to literary journals. That didn’t
worry me too much, as almost
all the work I’ve shared has
either been self-published or
will be self-published, but I
would think carefully about
sharing any new work in case
I was limited in what I could
do with it subsequently.
It’s become even less of an
issue since I had a re-think
about the kind of work I want
to share on the channel. I’m
now more interested in visual
pieces that support some of
my feature writing or explore
fiction and poetry themes in
creative ways, rather than just
showcasing me performing
my work.
Similarly, you might want to
consider sharing your writing
process, or reviews of books or
equipment, alongside glimpses
of your work.
…and how often
Consistency is more important
than anything. When I started
out, I shared a piece every
Thursday; now it’s just the
last Thursday of the month.
Although you might share
your work on a given day, you
don’t have to film and edit it
on that day. I used to prepare
five or six pieces at a time and
use YouTube’s scheduling tool
NEW SERIES
to make the pieces live.
Now that I only post once a
month, I tend to film and edit
the week before.
My audience has come to
expect a new piece now. I share
a link to it across my social
media channels on the day it
goes live, to reach as wide an
audience as possible.
Do I actually have time?
It may be that you decide that
now isn’t the best time for
you to take on a new project –
and that’s fine. Add it to your
‘sometime’ file of projects
you’d like to get to one day.
If you do decide to launch
a channel, simply follow the
steps below to get started…
■ Log into YouTube (you’ll
need a Google account)
■ Go to ‘Settings’, ‘Account’,
‘Create Channel’
And that’s it! You have a
YouTube channel.
Now it’s time to think about
what you’re going to film, how
you’ll do it, how to upload
your films to YouTube and
how you’ll get them ready to
be viewed. We’ll look at all of
that next time.
In part three we’ll look at
how you can ‘go live’ to do
book launches and interactive
events with your audience.
We’ll also look at setting up a
home studio to make the best
films you can using ‘things
you already have at home’, and
how to publicise your channel.
I hope this has given you
all you need to think about
creating your own YouTube
channel. Join me next time to
start working on your first
post. In the meantime, visit
my channel, From Sarah’s Pen,
at youtube.com/channel/
UCsNWmkeAqKaWJXAos
bun33g or simply Google
‘Sarah M Davies YouTube’.
Writers’FORUM #239 27
 SHORT SHORT WRITING
Writers’FORUM
FLASH COMP RESULTS
Editor Carl Styants reveals the winners of last month’s ‘Object’ contest
£100 winner
The Scarecrow by Denny Jace
F
or three days I thought he was a scarecrow, the man in the
field in the white sweatshirt. But then he began to move,
slowly, head down. His arms were extended towards the
ground, he held a long stick which he moved back and forth, back
and forth.
When I felt brave enough, I whistled the dog and we ventured
through the long wild grass towards him. Pepe’s fur filled with
sticky seeds; my jeans, sodden at the knees from the dew.
He was using a metal detector. He didn’t stop or acknowledge
us. I was about to introduce myself, ask who he was, what he was
doing in my field, what he was looking for. Before I had a chance,
he put a finger to his lips. ‘Shush,’ he said, with no eye contact or
break in his pendulum motion.
Pepe took off, flushing tiny birds from safe places in the rippling
green waves. The man stopped, momentarily distracted by the
furious tweeting.
‘Have you found anything? I asked. All the time I was thinking
about Mum’s ring and whether the metal and jewels would
register on the man’s machine. Then I remembered that Edward
took the ring. He shoved it into his trouser pocket on the day he
left. Punishing me for not loving him enough by taking the one
thing that I loved more.
The man didn’t answer. His presence unnerved me. He has
no right to be here, scavenging on my land, unearthing hidden
things.
As night falls, I run through the velvet folds of darkness,
bending inside shadows. The earth is soft and yielding, cushioning
the bare soles of my feet. The great oaks bow, creaking their
mighty trunks. Sinewy branches swing low, rustling leafy fingers
against my skin. From hidden pockets the foxes gekker. ‘It’s me,’ I
whisper. ‘Don’t be afraid.’
Then I hear the slicing sound of metal hitting stone; metal
shovelling earth. Ahead there is torchlight. A crude brightness
burning through the sky, illuminating the man heaving his spade
back and forth. I think about Edward; what would he say, me out
in the night, alone with a stranger? Then I remember that Edward
has gone. But the digging man is close now. He will find him,
bring him back… unless.
The following morning the field is empty. Pepe and I trudge
across the rippling spears of emerald ribbons. Ahead, pierced by
a fence post and swinging like a flag, is the man’s white sweatshirt.
I rip it down; the fabric is grubby, cotton threads grazed, tainted.
I push my face hard into the folds and breathe him in.
The new day breeze pulls across the scent of woodland, the
sunflowers smile and nod as their tender necks sway. High above,
the sky resounds with a honking skein of geese.
In the distance, under a chestnut tree, the earth is dark and
moist with crumbly edges; freshly turned, muffling the waning
hum of a metal detector.
28 Writers’FORUM #239
• Denise, from Telford, says: ‘The object that inspired the story is actually
a ring from my daughter’s first Christmas cracker. Plastic and pink, it
hangs on the Christmas tree each year. My daughter is 26 now!’
Editor’s comments
Denise’s pink plastic ring has somehow inspired a dark story very much
in the vein of classic English folk horror, where vivid descriptions of the
countryside are coupled with extreme and unexplained events.
For instance, the opening is decidedly odd. How can the man stand
like a scarecrow for three days before moving? Ah, but perhaps the
woman is an unreliable narrator. Or maybe the story we’re about to
read, like nature, isn’t supposed to make sense.
Then the sudden change of tense, from past to present is also jarring.
At the end of the first section we’re in the narrator’s head as she thinks,
‘He has no right to be here…’ So are we still in her mind from then on?
The use of present tense adds to the dream-like quality.
Edward is clearly dead and buried. But, if she killed him, why hasn’t
she retrieved her mother’s ring? Is some other, more elemental, force
at work that also does for the mysterious metal detectorist, and seems
to leave the sweatshirt for her to find?
What could seem like authorial oversights and plotholes in a less
well-written story, here seem deliberate and serve only to add a raw,
unnerving edge. Denise also sent another story that made the shortlist,
which also drew the reader blindly through eye-catching scenes.
Runner-up
A Life Full of Scribbles by Simon Shergold
he coffee’s bitter and I don’t know why I bought it.
T Distraction I suppose. I’m swirling the wooden spatula
slowly, hoping the movement will summon up some
sweetness, but another sip confirms my fears. The crossword
is laid out in front of me (another distraction?) and I scribble
notes in the paper’s margin as I always do, getting nowhere. The
ink flows smoothly and I don’t ever remember it running out
– something else my dad had quietly taken care of in his own
understated way. I click the end against my teeth, Parker’s arrow
beating a rhythm as I search fruitlessly for the key to 10 across.
That pen has been a constant companion, getting me in and out
of scrapes, though nothing compared to this. In my first year of
high school I’d used it to forge Dad’s signature on my report card.
The incident involving Ollie Evans, Miss Mills and the permanent
markers had led to a potential for endless jobs around the house.
I’m sure he knew, but perhaps admired my front? We never
discussed it, in that way co-conspirators often don’t.
I look up from my dishwater-cino
dishwater-cino, straining to hear the tannoy
announcements over the general hubbub of half-term travellers.
Kids on Trunki wheely cases scooting about, not a care in
the world. Strange to see their faces half-covered. Masked
adventurers, ready for the world.
The first time we did the pools together, I remember asking,
‘Eight draws? How hard can it be?’ He’d let me have my pick,
marking each cross with his pen, smiling knowingly at my
faith in current form, who was playing at home and general

know-it-allness. A rite of passage, before ‘BET NOW, FREE BET,
GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY’ LY’ got shouted at you from the telly.
Needless to say, I got one draw amongst a host of away wins.
We still play every week. It’s online now but we write notes
on the fixtures in the back of the paper, our tried and trusted
method. We won fifty quid once.
Sitting at the registrar’s desk in the chapel, he’d witnessed
my marriage certificate. Both of us knowing it probably was a
mistake, neither of us able to articulate why or how to stop it,
stoically soldiering on in the way we’d been taught. His signature
was flamboyant, unlike every other part of him, and I wondered
how that had happened. Perhaps he wanted all the major
milestones in his life to be marked that way, distinctive and alive.
The scrape of the chair opposite brings me back. He looks
younger today, which is a surprise. He glances at my scribbles,
still going nowhere, and shakes his head. The tannoy interrupts
us. ‘Calling all passengers – Flight BA732. Boarding at Gate 15’
‘It’s time,’ he says, placing a hand on mine.
I nod, fold up the paper and offer him the pen. He takes it
gently, knowing he will need it for the paperwork to come.
• Simon, from Sutton, Surrey, says: ‘My dad always had a silver pen
that he kept for important paperwork. It was nice to remember some of
the ways he used it to create a fictional story, and leave the ending open.’
Editor’s comments
Perhaps not surprisingly, several entrants chose a pen as the object
to write about. Simon’s story stood out for its understatement. We
wonder what the narrator wants to be distracted from. We’re not
told, but there are hints: the father quietly taking care of things, he is
looking younger (implying the opposite has been true), the talk of major
milestones requiring a signature, the paperwork to come. It wasn’t a
necessary step to enjoy this bittersweet story but I gave a satisfied ‘yes’
when I looked up flight BA732 and saw that it goes to Geneva.
There were no major or recurring problems with entries this month,
although some were more ‘slices of life’ than true stories where
something happens. The open theme meant that I was sent a wide
range of excellent stories, including the shortlisted entries below.
Highly commended
The Cat Face Plate by Tracey-Anne Plater – a silly game between a
father and daughter where they secretly leave a hideous plate in each
other’s houses sees them through life’s ups and downs
The Teardrop with the Missing Piece by Matthew Hisbent – a touching
tale of unrequited love set years after a brief holiday romance, and
rather unusual for being written from the man’s point of view
Twilight Renaissance by Vanessa Horn – another touching story in which
we follow a woman’s relationship with a teddy from infancy to senility
Whatever it Takes by Denny Jace – another unusual story from this
month’s winner: two sisters compete to earn their cruel mum’s
affection; one has even faked a pregnancy to inherit a ring
The Space Left Behind by Thomas Philips – a man recalls the family life
his late grandparents’ old glass cabinet has seen as it’s taken away
Sparkle Like a Diamond by Jo Scott – a mean sister can’t wait to inherit
a sparkling ring and gives her sister a thousand pounds believing it is
worth much more, but the mum knows it is only costume jewellery.
2.537 Million Years by James A Beaumont – I said ‘no time travel’ but
James cleverly included two different types by making his object a
telescope through which four generations of a family look at the stars
Emerald Eyes by Morna Clements – a story told by Wallis Simpson, who
feels trapped by her infamous situation, just like the emerald eyes of the
panther brooch that Edward gives her as a token of his love
The Wrong Shoes by Lucy Brighton – an agoraphobic woman is bought
shoes by her daughter in an attempt to get her to leave the house
HOW TO ENTER
Writers’FORUM
FLASH COMP
Enter our monthly quick writing
contest with a £100 first prize
T
he editor’s monthly competition for short short
writing has a £100 prize for one winner and a
number of runners-up may also be published,
depending upon the nature of the contest and available
space. The flash competition is FREE FOR SUBSCRIBERS
(single entry only). For non-subscribers (or extra
subscriber entries) the entry fee is £5, which you can
purchase by following the link on the Writers’ Forum
website (www.writers-forum.com).
Entry is strictly by email only.
Writers’ Forum wants to encourage you to write, so:
■ We will have a theme/task each time so that new
writing has to be produced.
■ There will be a tight deadline so that results can be
published quickly and entrants can’t dither!
The editor’s decision is final and no correspondence over
results will be entered into. By entering, entrants agree to these
rules and for their entries to be published in Writers’ Forum.
COMP 239: CLICHÉ
Deadline: 12 noon GMT
on 29 Nov 2021
Carl’s assignment: Write a story suitable for a weekly
magazine based on a tired idea that is usually rejected by
any fiction editor: a twist-in-the-tale where the
narrator turns out to be an animal. You have 500
words (±10) to try and breathe life into this hackneyed
plot. Two more rules: the twist must only be revealed with
the very last word and that word must be the type of
animal the narrator turn outs to be, ie cat, dog, etc.
How to enter
1 Paste your entry straight into the body of a new email
(NOT as an attachment) followed by the wordcount
and your name and address. Give your purchase order
number or state if you’re a subscriber to check against
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2 In the email’s subject line box, write Flash Comp 239:
followed by your interesting and relevant story title.
3 Send your email to flashcomp@writers-forum.com
by the deadline above.
The results will be published next issue. Good luck!
Writers’FORUM #239 29
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 CHILDREN’S BOOKS

WRITING4CHILDREN
IT’S ALL ABOUT A JOURNEY Sita Brahmachari tells Anita Loughrey about
how she develops the characters and settings for her Young Adult books

W
hen Shadows
Fall grew out of
an interaction
I had in my
first workplace at the Royal
Court Young People’s Theatre
with children who had been
excluded from school. They
were children full of potential
who had already decided that
education wasn’t for them. We
had a small space to work in
and the adjacent outside area
was not ‘safe’ because people
threw things from the flats
above. ‘Missiles, miss,’ one girl
explained.
Certain children I’ve met
in my work as a writer and
through arts education have
stayed with me. I think about
them and hope they’ve found
a way to untap their potential.
My book is a symbolic passing
of the pen to all of them.
In writing about life,
grief and loss are a constant
presence. They’ve always been
central themes in children’s
literature and I always
weave them into my stories.
I believe that keeping stories
and realities from children
is what creates monsters and
nightmares. The task is to find
the right tone and holding
place for the age of reader who
might find your story. This is
why I tend to write ‘rites of
passage’ novels.
In exploring loss I’m also
interested in diverse beliefs
about what comes after. When
Shadows Fall is being published
at a time when young people
have suffered so many losses,
not only of loved ones but also
their own liberty and potential.
Martin Levenson

My characters grow the story.

I have met and worked with

Continued overleaf

Writers’FORUM #239 31
 CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Continued from previous page
thousands of young people.
Aspects of character – a phrase,
a look, a comment, a steely
stare, a leaning back, a leaning
in, the discovery that a child
who won’t speak is a gifted
artist… these memories
glimmer as I write and ignite
something in a character I’m
exploring. At a certain point
the character emerges like
a figure from clay, and then
everything in them speaks to
you and drives the narrative.
I also need to connect with
the feelings of the young
person I was. Whatever age
character I’m writing I do a
little writing exercise where I
imagine meeting them when
I was the same age and a
conversation between us.
The voice and character
must be true, then readers
will pursue. Lose them at the
start and it’s over. That doesn’t
mean you have to begin with
a cataclysmic tipping point.
Young people need to be
pulled into the symbolic
world so they feel the story
viscerally without necessarily
‘understanding’ it.
In When Shadows Fall the
story draws readers from scene
to scene through shifts in
form. There are lots of shifting
perspectives. There are three
narrators in total, Kai, Orla
and Om, but Kai, the central
one, goes between speaking
in free verse to prose as his
mood changes. It’s also written
in three acts, so the novel is
structured like a play.
Urban landscape
In every story I write I have
to find the landscapes out of
which the characters have
grown. When Shadows Fall is
set on a city recreation ground
where ravens call to Kai,
Orla and Zak. This is the
‘Greenlands’ turf of the story.
For location I brought
together a number of local
places that have sustained me
as a country girl who migrated
to the city in my twenties.
Queen’s Wood in north London
was the symbolic wood in my
32 Writers’FORUM #239
novel, Red Leaves, and a bit of
that ancient wood protects
the young people in When
Shadows Fall.
The practical geography
of the story resembles – and
was inspired – by my local
city park. When we moved to
the area 20 years ago it was
abandoned and a place to
steer clear of. It has now been
transformed into a community
space named after the anti-
apartheid campaigner Oliver
Tambo, who lived in exile
nearby and whose statue now
graces the rec and the walkway
to two schools.
Project pioneer Robby
Sukhdeo and his family
worked with young people
who were falling out of
education and getting into
trouble with the authorities
and he harnessed the land and
their sense of belonging to it
to build their potential.
My characters literally grow
out of this landscape from
nursery. Everything they have
and have lost, any hope for
the future, is planted here.
In creating this landscape,
illustrator Natalie Sirett and
I have been passing images
and words back and forth for
many years. I think this story
is so fully rooted in landscape
because we’ve been delving
into this world for so long.
Uncovering the layers
My advice to other writers
is don’t wait for the story to
come whole. Keep a sketch
book. Doodle, daydream, and
write any thoughts, ideas and
imaginings that come. Leave
your ideas to prove and come
back to them later to look
for jewels.
Writing is a layering process,
as in the artichoke charm in
my first story, Artichoke Hearts.
You’ve got to keep exploring
the layers till you get to the
heart of your story. Very often
I don’t know what that is until
I’ve finished a first or second
draft. Once I’ve found the
symbolic world and landscapes
of characters I’m usually away.
Have patience. Don’t rip
work up but do be prepared
to start again and re-layer,
re-voice and re-write.
Question. Be open to what
editors and first readers say.
Test material. Listen deeply.
Pay attention also to the
twist in your gut that hasn’t
untangled what you need to
in the story yet.
Enjoy growing characters
and let plot find you through
them. Enjoy the flow when
it comes – like white-water
rafting or being in perfect
balance on an imaginary
high-wire. When it happens,
it’s exciting!
Accept that sometimes there
is just a lot of heavy rowing to
do. Keep going until you feel
that what you’ve written could
make some sense to someone
else, but don’t show your work
too early. Once you feel it has
a force of its own that could
convey meaning, feel the fear
of putting it out in the world
and do it anyway.
Never react to feedback or
start rewrites straight away –
let the thoughts and comments
mull for a while. Whatever
changes you make have to be
true to your characters and
story and to yourself.
The rewards
My favourite thing about
writing for young adults is
their passion and openness,
once you crack the nut of self-
consciousness. The possibility
you might write a book that
opens potential portals for a
reader is so rewarding.
Recently I met a bookseller
who arrived in UK aged 15 as
a refugee. She said when she
read my stories she wished
she’d had something similar
when she was growing up
because there was this silence
around her experience. ‘It would
have helped me,’ she said.
As a child I longed to see
the diversity of characters who
were my family and the people
I met in life in the stories I read.
So my stories have featured
diaspora characters from many
cultures, histories and beliefs.
I’ve seen how powerfully
young people have wanted and
responded to these stories.
When I wrote Red Leaves,
a librarian said the book had
been taken out so many times
by students of Somali origin
she’d had to order more copies.
I believe young people need
to find anchors, sails and
global windows in the stories
they read. They need to
find a place where they feel
like someone ‘gets’ them or
something about a character
resonates with them.
These are fragile, tender
years, but also years in which
young people can discover a
strong sense of themselves.
I’m passionate about writing
stories that might lead them to
that place of opportunity.
I also love the fact my stories
speak to young people who,
like Kai, may not love reading
or school but discovering the
story becomes the very thing
to help them find a new path.
I’ve never written anything
I wasn’t passionate about. I
want to write stories that offer
hope but don’t shy away from
the realities young people
face. This is true whether I’m
writing ghost stories like When
Secrets Set Sail, or dystopian
future world-building like
Where the River Runs Gold,old, or
real-world stories like When
Shadows Fall.
Whatever I write, the learning
that takes place during the
writing is always a journey of
discovery. In a way the readers
need to mirror your own
discovery as a writer.
• You can find out more about Sita
at sitabrahmachari.com and follow
her on Twitter and Instagram
 Home Study
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 Writers
Mon Tue Wed Th
11 Nov
Get into the habit of writing every day with these five-minute prompts. It’s all
GET STA
about QUANTITY not QUALITY – simply a way to get your creativity warmed Spend five minut
homework ork
up, so try not to edit as you write. But if inspiration strikes, keep going! listing favou

15 16 17 18
FAIRYTALE TWIST
WRITTEN IN THE STARS COMMEN
A TV show helps the Three Little
Look up your daily horoscope and Choose a title fr
Pigs find a new escape to the
write out how your day would go if Contest shorli
country/location location location/
it were 100 per cent accurate. and start you
place in the sun…
Sent by reader Penny Gotch

22 23 24 25
CLERI-WHO?
NOT SO SCARY
His eponymous pen first went on IT’S DR WHO DAY What do you give
The Mummy gets into a row
sale in the UK 75 years ago today, so Where would you go if you thanks for?
on Twitter with followers who
write a clerihew poem (look it up) could take a ride in the Tardis?
assumed he was transgender…
that begins Lázsló Bíró

29 30 1 Dec 2
HOT OFF THE PRESS PATRON SAINT YOU CA
SUMMING UP
Look at the book/media section Write a list of every Andrew you YOUR GLA
Write a list of everything you’ve
of your favourite newspaper and know – family, friend or famous. Sit facing a mirror
written this month and/or
have a go at rewriting an item for Which most deserves to be describe yourself
everything you plan to write
our Newsfront pages. Send it to canonised? an erotic
next month, honest.
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6 7 8 9
RANDOM WORD POETRY COMP
SPACE TO
GENERATOR One week until the #239 poetry
Write about an u
Write about… comp deadline. Spend five minutes
the moon for a t
jotting down thoughts on the theme
Sent
IDENTITY HOTDOG of cure.

13 14 15 16
USER GENERATED
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SPORES FOR THOUGHT CONTENT
Grab the new
Choose one of Sue’s four Come up with your
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amusing le
Workouts on page 51. kickstarters@writers-forum.com
Writers’ C
(NB: photos must be horizontal).
 Daily Kickstarters
hu Fri Sat Sun
12 AN ANAGRAM
13 14
On the last day of COP26, make JUST A FEW LINES
ARTED
as many words and phrases On Remembrance Sunday,
tes on Douglas’s
as you can from the letters in write a poem or prayer using
k on page 13
CONFERENCE OF the poppy as a metaphor.
urite topics.
THE PARTIES

19 20 GEO-LOCATION
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FLASH IN FIVE
NDABLE FINISH WTH FINESSE Go to what3words.com and type
Eight days to go until the #239
rom the Fiction Have a go at plotting one beans.again.voting ing into the map
flash comp deadline. Spend
ist on page 46 of the endings for Barbara’s search box, then write a quick story
five minutes working on the
ur own story. Exercise A on page 25. using those three words and the
plot of your entry.
famous location it takes you to.

26
GOING WITHOUT
It’s Buy Nothing Day (a backlash
against Black Friday). What
non-essentials do you buy?
Could you give them up?
27 28
MIND MAP
SQUARE UP
Write the word WRAP in the
Roll a dice for Paula’s Fiction
middle of a page, then all the
Square on page 37 and plot
ideas/words it sparks around it…
the key scenes of a story.
until you fill the paper.

3 4 5
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ASSES ON LICK A LIMERICK Ten days to go until the rolling
r in the nude and A budding wine maker from deadline for the Writers’ Forum
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10 11 12
VOCAB BOOST WORRY HURRY FAMOUS FIRST WORDS
OURISM
Write a list of random words where Pour out a current writing Start your own story using this
upcoming trip to
each begins with the last letter of the problem into a letter and email famous opening: ‘Christmas won’t
travel brochure.
preceding word. Your starter word it to Dear Della or the Mentor be Christmas without any presents,’
by reader Christine Kelly
is JUMPER… – or burn it. grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

DON
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Your daily dose of “must read.”

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R ich a r d Pa g e Ik e ch i H a y d e n
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read cosy fiction and rarely venture outside
I of my comfort zone, but I did recently. The
book in question is Glasshouse by US author
Morwenna Blackwood and I bought it after
meeting Morwenna on Zoom.
I don’t look at reviews before reading
a book and am especially glad I didn’t this
time, as I had no idea it was a sequel and it
Paula Williams has taken a rare trip out of her reading comfort zone
might have put me off. However, it reads
perfectly well as a standalone, a testament to
the author’s skill. Glasshouse is a beautifully
written, intelligent read. Bleak and disturbing
in places but full of thought-provoking insights.
I contacted Morwenna and asked her where
the idea for the book, and the previous one in
the series, The (D)Evolution of Us, came from.
She says: ‘Once upon a time, when I was
16 and at college, sitting at my desk in a
Communications Studies class, my tutor
was teaching us about how something and
something else were inextricably linked,’ she
explains. ‘I can’t remember what she was
actually talking about, but I’d never heard the
word inextricably
bly before and fell in love with
everything about it.
‘I remember thinking at the time – I can
still see where I was sitting and my old folder!
– when I write my books, I’m going to write
FICTION SQUARE
Roll a dice to find all the ingredients for your next story
– or use each of the squares as a daily prompt this month
Ist & 2nd roll 3rd & 4th roll
Characters Traits
1 7
sychiatrist Handsome
2 8
Nurse Introvert
3 9
Patient Reluctant
4 10
Child Spoilt
5 11
Grandparent Grumpy
6 12
Gardener Patient
INSPIRATION
THE WRITERS’
my MA dissertation, and this transpired to
be the bones of Glasshouse.
‘The band Muse was the inspiration for
Charcot, the band in Glasshouse, along with
all the gigs I went to in my teens and 20s.
I found the name when I was planning a
presentation on hysteria as part of my
MA. Jean-Martin Charcot was a French
about a point in time as it affects everyone neurologist, who is best known nowadays
around it, and the characters will all be linked for his work on hysteria and hypnosis; Freud
but they won’t know it. I thought about was one of his students.
writing from the points of view of four friends ‘Although I had this fairly well-developed
– separate narratives rolled into one. story, something told me that I couldn’t begin
‘The idea stayed with me, literally, for years, with it; instead, I wrote The (D)Evolution of Us.
and I wrote a load of stories, messing about ‘When I first fell in love, I fell in love hard.
with format. As I’m also fascinated by the I was ill at the time, which exacerbated the
that fact that perception is everything, even situation, and when the relationship began
our concepts of reality, I decided to write to crack, I couldn’t understand what this lad
something based on my own experience of was feeling, I’m ashamed to say. Elements of
mental illness. Adam and Cath came from that.
‘Throughout my life I’ve been in and out ‘In truth, I am a survivor of abuse, and really
of various psychiatric units. In one hospital, I this whole series of books (the published two,
remember a member of staff commenting on the third that’s in edits, and all the others in
the fact that one of the psychiatrists was very my notebooks and in my head) came about
good looking – I hadn’t noticed until then! because I wanted to try to understand why
– and I wondered what would happen if a people do the things they do – what makes
doctor fell in love with a patient or vice versa. someone cross a line.
I explored the idea in the piece I wrote for ‘I hope one day to take a course in criminal
psychology. Everyone has their reasons, or
rather catalysts, and our choices make us
what we are to others. As I said, it’s all about
perception – that’s why my website tagline is
It’s all in your mind. I’ve spent a great deal of my
life in existential crisis!
‘In essence, I got my ideas for this series of
novels from my own experience of life, and my
attempt to make sense of it.’
5th roll 6th roll 7th roll
Theme Setting Object
Do you ever read or write out of your
13 19 25 comfort zone? I sometimes take a chance with
Breakdown Hospital Board game reading and, as often or not, am happy to have
done so. But writing’s another matter and not
something I do if I can avoid it.
15 20 26
Show must That said, I’ve written five pantomimes for
Guest house Brush my village theatre group to date and the first
go on
one was terrifying. I was so convinced no one
15 21 27 would laugh at my jokes and that the audience
Betrayal Lockdown Bookmark would all fall asleep halfway through that I
wouldn’t let any of my family come to watch it.
In fact, people did laugh and stayed awake
16 22 28
all the way through – and I was asked to write
First love School Notebook more, so I must have done something right.
What would take you out of your comfort
17 23 29 zone? As always, I’d love to hear from you at
Out of ideastore@writers-forum.com
Airport Computer
comfort zone
• Paula’s Much Winchmoor Mysteries Murder
18 24 30 dly and Burying Bad
Served Cold, Rough and Deadly
Breaking up Cafe Car News are available on Amazon. The fourth in
the series, Murder on High, is out in December.
Her blog is at paulawilliamswriter.com
Writers’FORUM #239 37
 STORY COMP

Writers FORUM
fictioncompetition
Congratulations to this month’s winners, Paul Barnett, Kathryn Johns and Richard Smith.
Do you have a short story that could impress our head judge Esther Chilton?
Any subject, any style is welcome. Turn to the rules and entry form on page 40.

FIRST PRIZE £300

No Place for
Quiet Heroes
Paul Barnett

I
park a distance from the prison main gate, near a line of poplar
trees just swaying gently in the breeze. I’m early. Bobby, my little
brother isn’t released until 10am.
Bobby was born quiet. He was never made for prison time,
not even a short nine-month stretch like he served. As a kid he’d
bolt for Hook’s Peak, the rocky outcrop at the back of the house
anytime our parents’ floating tensions surfaced, which was often.
Other kids made fun of him on account of his quiet. Teachers said
he might have hidden talents, but you could see he’d struggle too
much with the social side of life to ever make any use of them.
The clock on the dash reads five minutes after ten. I look over
and see Bobby above the heads of the little crowd gathered. He’s
six feet five. I hit the air horn on the truck, open the door and wave
until I get his attention. He nods and starts walking over, a little
hunched and looking like he lost weight he couldn’t afford to lose.
He still has his calf-like good looks though, like he might be one for
the ladies, if he could carry a conversation.
‘Good to be out?’ I say when he gets in the passenger side. I know
better than to reach over to hug him. He’s not good with that.
Bobby nods, gives a shy little smile, says, ‘Good to see you, Ray.’
‘And you, brother.’
I turn the ignition and we pull away from Raleigh prison. Hardly
a word passes between us as we head for the switchback road that
leads up into the mountains and home. Bobby physically relaxes
once we start making the familiar ascent, surrounded on all sides
by an ocean of trees and peaks, a forested wilderness. The wrecks
of trucks can be seen on the lower escarpments. It spooks me to
think bodies are probably still down there someplace. I don’t share
Bobby’s mountain blood, not to the same extent at least. He has the
window down and his head half-out catching the sun like he is
breathing in his freedom.
I snatch a glance at the grievous scar on his left hand and his
missing little finger just as he turns and catches me.
‘Feels good to be home, don’t it?’ I say to cover the awkwardness.
Bobby nods, then hesitantly: ‘You heard anything of Leanne?’
‘Bobby, don’t start…’
‘Just interested to know, Ray, that’s all.’
I swallow. ‘From what I hear they’re both fine, her and Skyla.’
Bobby nods, and then looks back out the side window.
There’s no mileage in telling him how Leanne has been seen
hanging around a bar a few miles out of town, seemingly driven
by terrible forces, burning through men and prompting questions
about who was looking after little Skyla.
‘You have any parole conditions?’ I say over the noise of the truck
straining on the incline.
Bobby nods, then seeing that I’m still waiting says, ‘I’m not to go
within a five-mile radius of Burrington town, not to make contact
with Leanne or Skyla, in person or by mail, or online.
‘Any curfew?’
Bobby nods, pulls up his jeans on his left leg to show the fitted
tag. ‘Gotta be in by seven each evening.’
‘You know what’ll happen, don’t you, Bobby?’
Looking down the sheer drop on his side Bobby says, ‘I know.’
‘It won’t be no short sentence next time either.’
Bobby nods.
In some respects Bobby is the smartest guy I know, but you can
never tell what gets through to him and what don’t.

38 Writers’FORUM #239

We pull off the main road into a tunnel of trees which gives way
to our perimeter fence. There’s a sign that reads ‘Trespassers will be
ain.’ It’s an example of Daddy’s humour
shot, survivors will be shot again.’
before he passed. He was the sort to shout like it was his way of
controlling the world. He never offered me and Bobby one word of
advice all the time we were growing up, but it tickled him to hell
whenever we messed up.
The truck bounces in rut holes, branches scrape the sides. Then
the one-storey house busts into view, an A-frame with a covered
porch of cedar decking running around it.
We’re no sooner indoors and Bobby says he’s going to take a
walk up to Hook’s Peak, following the pine-needle-carpeted trail
at the rear.
‘You sure you don’t want anything to eat first? I got stuff in. Let
me fix you something.’
‘No, I’ll just get some fresh air.’
With him gone I get a cold beer from the fridge and sit out on
the porch swing. I’m clueless as to what to do if Bobby goes crazy
again, missing Leanne. I wonder if it’ll come to blows, me having
to hold him down even though he’s twice my strength. The court
had given him enough warnings, told him if he breeched the
restraining order one more time he’d be looking at prison. Instead
he committed an offence under the category of ‘malicious commu-
nications’. He cut off his little finger and mailed it to Leanne. In his
mind it was a token of his devotion.
‘Damn, Bobby,’ I said, attempting to keep things light when I first
went to see him in prison, him all bandaged up and looking sorry
for himself, ‘Couldn’t you send flowers like normal folk?’ He gave
a little smile laced with melancholy.
As a kid, Bobby hated anything being broken. He developed a
compulsion and something of a talent to fix just about anything.
Unfortunately other people and marriages lay beyond his capacity.
For the first few weeks it’s awkward with Bobby about the place
again. He knows I’m watching him. His parole officer, Alicia, is in
regular contact, calling at the house unannounced several times.
Each time she goes over the anger management and violence in the
home work Bobby did in prison. She tells me he provides all the
right answers but with little in the way of conviction. I’m not sure
how much it applies to Bobby anyway; given that I’ve never heard
him so much as raise his voice.
Alicia swings by the day Bobby’s tag is removed. She reminds
him the restraining order remains in place, and any violation will
breech the terms of his release. She also talks about how Bobby can
apply for visitation to see Skyla.
‘You will need to go through an attorney, but given your conduct
on parole you can count on my support,’ she says.
Bobby gives a shy smile like he is grateful, and then asks if we’re
done, like he’s asking to be excused.
‘Yeah, we’re done,’ Alicia says.
I follow Alicia outside when she steps out on the porch for a
cigarette.
‘He’s a strange one,’ she says pointing her lit cigarette in the
general direction of the trail where Bobby is just leaving. ‘Where’d
you reckon he’s going?’
‘There’s a rocky ridge, a couple of miles from the house. He’d run
there all the time as a kid.’
‘Any violence at home?’
‘Some.’
‘Figures. The reports from the course instructors in prison said
that in some areas he scored exceptionally high, but he didn’t
exactly buy into the group dynamic.’
‘Other people are not his strong suit.’
Alicia nods like she is considering, and then asks, ‘As a child
STORY COMP
was he ever tested for Asperger’s?’
‘Our parents had difficulties covering the basics, if you get me.’
Alicia flicks her cigarette butt into the yard, says, ‘Some families
are like that. Did it ever seem odd to you, him and Leanne taking
up together?’
‘I guess she thought she was the one to coax him out of his shell.’
Alicia nods, picks up her files. ‘It says police were called to the
family home numerous times.’ She flicks a few pages. ‘Each time
Leanne makes a bunch of allegations that never go nowhere.’
‘But each time Bobby is the one hauled away in cuffs and each
time he’s the one with cuts and bruises. I’m not being an ass here,
just stating a fact.’
Alicia nods slowly, like she is considering. ‘Anyway, let’s hope for
his sake prison gave him something to think about.’
The first weekend without curfew, Bobby is intent on camping
alone, under the stars on the high mountain trail. I stop myself
from blurting my usual cautionary speech when he’s all packed up
and ready to roll, the truck idling.
‘Well, you have yourself a good time,’ I say waving him off.
An uncomfortable feeling settles on me, watching him take off
down the track, like something in the world is already out of whack.
Sunday comes around and Bobby’s not back when he said he
would be. My anxiety gets the better of me. I call his cell only to
hear it ring in his bedroom.
Checking his phone I see the extent he’s followed Leanne all over
social media. He has saved pictures of her out in different bars
with her friends, holding her phone aloft and forcing a pout. There
are men in tow, in the background. But as far as I can see there’s
nothing to suggest Bobby has attempted to make contact.
I put the phone down when I hear Bobby’s truck on the gravel
driveway. Trying to get on top of my rambling thoughts I make my
way to the kitchen where I see him stood at the fridge, swigging
juice from a carton.
‘Good trip?’ I say, attempting to sound casual, but I can feel my
expression turn to horror when he turns to face me and I see that he
is bloody and his clothes are all chewed up.
‘What in the hell happened?’
Bobby looks down at himself, like he’s surprised. ‘A woman.’
‘What do you mean a woman?’
He looks confused at my heightened concern, his brow furrowed.
He shakes his head. ‘I helped a woman on the trail is all.’
I can’t keep the frantic tone out of my voice. ‘Bobby, tell me the
truth, have you been to see Leanne?’
‘I’m driving home and this woman flags me down. She’d been
sorting the back of her car when she lost hold of her pack. It became
snagged on a ledge a little ways below. I scrambled down to get it
and took a tumble. That’s all, Ray.’
He looks at me like I’m the crazy one. I want to believe him. As far
as I am aware Bobby has never lied. Even as a kid he always gave
Momma matter-of-fact answers to anything she needed to know,
often dropping me in it. Before she left us, Momma used to say if
ever she wanted a straight answer about this place she’d ask Bobby.
‘I’ll get cleaned up,’ Bobby says, breaking the stand-off
between us.
How Bobby looked that afternoon plagues my thoughts, like
I’m just waiting on another boot dropping. Then the phone on the
kitchen wall rings and I instinctively fear the worst. A detective,
Colbert, from the sheriff’s office, introduces himself.
‘Bobby not around?’
Continued overleaf
Writers’FORUM #239 39
Writers FORUM
Want to see YOUR story published? No Place for Quiet Heroes continued
Three great prizes every issue
1st £300 2nd £150 3rd £100 ‘He’s out back; you want me to get him?’
All types of story ARE welcome – crime, comedy, history, ‘Can you vouch for his movements over the weekend, Ray?’
romance, horror, SF – BUT THEY MUST BE ENTERTAINING ‘What’s this about?
OR RIVETING NOT UNREMITTINGLY BLEAK. Don’t rely ‘Was he with you? It’s a simple question.’
on subjects like death, abuse etc to add cheap emotion. Stories My impulse is to say he was, but then he might know something
must work harder to engage readers. different. ‘Do we need an attorney? He’s not in breach of anything.
His tag was removed last week and his parole officer…’
● Entries MUST be between 1000 and 3000 words.
‘Just don’t make us come looking for him, is the best advice I can
● Documents must be typed in a Word-compatible file using
give you at this stage. It’ll be in his interest to stay real close to
double line-spacing and good margin widths. If your entry is
placed you will be notified and asked to email the file along home. You hear what I’m saying?’
with a brief author biography and photo. ‘You’re beginning to piss me off. You want to come straight out
● On the title page give your name, address, phone number, and tell me what you’re hinting at?’
email address, story title and wordcount. ‘What I’m saying is, Leanne’s in the hospital right now, uncon-
● Entry fee is £6 or just £3 for subscribers. Pay online as scious. She was found not far from High Five bar on the side of the
shown or fill in your card or cheque details below. Cheques road. Now I’m guessing when she comes around we’re going to
should be made payable to ‘Select Publisher Services’. want to talk to Bobby. That’s what I’m saying, Ray. You understand
By entering, authors agree for the story to appear in Writers’ Forum if it me? Is that clear enough for you? And just so you know, some bad
wins a prize. Entries must be in English. There is a rolling deadline – entries things had been done to her?’
arriving too late for one contest go into the next. The phone clicks and my mind whirls.
How to enter Bobby wanders in holding some motorcycle part. I can’t help
Enter online at www.writers-forum.com/storycomp.html gawping, wondering for the first time what I’m looking at and if
(the greener option) and email your entry as directed. after all these years I missed the evil in him.
Alternatively, send this coupon (photocopies accepted) with ‘You went to see Leanne, didn’t you?’ I say out of nowhere
your payment and manuscript to Writers’ Forum Story Contest, Bobby just looks at me with a blank expression.
PO Box 6337, Bournemouth BH1 9EH. ‘Don’t even think about lying to me, Bobby. That was the sher-
Name iff’s department on the phone. You went to see Leanne, didn’t you?
Didn’t you!’
Address I slump down at the table, my head in my hands, mumbling,
‘You’ve done it this time. Christ, you’ve done it this time.’
Postcode
P
I glance up. Bobby is still just looking.
Email ‘Leanne’s in hospital,’ I blurt.
Immediately Bobby goes crazy like he lost something.
Phone ‘What in hell are you doing?’
‘Looking for the truck keys.’
Story title ‘Bobby you won’t get but five miles. There’s probably a squad
Length words already guarding the end of the track.’
Bobby’s voice is calm. ‘I’m not running anywhere. I need to go
I declare the story has not previously been published or see her, see how she is doing.’
broadcast and that it is my own work I leap in his direction, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, pinning him
to the kitchen wall. ‘God damn, Bobby, they think you put her
ENTRY FEE: £6 (non-subscriber) £3 (subscriber) there.’
Subscribe below and take advantage of our special entry fees Up close I’m searching his face for any recognition of the shit he
– you can also subscribe online at www.writers-forum.com is in, but he just looks back, brow furrowed. ‘Why would I do that?’
OPTIONAL: Please enrol me for an annual subscription ‘Same reason you cut off your goddam finger and mailed it to her.’
£46 UK £59 Europe £69 Rest of world Bobby gently pulls my hands away, looks downcast. ‘I wasn’t
thinking straight. I shouldn’t have done that. Is she OK?’
I would like a story critique from the judges and include The words tumble out of me in a hissed whisper. ‘You should
a large stamped addressed envelope plus the fee of £5 know. You’re the one that left her bloody and messed up.’
He looks at me like he’s just been gut-punched, like everything
TOTAL amount payable £ he found bad about the world is in this very moment.
I enclose a cheque My credit-card details are below ‘Well, what in hell am I supposed to believe, Bobby? Tell me that,
huh? You coming back the other day, all bloody and messed up?’
Bobby nods slowly then heads straight out the back door running
Visa/Mastercard/Maestro (delete) Total £
toward Hook’s Peak.
Card no ‘Bobby, Bobby…’ I shout after him from the porch. He doesn’t
turn around. The last I see of him disappears into the trees.
Expiry date Valid from (if shown) I pace the kitchen with my anger, cussing him out for bringing
this down on himself, on us, for not talking to me. On an impulse
Issue no (if shown) Security no (last 3 digits)
I run after him, leaving the screen door swinging.
Signature I’m shouting his name along the trail, trying to get him to wait
up. But it’s not until the tree canopy gives way to the clearing that
is Hooks Peak, that I see him, stood precariously right on the edge.
I am happy for my story to be considered for a free fiction
workshop and to be featured in Writers’ Forum (optional)

‘Bobby, come away from…
Bobby gives a strange little smile, takes a tiny step backwards
and just falls from the ledge, peaceful and quiet-like.
I scream his name. Looking over I watch his body bounce to the
bottom of the ravine where it finally comes to rest, his head and
limbs splayed at awkward angles. He was silent throughout.
I sit on a rock, looking down for the longest time, attempting to
reconcile my quiet, beautiful baby brother with the crumpled and
broken body down below.
Finally, when I’m able to stand, I stumble back to the house in
stunned silence. There’s a car parked out front and a young woman
in cut-offs and a vest top looking through the kitchen window,
using her hands to block out the light. When she hears me she turns
and beams a smile, which quickly fades as she sees something in
my expression.
‘Hey, are you OK? You look like you seen a ghost.’
I nod, stumbling up on to the porch, like my legs are about to give
way. Sitting down on the bench I bring to mind Bobby smiling just
as he disappeared. I swallow hard against tears waiting to set sail.
‘You sure you OK? I could go inside and get a glass of water or
something?’
I shake my head.
‘I’m looking for someone called Bobby,’ the woman says, smiling
like she is trying to reassure me.
‘He’s not here right now,’ I say, because I’m not ready for the truth.
She looks disappointed.
SECOND PRIZE £150
More in Sorrow
Kathryn Johns
H
e had been following the girl for at least half an hour, his
footsteps muted by the mossy ground, camouflaged by
the rustles and scuffles of the various wildlife. He leaned
against a tree and sighed, then clicked his tongue and the
dog came at once, bursting from the undergrowth in a cloud of dry
dust, sending up heady scents of the woodland – gorse, wild garlic,
wood anemone. The Labrador sat at his feet and twitched her black
nose, waiting for the next command.
The man waited too.
He studied the girl, thinking maybe she was lost and frightened.
Now and again she gave a small sob or a stifled sniff until,
exhausted, she stopped and dropped to the ground where she
slumped forward and put her head in her hands.
He almost felt sorry for her.
She was not pretty in a conventional way, he mused as he
fingered the strong twine in his pocket. Her hair fell just above her
shoulders; it was straight and fine, and appeared, in the woodland’s
gloom, to be the colour of dark ash. She wore a faded, shapeless
dress with large drooping pockets that ended mid-calf, revealing
slim, pale legs. There was about her an air of delicate vulnerability,
and he found himself thinking of old tales of witching woods,
fairies and nymphs.
He paused, hidden from view by the vast trunk of an ancient oak,
and continued to stare at her, perplexed by the feelings of compas-
sion rising within him. In his opinion, few people deserved pity,
especially those of the female sex.
Perhaps it was the sweet serenity of the copse – the tranquillity
at odds with her obvious sorrow, her despair an insult to the
STORY COMP
‘I’m Cindy. Is he due back anytime soon?’
I shake my head.
‘Sorry, you’re…?’
‘Ray, his older brother,’ I say on a deep inhalation, just staring off
into the yard as she carries on talking.
‘Pleased to meet you, Ray; I met Bobby the other day up on the
trail. He helped me retrieve my pack from where it got snagged,
took a nasty fall while doing it too.’
I inhale deeply like I’m choking everything down, not sure I can
listen to any more.
‘You sure you OK, sugar? I just wanted to check he was all right.
He doesn’t say much, does he? I might have come by sooner, only
he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information, if you know what
I mean. I had a friend of mine do a check on his plates to find
out where he lived. Lord, I feel foolish even saying this but is he
married or anything…?’
The dam on my tears breaks.
‘Ray, baby, you’re not right at all. Let me call someone. Ray…’
About the author Paul lives in Somerset but set his story
in Appalachia, a region he’d like to visit . Another one of his
American-based stories can be found at hebatescompetition.
org.uk where it was placed second in this year’s contest.
reverent beauty of the place, but as he watched her, a great sadness
overwhelmed him. Images drifted to the surface of his mind.
Memories of friends dying in his arms, of bombs and gunfire,
of trenches and tunnels, of the childish faces of the enemy and the
hatred forced into their hearts by a mad leader, but mostly the love
for his own country that made him retaliate.
Visions of Belinda, and the certainty that she would stand by
him, even with his scars, both physical and emotional.
And of her tears as she had walked away.
Anger rose in him again. The rage he had felt that day boiled back
in his blood.
Belinda had betrayed him. There might have been other loves,
perhaps. But some shattered hearts can’t heal, and some lost dreams
never be re-found.
Continued overleaf
Writers’FORUM #239 41
 STORY COMP
More in Sorrow continued
His hands twitched and his grip tightened on the cord in his
pocket as he moved from the shadows towards the girl.
The dog leapt up with a yap of joy at the thought of a further
walk. The girl, startled, looked across at them and jumped to her
feet.
He forced his voice into a calm ‘Hello.’
She mumbled a greeting, dashed a hand across her eyes, and
turned as if to leave.
‘Wait,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.’
‘No, no, I’m fine. I was just leaving anyway.’
‘No, don’t. I won’t hurt you. You’re upset. Can I help? Are you
lost? I know the area well if you need directions.’ He smiled at her,
knowing how charming his smile was.
The girl hesitated and gave a brief, hard laugh.
He lowered himself to the ground and patted at the space beside
him.
‘Why don’t you sit down for a minute?’
She observed him for several moments before sinking down on
to the grass.
‘I was heading for the road. Someone told me that this was a
shortcut, but I must have wandered from the path. I seem to have
been walking round in circles.’
‘But still, I’m guessing there’s something else. I mean, you would
have found your way, eventually.’
She took a deep breath, as if considering whether to trust him.
‘The more I walked, the more I thought about things. Things that
hurt so much that I’m not sure I can go on.’
‘Oh, surely it’s not that bad,’ he said. ‘Do you want to talk about
it? I’m a good listener.’ She looked at him, and he noted a certain
wariness in her eyes.
‘I’m a murderer,’ she said.
He gasped and then laughed.
‘Well, I’ve heard rumours that there’s a dangerous person in the
area, an escapee from the asylum; but I hardly think that can be
you. You look quite sane to me and you certainly don’t seem like
a killer.’
‘But I am,’ she said.
He touched her arm. ‘What happened? Some kind of accident?
To be a murderer, you need to have killed someone deliberately. I
just can’t see it.’
A look of anger crossed her face. ‘How much more ruthless could
a person be than to slaughter a helpless child?’
Not knowing how to respond, he raised an eyebrow in question.
Perhaps she had escaped from the asylum, after all.
Intrigued now, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack
of cigarettes. ‘Like one?’
She shook her head.
He took one himself and having lit it, inhaled and, blowing out
the smoke, watched as it drifted and writhed in the still air before
dissipating. The dog lay at his feet, sensing that her walk was over
for now, and a companionable silence fell between them.
‘I suppose I could tell you,’ she said after a few moments, then
nodded, as if giving herself permission.
‘I’m the eldest of a large family,’ she began. ‘Things were tough
and as soon as I was old enough to work I left home, hoping to get
a job and to help out financially. I have little experience, but I found
a position with a widowed farmer who was struggling to raise two
young children alone.’ She paused for a moment, as if seeking the
right words. ‘I would receive a small wage plus room and board for
helping with the cooking, cleaning and care of the children.’
Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she sniffed and carried on.
‘Everything was fine until one night, Mr… No, I won’t say his
42 Writers’FORUM #239
name,’ she said. ‘But one evening he came into my bedroom. I wasn’t
sure what he was doing at first. I wondered if there was something
wrong with one of the children. I was half-asleep, confused. He
stumbled around the room and I realised he was drunk, then he
came over to the bed – and…’
Not wanting her to stop, he nodded, but his eyes narrowed in
anger. Whether towards the employer or the girl, he wasn’t sure
himself.
‘I couldn’t stop him,’ she said. ‘I don’t think he meant to hurt me.
He seemed to think I was his wife. He kept mumbling her name,
but it was horrible.’ She gave a small shudder at the memory. ‘I
didn’t know what he was doing.’ She hung her head, and when he
looked at her, he noticed a faint flush on her cheeks.
‘You think I’m stupid. Even Ma laughed at first – not a kind laugh
though. She said she didn’t see how I could not know about such
things at my age. But how could I? Nobody had ever told me, and
I’d never had a boyfriend. I was so stupid that I even wondered if it
was part of my job.’
She stopped again. Neither spoke for a while, but the dog shifted
position and dropped its head on to the girl’s lap and in response
she moved her hand across the animal’s side, running her slender
fingers through the thick, silky coat. The man lit another cigarette
and waited.
‘I couldn’t afford to leave, so I carried on as normal. Weeks
passed, and he never mentioned it. I wondered if he had forgotten,
but then I started to feel ill all the time, sick in the mornings and
dizzy sometimes. Eventually, I went to the doctor and he told me
I was pregnant.’
He was aware of the horror in her voice as she said the last words,
but there was a certain joy there, too.
‘I was terrified, then thrilled. A baby of my own. I made all sorts
of foolish plans, but how could I keep it? Where could we live? How
would I feed it?’ She choked back a sob.
‘Didn’t you tell him?’ he asked, thinking that surely Mr Whoever
would have offered marriage. After all, he was a widower and by
the sounds of things, a respectable man of some means.
‘It wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t sure that he even knew what he had
done. Of course, in the end I had to tell him.’
‘At first he said he would marry me, but then he changed his
mind and told me I must leave.’
She shook her head sadly, and he remained silent, reluctant to
interrupt.
‘I went back home. My parents were furious. With me, mostly,
because I wanted to keep my child. They said they couldn’t live
with the shame, that it wasn’t feasible anyway as they had little
money, and I had none. I must have an abortion.
‘I didn’t even know what an abortion was, and when Ma explained
it to me, I couldn’t believe it. She said that it wasn’t legal, but that
she could arrange it. I thought of running away but in the end, I
gave in. My parents somehow found the money and managed to
find a woman willing to do the job.’
A sad sigh escaped her and when she spoke again, her voice was
a low, husky whisper.
‘It was terrible. I was so ill afterwards that I nearly died.’ She
sniffed loudly. ‘I wish I had.’
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ he told her.
The girl gritted her teeth and glared at him. ‘Yes, it was. I should
have fought harder for my baby. I loved him. The woman gave me
something to drink, some sort of potion. I was to go home and lie
down, she explained. Soon the contractions would start. I would
have my baby, but not to worry, he would be born dead.’
She swallowed hard, and it was several moments before she
spoke again. ‘She described it so matter of factly, as if my child was
nothing but an inconvenience to be disposed of. I had to travel back

home by myself, knowing that inside me, my child was dying. I
made it, God knows how, and then I lost him, just as she said. But
I saw him, for a second, before Ma took him away. I saw him and he
was beautiful. And I had killed him.’
She started to cry again.
The afternoon sun peered through the branches above them. A
russet squirrel skivvied along a low bough, somewhere a bird sang
a sad song and the breeze sighed through the leaves.
Her sorrow was a shroud that wrapped itself around her, envel-
oping her in sadness. He reached out and put his arms around her.
She stiffened and shivered, but as the sobs died away, she relaxed
and clung to him.
She looked up into his face.
‘You wanted to help?’ she said. ‘Then give me another baby.’ Her
voice broke again. ‘I can’t stand the pain anymore. I feel so empty,
as if there’s a great hole inside me that nothing else can fill. I would
rather be dead than to live like this.’
Startled by the passion of her words, he would have pulled away,
but she held on to him.
‘Please,’ she begged, ‘please, give me another baby. Help me.’
He was horrified. He couldn’t remember the last time he had
been with a woman. It was a long time since he had felt any kind of
desire, and never love.
She stood up and slipped her dress from her shoulders. He
watched her, not sure what to do. His hand went back to his pocket,
where his fingers fidgeted again with the thin twine. What kind of
woman was she to offer herself to him like this?
But even as the cord tightened around his fingers, he imagined
that normally she was quiet, shy even, and modest. The way her
hands trembled, and the terrified determination in her eyes, told
him that this was an alien act to her.
He seemed to be in a kind of stupor, unable to move. A shaft
of sunlight pierced the dark canopy of trees, illuminating her
shivering, naked body as she stood before him like some kind of
sacrificial virgin.
She held out her arms to him. ‘Please,’ she whispered.
THIRD PRIZE £100
Not a Stitch
Richard Smith
F
rank appeared to be worrying about what he was going to do
with all the clothes pegs he had accumulated after becoming
a naturist.
‘I’ve got a bag full of them,’ he said, a fistful of pegs aloft
in his left hand like a horrifying reinterpretation of the Statue of
Liberty. ‘Do you think the supermarket will take them back?’
‘Frank,’ I began, suddenly feeling overdressed in my vest, shirt,
trousers and sweater. ‘Have you considered the limitations of your
new lifestyle choice?’
Frank gave an all-too familiar sigh. ‘I’ve told you before, I cannot
get on with these nondescript brands in the “cheapo” stores. If I’m
having baked beans, I’m having proper baked beans from a proper
supermarket.’
I mirrored his sigh and tried again. ‘I meant the limitation of not
wearing any clothing, not your choice of supermarket!’
Frank was catching the sun. He wasn’t so much a mega-sized
jelly baby, more a bumper-sized raspberry-flavoured jelly baby.
He moved his free hand to scratch the area I had swiftly trained
STORY COMP
He rose and moved to her, pushing her to the ground.
They lay together, silent and still, staring up through the twisted,
laced branches to the dimming skies. It was as if they were locked
in some enchanted, mystical moment, bound to each other in an
ancient tale of love and loss.
His heart raced. He shuddered in a sweat that was both cold and
hot until he could hold back no longer.
Kissing her, caressing her, the past melted away while briefly he
loved her.
He lay back, exhausted, and when he turned to look at her, he
saw that her eyes were shining, her cheeks flushed. She gave a
wistful smile, then leaned her head against his shoulder and placed
her hands on her firm, flat stomach.
‘Thank you,’ she sighed. ‘I know we have made a baby, and this
time I’ll never let anyone hurt it, or me.’
She moved across him, reaching over to the place where she had
dropped her clothes. He gazed up at her sad, sweet face, glimpsed
her slender arm and blinked as a dart of light from the dying sun
flashed across the gleaming metal blade.
A piercing pain shot through his chest, blood filled his mouth
and he felt the warm trickle as it moved down his chin.
Maybe it was meant to be. He had killed people who were stran-
gers to him, watched them die, held comrades in his arms as they
breathed their last, and as he stared up at the evening skies, he saw
all those faces again. He moaned.
It was over.
At last.
The Labrador whined, edged forward, and rested its head on his
bloody chest.
About the author Kathryn lives in Spain and is inspired by
the beautiful views from her office window. She is thrilled to
have been placed in Writers’ Forum for the second time this year,
giving a great boost to her confidence.
myself not to look at. Funnily, it took little training. Like grasping an
electric fence: once burnt, a thousand times shy. ‘Do I look like a
man who is limited in any shape or form?’
That was one question I was happy to leave unanswered. ‘Shall I
Continued overleaf
Writers’FORUM #239 43
 STORY COMP
Not a Stitch continued
just stick the kettle on whilst you think of creative ways to use up
all your unwanted clothes pegs?’ I suggested.
‘No sugar – bad for the health,’ Frank replied, as if after all these
weeks I still needed reminding of how he took his builders’ tea.
‘And come to think of it, what should I do with this washing line?’
The beach was a half-hour drive away, unless you ended up
getting stuck behind a tractor on one of the country’s many single-
track lanes.
We were gradually working through Frank’s bucket list. For a
man with a frightfully small number of weeks and months ahead
of him, I had rarely seen Frank so energetic. It was as if he had
pulled off all his worries, and a good portion of his terminal illness,
with his final pair of Y-fronts.
‘I do hope you’re not going to be a miserable textile, Lucas,’ Frank
complained as we trundled along behind a tractor.
‘Maybe you should run into the road, Frank. He’ll take one look
at you, drive into the ditch and we’ll be able to overtake him. I
still think you could have worn a pair of shorts, at least until we
got there.’
‘Naturists don’t appreciate textiles on their beaches. You’ll look
completely out of place.’
This is your bucket list, Frank, not mine,’ I clarified. Three people
had seen me in the altogether in my entire life and I was adamant
that Frank was not going to be the fourth.
For some reason, I suddenly thought about my colleague, Macy,
who was probably halfway through a letters round on another
episode of Countdown with the ever-lovely but equally poorly
Eileen. What an easy gig Macy had by comparison!
I liked Frank a lot and had acquiesced with much on his bucket
list – apart from shoplifting from a petrol station and going
on a double date night with the over-70s group at the Imperial
Ballrooms. Though having seen some of the women who frequented
the ballrooms, stealing a bag of Werther’s Originals from the local
Spar would have been a highly preferable pursuit.
‘Lovely day for it,’ shouted Frank through the passenger window
at a spindly old man cycling by at the edge of the kerb.
‘Glorious!’ the man gasped, before taking a second look at Frank
and wobbling off his bicycle into a patch of nettles at the roadside.
‘High praise indeed, Frank,’ I said under my breath, before
tossing the map on to his lap. ‘Check we’re on the right road. I’d
hate to have to stop and ask a police officer for directions.’
It was as if he had pulled off
all his worries with his final
pair of Y-fronts
‘You should have turned off three miles ago at the T-junction,’
Frank announced with glee. ‘I did offer to drive, Lucas. I bet you
young ones rely on a “Sat-Naff” to find your way to the bathroom.
Perhaps you should make a three-point turn here somewhere.’
I turned off the satnav and shook my head. ‘I think I’ll let the
cyclist recover first before he gets a second poke in the eyes, Francis!’
My wife often described me as uptight. She always said I should
relax more. I took life far too seriously, she said, which, consid-
ering my line of work, was a bit of a paradox. Caring for others, I
told her, meant I had to take care of myself even more than perhaps
others did.
44 Writers’FORUM #239
The previous day, somewhat sarcastically, Laura had dared me to
drive at 32mph in a residential zone. And I nearly did it. Then we
slowed down for a horse rider with ‘Polite’ written across the back
of her coat in a near-identical font to the one the police use, and the
fully clothed good angel on my left shoulder reminded me of my
clean driver’s licence. So, I dropped down to 20mph just as Laura
reached over to my side of the vehicle and pressed the car horn
with as much force as she could muster. The horse anxiously jolted
to the right and the rider suddenly began wobbling like a lump of
clay about to collapse at the centre of a potter’s wheel.
‘What the hell, Laura? Why did you do that?’ I shouted, whilst
extending my hand apologetically to the jittery rider.
‘Get a tax disc on it!’ Laura shrieked at the startled rider whilst
flicking a V sign.
‘Tax disc? OK, grandma! Maybe you should offer her a £1 note as
an apology for your behaviour whilst you’re at it?’ I crawled past
the horse in second gear, ignoring the avalanche of verbal abuse
from the rider, the two pedestrians on the other side of the road
and, in my imagination, the horse itself.
‘When it comes to living, you know who you should take your
inspiration from, don’t you?’ my wife spat at me.
In the rear-view mirror, the horse appeared to be performing its
own style of high-energy dressage in the middle of the road.
‘Oh, surprise me,’ I retorted, as I immediately pictured Frank
abseiling off the side of the old railway viaduct ticking off item
number six on his increasingly ridiculous bucket list. That particu-
lar Friday, I had observed everything from the safety of the grass
bank, having poured over the risk assessment at least fifty times
leading up to the event. However, I confessed only to myself that,
when the time came, I wanted to die like Frank.
It hadn’t occurred to me yet that I could live like him.
‘This is NOT an official naturist beach,’ apologised the shy little sign
at the corner of the carpark. So no cocks outout, giggled the unofficial
part of the sign scrawled in permanent marker pen underneath. I
was relieved to see that the small carpark was deserted. At least
I could shuffle Frank on to the beach before anyone saw him in his
birthday suit. I threw a couple of coins into the honesty box and
took Frank by the arm. ‘Mind how you go here,’ I said. ‘It’s not very
firm underfoot.’
For a dying man, Frank still carried a lot of weight. Dying people,
in my experience, often became skin-wrapped skeletons – a strange
drag act of both the living and the dead. Admittedly, I had probably
seen more of Frank in the last few days than his living relatives had
seen of him over the last ten years.
‘The tide’s in,’ Frank cheered. ‘I’m off for a dip!’
‘Careful,’ I protested. ‘There could be rocks. You might slice your
leg open and you won’t feel anything until you come out of the
water. The salt acts like an anaesthetic whilst you’re in the sea. You
don’t want to start your trip having to be bandaged up and…’
‘Lucas!’
Something told me I was about to receive another short, sharp
lecture from the University of Frank.
‘Live, Lucas!’
Was that it? I asked myself. Was that the lecture done? I rubbed
my eyes. The sea resembled a shattered sun that had been dropped
from a great height. Frank’s words were still ringing in my ears. It
sounded like Laura speaking.
‘Live, Lucas!’
The more I heard those words over and over again, like crashing
waves, the more they sounded like the words of Mr Falkingham,
my form tutor at secondary school, showing off on the zip wire
on the school outdoor residential holiday I had hated from start
to finish. It perhaps it sounded like my widowed mother, hastily
applying her lipstick in the hallway mirror, about to meet her

second Tinder date of the weekend. Or maybe it sounded like my
little nephew, Josiah, bouncing up and down on the trampoline
in my brother’s back garden, pestering me to join him. And then it
came again – the voice of Laura, as she was pulling off the last of
her clothes to run without a care into the sparkling water.
How we desperately wanted to start a family together. And how
desperate I was to make it happen!
‘You need to relax,’ she always sighed, as she circled yet another
date in ominous red ink on the calendar stuck to the fridge. And so
the dates came and passed. ‘There’s plenty of time,’ she affirmed,
crossing out its predecessor with an ‘X’ just slightly larger than the
one before it.
Plenty of time, I thought, always somewhat guiltily. Tell that to
Frank!
‘Can I be frank, Lucas?’ the old man sighed, his eyes transfixed
by the glittering water.
‘You make a better Frank than I ever could,’ I joked.
Frank lifted his gaze and looked at me squarely. ‘Sometimes, it’s
as if you’re the one who is dying, my boy.’
His words were like sunburn in the evening. I was surprised by
their sting. I stood for a moment and watched him wobble his way
towards the water. If only his body was as strong as his sentiments,
I thought.
He was tentative entering the water. More tentative than I’d
imagined he would be. Brave, insatiable, unbreakable Frank. And
yet there was the fragility, right there. There was the illness.
I felt the breeze pull at the sticky hairs on the back of my neck.
The beach was empty. There was only the two of us there.
‘Live, Lucas,’ said my father from somewhere above the clouds –
the man who had given me the inspiration to become a care worker.
My father never came anywhere close to Frank’s total years on
this earth; not even half of them. For most of my life, he had been
bound inside a wooden picture frame on top of a mantelpiece. A
glass-fronted memory where distant great-uncles and grandfathers
should have rested.
‘Wait! I shouted.
What was I doing? I asked myself as my heart hammered away
inside my chest. I pulled off my sweater and both my shirt and
my vest came away with it. I pulled at my trousers so hard, the
button sprung off the waistband. I could always keep my boxers
on, I quickly thought. And definitely my socks – if only to avoid all
the sharp stones.
‘Careful, young man, you might have some fun!’ laughed Frank
as the first frothing wave grabbed hungrily at his ankles.
Without further thought, I pulled off my boxer shorts and felt
the breeze over every part of my hairy body. It felt dangerous
and wrong and, well, lovely! Just to be safe, however, I kept my
socks on. I suddenly remembered the rusty Coke can on the beach
at Southport when I was four – the talk of tetanus injections and
accident and emergency wards in unfamiliar hospitals and…
‘The water’s lovely,’ shouted Frank, kicking up the spray. ‘Oh, to
be alive, Lucas. To be alive.’
I cautiously made my way to the lapping water’s edge, my senses
working triple time. If I could do this, what else was I able to do?
Maybe Laura could throw a sickie the next time I had a holiday
booked on a Friday and we could hire a caravan at Cromer for a
long weekend away – if it wasn’t too dear? Maybe we could have
three lines on the National Lottery this Saturday instead of the
usual two? Maybe – and just maybe – I could become a father?
‘Is that Lucas?’
I jolted. It must have taken less than a quarter of a second for me
to register the face of my boss, Jenni, and to clasp my hands over
my private parts at precisely the same time. ‘Jenni,’ I said, my face
flushed crimson and sweaty. ‘What are you doing here?’
STORY COMP
Jenni’s dog, Hector, began licking the gritty white flesh above
my socks. ‘It’s my week off, remember? I thought I’d come down to
the beach and give Hector some exercise.’
‘Super,’ I replied, as if chatting to my boss naked on a beach was
the most naturally ‘super’ thing in the world.
‘Is that Mr Fiddaman?’ she smiled, waving at Frank as he leapt
between the waves like a pink dolphin. ‘I’ve been reading his care
plan and the notes in his file. You have made such a difference to
him, Lucas. His lust for life is clearly contagious! It’s not medication
alone that is keeping him going. You have worked wonders with
him, you really have. Just off for a swim with him, are you?’
I swallowed hard. ‘Er, I guess so, yes.’
‘Frank is clearly rubbing off on you,’ Jenni smiled. ‘Who would
have thought it? The influences of a dying man.’
I couldn’t make my mind up if Jenni was laughing. And if she
‘Frank, you’re clothed,’ I said,
waiting for some sort of explanation.
‘Of course I’m clothed,’ he snorted
was, what was she laughing at? I grasped my privates a little tighter.
‘I think we need to review your pay scale,’ she announced, still
waving at Frank. ‘I’ll see you back at the office on Monday.’
Jenni paused. ‘Although perhaps a little less of you, if you see
what I mean!’
‘Quite,’ I said, wishing a wave or even a whale would swallow
me up into the sea. ‘Well, thank you, Jenni, and, er, yes, we’ll talk
on Monday then.’ Suddenly I was aware of something wet against
my leg.
‘Hector,’ Jenni chastised, ‘stop humping Lucas’s leg. As if this
encounter could get any more awkward. Bad boy!’
I thought Laura was going to wet the bedsheets when I told her
about my chance meeting on the beach that day. I wasn’t sure if it
was my description of Jenni’s dog against my leg or my sentence
which ended with ‘and I’m going to live more dangerously because
we’re only passing this way once’ which made her laugh beyond
the point of exploding.
‘I hate it when you laugh at me,’ I said, pulling the covers further
across my chest.
‘Oh, babe, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing with you,’ Laura
replied, stroking my shoulder. ‘I’ve never heard of anyone being
offered a pay increase for skinny dipping with a senior citizen
before. Perhaps she liked what she saw!’
I straightened and pushed my shoulders back. ‘Do you think so,
hon?’
‘Oh definitely,’ Laura smiled, running her fingers through my
hair. ‘The way you’ve described Frank to me, he sounds like a real
prime cut of sirloin steak. Who wouldn’t fancy a bit of Frank?’
I launched the pillow at my wife, as her laughter grew even
louder behind the explosion of duck feathers.
The next time I visited, Frank was in the garden tending the white
roses that decorated his borders. To my surprise, he was dressed in
a pale sunhat, chequered shirt and an old pair of jeans. A line of
underpants and socks was flapping in the breeze, pegs which had
clearly not been returned to the upmarket superstore clinging on
for dear life to Frank’s slightly worse-for-wear undergarments.
‘Frank, you’re clothed,’ I said, waiting for some sort of explanation.
‘Well, of course I’m clothed,’ Frank snorted, pulling the dead
Continued overleaf
Writers’FORUM #239 45
 STORY COMP
Not a Stitch continued
F
irst-person viewpoint
is an ideal choice for
flowers off his beloved roses without looking up. ‘I’ve ticked that Paul Barnett’s story No
one off my bucket list. It’s the potter’s wheel for me next. I want to Place for Quiet Heroes.
make a cereal bowl. Or maybe a vase. Hey, perhaps I could even I instantly felt as if I was
make an urn for my ashes! Just image that, Lucas, old chap.’ involved in the story, as if
‘I’ve got some news of my own,’ I said, hoping the old man would Paul’s lead character, Ray,
drop his hand secateurs and look in my direction. ‘I’m going to be was personally telling me the
a dad. Laura’s pregnant.’ tale of what happened to his
Without looking over, Frank reached in his pocket for his cotton brother, Bobby.
handkerchief. ‘Lucas, that’s wonderful news,’ the old man replied, I like the way we gradually
his voice breaking slightly. learn more about Bobby as
Frank was the first person I had told. the story builds. He’s been
The first friend I had told. in prison and doesn’t always
He finally turned to face me – and stopped abruptly, slowly regis- deal with things logically.
tering the sight before him. Never had I misjudged a situation so
badly. ‘Live, Lucas,’ Laura had said repeatedly. ‘Live.’ I’m clueless as to what to do if
‘Lucas?’ Frank asked, clearing his throat. ‘Why are you standing Bobby goes crazy again, missing
in my garden in the nude?’ Leanne. I wonder if it’ll come
‘I’m… I’m not entirely sure, Frank,’ I stammered, suddenly aware to blows, me having to hold him
of the early-autumn chill in the air. ‘Maybe I’m, er, living a little?’ down even though he’s twice my
‘Perhaps you are, old boy!’ Frank replied, snipping the head off strength. The court had given
another dead flower with a mischievous smile on his face. ‘That him enough warnings, told him if
potter’s wheel project I was talking to you about a moment ago. he breeched the restraining order
Maybe I should start with something small.’ I immediately felt his one more time he’d be looking
gaze where a conveniently positioned bag of clothes pegs had come at prison. Instead he committed
to my aid. ‘A thimble, perhaps?’ an offence under the category of
‘malicious communications’. He
cut off his little finger and mailed
About the author Richard lives in Doncaster. After 20 years, it to Leanne. In his mind it was
he’s taking a career break from primary teaching and is studying a token of his devotion.
full time for a creative writing MA. This is his second fiction
competition success in Writers’ Forum and he is delighted. But there’s a gentleness
about Bobby, a desire to help
and fix things; he just isn’t
able to deal with people. It’s
hard not to feel for him and
wonder if he’ll be able to keep
out of trouble.
Paul quickens the pace.
Bobby finds himself blamed
for an attack on Leanne. Even
Ray is struggling to believe
his alibi.
Bobby wanders in holding
some motorcycle part. I can’t help
gawping wondering for the first
time what I’m looking at and if,
after all these years, I missed the
evil in him.
Highly commended Paul ups the tension further
There were eight other shortlisted stories this month: when Bobby asks whether
Leanne is OK.
If Only Harry Could Talk by Veronica Whittaker
Skin by Paul O’Neill The words tumble out of me
The Gay Trawlerman by David Speck in a hissed whisper. ‘You should
A Bruising Encounter by Alison Cram know. You’re the one that left
A Fine Day For It by Sarah Turner her bloody and messed up.’
Not What You Expected by Robbra Durant He looks at me like he’s just
The Sea, the Song and the Siren by Kirsty Hammond been gut-punched, like everything
The Thaw by Michael Roe he found bad about the world is
in this very moment.
46 Writers’FORUM #239
It’s the final straw for
Bobby. It’s not often that a
story moves me to the point of
tears, but I felt such a part of
it, so invested in the brothers
and their relationship, my
eyes welled up at Ray’s
reaction when Bobby jumps
off a ledge.
I scream his name. Looking
over I watch his body bounce to
the bottom of the ravine where it
finally comes to rest, his head and
limbs splayed at awkward angles.
He was silent throughout.
I sit on a rock, looking down
for the longest time attempting
to reconcile my quiet, beautiful
baby brother with the crumpled
and broken body down below.
That isn’t the end of the
story, though; it turns out
Bobby was innocent after
all, making for a beautifully
written but tragic tale.
T
here’s an air of
menace in the
opening lines of
Kathryn Johns’ More
in Sorrow. This drew me in
and I wanted to find out
more about the shifty figure
Kathryn portrays. When the
character of the girl comes in,
I felt for her, fearful she was
at risk of being hurt by this
potentially dangerous man.
But there’s more to him,
and Kathryn shows us he has
a vulnerability, a reason for
the way he’s behaving.
Memories of friends dying in
his arms, of bombs and gunfire,
of trenches and tunnels, of the
childish faces of the enemy and
the hatred forced into their hearts
by a mad leader, but mostly the
love for his own country that
made him retaliate.
Visions of Belinda, and the
certainty that she would stand
by him, even with his scars, both
physical and emotional.
And of her tears as she had
walked away.
It’s not easy to write a
story that keeps the reader
guessing who’s the good
guy and who the bad. More

Competition round-up
Brotherly love
Esther Chilton explains why she chose this month’s winners
in Sorrow achieves this and I
found myself changing ‘sides’
all the way through, uncertain
who to trust. But the girl’s
touching tale won me over.
‘She described it so matter of
factly, as if my child was nothing
but an inconvenience to be
disposed of. I had to travel back
home by myself, knowing that
inside me, my child was dying. I
made it, God knows how, and then
I lost him, just as she said. But I
saw him, for a second, before Ma
took him away. I saw him and he
was beautiful. And I had killed
him.’
She started to cry again.
Kathryn’s writing has an
atmospheric feel, as if every
word has been chosen carefully
to not only build on the story
and characters but completely
absorb us into it.
Her sorrow was a shroud that
wrapped itself around her, enveloping
her in sadness. He reached out
and put his arms around her. She
stiffened and shivered, but as the
sobs died away, she relaxed and
clung to him.
I have to admit that Kathryn
had me fooled. Even the dog
trusts the girl so, when she
takes the man’s life, it comes as
a surprise. Though, during his
last breaths, he’s resigned to his
fate and there’s an acceptance,
a sense of peace that comes
over him. It makes a strong
ending to an engrossing read.
I
n stark contrast to these
two powerful stories, Not a
Stitch by Richard Smith has a
lightness to it that made me
smile from beginning to end.
I immediately warmed to
the characters of Frank, an
elderly man who’s dying,
and Lucas, his carer. Frank
has a bucket list and plans
to work his way through it.
And the latest item on the list?
Becoming a naturist.
I loved Richard’s description
of Frank.
He wasn’t so much a mega-sized
jelly baby, more a bumper-sized
raspberry-flavoured jelly baby.
Frank moved his free hand to
scratch the area I had swiftly
trained myself not to look at.
Funnily, it took little training: like
grasping an electric fence…
Frank has such a lust for
life, despite what he’s going
through, and there are some
delightful items on his list,
which Lucas draws the line at.
I liked Frank a lot and had
acquiesced with much on his
STORY COMP
bucket list – apart from shoplifting
from a petrol station and going
on a double date night with the
over-70s group at the Imperial
Ballrooms. Though having seen
some of the women who frequented
the ballrooms, stealing a bag of
Werther’s Originals from the local
Spar would have been a highly
preferable pursuit.
The relationship between the
two men is heart-warming. It’s
not just a case of Lucas helping
Frank, but Frank helping Lucas
– who has many inhibitions,
and always holds back. There’s
a wonderful moment when
Lucas takes Frank to the beach
to skinny-dip, and the older
man’s words get through.
‘Sometimes it’s as if you’re the
one who is dying, my boy!’
Lucas takes the plunge and
joins him, and starts to think
that maybe he can live a little.
By the end of the tale, when
Lucas pays Frank a visit, he
finds he’s moved on from being
a naturist and now wants to
try pottery. There’s a touching
exchange between the two.
‘I’ve got some news of my own,’
I said, hoping the old man would
drop his secateurs and look in my
direction. ‘I’m going to be a dad.
Laura’s pregnant.’
Without looking over, Frank
reached in his pocket for his
cotton handkerchief. ‘Lucas, that’s
wonderful news,’ the old man
replied, his voice breaking slightly.
Frank was the first person I
had told.
The first friend I had told.
It’s moments like this,
together with the humour
throughout, which make Not
a Stitch a delight to read.
Writers’FORUM #239 47
 SHORT STORIES
Fiction workshop
Our head judge uses reader entries to show how to improve your writing
Toning things down a bit
W
hen I read a
story, I like to
be drawn into
the scene and
be able to imagine myself
there, alongside the character,
in their world. Writers often
use the five senses – sight,
sound, smell, touch and
taste – to achieve this, and it
can be a very effective way
of immersing the reader in
a setting.
But it’s also easy to overdo
it and for the senses to take
over. They don’t need to appear
in every passage of writing.
Remember, it’s the story that’s
important and what the senses
mustn’t do is push it aside to
such an extent that there’s very
little story at all.
Rebecca Miles has a talent for
creating vivid scenes. Through
her use of language, we can’t
help but see, hear, smell, feel
and virtually taste every part
of her character’s experience
in Written by the Wind. But the
senses take centre stage, to the
point that the story is almost
completely lost.
The main protagonist is
Corinna and when we’re
introduced to her, she’s looking
out of the window, taking in
the scene before her.
She then reaches for her
laptop to look at a rejection
email she received two weeks
ago. She’s not been able to
write since.
Corinna decides to take her
dog for a walk and both owner
and canine enjoy their jaunt.
The pair return home and
Corinna feels inspired to
write again. She prints out
the rejection email, opens the
window and lets the wind
48 Writers’FORUM #239
carry it away. She then sits at
her desk and starts to write.
Where’s the hook?
It’s important to open your
story with an enticing hook to
intrigue the reader and make
them want to read on.
Don’t spend time setting the
scene with a weather report
or giving the reader a detailed
description of what your main
protagonist looks like and what
they ate for breakfast. If it’s a
meandering start, why would
they want to continue?
Rebecca’s opening paragraph
is packed full of detail; as
we read, we can see her
surroundings right before us.
Outside her window, the lantern
on the house opposite swung to
and fro, casting no light in the
blazing sunshine. Below, the cover
on the motorbike strained at the
ropes tied about it, flapping every
free inch of fabric in a great effort
against its bonds. On the window
pane itself, the cobweb she had
never noticed before twitched as if
a giant spider – just out of view –
were moving its fat body, jangling
the line of threads minutely.
Detritus from the street flew up
into the air, too fast for her to make
out what it was: leaves, perhaps
litter. It looked too beautiful
for litter she thought, pointedly
ignoring the notepad beside her.
Apple blossom perhaps; it was
early May after all.
While there’s lots of beautiful
imagery here, it’s not necessary
to go into such detail. For
example, we don’t need to
know the lantern on the house
opposite doesn’t cast any light
in the sun. It has no bearing
on the story, other than to set
a rich scene and for us to know
it’s very sunny. This opening
paragraph is too much and
there’s no hook to propel us
forward.
The next few paragraphs
continue in the same vein, with
lots of elaborate description,
until we get to the offending
email.
She clicked on the email folder
and opened the message from the
magazine, which had landed in her
inbox, dashing her hopes, about a
fortnight ago. She had lost track of
how many times she had re-read
it since then: the polite tone, the
firm refusal and the kindly meant
encouragement to try next month’s
competition (theme of perseverance
of all things).
To draw us in straight away,
one option would be to start
with the email. The rejection
has clearly hurt Corinna and
stopped her from writing, so
with tutor
Esther Chilton
it’s a big factor in her life at the
moment. There’s no need to
even mention what the email
is about, just that Corinna is
upset by it.
That would instantly create
a sense of intrigue and make
the reader curious to know
more about the email and why
Corinna is so cut up about it.
For example:
She clicked on the email folder
and opened the message. How
many times had she read it now?
Ten? Twenty? She swiped at her
eyes with the back of her hand,
annoyed the words still had the
power to sting.
I’m sure Rebecca would be
able to improve upon this, but
it shows how you can grab
your reader’s attention right at
the start.
More purple prose
Once the email and its contents
have been introduced, Corinna
 If you’d like your Story Comp entry to be considered for a workshop, tick the box on the entry form or state it clearly in your email
decides to take her dog,
Prospero, for a walk. There’s
a lovely scene where Prospero
bursts into action.
The dog needed no
imperatives; he was off his mat
in one enthusiastic moment,
all movement and joy: splaying
paws, snapping jaws and
passionate tail wagging. This
is it, every bound asserted: the
highlight of the day. Bring on the
mud and the puddles; there are
sticks to be thrown and smells to
sniff at every step. He took the
stairs two at a time.
I’m sure dog owners will
know this scenario well.
Nonetheless, until this point,
aside from the email, the tale
hasn’t got going. I wondered
how Rebecca was going to
build a story.
As the pair go for their
walk, description once again
takes over.
As she opened the door, the
wind bounded in and tunnelled
through the house; she heard
somewhere a window slam and
something fall. She waited for
a split second for a crack or a
splintering sound. None came.
Resolutely, she hefted the door
shut and turned to follow the dog,
who was bolting for the back gate.
Corinna followed his
disappearing tail, forcing herself
forward, propelling herself with
both hands through the gate. She
left it to clang three times behind
her like three peals of a summoning
bell. She strode on as it toiled, her
coat whipping about her body; her
hair lifting miraculously upwards
as if it wanted to wave its hands
in the air.
Once again, Rebecca has
described every minute detail,
using a variety of senses, but
do we need to know all this? Is
it essential to the plot?
Some description is good and
makes us feel part of the story,
but readers also enjoy using
their own imagination to create
scenes in their mind. Too much
description prevents them from
being involved and actually
detracts from the story.
Who is Corinna? a reason to keep reading. achieving this, it would add
Description also overshadows In fact, the second half of more threads to the tale and
the characters. As readers, Written in the Wind continues in create more tension.
we want to connect with the the same vein as the first and A spouse or someone
characters we’re reading about. meanders rather than cranking important to Corinna could tell
While we’re taken along on up the pace. her to stop writing. Perhaps
Corinna’s journey and we they see it as a waste of time
see, touch, hear, everything The wind gusted behind or they feel she’s not giving
with her, she still doesn’t have Corinna too; it felt like hands them enough attention.
much depth. pushing her on. Shoving would be Another barrier to her
We know she writes and has too forceful a word, she thought; achieving her dreams could be
had a rejection, so most of us nudging too gentle. Is it a nudging losing her work as she forgot to
can connect with her on that shove? Prospero needed no nudges save it or her computer crashed.
level, and she also owns a dog or shoves; the gambolling dog was (I’m sure many of you know
and drinks coffee. But that’s now rolling over and over in a that feeling!)
not enough to make us care slick of mud. She didn’t castigate Corinna may have received
what happens to her – we don’t him, there would be little point; a rejection to start with, but
feel her. she might as well reprimand the later in the tale, another email
So she needs fleshing out wind for blowing or the puddle for could arrive with a commission
more. We don’t need to know filling with water. for her to write a series of
every little thing about her, but articles. She’s on cloud nine,
if Rebecca develops her further, No surprises only to find she struggles to
it’ll bring Corinna to life, and Not all stories have to end with write them and the deadline is
there might be aspects of her a twist or surprise, but they do looming closer.
character that could be used to need to leave the reader feeling These are just a few brain-
make more of a story. satisfied. The ending of Written storming ideas, but they would
in the Wind seems inevitable ensure the reader stays hooked,
No tension from early in the story: once wondering how Corinna will
Some stories take us on a Corinna arrives home, she’ll overcome these issues.
rollercoaster of a ride, barely feel inspired to write again –
letting us draw breath the and that’s exactly what happens. A fitting finale
whole way through; others Similar storylines have been As well as writing again,
are slow burners that build seen many times over. Corinna prints the hurtful
towards the climax. email, opens the window and
But even the latter need A new approach lets the wind carry it away.
hints of intrigue, elements of A different take is necessary
tension, right from the start, if you’re going to keep your Corinna walks to the window
to keep us reading. If these reader’s interest. At the very and opens the casement; the wind
are lacking, even though least you need to give them dances on her cheek, playfully
something dramatic might something to get their teeth ruffles her hair. Decisively, she
happen later in the story and into and to make something holds the page at arm’s length.
the second half is brilliant, of a story. For a moment, she sees the words
the reader will not make it to If Corinna’s goal is to start pulse on the page but they have no
that point as they’ll have lost writing again, and we place a force any more, all power the page
interest. You need to give them few obstacles in the way of her has is from the wind’s whisper
alone. Then she unfurls her fingers
and watches the wind catch at the
Getting the balance right rejection, pulling it with eager
Some description and use of the senses is fine, but there is a hands through the open window.
thin line between giving enough and it being too much… The page gambols across the street,
rolling and tumbling up and up
■ Avoid long passages of description. In a short story, the above the rooftops. The page clears
wordcount isn’t enough to enable you to go into great detail. It’s the chimney; it clears all obstacles
the plot that’s key. and then it is gone.
■ Show description in action. Make it an active part of the
story so it’s moving the plot forward. It’s a little overdone in places,
■ Think about pace. It’s important to pace your story and lots but I did enjoy the image of her
of description will slow it right down. literally letting the email go.
■ Be realistic about what your characters would notice. For Written in the Wind makes
example, if they’re running away from someone and their life an evocative read and Rebecca
is on the line, they won’t notice the sun sparkling on the water is very skilled at descriptive
as they pass a lake, the chatter of the birds in the trees or the writing, but in this case, it
enticing smell from a burger van parked in the layby. needs pegging back to let a
story shine through.
Writers’FORUM #239 49
 BRAINSTORM

Writers FORUM POETRY COMP

#239: CURE
T
he topic for the poetry competition
is ‘cure’. You have a maximum
limit of 12 lines, although you
can, of course, use fewer, and the
word cure itself (either alone or as part
of a word such as manicure or pedicure)
can’t appear anywhere; not as part of the
title or in the text of the poem.
But first, do read the following extracts
from The Earth, by the French novelist
Emile Zola (1840-1902) – a novel that, to
my ear, contains a lot of poetry that my eye
at first glance tries to tell me is prose. See
where your thoughts get directed.

The doctor had said there was nothing to

be done, so they did nothing.
First, Frimat’s wife deplored the fact that
no one had been to fetch Maître Sourdeau,
a professional bone-setter from Bazoches, who
knew all about wounds as well. He would say
some words and he would close them up by
just blowing on them…

Old Lorillon’s breastbone caved in and

weighed down on his stomach, so that he
started to go downhill fast. And the worst
thing was that his wife began to suffer
the same thing, it’s catching of course. So,
they all got it, their daughter, son-in-law, all
the three children. They would all have died
if Maître Sourdeau hadn’t made everything
right by rubbing a tortoiseshell comb on
their stomachs…

The two women went on and on,

exchanging remedies, parsley under the
mattress for kidney trouble, three acorns in
your pocket to cure any swellings, a glass of
water blanched by moonlight and drunk on
an empty stomach to get rid of flatulence.
Now try making some notes about how
certain aliments are caused and how they
may or may not be cured.
Ponder the symptoms and causes of
hypochondria – and remember it is an
ailment in itself.
Make notes about why someone might
not want to be cured and about someone
desperate for a cure.
Let your mind roam freely and don’t
set yourself a time limit. See making
these notes as an important part of
the creative process. As you write, be
adventurous enough to think beyond
a broken leg, a broken heart, cholera or
Covid-19. And be inquisitive enough to
consider varying opinions about what
can and can’t be cured.
Now make some notes about how
different situations can affect different
people. Zola gives a wonderful example
when he speaks of father Madeline being
made physically and mentally sick by a
lack of mountains; a topological lack that
in no way affects the area’s indigenous
population, who look out across the flat
plain day after day with no damage to
their health.
And during the two-and-a-half years father
Madeline had been parish priest he had been
steadily failing. A desperate homesickness, a
longing for his mountains in Auvergne, had
been gnawing at him. Faced with the flat
plain of Beauce stretching into infinity he was
overwhelmed with sadness. His eyes grew
dimmer, his frame more gaunt and people were
saying he had consumption… and on Christmas
Day, when one of the daughters of Mary was
taken with labour pains in the church, he had
difficulty keeping going and his parishioners

50 Writers’FORUM #239
You can contact Sue at poetry@writers-forum.com
with poetry editor
Sue Butler
were resigned to him being taken back to
Auvergne a dying man.
The Earth is set in an agricultural
landscape, so might this farm setting
inspire you to explore how animal hides
are cured and what can be done with the
leather or suede this process produces?
Might your poem become soaked in brine
or oil, hung up to dry, or smoked or salted
like fish and laid over wooden racks to
cure for days in the sun?
Talking of fish, the Roman author
Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) documented
an awareness of electric shocks being
given by certain types of catfish and rays.
He writes about the numbing caused,
and suggests such shocks could travel
along conducting objects. According to
Pliny, a jolt was thought to cure gout
and headaches.
So, might you write about a cure that
has stood the test of time, or old beliefs
that now seem downright dangerous?
Take some time to make notes about
quack cures and snake oil. (I will leave
you to further explore the interesting link
to animals in these two labels, if you feel
so inclined.)
And by all means have fun playing
with the word cure – manicure, pedicure,
and so on – but remember, when you stop
making notes and begin to write your
poem, the word cure itself can’t appear
in the poem or the title, even as part of
another word.
So, if your narrator is an epicure who
gorges himself on expensive, air-dried
ham, you need to make sure he shows
your reader that without actually stating
the word itself.
And if your poem is about being secure,
cure
you need to choose language, images,
similes and metaphors that convey this so
clearly, so securely,
rely, that your poem has no
rely
need for the word to be stated explicitly.
How to enter
Turn to page 53 for details of how to pay
and how to enter this month’s contest.
POETRY
EXPERIMENT
Diagnose and treat
We all know that apples are better for us than doughnuts and that taking
regular exercise reduces the risk of us getting a whole range of ailments,
both physical and mental. We also know that ill-health can creep up on
us slowly if we ignore symptoms and don’t look after ourselves properly.
In the UK, the NHS offers people over a certain age regular health checks
and this month, I encourage you to do the same with your poetry.
■ Does your poetry suffer from a nasty, itchy and embarrassing rash of
semi-colons?
■ Is your poetry’s day-to-day life severely limited by a chronic and often
painful case of end rhyme?
■ Are the joints between your stanzas flexible and well-lubricated or stiff
and dry?
■ Does your narrative find it hard to digest anything raw or spicy?
■ Do your narrators speak clearly or do they have a wheeze cause by
too many adjectives and not enough full stops? Do they have a prosaic,
rasping cough? Do they stick to the point or might they have the
beginnings of Alzheimer’s disease?
■ How much energy does your poetry have? Can it run for a bus or
up a flight of stairs or must it use a walking frame, or perhaps even a
wheelchair, to get anywhere at all?
Put on your white coat, get out your stethoscope and give your poetry
a thorough health check. Take some X-rays, do an MRI scan, run some
tests, check blood pressure, blood-sugar level, temperature and heart rate.
Test eyes and ears, then get out your hammer and tap its knees briskly to
test the reaction. If there is anything you are unsure about, don’t hesitate
to seek a second opinion.
Then, once you are confident of the diagnosis, write a prescription and
a treatment plan to be followed over the coming weeks. Use surgery if
necessary and don’t overlook the possibilities of alternative treatments.
Take a broad-minded and holistic approach.
Be sure to also devise a schedule of regular follow-up reviews so you
can see how your poetry’s health is progressing.
POETRY WORKOUT
Mould your words carefully; choose a formal or informal
structure to create a fixed shape out of something fluid
1 What is the difference between the veins of mould prized in
Roquefort and mildew on the damp wall of a cellar?
2 Take the spore of an idea and turn it into a sonnet set in a forest
in late autumn. Take a basket and gather only the most delicious
images.
3 Pour 12 words beginning with M into a six-line poem. Wait for
the narrative to set, then tip it out and glaze it.
4 Mould a current news item into a haiku.
Writers’FORUM #239 51
 POETRY

Poetry comp results with poetry judge Sue Butler

Highly commended

Citrus Tang
Helen Parker, Edinburgh
Where will you…?
RAF Intelligence – reconnaissance…
I know. But where?
No ‘need to know’.
£100 winner But I’m your…
I know. I know!
Two Suitcases Heart swollen with pride, shrivelled with fear.
Joyce Walker, Borehamwood, Herts Midnight. Gravel at my window –
burglars? Nazis? Escaped POWs?
Two suitcases sit either side You. With a heavy leather holdall. What?
of the king-sized bed, We opened it together in front of the kitchen range.
lids open ready to receive Ah, citrus! Oranges, grapefruit, lemons… Unimagined riches.
jeans, T-shirts, underwear, Where?
all the clothes and things you need Ceylon.
for a week or two away. Tangy on our tongues, sticky on our fingers,
a midnight feast together.
I pretend it’s for a holiday, Joy in our hearts.
spending time together in the sun
having fun. Making love beneath the stars.
Only our sad faces know the truth. While Joyce’s poem focuses on what is being put into the suitcases,
That you are going back to her, Helen’s poem is about what is taken out of the heavy leather holdall.
and me, I’m leaving as I cannot bear The poem is about people who are not apart by choice but have been
this house now I’m alone. forced to part by circumstances beyond their control.
Helen says: ‘This is a true story from my mother’s war memories.
She never knew where her husband was posted, but he always arrived
About the poet Joyce is a retired administrator who has home safely – hence I was born a while later. The holdall was beautiful
had poetry and stories published in a number of magazines, but so impractical: too heavy before you even started to pack it.’
including Writers’ Forum, and has won story, poetry and flash Using the same question-and-answer format as Helen uses, try
competitions. She loves the First World War poets. writing a poem about a circumstance beyond your control. If you can,
include a taste in your poem and a visceral sensation such as sticky.
ky

J
oyce Walker’s winning poem begins with a stanza that is both a
single sentence and a statement. The tone is calm and measured;
it is only when we read the second stanza that we see the true Growbaggage
resonances of the ‘king-sized bed… All the clothes and things you
need…’ and the poignancy of ending the stanza with the word ‘away’.
Simon Tindale, Northowram, W Yorks
In the second stanza, the sentences are shorter and the full stops
begin. We can tell something is not right here but only in the final We put down our roots.
sentence is the sad situation revealed. And it is made worse by the You learn to accommodate.
fact that the person being left also has to leave because they can’t I learn to compromise.
bear to stay living ‘here’ alone; presumably because of the memories. We bloom.
We are not told who these people are, why they have to part, the
location or when this happened. Try writing a poem about who, why, You learn how to soften my noise.
where and when in the same format Joyce uses, ie a six-line stanza I learn not to fill your silences.
that is a single-sentence statement, then a second six-line stanza of I learn to ride your mood swings.
four sentences, where the final sentence reveals what has only been You learn to overlook my downfalls.
hinted at so far. We grow accustomed to one another.

52 Writers’FORUM #239

#237 Baggage
You learn how to manipulate me.
I learn when to let you.
I learn that you sing when you’re angry.
You learn that I cry when I’m drunk.
We grow tired, suspicious.
I learn that you go through my things.
You learn about the other phone.
I learn that you’d…
You learn that I’d…
We untangle the we’ds…
Grow apart.
Simon Tindale’s poem has a couple of lovely, if sad, puns at the end.
How often do you use puns in your poetry? Go on, have a try. It is
not as easy as you think, but the effect can be very striking.
When you have explored puns, have a look at what effects can
be produced using ellipses. What do they show in Simon’s poem?
Hesitation maybe and perhaps an unwillingness to face the stark truth?
Use your exploration to learn more about creating a strong poem
and a closer relationship with your reader.
Excess Baggage
Ian Pattison, Durham
We’ve known our son Joe since he was a foetus
so snuggly and small when he popped out to meet us
but he grew and grew into one of the big eaters
devouring food as fast as a coalition of cheetahs
Big Macs, KFC, burritos and fajitas
washed down with lashings of energy drink litres
on the brink of obesity he unfortunately teeters
we worry he’ll be diagnosed with diabetes
… and so very sadly shortly deplete us
Ian Patterson’s poem is an example of how we all need to read with
our ears and our hearts wide open. On the surface this poem may
seem and sound like a bit of fun; a bit of a laugh that barrels along, but
then wham, the heart of the poem is revealed.
The ellipsis in the last line is well timed and seems to suggest
a nervousness on the part of the narrator to voice this very real
possibility. Clearly the narrator does not want to judge Joe, but they
do want to let him know the worry his behaviour is causing. This is a
love poem if I have ever read one.
Have go at writing eight lines that seem to be light-hearted and
humorous but are really about the pain someone is causing the narrator.
Make the reader smile, then hit them with a punchline that stops them
in their tracks. You never know, the person in your poem might even
change their behaviour once they know the effect it is having.
HOW TO ENTER
Writers’FORUM
POETRY COMP
Enter our themed poetry contest
with a first prize of £100 and a
Chambers Thesaurus worth £40
O
ur monthly themed poetry competition has a
first prize of £100 and a Chambers Thesaurus
for one winner. A number of runners-up may
also be published, depending upon the nature of the
contest and available space. The entry fee is £7, including
a brief, helpful critique from poetry editor Sue Butler.
You can purchase an entry by following the link on the
Writers’ Forum website – www.writers-forum.com
■ Entry is strictly by email only, one poem per email.
■ The fee is £7 per poem, which includes a short critique from
poetry editor and judge Sue Butler.
■ Note! Poems should only be as long as needed. The absolute
maximum is 12 lines but this is not a target. Be succinct.
■ We want to encourage new writing. Poems must be
your original work and previously unpublished, including
newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlets, websites etc.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence over results
will be entered into. By entering, entrants agree to these rules
and for their entries to be published in Writers’ Forum.
POETRY COMP 239: CURE
Deadline: 12 noon GMT on Wed 15 December
Assignment: Read Sue’s detailed instructions on p50
and the rules above to write this month’s poem.
How to enter
1 Pay online by following the link on our website
at www.writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html
2 Send your entry either in the body of your email or attached
in a Word-compatible document (.doc/.docx/.rtf). PDFs are
also allowed if the format of your poem has to be precise.
3 Give your name, address and phone number at the end. Add
your web order confirmation number (from the email sent to
you after you pay online), plus a brief biography about yourself:
age, occupation, what inspired you, etc. And be ready to email
a nice author photo if you win!
4 In the subject line write Poetry Comp #239: followed by your
poem’s interesting and relevant title.
5 Send your email to poetrycomp@writers-forum.com by the
deadline above.
Repeat steps 1 to 5 for any additional poems you wish to
enter, one poem at a time.
Good luck! The results will be published the issue after next.
Writers’FORUM #239 53
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 Send your event listings three months ahead to diary@writers-forum.com
Literary diary
FESTIVALS
Cambridge Winter Festival
Online
17-21 November
Stay safe, cosy and warm at home and
experience the Cambridge Winter Festival
from anywhere in the world. Peter Stott,
Joan Bakewell, Gillian Beer and Alan Johnson
are just a few of the names taking part.
www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
Edinburgh Book Festival
Citizen Winter Warmer
19-20 November
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
has teamed up with the Brunton Theatre
in Musselburgh and North Edinburgh Arts,
Muirhouse to celebrate local community
voices, create opportunities for new stories
to be heard and offer a weekend of inspiring
creative activities and conversations. Join
The Great Big Story Show, followed by
Stories and Scran, which will be held in
the Brunton Theatre on Friday and North
Edinburgh Arts on Saturday.
www.edbookfest.co.uk
Hay Winter Weekend
24-28 November
The Hay Winter Weekend will once again
gather in a tent in Hay-on-Wye for a magical
five days of conversations, storytelling,
comedy, music and family workshops. If you
aren’t able to attend in person, you can watch
from home as most events will be streamed
online. Authors involved include Jonathon
Porritt, Paul Mason and Jeanette Winterson.
www.hayfestival.com
Leamington Literary Festival
26-28 November
This year will see Leamington’s first literature
festival. Aiming to bring local authors and
readers together to celebrate books and
the writing process, the festival will feature
book launches, readings, sales, poetry recitals,
writing workshops and more.
www.facebook.com/events/518263292723865
AUTHOR & BOOK EVENTS
Salley Vickers, Bath
22 November, 7.30pm
The author will be at Topping and Company
Bookshop talking about her new novel, The
Gardener,
ner, about two very different sisters who
ner
buy a ramshackle cottage together. Tickets
for the event cost from £7.
For more details call 01225 428111.
Catch the Hay Winter Weekend
live in the town or online
Sebastian Faulks, Ely
23 November, 7.30pm
The phenomenally successful author of
Birdsong
ng and Charlotte Gray
ray will be at St Peter’s
Church to discuss his new novel Snow Country.
ntry
Tickets cost £20 and are redeemable against
a purchase of the book.
For more details call 01353 645005.
Alexander McCall Smith,
Edinburgh
2 December, 8pm
McCall Smith will be at Greenside Church for
an evening celebrating his writing and three
new books – The Pavilion in the Clouds; the
latest No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
cy story The
Joy and Light Bus Company; and a new Scotland
Street
et tale. Tickets cost £10, redeemable
against a purchase of one of the books.
For more details call 0131 546 4202.
Deborah Moggach, Canterbury
7 December, 6.30pm
Moggach is on Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
tel form
with her wickedly funny new novel The Black
Dress. She will be at Waterstones to discuss
it. Tickets cost £5, redeemable against a
purchase of the book on the night.
For more details call 01227 452354.
Terri White and Heidi James,
Manchester
7 December, 6.30pm
Blackwell’s Bookshop welcomes White and
James to discuss Coming Undone and The Sound
Mirror
or – two books that use memoir and
fiction to explore themes of trauma and class.
The authors will be in conversation with host
Naomi Frisby. Tickets cost £5 plus a booking
fee. Books will be available to purchase on the
night and there will be a signing after the talk.
For more details call 0161 274 3331.
DIRECTORY
Kate Medhurst brings
you the pick of upcoming
writing and book events
Billie Charity
Eddie Jones, Bath
10 December, 6pm
Former Rugby Union player Jones is one of
the most successful sports coaches of all time.
He will be at St Swithin’s Church talking about
his new book, Leadership. Tickets to the event
cost £20 and include a copy of the book.
For more details call 01225 428111.
SHORT COURSES
Poetry: A guide to the craft with
Jem Poster, online
22 November
Many people feel a strong urge to write, and
a considerable proportion have a desire to
express their thoughts and feelings through
the powerful, often emotive medium of
poetry. Develop your creative and critical
skills with this online masterclass led by Jem
Poster. It takes place from 6pm to 8.30pm
and costs £49.
membership.theguardian.com
Five days to write a life, London
10-14 January 2022
This intensive five-day course from the Faber
Academy is intended for those beginning their
writing journey as well as those already on
their way to producing a finished manuscript.
It features a combination of group discussion
and longer exercises each day, additional
reading and structured writing time, plus
individual tutorials. It costs £550.
faberacademy.com
Poetry Salon, London
Starts 20 January 2022
Join Richard Scott and Maurice Riordan for
this 12-week intermediate course from the
Faber Academy. Find new paths for your
Writers’FORUM #239 55
 DIRECTORY
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 Send your event listings three months ahead to diary@writers-forum.com
The Faber Academy in Bloomsbury
Continued from page 55
work, broaden your understanding of the craft
and meet a group of supportive, like-minded
poets. Taking place in central London on
Thursday nights from 7pm to 9pm, the course
costs £695.
faberacademy.com
Screenwriting: from pitch to
screen
Starts 27 January 2022
This course from the Continuing Education
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on your imagination as well as observation of
film and TV productions. You’ll explore the
role of directors, producers and production
companies and how they have different
qualities to contribute towards the making
of a film or TV series. The course runs for
10 sessions on Thursday evenings from 7.10-
9.10pm and costs £239. An online version of
the course is also available.
conted.ox.ac.uk
ONLINE WRITING COURSES
Write a short story in a weekend
22-23 January 2022
Turn your idea into a short story on this fun,
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a short story from beginning to end in two
DIRECTORY
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Writers’FORUM #239 57
 MOTIVATION
Emily Cunningham helps
you find the way forward
with your writing
THE
MENTOR
I’m feeling lonely
Was Virginia Woolf right? Do you have to
be on your own to be creative? I’m finding
it a bit lonely, especially during enforced
self-isolation. What do you suggest?
Kerry, Rugby
I
’m sorry to hear that, Kerry. I’m sure
it’s a feeling many readers can identify
with. Pre-pandemic, ‘a room of one’s
own’ and the luxury of a space to think
and write for long hours was seen as
something to aspire to. Now that it has
been thrust on to many of us seemingly
overnight, without consultation, it may
seem less agreeable.
The mental health charity Mind
reported that two-thirds of us have
struggled with mental health problems
due to lockdown loneliness.
Mike Gale, author of the aptly named
ople identified with your
All the Lonely People,
condition on the literary website LitHub
when he described his sudden freedom
to give up the day job and focus purely
on writing.
At first it did feel like I was indeed living
the dream. I’d write, make cups of tea, and
then write again, then make more cups of tea,
then write a little more and then more cups
of… wait, what was happening here? Why
58 Writers’FORUM #239
was I making so many cups of tea when I
didn’t even drink the stuff ?
As Gale discovered, it can be hard to
regulate yourself when you’re left to your
own devices, and sometimes you end up
distracted and unable to focus effectively.
Despite the prevalence of the writing
stereotype, loneliness isn’t a prerequisite
for creativity. It is perfectly possible
to write with other people. In her
autobiography Bedwetter
Bedwetter, comedian Sarah
Silverman describes the experience of
working on Saturday Night Live Live, where
sketches are developed by committee –
whole rooms of people working together
on one idea, often throughout the night.
Maybe this is something you could
pursue, and approach a friend or group
of friends about writing together?
Having said that, I’m interested to
explore the concept of loneliness your
question has provoked, as I think there’s
more wiggle room here.
The first thing I thought of is that it’s
important to differentiate between
loneliness and being alone. The former
is a feeling while the latter is simply a
geographical fact. Being alone doesn’t
necessarily beget loneliness.
What is it about writing alone that
makes you feel lonely? Are you a generally
gregarious person? Perhaps you have
FOMO (fear of missing out), imagining
that everyone else is having a riot while
you sit twiddling your thumbs? Or maybe
your thoughts become too loud when
you’re in your own echo chamber, and
spiral into a negative place?
We’re culturally programmed to fear
loneliness. In her book How to be Alone
(written in a remote part of Scotland),
novelist Sara Maitland says:
Remember it is quite normal to be a bit
frightened of being alone. Most of us grew up
in a social environment that sent out the explicit
message that solitude was bad for you: it was
bad for your health (especially your mental
health) and bad for your ‘character’ too.

The tension comes
from the assumption
that you can best
tap into the ‘muse’
this way
I think the tension between loneliness
and writing comes from the assumption
that you can best concentrate and tap into
‘the muse’ this way.
As Isaac Asimov said:
As far as creativity is concerned, isolation
is required. The creative person is, in any
case, continually working at it. His mind is
shuffling his information at all times, even
when he is not conscious of it…
The presence of others can only inhibit
this process, since creation is embarrassing.
For every new good idea you have, there are
Send your letters to Emily at mentor@writers-forum.com
a hundred, ten thousand foolish ones, which
you naturally do not care to display.
I like the idea that creation is
embarrassing but I’m not sure it means
you need to work alone.
Writing is certainly a way to make
yourself vulnerable – it entails offering
up work with no idea as to how it may be
received. You might feel less inhibited if
you know that your work isn’t going to
be immediately scrutinised and you have
time to improve on it before you show it
to others. But depending on the type of
person you are, you might feel comfortable
revealing all to a co-writer – whether it’s
gold dust or destined for the bin.
To continue the gold-mining metaphor,
if we dig down into the writing process,
we discover a need to communicate;
to share our personal experience with
the world. So however solitary the act
of writing, the effect is the opposite – it
brings people together.
Maria Popova, in a fascinating blog
on Virginia Woolf which you can find at
themarginalian.com, observes that:
If solitude fertilises the imagination,
loneliness vacuums it of vitality and sands
the baseboards of the spirit with the scratchy
restlessness of longing – for connection, for
communion, for escape. And yet it is out of
this restlessness that so many great works
of art are born. Curiously, and importantly,
mastering the art of solitude doesn’t make us
more antisocial but, to the contrary, better able
to connect. By being intimate with our own
inner life… frees us to reach greater, more
dimensional intimacy with others.
It’s ironic that daring to be alone with
our thoughts helps us empathise and
connect with other people but it’s true.
Doctor and poet Jeremy Nobel, in a blog
for Harvard Medical School, commented:
When expressing themselves in writing,
people are actually creating an artifact – a
symbol of some of their thoughts and feelings.
People often can write what they find difficult
to speak, and so they explore deeper truths.
This process of expression through the written
word can build trust and bonds with others in
unthreatening ways, forging a path toward a
more aware and connected life.
This suggests that it might be useful to
sit with your feelings of loneliness rather
than fight them. Turn them over and think
about what has provoked them.
I like environmentalist Rachel Carson’s
take on it, when replying to a young fan:
You are wise enough to understand that being
‘a little lonely’ is not a bad thing. A writer’s
occupation is one of the loneliest in the world,
even if the loneliness is only an inner solitude
and isolation, for that he must have at times if he
is to be truly creative. And so I believe only the
person who knows and is not afraid of loneliness
should aspire to be a writer. But there are also
rewards that are rich and peculiarly satisfying.
It makes sense that, just as the writing
process isn’t always plain sailing, the
feelings around it aren’t always rewarding
either. Writing is a challenge; sitting alone
in a room is a challenge. Take on this
challenge and see what happens.
Tips to take away
■ Ration yourself to 20 minutes of alone
time to make it more tolerable.
■ Reward yourself with a text or phone
call to a friend after a productive session.
■ Visualise an ever-present reader, excited
to read the next page, keeping you company.
Writers’FORUM #239 59
Research secrets
Simon Bowden talks to Anita Loughrey about the research he did to
write and self-publish his first crime thriller, Hidden by the Law
A
fter a busy career
in the British police
service, I retired as a
chief superintendent
in 2018. I’d worked for Thames
Valley Police and the National
Police Chiefs’ Council in
numerous operational roles
from response officer through
to public order commander.
I also have a master’s degree
in Applied Criminology from
Cambridge University.
I first had the idea for my
novel back in 2013 but could
never quite find the time to
write. The lockdown of 2021
provided me with the space
and time to commit to writing
Hidden by thee Law, the first of
my Seth Hannen stories.
Researching the details
My police background of
30 years held me in good stead
here. The book starts in 1992,
when Seth, our protagonist, is
a young constable. Back then
the radios and kit were very
different to today, and having
been there myself I knew what
kind of equipment was issued
and used by uniform officers.
The procedural parts of the
book were also fairly easy
to write. I’ve interviewed
numerous suspects over the
years, so could recall things
like the police caution or the
opening to an interview.
In one scene, Seth uses police
pepper spray on his assailants.
Knowing how many bursts of
spray could be delivered from
a single cannister helped me
to ensure it did not seem like
a bottomless pit of spray was
available to him.
Even so, there was a lot
of specific research I had to
undertake. I still needed to
check dates, such as when the
60 Writers’FORUM #239
radio system changed from
UHF to the current Airwave
Tetra. Getting that kind of
detail wrong would soon be
called out by police officers
who read it.
The first chapter finds Seth
working at Royal Ascot for the
horse-racing. I checked that
back in 1992 I had the right day
for Ladies’ Day and so on. One
detail I knew from memory
was that the police would have
crossed to the racecourse from
the station opposite using an
old pedestrian tunnel under
the road.
I wanted my villain to be
driving a new Aston Martin
and there is a scene where Seth
removes the keys from the
ignition while standing beside
the car. I looked at photos
of the interior to ensure that
they keys would have been
reachable from the window.
I also researched the lunar
cycle, as one of the characters
carries out a burglary during
a new moon. It would be easy
to make up a day and just say
My police
background
of 30 years
held me in
good stead
it was a new moon, but I know
some people will check that
kind of detail. While the book
is a work of fiction, the setting
and circumstances need to
feel realistic.
I have one of my characters
carry a gun in an ankle holster,
and while I don’t give too
much detail on the weapon, I
researched which guns would
generally be able to be carried
in that fashion – it would be no
good having him carry a great
big Magnum pistol.
Researching characters
My police characters are a mix
of people I know in real life,
including a couple of friends
who have cameo roles. The
criminals are based on my
own experiences but I also
researched real-life criminals
online to get a feel of what they
are like.
My knowledge of drug
users and their habits came
in useful, although I did also
read through information
from organisations that help
drug users get clean – there
are detailed descriptions of
what a drug user feels and goes
through when taking drugs.
I researched how to depict
dialogue in writing, and
found that most of the advice
is to just state that someone
has an accent rather than
try to emulate it fully. So I
described Larry Fowler as a
Londoner, then dropped the
final letter g from some words
as a reminder. Readers will
use their own experience of
a London accent to form his
voice in their minds.
Resources
The internet makes research
so much quicker these days,
so it was a good place to
start, but there is also a lot of
misinformation on there too,
so I took extra steps to verify
what I found.
I used old photos of myself
and colleagues to help with
uniform and fashion of the day,
certainly for the early part of
the book.
In a torture scene, the villain
uses a picana – a device used
to deliver an electric shock.
I read online reports and
historical information on these
devices, which are generally
home-made. I needed to check
how the alternating current
is delivered, and how it is
converted from a car battery.

To get the road layout correct,
I used Google Earth and Street
View. This allowed me to be
certain that a road was wide
enough for a car to speed past
another, or a crash to happen
on a particular junction. But
I also visited those places I
could get to, to ensure that the
description matched the real
location. This was important to
me, as the book is set quite near
to where I live and it is likely
locals will read it.
There are, however, a couple
of fictional locations, such as
Slough underground station. In
fact, Slough was once planned
to be the last stop on one of the
underground lines, making it
plausible if not true.
Researching how to
write a thriller
This was probably the biggest
challenge. I researched the
typical wordcounts for the
genre, which are between
90,000 and 120,000 words, as
well as the average length of
a chapter. Once I knew that, I
had a target and could break
it down into an approximate
number of chapters, which
allowed me to map out the
general storyline.
As a self-published author,
I researched the most popular
fonts for the book’s interior
and chapter headings. I learnt
that crime novels generally use
a non-serif font for the title.
I also wanted to make the
book more widely available
than simply publishing
through Amazon Kindle. So
I investigated all the self-
publishing platforms to have
the book on all ebook services,
and also available to order
in hardback and paperback
from most bookshops. This
meant buying my own ISBNs,
rather than taking free ones
from the various sites, and
doing all the cover design and
artwork myself, rather than
taking the basic free format
available on some sites. This
gave me what I hope ends up
as a professional-looking cover
as well as a publisher’s logo –
I established Obelus Publishing
as my own imprint.
I found the best tip is the
old chestnut to write what you
know. So if you are writing
crime but don’t have a police
background, set it in a place
or among circumstances that
you know well. That will help
you research more easily and
add a sense of reality to your
storytelling. For example, if
you work in telecoms, use what
you know from your business
to inform the plot
Had I set the book in a
fictional town, then I think
authenticity would have been
less important, but using a
real place pushes you to make
sure that it feels right, and that
a reader could drive or walk
through the town or village
and recognise it from the book.
The second book follows
on from the first, although it
can be read as a standalone.
It follows Seth in his first
assignment after leaving the
police service. I am using
my knowledge of human
trafficking and terrorism
to create a credible story of
someone growing up with
the idea of committing an act
of terror in mind. This will
be a tough one for Seth – and
for me, as I have needed to
research overseas locations.
• Simon is on Facebook and
Twitter as Simon Bowden
LITERARY MARKETS
WRITING OUTLETS
with Janet Cameron
Litmags with agendas
Feed
feedlitmag.com
This weekly online poetry
and fiction outlet focuses
on five or so contributors
each issue. They seek work
in bite-size chunks to suit
our modern world.
Tip: The editors believe
short writing quells hunger
with stark images and a narrative that speaks for itself.
Submissions: Three to five short poems (six pages max)
or up to three pieces of fiction of up to 750 words each
(nine pages max). Please indicate genre in the subject line
and check guidelines on the website for other details. Email
subs.feedmag@gmail.com
MudRoom
mudroommag.com
MudRoom publishes four
times a year and the edi-
tors are looking for poems
and fiction. You can find
out online when they are
next reading. They pay $15,
‘per author’ not ‘per item’.
Tip: MudRoom believes in
real life – the luminal, the dirty, the messy and the mundane.
Submissions: Put your name on your cover letter but not
on your work. Send three to five unpublished poems in a
single doc, one per page (eight pages max), or up to 6000
words, double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman. Include
a brief third-person author bio. Type POETRY or PROSE in
the subject line. Send to mud.room.submissions@gmail.com
Biscuit Hill
thebiscuithill.com
This online litmag is solely
for poetry – from prose
poetry to poetry comics.
At the time of writing the
site is still under construc-
tion, but read the pieces
already online to get an
idea of their requirements.
Tip: The poetry is intelligent and accessible so writing from
the heart will probably impress them.
Submissions: If you have a Google account, use the online
form which has instructions for entering your information,
a brief author bio and material; if not, just email your cover
letter, author bio and work to thebiscuithill@gmail.com
• Janet’s book Eighteen Amazing Women Philosophers is
available as an ebook from Amazon and in paperback.
Writers’FORUM #239 61
Send your success stories, questions and tips to Caroline at comps@writers-forum.com
Competitive Edge
THE BOOKSTOPS
ARE HERE!
Brenda Henderson recounts the
bumpy journey to setting up a new
writing competition
We were a small group
brought together for
a weekend’s study at a
bookshop in the Dordogne. We
all thought we wanted to write
a novel. Our enthusiasm was such
that we continued on our own,
each taking it in turn to research,
lead and share.
As part of our ‘training’ I
encouraged people to enter
competitions. Several people did
so, with moderate success, and
the idea to run a competition of
our own finally crystallised.
Although we mostly lived in
the Dordogne, one of us had
moved to Greece. It was obvious
we would have to be a virtual
organisation and run everything
via Zoom meetings.
It was a change to be on the
other side of a competition;
to see and be involved in the
organising and promotion. We
were fortunate in having the
advice of Gordon and Joc Simms,
who have run the successful
Segora festivals and competitions
for several years. Kate Rose, a key
person in the Charroux literary
festivals, was also very helpful.
Howard McCann, the owner of
the Bookstop Café in Brantôme,
where we first met, kindly
agreed to step up as treasurer
and allowed us to name our
association after his store.
We didn’t want to be clones of
other competitions. We wanted
to encourage people who felt
they weren’t being heard to
participate, as well as those who
would never normally dream of
62 Writers’FORUM #239
entering something competitive.
We set out a budget and a plan
of action, doubling the time we
thought everything would take –
setting up a website, a Facebook
page, publicity, bank account,
sponsorship deals etc… and that’s
when we came up – thunk! –
against French bureaucracy.
You cannot just set up a club
or association in France: it has
to be registered nationally and
tethered to just one département
and follow its strict local rules.
Clearly, regulations hadn’t caught
up with virtual associations where
people aren’t just spread over
a corner of France but other
countries too! We had found our
judges, Katherine Gallagher and
Liv Rowland, and were raring to
go but couldn’t.
Our official recognition and
bank account didn’t come through
until early August, far too late
to attract sponsors. We were,
however, supported by friends
and contacts, and the team all
chipped in €100 each, which we
hope eventually to get back. We
bit our nails as we looked at the
much-reduced time left.
Is this a tale of success? We
won’t know until all the entries
are in. And that depends on
people like you, the writers.
Will you join us in overcoming
your doubts and uncertainties?
Can you say: I am good
enough, I can do this!
• For more about the competition
see this month’s listings and visit
pennibwritingcomp.com
COMPS CLOSING SOON
26 NOV
Wales Poetry Award
Contemporary poem: up to
70 lines. Rules: open internation-
ally for poets aged 17 or over; up
to five poems may be submitted;
simultaneous submissions not per-
mitted. Fee: £5 (free to UK resi-
dents from low-income house-
holds). Prizes: £500 and a place
on the course of your choice at
Literature Wales’ Ty Newydd
Writing Centre; £100; £50; plus
a Seren book bundle and publica-
tion in Poetry Wales; 10 highly com-
mended prizes. Judge: Samantha
Wynne-Rhydderch. Details: see
poetrywales.co.uk/award/
28 NOV
Pen Nib International
Writing Competition
Poetry: 50 lines max. Essay:
1500-2500 words on the theme
‘A matter of concern’. Amuse
bouche: a short piece, possibly
illustrated. Prizes: poetry/essay
£150; amuse bouche £50; plus a
selection of other prizes. Judges:
Katherine Gallagher (poetry); Liv
Rowland (essay). Details: see
pennibwritingcomp.com
30 NOV
Bath Children’s Novel
Award
Novel: first 5000 words plus a
one-page synopsis of a novel for
children or teens. Rules: open
to unpublished or self-published
writers. Fee: £28 (sponsored
places available for low-income
writers). Prizes: £3000; shortlist
receive manuscript feedback plus
introductions to a literary agent.
Judge: Sam Copeland, agent and
children’s author. Details: see
bathnovelaward.co.uk/childrens-
novel-award/
Cranked Anvil Flash
Fiction Competition
Flash fiction: 500 words max.

compiled by
Caroline Vincent
Fee: £3 for one story, £5 for two.
Prizes: £100; £25. Details: see
crankedanvil.co.uk/flashcomp/
Tadpole Press 100 Word
Writing Contest
Entries: 100 words, in any form
or genre. Theme: ‘Abundance’.
Fee: $10. Prizes: $1000; $450
writing coaching package; $250
developmental or diversity editing
package. Details: tadpolepress.
com/events
15 DEC
London Independent
Story Prize
Flash fiction: 300 words max.
Short story: 3000 words max.
Short screenplay: 30 pages
max. Feature screenplay: any
length. Rules: unpublished work
only; over-18s only. Fees: flash
fiction £7.50; short story £10.50;
short screenplay £22; feature
screenplay £55.50. Prizes: flash
fiction and short story £100;
screenplays Final Draft software
worth $250; winners will be fea-
tured in social media, magazine
and newsletter articles. Details:
see londonindependentstoryprize.
co.uk/submit
Roswell Award
Sci-fi story: 500-1500 words.
Rules: open to over-16s. Fee:
FREE. Prizes: $500; $250; $100;
the Feminist Futures Award and a
separate prize will be awarded to
a distinct winner for an outstand-
ing feminist sci-fi story. Details:
see lightbringerproject.org/science-
fiction-competitions
17 DEC
Minotaur Books/Mystery
Writers of America Best
First Novel Competition
Novel: 40,000 words minimum.
Rules: unpublished work; open
to unpublished or self-published
authors over 18. Theme: mur-
der or another serious crime(s)
must be at the heart of the story.
COMP CALENDAR
xxx
Fee: FREE. Prize: a publishing
contract with a $10,000 advance
against future royalties. Details:
see us.macmillan.com/minotaur-
books/submit-manuscript
21 DEC
Dead of Winter
Horror Fiction Contest
Horror story: wordcounts
vary – see website. Rules: stories
must be set in winter; note that
the judges prefer gothic, dark fan-
tasy, erotic horror (PG-13 max),
noir, psychological horror, quiet/
soft horror, suspense horror; they
tend not to like sci-fi horror,
extreme/splatter horror, Love-
craftian, etc. but the quality and
creativeness of the writing come
first. Fee: FREE. Prizes: Amazon
gift cards worth $25, $20, $15.
Details: see tclj.toasted-cheese.
com/dead-of-winter/
30 DEC
Farnham Fiction Award
Orna Ross Green Stories
Novel Prize Submit your short story of up to 3,000 words in the
Novel: three chapters (ie 4000- following categories:
10,000 words) from a 70,000- Romance
100,000-word novel that is at least Literary
50 per cent written; must include
the first chapter, another chapter
Science fiction/fantasy
that showcases how your novel Thriller
meets the Green Stories criteria, £25 prize for category winners
and a third chapter (the final chap- £100 overall winner plus publication
ter if possible); plus a synopsis of Entries close 5th January 2022
500-1000 words. Theme: may
Part of the Farnham Literary Festival 5th - 13th March 2022
be any genre but stories must
www.farnhamliteraryfestival.co.uk
▲
Continued overleaf
 COMP CALENDAR Listings should be sent three months in advance to comps@writers-forum.com
Continued from page 63
show a positive vision of what a
sustainable society might look like
or include green solutions/poli-
cies/characters in the context of
an otherwise mainstream story.
Rules: entrants must show they
have read at least one chapter
from successfully published pieces
from the Green Stories project;
this year the book is Habitat Man
and you can download the first
chapter for free. Fee: FREE.
Prizes: £1000; £500; workshop
on writing green stories and half-
price manuscript appraisal by liter-
ary consultancy Daniel Goldsmith;
one-on-one mentoring session at
Redhammer Management literary
agency or a year’s membership of
ALLi (including a package of sup-
port) and a free pass to the online
Self-Publishing Advice Conference.
Details: www.greenstories.org.
uk/upcoming-competitions/adult-
novel-deadline-dec-2021/
31 DEC
Danahy Fiction Prize
Short fiction: 500-5000 words.
Rules: must be previously un-
published. Fee: $20, plus $3 for
online processing; a one-year sub-
scription to Tampa Review iew is
included. Prize: $1000. Details:
see tampareview.org/the-danahy-
fiction-prize
Devon & Cornwall
International Novel Prize
Novel: 5000-word opening of a
novel, plus a synopsis of no more
than 500 words. Rules: open
internationally for unpublished or
self-published writers over 18 with
no agent or contract. Theme: all
adult genres acceptable, including
Young Adult. Fee: £15. Prize:
£1000, trophy and online publish-
ing contract. Judges: to be con-
firmed, but will include a previous
winner, an internationally recog-
nised writer and a literary agent.
Details: see dcinovelprize.com
Moth Poetry Prize 2021
Poem: no line limit. Rules: open
to anyone over 16; unpublished
poems only. Fee: £15 per poem.
Prizes: £6000; 3 x £1000; 8 x
£250. Judge: Warsan Shire.
Details: themothmagazine.com
64 Writers’FORUM #239
US Naval Institute
General Prize Essay Contest
Essay: max 3000 words, excluding
footnotes, endnotes and sources.
Rules: open to all. Theme: we
are living in an era of intense global
competition; the conventional
over-match the US military enjoyed
at the end of the Cold War is
eroding, and renewed competition
will require the Sea Services to
rethink how to address national,
strategic and operational chal-
lenges; authors may address any
topic. Fee: FREE. Prizes: $6000;
$3000; $2000; all entries will be
published in Proceedings maga-
zine. Details: see usni.org/essay-
contests/2021/2021-general-prize-
essay-contest
ONGOING COMP
Creative Writing Ink
Monthly
Poem: 40 lines max. Rules:
unsuccessful entries may be re-
submitted. Fee: FREE. Prize:
publication on the website plus
£10 Amazon voucher. Details:
see creativewritingink.co.uk/com-
petitions/free-to-enter-creative-
writing-ink-competition/
UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED…
Theme and genre are open. Entries
should be original and unpublished.
Postal entries should be printed on
white A4 in a clear plain font. Include
a separate cover sheet with the title,
wordcount, your name, address and
postcode, phone and email. Stories
should be double-spaced with good
margins. Where necessary include
a large enough sae with sufficient
postage. Always contact the organiser
or check their website to confirm
details. Writers’ Forum does not
accept responsibility for errors in or
changes to the information listed.
Tales of my GURU
In which the mystery mentor is happy to let Hugh talk about dialogue
S
ome weeks ago we moved our
garden furniture out through the
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cigar. The road was quiet. Until a bell rang
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And they came, the contents of the local
school, from goblins to gigantic teenagers.
And they did pass quickly, though one
boy hesitated at our table.
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at the shortbread. My wife gestured help
yourselves, and they did.
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chair sank as if someone had invisibly
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but a source of writing knowledge who
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‘Hurry! Time’s nearly up. The sentries will
The dialogue’s
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sentries will be back soon with the dogs!’
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‘Hurry! Time’s nearly up,’ shrieked Tom.
’The sentries will be back soon with the dogs!’
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noticed a copy of The Ghosts of Ravens Crag
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by Hugh Scott
‘Right. Oh, oh,’ sighed Sammy. ‘Dad, open
your window right down. Where’d you put the
nappies, Mum?’
‘Put the dirty one in a plastic bag,’ said
Mum.
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something, but she only plopped Bertie’s
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window right down. Where’d you put the
nappies, Mum?’
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with a baby-wipe and shrugged a clean nappy
on to him.
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she has just seen an old man waving to
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him already 20 miles back down the road.
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read again The Ghosts of Ravens Crag Crag.*
* The Ghosts of Ravens Crag, by me and
published by Walker Books
Writers FORUM #239 65
 WRITING ROOMS
Where I write
Phil Barrington visits the book-filled study of
psychologist and author Peter Hughes
I
recently completed A History of Love and
Hate in 21 Statues, every word of which
I wrote in my study. It has about 2000
books, with a further 1000 in an upstairs
room. It might not be on the same scale
as Umberto Eco’s antilibrary (which
contained more than 30,000 books) but the
sense of being surrounded by more books
than I could ever read is humbling.
It’s also essential for my research. For
A History of Love and Hate I’d grab books
off the shelves, searching for a passage I
vaguely remembered or go through the
66 Writers’FORUM #239
index, hunting down the names I needed.
In the book, I quote the Jewish writer
Edmond Jabès, who observed that it’s not
the bird that’s free but the flower because
it has roots. My study grounds me.
On one wall, I have a small print, All
Things Wise and Wonderful, by the illustrator
Margaret Winifred Tarrant, next to a
haunting photo of a ruined Welsh chapel
taken by Bill Nicholls. I was brought up in
Wales and the sparse beauty of the chapels
of my childhood will always be with me.
I write on a large Victorian desk, which
I share with a tiger and two leopards.
Next to it is a small coffee table, made
by my father using reclaimed tiles. The
bookshelves are dotted with various
objects: a box containing four prehistoric
fossils, a reward for saving up tokens from
packets of Chivers Jelly as a child; stones
and shells I’ve gathered over the years; a
small Buddha I bought after a meditation
retreat in Chiang Mai; a heart-shaped box
made for me by my daughter; and two
Han dynasty sheep.
In the centre of the room is a brick
fireplace, now no longer functional. The
inner hearth is the soul of my study. At
the back is a wooden horse made for me
by my father on whose back is a stone
taken from the garden of my childhood
home, a small bell and a photograph of me
with my daughter. Slung over the handle
of the horse is a Chelsea scarf she bought
me on a school trip. At the foot of the
horse are two photos, one of me as a child
and one with my best childhood friend.
A Welsh children’s book, Y Wenynen Fach
Drachwantus (The Gluttonous Little Bee),
rests against the bricks. In complete accord
with the title, I couldn’t get enough of that
book as a small child and my parents read
it to me so many times, they must have
memorised every word.
As an antidote to vanity, a framed quote
from Hemingway sits facing me as I write:
The first draft of anything is shit. It reminds
me to worry about editing when I’ve got
something to edit.
For me, writing has always been a matter
of routine – returning to the same desk and
sitting there for roughly the same amount
of time every day. I have a demanding day
job, so my daily writing routine involved
starting at about 8pm and finishing at 3am.
Writing is a job like any other: inspired or
uninspired, you turn up, sit at your desk
and stay there, even if every fibre in your
body is telling you to flee. Eventually,
something will happen.
My study is a place of work where I
repay the debt I owe to myself and to those,
dead and alive, who, out of kindness,
nurtured within me the curiosity to
explore my ignorance. Above all, it’s a
place of the heart. It’s full of benevolent
ghosts and the surviving fragments of lives
that keep me true to the person I believe
myself to be. The remnants of lost time
remind me to make the best out of what
little time I have to write. Sometimes, at
three in the morning, when the streets are
deathly quiet, the books feel like sentinels,
marking the hours before they leave my
study to begin new lives on other shelves.
Writing is a lesson in humility and our
studies are chapels of rest.
 Advice and support
from first line to
final draft
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