Alzheimer’s Blogging Competition Entry
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions on March 14, 2011
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease strikes fear into the heart of anyone. As a writer, it scares me to think that when I
eventually retire from the day job to finally spend more time at my keyboard, this debilitating condition might rob me of the ability to string words together coherently.
I wouldn’t be the first writer to suffer in this way. It is well-known that Terry Pratchett suffers from Alzheimer’s and he has spoken publicly about the disease many times, in some ways becoming the contemporary face of Alzheimer’s. He now dictates his work, either using voice recognition software or to his PA, Rob Wilkins.
In 2009 the Guardian published an article claiming that Agatha Christie may also have been suffering from the disease towards the end of her life. Experts in Canada studied a selection of Christie’s novels written between the ages of 28 and 82 and counted the numbers of different words, indefinite nouns and phrases used in each. They discovered that Christie’s vocabulary size decreased noticeably (by between 15 to 30%) as she neared the end of her life and that her repetition of phrases and indefinite word usage (something, thing, anything) in her novels increased significantly. Agatha Christie, was never diagnosed with dementia but the authors of this study believe that the changes in her writing are consistent not with normal ageing, but with Alzheimer’s disease.
The results of the Christie study mirror those of a similar analysis of the early and late works of the novelist, Iris Murdoch. Her vocabulary had diminished in her final work and, on average, it contained fewer words and clauses per sentence. Murdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s the year after her final novel was completed.
If diagnosed early there are drugs that can help the sufferers of this terrible disease but up until now the problem has been in making that early diagnosis. However, a brain scan is now being trialled by the NHS that spots the early signs of Alzheimer’s and can diagnose the disease in less than 24 hours. This would replace the often inconclusive memory tests that are currently used by doctors to spot the disease.
For those currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and those that care for them, there are aids available to make life a little bit easier, such as alarms to indicate when a sufferer has got out of bed or opened a door or window. These are available through The Disabled Shop.
One in ten people over the age of 65 will develop Alzheimer’s and more than half of those over the age of 85 will succumb to the condition. But only £12 per patient is spent annually on research into Alzheimer’s, compared with £289 per patient spent on cancer – this is an imbalance that can’t be right.
This blog post has been written in response to the Alzheimer’s Disease Blogging Competition, which is aiming to increase awareness of the disease and raise money to fight it. There’s a great list of blogging related prizes plus the chance of paid blogging assignments – if you’ve got a blog then click on the link for details of how to enter. More entrants mean a higher profile for Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alternatively, if you don’t blog, click here to make a donation.
Creative Writing Courses to be Won
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Events, Writing on March 10, 2011
Can creative writing be taught? It’s a topic that’s often debated but I don’t think anyone has come up with a definitive answer.
Obviously, we can learn the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. We can also be told how to present a manuscript (double spacing, wide margins etc) and make sure we include a self-addressed envelope. But can anyone tell us how to grab an idea and turn into in a story?
I think it is possible to teach someone to write a competent short story. Most people can grasp the basic rules, such as:
- Keep the number of characters to a minimum
- Keep the time frame short
- Use just one ‘scene’
- The main character must resolve some sort conflict (internal or external)
But to rise above the ‘competent’ and produce a tale that really sparkles (and will attract the attention of editors and competition judges) requires some sort of talent or creative leaning. It may be a hidden talent that we don’t know we possess until it is honed by the production of several stories, each a little better than the last – so practice is just as important as anything that can be taught.
So, is it worth going on a creative writing course? The answer is most definitely yes!
The benefits of courses often far outweighs the number of ‘writing rules’ that might be taught. Being with like-minded people, even if only for half a day, will fill you with enthusiasm, give you the opportunity to meet new friends and make you more determined to continue down the rocky writing road.
But unfortunately writing courses tend to be expensive – unless you can find a subsidised one taking place in a library or similar place. However, all is not lost because it is possible to win your way on to a course with the following competitions:
- The Arvon Postcard Competition is offering a first prize of a one week Arvon course. Send in a piece of flash fiction or poetry that describes your favourite writing place (seems like a big prize for few words!) Closing date 21 May 2011.
- The Swanwick Writers’ Summer School is running three competitions, two of which offer a free week at the 2011 Summer School as their first prize. The first is a short story on the theme ‘New Beginnings’ and the second is 1,000 words of a children’s story. Closing date is 30 April 2011.
- Leaf books is running a travel writing competition with a first prize of a beginners’ travel writing course (in London). Send a 300 word piece of travel writing before the closing date 30 April 2011.
- Nature of Wales is offering a place on the nature writing course at Tŷ Newydd as the second prize in their competition (first prize is £500 cash). They require a thousand word article on a subject of topical environmental or wildlife interest in Wales. Closing date 31 March 2011.
World Book Night
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Events on March 7, 2011
Saturday 5th March was World Book Night. It’s purpose was to celebrate great writing, the power of books and the
pleasure of reading. To help achieve this 40,000 copies each of 25 books were specially printed to be given away free to the general public. That’s one million extra books put into circulation. It’s hoped that these books will be read, enjoyed and then passed on or shared with others. The titles given away covered a wide range of tastes and included Killing Floor by Lee Child, Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes and Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.
I went to a special event at the Birmingham Library Theatre to mark the occasion. It featured a discussion on reading and writing between authors Mike Gayle (My Legendary Girlfriend), Catherine O’Flynn (What was Lost) and RJ Ellory (A Quiet Belief in Angels). The three writers covered many topics.
Mike told us how a light went on in his head when he came across Adrian Mole as a teenager. Here was a character with whom he totally identified and it was at this point that Mike began to realise the power that words could wield.
Catherine described her childhood longing to be a detective, fuelled by an Usborne book she was given as a youngster that was filled with advice on clues and suspects and methods of detection. She took to sitting outside her local bank and noting down car registration plates in case there was ever a big robbery – to her disappointment there never was.
Roger Ellory told us about a favourite book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. This is based on the true story of the 1959 murder of a family in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote was a friend of To Kill a Mockingbird author, Harper Lee and she went with him to Holcomb to dig out the story behind the murders. Apparently, there is a theory that both of these books were written as a collaboration between the two authors and each put their name to one book. They both became bestsellers and neither writer ever published anything else.
Everyone at Saturday’s event went home with free books to read and pass on. I received Seamus Heaney’s New Selected Poems 1966 – 1987. This is not a book I would ever have chosen myself but maybe that was the purpose of World Book Night – to encourage those that never read to pick up a book and to push enthusiastic readers into trying something more challenging. I’m going to give it a go!
The Practical Guide to Self-Publishing by Paul Chiswick
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Resources, Self-publishing on March 3, 2011
I think all writers agree that getting published can be next to impossible for the novice writer (unless you’re a
celebrity!). This means that more and more of us are turning to self-publishing as a way of getting our books out there. Paul Chiswick has experience of several self-published projects and has now written a book on the subject. Here he is with some advice for anyone thinking of going down the self-publishing route:
Everyone’s reason for producing his or her ‘book’ will be different. You may want it purely for posterity, a record of your own life. How many of us would love to know more about our grandparents and great-grandparents? Or you may be convinced you are the next JK Rowling, destined for fame and fortune. If only!
First things first: there’s a hurdle called publishing planted between you and your dream. Once upon a time, publishers were far more willing to publish an unknown author. They trusted their judgement, and knowledge of their readers. However, consolidation and an emphasis on profitability have changed the publishing world, perhaps forever. Look around you on the shelves of bookshops and supermarkets. Nowadays, a very large proportion of books published each year are by ‘celebrities’, who may or may not have written, or indeed have had much input into, the book that appears under their name. Either that or they are by well-established and successful authors. Naturally, these books are easier to sell. As a result, the highly competitive market for unknown authors has shrunk dramatically over the last few years.
Is there an alternative? You bet! Publish it yourself.
How do you do it? Here are four of the most common ways:
- The publisher takes your manuscript and carries out the complete publishing process. He charges you a fee, which covers the entire costs of production and distribution. This is exactly what a traditional publisher does, except in traditional publishing the publisher bears all the cost and assumes the risks. This is a growing area of self-publishing, and new entrants are coming into the market all the time. Expect pricing to become more aggressive and competitive.
- The services of the publisher are dispensed with altogether. You carry out all the stages of production and distribution. The only part of the physical process you won’t be able to undertake is the actual printing and binding of the books. A printer specializing in book production would undertake this for you. If this is an option that interests you, I suggest you acquire a copy of my eBook, The Practical Guide to Self-Publishing, a snip at only £3.99! Available from Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Amazon, Apple and Diesel.
- You produce everything in digital format on your PC and then employ Print On Demand technology. Print On Demand (sometimes termed Publish On Demand) arrived with the advent of digital printing when the printing of single copies of a document became economically viable. Using this technology, copies of the book are not printed until an order has been received.
- You produce everything in digital format on your PC, then produce, market and sell it as an eBook, often on your own website or through an online retailer such as Amazon.
What are you waiting for? Get publishing!
Super-snooper Blogfest
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Uncategorized on March 2, 2011
Today I’m taking part in my first ever blogfest. The task is to describe a setting that tells the reader something about a character’s personality. More info here.
I’ve chosen to describe the flat of Claire, who is the heroine in my work-in-progress. Here goes:
A Word document is open on the laptop and beneath its heading of ‘Ballerina Fairy Cakes’ is a list of ingredients plus unfinished instructions to pre-heat the oven and cream the butter and sugar. Next to the computer, on a white china plate, is a small pink sponge confection, topped with mauve butter icing and silver balls. An image of this cake is on the screen of the digital camera lying on the cream leather settee.
A brown Dralon armchair is almost completely hidden by a cream throw and on top of this is a pile of cookery magazines with bits cut out of them. The cuttings have been given the protection of a plastic sleeve and popped in a ring-binder. These articles all share the same by-line – Claire Draper. Claire’s thumbnail photo in the glossy publications is a slightly older version of the girl in cap and gown standing on the tiled fireplace.
A utilitarian gas fire squats in the hollow formed by the chocolate brown tiles. In front of this is a crystal vase holding a dozen red roses. A small rectangular card, propped against the glass and handwritten in fountain pen, reads ‘Six weeks and 3 days until we walk down the aisle. Love you always, Tom.’
On the mantelpiece several cards jostle for position with the silver-framed graduation photograph. They all carry the same message ‘Wedding Acceptance’, in a variety of fonts, colours and sizes.
An archway leads to the small kitchen where two large white plastic mixing bowls sit upside down on the draining board. The black granite effect work surface holds a food processor, its clear plastic bowl scratched through regular use. The cappuccino maker is boxed and a piece of torn wrapping paper is still stuck to the cardboard, it’s heavily creased but a diamond ring and the words ‘Happy Engagement’ are obvious.
Bananas, apples and kiwis sit in a wooden bowl next to a half-empty box of Jaffa cakes. An ironing-board and ‘Henry’ vaccuum cleaner have been squeezed into a space between the end of the work top and the lemon-painted wall.
The bathroom is windowless with a white suite and white walls. A large mirror hangs over the sink but the light decor and reflecting glass do not create the planned illusion of space. Shampoo, bubble bath and cocoa butter body lotion balance precariously along the edge of the bath. Toothpaste, soap and moisturiser clutter the hand-basin and a toilet roll sits on the radiator.
Jeans and a sweatshirt hang over the back of a dining-chair in the bedroom. Boots, trainers, and court shoes stand in line beneath the dressing table. The pink striped quilt is folded back, revealing a crumpled pair of cotton pyjamas and well-hugged teddy bear.
Bits & Pieces
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Events, Markets, Successes on February 28, 2011
I’ve got a few bits and pieces that might be of interest:
- Lois Maddox has dropped me a line about two weekend creative writing courses that she is organising. They are both aimed at all levels of writing ability and take place at Swanwick in Derbyshire. The first is ‘From Memories to Memoirs’ . It is led by Alison Chisholm, who will deal with creating a scheme for a life file and selecting a theme or time period to write about. The second is ‘Write Crime’. It is led by retired policeman Nick Oldham and as well as dealing with plot and characters, it will look at setting the scene with up-to-date procedures. Further details are available at www.malagaworkshops.co.uk.
- My Weekly Pocket Novels have upped their required wordage from 30,000 to 50,000. Payment has also gone up from £200 to £300. As some of you may know, I’m having a go at writing one of these as a stepping stone to a ‘proper’ novel. I did have my ten 3,000 word chapters mapped out. So now it’s back to the drawing board to find a subplot or something else to extend (without padding!) the story. Further details here.
- www.writing.ie is a new website, billing itself as ‘the home of Irish writing, online’. The events and courses listed on the site will mainly be of interest to those living in Ireland but there is also loads of free writing advice to be found on writing.ie. under the Writers’ Toolbox tab.
- The Telegraph has launched a short story competition for young writers aged between 16 and 18. It will be judged by John le Carre and the closing date is April 14th 2011. Full details here.
- I have to mention two small personal successes that I found out about last week. Firstly I have short piece about the Festival of Britain in the Cornucopia section of the current (Spring) edition of This England magazine. Secondly I have won the Writers’ Forum subscription that is up for grabs each month to the person sending in the best bit of news for the magazine’s NewsFront page.
- Finally, look out for an extra post on Wednesday – I am taking part in my first ever blogfest.
Women Only Writing Competitions
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Writing on February 24, 2011
Where are all the male writers hiding?
The writers’ events I’ve been to recently seem to be dominated by the fairer sex. At the Martin Davies Novel Writing Day there were around a dozen participants but only one of them was male. At the writers group I attend, women outnumber men by nearly 3 to 1 and in the Birmingham Chapter of the Romantic Novelists Association we have just one man (but maybe that is to be expected!).
And judging by the email addresses of the subscribers to this blog, 95 % of them are women and most of the comments left are from ladies too.
I pointed out this imbalance in the sexes to my husband and he suggested that maybe all the male writers are actually writing and producing best-sellers, rather than sitting around talking about writing or surfing the blogosphere.
He could have a point. We women get caught up in the social aspects of writing whereas our male counterparts actually knuckle down and get on with it.
So as we seem to be all girls together, here are some suggestions for women only competitions to get you inspired and writing:
- The Glass Woman is a fiction competition for stories of between 50 and 5,000 words. The theme is open but the subject must be of significance to women. No entry fee and the closing date is March 21st. First prize is $500 plus there are runners-up prizes. Previous winning entries plus full details are here.
- The Baptist Times are running a women’s writing competition for non-fiction. There are 3 categories each with a prize of £100; Spirituality, Cultural Comment and Faith & Life. The judges are looking for writing that’s stylish, insightful and powerful. No entry fee, word limit is 1,000 and closing date is 4th April. Full details here.
- The Grey Hen Poetry competition is open only to women over 60. Closing date is 30th April 2011, £3 entry fee and £100 first prize. Full details here.
If you’re already a published novelist then there’s always the Orange Prize for Fiction.
Oh, and if you’re a man reading this – please leave a comment and make yourself known (or use the box on the right to sign-up to receive my blog posts by email – that way you’ll never miss one!)
Storytelling
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events on February 21, 2011
Last week I went to an adult (no, not that sort of adult!) storytelling event at the Kitchen Garden Cafe in Birmingham. The place was bursting at the seams with people of all ages keen to enjoy an evening of live entertainment. It was all very informal with the tellers (if that’s the right word) taking it in turns to stand up and spin their yarns. Every story was unique and every teller extremely polished, whilst still retaining a freshness and friendliness within their performance. We heard stories of stealing from corpses, mind-reading and chopping the feet off a dead body. Without microphones, props or costumes we were transported to other worlds by the power of the teller’s language and a few dramatic gestures.
Storytelling is a traditional art that is making comeback. I first heard about it through a friend of mine, Sophie Snell, who is a professional storyteller. She tells her tales at a whole range of events and venues as well as going into schools to work with children. Sophie gave up her career as a management consultant when her children came along and, after attending a storytelling event, decided that storytelling was what she wanted to do. She started attending training sessions and workshops and the rest, as they say, is history.
If you fancy going along to an event in the Midlands have a look at the Traditional Arts Team website.
What struck me about the storytellers was their precise use of language which enabled the listeners to immediately conjure up a wonderful accurate image. Words like nice, quite and sort of were conspicuous by their absence. Storytellers have to grab the attention of an audience and hold it for 10 or 15 minutes. If a listener’s mind drifts for just a few seconds he loses his place in the story and can’t re-read the page as he might in a book.
As a writer I already read aloud my finished pieces and this enables me to spot any clumsy language or word repetition. I wonder if standing in front of the mirror and telling my story to a pretend audience might help me conjure up more colourful imagery as well as pick up on any dull bits in the narrative where the reader is likely to get bored and switch off.
I think I might try it – when the house is empty!
Paper Lanterns by Christine Coleman
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books on February 17, 2011
Paper Lanterns by Christine Coleman is a self-published novel and the first I’ve ever read. I may be naive (and I admit
to knowing nothing about publishing) but I was expecting something amateurish, lacking in editing and with a cheap feel to it.
How wrong can you be! Paper Lanterns looks and feels like any professionally published paperback and, most importantly, it is a great read.
Christine was inspired by the discovery of a bundle of love letters written in China in the 1920s by two different women to the same man. The story is one of family secrets and the impact of their revelation. The narrative flicks between England and China in the 1930s, 1970s and 2008. Christine handles this complex structure without a hiccup.
Christine’s first novel, The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society, was published traditionally by Transita in 2005. Unfortunately, Transita are no longer publishing fiction and hence, Christine’s decision to publish her second book via NovelPress. NovelPress was formed by a group of writers, including Christine, who met on the Creative Writing M.A. at Nottingham Trent University in the late 90s and Paper Lanterns is the first book they’ve produced.
Both of Christine’s books are available via her website www.christinecoleman.net.
Reading Paper Lanterns raised two points in my mind:
- If someone who had a successful first novel published, can’t get their next book into print the traditional way – what hope is there for the rest of us who have yet to break into print at all? The growth of ebooks is making it easier for anyone to make their work available to the public but, for me, reading my work on a screen just wouldn’t have the same excitement as handling a book with my name on the cover.
- Paper Lanterns was inspired by a legacy of letters. Today we communicate via email and text. As current technology becomes obsolete these missives will disappear into the skip along with the computers and mobiles that generated and received them. Similarly, many of us take more photos than ever before but often they remain as digital images on disks that may be unreadable to future generations. Technology is making life easier today but will we be leaving anything of our lives behind us when we are gone?
Writing Serials for Women’s Magazines Course
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events, Writing on February 14, 2011
Joanna Barnden is running a one-day course on writing serials for the women’s magazine market on April 7th in Derby. Joanna has had many stories and serials published and is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
I have attended 2 of her previous courses and as well as being extremely informative, they are stimulating and enjoyable. Joanna provides a friendly atmosphere and high quality refreshments throughout the day plus a home-cooked lunch (with pudding!).
Here is the course content (in Joanna’s own words):
Derby – Thursday April 7th 2011, 9.30 am – 4.30 pm
Editors love a good serial – one rich with interesting characters, bursting with tensions, rustling with mystery, and written with pace and flair. One, in short, that will keep their readers coming back for more. They are always on the lookout for new writers and, indeed, Women’s Weekly say that their serial slot receives the fewest submissions, so your odds of getting published are higher – if you get it right!
Now here is a one-day workshop that can help you do just that, covering:
What makes a good serial – To start off, we will look at the core attributes of all serials, at popular genres and at what the market is looking for right now.
Creating a cast list – This is a vital and much overlooked element of a successful serial. It’s your characters that give your story colour, detail, life and, very importantly in a longer work – variety. We’ll look at how to create a believable and exciting set of people for your serial.
Plotting – The strength and depth of your plot will determine the success of your serial. It’s the single biggest shift from short pieces and a serious challenge over stories of up to 60,000 words. We’ll look at how to create plots and subplots and how to intertwine them effectively.
Viewpoint – Longer serials are usually told from more than one viewpoint but this can be tricky to balance. We’ll look at how to successfully get into the heads of multiple characters.
Writing the submission – Your first episode and plot summary are your tools for selling your serial to an editor. We’ll look at how to get them right and get you into print week after week…
Cost: £90 including full home-cooked lunch (about half what you’ll make on just one episode).
Joanna points out on her website that much of the teaching will also be applicable to the sister craft of writing a novel.
For those who don’t live within reach of Derby, Joanna hopes to roll the course out across the country later in the year.
To request more information or to reserve a place – go to Joanna’s website www.joannabarnden.co.uk.
I’ve booked my place (as a birthday present from my husband) and am looking forward to picking up some useful tips. Hope to see some of you there!
Sally Jenkins 
