Well, my writing is really taking off! I was in the enviable position at the end of February of seeing five publications with my work in them, all on display in W H Smiths at the same time! And there have been a couple more in print since then.
I have had a short story published about a little boy becoming a big brother and one taking a different view of Valentines Day (Peoples Friend and The Weekly News respectively), and articles about creating a nursery newsletter, encouraging very young children to get interested in poetry, teaching children about road safety, and choosing childrens books to help them learn how to look after pets... plus my usual Writers' Forum column following the progress of my novel-writing attempts - the March issue covered whether to use a prologue in fiction, and April's is all about writing the perfect synopsis, with lots of advice and tips from other writers and people in the know.
I even had a silly limerick included on the 'Peterborough Page' in the Daily Mail poking fun at RyanAir's plans to charge a pound to use their in-flight loos. I have had lots more work accepted too -including a piece on choosing kids' books to help them understand and celebrate racial and cultural differences, and a three-page feature article about the practical problems faced by young left-handed children. Researching the history of how kids were forced to switch hands in the past was an eye-opener, and interviewing a family and photographing their left-handed three year old was a delight!
I have tried to keep up my poetry interests too, when time permits, and have entered a charity competition being run by poeticrepublic.com, with all judging to be done by the entrants themselves - I like the idea of that.
My main focus now has to be sorting out my unpublished novel. I have had a very good critique back from the Hilary Johnson Advisory Service (highly recommended if you can afford the £300 fee) and I need to make some important decisions about what to do with my manuscript next. I will be visiting the 'How to get Published' masterclass at Earls Court on 18th April, which I hope may help. Keep reading the Writers' Forum monthly column 'Book Deal or Bust' if you want to know what happens next!
Best wishes and happy writing
Viv
3 comments:
I've enjoyed following your progress in Writers' Forum and am so pleased I've found your blog.
Sounds like you've had a very successful February. Congratulations.
:-)
What a successful writing month. I'm wondering whether there are more days in a Vivien Hampshire month than anyone else's given the amount you have managed to achieve.
And I have the day job, and an evening job teaching creative writing (only once a week, thank God!). You know what they say - if you want something done, ask a busy person. If I stop and sit down to do nothing at all for too long, I'm worried I might go rusty and never get up again!
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