Tuesday 30 March 2010

Joined the challenge to write a poem a month in April!




Give it a try. Just join up and take the pledge at readwritepoem.org
Some (or most)of my 30 poems may turn out to be rubbish but you never know until you try - and I just might make myself write at least one gem!

Friday 12 March 2010

Spring is coming!

Well, it's March already and the weather is definitely getting warmer. Everything seems more positive and fun when the sun shines!

Fiction: I have just had a story accepted by Liz Smith at My Weekly - the first one I have sent them since their new rules came in a few years back. To be honest, I had almot forgotten I'd submitted it, the response was so slow, but it's a yes, so all is forgiven! It's good to be getting back into successful short story writing. I even won the Write Invite Saturday 30-minute competition last week, with another £40 prize on its way. At the fiction editor's request, I am also having a go at writing some stories for The People's Friend to go with some illustrations -they have a few in stock and need stories to match. One already done, and I'm pleased with it. Using short phrases/themes (as in Write Invite) or pictures as prompts certainly makes me think up some original ideas I would not otherwise have come up with.

Poetry: I hosted my second poetry evening in a local library last month - great fun and surprisingly well supported by people of all ages - from 10 to 80. Poetry is alive and well in Ruislip! I came second in the Writing Magazine ghost poem competition, and the poem is in the April issue with some incredibly flattering comments from the judge - worth more than the £50 prize, in self-esteem alone.

Non-fiction: This area of my work just grows and grows, with 2 or 3 of my articles in every issue of Child Care at the moment, one sold to Nursery World to celebrate 100 years in June since the first ever Fathers Day, and I have been asked to write some practical activities pages for another magazine called Practical Preschool. I enjoy non-fiction more than I ever expected to. It's very structured, needs thought and research, and is just as creative as other forms of writing in its own way... and it brings in a good regular income.

Looking ahead: to the next Writers Holiday in caerleon in July. Paid my deposit, booked my courses, and looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Can't wait!!