Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

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This Writing Life


2010
08.19

Posted in Inspiration, My Writing, Workshops, Writing your novel | 2 Comments »

I am very excited by this writing life just now. Why? Well firstly I’m excited about possible options on my Danny Beck novel for publication here and USA in 2012.  Given the delay on this I have decided to put my second crime novel on ice and in the hiatus of Renga days – I still find I’m fascinated and surprised by writing this daily verse – several new projects have emerged.

To some extent they are ideas that lay fallow – an East Anglian novel (place is so often my starting point) being one of them. I now have approx 5000 words and a kind of outline of where the novel is going and more importantly I am very much enjoying the writing.

Then there are my short stories, the first of which, about the artist Michelangelo, floated almost fully formed into my head and demanded to be written. I am now working on a themed collection and have just completed a story in the voice of Mark Rothko. This feels like quite a creative leap for me but one which springs out my love of Art and my background in Art History.

There’s my poetry too, I haven’t abandoned working on that.

And last but not least is my Autumn Novel Group – the details of which are below – this is something I’ve wanted to do for some time and feel quite passionate about.

Autumn Novel Group 2010

This autumn I am offering a unique course for writers interested in making significant progress with a book length project i.e. a novel, a collection of short stories or a family memoir.

The course will take place fortnightly in my home in Witton-le-Wear from 7-9.45pm on Tuesday evenings at a cost of £15.00 per session and will initially run from Sept – December (start date Sept 14th) over a period of 12 weeks = 6 sessions.  Follow up options may be arranged to continue into 2011 with possible monthly meetings.

Places will be limited to 6 participants. This is to ensure those taking part have sufficient time in which to discuss their current work, their progress and concerns at each meeting.

My intention is that we will concentrate less on reading out and the fine detail of our text (although this may sometimes be appropriate and relevant) and more on process – plot, narrative voice, structure, beginnings, middles, drafting, editing, the language, dialogue, research, procrastination…….we might discuss some or indeed all of these and more, depending on where you are with your writing and what issues or problems you bring to the group.

Having written my first novel The Sweet Track whilst taking part in just such a group I am keenly aware how much there is to learn in the rarefied atmosphere created by the committed few.

It is my intention that as well as leading the group I will write alongside you. My current crime novel has attracted interest with an option for purchase in 2011 and publication in the UK and America in 2012. In the intervening period I will be writing a new novel set on the east coast of England. I am also working on a themed collection of short stories inspired by the lives of well- known artists.

Whether you are just starting out, or already part way through, embarking on and completing a piece of long fiction can be a daunting task. It will be my aim to offer you advice, support and focus in achieving your goals, as well as a warm welcome, coffee and biscuits and a share in my own passion for writing and getting the work done.

If you are interested in joining the group or have any further questions please contact me at: amjoy@hotmail.co.uk

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Making Books – A Day With Chloe


2010
07.18

Posted in Inspiration, Notebooks, Visual Arts, Workshops | 1 Comment »

The books I made at the workshop

The Hearth at Horsley (west of Newcastle) is a beautiful grade 2 listed building that houses eight working studios used by artists and musicians and a very friendly coffee shop selling heavenly scones (as well as other goodies).

On Saturday I spent the day there at a bookmaking course run by Chloe.  Chloe was a great tutor, very laid back but incredibly well prepared, so that we each came away having made three books and all clamouring for a follow up course. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The company was a real treat too – lovely people – as was the chocolate and almond cake Chloe made for our morning break. The course was fantastic value for money and utterly inspiring. I think I might be hooked on making books. As a writer I especially enjoyed the opportunity to do something practical rather than cerebral and know I definitely need more of this.

I found the course via New Writing North’s newsletter  – you can check out coming courses on The Hearth’s website (linked above).

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The Writing Game


2010
05.31

Posted in Crime, Inspiration, Radio | 2 Comments »

Tomorrow nights Writing Game features a not to be missed conversation with crime writer Ann Cleeves  recorded when Wendy and I met up with her at the Hexham Book Festival. The Writing Game is broadcast on 105.9  FM at 7pm – 8pm and should be available as a podcast within a day or two at the Bishop FM website.Inspiring for both writers and readers – do tune in!

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Eighty Nine Going on Twenty Nine..


2010
05.06

Posted in Crime, Inspiration, My Writing, People | 1 Comment »

P.D.James is eighty nine, soon to be ninety. At the Hexham Book Festival last Sunday you could be forgiven for thinking she was twenty years younger …or more! She was simply fabulous, as was her host Val Mcdermid, and their on stage meeting  sparkled with good humour and wit. Their conversation was littered with gems about writing and the writing life. Val McDermid had undoubtedly done her homework, and together they made it seem effortless and above all – fun! It was a privilege to eavesdrop.

At Hexham I also talked with crime writer Ann Cleeves, who I knew in another life, in prison. It was great to meet up with her after a long gap in which she has become a star! She is as she always was, a brilliant and dedicated writer and a lovely person to know and be around. She also said some interesting and perceptive things about writing crime fiction which chimed with P.D. James earlier in the day – in particular they both spoke about structure and plot in the crime novel, as a liberating rather than constraining force: as something that looked after itself.

Being new to the genre I’d worried a great deal about coming up with a plausible and complex plot – it had seemed like venturing into unknown and hostile territory (although of course we are hard wired into the genre, if not from our reading, then from film and television.) Then when I’d finished the first draft of my novel I wondered why it  felt so easy and relaxed to write– I think now I know. I think as Ann said, ‘the plot takes care of itself.’

AND I  love what P.D. James says in, Talking About Detective Fiction – a must-read for crime aficiandos-  ‘To say that one cannot produce  a good novel within the discipline of a formal structure is as foolish as to say that no sonnet can be great poetry…’

*** To read more about the day and about Ann Cleeves’  interview on The Writing Game - read Wendy’s great post at Lifetwicetasted.

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The Magician… meeting David Almond


2010
04.25

Posted in Inspiration, People | 1 Comment »

A week or so ago I wrote – Being with other writers is sometimes the best medicine for self doubt and for me it’s always inspirational - I hadn’t reckoned then with the world beyond inspiration – the world of MAGIC !

On Friday I had the privilege of joining Wendy in conversation with her long time colleague and writing friend, the lovely David Almond-  a conversation, part of which was recorded for Wendy’s forthcoming radio series. David (in case you didn’t know) is  a Whitbread prize winner, has a Carnegie medal and recently won the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen medal for children’s literature

I’d met David before, and had once seen him deliver a workshop to a group of women in the prison where I worked. On that day, like the magician he is, he produced a series of objects – a pastry cutter is one I remember- from a cloth bag. He spun stories around each object before encouraging the women to find their own stories. They loved him!

Talking with David on Friday, both on and off air, like the women at the workshop,  I came under his spell. He is of course world famous and yet so very modest, so much one of us. He talked about the times we all experience when the writing isn’t going so well and you feel like giving up. He talked about the other times, the good times, when stories seem to write themselves – when its magical – and hearing him talk I felt a little bit of that magic rubbing off.

He gave us his fascinating take on the writing process, his thinking on the artifical barriers we create between different forms – the novel, a play, opera- barriers which children just don’t recognise. The need to be playful and free in our writing.

Most of all he told us stories and he is a master story teller – so to hear all of this and more tune in to July’s programme of The Writing Game. I promise you, you are in for a wonderful treat and you will be inspired!

The first Writing Game goes out on May 4th 7pm on Bishop FM 105.9  and will be available after this date as a podcast from the radio’s website so no excuses for not listening.

David Almond is currently working on a play for the Durham Mysteries cycle  Noah and the Flood – Noah is a Geordie!

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Feel The Fear and Write…


2010
04.17

Posted in Inspiration, My Writing, People | 6 Comments »

Writing Down The Bones, is a book I often turn to get my writing juices flowing!

Sometimes it’s hard to believe in ourselves as writers, but it’s very important that we do. Too often we doubt ourselves, and we rely too heavily on approval from others and ultimately from the world of books and publishing.

Without self belief it’s impossible to keep writing and that’s why we need people like Natalie Goldberg to help foster our faith in ourselves and our love of writing. We need to nurture our fragile egos, learn to say  ‘what the hell’ to everything that gets in the way and know we can write!

Being with other writers is sometimes the best medicine for self doubt and for me it’s always inspirational.

This morning I listened to a fascinating conversation between Wendy Robertson, who was recording for her new radio programme, The Writing Game, and local writers Hilary Smith and Eileen Elgey. They talked about beginnings – about their writing and about writers they admired, as well as bravely and beautifully reading from their work. The programme goes out on Bishop FM in early May – (I will let you know time and date -soon) – it  will be a valuable resource and inspiration for both new and existing writers as well as readers, and will feature interviews with published authors, local writers, writing workshops and regular book reviews and recommendations.

The recording today inspired me to get writing. I’ve bought  a new notebook so I’m prepared. I have a beginning, something I’m working on but I’m still experimenting and looking for something fresh, maybe completely different. The best way to find it is of course is to just WRITE

But if you feel like I do at the moment, unsure of where to start, unsure of what you want to say then why not try starting with Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down The Bones - its bursting with ideas and inspiration and her own unique zen outlook. It’s sold millions of copies and being translated into many languages

On writing the book she says , ‘I think I was writing the book to save my creative life. To learn to trust my own mind and have a confidence in my experience.I felt I had something to say and wanted to say it. At first, though, I was afraid… I was afraid people would think it was stupid or idealistic. But I decided I had to put it down and share with the world something that I saw…’

Natalie teaches us not be afraid – possibly the best message there is for a writer!

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Fun Rules For Writing Fiction


2010
04.06

Posted in Inspiration, Writing your novel | 2 Comments »

Talking writing with Jackie and Colleen at RoomToWrite in March - see website www.roomtowrite.co.uk for conference feedback and photos

Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal do’s and don’ts

…..I came across this recently – Ten Rules For Writing Fiction -  it’s from The Guardian –   a two part article where prominent writers give their ten rules for writing fiction. There are  some great tips to be had, as well as much fun, and I always find that quotes like these, especially written on large sheets of paper in purple felt tip and stuck to my noticeboard, can help keep me inspired and working, or at least make me smile. Hope you enjoy them too.

For sheer simplicity, pragmatism and a certain brand of humility my vote goes to Ian Rankin’s 10 rules

1 Read lots.
2 Write lots.
3 Learn to be self-critical.
4 Learn what criticism to accept.
5 Be persistent.
6 Have a story worth telling.
7 Don’t give up.
8 Know the market.
9 Get lucky.
10 Stay lucky.

Others I really like – Esther Freud – Never forget, even your own rules are there to be broken. Possibly the best tip of all!!

David Hare – If nobody will put your play on, put it on yourself.

Rose Tremain – When an idea comes, spend silent time with it…allow yourself also to dream your idea into being.

Jeanette Winterson – Turn up for work… and also – Love what you do.

I think my top tip would be a version of Ian Rankin’s No. 3 – Never stop asking how your writing can be improved – until its finished that is-  and then wait for your agent or publisher to tell you how.

Let me know if any of the tips strike a chord with you or if you have any of your own to share

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A Conversation with the Sea


2010
02.13

Posted in Inspiration, My Writing, Places, Visual Arts | 2 Comments »

Scallop - Maggi Hambling

I am about to spend a week away with friends in Suffolk, and I’m really looking forward to it. East Anglia is a place that holds real resonance for me. I went there as an undergraduate many moons ago and more recently I lived in Norwich for six months.

The flatlands call to me – perhaps they remind me of home and the Somerset Levels or perhaps it has more to do with how I felt when I left home and a whole new life opened up before me – I especially loved those four years I spent there from age 18 – 22

The cottage we are staying in is on an estuary – with great views to the sea, so I will be in my watery element. I am also feeling optimistic having had some unexpectedly good feedback on my new novel. There is still a long way to go but I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I’m enjoying the praise and positive vibes while they last – I’m beginning to be a great believer in celebrating the small successes and not worrying too much about the future.

I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Maggi Hambling’ s Scallop again, on Aldeburgh beach. The edge of the main shell is pierced with the words, “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” It makes my skin prickle just thinking about it!

I’ve been thinking for some time about setting a novel or some stories in East Anglia so I’m hoping very much to hear some of those voices and have my own conversation with the sea.

Music is an abstract art, but we cannot help being struck, as we approach the sculpture from shoreward, by the anguished cry from Peter Grimes: ‘I hear those voices that will not be drowned’. It is immediately visible, written by light on the rim of the shell. These are words bound to intensify our sense of hearing as they suggest we listen for reverberations of another kind on the marine air – echoes of ‘the still sad music of humanity’. We remember at once the essential humanism of Britten’s music, its expression of the total range of thought and feeling, its empathetic capacity to celebrate and to commemorate, to praise and to mourn.

Mel Gooding

Notes: Maggi Hambling referred to Scallop as ‘a conversation with the sea’.

Mel Gooding is a well-known writer on art and architecture. He is Research Fellow at Edinburgh College of Art.

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In Search of Characters – Six Beginnings


2010
02.06

Posted in Inspiration, My Writing, Visual Arts | 5 Comments »

Giant Head- Ben by Nahem Shoa

Today Wendy and I battled our way through persistent fog – both literal and metaphorical (I hate to disagree with T.S. Eliot but February is the cruellest month ) to arrive at the Hartlepool Art Gallery. I’m glad we did as we were richly rewarded for our efforts.

The gallery is housed in the converted and refurbished Christ Church. It is a welcoming and inclusive space and I was surprised by the number of visitors, although the ranks were swelled by the extraordinary and beguiling life sized papier mache figures of Philip Cox, currently on show.

In April and May the Gallery is mounting an exhibition of portraits from its collection, entitled – In thy face I see. Among the exhibits will be Lucien Frued’s Head of a Woman and Nahem Shoa’s Giant Head – Ben -  just two of the stories waiting to be told!

In the same way that Tracy Chevalier’s Girl With A Pearl Earring was inspired by the artist Vermeer -

The idea for this novel came easily. I was lying in bed one morning, worrying about what I was going to write next. (Writers are always worrying about that.) A poster of the Vermeer painting Girl With a Pearl Earring hung in my bedroom, as it had done since I was 19 and first discovered the painting. I lay there idly contemplating the girl’s face, and thought suddenly, “I wonder what Vermeer did to her to make her look like that. Now there’s a story worth writing.” Within three days I had the whole story worked out. It was effortless; I could see all the drama and conflict in the look on her face. Vermeer had done my work for me -

so we can be inspired by the work of great artists  – and I can’t wait to see the pictures in the flesh.

Paintings can and often do engage all our senses, provoking strong emotional responses in the viewer.  They pose questions about the sitter and about the painter too and perhaps more than the photograph they give room to the writer, being somehow less defined, thicker in texture and mood. I’m sure some photographers would disagree with me here, and I certainly don’t wish to underestimate the power of the photograph as stated in my previous post  (scroll down and take a look) but I do think there is a strong connection between painter and writer both of whom work directly from brain to hand (I still do a lot of writing in notebooks by hand)  to pen or brush, without the intrusion of the lens.

So I’m looking forward to the Spring exhibition just as I’m looking forward to the Spring. In the meantime, in this difficult hiatus between finishing a novel and waiting to see how it’s been received I have decided not just to enjoy the creative space but also to embark on a small project of writing six beginnings (just fun to start with nothing onerous) to six short stories, inspired by six portraits. Six sketches for what might become fully fledged short stoires or who knows even a novel or may just stay in embryonic form. Who knows?

Here is the beginning of  a story I started several days ago in response to the Taylor Wessing photographic exhibition I visited last Monday at the NPG in London and the photograph - Bag (scroll down for photo)

The bag was empty, moth- white, no logo, nothing to announce its provenance. It crackled when you touched it, like it might disintegrate, like frozen washing on a line, not linen, more muslin. A caul, that’s what she thought, splitting open with loops for hanging, rabbit ears, good enough for covering a wound. That’s what they’d used, hadn’t they? She’d taken the groceries out; the salami, olives, humous, tangerines, pitta, oh and the vodka…

‘Liv, is that you?’ Mike’s voice drifted down from the bedroom.

‘Yes, I’m back. You want some lunch?’

‘Sure, you know me babe always starving.’

She hid the bottle of vodka behind the washing powder under the sink, put the other purchases on the table along with cheeses and some left over walnut and beetroot salad. She opened a bottle of Shiraz and stuck the pitta in the toaster. She crumpled the bag into a ball and pushed it in the fruit bowl where it bounced back, blossoming like crystal flowers …

One down and six to go!

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In Search of Characters – The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Exhibition


2010
02.02

Posted in Inspiration, People | 1 Comment »

'Bag' Hendrik Kerstens - won second prize last year in the Taylor Wessing -an image that goes all the way back to Vermeer - luminous and stunning!

As writers we are always searching for characters. Yesterday  in the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Lane, London at The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 exhibition I was spoilt for choice!

And now, one day later, a small but significant number of portraits are firmly fixed in my mind  – these are people who will endure for me and I’m sure will begin to people my writing – in particular a veteran from the war in Afghanistan, a boy collecting rubbish to sell, Stas, and a tall woman in a red coat in the snow – each of these portraits is a story in waiting and alreadyI’ve been inspired to start scribbling!

To see the prize winners go to

http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site09/exhibition2_winners.php To see portraits from this and earlier years also use google images

And the BEST NEWS – If you want to be similarly inspired – the exhibition will tour to the Shipley Art Gallery in Newcastle from 27 March to 6 June 2010

Stas -Third Prize this year

This portrait is part of a larger series called Locked and depicts Stas, a 15-year-old inmate of a maximum security prison in Russia. Chelbin, the photographer, spent several days in the prison but only noticed Stas on the last day. ‘He was extremely quiet and distant… I could feel there was an enormous burden on his shoulders. I spent several hours with Stas in different locations in order to build up his trust. When we finished I learned that he had been sentenced for murder.’

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